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Obedience

Windows in Heaven

God’s ability to bless us is unlimited. Our ability to receive those blessings is often the limiting factor. Elisha instructed three kings to dig ditches and a widow to pour oil into as many vessels as she could find. These small acts of obedience didn’t create the blessings, but they created room to receive them.

Obedience

Small Things and Great

Naaman wanted to be healed but envisioned it as a dramatic event. His servants had to help him humble himself and take the simple steps Elisha prescribed. Alma explained that God works through small means. He can make great things happen when we do very small things in obedience to Him.

Resurrection

Resurrections, Temporary and Permanent

Elijah, Elisha, Jesus, and Nephi all raised people from the dead by the power of God. Temporary resurrections help us understand that death is not final and that God has power over it. They also help us understand the Savior’s permanent resurrection.

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  • There Is a Prophet in Israel

    The Prophet Elisha and the Woman of Shunem, by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout

    Moroni taught that God is an unchanging God of miracles:

    And who shall say that Jesus Christ did not do many mighty miracles? And there were many mighty miracles wrought by the hands of the apostles.
    And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

    Mormon 9:18-19

    The reason we sometimes see fewer miracles, Moroni explains, is because there is less faith. Miracles come by faith, and whenever people exercise faith, there will be miracles.

    The ministry of Elisha is a miracle-filled period in Israelite history. Some of the miracles he performed have parallels in the ministry of Jesus, more than 800 years later. For example:

    MiracleElishaJesus
    Raising a woman’s son from the dead2 Kings 4:32-35Luke 7:11-15
    Feeding a multitude with only a few barley loaves2 Kings 4:42-44John 6:5-13
    Healing a leper2 Kings 5:1-14Mark 1:40-42
    Healing from a distance2 Kings 5:10John 4:46-53

    As these examples illustrate, God’s miracles are always available for those who exercise faith. In each of these cases, someone had to act in faith before the miracle occurred.

    This week, as we study the ministry of Elisha, let’s look for lessons from the miracles he performed. Let’s focus particularly on the various ways people invited those miracles by exercising faith.

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  • A Hundredth Part: Mormon’s Editorial Decisions

    A Hundredth Part: Mormon’s Editorial Decisions

    Book of Mormon authors made it clear how much they were leaving out as they wrote this “abridgment” of their history. Here’s a diagram showing how many words are dedicated to each of the 103 decades in the book.

  • Jesus Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful – 3 Nephi 12-16, 20-22

    Jesus Christ’s Sermon at the Temple in Bountiful – 3 Nephi 12-16, 20-22

    Following His death and resurrection, Jesus Christ visited a group of people in the Americas. He taught them principles to help them deepen their discipleship, and He expanded their perspective by teaching them about God’s global, multigenerational work.

  • Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    Names and Titles of Jesus Christ

    In March, 2019, I studied 20 different names or titles of Jesus Christ which appear in the Book of Mormon. I was particularly interested in the way each name was used, both in the Book of Mormon and in the Bible.