The following transcript is intended to aid in your study. However, while we try to go through the transcript, our transcripts are primarily computer-generated and often contain errors. Please forgive the transcripts’ imperfections.

===

[00:00:00] Does peace seem like a precious commodity to you these days? Like, do you long for peace or maybe just even a peaceful moment? Elder Holland hit the nail on the head for me when he said this. Life has its moments when uninterrupted peace may seem to elude us for a season. We may wonder why there are such times in life, particularly when we may be trying harder than we have ever tried to live worthy of God's blessings and obtain his help.

And then he said this, the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to a troubled world and the troubled people who live in it. Peace. The gospel of Jesus Christ has solutions to personal struggles and human sinfulness, and it is a source of strength for those of weariness and the hours of genuine despair. Today we begin our study of doctrine and covenants.

Sections 30 through 36. There are seven chapters filled with verses of scripture that can offer us peace. Seven chapters of advice for 12 men who needed the assurance of peace, and seven chapters filled with the peaceable things of the kingdom. Welcome to the Sunday on Monday Study Group, A Desert Bookshelf plus original, brought to you by LDS Living where we take the come Follow Me lesson for the week and we really dig into the scriptures together.

I'm your host, Tammy Uzelac Hall. If you're new to our study group, please follow the link in our description and it's going to explain how you can best use this podcast to enhance your come Follow Me study just like my listening friends, Karen Ham and Anne and Tim Score. Hi friends. Now another awesome thing about our study group is each week we're joined by two of my friends, so it's always a little bit different and today is different.

I am so excited to introduce you two, Chris and Ian French. Hi, you two. Hello, how are you? Oh, I'm good. I'm good. Okay. This is the greatest story. Well, first of all, let's find out about you two and then we'll see how we all know each other. So tell us a little bit about you two. How do you guys know each other?

We're married to each other. Ah, I love it. We are a blended family, so we have been married this May, uh, um, 25 years, so, wow. Yeah, it's been a pretty good 25 years. Oh, I love that. How many kids did you blend? I had three. Ian had one. Okay. Let's see. I have a son first, then I have a daughter, then Ian's son, and then I have a younger daughter.

So, wow. And the fun little part about it, our two youngest daughter and youngest son, they both have the same name, RI. So we have a Riley boy and a RI girl 10 months apart. That's a riot. How do you, how do they know which one you're calling? They don't usually, we just hollered one name and they both came, or they both ignored us, one or the other.

Oh, sure, sure. I get that. Oh my gosh, that's such a fun story. A uh, tip of the hat to you two. I just think that any, if anything, refines you. It's a be blended family. Oh my gosh, that's beautifully said. 100% true. Yes, it's refining for sure. Well, this is so fun because I met these two, uh, in the temple, Jordan River Temple.

I was there for my typical Tuesday temple day that I do with my friend Holly. And she looked over and saw you two who she's known forever. So she went over and talked to you guys and I was just kind of sitting there in the celestial room and she came back and she told me your story, a little bit of it anyway.

And she just said they would be so good on the podcast. And this was a couple months ago. And I thought, oh, that's nice. Like sometimes people suggest names, but I don't, I just wait to see if it comes to me. And then I was getting ready for this episode and your name would, it would not leave me, would not.

So I just threw caution to the wind. I sent you guys a cute text and you were so lovely to say. Yes. So thank you. I'm so ex how you guys feeling about this? Good. Yeah, we're both excited. It, it forced us to read from February to April right off the bat, so we're like way ahead. We're gonna take some time off on our studying.

You've earned it after this discussion for sure. Been great. Oh, this is gonna be fun. Okay. Well, if you guys wanna know more about my guests, you can read their bios and see their pictures of their cute blended family, which are going to be in our show notes. And you can find those at lds living.com/sunday on Monday.

So grab your scriptures and something to mark them with. And let's dig into doctrine and covenants. Sections 30 through 36. Okay. You two right out of the gate. What did the Holy Ghost teach you as you read these chapters? Ian, you go first. Oh, I go first. Okay. That's a first.

Um, a couple things that hit me, uh, right off the bat that, uh, as I was reading, um, that you don't need to know everything to serve in a church calling. Oh, I think that's awesome. Um, if my life is centered [00:05:00] in Christ, I won't fail. You have to get it about 80% Right. And then hit go, even baptize members struggle.

Mm-hmm. And I can be a better missionary just by opening my mouth. Holy cow. Those are great lessons that you learned in these chapters. Yes. Well, thanks for confirming. Well, you're absolutely right. And in fact, one of those I have a feeling is the section that I, when we get there, we'll talk about that person who didn't know very much and got called to serve a mission.

It kind of blew my mind. Yeah, absolutely. Because I laughed that I didn't know Christ came to America until I was in the MTC. And, uh, I, I would've been, I would've fit in real, real well with these early pioneers. Me too. Good one. Good one. Thank you. Ian, what about you, Chris? I. Um, I, there was a, a lot, again, different, but, um, still a lot.

I, I love the promises made to Thomas Lee Marsh. Um, and I'll go into that more later, but, um, I love the promises that were made for him, for his family. 'cause that's always my concern. Again, like Ian, I loved the, the whole sections on just opening your mouth. Mm-hmm. Because how many times are we asked to open our mouth?

