followHIM Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: Moses 1; Abraham 3 Part 1 • Dr. Philip Allred • January 5 - January 11 • Come Follow Me
Hosts: Hank Smith & John Bytheway
Guest: Dr. Philip Allred
Release Date: December 31, 2025

Main Theme Overview

This episode explores the foundational Latter-day Saint doctrines found in Moses 1 and Abraham 3, focusing particularly on the doctrines of God’s work, the nature of premortal life, personal purpose, and the intertwining of cosmic and intimately personal revelation. Hosts Hank Smith and John Bytheway, along with Dr. Philip Allred, delve into how these “theologically explosive” chapters shape our understanding of identity, family, and the purpose of mortality, while highlighting their relevance in both scripture study and personal application.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Importance and Nature of Moses 1 and Abraham 3

• These chapters are described as “theological dynamite,” containing profound and essential doctrines that undergird Latter-day Saint teachings on identity, purpose, and the plan of salvation.
• Quote - John Bytheway (01:49): “[These chapters] are doctrinally thick and theologically explosive… It’s taken me years to go, wow, this is really important.”

2. The Personal Touch Amid Cosmic Revelation

• Dr. Allred emphasizes that while both chapters offer a “galactic, cosmic view,” their structure is deeply personal—God addresses Moses and Abraham individually, by name, expressing love and understanding for their unique circumstances.
  • Quote - Dr. Allred (02:33): “There is this very clear and interweaved, consistent, personal touch by the Lord with the Lord to each of them as his sons.”
  • Key moments are cited where God calls Abraham “my son” (Abraham 3:12), reminding listeners that divine encounters are both infinite and intimate.

3. Abraham’s Personal Journey and God’s Promises

• Review of Abraham 1–3: Abraham, born into hardship and dysfunction, seeks “greater happiness and peace,” desiring to become a “father of many nations.”
• The Lord responds to Abraham’s heartfelt desires, promising to multiply him and his posterity even amid trials (e.g., deliverance from idol worship and entering Egypt).
  • Quote - Dr. Allred (13:17): “I can do that. I can get you that desire. Isn’t that nice?”

4. Abrahamic Covenant and Our Role

• The group stresses that the Abrahamic Covenant is central in both the Old Testament narrative and Latter-day Saint self-understanding.
  • Quote - Elder Bednar, cited by Hank Smith (17:24): “We were foreordained in the premortal life and born into mortality to fulfill the covenant and promise God made to Abraham. That is who we are. That is why we are here.”
• Missionaries are encouraged to study their patriarchal blessings to see their role as Abraham’s seed (17:39).

5. Divine Duality: God’s Infinite Power and Intimate Care

• God is depicted as both “God of the universe” and a loving friend.
  • Quote - Elder Neal A. Maxwell (21:30): “He is utterly incomparable…Yet movingly, he calls us his friends…In intelligence and performance, he far surpasses…all who have lived…But any assessment of where we stand in relation to him tells us we do not stand at all. Kneel.”
• This duality inspires confidence and comfort (22:06).

6. Personalized Deliverance Amid Life’s Challenges

• The podcast highlights Abraham’s “salvation history”—past, present, and ongoing divine deliverance.
• Listeners are encouraged to recognize their own “deliverance stories” and trust in God’s timeline.
  • Quote - Dr. Allred (22:06): “We’re mid-deliverance. Could I share one cool thing?…This is the God who works with each of us, who is powerful to save and promise, but for whom is working to comfort us in the meantime.”

7. Family as Central to Eternity

• Family relationships—despite mortal dysfunction—are foundational and echoed across major world religions.
  • Quote - John Bytheway (32:43): “Everything you’ve just said says that people yearn for that and want that. I think that’s in all of us. How could it be heaven without Kim [my wife]?”

8. Mortality as a “Gym” and “Proving Ground”

• The analogy of mortality as a gym: “torture devices” (challenges) are essential, not obstacles to be avoided.
  • Quote - Dr. Allred (35:43): “All we have here are torture devices is literally all we have in the gym…It is a very interesting, faithful navigation that the Lord is encouraging us to go on to see promises yet ahead, but to see very and oftentimes painful effects of the fall playing out right now.”
• Abraham 3:25 ‘Prove’ is discussed, with reference to both testing and “proving dough” (ripening, not merely examining).

9. The Significance of Premortal Life Doctrine

• Latter-day Saint understanding of premortality is unique and foundational; it provides meaning and context for mortal trials.
  • Quote - Boyd K. Packer (52:58): “Don’t let a student…leave your class without knowing that there is a premortal existence. If he doesn’t, how can they make sense of mortality?”
• God “huddled us up” and gave individualized mission and assurance in premortality (68:26).

