“And it came to pass that Abram looked forth and saw the days of the Son of Man, and was glad, and his soul found rest.” JST Gen. 15:12

Some in the scriptures, like Abram (Abraham) or Isaiah had the chance to see the days of Jesus Christ in vision. Others had the opportunity to see and experience the Savior personally while He was on the earth (such as is recorded in the Four Gospels). Others were able to see Jesus when He visited people after His resurrection.

For the rest of us, we have the scriptures as a way to see some of “the days of the Son of Man.” I’m also grateful for the way that I can “see” some of what it might have been like to see His days in vision or in person through media like The Chosen. The more I can see of Christ, the more I can visualize who He is, the more glad I am, and the more rest I feel. As the scriptures teach, He will come again. I want to get to know Him as well as I can now so that when He comes again, He won’t be a stranger to my mind and heart.

I’ve started watching The Chosen again to prepare for Season 3 that will come out this spring. (Did you get to see the bonus Christmas episode they created?) But it’s also a way for me to “come and see.” As I started Episode 1 over the weekend, I was reminded that those at The Chosen encourage us to read the Four Gospels, to go to the text to learn more of Jesus.

Multiply Goodness is an interfaith Bible study group that encourages women to join in small group Bible study and discussion. See if there is a Bible study group near you, or you can start one!

If you would like a free copy of the Bible, or would like to study the Bible with missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can go to ComeUntoChrist.org for either option.

Get a free copy of the Bible.

Study the Bible with missionaries

…Or consider different ways you can study the Bible in a way that works for you or fits your needs right now.

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The post “Come and See” – Learn more about Jesus Christ through The Chosen (“People must know!”) and Bible Study appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

~by Michelle

I can’t even remember now how I found out about The Chosen. Have you heard of it? If not, I highly recommend it.

I have been a Christian my entire life. I love the scriptures. I love learning about Jesus.

But I haven’t always understood how, as the scripture say, to let Him carry my burdens or lighten my load. I think this has bee complicated by the fact that I have dealt with dysthymia (low-level depression) and some degree of anxiety for most of my life. I’ve struggled with perfectionism. I have understood about Jesus in my head, but haven’t always known how to access and feel and surrender to His love and help.

This is an ongoing journey for me, and God is continually helping me discover more about what it means to let Jesus into my life more fully.

The Chosen is one of the ways He is helping me.

I just re-watched what may be my favorite episode of the series so far, if it’s possible to have a favorite. Just yesterday, I was having one of those days where heaven felt far away. I have lived long enough now to know that these kinds of days come for me, and they go. As I keep showing up for my days the best I can on any given day, God always has a way of showing up, in His time and way.

Yesterday, He broke through the clouds and let me know I was seen. This sweet experience came through a conversation with a fellow traveler on the road of faith who is also seeking to understand more how to lean on God for healing help. She doesn’t practice a religion, but believes strongly in the Bible and in God. In our conversation, patterns emerged, mostly about having eyes to see — eyes to see ourselves with more love, eyes to see (and ears to listen to) others, and eyes to see how God can turn all things for our good.

So to finish my day, to let that feeling of being seen settle a little more in my heart, I watched “I Saw You” (Season 2, Episode 2). As has been the case throughout the series, I felt things beyond words, and was taught and nurtured by God’s Spirit. I’d forgotten some of what was in this episode (it’s been several months since I last watched it). It felt good to remember.

I’m grateful to those who use their talents to share their faith, to bring art like The Chosen to the world. I’m especially grateful for how this unique show helps me see and feel and experience more of what it could have been like to walk with Jesus when He was on earth — and to understand more what it can feel like to let Him walk with me in my life now.

p.s. While I was looking up the video to embed, I discovered that tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (1:00 a.m. on Monday, GMT) there will be an update on The Chosen‘s holiday plans. Last year’s Christmas special was incredible, and this year, from what I have heard, they have more gifts to share. I won’t be able to attend the special in-theater experience for health reasons (please be sure to mask up if you go), but I look forward to see how and when they will, as they always do, bring what they have created, to their app and YouTube channel.

Note: I receive nothing for posting about The Chosen. It’s just something I want to share.

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There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a man named Alma. He his friends (sons of a prophet-king named Mosiah) went around trying to dissuade people from believing in God.

They were not unlike Saul in the New Testament, both in terms of what their life’s work was for quite a while (working against the work of God), and also in terms of external events that helped them turn their lives around.

But it wasn’t the heavenly visitation of the Lord or an angel that really helped Paul become a disciple of Christ, or helped Alma and the sons of Mosiah become ambassadors for God. It was a change of heart brought about because of the acceptance of the grace of Jesus Christ and choosing a changed life.

One way we know this is because there were plenty of people in the New Testament who interacted face-to-face with Jesus Himself and were not converted to Him. There are many in the Bible who professed to believe in God but did not follow His ways. Likewise, in the Book of Mormon, there is a story of an angel appearing and not making a difference in people’s lives (two other sons of a prophet, Laman and Lemuel, who never fully got their hearts into following God and ended up at war with those who did…a war that lasted for generations).