And that's a hard thing to do. Uh, but I learned a lot through that. Um, God is the same always and miracles and signs for those who believe in Section D nnc section 35 8. It says, for I am God and my arm is not shortened, and I will show miracles and signs and wonders unto all those who believe on my name.

And I love that we still are carrying that from our profit today. Yeah. Wonderful. Wow. Thank you. You two, I can definitely tell you read and and studied these chapters because those were great things that the Holy Ghost taught you and true. They're absolutely true what they said. So let's do this then we are gonna jump into these chapters, and I'll tell you the goal of this discussion was for us, the three of us, to find that rare commodity of peace.

And for me, I felt like each chapter was an incredible chapter or section to help us find peace. Because again, these sections were written to specific men, but there are verses we can apply to our lives today in 2025. So in the next segment, we're gonna show you the phrase that prompted our focus on peace.

We'll do that next.

Segment 2

---

Turn with me to doctrine and covenant section 36 verse two. We're gonna start with the end before we can go to the beginning. So let's go to section 36 and we're going to read verse two. And Ian, will you please read verse two for us? Sure. 36 2. And I will lay my hand upon you by the hand of my servant, Sidney Rigdon, and you shall receive my spirit, the Holy Ghost, even the comforter, which shall teach you the peaceable things of the kingdom.

Thank you. Let's highlight peaceable things of the kingdom. In verse two. I love this phrase so much. Here's what Elder m Russell Ballard had to say about the peaceable things of the kingdom. Chris, will you please read this quote? Turbulent and sometimes frightening times. The savior's promise of infinite and eternal peace resonates with special power to us.

Just as his ability to calm the crashing waves must have profoundly affected those who are with him on the sea of Galilee, that stormy nights so long ago. Peace, real peace, whole soul to the very core of your being comes only in and through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When that precious truth is discovered and gospel principles are understood and applied, great peace can distill in the hearts and souls of our Heavenly Father's children.

Thank you. So I ask these two before we even get into any of these verses, I was just curious to know from your perspective, what aspect is there an aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ that has brought you peace or is peaceable to you?

Go ahead, babe. Okay. Um, I. I think an aspect of the gospel, but brings me peace is prayer. I think probably when the savior calmed the crashing waves, he probably raised his hand and prayed, like asked the Lord to calm it or just commanded it to be calm. I think prayer for me is a huge thing. It's whenever I am feeling, um, worried or I have a hard thing to do, or I'm just struggling, I go to my knees in prayer and I just ask for the Holy Ghost to guide me and help me and strengthen me through whatever I'm going [00:10:00] through.

Mm-hmm. And it happens, like I, I ask and it's given. Wow. I, I'm, I'm curious to know, you mentioned being in a blended family. How has prayer brought you peace in a blended family situation? Is there anything specific? I think it's what has helped us to survive, I think, um. I think prayer has helped me learn how to be a better wife to my husband.

When my children, they were young, our littles were three, our oldest was 10 when we blended. And I think the balance of how to be a good wife and how to be a good mom and and other mom stepmom to my new son, and I think it was through prayer, helping me to listen more, helping me to hear things that were important to them.

Just, it just helped me be better. Wow. Thank you. You kind of, for me, I often wonder how do people do it without prayer? Right? I can't imagine this life without having that divine connection to someone who knows better than I do. Right. How to solve the problem. So thank you, Chris. Mm-hmm. What about you, Ian?

You know, there's so many high stress scenarios that I could be in. Through various callings that I've had in the church, whether it'd be a young man's president, and how do I, how do I talk to a parent whose son has just come out, uh, as, as a, as a gay individual. There have been times where someone, uh, as a counselor and the bishop has mentioned something to me that I thought I could clear it.

And I'm like, I can't help you with that. Um, I've got keys, but it's only to my house and to my car or my office. I don't have that key to help you, but I can point you in the right direction. And sometimes it's high level stress and I just get like, I'm prayerfully helping somebody to get through something that's hard.

Um, and I can also say that our savior, Jesus Christ, has helped me in more ways than one, just with the simple knowing that he is common and he, and he is atone for me as an individual, not this big old blanket atonement, but for Ian French and has helped me grow through so many, so many peaceful things.

And even during the storms, whether it's some kid cut his finger off and we gotta help you with that, right? It's just like, I need to remain calm and help you. Um, and even last Sunday, we, we had, uh, we had a lady in our ward who forgot to take her meds and she was cramping up pretty hard. She came out.

We're just like right there. And we decided just to grab her, brought her in, gave her blessing, cramped, sew away. She was totally right there and she was bawling her eyes out. And that's not Ian French doing it. That is so the tic priesthood in action. That's what it is. And it's heavenly father and our savior, Jesus Christ, watching over his flock.

Yeah. So, Ian, I have a follow up question. Yeah. When you said that you being, being in young men's and you've had one of your young men that you're over, come out to you that they are gay. Um, what, how have you found peace in that moment? Well, for one, it's happened more than once. Mm-hmm. And it happened with my own son.

Mm-hmm. And, you know, as you're raising your kids. And you watch them become a, a deacon and then a teacher and things are moving along and they're all in, but all of a sudden, you know, something changes. I became at peace because I knew at the end of the day, um, I still support him and I love him and I want him to do well, but we just do not see eye to eye on, on the religious aspects of it.

