When Oliver Cowdery failed to translate the Book of Mormon, the Lord told him why he failed: “Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But behold, I say unto you that you must study it out in your mind, then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right, I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.” T&C 1:JSH 13:26. That explanation for his failure has informed everything I have done when inquiring of the Lord. I do not go with an inquiry asking for the Lord to just fill in a blank. Instead I carefully, and sometimes painstakingly study a matter until I believe I have reached the right decision before making any inquiry expecting the Lord to answer. Some inquiries have required years of study. Sometimes it has taken months. It is rare indeed when the inquiry has been made with only a few days of pondering and reflecting.

It is more often than not I learn that my conclusion is incorrect, or incomplete, and the answer serves to correct and inform me. It is less often the case that I have reached a conclusion the Lord approves.

There is a statement from the Lord in the Answer to Prayer for Covenant I’ve been asked to explain many times by people wondering how this is to be accomplished. People want to learn the “Lord’s part” about a dispute. The full statement is this: “Study to learn how to respect your brothers and sisters and to come together by precept, reason, and persuasion, rather than sharply disputing and wrongly condemning each other, causing anger. Take care how you invoke my name. Mankind has been controlled by the adversary through anger and jealousy, which has led to bloodshed and the misery of many souls. Even strong disagreements should not provoke anger, nor to invoke my name in vain as if I had part in your every dispute. Pray together in humility and together meekly present your dispute to me, and if you are contrite before me, I will tell you my part.” T&C 157:54.

Here is how I understand the process required for anyone to learn the Lord’s part in a dispute:
First: “Study to learn how to respect your brothers and sisters and to come together by precept, reason, and persuasion,” This is more than learning you disagree with someone. The admonition to “study to learn” is a challenge. The challenge then requires the people who disagree to respectfully “come together” –a step that requires active participation and direct involvement. It is not accomplished by silence or refusing to participate. The words “come together” have built within them the challenge to meet and talk directly with differing sides.

But coming together is not where the preliminary assignment ends. When people come together they are then to use “precept, reason and persuasion” in a mutual, respectful presentation of their different sides. Each one owes the other some explanation for their viewpoint. The explanation requires precept (providing some scripture, moral, or ethical foundation for their idea), reason (expounding why they believe the precept requires their conclusion) and persuasion (presenting their explanation using practical, common sense and supporting thought to appeal to the other party).

Along the way, the parties are warned about the wrongs to be avoided: “sharply disputing and wrongly condemning each other, causing anger.” Parties must NOT sharply dispute; wrongly condemn each other, or insult the other party if they expect to learn the Lord’s part. Meaning that the exchange should give each side enough space to talk freely, and let the stream of conversation happen without animosity.

Then we are also warned to “take care how you invoke [the Lord’s] name” because nothing is perhaps more effective in ending an open discussion than asserting the Lord is on one person’s side. If you “know” that you are right because you got an answer to prayer, how can you possibly decide to be open to persuasion, reason and another unconsidered precept? Invoking the Lord’s name terminates the process. And the process is provided in order to let us successfully come together. This is so important a caution that it is then followed with these words: “Mankind has been controlled by the adversary through anger and jealousy, which has led to bloodshed and the misery of many souls. Even strong disagreements should not provoke anger, nor to invoke my name in vain as if I had part in your every dispute.” The Lord is actually distancing Himself from our vain, petty disagreements. He is warning us to not automatically include His part to vindicate ourselves and our uninformed opinions about serious matters. He even cautions us about the final outcome of these failures to come together in the past: Anger. Jealousy. Bloodshed. Misery. That path is to be avoided, and He has instructed us how to avoid it. Provided we will listen and apply His process.

If the process has been followed, and both sides understand each other, then each will know what precept justifies their view, and what precept justifies the other side’s preferred answer. Both sides will know how their view and the opposing view is supported by reasoning. Both sides will understand how persuasive their position is, or what weaknesses have been identified by the other viewpoint. And both sides will likewise understand fully the strength and weaknesses of the other side.

When you understand the other side’s precepts, reasoning and have listened to their persuasion, it is likely that both parties are finally ready to come together in humility. The Lord’s direction then assumes the parties have been humbled enough to recognize they may be wrong and the other side may be right. In that circumstance the parties are finally ready for the Lord to act. This is what the Lord promises after the groundwork has been fully prepared: “Pray together in humility and together meekly present your dispute to me, and if you are contrite before me, I will tell you my part.”

