SCRIPTURE CENTRAL: New Episode of A Marvelous Work; Temple Work Without Temples; Helping LDS Youth

Check out this week’s newest videos, podcasts, and articles from Scripture Central. We hope you will find them spiritually uplifting and edifying.

The Book of Mormon is a Literary Masterpiece | A Marvelous Work Episode 4

This episode follows Scott Christopher to the UK, where he explores connections between literary geniuses and the Book of Mormon’s claims. Scott dives deep into Chiasmus, speaks to a Jewish scholar, and explores the fascinating science of Stylometry, all whilst exploring the haunts of some of the greatest authors of all time.

Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones

LDS Youth Are Struggling — “Let’s Start Here” – Church Leaders

What are Latter-day Saint leaders saying about mental health? To find out, Stephen joins Sister Tamara Runia of the General Young Women’s presidency; Elder William K. Jackson, General Authority Seventy; and Sister Reyna E. Aburto, former Relief Society General Presidency counselor. Our youth are struggling, and we’re all wondering what to do. Join us as we explore options for the best way forward. This was filmed at the Gather Together Conference in August 2023.

Let’s Get Real with Stephen Jones

LDS Grammy Winner Reconciles Painful Past in an Unexpected Way

After uncovering controversial and lesser-known stories about Black pioneers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Mauli, feeling embarrassed about his ignorance, is inspired to become a film writer and director. His mission: To craft an enlightening film that breaks the silence. Despite facing societal hesitation to confront painful, controversial histories, Mauli aims to use the film’s proceeds to fund a monument at This is the Place, transforming his newfound knowledge into a beacon of awareness and reconciliation.

Church History Matters

Temple Work Without Temples

Beginning in 1846, thousands of Latter-day Saints left Nauvoo, Illinois and trekked over 1,000 miles west to the Salt Lake Valley. Having of necessity abandoned the Nauvoo temple for which they had worked so hard and sacrificed so much, they were now a temple-centered people without a temple. Now, they certainly would go on to build more temples, the first of which would be the St. George Temple, completed in 1877. But how would they do temple-related work in the meantime? In this episode of Church History Matters, Casey and I walk through the unique story of how temple work continued during that thirty-year season in Utah of no temples, where church leaders used Ensign Peak, a multipurpose building called the Council House, a one-of-a-kind building called the Endowment House, and administrative offices for these purposes. We’ll also highlight some important takeaways from church leaders’ response to the crushing government legislation they faced in the late 1880s when forced with the decision of losing all temples or ending the practice of plural marriage.

King Benjamin’s Literary Influence on Later Prophets in the Book of Mormon

The famous speech King Benjamin gave from his tower near the Nephite temple was certainly well received by his people: “And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us” (Mosiah 5:2). However, what may be less clear to the casual observer is how well received Benjamin’s teachings were by succeeding Nephite generations.

KnoWhy: Why Does King Benjamin Deny Being More than a Man?

Some aspects of King Benjamin’s speech, given at the temple to announce Mosiah as the next king, may seem odd to modern readers. One such example is the explicit statement that Benjamin did not want the people to “think that I of myself am more than a mortal man” (Mosiah 2:10). Throughout the ancient world, the belief that kings were in some way divine was prevalent, and it was commonly believed that when kings were coronated they became gods. In the immediate context of King Benjamin’s speech, we learn that Benjamin viewed rulership far differently than did many of the neighboring civilizations with which the Nephites may have been familiar.

Evidence: Helaman’s Fainting Soldiers

The story of Helaman’s two thousand stripling warriors and their miraculous preservation is well-known to Latter-day Saints. Yet many have probably never considered the implications of two hundred of these faithful warriors fainting due to their battle and wounds, only to miraculously recover. This article explores the scientific and symbolic significance of this astonishing event.

Sunday School

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