Meridian Magazine--Come Follow Me Latter-day Saint Podcast

November 7-13 Hosea may not be a book you have spent much time in, but this prophet gives us the description of the covenant relationship that perfectly reflects that a covenant with the Lord is not just a contract (You promise and I promise), but so much more. The covenant people are His bride, and He seeks a connection with us that is more profound and total than we sometimes know. Patrick Degn...

October 31-November 6 King Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem in 605 BC and began his first deportation of Jews to Babylon. He chose the elect to deport first, so this group included “the king’s seed, and of the princes.” Among this group was someone who was most likely a teenager at the time, a young man named Daniel and three of his friends. They were all true and faithful to the living God....

October 24-30 The Lord promises the most remarkable thing to His children—even to those who seem to be cast away, like the Jewish captives in Babylon. “A new heart…will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

October 17-23 In earlier Jeremiah chapters, the prophet lists the woes that will befall apostate covenant Israel, but he doesn’t leave it there. Only the Lord knows how to turn this level of desolation and mourning to joy.

October 10-16 Jeremiah was foreordained for the tough prophetic job he was called to do. The Lord said, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). We often point to those verses as a reminder that the Bible does refer to a pre-mortal existence, but something else stri...

October 3-9 Isn’t it amazing that Isaiah’s prophecies date back more than 2,700 years and they are so completely applicable today! No wonder the Lord Jesus Christ commanded the Nephites and the Lamanites: "And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah. For surely he...

September 26-October 2 Scot and Maurine Proctor are joined by scripture scholar Jeffrey Bradshaw to share why Isaiah 53 is the crown jewel of the New Testament. It is not only unforgettable in its beauty, but stunning in increasing our understanding of what the Savior did for each of us personally. When the discussion is expanded to include Isaiah 50-57, we see how deeply Isaiah speaks of the Mess...

September 19-25 Isaiah’s very name means The Lord is Salvation. In this week’s chapters (40-49) we get a clear message that there is no other God but Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ. We cannot turn to the world, we cannot turn to idols, we cannot turn to those around us, we can only turn to the one true God. He has made a covenant with His chosen servants (those who will follow Him), the posterity an...

September 12-18 I love that we get to study parts of Isaiah 29 this week where the Lord speaks with this language: "Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men sh...

September 5-11 We are spending the next five weeks studying Isaiah. The prophet asking us to focus on Isaiah for this long is a message to us. We need to know Isaiah and his prophecies! Join us with guest Dr. Kerry Muhlestein as we dive into the first 12 chapters.

August 29-September 4 We used to pass around Chinese proverbs like, "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." My parents used to say that when I was faced with a semester paper I had to write and I was feeling overwhelmed. Here's another one: "He who asks is a fool for five minutes but he who does not ask remains a fool forever." And of course one of my favorites is this, "Man who...

August 22-28 We know that faith is a power stronger than electricity or lightning or the flooding of many waters. It is the first great governing principle which has power, dominion, and authority over all things. So, of course we seek how to develop it in ourselves. In Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith teaches us: “Three things are necessary for any rational and intelligent being to exercise faith...

August 15-21 There is nothing so joyful as seeing the Saints gather to see the beautiful Houses of the Lord dedicated and made available for the work of the dead and the living. No matter where we are or what language is spoken, the unifying feeling comes from the music that is sung both outside and inside the temple and the Spirit that follows. Well, in order to understand more clearly our study...

August 8-14 Today we begin study of the largest book in the Old Testament. Surprisingly, it is Psalms with 97 pages of moving poetry that particularly explores our inner journey in seeking to find God. These are prayers, prophecy, wisdom, exultations, laments and pleadings for relief. It is a very ancient book where we can find immense comfort today.

August 1-7 When we lead our tours to the Holy Land, we will inevitably pull out some humor from the Biblical sources, attempting to create memories of laughter in remote parts of the tour. Our Bible jokes are many and varied and of a quality that only a dad could appreciate. “Who is the great tennis player of the Bible? Of course, everyone knows it’s Joseph, because he served in Pharoah’s courts!...

July 25-31 As a scholar said, “Once it happened that the crafty was taken in his own trap, the falsely condemned were saved, and the worthy were rewarded. It is not always so.” Perhaps [the] story [in Esther which we study today] has endured because it has given the comfort of hope to other oppressed people” [and demonstrates God in the details of our lives.] Although God is not expressly mentione...

July 18-24 I’ve tried to contemplate the feelings of our ancient brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, who, after 371 years of having a glorious temple, watched as the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and his forces, and those who survived the destructions were taken captive to Babylon. The temple was the holiest place for them, a place where they drew near unto God, a place where they offered...

July 11-17 Some events from the past are tipping points, that is, if they had had a different outcome than they did, our world would be utterly and completely different, maybe unrecognizable to us. The events in the scriptures we talk about today are one of those key tipping points in history where the entire future of the world hung in the balance. We’ll talk about that earth-shaking, ancient tip...

July 4-10 Join us with McKay Christensen who has served as Managing Director of External Relations at BYU and management strategy instructor at the BYU Marriott School of Business as we explore the mantle being passed from Elijah to Elisha. What do we mean by a mantle in the Church? Are mantles for more than prophets and missionaries? 

June 27-July 3 Join us with guest Patrick Degn who has been an instructor in the Seminaries and Institutes of Religion for more than 25 years. In this episode we will explore the story of King Ahab and Jezebel and the abrupt introduction of the man who tried to counteract their influence: Elijah.

June 20-26 We are amazed as we go through the Old Testament how applicable these lessons are today. You'd think that a book that is thousands of years old would not have that kind of application, but we have been blown away. These chapters break your heart as we learn more about David, his love for the Lord and the events that lead to his downfall. How can someone so faithful and true turn from Go...

We have with us today a special guest, Mark Matthews. Together we discuss Israel’s desire for a king and Saul’s rise to the position, and how he loses his way. We also discuss the story of David facing Goliath and how it can represent much more than we often think about.

June 6–12 Ruth is a happy interlude in these chapters. It’s not a story of a prophet, a war, or a dramatic intervention by the Lord. It’s a family story, a private story in some ways, but it’s the family story of the family of the Savior. Additionally, we discuss the story of Hannah and her faithful commitment to give up her son--the son she waited so long for--to the service of the Lord.

May 30-June 5 We’ve just spent 35 days in the Middle East leading three tours in the Holy Land, Egypt and Jordan. Of course, you cannot go to these places and lead a spiritual tour without constantly referring to the Old Testament. On this particular journey with all these amazing people, the thing that struck me over and over again was this: When John the Beloved quoted Jesus Christ in chapter 5,...

May 23-29 The story of the Abrahamic covenant is your family story. Kerry Muhlestein says, “We don’t often think of it in that manner.” But our grandfather Abraham grew up in a turbulent time, where “his own father was steeped in idolatry. He saw his immediate family involved in horrible practices, including human sacrifice, but he knew there was a better way. Records had come down from his forefa...