I haven’t yet heard of anyone qualifying to receive the Lord’s part. Quite the contrary, whenever I’ve been asked it has been by someone wanting to win an argument and hoping to provoke the Lord into taking their side. I doubt anyone will ever qualify to learn the Lord’s part so long as they behave as Oliver Cowdery and “take no thought” about what the Lord actually expects of us.

When a single generation of mankind filled the earth with violence, God took notice: “But the earth was corrupt before God and it was filled with violence. And God looked upon it, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh has come before me; for the earth is filled with violence, and behold, I will destroy all flesh from off the earth.” OC Gen. 5:12. There is a difference between the corruption and the violence. Violence was a result of the corruption. Mankind had lost their way, drifted into confusion, were unable to distinguish between right and wrong, so much so that they disagreed and became angry with one another over what was right and wrong.

Enoch, looking down from on high recorded: “he heard a loud voice saying, Woe, woe unto the inhabitants of the earth. And he beheld Satan, and he had a great chain in his hand, and he veiled the whole face of the earth with darkness; and he looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.” OC Gen. 4:15. The “chain” that Satan employed to cover the whole face of the earth with darkness was made of lies.

There is a growing fog of darkness impairing the ability of even religious people to distinguish between right and wrong, truth and error, and principles to value and those to discard. This is to be expected. It was foretold by Christ:

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When its branches are yet tender and it begins to put forth leaves, you know that summer is near at hand. So likewise, my elect, when they shall see all these things, they shall know that he is near, even at the doors. But of that day and hour no one knows — no, not the angels of God in Heaven, but my Father only.
But as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man, for it shall be with them as it was in the days which were before the flood. For until the day that Noah entered into the ark, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” NC Matt. 11:10-11.

The violence of today is another sign along the downward trek into corruption that will mirror the days of Noah. It will eventually become more widespread. So much so that there will be a single place, alone and apart from the anger and corruption that leads to violence: “And it shall come to pass among the wicked that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety, and there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven, and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.” T&C 31:15. Of course that prophecy makes the commandment given recently in the Lord’s Answer to Prayer for Covenant all the more ominous and cautionary: “Study to learn how to respect your brothers and sisters and to come together by precept, reason, and persuasion, rather than sharply disputing and wrongly condemning each other, causing anger. Take care how you invoke my name. Mankind has been controlled by the adversary through anger and jealousy, which has led to bloodshed and the misery of many souls. Even strong disagreements should not provoke anger, nor to invoke my name in vain as if I had part in your every dispute.” T&C 157:54.

Anger, disagreements, pride, fear, jealousy and condemnation of one another will not be part of Zion. The exact opposite is required. Otherwise any gathering would look like just another failed attempt by mankind to produce utopia. One possible way to understand T&C 31’s prophecy is that the only way to calm people down, sober them up from their pride, jealousy and bickering, it will be required to flee from violence. They will have a choice: take up the sword or die, on the one hand, or flee to Zion on the other hand. These will be the only options. After all, we can learn by precept (which hardly happens) or from sad experience. The virtue of sad experience is that it does truly inform us by the lesson we endure.

I gave a talk in Caldwell, Idaho today at a conference. The transcript of the talk is now downloadable on this website as the latest entry on the downloads site.

Organizers for an upcoming conference have asked me to post their notice, which follows below:

Hello everyone!

We’re putting together a thoughtful discussion for the upcoming Women’s Session at the “Rejoice 2025” General Conference—and we’d love your input.

If you’ve ever been part of a women’s council—whether you helped organize one, participated on the council, chose not to, or were the person it was called for—we’d be so grateful if you’d take a few minutes to fill out this form.

The goal isn’t to focus on specific councils or decisions, but to learn from the past so future councils can be approached with more clarity, compassion, and care. We want to hear what worked, what felt hard, and what we can all do better going forward. 

Your responses will stay completely confidential and will only be seen by the organizers of the upcoming session. The insights we gather will be shared in a general way—no names, no specific details—just meaningful lessons that can help guide future conversations.

