This week in the Salem Stake Institute class, we talked about some of the names of God in the Old Testament.
The video of the class should be posted soon on salemzion.org. We appreciate our IT guy, Ken Meads.
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Margot Butler's Awesome Old Testament Timeline (again)
Our Salem Stake Institute class started with Margot Butler's awesome Old Testament timeline. My son redrew it in vector graphics so you can enlarge it without the images being pixelated.
Contact me is you want the nice new clean PDF version!
Sunday, January 11, 2026
Salem Stake Old Testament Institute Class begins again this Wednesday, January 14 2026
Obviously, from GoodSalt.com
So, a scripture study class is starting on Wednesday in the Salem Stake Center near 500 East on Salem Canal Road. Follow GPS and it will take you close enough.
This is NOT an official CES YSA INSTITUTE class: but people seem to know what we mean.
Bring a notebook, pencils or pen, and scriptures. Old or young: all are invited.
The first week (Jan 14) will be recognizing the names of God and learning how to use the Old Testament timeline.
Second week (Jan 21) we'll discuss the six days of creation.
Third Week (Jan 28) we'll watch Adam and Eve walk Eastward out of the Garden,
Fourth Week (Feb 4) begins our discussion of Abraham and covenants
Fifth week (Feb 11) introduces Hagar and Ishmael.
All Classes will be recorded and made available for streaming from the Salemzion.org website. Choose Institute; choose OT
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Come Follow Me D&C 23-26 Emma and her children
BYU Studies has a WEALTH of resources linked here for all of these sections.
https://byustudies.byu.edu/come-follow-me/doctrine-and-covenants/12
I want to focus on Emma (D&C 25)
Many years ago at a conference I attended, a presenter – maybe Susan Easton Black? – gave us an overview of LDS Church History by talking about what was happening in the church at the time of the births of each of Emma and Joseph’s ELEVEN children (including the Murdock twins). I was so fascinated by that approach that I copied it for a couple of presentations I have done.
Here is a brief summary of those births and the corresponding Church events.
1. 15 June
1828 – Alvin
Harmony, Pennsylvania.
Emma had helped as a scribe for the Book of Mormon translation during her pregnancy, along with others. After Martin Harris borrowed the 116 finished pages, Emma gave birth to a son, named for Joseph’s oldest brother who had died in 1823. Baby Alvin died soon after birth and Emma was in fairly critical condition for two weeks. Joseph took care of her, delaying his quest to recover the 116 pages. Then the angel Moroni came and took back the gold plates. This was a very dark time for the Smith family.
2. -3. 30 April 1831 – Twins, Thaddeus and Louisa
Morley Farm near Kirtland, Ohio
The final leg of Joseph and Emma’s journey to a new home for the church in Ohio in January of 1831 was by sleigh. At one point, the sleigh overturned and the pregnant Emma was thrown out on the roadside. This may have added to stresses that led to premature labor and delivery of twins in April. Neither Thaddeus nor Louisa survived.
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| Liz Lemon Swindle |
5. 4. – 5.That night, 30 Apr-1 May 1831, in Mentor, just north of Kirtland, John Murdock suffered the loss of his wife Julia Clapp Murdock in childbirth, leaving surviving twins, a boy and a girl, and a total of five children under the age of 7. John Murdock took his twin babies to the Smiths to raise as their own, and the Smiths adopted them on 9 May 1831. Those babies were named Joseph Murdock Smith and Julia Murdock Smith. The baby boy, Joseph, died the next year 29 March 1832, at the Johnson Farm in Hiram, Ohio from measles and possibly from exposure to cold air during attack on Joseph Smith six days earlier, when he was beaten and tarred and feathered by a mob. Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had received the vision of the three degrees of glory (D&C 76) the month before
6. 6 November 1832 – Joseph Smith, III.
Newel K Whitney Store, Kirtland OH. Joseph Smith had traveled to Independence, Missouri, identifying it as Zion, the New Jerusalem in April, 1832. In September, he received D&C 84, the revelation on the priesthood and was working on the Inspired Translation of the bible when Emma gave birth to their first child who lived. Within months, Emma’s comments about cleaning up the mess from chewing tobacco in the School of the Prophets – the room across the hall from Joseph and Emma’s bedroom - prompted Joseph’s questioning the Lord, leading to the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89).
