Matthew chapter 2 forces us to examine the nature of evil as it relates to the omnipotence of our Heavenly Father.  Every teenager can relate with injustice.  Most teens have a strong sense of right and wrong and feel that those that do wrong should face justice.  We went throughContinue 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

After Cyrus conquered the Babylonians in 539 B.C. he issued a decree allowing the Jewish captives to return to the land of Israel. He also encouraged the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem and offered financial assistance (see Ezra 1:1-4). By 520 B.C. the Jews had stopped working on theContinue Reading

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament.  It is difficult to ascertain when this book was written, sometime between 850-200 BC.  Dating this book is based upon the mention of the destruction of Jerusalem and the fact that many of the verses in the text are very similarContinue 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

I must say that I love the Old Testament.  There are just so many stories that relate to our lives.  The story of Elijah and his contest with the priests of Baal is a dramatic example of the power of the Lord over all the earth.  He is the supremeContinue Reading

In class we examined the creation account from the perspective of the youth.  Young people may not be creating worlds, but they certainly can use the Lord as an example of how to accomplish wonderful things in their personal lives.  I asked the students this question, “What is the LordContinue Reading

We taught Moses 1 and used the text to identify where Moses learns his identity.  I asked the youth if they could think of a story, movie, or play where the character learns more about their identity and it changes their views on the world around them.  Many in myContinue Reading