** Please note, there are 4 sections of questions:
Section 1 is just the introduction
Section 2 is for those who have organized a council
Section 3 is for those who have participated on a council
Section 4 is for those who have been asked to participate, but felt to decline
Section 5 is for those who have been the subject of a council

You do NOT need to answer all the questions, just the ones that pertain to the way you’ve participated in a council. So feel free to skip to the section that applies to you and then submit the form. No questions are “required” and each section is 10 questions or less. 

Here’s the link to share your experience:
 Fill Out Form

Thank you so much for being part of this. Your voice really matters.

PS. If you need to contact us with additional questions, you can email us at:
[email protected]

The opportunity to order any of the new scriptures will end on July 26th, nine days from now. Because the only copies that will be produced are those ordered in advance, once the ordering ends there will be no opportunity to later purchase a copy.

Ordering can be done through this link: https://scriptures.shop/special-order/2nd-edition/

I’ve been asked several times about how the Book of Abraham is to be referenced in the Second Edition of the RE Scriptures. Those working on the project have also been asked repeatedly. Because of these frequent inquiries, this is intended to let everyone know how it is being handled.

I’ve pointed out in a talk that the text of the Book of Abraham discusses events that happened prior to Abraham’s entry into Egypt. The account ends with him at the border of Egypt, and before he entered into the Egyptian kingdom. That talk can be read here: The Religion of the Fathers

In the talk I suggested the text of the Book of Abraham should be read in the account of Genesis expanding Gen. 6, paragraph 8 through Gen. 7, first two sentences of paragraph 4. (References using the RE Edition of scripture.) Those comments resulted in a proposal that was voted on in the last conference. The proposal asked if there should be something done to acknowledge that placement in the upcoming new edition of the scriptures. The vote determined by a single vote to do something about acknowledging the placement.

Looking at the vote totals after the conference, 147 voted FOR doing something, and 146 voted AGAINST doing anything to acknowledge this placement. One vote separated the FOR from the AGAINST. Then two options were voted on about how to then do the acknowledgment. After a total of 293 votes were cast, neither option about how to include a reference received enough votes to be approved. Only 73 of the 293 votes favored putting the entire text in Genesis. That is less than a majority of the total 293 votes, and even less than a majority of the 147 votes in favor of doing something to acknowledge where the text belongs. Only 65 voted for the other option: to acknowledge placement using an asterisk. That, too, was less than a majority of either the total or those voting FOR acknowledgement.

Once the issue was ambiguously decided I was asked how to solve the dilemma. Something in Genesis needed to be done, because the vote favored some acknowledgement. But how to do so was left unresolved by the voice of the people. I spent time weighing what to do, reached a reasoned conclusion, prayed about the resolution, and then responded to the people working on typesetting the text that there needed to be some acknowledgement in the text, because it passed. And since how to accomplish that was not approved by a majority vote, the minimum way to respect the vote would be to include in Genesis a reference stating: “Gen. 6:8-7:4 RE expanded by the Book of Abraham T&C 145.” That is how the text of the Book of Abraham will be referenced in the text of Genesis of the Second Edition of the scriptures. That language will be printed in red ink to call attention to the insertion.

I was asked to put up information about ongoing discussions being held by women. Below is what I received and am posting without any edit:

The dates for our meetings land on full and new moons. On July 10th, we will begin discussing the provisional document accepted last November. We will also be discussing tools for peaceful communication, how to meet each other’s needs, and the God’s Covenant People talk.

All women are invited to attend, reason, and share their concerns. Husbands are welcome to listen in.

This is the link that will be used for all upcoming Zoom meetings:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82216845055?pwd=eMc3yz0Q33guYXVz8KGYONpLDmjFuL.1

Upcoming Zoom Dates:

🌕 July 10 – Thursday 7:00 P.M. (MDT) 🌑 July 24 – Thursday 7:00 P.M. (MDT)

🌕 August 9 – Saturday 9:00 A.M. (MDT) 🌑 August 23 – Saturday 9:00 A.M. (MDT)

🌕 September 8 – Monday 6:00 P.M. (MDT) 🌑 September 21 – Sunday 4:00 P.M. (MDT)

🌕 October 7 – Tuesday 7:00 P.M. (MDT) 🌑 October 21 – Tuesday 7:00 P.M. (MDT)

🌕November 5 – Wednesday 6:00 P.M. (MDT) 🌑November 19 – Wednesday 6:00 P.M. (MDT)

This coming Labor Day Weekend (August 29-30) there will be a Conference in Boise, Idaho. Information about the Conference is available on this website: Let Us Rejoice!

