Book of Mormon Reflections
Short essays on the Come, Follow Me readings for 2024 from Maxwell Institute scholars.
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Moroni 10: That Which is Good...is True
Moroni, who brought the Book of Mormon to a close before “sealing up” the large record abridged by his father, was a veteran of calamity. And it can be dangerous to tame calamity too readily. In our zeal for happy endings, we risk trivializing tragedy, justifying wretchedness, domesticating human agony, or avoiding reality.
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Moroni 7-9: Without Love, Ye Are Nothing
The Book of Moroni is the only book within the Book of Mormon whose original 1830 chapter breaks have all been retained in our modern editions. I suspect the reason is that, for the most part, Moroni’s chapters were already short to begin with.
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Moroni 1-6: Sharing the Sacrament with Moroni at the End of Time
The book of Moroni is the only book in the Book of Mormon in which the phrase “it came to pass” is entirely absent. Perhaps that phrase seems trivial and its absence insignificant--though I think otherwise--but it at the very least it points to the unique character of the book of Moroni.
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Ether 12-15: Peacemakers and Pride
I can never come anymore to the last chapters of Ether without thinking of what still stands out in my mind as a wonderfully unexpected Ensign article from the February 2008 issue.
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Ether 6-11: Light and Void
Most of us know the story: The brother of Jared, concerned about crossing the ocean in waterproof—and, consequently, lightproof—ships, sought the Lord's help and, using his creativity, presented sixteen molten stones for the Lord to illuminate.
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Ether 1-5: Two Kinds of Friendship
We are suffering from an epidemic of loneliness and have been for some time now. Not only are we bowling alone, but we are often most alone when surrounded by people or connected to seemingly vibrant virtual communities.
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Mormon 7-9: Hope in Christ
It’s common, when we meet Moroni, to express sympathy for his plight. We gather in Sunday School, nodding soberly, as we imagine wandering alone, grieving a fallen nation, being hunted for commitment to Christ.
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Mormon 1-6: The Day of Grace
If we’re being honest, Mormon’s record is a pretty depressing read. Mormon himself is a refugee of war as a young child, tasked with adult responsibilities at only ten years old, thrust onto the front lines of military conflict as a teenager...
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3 Nephi 27-4 Nephi: For They Will Sell Me for Silver and for Gold
At the beginning of 3 Nephi 27, Jesus has completed his visit to the Nephites, and his ordained disciples have begun to preach his gospel throughout the land.
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3 Nephi 20-26: What I Want My Nephew to Know about Missions
Next week is an exciting one for our family: my nephew will leave the Mission Training Center and travel to the country in eastern Europe where he’s been called to serve.
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3 Nephi 17-19: Guarding the Body (Prayer as Vigil)
Jesus spends much of 3 Nephi 18 passing out gifts to an assembled multitude, usually by giving them first to his disciples.
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3 Nephi 12-16: Ask, Seek, Knock
Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful, like its close textual cousin, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, is a feast and a puzzle.
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3 Nephi 8-11: Christ Comes to Bountiful, or Egypt Meets Sinai
The events described in 3 Nephi 8 at the death of Christ are a catalog of disaster. Tremendous thunderstorms spark wildfire, three days of total darkness isolate survivors in cells of grief, and the face of the land is contorted by earthquake into a death mask.
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3 Nephi 1-7: Back Where We Started
A few Sundays ago, a bishopric counselor sat on my living room couch, all smiles, to extend me a new calling: primary chorister. My heart sank. Primary chorister has been, for many years, high on my list of Church Assignments That Scare Me and That I Think I’ll Be Really Bad At.
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Helaman 13-16: Spreading Rumors and Contentions Upon all the Face of the Land
While an undergraduate at BYU, I spent six weeks in a large log cabin called Timp Lodge at Aspen Grove near the Sundance Ski Resort. At this biology camp, I took courses in Ecology, limnology (the study of lakes), and aquatic entomology.
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Helaman 7-12: Pride is More Than We Might Assume
Pride is a danger oft targeted by Latter-day Saints: in our scriptures, our lesson manuals, and our general conference addresses. We did not, of course, invent this orientation.
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Helaman 1-6: The Hero's Journey
Do you know this story? A young person of no special consequence happens across a seemingly nondescript object that turns out to be imbued with power. The object leads them on a journey through magical lands and unknown regions, toiling up forbidding mountains and facing their fears in murky forests.
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Alma 53-63: Happy for Someone Else’s Miracle
The stories associated with Helaman’s 2000 stripling warriors always stand out at the end of the book of Alma, even in a block of eleven chapters (Alma 53-63) filled with all kinds of action-packed episodes and characters. And rightly so, given how remarkable and memorable—and miraculous—the experiences of Helaman’s band truly were.
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