And that's okay. And if anyone's listening and you have a gay son or a gay daughter, you gotta love him through it. And that's the, that's the beauty of it all. Um, because so many times I've seen other families say, the church is not supporting my son, so I'm gonna leave this church. And what, what a bummer.

What a bummer that they've, they've left no free agency. It's free agency. [00:15:00] Mm-hmm. But, uh, but, uh, you really wish they could stick around a little bit. And I've seen families struggle with it, and I've seen other families embrace their kids, but I still love them and I will help them. And they are people.

And, um, that's, uh, I think Heavenly Father loves them and we're promised to have a family in heaven. If I can keep my covenants and commitments to our Heavenly Father, then I will have an opportunity with my family eternally. Wow, I didn't know that about your family. And now these chapters are even more special for our discussion.

Yes. No wonder you loved. Honestly, if you got into our family, that would only be the beginning. Wow. Then I can't wait for Thomas b Marsh's chapter. Oh my goodness. Did you love that? Yes, I did. You read it. We're gonna have such a good discussion. Well, thank you both of you for your answer With that, you know, a little background about section 36, it was given, if you wanna look at the section heading, it's a revelation given to Edward Partridge.

Now, Edward Partridge, here's a little bit of information about him. He's 37 years old when he gets this revelation. He's going to be the very first bishop of the church. In fact, he'll be made Bishop just two months after he's baptized. Hello. That's not a big deal. Uh, he is also tarred and feathered in July of 1833.

I mean, I'm just looking at thinking three years from this revelation, roughly, or two, three. He's going to be tarred and feathered. He's gonna serve several missions. He will actually be jailed with Joseph Smith in Richmond Jail in 1838. He's going to die at the age of 47, and he will live an incredible life.

And at the end of this verse, it says he was a pattern of piety and one of the lord's great men. And so I love how in here the Lord is saying to him that you will be taught the peaceable things of the kingdom. It's what you're going to need as a bishop. You're going to be tarred and feathered. You will die young.

And we just love how it ends in verses six through eight. Ian, will you read those verses for us? Yes. Crying, repentance, saying, save yourselves from this untoward generation and come forth out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted with the flesh and this command that shall be given unto elders of my church.

That every man, which will embrace it with ness of heart, may be ordained and sent forth. Even as I have spoken, I am Jesus Christ, the son of God. Wherefore, gird up your loins and I will suddenly come to my temple. Even so. Amen. Thank you. I feel like what both of you just shared in this segment is summing up perfectly verses six through eight that you've stayed with singleness of heart.

You're coming forth out of the fire for sure. Um, but I just love the end. I am Jesus Christ, the son of God. Gird up your loins. Don't you love that? That's his way of saying get ready to work. Because you're not gonna get an easy ride. But I will suddenly come to my temple, uh, this beautiful idea of, and you should too.

Like, that's where I'll meet you. Yeah. I love the word embrace that's in there as well. Oh, tell me why that, that's just stuck out to me. So I did a little dive into just that word and, uh, one definition of it is to hold someone closely in one's arm as a sign of affection. Mm-hmm. Like you embrace your sweet wife.

And then the other part of embrace was accept or support a belief willingly and enthusiastically. Oh, that's so cool. So my, my, when Chris and I were re uh, talking for a little bit, I remember. When I first got the priesthood, I was at, uh, an a SU singles ward at the time where my conversion was going down, and I had a, a bishop and he, after a three hour block, I mean, all right, I'm going way back a little bit, three hour block.

Mm-hmm. And I've just come out of elder's corn, and I'm like, three hour church. What about the, the church I used to go to one hour sermon plus a coffee, uh, pot in the back with donuts, right. That, that was so fun and simple. But, um, he pulls me in, he says. Now that you've been ordained an elder in this church, you have, uh, some responsibilities and I'm, uh, gonna put you to do home teaching back in the day.

Ministering now, right? Yeah. Yeah. But he said, Hey, part of your assignment now is to be a home teacher. And I go, great. What's that? Me being willingly and enthusiastically. He goes, well, the elders quorum [00:20:00] President is outside and you're gonna go minister with him today. Now, it's not like in Utah where your, your, your ministers might live right across the street or a 32nd car ride.

This was out in, uh, Tempe, Arizona. So I'm driving to four or five families. It was another, like three and a half, four hours of going to see this. Is this really what this is about, this church, seven hours in one day, you're got kidding me, right? So, but I learned a great lesson. This is what it's about. This is not a one hour, one time a week church.

This is a church of every day all the time, not just on your block at 10 30 to 1230. And, and it really kickstarted how I am going about all the different callings that I've had on the church. So, um, I just thought I'd share that. 'cause embrace means just that to me. So, oh, well, and now it means it to me.

I'm so grateful you shared that definition. I wrote that in my scriptures next to the word embrace. Awesome, Ian. Thank you. You're welcome. So good. Okay, well let's do this then. In the next segment, let's go back to the beginning of the scripture block. And we're gonna cover doctrine covenants 30, which contains three revelations.

And we're gonna find out what the Lord had to say to David Whitmer, Peter Whitmer, and John Whitmer.