The main activities will happen in Meridian, Idaho, but Boise and Meridian are now so interconnected it’s just easier to say “Boise” (and the same is true of several other adjoining communities). There are family activities, teen and women activities, and a lot of informal time for meeting and getting to know each other.

Many of past conferences have not allowed people to connect with one another, and the organizers of this Conference have planned to address that omission. The website explains: “We have purposely kept this conference loosely structured so that you can make and explore new connections with fellow believers, spend time with those you already know, and plan activities that YOU want to do.” That is an interesting idea I look forward to seeing implemented.

Often people choose not to attend a conference because it is live-streamed over the Internet. Because of the informal opportunities at this Conference, unless you attend in person you will miss much of the value intended by the organizers.

I look forward to attending, and hope to meet some of you for the first time.

I got an inquiry about how the Second Edition will differ from the First. There have been a number of corrections made to the scriptures online that will be incorporated into the Second Edition. Those are set out on the scriptures website and linked here:

https://scriptures.info/Scriptures/ChangeTracking

Other differences are explained in the PreOrder link that is provided in the prior post. Inserting the KJV Bible chapter and verse numbering in the text, as well as LDS versification for both the Book of Mormon/Covenant of Christ and D&C/T&C as navigation tools is another important addition. It will allow someone using these scriptures to immediately locate a Bible citation for discussions with Christians and LDS citations for discussions with Mormons. But the Second Edition retains the Restoration Edition chapters and paragraphs. It is the Restoration Edition chapters and paragraphs that mirror and preserve the original context of the scriptures themselves. Ministers, missionaries and even theologians have used isolated sentences or phrases (verses) to justify doctrines and teachings with insufficient respect for context. The scriptures need to be understood as a whole. And restoring paragraphs help to clarify context in a way that versification into phrases or sentences lacks.

A limited number of the second edition of our scriptures will be available to preorder now. The place where preordering is available is at this website:

https://scriptures.shop/special-order/2nd-edition

These will be printed by the world’s best printer of scriptures, and will be durable, larger print, and last for more than a lifetime. The linked website provides an explanation of the specific details for this second edition. It is hard to picture just how good a job this printer does, but an effort is being made to take samples to various meetings to let people examine them.

We do not have any guarantee there will be another leatherbound print copy made in the future. The contents will be available continuously as print on demand paperback versions.

After years of developments, including the recent conference voting adding new materials to the scriptures, a second edition of the Restoration Edition is going to be printed. There will be three volumes: Old Covenants (the Old Testament), New Covenants (the New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Glossary of Terms), and Modern Covenants (Teachings and Commandments and Covenant of Christ).

The first edition was printed in India. The second edition will be printed by the world’s highest quality Bible printer, Royal Jongbloed. A complete explanation of the second edition will be provided along with a link for pre-orders soon.

In the Testimony of St. John, the Samaritan woman at the well was taught about salvation by Christ. His disciples were offended that He would even speak with the woman, but the testimony we have from that encounter preserves a perfect statement of Christ’s mission.

Quoting from the 4th chapter, Christ said: “You Samaritans do not understand God, although you claim to worship Him. Those who follow me know how to worship. Salvation does not belong to the Jews, but instead will come from a Messiah rejected by the Jews. The hour has arrived when the true worshipers are being taught how to worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father wants mankind to know Him. The Father will share his Spirit with those who know him. His Spirit is truth and light. And they who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
The woman said to him, I know that a Messiah is prophesied to come, and when he comes he will restore all that has been lost since the time of Adam. Jesus responded, I am he: I am come to restore, to repair, to redeem, and I am come to gather.” T&C 171: TSJ 4:5-6.

When Christ came to live among the Jews He was here to restore, repair, redeem and gather. When He ministered to the Nephites He was serving the same purpose. When He revealed Himself from heaven to Joseph Smith, again Christ was on that same mission.