We don’t need heavenly messengers to invite us to change. We can invite Jesus into our lives and hearts. “Angels” extending such an invitation (or reminding us of the invitation we’ve already sought to accept) can be people in our lives, or words in scripture coming alive through God’s Spirit, or missionaries sharing the message of mercy available to us all through Jesus Christ, or music touching our heart, or a show like The Chosen giving us a live-action view of what it could have been like to walk with Jesus when He was on earth.

Here is an example of such a story of a simple invitation. The story was shared by a sister missionary serving in the southeast area of the United States. (The man in the story gave permission for the missionary to share his story, but here we will keep his name confidential.)

This missionary and her companion visited with a man who is awaiting trial for a crime. His mind was very weighed down with everything going on and he expressed a desire to make better decisions in his life.

One of the sister missionaries shared Alma’s story in Alma 36. This story helped him feel hope that because of Jesus Christ, he can change. (See also the words in vs. 19 not circled here.)

This story stood out to me all the more so because I recently had two young men about to start their missions (angels in my own life) invite me to read these same verses on a weekend when my mind was weighed down with worry and weariness. I was raised reading the Book of Mormon, but I still felt like God was reaching out to me through this invitation to re-read these verses.

Alma went from a harrowed-up mind to a mind filled with joy. What was the difference? Turning his mind and heart to Jesus Christ. Remembering what his father Alma had taught about Jesus Christ. Allowing the love of Jesus Christ to enter into his mind and heart.

And once he had tasted of this joy, Alma “labored without ceasing” to share that joy in Jesus with others.

24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto ^arepentance; that I might bring them to ^btaste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be ^cborn of God, and be ^dfilled with the Holy Ghost.

There are myriad stories like this in the scriptures. The woman at the well from John 4 in the New Testament is another that comes to mind. She sat with Jesus while He told her about the sins in her life. As He did, she opened her mind and heart to the reality that He was the long-awaited Messiah. And then she left her pot and went to share the glad news with those in her circles.

I’ve been raised on the teachings of Jesus, but I need reminders to keep turning my mind and heart to Him. My mind is all-too-easily weighed down.

Writing is one way I seek to remember.

Pondering all of this also reminds me of a video that was made a few years ago for Easter. It talks about second chances, clean slates, new beginnings. Here’s the link to that video, or it is embedded below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGCbMEmpY4g

There’s a saying that the past is a good predictor of the future. But when a person involves Jesus Christ in his or her or their life, this little saying goes out the window. Those who understand how humans can change (practicing a different focus on the present as a way to be released from the bondage of the past) understand this principle, even when they don’t fully understand (or at least don’t openly teach) that Jesus Christ is the One who makes such change possible. (I’m thinking, for example, of a saying from Eckhardt Tolle written on my mirror: “The past cannot prevail against the power of the now.” (from his book, The Power of Now.) The truth that change is possible is everywhere, in leadership trainings and spiritual movements.

The reason it is possible is because of what Jesus Christ did for us and because of the divinity within us as children of God.

Here’s to new beginnings each day because of the reality of God and Jesus Christ.

The post #BecauseOfHim Every Day can be a New Beginning appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Times are tough the world over. COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc in the lives of individuals, families, and countries. Many people are suffering economic or other hardships. Many countries suffer from unrest or war. It can be difficult to stay centered when news headlines remind us of all that is unsettled in our world.

But there are things we can do to invite God into our lives to find more peace. Seeking peace isn’t just a benefit for ourselves; those who are at peace within themselves are more able to help others as well.

One way to do this is to read the word of God in scripture, such as the Bible. Reading from the Old and New Testaments with a desire to have God speak to us can open up insights about His love and nature. Reading the stories of people who went through hard things in scripture and found God’s help and strength can help us find hope for our own lives. Knowing that since the beginning of time, humans have gone through hard things and have been able to learn and grow from them can give us courage to carry on through our own hard times.

There is another book of scripture, called Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This book, the Book of Mormon, spans 1000 years of history, from about 600 B.C. to 400 A.D. It’s a record of a branch of the House of Israel that was guided from the Old World to the New (around the time of Jeremiah). It includes a record of Jesus Christ visiting the descendants of those so guided. He appeared after His resurrection and let the people feel the scars of the nails in His hands and feet — much like He allowed His apostles to do in the New Testament when He appeared to them. This account in the Book of Mormon shows that He allowed 2500 people to do the same! He didn’t reserve this special experience of witnessing His resurrection one by one to only a select few.

Even as I write that, I feel a sense of wonder and peace. Jesus wants us all to have experiences with Him. As we seek to learn about Him in scripture, we can “Come and See” more of who He is, and come to know through the witness of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) that He is real. He lives.

And students of the Bible know that He will come again. The more we can learn about Him and find Him now in our hard and good times, the more we’ll be ready to receive Him when He comes again.

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