Sweet Symbols of the Savior

1. Sweet Symbols of the Savior BROTHERERIC Richards @Brotherichards @Brotherichards @Brotherichards Got questions? Have a story to share? Need a speaker? eric@brotherichards.com

2. What similarities are there in the 430 years between “Abraham=>Moses” and “Malachi=>Jesus”? Abraham was told that his descendants would end up as slaves in a foreign country and that God would release them from bondage (Genesis 15:12 - 16). 430 years later, on the 15th day of the first month (Exodus 12:40 – 41) this prophecy was fulfilled. On the same (15th day of the first month in 30 A.D.), 430 years after Malachi, Jesus was born.

3. The Sea of Galilee The Dead Sea • 9 times saltier than normal ocean water. • No life • Rich with exotic plant and animals (20 types of fish) • Has supported the lives of many for over two millennia. Why is one sea so ‘alive’ and the other so ‘dead’? What’s the principle?

4. Which ancestors have some ‘history’ behind them? • What does Jesus’ lineage say to you about your lineage?

5. Genealogy Application:What does it mean to me? “God actively intervenes in some destructive lineages, assigning a valiant spirit to break the chain of destructiveness in such families. Although these children may suffer innocently, they find the strength to “metabolize” the poison within themselves, refusing to pass it on to future generations. Before them were generations of destructive pain; but after them the line flows clear and pure. Their children and children’s children will call them blessed.”(Calfred Broderick, Ensign, Aug. 1996)

6. Shepherds A tower known as Migdal Eder, or the watchtower of the flock, was near Bethlehem. Here was the station where shepherds watched the flocks destined for sacrifice in the temple. . . . It was a settled conviction among the Jews that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, and equally that he was to be revealed from Migdal Eder. The flock mentioned in the scripture, then, apparently was the one used for temple sacrifices. (Gerald N. Lund, Selected Writings of Gerald N. Lund: Gospel Scholars Series , p.144)

7. Christmas Trivia T/F • Joseph and Mary were both from Bethlehem. • The innkeeper is a bad man for not letting Joseph and Mary have a room. • Jesus was born on December 25, 0 AD • Joseph and Mary traveled 90 miles to pay taxes • Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Christ. • The Shepherds followed a new star to find the Christ child. • Mary, Joseph and Jesus’ first family vacation was to Egypt. • There were three wise men that made the long journey from the East immediately following Jesus’ birth.

8. The Gifts of the Magi • Gold • Royalty • Frankincense • For sacrifices • Myrrh • Preparation of bodies for burial • Gold – Glorify God • Frankincense - The sweet smell of sacrifice! • Myrrh - Death of self

9. John the Baptist Where was Jesus baptized and what is significant about that location?

11. The Sign of the Holy Ghost • The Spirit of God descended like a dove: Matt. 3:16; • After Jesus was baptized, the Holy Ghost came down in the form of a dove: 1 Ne. 11:27; • I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove: D&C 93:15 • A prearranged sign by which John the Baptist would recognize the Messiah (John 1:32–34). • The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world as a witness for the Holy Ghost; therefore, the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove.

13. “Now, nearly every temptation that comes to you and me comes in one of those forms. Classify them, and you will find that under one of those three nearly every given temptation that makes you and me spotted, ever so little maybe, comes to us as 1. A temptation of the appetite 2. A yielding vanity 3. A gratifying of the passion, or a desire for the riches of the world” Moses 4:12 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat.” David O. McKay, 1911 Oct. Gen. Conf.

14. How long does it take to make good wine? • How long does it take to make good wine using bad water? • David’s kingship • Peter’s imprisonment • Daniel’s vision • Book of Mormon translation (field sowed with gypsum). • Elijah escaping from Ahab • Isaiah 40:31 • Principle: The Lord is a God of acceleration. John 2:1-11 First Public Miracle

15. Woman at the well • The Abrahamic Covenant is passed on (Gen 28:3-4) Why Jacob’s well?(Genesis 32-33) The story is told in Hymn 100

16. Principles from Jacob’s Well: • How badly do we want a blessing? Are you willing to wrestle and struggle to receive it? • Why was Jacob’s name changed? • Jacob: Supplanter or literally deceitful or insidious • Israel: He who prevails with Go • Likewise with Abram ("Exalted father"), to Abraham ("Father of a multitude”) • Why was his hip dislocated? • The Lord might dislocate or discomfort us so we are reminded of the blessings we do have

17. And I will make you fishers of men Come, Follow Me • Why would Jesus invite them to fish after they were cleaning/repairing their nets? • What might Simon’s own fishing experience have led him to think in this moment? • Why would Jesus call them while their nets were full? • On a side note, what happened to the fish?   • What principle is found in the word “Nevertheless”?