Segment 3

---

All right, we're going to go back to the start of the scripture block. Let's go to doctrine and covenant. Section 30, grab something to highlight your scriptures with. We're gonna highlight the names of the men that these three revelations were given to. We have in verse one, it says, behold, I say unto you, David, this is David Whitmer.

So highlight his name. Verse five is the next revelation, and it says, I say unto you, Peter. And that's Peter Whitmer, and his revelation is verses five through eight. And then in verse nine. Highlight John, and that's John Whitmer and he is verses nine through 11. So these are the three revelations that were given to these men and something individual for each one of them that you wanna know about is David's revelation comes to him after our experience with Hiram page that we learned about last time when we talked where he was receiving revelations for the church and David kind of followed him.

So that's what the Lord is talking to him about in those verses. When it comes to Peter Whitmer, he is called on a mission among the Laymanites. And something interesting about his mission is he's gonna be the Junior companion, and then John Whitmer, he's so called on a mission, but he's called to go back to his neighborhood in New York and just teach the people he knows.

So while these verses are specifically to these three men, how do they apply to us? And I asked my two guests, what in this section could be peaceable or helpful to us today? What'd you come up with? Well, I, I think the, you know, each man was told also to fear not the world. Oh yes. Um, turn, turn away from the world and open your mouth and bear testimony of Christ, Jesus Christ in his church.

And I think in 30 11 it says, well, I can read the whole thing and your whole labor shall be in Zion with all your soul from Hans Bo. Yay. You shall ever open your mouth in my cause. Not fearing what man can do for I am with you. And I just think as we're set apart to any calling, is that not the same?

Like mm-hmm. Don't fear whether it's ministering or whether it's a young woman's, a release society or elders, whatever calling you. Have fear not to be bold if you're not to. Testimony fair not to open your mouth and, and talk and, and help people through their trials or help, um, just strengthening their, their testimonies.

I think, uh, that's what I really got was how often do we allow fear to get to overcome us? Oh my gosh, that's perfect. Let's mark the word fear in each verse so we have it in verse one. You'll see the word fear in verse five. You'll see it at the very bottom. It says, therefore, fear not. And then the other warning for fear is what you just read in verse 11.

I wanna know, though, what do you guys think? What do you think, Chris? How does fear keep us from feeling peace? Why would that be a warning to them? Well, in my experience, you can't have fear and peace. So you have to choose, do you wanna be afraid of the situation or do you wanna pray and ask for that peace and then ask for direction and go forward.

I know that if I'm doing something. That I feel [00:25:00] prompted to by the Lord. I know I cannot do wrong. I, someone may not like what I say or not agree with what I say, but I know if I'm feeling prompted, it's what the Lord wants me to say. So I really try to say things in that way and be careful and listen for him to guide me that way.

Mm-hmm. We can be afraid even to give a talk in sacrament. We can be afraid to bear testimony. We can be afraid to teach a class. All those things can bring fears because we're always worried about what other people are thinking of us, or if they're gonna judge us. Mm-hmm. Or if they're gonna disagree with us.

Yep. But truly, if we're doing something that the Lord has prompted us to do and say we're not in the wrong. Yeah, absolutely. Oh, that's great. Chris, jump in. Ian. What I always love jumping it in. Uh, what I really liked about just this chapter in itself is that yes, there's things of the world that will keep us from opening our mouth.

Mm-hmm. That's the first part. But I had a little acronym around fear. Ooh. So fear on a negative Sense would be forget everything and run FEAR. Oh, that's cool. Right. Why do you have that acronym? Because I remember that from years ago when I was getting sober and Alcoholics Anonymous when I was 21 years old, even before I joined the church.

Mm-hmm. That it's so simple to say, you know what? Almost said screw it, but. Screw it. I'm just gonna go back to the bottle. Right? Yeah. But the fear was that I was gonna get drunk again. Right. So how can you forget all these great things that, that I've learned along the way to stay sober or stay in the gospel?

Mm-hmm. So now in my gospel truths, the, the fear means face eternal and rejoice. Mm-hmm. So my long run here is not about my time here on the earth and what I can do. It's about changing people's life, including my own, by sharing the gospel. And, um, I've been able to do that and I haven't been called on a mission.

But being baptized member, that's your, that's your thing. I mean, you're baptized. You should be able to do that if you understand why you got baptized. So. Eight or 28 or three. Yeah, right. I'm still absorbing those acronyms. Boy, those are awesome because I mean, listen, one of the things I've learned, and you probably can absolutely relate to this, is done a lot of time in the chair.

We've done a lot of counseling and therapy in our family, and one of the things that we've learned is we have, our daughters will say, I, I have anxiety. And we had one therapist that I loved because my daughter was like, well, I have anxiety. And the therapist said, well, first of all, you don't have anxiety.

You're experiencing a moment where you feel anxious because you're afraid of something. Fear is. Is at the heart of every time you feel anxious. So what are you afraid of? What are you freaking out about? That is probably not true, but your brain's convincing you. It is. And when you gave me this acronym, I thought, oh my gosh, my daughter, every time she was afraid she was forgetting everything and running from what all the therapy we'd been doing.