7. 29 June 1836 – Frederick Granger Williams
Smith
Kirtland Ohio
In 1835, the first edition of the Doctrine and Covenants had been published by Frederick Granger Williams. The "Doctrine" part of the book consisted of a theological course now called the "Lectures on Faith". The lectures were a series of doctrinal courses used in the School of the Prophets. The "Covenants" part of the book contained a total of 103 revelations. When the D&C was finished, Williams then printed the first edition of Emma Smith hymnbook which she had been commanded to make in July, 1830 (D&C 25). The print shop was just west of the Kirtland Temple, which was dedicated during Emma’s fourth pregnancy in March-April, 1836. Grateful to have the book finally in print, Emma named her son for her publisher, Frederick Granger Williams.
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| Joseph Brinkley |
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| Liz Lemon Swindle |
8. 2 June 1838 – Alexander Hale Smith
Far West, Missouri.
Emma was pregnant again when the Mormons were forced out of Kirtland, Ohio in January 1838 and Jackson County, Missouri. She was 7 month pregnant when they finally arrived in Far West. There Joseph was betrayed and spent months in Liberty Jail. Meanwhile, Emma gave birth to another son and named him after Alexander Doniphan, who had refused an order to execute Joseph Smith, and then was Joseph's defense attorney during Joseph's incarceration at Liberty Jail.
9. 13
June, 1840 Don Carlos Smith
Nauvoo, Illinois
In February 1839, Emma crossed the frozen Mississippi River to Illinois, carrying baby Alexander with 3 other young children clinging to her skirt, under which she carried the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon in a bag tied around her waist. Joseph and Hyrum were allowed to escape from Liberty Jail in April. Together in Illinois, the Mormons built a new city, Nauvoo. In June, 1840, Emma gave birth to another son, named Don Carlos after Joseph Smith’s brother. Both the brother and baby would die in 1841.
Liz Lemon Swindle
10. 6 February 1842 – unnamed stillborn son
Nauvoo, Illinois.
On March 17, 1842, just 5 weeks after giving
birth to a stillborn son, Emma Smith was appointed president of the newly organized
Women’s Relief Society in Smith’s redbrick store in Nauvoo, Illinois.
11. 17 November 1844 – David Hyrum Smith
Nauvoo, Illinois
Emma was 4 month
pregnant with another son when Joseph and Hyrum Smith were arrested and taken
to
Carthage Jail in Illinois, where they were killed 27 June 1844.
Rebecca Holt Stay March 2025
CFM D&C 20 Constitution of the Church
So many amazing resources on D&C 20: a Constitution for the new Church.
1. The Joseph Smith Papers project has photos. Read the original document! Articles and Covenants https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/paper-summary/articles-and-covenants-circa-april-1830-dc-20/1
2. The LDS.org website has lots of historical resources to assist your study this year.
D&C CFM Historical resources: photos, biographies, maps, timelines https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/doctrine-and-covenants-historical-resources-2025/10?lang=eng
3. The Religious Study Center at BYU (established to assist CES- seminary and institute- instructors) has a wide variety of good articles.
A. John Welch paper on Book of Mormon language in D&C 20 https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-12-no-2-2011/book-mormon-keystone-church-administration
B. Fayette: The Place the Church was Organized by John K. Carmack https://rsc.byu.edu/sperry-symposium-classics-doctrine-covenants/fayette-place-church-was-organized
C. The Articles and Covenants: A Handbook for New Branches by Craig James Ostler https://rsc.byu.edu/firm-foundation/articles-covenants-handbook-new-branches or
https://rsc.byu.edu/sites/default/files/pub_content/pdf/The_Articles_and_Covenants.pdf
4. Scripture Central has great stuff, as always:
A. Video: what occurred at Whitmer home : 1830 https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/section-20/
B. Introductory video to D&C 20 https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/section-20/
C. Video: Lynne Wilson addresses questions about the Organization of the Church https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/section-20/
D. Harper, Steven C. “Section 20.”
In Doctrine and Covenants Contexts, 39–41 https://scripturecentral.org/archive/books/book-chapter/section-20
E. D&C 20 verse by verse commentary by Casey Griffiths https://doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/sections/commentary-on-dc-20/
Note that D&C 21:8 connects permission for Joseph Smith to rejoice with remission of his sins. (see my CFM D&C 18 notes)
Rebecca Holt Stay : March 8, 2025
CFM D&C 19 Atonement
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| Jordan Ring-Sakabe |
The basic idea of Atonement Theology
posits that Jesus' death was necessary in some tangible, cosmic way, as a
"sacrifice" for the sins of humanity. Further, it suggests that this
sacrifice is the "salvific" work of Jesus; the moment that Jesus'
earthly ministry is complete.
HOW exactly the atonement works is
widely debated.
1. Moral Influence: This theory focuses
on not just the death of Jesus Christ, but on His entire life as influencing
people to make better choices through their own will to be more Christlike,
bringing them to repentance and change..