18. And I will make you fishers of men Come, Follow Me Circumstances say: NO FISH.   Nevertheless says: SO WHAT? Facts say, NO FISH.   Nevertheless says… NO FISH...YET!

19. Healings Luke 5:12-16 Heals a leper • In what ways can leprosy be likened to sin?

20. Leprosy How to cleanse a Leper Leviticus 13:45-46 And the leper, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering on and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. He is unclean: he shall dwell alone.

21. Leprosy How to cleanse a Leper Leviticus 13:45-46 Leviticus 14:1-3 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest and the priest shall go forth out of the camp and shall look and behold if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper…

22. Leprosy How to cleanse a Leper Leviticus 13:45-46 Leviticus 14:1-3 Hebrews 13:12  “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.”

23. Cleansing a Leper Leviticus 14:4“Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birdsalive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarletandhyssop.” Is there an event in Christ’s life that involves 2 birds? Why two birds? What two things does Christ help us overcome?

24. Cleansing a Leper Leviticus 14:4“Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birdsalive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarletandhyssop.” Cedar helps preserve other things from decay and corruption.

25. Cleansing a Leper Leviticus 14:4“Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birdsalive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarletandhyssop.” Scarlet= A Scarlet Dyed Cloth (Footnote) Is there an event in Christ’s life that involved a scarlet cloth?

26. Cleansing a Leper Leviticus 14:4“Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birdsalive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarletandhyssop.” A purifyingplant Is there an event in Christ’s life that involved hyssop?

27. John 19:29 “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.” The Cedar Wood? Hyssop? Scarlet?

28. Leviticus 14:5 The priest shall command that one of the birds be killed over running water John 19:34 “But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out bloodandwater.”

29. Leviticus 14:7 “He shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose” Christ’s bleeding in 7 different areas His head (Matthew 27:29-30) His sweat (Luke 22:44) His face (Isaiah 50:6) His back (Isaiah 50:6, Matthew 27:26) His hands (Psalms 22:16, John 20:25) His feet (Psalms 22:16) His side (John 19:34)

30. Matthew 5

31. The Sermon on the Mount 4th AOF D&C 107:18-19 D&C 107:18-19

32. Matthew 4:23 “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.”

33. Teaching and Healing Elder Holland: “What then follows is the masterful Sermon on the Mount, six and a half pages that would take six and a half years to teach properly, I suppose. But the moment that sermon was over, the Savior came down from the mountain and was healing again. In rapid succession He healed a leper, the centurion’s servant, Peter’s mother-in-law, then a group described only as “many that were possessed with devils” (Matt. 8:16). In short, it says, He “healed all that were sick” (Matt. 8:16). “Driven to cross the Sea of Galilee by the crowds that swarmed around Him, He subsequently cast devils out of two who were dwelling in the tombs and then sailed back to “his own city” (Matt. 9:1), where He healed a man confined to bed with palsy, healed a woman with a 12-year issue of blood and raised the ruler’s daughter from the dead. “Then He restored the sight of two blind men, followed by the casting out of a devil which had robbed a man of the ability to speak… and then… this verse:

34. What’s the similarity between teaching and healing? Matt 9:35 “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.”

35. Teaching and Healing Elder Holland: “Let me be a little more specific. As you teach, rather than just giving a lesson, please try a little harder to help that spiritually blind basketball star really see, or that spiritually deaf homecoming queen really hear, or the spiritually lame student body president really walk. Could we try a little harder to fortify others to be truly free from evil? Could we try a little harder to teach so powerfully and so spiritually that we really help that individual who walks alone, who lives alone, who weeps in the dark of the night?”