Now, again today, Christ is working to restore, repair, redeem and gather. His mortal mission did not complete that restoration, and the faithful failed to gather to build Zion. In Joseph’s day the Lord again restored, but not fully. He also repaired, but not fully. He tried to gather, but it did not result in Zion.

Christ has explained His mission in Samaria. He has repeatedly engaged on His mission at different times and among different people. But mankind has not been willing to let Him complete the work of restoring, repairing, redeeming and gathering. It remains an open question of when the Lord will have people willing to allow Him to finish His mission.

When Nicodemus approached Christ he wanted the Lord to furnish some proof that He was indeed the Messiah. As a recognized religious leader among the Jews, Nicodemus occupied a precarious position: He didn’t want to accept Christ when the other Jewish leaders rejected Him, but he also didn’t want to reject the Messiah if Christ were indeed the one foretold in prophecy.

Christ explained the matter by referring to prophecy: “They told you I would come, and I am now here doing what was prophesied, but you refuse to see it happening. Enough is underway that rejecting it means you prefer darkness to light. Humble yourself and admit the prophets foretold the very things now underway; repent and be baptized and the Spirit of Truth will open your eyes. If you want greater light, you will obey this instruction. If you refuse, then you never meant it when you greeted me as an enlightened heavenly guide.” T&C 171: TSJ 2:4.

Fulfilling prophecy in plain sight does not mean people can recognize it. Far more often it remains debated, rejected or unaccepted rather than welcomed.

There will be a Youth Retreat in Manti, Utah on June 19-23. The website providing details is linked here: Youth Retreat 2025

The retreat will include, among other things, Morning Devotionals, Firesides, Youth Dance, Maple Canyon (Hiking / Rock Climbing), Palisade Reservoir, Youth-led Open Discussion on Gospel Questions and other things designed to bring the youth a worthwhile time.

It requires registration, so please click on the link and look at the website.

There is to come a time when those who are in the New Jerusalem, dwelling with the Lord, have this promise: “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.” NC Rev. 8:8. That will be then. But this is now. And implicit in this prophetic foretelling is that during our lives here there are tears in our eyes. There is death, relentlessly stalking us all. And we will face sorrow and crying. The promise of the ‘silver lining’ forces us to recognize the ‘cloud’ we must confront.

When death claims a close one we get sober about life, at least for a little while. But we return to life and forget that its claim on distant friends, and then closer friends, and then older family members, and then intimate friends and close family members all remind us, sometimes shock us, into recognizing that death will claim us all. It came this week to take another loved one from me.

Because the wages of sin is death (NC Romans 1:28), we all deserve to die. We are not spotless before God. He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance (T&C 54:5). We have been put into a place where we need to be rescued. The Savior achieved that needed rescue when He offered Himself as a ransom for us. “And so we see that all mankind had fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice — indeed, God’s justice — which forever relegated them to be cut off from His presence. Now the plan of mercy couldn’t be brought about unless an atonement were made. Therefore God Himself will atone for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to meet the demands of justice, so that God can be a perfectly just God, and a merciful God as well.” CoC Alma 19:14-15.

We celebrate our rescue today. He is risen! He is triumphant! “[T]he Lord was triumphant, exultant, overjoyed at His return from the grave! … I was shown the scene and do not have words to adequately communicate how complete the feelings of joy and gratitude were which were felt by our Lord that morning. As dark and terrible were the sufferings through which He passed, the magnitude of which is impossible for man to put into words, these feelings of triumph were, on the other hand, of equal magnitude in their joy and gratitude. I do not think it possible for a mortal to feel a fullness of either. And, having felt some of what He shares with His witnesses, I know words are inadequate to capture His feelings on the morning of His resurrection. He had the deep satisfaction of having accomplished the most difficult assignment given by the Father, knowing it was a benefit to all of His Father’s children, and it had been done perfectly.” T&C 161:29. This moment of His great victory is what He intends to share with all His followers who repent, are baptized and obey His commandments. Those who will inhabit the New Jerusalem have this same victory ahead for them. May we all take the rescue He offers us seriously, and choose to part with our own sins and follow Him.

Easter is the yearly reminder that we are offered the opportunity to join fully in the joy of our Lord.