10. Agency, Purpose, and Personalized Curriculum of Mortality

• God crafted “highly customized training paths” for each soul, making Earth life a uniquely individual, purposeful process.
  • Quote - Dr. Allred (46:13): “A highly customized training path for each of us. Pretty customized curriculum for mortality for each of us.”

11. Spiritual Verification & Faithful Curiosity

• Listeners are invited to seek their own witnesses, not rely on “proxy” faith.
  • Quote - Dr. Allred (41:29): “The Lord very much wants us to individually connect with him, not just by proxy…The invitation, there should be curiosity. They (Abraham, Moses, Nephi) experienced this. Well, what would it take for me?”

12. Premortality, Personal Covenants, and Eternal Progression

• Deep discussion of Abraham 3:22–28 on foreordination, agency, and the purpose of life as a bridge from premortal choices to eternal outcomes.
  • Quote - Dr. Allred citing Joseph Smith (69:35): “…The organization of the spiritual and heavenly beings was in the most perfect order…they voluntarily subscribed to [the Plan] in their heavenly estate by themselves.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

[00:03] Dr. Philip Allred:
“Now we see why we can embrace immortality and see that it really will work. Because we have this understanding that we had a loving God who huddled us up and said, ‘I'm in the midst of you. I know you. I know what I can bless you with. I know what you need. This is why I can embrace the craziness of mortality.’”

[13:17] Dr. Allred:
“I can do that. I can get you that desire. Isn’t that nice?”

[17:24] Hank Smith (quoting Elder Bednar):
“We were foreordained in the premortal life and born into mortality to fulfill the covenant and promise God made to Abraham. That is who we are. That is why we are here.”

[21:30] Elder Neal A. Maxwell (quoted):
“In intelligence and performance… he far surpasses the individual and the composite capacities and achievements of all who have lived, live now, and will yet live… But any assessment of where we stand in relation to him tells us we do not stand at all. Kneel.”

[35:43] Dr. Allred:
“All we have here are torture devices is literally all we have in the gym.”

[52:58] Boyd K. Packer (quoted):
“Don’t let a student…leave your class without knowing that there is a premortal existence. If he doesn’t, how can they make sense of mortality?”

[69:35] Dr. Allred (quoting Joseph Smith):
“…The organization of the spiritual and heavenly worlds…was agreeable in the most perfect order and harmony. Their limits and bounds were fixed irrevocably and then this and voluntarily subscribe to in their heavenly estate by themselves…”

Important Timestamps

• 00:03: Introduction to themes; embracing mortality through understanding God’s plan.
• 07:55: Dr. Allred’s overview of Abraham 3 and the personal nature of Abraham’s visions.
• 13:09–16:18: Abraham’s broken family and God’s specific personal promises.
• 17:24–19:50: Noble and great ones; our foreordination and mission as Abraham’s seed.
• 21:30: Duality of Christ’s infinite power and intimate friendship with us.
• 22:06–29:24: Discussion of how personal revelation and God’s deliverance function in real life, family as central to eternity.
• 35:43: Mortality as a gym; the necessary stretching and "torture devices" of growth.
• 41:29: Spiritual verification; making doctrine personal rather than just inherited.
• 52:58: The centrality of premortal doctrine for understanding life’s purpose.
• 69:35: Joseph Smith on voluntary subscription to God’s plan premortally.

Engaging and Faith-Centered Takeaways

• The “proving” of mortality isn’t mere testing by God, but essential time for us to mature, deepen, and develop into our eternal identity (“proving dough” analogy).
• Suffering, loss, or dysfunction have redemptive purpose when viewed through the lens of premortal covenants and God’s individualized plan.
• God is infinitely powerful but also knows us by name, with every detail of our desires and developmental needs understood and provided for.
• The doctrine of premortal life is not a side note but a vital lens through which all of mortality—and especially suffering—makes sense.

Final Thoughts

This episode deeply enriches the study of Moses 1 and Abraham 3, making abstract, cosmic doctrines tangible and personally applicable. The hosts and Dr. Allred merge scholarship, personal experience, and doctrinal insight to assure listeners: you are known, your trials are not random, and your divine heritage and destiny are at the heart of both scripture and God’s ongoing work with you.

End of Part 1
Stay tuned for Part 2, where the discussion continues into further pivotal verses and personal stories of faith and deliverance.