The Scripture Study Project

We use the phrase "I know" in many settings and situations in our description of our faith. In this episode we ask if saying "I know" is a requirement and what might come before and after that statement that could help us have a more expanded relationship with truth and come to better "know" the Savior Himself. Show Notes: For past episodes on the Come Follow Me blocks, click below Matt 8-9 / Mark...

We are back with a new season of The Scripture Study Project with an all new approach. This season we are asking questions--sometimes hard, often personal, always important--that have everything to do with our relationship with God and then studying scriptures in search of truth and understanding. This episode we start with our first question of the season drawn from Jesus' own word: do I really h...

Malachi was a messenger, and he prophesied of other messengers to come. Of course John the Baptist stands out as one primary fulfiller of prophesy; but all of us in some small way can be messengers who prepare the way of the Lord. This episode, our final this season, and our final weekly episode of our podcast, we reflect on five years of podcasting and the "messages" we have learned, loved, and h...

My grandfather was an architect. I remember visiting him in his office and seeing the tools laid out on his basement drafting board and being captivated by the idea that someone could plan such large buildings. As I've grown older I often think of similarities between designing and drafting a building and our efforts to conscientiously plan and live a life. In this episode we study the words of tw...

At the end of the book of Zephaniah, the prophet expresses that in the last days, "the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee". Imagine for a moment: what if we took that verse literally and pictured arriving home today from work or school or shopping to find Him in our living room. What would you think and feel if He were there? Would there be relief or reservation? Would there be...

The story of Jonah is a masterpiece of scriptural story that weaves together a very human and relatable character in Jonah with a compelling illustration of the true character of the Lord interlaced with suspense and surprise. It may be one of the best books in our recent study to liken to ourselves. In this week's study we do just that and ask the question, "What am I running away from?" Show Not...

I remember years ago watching an episode of a hidden camera tv show where actors acted out a scene where one man, dressed as someone living on the streets, was given money by other only to have that money stolen by some mocking teenagers. The episode focused on the actions of the surrounding people who did know they were watching and actor portrayal, to see if they would intervene, comfort the vic...

Recently I heard a description of some of the reasons why members of the Church have struggled or are struggling with their faith. For a small group, they struggle because they no longer believe the Church is true. For a larger group, they struggle because they do not believe the Church is good. However, for the largest group they struggle because they do not feel like they belong in the Church. I...

There's a story told almost 100 years ago in a Church magazine about a young man named Creed Haymond who ran track for his college. The night before a meet his coach offered the team alcohol to help them relax for the next day's races. Creed refused, multiple times, and to the chagrin of his coach and teammates. The end of the story is powerful (and you can read it if you click the link in our sho...

Hebrew prophets were valued because of their ability to foresee coming events and, then, warn people in the present. However, the true test of this foresight is, of course, whether or not these visions materialize. Today we study some of the prophet Ezekiel's most far-reaching declarations and see clear fulfillment in our own day. Show Notes: Connect with us on Instagram or Facebook Music: by Stev...

I used to play a game with my seminary students called "Boo Speak" where I would invite a student to leave the room and then, with the students left in the room, pick a word that we would try and eliminate from that student's vocabulary by sheer peer pressure. Once we had decided on a word we would invite that student back in the room. I would have a conversation with the student and whenever he w...

I love art museums, and in recent years, I've had multiple chances to attend a few and one thing I've noticed, repeatedly, is the vast breadth of color and emotion represented in the displayed art. Incredible paintings of bright flower gardens on warm days are balanced by emotional paintings of dark caverns or shrouded faces. I've come to appreciate the tug on my emotions as I feel, often in the s...

There are some pressing questions we must address this week: how can you make shapes and animals out of pancake batter, what's the best way to eat a strawberry, and how cay you maximize the milk-to-cookie ratio of an oreo. These questions, as outlandish as it sounds, will help us better answer other questions. How can I fast with my eye single to God's purpose? How can I truly delight in the Sabba...