2. Ransom : in this act of Ransom Christ frees
humanity from the bondage of sin and death. He has bought us with his blood
3. Christus Victor: In this theory, Jesus
Christ dies in order to defeat the powers of evil (such as sin, death, and the
devil) in order to free mankind from their bondage, victory rather than
payment.
4. Satisfying Justice: Jesus Christ’s death is
understood as a death to satisfy the justice of God. Satisfaction here means
restitution, the mending of what was broken, and the paying back of a debt, In
this theory, God is acted upon by the Atonement (i.e. that Jesus satisfies
God).
5. Substitutionary Atonement: Jesus is punished in the place of
sinners in order to satisfy the justice
of God and the legal demand of God to punish sin.
6. Government theory : Jesus Christ suffers punishment of our
sins in general, not particular and propitiates God’s wrath, but only for those
who are members of his church. Thus the Church becomes a hiding place from
God’s wrath.
7. Scapegoat : Jesus Christ dies as the Scapegoat of
humanity. “Christianity is a priestly religion which understands that it
is God’s overcoming of our violence by substituting himself for the victim of
our typical sacrifices that opens up our being able to enjoy the fullness of
creation as if death were not.”
Various philosophical theories use the
words Reconciliation, Forgiveness, Sacrifice, Propitiation, and Satisfaction.
In human interpersonal relationships, atonement may be necessary to repair
breaches of trust: descriptions of how to atone include: Apology, Repentance,
Giving a True Account, Moral Reformation and Transformation, Reparation /Restitution
/Recompense /Satisfaction, Penance, Punishment, and Third Party Assistance.
[For an interesting philosophical
discussion of ‘atonement’, see https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atonement/ ]
The OT uses the word ‘atonement’ to
translate the Hebrew כָּפַר kāp̄ar which means “to cover, purge, make an
atonement, make reconciliation, cover over with pitch [as with Noah’s ark]. ‘Atonement’ is always spoken of in relation
to animal sacrifices made at the tabernacle or later temple. The cover of the
ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies was called כַּפֹּרֶת kapōreṯ : “mercy-seat, place of atonement; the
golden plate of propitiation on which the High Priest sprinkled the seat 7
times on the Day of Atonement symbolically reconciling Jehovah and His chosen
people; the slab of gold on top of the ark of the covenant which measured 2.5
by 1.5 cubits; on it and part of it were the two golden cherubim facing each
other whose outstretched wings came together above and constituted the throne
of God.”
Perhaps the single most complete
description of the atonement (never using that word) is
Isaiah 53: 5f “But he was wounded for
our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6. . . the Lord hath
laid on him the iniquities of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter. . . 8 He
was taken from prison and from judgment; . . . For he was cut off out of the
land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was he stricken. . .
.10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou
shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall
see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 12 . .
. he hath poured out his soul unto
death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of
many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
The English words “atone” and
“atonement” are derived from the expressions “make at one”, and “at onement”.
Usage of the latter phrase can be traced to as early as the 1300s in the
writings of John Wycliffe. The word thus carries at its heart the notion of
putting parties at one—unifying, or reconciling. The Oxford English Dictionary
offers several definitions of atonement: 1. “the condition of being at one with
others”, 2. “the action of setting at one, or condition of being set at one,
after discord or strife”, 3. “reconciliation or restoration of friendly relations
between God and sinners”, and 4. “propitiation of an offended or injured
person, by reparation of wrong or injury; amends, satisfaction, expiation”.
What did Jesus have to say on the
matter (as reported by his disciples)?
1. Luke
4:18 "He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good
news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the
attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing.”
2. Mat
8:16-17: “When the even was come, they
brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the
spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be
fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself took our
infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”
3. Matt
16:21 : From that time forth began Jesus
to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many
things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be
raised again the third day.
4. Matt
20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister,
and to give his life a ransom for many.
5. Matt
26:27-8: And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins.
6. Luke
22:19-20 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them,
saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my
blood, which is shed for you.
7. John
6:51, 54 : I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man
eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my
flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.. . . Whoso eateth my flesh,
and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last
day.
8. John
10:15, 18: As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down
my life for the sheep. . . . No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of
myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This
commandment have I received of my Father.
9. John
12:32-3: And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
This he said, signifying what death he should die.
10. John
14:3, 6: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. . . . Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me.
11. John
17:4,6,19: I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. . . .I have manifested thy name unto them which thou
gavest me . . . . And for their sakes I sanctify myself,
that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
Paul
uses a lot of terms in speaking of Christ’s mission: propitiation,
justification, sanctification, reconciliation.