We, I thought for sure we had prepared her for this moment where she was gonna go to FSY, but she was terrified to go to FSY and be away from home. Yeah, we did. We did months of counseling. She was so ready to do this, and she gets down there and day one fear kicks in. She forgot everything and she ran away from those months of therapy.

And now I love this because in the future, the next time she's afraid, we'll use all the skillset that she received in therapy. And we're gonna use this new acronym too, to face eternal, always rejoicing. And that the two things combined can help her get through any anxious moment. Oh, that is so cool, Ian.

I love that. Like, yes. Okay. You're afraid, acknowledge the fear, and now let's get, let's get rooted and grounded in Christ. You're gonna be okay. And that is good. Yes. I love that idea of fear. Wow. I haven't, uh, pat that saying, so feel free to do so. I, well, I think I might, I'm gonna go ahead and put it on vinyl lettering and sell it a Dee book.

Just kidding. Oh my goodness. Well that is so cool. Just that I felt like that was my connection too to section 30 was this idea to not be afraid. And every time, I mean each one of these men were experiencing some level of fear and the Lord knew it and he just, oh gosh. It's so cool how he [00:30:00] just nipped it in the bud with each one and just opened your mouth.

Wow. Can I add one more thing? Please do, Chris. No, don't do. I just felt when I was reading this, we cannot have fear and peace together. And when you try to find peace in the world, it usually leads you to a deeper and darker destruction. But if you turn to the Lord for peace, he gives it. And I think peace comes differently as well.

Um, sometimes it comes when you're doing his will, sometimes it causes you to pause and be still. Sometimes it calms, calms your troubled heart and sometimes it strengthens you. Peace is what we receive after we have turned our Heavenly Father for help. Mm-hmm. I agree with you. You're absolutely right. It is.

It's when we turn to him, he is peace. Oh, that's beautiful. Thank you. Thank you to both of you. Wow. Well, this is very cool because that's just one section, Dr. The cabinet section 30. So in section 31, we're gonna jump into this one because I thought that this was really cool. The reason for the next revelation wasn't even included in this section because it's way too long.

But in the next segment we're gonna find out who it was given to and a little bit of background about why it was given. And so we'll do that next.

Segment 4

---

Let's look at doctrine and Covenant Section 31, just the section heading. And Chris, will you read that for us please? Yes. Revelation given through Joseph Smith, the prophet to Thomas B. Marsh, September, 1830. The occasion was immediately following a conference of the church, um, then C section, uh, 30. Thomas B.

Marsh had been baptized earlier in the month and had been ordained an elder in the church before this revelation was given. Okay, here's a little bit of background about him before we get into this. So he was looking for a new restored church and he felt prompted to move his entire family from Massachusetts to New York.

And when he was in New York, he heard about this book, this book called The Book of Mormon. So he went to Pal Myy in the fall of 1829 where the book of Mormon was being printed. And then when he was at the printing press, he met Martin Harris. And so Martin actually gave him an early proof sheet of the book, which only had 16 pages in it.

He took those pages back to his wife Elizabeth, and from reading just those 16 pages, he and his wife joined the church. They knew it was true. They moved their entire family to Palmyra, and then he was baptized September, 1830. He is only 29 years old when this takes place, and he gets this revelation. And that's all we know about Thomas B.

Marsh. I wish we knew more about his family structure and everything just because of these verses. Am I right? Yes, we have, we're left with so many questions, but I asked you two to read this section, which I think is so great. God is so good. Knowing nothing about your family, I knew nothing about you guys or your family.

And here you are finding peace in section 31. So I'm gonna turn the time over to you two what verses brought you peace. And Christi, I'm gonna let you go first, Chris, because you kind of teed this up with one of what the Holy Ghost taught you. So hit it, sis. Yeah, I think, um, verse two, behold you have had many afflictions because of your family.

Nevertheless, I'll bless you and your family. Yay. Your little ones and the day come that they will believe and know the truth and be one with you in the, in my church. And I think what parent who lives the gospel principles don't want that. Like if I, you know, in my turbulent times going through divorce and stuff, if the Lord had said this to me.

I would've gone through so much more of my transitioning into the splendid family and everything with so much more confidence and, and going, you know what? The Lord's got my back. I just didn't have that understanding then. And of course, as I've gone to the temple and prayed endlessly about this, I have gained peace in that.

Mm-hmm. Um, that I know that my children will have opportunities that I can't even imagine. Yeah. If I can tell a quick story, my oldest daughter had some very awful things happen to her as a young child by a family member, and she, it was made worse by some members of the church being awfully harsh on her behavior.

Hmm. Um, she hated the church. And when my dad passed away three years ago, she couldn't even walk. She just struggled walking into a church. Because it brought so much anxiety and upset her. Um, she, we got her in, we, I mean, she made it through that moment, but, um, a year, a little over a year ago, she, um, ended up in the hospital with a bad infection that [00:35:00] the doctors weren't sure she was gonna make it through.

And she was in for two weeks. And somehow, some way, the people that were put in her life at that moment has changed her heart and done something for her that I never could do. But she is now trying to read the scriptures and she's finding peace in that. And she's gone to church a few times and, and things that are a miracle to me.