Years ago I studied Isaiah 53 with a group of teenagers in a seminary class. As part of our experience I gave students a small piece of cardstock with a silhouette of Jesus printed on it on which I had asked them to write descriptions of the Savior they had found in their study. After class, as I was picking up the room, I noticed one card lying on the ground. I picked it up, turned it over, and r...

I once watched as someone illustrated Isaiah's visions and prophecies by drawing him as a stick figure then drawing a telescope in front of his face which indicated that Isaiah could see, both what was really close at hand, but also what was coming in the near future (for him, 150 years away) and the distant future (our day). In our study this week we dive into what scholars often call 2nd Isaiah...

When Krista and I were first married she introduced me to the idea of "empty calories"--foods that you could eat but that would give little to no nutrition (this was how she described many of the things I had grown used to eating in college). This week we Isaiah 13-35 and look at the things Isaiah describes that are the spiritual version of empty calories and, conversely and much more importantly,...

Some commentators have described the book of Isaiah the climactic book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. Isaiah's writings were certainly important to many later writers, including Nephi, Abinadi, Mormon, and Jesus Christ himself. When describing his own passion for the words of Isaiah, Nephi said, "my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, . . . for he verily...

One of my favorite things about learning from the Lord is that He teaches with images, stories, and symbols. I learned this week that the Hebrew word "māšāl" translated in verse 1 as "proverb" is translated in many other places as "parable". In other words, this book is a book of mini parables that, as we'll learn together, help us practice living a God-like life. Show Notes: Connect with us on In...

I searched for the word "Psalms" on the Church homepage this week and found that almost every General Conference return going on for multiple pages was a talk with a title taken from a psalm. From Pres. Nelson's famous, "Joy Cometh in the Morning" to Elder Bednar's quotable "A Broken Heart and a Contrite Spirit" to Elder Holland's emotional "Like a Broken Vessel", it's clear that our Church leader...

One thing that took getting used to as I prepared for a mission to Germany was the Germany fairy tale. Contrary to many romantic tales where heroes prevail against evil and receive rewards for their efforts, Germany fairy tales contain stories where good and bad often happen unexpectedly and to unexpected people: often the hero loses all while the village fool gets incredible fortune. I recently l...

Years ago in a seminary class where we were studying a scriptural account of a woman, one of the young men blurted out that he felt the lesson didn't apply to the boys in the class because it was about a woman in the scriptures. Immediately one of the older girls in class responded that girls spent much of their scripture study efforts applying lessons learned from stories about men, and that if t...

I've spent the last month getting to know and serve with the newly-called seminary teachers in my local stakes. As I talk with these amazing people it's obvious that they feel the weight of undertaking one of the most demanding (and rewarding) callings in the Church. I was thinking about them when I read one of my favorite verses of scripture in this week: Nehemiah 6:3 which says, in part, "I am d...

In the Book of Mormon the prophet Nephi writes, prophetically, that people in a coming day will "trample under their feet…even the very God of Israel." In our bible study this week we see a fulfillment of that as wicked kings in both Israel and Judah turn repeatedly from the Lord to worship of false Gods. If nothing else, the tragic story of the fall of the kings we've been reading over the past w...

This week on the Scripture Study Project we start a new month, a new book of scripture (2 Kings), and a new podcast format. We dive into the miracles of Elisha, look at the unprecedented ways in which individuals are asked to show their faith to the Lord, and examine our own faithfulness. Show Notes: Connect with us on Instagram or Facebook Music: by Steve Oxen

Years ago, Peggy Worthen, wife of newly installed BYU president Kevin Worthen, spoke to the gathered student body. In her talk she referenced highway 6, a Utah road that leads from Provo to the eastern side of the state, including the famous Arches National Park in Moab. In 1983 this road was blocked as a massive rockslide covered the road and blocked the river causing massive flooding. A new road...