Peter
says that Jesus “suffered for us, . . .his own self bare our sins.”
John
taught that “the blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all sin, he taketh away our sins.”
The
English word ‘atonement’ is used only once in the NT: Romans 5:11 “ And not only so, but we also joy in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” The Greek translated here is καταλλαγή katallagē: which means ‘an exchanging
equivalent values, adjustment of a difference, reconciliation, restoration to
favour.”
Latter-Day
scripture adds a lot:
Nephi
says that “he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin.” “It must needs be an
infinite atonement.” “God raises you from everlasting death by the power of the
atonement.”
Jacob
urges us to “be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ.”
King
Benjamin taught his people 3:16-18 :
“And even if it were possible that
little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are
blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of
Christ atoneth for their sins. 17 And moreover, I say unto you, that there
shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can
come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord
Omnipotent. 18 For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant
perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own
souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe
that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of
Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.”
Mosiah
quotes Isaiah 53.
Alma
taught the people in Gideon 7:11-13 :
“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of
every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take
upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. 12 And he will take upon
him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he
will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy,
according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor
his people according to their infirmities. 13 Now the Spirit knoweth all
things; nevertheless the Son of God
suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of
his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power
of his deliverance. . .”
The
risen Christ introduces himself in 3 Nephi 11:
13 “And it came to pass that the
Lord spake unto them saying: 14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may
thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the
nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel,
and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.”
The
Doctrine and Covenants says
D&C
18:11-13 : 11 For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh;
wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come
unto him. 12 And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men
unto him, on conditions of repentance. 13 And how great is his joy in the soul
that repenteth!
D&C
19:16-19 : 16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they
might not suffer if they would repent; 17 But if they would not repent they
must suffer even as I; 18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest
of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer
both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and
shrink—19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my
preparations unto the children of men.
D&C
29:1 : Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Redeemer, the Great I Am,
whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins;
D&C
76:69: 69 These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus
the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement
through the shedding of his own blood.
D&C
138:2-4: 2 And reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the
Son of God, for the redemption of the world; 3 And the great and wonderful love
made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the
world; 4 That through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the
gospel, mankind might be saved.
However you understand the atonement of Christ, His actions were a great gift to us enabling us to forgive others and ourselves and live lives of joy
My daughter sent me this: I appreciated this take on the atonement and it was a theory of atonement I hadn't encountered before. I'd be interested to hear what others think of it, what critiques you might have.
| My son wrote this: |
I have a thought about the atonement that I haven't seen expressed much. The idea is that the atonement acts as a psychological solution to some otherwise unsolvable psychological problems.
We all feel guilt at having done wrong, and that we ought to be punished for it. If that punishment doesn't come, we feel there is injustice that needs to be fixed.
We also all feel like others have wronged us, and until they are punished, the universe is out of balance. But revenge, of course, leads to an unending cycle of violence.
So what the atonement does is to tell us, in a visceral way that our heart can accept, that the punishment has already happened, that justice has been served, and that all we have to do is accept that. It's like this black hole that you can throw your feelings of injustice into, both because it was the worst injustice, and because it was done to make things right. Having accepted that, we are in a psychological state more conducive to doing good, no longer self-hating, no longer other-hating.
I like it as a theory because it doesn't require any new supernatural things to be added to the universe, like a pain conservation law. It's clean in that Occam's Razor way
Another son wrote this in response: In the third to last paragraph, the author identifies what could be the main shortcoming of this theory if love is the only factor at play in the atonement: "Why wouldn’t God just love us enough to save us instead of requiring that such love come through Christ’s expansively mortal life? If Atonement is all about Love, in other words, why isn’t the Love of God enough?"
Or in my words, "If God knows everything already, then surely he knows us thoroughly enough to love us, so Jesus need not become mortal to gain that knowledge on God's behalf. There must be more to the atonement and incarnation than just that, or Jesus didn't have to suffer and die."
Alma addressed that same concern in Alma 7:12-13 "...and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things [so the Spirit already knows how to succor his people, even without Christ suffering]; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me."
D- I like what you wrote about the psychological problems. I think the law Jesus had to satisfy was not some arbitrary law of the universe or a demand of God the Father alone, but rather a fundamental truth about how a community of gods must function. It's part of the HOA covenants in the celestial neighborhood because conscious beings feel that wrongs have to be righted. We all demand the "black hole that you can throw your feelings of injustice into", so when God set up the plan of salvation, he had to include a Savior who experienced and accomplished what Jesus did.
And so it's fundamentally relational, as the author of this essay argued.
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