Now I'm watching and I know it's because the Lord has promised me and I watch her journey and I think this little piece right here is a miracle for me. Yeah. And I'm very grateful and when I read a scripture like this, I'm like, oh, the peace that would bring to someone who is gonna go and sacrifice a lot.

I'm sure you know. Well, and for you and for everyone listening who has sacrificed so much to be a member of the church, we absolutely can do this. We've been taught that we can do this through Nephi who said to liken scriptures unto ourselves at verse one where it says, Thomas, my son. Yeah. I would encourage you to write your name, Chris, my daughter, and my son.

Thank you. I believe that. Absolutely. Chris, my daughter. Blessed are you because of your faith in my work. And blessed are you because of your faith in my work. Behold, you have had many afflictions because of your family and isn't. Verse two, the whole culmination of the endowment. Isn't that what we Yes.

We even go for when? When all is said and done after all the covenants we've made, that is the promise that the day cometh. That they will believe and know the truth and be one with you. In my church, I believe that. Thank you for sharing your story, your sweet daughter. Oh, I know. She's amazing. She is. I love her.

And I don't even know. Knower. Wow. Thank you for sharing that story. Mm-hmm. You know, I loved, uh, verse nine. Be patient in afflictions. Revile, not against those that revile govern your house in meekness and be steadfast. Oh, tell me why. Well, there are so many people coming against Chris and I to be together.

Really? Oh yeah. And even after we were married, tons of people still trying to hurt us. Why? In ways. Well, 'cause we were gonna be successful. That's why. 25 years of marriage. Yeah. Uh, it's, it's been wonderful. But really what it brings to me is that no matter how many times people come after you, you think, and I don't know the exact scripture, but it's like someone hurts.

You give them the cloak too. Right. Someone's hurting you and give them everything you got because you know what? You could take everything from me and it doesn't matter. Mm-hmm. But the big thing was to govern your house and neatness and be steadfast and coming from a blended family, that's, that was sort of fun.

Right. But, um, but I learned a lot from my sweet wife Chris, who centered me to have more prayers often. Hmm. And that's really recent too. I mean, it's still even getting better in that area. Which brings me to section 12 or section 31 verse 12. It says, pray always lest you enter in temptation and lose your reward.

So how many times do we say, ah, I'm just gonna break the Sabbath day A mm-hmm. I insert whatever you want, right? Sure. But, um, my reward is this, is, is that I want to be back with my Heavenly Father. That's it. Every decision I make has to be centered in Christ and going back to that arena that I came from, even though I can't remember, right.

But sometimes I'm there going as I read the scriptures and other things, that I get a great opportunity to sit in many, many meetings and sit and see various different people change and. What fun it is to just say, you know what, our big purpose in life is, salvation and exaltation. Mm-hmm. And if it's moving you towards that way, then you're making a right decision.

And I'm not gonna let anybody else change that regardless of what you do. Wow. So well said. So awesome. Okay. I just have to know though, because I'm reading verse 10. Verse 10, in section 31 says, behold, I say unto you that he shall be a physician unto the church, but not unto the world, for they will not receive you.[00:40:00]

Now, Thomas B. Marsh was not a physician at all, not a doctor. But what's so interesting is that many have said he was a spiritual physician, that he had the ability to heal hearts and minds and spirits, not just members, but also converts. He had the ability to teach people the gospel. And I just wonder, Chris, is Ian a physician?

Ian is a physician and he has brought, even though he joined the church after missionary age and he never served, he has served diligently and he has healed people and he has strengthened people and he has brought people to the gospel. He has brought them in and they've been baptized like he has made a difference in so many people's lives.

You know, sometimes you would think men who serve like him, there's no way they'd have time for their home too. Mm-hmm. But he has well balanced that. And I think that that's part of that physician pieces, knowing how to balance things so that you stay healthy. And he is very good at that. Hmm. Yes. That's neat.

I didn't even know that about you. I just had the thought that that came Ian, I, I think you're a physician. I agree. Well, and then we, I think, um, if I can say, yeah, I think really this section as I'm reading it, and the promises and the blessings and the things that are taught are taught to us. Mm-hmm. What a patriarchal blessing.

Oh, I absolutely agree with you. Yeah. That's, tell me why that keep to mind. Yeah. I just thought, you know, as he's, as he's as, I don't know, just going through this, I'm like, you know, this is what we read in our patriarchal blessing. Oh, bless you here. If you're doing this, and this is, this can happen to you if you're following these directions.

And, and it just leads and guides us. And I think what a, this was just his patriarchal blessing. That's what came to mind. I'd like to think that. I mean, verse five is so powerful thrust in your sickle with all your soul and your sins are forgiven you. And then it says, and you will be laden with sheaves upon your back.

And I love this idea that Sheaves is the example of, it's the grain, which is the people that Thomas would harvest by preaching and teaching the gospel, like the reward that that would come from. But then verse 13, I think 13 beautifully sums up everything that you both have said. Be faithful and to the end and low.

I am with you a hundred percent. Right. Oh, so good. All right, well we are gonna then end our segment here. And I just have to tell you, for those of you that are wanting to know Ian's conversion story, 'cause I do, we're gonna hear it in the next segment as we cover three sections, revelations given to five different men.

We'll do that next.

