Lesson 3: “I Had Seen a Vision” #DandC2017

January 10, 2017 by

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of class, students will be able to:

  1. Describe the religious and cultural context in which Joseph Smith had his First Vision.
  2. Compare the various accounts of the First Vision.
  3. Summarize the relevance of the First Vision to contemporary Mormon belief and practice.

Vermont, New York, and Religious Liberty

Joseph lived in Vermont until he was about 10. In Vermont, there was no state-established church. Rather, each town could select its own minister, effectively establishing a church. Most towns chose a Congregationalist (or “Puritan”) minister.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: D&C 2013, Modernly Revealed, Mormon, Scriptures Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Gospel Topics Essays Lessons: Book of Mormon and Book of Abraham

August 5, 2015 by

For the last several months, my ward has had monthly priesthood lessons on the Gospel Topics essays that the church has released over the last year or so. I teach in Primary, so I haven’t been to most of them. A friend taught the Race and the Priesthood essay in June, though, and invited me to his class; he did an excellent job, and it was well-received.

And then, three weeks ago, he asked if I’d teach a class. My topics? Book of Mormon and DNA Studies, Book of Mormon Translation, and Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham. (If only the class had been two Sundays later … ) [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anciently Revealed, Church Hacker, EQ/HP, Joseph Smith Era, Mormon, Mormon Studies, Scriptures Tagged With: , ,