Much of the Sermon on the Mount has to do with our motives.  The Savior challenges us to have pure motives, to do things that are good, and to do them for the right reasons.  Sometimes young people wonder about the purpose of fasting. In Matthew 6 we read, “MoreoverContinue Reading

The Sermon on the Mount teachings principles which have many applications in the lives of young people.  Matthew 5 outlines 4 important ideals that we examined in class.  They are: 1.  Adultery & Divorce 2.  Honesty 3.  Retaliation & Violence 4.  How to deal with your adversary In each instance,Continue Reading

Many years ago I took my family to Lake Powell.  In many areas of the lake, there are rocks hidden just beneath the surface of the water.  If you are traveling in a boat at a high rate of speed and hit one of these rock formations, you could findContinue Reading

Matt 6 deals with treasure (6:20-21), clothing (6:30), food & drink (6:31-32). When instructing the Twelve, Jesus made the following statement: Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:)Continue Reading

I had a great conversation yesterday amongst my colleagues.  We were discussing what wisdom means when we looked at a scripture that I have read many times before, but this time I saw it in a whole new light. Alma 48:11 reads, “And Moroni was a strong and a mightyContinue Reading

The story of the birth of the Savior has many practical applications for young people.  As we examine the narrative, we find principles which teach us many life lessons. At the very beginning of the events surrounding the miraculous birth of the Savior, we read the following: And in theContinue Reading

The book of Jonah is a wonderful message of forgiveness and grace.  Jonah is called by the Lord to preach repentance to a hardened people, a people that he does not feel are worthy of being saved.  In Jonah’s estimation, the people of Nineveh are so hardened, so unworthy ofContinue Reading

There is an increasing sentiment among some seminary students that the world is overpopulated, running out of resources and that the future looks bleak.  Many students have expressed to me thoughts such as, “What’s the use?  The world is going to end anyways.  Why get married and have children?  WillContinue Reading

In our classroom we have a “question box”.  I have found this to be a useful tool in the classroom.  When a student has a question that would take us far off topic, yet is still relevant to their lives, a teacher has a couple of options.  The teacher canContinue Reading

In Isaiah 5, Isaiah combines parable, warning, and promise together with poetry and irony in an effort to portray the Lord’s work with the children of Israel.  This chapter contains the themes reflected in the first four chapters of Isaiah and serves as a transition between chapters 1-4 and theContinue Reading