Question: I recently watched a podcast that claimed the servant Jesus speaks of in 3 Nephi 21:8–10 is the prophet Joseph Smith. Why can’t the prophet Joseph Smith be the servant in Isaiah 52:13–15 of whom Jesus is speaking? Answer: There are two identified as Jehovah’s (or Jesus’) servant in the Book of Isaiah: (1) […]
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Paul and Silas’ missionary experience with the Jews in the synagogue at Berea reveals a telling contrast between the early saints who searched the scriptures daily to determine what God was saying in his Word and those who remained content to listen to the brethren’s preaching: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in
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Nephi sees that “because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine”—which “pervert the right way of the Lord”—the endtime Gentiles “have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by
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Question: Who are the saints and covenant people of the Lord mentioned in 1 Nephi 14:14, on whom the power of the Lamb descends, and has that happened yet as some have announced over the pulpit? Answer: The scripture you are referencing says, “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of
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A dear friend received three signs of the end-time from Elder Neal A. Maxwell before his death more than twenty years ago, which I cite here with my friend’s permission: First, there will occur division in the nation followed by division in the church. Second, a power in the Middle East will gain the capacity
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The era of righteousness and peace that followed Jesus’ visit to the Nephites forms a type of Jesus’ universal millennial reign. The organization of the church that he instituted among the Nephites foreshadows the millennial organization of the kingdom of God on the earth. In that sense, the “gospel of the kingdom” that would be
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Question: Can you explain the current armed conflict between Palestinians and Israelis from an Israeli perspective and how that possibly relates to latter-day scriptures? Answer: When I lived in Israel five years, the last two as an Israeli citizen, I was informed that it takes two years’ living in Israel to understand this conflict that
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Just as in Jewish tradition the best man at a wedding blows the shofar or trumpet to herald the bridegroom’s arrival, so God’s end-time servant personifies the “trumpet” and “ensign” that heralds the coming of Jehovah and rallies God’s people to gather together for the marriage feast. Isaiah 18:3 All you who live in the
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Question: If the casting out of evil spirits was common in the past, and human nature doesn’t change, why isn’t the casting out of evil spirits common today, such as in priesthood blessings, instead of resorting to drugs for abnormal behavioral problems? Answer: As many people can testify, the phenomenon of evil spirits exists today
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When, at Joshua’s command, “the sun stood still” and the Israelites slew the Amorites for an entire day, we might ask if the sun actually stood still or if another, unseen phenomenon was at work: “Then spoke Joshua to Jehovah in the day when Jehovah delivered up the Amorites before the people of Israel, and
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When Isaiah says, “Turn away, depart; touch nothing defiled as you leave [Babylon]. Come out of her and be pure, you who bear Jehovah’s vessels. But you shall not leave in haste or go in flight: Jehovah will go before you, the God of Israel behind you” (Isaiah 52:11–12), what is his definition of “pure”
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Question: Do Isaiah and other scriptures say what causes the “great division” at the time the Jews and Lamanites believe in Christ and the words of Isaiah are fulfilled as predicted by Nephi in 2 Nephi 30:4–18? Answer: A part of what causes the division Nephi predicts appears in his prophecy itself, namely that “The
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