Reminders of Symposia

The Expound Symposium will be held on Saturday, May 14 in the Provo Public Library. The all-day event is free, but please 'register' at their website so they will set up enough chairs.




The Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research (FAIR) is
pleased to announce the Thirteenth Annual Mormon Apologetics
Conference, August 4-5, 2011, and for a limited time you can
register at the discounted Early Bird price.

A lot of interesting papers, videos and podcasts are available on their website, YouTube and blog.

Last Class for Spring 2011

Tuesday, May 3 will be the last class for the Springville Institute class.

Thurday, May 5 will be the last class for the South Jordan class.

BOTH classes will begin again in the fall. We will begin with the City of Enoch and then talk about Noah, Melchizedek and Abraham. Covenants will be our major focus.

Tuesday, September 13 will be the first class for the Springville Institute group. Class is held from 6:30-8 Tuesday evenings at the Canyon Chapel (1965 East Canyon Road, Springville UT 84663). Registration will be done in class.

Thurday, September 15 will be the first class for the South Jordan group, which meets mid-day from 11 to 12:30 at the stake center at 2450 W 10400 S. (South Jordan Parkway) South Jordan, Utah 84095. You will be able to register for this class online at the BYU Religious Enrichment Programs website.

Some other days and times are being considered for fall. I will publish information on any additional classes here.

Leaving, Cleaving and Being One

Here is a good article from the Ensign on this subject.

Dress and Keep the Garden

Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden and was commanded "to dress (aved) it and to keep (shomer) it" (Gen 2:15).

These same Hebrew words are used by the LORD in Deuteronomy 10 :12-13 : "And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve (aved) the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep (shomer) the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?"

There is a definite temple connection with these two words : avodah (from aved) is the Hebrew word for worship, service, or temple work (see Numbers 7:5); the Cherubim keep (shomer) the way back to the Tree and we have to keep (shomer) the commandments to be allowed past them back into the temple.

Jeffery Bradshaw has written about this in an article entitled "The Temple Work of Adam and Eve."

Passover

Passover begins this evening. Last week a friend asked me for resources to use in putting together a Seder, or Passover meal. This is what I suggested:

I have never done a complete Seder: I doubt that they did the whole 4 hour tour de force in Jesus' day either. So, I usually serve small amounts of the traditional foods and talk about what they symbolize, what Jesus reinterpreted them as and what Passover means to us. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover_Seder_Plate

I made up my own charoset recipe using canned apple pie filling, walnuts and raisins. It is delicious. Email me if you want the recipe.

I serve lamb (rather than just a bone) because Jesus would have eaten lamb and most students I've had have never tasted lamb. I like lamb chops cut into small chunks and grilled. Eat them hot with kosher salt.

Baking the eggs sometimes causes them to explode. You can just hard-cook them most of the way and then just brown the shells for a few minutes in an oven to get the right look.

The booklet that each dinner guest has at a Passover seder is called a haggadah. They are available at most bookstores. Many are available free online: there are links below.

If you want Christian interpretation at your Seder, look for a Messianic Passover Haggadah, like these http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/haggadah.html

http://www.godonthe.net/passover/messianic_haggadah.html http://www.devotedtoyahveh.com/haggadah.htm

There are a LOT of good Jewish sources for Passover information

http://www.jewfaq.org/holidaya.htm http://www.ou.org/chagim/pesach/pesachguide/maze/basic9.htm

A simplified Haggadah to print out : http://scheinerman.net/judaism/pesach/haggadah.pdf

A complete Haggadah, English and Hebrew

http://judaism.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=judaism&cdn=religion&tm=9&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.jewishfreeware.org/downloads/folder.2006-01-07.0640323187/

Here is a pretty silly songbook : tunes you know (like "Maria" and "A Spoonful of Sugar") with Passover lyrics http://judaism.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=judaism&cdn=religion&tm=9&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.jewishfreeware.org/downloads/folder.2006-01-07.0640323187/

Have a good time. Rebecca Stay

Easter and the Sacrament

In Ohio I gave a talk on the Sacrament. My friend Jocelyn posted it Sunday as part of her month of Easter ideas. You might enjoy her blog.

Easter All Week Booklet

Years ago I created a booklet for reading all the scriptures from the week leading up to Easter.

The idea came from the Ensign magazine (April 1999 'Random Sampler') and the pictures from Margo Butler's New Testament Timeline, art by Richard Deland.

My friend and Seminary student, Jocelyn Hatch Christensen posted it on her blog last year. You can go there to download it.

One correction: The first scripture reference for Tuesday should be Mark 11:20-13:37. The blank front page of the booklet is just the right size for a picture from a pass-a-long card: I like Mary in the Garden Easter morning.