Segment 5

---

We're gonna cover sections 32, 33, and 34. Three Revelations. Five men are receiving these revelations. And so I asked my guests to help me teach these sections and to read them and find peace again, we're looking for examples of peace for these men. So let's go to Doctrine and Calvin's. Section 32. I get to do this one.

And here's what you wanna know. It's given by Joseph Smith to Parley p Pratt and Zeba Peterson. Parley p Pratt, 23-year-old kid. Zeba Peterson is 20 years old and they've only been members of the church for a couple of months, and here they are. They're given these revelations. And what I love about them and what stood out to me is Parley p Pratt.

In verse one, it says, behold, I say unto him that as I live, I will, that he shall declare my gospel and learn of me, and be meek and lowly of heart. I highlighted, learn of me, and be meek and lowly of heart. Remember, he has only been a member a couple of months, and he's being called on a mission. And then Zeba Peterson, the same thing.

But I love verse four, and they shall give heed to that which is written and pretend to no other revelation, and they shall pray. Always. Did you guys notice how many times it says pray always in our sections. It's crazy. Yes, I connected Learn of me from Parley p Pratt. I highlighted that and then I highlighted Pray always and drew a line to connect them, to learn of me and pray always.

That's the goal right there. If you do those things, you will not fail. And that is what the spirit taught me. That was my experience. Going clear back to segment one, when I said, what did the Holy Ghost teach you? That's what it taught me. That when we learn of him and we pray, always, we will absolutely be successful.

And so he gives these revelation to these two men in preparation for the mission that they're going to serve. And I think it's so interesting that they're newly members here, like a month or two, and their conversion stories are really great, which we'll get to a little bit later. But that is what stood out to me in section 32, uh, is just to learn of him and pray always.

Okay, here we go. Section 33. Ian hit it. That's great. Well, um, I'm gonna read a little, just a little bit what was presented already to me and about DNC 33. Okay. These two [00:45:00] men visited the prophet Joseph Smith to ask concerning the will of the Lord to them. In answer, they were instructed to preach the gospel, though it does not appear.

They were called to leave their families and depart on a mission, in which case this call would be equivalent to being a modern stake missionary or even to being missionaries in the sense that e every faithful member is now obligated to be. Northrop left the church soon after the re revelation was given.

Ezra served faithfully for some time, but he also fell away reading. Um, but that your house is built upon, that you are built upon the rock, which is verse 13, which I'm gonna read first. And upon this rock, I will build my church. Yay. Upon the rock, this rock you are built. And if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

Now wouldn't that be great to know that the gates of hell are in my way? Yeah, I was thinking about Ezra Thayer. So this guy, um, was a builder and uh, he had a, a wonderful wife, Elizabeth, and had some children, but, uh, he was really skeptic even before he even heard about the church. But Thayer was perturbed to discover that several members of his family began to take interest in the Book of Mormon.

And while he was away, uh, for a few days, his half brother and nephew rode his horses to hear Hiram Smith. And when he, when Thayer returned, he chastened them because don't you dare take my horses to go listen to some blasphemy thing from Hiram Smith. And they're, and they came back and said, Hey, you know what?

There's something in it. You better go and and hear 'em. It's sort of like, Hey, we're talking about it all the time right now. Come and see, just come and see, you know? So, um, when you bring someone to award for the first time, I hope they're talking about good stuff. Right? So pretty soon, Thayer's House was opened and people were coming and he was talking about the Book of Mormon all the time to his family, but they asked him a question if he still believed about it, and he said, I could not say that I believed it, but I knew it.

Mm-hmm. Different story, right? Yeah. You could leave something, but if you know it, right? Yeah. So, um, so maybe this is a good time just to interject my, my conversion story. I'll tell you this. I'm, I'm about 26 years old, roughly. I worked at a, at a hotel, a really big hotel. My former wife was a, a waitress there and uh, and I was her boss.

And we went to a few different parties after hours type parties after we all got off of work. And I had been sober now for about five years. And so I was pretty good about going out to these parties, but I wasn't drinking. And some of these other people were parting it up except for this one girl. And I said.

Why aren't you drinking? She goes, why aren't you drinking? And I said, well, I have a problem with drinking and so I'm not drinking and I've been sober for five years. She goes, well, I'm a member of the LDS church. And I go, what the heck is that? Right? So a little bit later down down the road, some missionaries came over to my apartment in Tempe and one of 'em was Elder Hansen and the other one was Elder Hansen.

Sort of easy to remember, right? Yeah. So I started reading, uh, about the life of Monson and it sort of resonated with me a heavy service, um mm-hmm. Prophet, right? Goes and visited the, the widows and, and, uh, and it just sort of stuck with me. But, um, so I started reading that. They came back and before you know, it bing and bang a boom.

I, uh, I joined the church and, and then married. Her Camille, I'll use her name. Mm-hmm. And that's where we had our one son, Riley, that's now in our blended family. But I tell you, knowing things from my youth, I know my mom believed in God straight Catholic way, you know, Catholic high schools, all that stuff.

My mom raised me. Um, not to go to church all the time, but we definitely did the Easter and [00:50:00] Christmas things. I mean, those were very important. Right. I spent a couple years in a, in a private Christian school, only because it had daycare when my mom was at school. So it was sort of fun. But once the, uh, the head, head guy, uh, spank me a few times for defending my sister, she pulled us out.

