Meridian Magazine--Come Follow Me Latter-day Saint Podcast

Today we begin study of the largest book in the Old Testament. Surprisingly, it is Psalms with 97 pages of moving poetry that particularly explores our inner journey in seeking to find God. These are prayers, prophecy, wisdom, exultations, laments and pleadings for relief. It is a very ancient book where we can find immense comfort today.

When we lead our tours to the Holy Land, we will inevitably pull out some humor from the Biblical sources, attempting to create memories of laughter in remote parts of the tour. Our Bible jokes are many and varied and of a quality that only a dad could appreciate. “Who is the great tennis player of the Bible? Of course, everyone knows it’s Joseph, because he served in Pharoah’s courts! And who was the great comedian of the Bible? It was Sampson. He brought the house down! And what kind of man was Boaz before he got married? Ruthless! … I’m waiting for all of you to finish laughing. And then we pull out the most obvious one: Who was the greatest doctor of the Bible? Some contend it was Job, because he had a lot of ‘patience.’ But most would agree it’s Moses because he delivered all the children of Israel! All humor aside, we know that the greatest physician in the Bible is the Savior Himself—the one who can heal each of us. This week we will see some of the ways that Job reminds us of Jesus and leads us to Him.

As a scholar said, “Once it happened that the crafty was taken in his own trap, the falsely condemned were saved, and the worthy were rewarded. It is not always so.” Perhaps [the] story [in Esther which we study today] has endured because it has given the comfort of hope to other oppressed people” [and demonstrates God in the details of our lives.] Although God is not expressly mentioned in the book of Esther, there appears to be evidence in it of the God whom Job describes, who can ‘set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.’”( Job 5:11-12 ). Ellis Rasmussen, Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament.

I’ve tried to contemplate the feelings of our ancient brothers and sisters in Jerusalem, who, after 371 years of having a glorious temple, watched as the temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and his forces, and those who survived the destructions were taken captive to Babylon in 586 BC. The temple was the holiest place for them, a place where they drew near unto God, a place where they offered sacrifices and renewed their covenants and commitments to Jehovah. How their hearts were broken, their hopes dashed in an instant. It seemed to me like a far-gone, untouchable experience to contemplate until one late Wednesday evening, on July 9, 2003, we started receiving urgent messages and devastating notes from Apia (aw pee’ a), Samoa—the Temple was on fire and burning out of control!

Many years ago I was dealing with a very difficult challenge in our lives. I prayed and prayed and prayed about it. I fasted about it. I was so in need of heavenly help. And then, what seemed like the most obscure answer came to me. It was unexpected. It was very specific. It changed everything. We’ll talk about it in today’s podcast!