Avraham’s Mailbox

Question: My wife is Native American. Being of Manasseh, she would like to know something about Manasseh & Ephraim and what they were promised as blessings? And what are the titles of books we could read about them? Thank you. Answer: In Jacob’s birthright blessing of Ephraim in Genesis 48:19, Jacob mentions that Ephraim (or […]

Question: If we (LDS) are the covenant people in the scriptures how did Brigham Young and everyone after him obtain the keys necessary for baptism if he/they did not rise to the level of a prophet? How do we have the keys to perform this basic ordinance? Can we still be labeled as covenant people

Question: I’m trying to understand the marring of the end-time servant. It seems to me that it is the apostate people of Jehovah, the drunkards of Ephraim, who actually do the “marring.” Is this correct? Answer: The context of Jesus’ comments about his end-time servant’s being marred “because of them”—that is, because of those who

Question: My instinct tells me not everything we are taught is true. There are so many confusing voices these days. What is the best way to search the scriptures to find out if something is true? Answer: A simple way to search the scriptures and determine for yourself if something is true is to use

Question: I have always wanted to follow the prophet but I’m having difficulty doing so recently. My friends say the prophet will never lead people astray because if he did the Lord would take him away. Is this true? Answer: The beliefs that we should follow a prophet and that a prophet of God won’t

Question: Can you give the signs needed to identify the “Endtime or Davidic servant”? Will his coming be easily detected? Answer: Because the servant is “hidden” from the world for the purpose of testing God’s people at the time God calls him, I tend to stay away from talking about this person’s identity other than

Question: What is the Lord’s “Strange Work” in Isaiah 28:21? Answer: Word links in the Book of Isaiah show that the Lord’s “work” or “act” (Isaiah 5:19; 10:12; 40:10; 45:9; 62:11) is twofold: (1) the destruction of the wicked; and (2) the deliverance of the righteous. Both define the Lord’s “great and marvelous work” in

Question: Can you give the signs needed to identify the “Endtime or Davidic servant”? Will his coming be easily detected? Answer: Because the servant is “hidden” from the world for the purpose of testing God’s people at the time God calls him, I tend to stay away from talking about this person’s identity other than

Question: I’ve encountered a lot of division on the topic of Isaiah. How do you account for that? Answer: Isaiah’s words are themselves divisive as they predict a great division among God’s people prior to Jehovah’s coming to reign on the earth. Isaiah uses different kinds of imagery to describe this, such as a Covenant

Question: Our gospel doctrine teacher, a BYU professor, told us he can’t understand Isaiah’s symbolisms. He said he also heard a general authority say it isn’t necessary to understand Isaiah.  Why then did Jesus command we should search his words diligently?  Answer: Isaiah’s symbolisms are an important part of his prophecies and teachings about the

Many who read in the scriptures of people “fighting against Zion” may assume they refer only to non-members of the church. A search, however, may disabuse our minds on that subject. First, “He that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they

Question: I was intrigued by your email concerning VOG. I have no problem at all believing in visions, NDEs, etc. What gives me pause are those who purport to see things that happen to the world at large. Isn’t that what prophets are for? Do regular Joes like you and I have standing to receive