36. Teaching and Healing THEAPEUO Matthew 12:10 Mark 3:10 Luke 4:23 IAOMAI Matthew 8:13 – Centurions' servant Mark 5:29 – Woman with Issue of Blood Luke 8:47 – Woman taken in Adultery Luke 22:51 – Roman Soldier’s ear

37. Herod (Herod Antipus, the son of Herod that killed all the male babies when Jesus was born) had been rebuked by John for committing adultery with his brother’s wife (Herodius). • John was in prison in Macherus, the hottest dryest part of the provience.   

38. Macherus • After 1.5 years in prison, Matthew 11:2-3 • “When John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

39. Luke 7:1 “Now when he had heard these sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum.” • He sends a message in Matthew 11:4-6 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who shall not be offended in me. Machaerus Blessed is the one who doesn’t interpret silence as hate. Blessed is the one who doesn’t confuse ‘unanswered’ as ‘uninterested’.

40. Mark 6:45-52 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. They all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.

41. What principles are found in this lack of detail by Mark (who probably heard this story from Peter since Mark wasn’t on the boat)?

42. Caesarea Phillippi Matt 16:13-19 What is the rock? ‘What’ is Peter? The Greek word used for Peter is petros, meaning a rock or stone. The Greek word for rock (“upon this rock”) is petra, meaning bedrock. “Thou art Peter [petros, small rock], and upon this rock [petra, bedrock] I will build my church.”

43. “(1) Jesus singled out Peter, James, and John from the rest of the Twelve “(2) Peter, James, and John, were transfigured (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith], p. 158). . . . “(3) Moses and Elijah . . . appeared on the mountain; and they and Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter, James, and John. (Teachings, p. 158.) “(4) John the Baptist, previously beheaded by Herod was also present. . . . “(5) Peter, James, and John saw in vision the transfiguration of the earth . . . that is to take place at the Second Coming when the millennial era is ushered in. [ D&C 63:20–21 .] . . . Matt 17:1-9

44. “(6) Peter, James, and John received their own endowments while on the mountain. ([Joseph Fielding Smith,] Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2, p. 165.) . . . “(7) Jesus himself was strengthened and encouraged by Moses and Elijah so as to be prepared for the atonement. ([James E. Talmage,] Jesus the Christ, p. 373.) . . . “(8) The apostles were taught in plainness ‘of his death and also his resurrection’ [ JST, Luke 9:31 ]. . . . (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:399–401). Matt 17:1-9

45. PETER • Resurrected body • The name Simon means “He that hears” • He denies Christ (Matt 26:33-35,58,69-75) just before Jesus cries, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” • Jesus first appearance after Mary is to Peter (Luke 24:32-34) A SYMBOL OF HEAVENLY FATHER

46. JAMES • Resurrected body • James means “Supplanter” • Jesus’ only recorded brother’s name was James • James was beheaded • John 20:6-7 • James is not invited to prepare the Passover meal (Luke 22:7-8) • James does not come to the tomb (John 20:2-4) • James is not mentioned at the sea following the resurrection (John 21:6-8) • Plays a role in the temple A SYMBOL OF JESUS CHRIST

47. JOHN • Translated body • Brother to James • The unnamed disciple   • Mary’s guardian (John 19:26-27) • His nickname is The Revelator • Only author to include discourse about Nicodemus and the Holy Ghost (John 3,14-16) • His mission is to tarry on the earth (John 21:20-24) • Was banished (Revelation 1:9) A SYMBOL OF THE HOLY GHOST

48. Luke 10:30-37: Principles of the Plan of Salvation Down from Jerusalem Thieves Stripped of raiment Wounded Half dead Levite and Priest Oil Wine Beast Inn Host Two pence payment Spending more Other (more personable) title for this story?

49. The Good Shepherd John 10

50. The Lord is my shepherd • "Chris" the sheep was found wandering in Australia. • An average Australian fleece weighs 11 pounds and takes approximately 3 minutes to shear. • It took 42 minutes to remove Chris’ fleece, which weighed 89 pounds.