Scripture Central

When Christopher Columbus brought tobacco to Europe, it became a miracle drug. It was used for over 250 maladies (e.g., warts, asthma, ulcers, arrow wounds, toothaches, bad breath, deafness, tonsillitis, nosebleeds, epilepsy, etc.). From 1790 to 1830, alcohol consumption rose in America. Most men and some women and children drank alcohol regularly. Steven Harper recorded that in 1820, the upstate...

Emma was twenty-nine years old—and seven months pregnant—when, in the fall of 1832, their family moved from the John Johnson farm in Hiram Ohio to Kirtland, approximately thirty miles north. Joseph and Emma set up their humble home in the rooms above Newel K. Whitney’s store. Shortly thereafter, Joseph left for New York City to buy supplies for the Missouri saints. A little over a month later, on...

The leaders of the Church in Missouri grew troubled. Saints were gathering there by the hundreds. Relatively few of them were obeying the law of consecration when they arrived. “Have you all fulfilled the law of the church,” William Phelps wrote to them in the Church’s newspaper, “which saith: Behold thou shalt consecrate all thy properties, that which thou hast, unto me, with a covenant and a dee...

The Prophet Joseph often refers to God’s all-encompassing power as the priesthood. This overarching definition acts like an umbrella that covers all of God’s works—from the Creation to the Gifts of the Spirit. In Doctrine and Covenants sections 84 and 107, we especially see the priesthood used in the work of organizing the church and male ordinations. Yet, in D&C 84, we also see both the expansive...

Doctrine and Covenants 81-83 represents the restoration at work—addressing immediate historical needs while establishing eternal principles. They demonstrate that revelation is not abstract doctrines, but universal divine truths that can be applied to specific circumstances. The progression from individual calling in section 81 to community organization in section 82 to institutional responsibilit...

The Book of Revelation is known as Apocalyptic literature and has fascinated scholars for centuries, each giving his or her own interpretation. It wasn’t until the Restoration, though, that we received the keys to understand its message. With the help of Joseph Smith’s questions and the Lord’s answers, we learn that the Book of Revelation discloses vital information about the last days. It is fill...

One of the most prolific visions in Church history unfolds to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon in 1832. Lasting an amazing 90 minutes, the pair see God the Father, Christ, Satan and the three degrees of heavenly glory. The revelation meant so much to the prophet that he reworked it as a beautiful poem and included it in a letter to W.W. Phelps, with whom he shared correspondence. To others though, t...

As the work on the Book of Commandments continues, opposition comes knocking. Two former members of the Church turn from their covenants and seek to destroy it. Symonds Ryder and Ezra Booth each concoct several devious methods to stop the Restoration. Meanwhile, Joseph Smith begins to make minor changes to previous revelations and draws criticism from detractors who accuse him of trying to cover u...

Modern-day revelation is a contentious topic among Christians. Does God continue to reveal His will to His prophets or have His followers received all they need as found in the Bible? Joseph Smith went against the prevailing thoughts of the day by helping God restore a Church with an open canon of scripture. For this belief there was much persecution. In this episode, viewers will discover the his...

How is it possible that some early Church members could be eyewitnesses to the miracles of the Restoration but still lose their testimonies and fall away from the Church? Join Lynn Hilton Wilson and special guest Steven C. Harper, Church History professor at BYU, for a frank discussion about the keys to maintaining a strong testimony in the gospel. Lynne and Steven will examine the lives of some o...

The Doctrine and Covenants is filled with directions to help us for the Lord’s Second Coming. Twenty percent of the sections include some detail about the Second Coming or a call to assist the Lord in preparing for a Zion society. Two of these are sections 63 and 65, wherein the Lord references the parables of the Ten Virgins and the Marriage of the Bridegroom in conjunction with Jesus’ Second Com...

"Zion" refers to something that has multiple meanings: Zion can be a place, a people, and a state of heart. It signifies a perfect society, where God dwells with his people, they are united in love and righteousness, and share all things equally. A Place: Zion can be understood as a physical location, like the ancient city of Jerusalem or the New Jerusalem, which will be built in Jackson County, M...

On August 2, 1831 a group of saints gathered twelve miles west of Independence in Kaw township. Twelve men, representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel, laid a log as a “foundation in Zion.” Before Sidney Rigdon offered the dedicatory prayer, he asked the saints gathered there, Do you pledge yourselves to keep the laws of God on this land, which you never have kept in your own lands? [The audience re...

Don't miss this special episode of Come, Follow Church History with Doctor Lynne Hilton Wilson about the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Join Lynne as you asks some hard questions about Jospeh's work on the Bible and the most significant verses he translated. Joseph Smith’s translation (JST) of the Bible did not start with its original languages of Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Test...

In this exciting episode of Come, Follow Church History with Doctor Lynne Hilton Wilson, Church historian and researcher Mark Staker joins Lynne for a deep dive into the world of spiritual gifts. Using historical context, personal experiences and scriptural references, Lynne and Mark help viewers understand what spiritual gifts are and how they are used. Find out if Joseph Smith just copied the re...

In this episode of Come, Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne Hilton Wilson dives much deeper into the law of Consecration. Are the members of the Church still bound by this law of heaven? Does tithing cover the covenants that are made in the temple? Find out how the law of consecration applies to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the modern era.

In this episode of Come, Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne Hilton Wilson and guest Steve Harper talk about "the law" of God's kingdom, the law of Consecration. Find out how the early saints tried to live this challenging law and what led them to success and failure. Discover who was valiant in keeping the commandment and who went back on their promises. Most of all, find out abou...

In this episode of Come, Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne Hilton Wilson and guest Mark Staker talk about a variety of fascinating topics in Church history. The revelation to move to Ohio is received. Missionary efforts involving Oliver Cowdery, Peter Whitmer, Ziba Peterson and Parley P. Pratt result in the conversion of many Saints including Sidney Rigdon. Fascinating events fro...

In this episode of Come, Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne Hilton Wilson shares her amazing research about 12 women mentioned by name in the New Testament. The detailed descriptions of their stories shine a light on the radical cultural change ushered in by the Savior about the treatment of women.

In this episode of Come, Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne Hilton Wilson talks about the persecution of the Native Americans in early American history and the outreach by the Latter-day Saints to show kindness and proclaim the gospel. This is in contrast to the prevailing thoughts of the day and the Saints were persecuted because of it.

In this episode of Come, Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne Hilton Wilson explains the events, signs, plagues and Christian understanding of the Lord's Return. She also explains the meaning of Zion and how members of the Church can become a Zion society.

In this episode of Come, Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne Wilson and special guest Mark Staker, go deeper into the life of Emma Smith. They share stories and facts about Emma Hale Smith's siblings and parents. Were they believers? Did any of them convert to the gospel? Did they serve missions?

In this episode of Come, Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne Wilson and special guest Mark Staker, an expert on the life of Emma Smith, share fascinating stories and little-known facts about the life of Emma Smith.

Doctrine and Covenants 20-22 | March 10-16 | Come Follow Church History with Lynne Hilton Wilson In this episode of Come, Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne Wilson shares the exciting details behind the creation of The Church of Jesus Christ by examining Doctrine and Covenants sections 20-22. Thank you for joining us at Scripture Central! We hope that you have enjoyed this content...

Today on Come Follow Church History from Scripture Central, Lynne and special guest Janiece Johnson discuss the exciting events surrounding the publication of the Book of Mormon and the details of Doctrine and Covenants section 19.