The Scripture Study Project

Esther - Scepter

Years ago in a seminary class where we were studying a scriptural account of a woman, one of the young men blurted out that he felt the lesson didn't apply to the boys in the class because it was about a woman in the scriptures. Immediately one of the older girls in class responded that girls spent much of their scripture study efforts applying lessons learned from stories about men, and that if they could do it, so could he. That young man, hopefully, learned a valuable truth. It is an unfortunate fact that we have precious few records of women's interactions with God in scripture. However, we can make the most of these few accounts by giving them extra attention and appreciating the universal lessons that can be learned by all of us.
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Music: by Steve Oxen

Ezra, Nehemiah - Work

I've spent the last month getting to know and serve with the newly-called seminary teachers in my local stakes. As I talk with these amazing people it's obvious that they feel the weight of undertaking one of the most demanding (and rewarding) callings in the Church. I was thinking about them when I read one of my favorite verses of scripture in this week: Nehemiah 6:3 which says, in part, "I am doing a great work". In this episode we consider our own "great work", whether that's a new calling, building or rebuilding a crucial relationship, tackling a particularly difficult self-improvement project, or ministering to someone in real need, and we'll identify a few places in our study this week that can hold important instructions for each of us.

2 Kings 17-25 - Turn

In the Book of Mormon the prophet Nephi writes, prophetically, that people in a coming day will "trample under their feet…even the very God of Israel." In our bible study this week we see a fulfillment of that as wicked kings in both Israel and Judah turn repeatedly from the Lord to worship of false Gods. If nothing else, the tragic story of the fall of the kings we've been reading over the past weeks shows how difficult real and lasting conversion is. In this episode we highlight three scriptural phrases that can help us make lasting change.
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Music: by Steve Oxen

2 Kings 2-7 - Unprecedented

This week on the Scripture Study Project we start a new month, a new book of scripture (2 Kings), and a new podcast format. We dive into the miracles of Elisha, look at the unprecedented ways in which individuals are asked to show their faith to the Lord, and examine our own faithfulness.
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Music: by Steve Oxen

1 Kings 17-19 - Heard

Years ago, Peggy Worthen, wife of newly installed BYU president Kevin Worthen, spoke to the gathered student body. In her talk she referenced highway 6, a Utah road that leads from Provo to the eastern side of the state, including the famous Arches National Park in Moab. In 1983 this road was blocked as a massive rockslide covered the road and blocked the river causing massive flooding. A new road had to be constructed. Although the temporary inconvenience was major, the newly build road was much wide, much safer, and ultimately a much better path through the mountains. Maybe it's because over the past years of living in the East we have come to appreciate the non-linear, swerving roads that spread like spiderwebs here and contrast sharply with the linear roads of the west, but I loved Sister Worthen's observation that "life is somewhat like Highway 6. Even though life in general is beautiful and scenic, the road we travel will not always be an uneventful, direct course, even when we know where we are going. We have to learn to be flexible and to deal with the unexpected."
In our study this week we look at the unexpected and hope to find a bit flexibility in our relationship with the Lord.
Show Notes:
Peggy Worthen, "An Unexpected Path," BYU Devotional 2014.
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Music: by Steve Oxen

2 Samuel, 1 Kings - Fallen

Then Elder Hinckley told a story in general conference about a time when he worked at a trainyard and heard that a passenger train had arrived without the baggage car. He explained, “We discovered that the train had been properly made up in Oakland, California, and properly delivered to St Louis. . . . But in the St. Louis yards, a thoughtless switchman had moved a piece of steel just three inches. That piece of steel was a switch point, and the car that should have been in Newark, New Jersey, was in New Orleans, Louisiana, thirteen hundred miles away.” This week we take a look at switch points that made a significant and painful difference in the lives of David and Solomon and, by application, can be powerful to notice and avoid ourselves.
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Music: by Steve Oxen

1 Samuel - Ebenezer

I just started a summer institute class in my area (hello to any of my students that are listening) focused on improving our scripture study skills. This week we kicked off class by identifying the two most important questions asked in scripture. In Mosiah 11:27, King Noah asks after hearing about the prophet Abinadi, "Who is Abinadi, that I and my people should be judged of him, or who is the Lord that shall bring up on my people such great affliction?" Similarly, when Alma preaches to the people of Ammonihah they ask in indignation, "Who art thou…?" and "Who is God…?" (Alma 9:2, 6). In this episode we examine one of the most well-known stories in the Bible, David and Goliath, with a fresh perspective and in search of answers to those two questions.
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Music: by Steve Oxen

Ruth - kindness

John 3:16 is one of, if note the most, oft-quoted verses of the Bible: "For God so loved the that He gave his only begotten Son". One of the reasons that verse has become so popular is that it represents a simple summary of a profound truth: God loves the world, including people such as you and me. In this episode we study the powerful story of Ruth that illustrates His love for all of us.
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Music: by Steve Oxen