We went to Ranier schools from them. Wow. But, uh. August, uh, 26, I, uh, entered into the waters of baptism and it was, it was beautiful and I really thought that I had made a great decision until a divorce happened. And I'm like, really? Mm-hmm. I made all these changes in my life. I went to the temple, I've done everything right per se.

And, um, and here I am by myself in a small little over the garage apartment out in Draper with a 1-year-old or one and a half year old. And it's like, do I really want to keep doing this? And then I looked at my son and I said, yes, I wanna do this. And by staying in the church, and it kept me in a good position where I was able.

To meet Chris. Mm-hmm. And she has been a highlight of my life because she just is, she's that kind of person and she's supportive for me and she has helped me through hard times too. But none of that would've happened unless I heard the good things about building your foundation on the rock. Yeah. That we need to build our, our life on the rock of Jesus Christ.

Just a firm thing that we can all do. I, I appreciate your story so much. I have written your name, Ian French, right next to verse 13. I mean, of all the verses for you to pick. That is the verse. That is your verse. Because as you're talking about that, yay, upon this rock you're built and if you continue, but this is the part that stood out to me, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you.

And I'm sure that at times in your life you have felt like you were standing. At the gates of hell and you described like, what is going on? I love how you expressed, I did everything I was supposed to do and here I am. Um, but you're a witness that they didn't prevail because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, because of the choice you made.

And going back to that beautiful wording from Ezra, tha I didn't believe I knew. Um, so that's so cool. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing your story, Anne. You're welcome. Okay, well we have one more. So let's go to Doctrine and Covenant section 34. And Chris hit it. Tell us about this revelation given to Orson Pratt.

Okay. About six weeks after he was, uh, after being baptized or some Pratt traveled to Fayette to meet the prophet Joseph Smith, and he wrote the following concerning that meeting. In October of 1830, I traveled westward over 200 miles to see Joseph Smith, the prophet. I found him in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, residing at the home of Mr.

Whitmer. I soon became intimately acquainted with his good, with this good man and also with the witness of the Book of Mormon by my request on the 4th of November, the prophet Joseph Smith, inquired of the Lord for me, and received the Revelation Pub published in doctrine Covenants 34, and reading through this there, there's a lot, I think a few things that really stood out to me.

In verse two. It reads the light and the life of the world. A light which shineth in darkness and the darkness, darkness comprehend if it knot. What came to me was, you know when you're in a dark room and you flick on a flashlight, it's, you can see that flashlight. I mean, you can see the light. You can see what's around you and what's in that light, the vision of that light, and I think.

The type of darkness that the world's gone into, it's created this dark fog, so the light can't even penetrate it. If you're there and we forget what we're doing and we lose our way, and even if someone's shining a light, it's hard to see it. That's a person's internal darkness, I guess. And I think that comes a lot from like anxieties and depressions and pressures and fears.

Those all create fogs that just keep blocking that light. And so many people today deal with that. I felt that even those of us who were raised in the gospel, when we get to those places, even when we have a hard time remembering where the light is and finding that light, I think even some [00:55:00] people have described it like it's a, it's a fog they can't go through.

Even if they're praying. Even if they're reading, they just can't get through that fog sometimes. Um. And what I've listened to other people who've been through this, what I understand is if they just keep going on that path, even if they're not feeling in that moment or seeing that light in that moment, if they keep going, eventually little Ray will start to come through.

And so I just feel like Jesus Christ truly is light and he will penetrate the darkness if we're searching for it. Yeah. Satan is the one who rules the darkness and he wants us to stay there. He wants us to be in it. He wants to take God's children away from him. Uh, and he'll do everything he can to do that.

And if that's us putting ourselves down and putting us in those anxiety moments or those depression moments or whatever that is, he's gonna, he's gonna use that. Mm-hmm. Those are tools for him to use. He knows us. He knows how to get to us. I think. Satan is so dark that he cannot even comprehend or realize that no matter how hard he tries, he will never ultimately win.

Yeah. God's plan is too great and everything has been set up for us. All of all of God's children get to win if we just choose him. Yeah. So as hard as it is and as dark as it is, sometimes we just keep pressing forward. We too will triumph over him. Chris, we'll come. Chris, I love, I love so much that you kept calling us God's children.

You said that several times and it made me look at verse three because now we just have to re, we have to add something to verse three where it says, who so loved the world because. One of the things you have to remember is the revelations when they were given, they were written out in like sentence story form.

There, there weren't verses with periods. If you go and actually look at the real revelation, there won't be periods. So sometimes I wish we could read it that way because he says, my son Orson Harken in here and behold what I, the Lord God shall say unto you, even Jesus Christ, your redeemer, the light and the life of the world, a light which shineth in darkness.

And the darkness comprehended that not who so loved the world that he gave his own life. That as many as would believe right there would believe in the light might become the sons of God or the daughters of God. Wherefore, you are my son and I put a slash and rotten daughter right there. Mm-hmm. Like you are my daughter.

Yeah. And I think you're absolutely right. What you just taught us that is so powerful. Well, I think, um, even the verse four, right after it. The blessed are you for believing. Yes. And in my darkest moments, that's all I could do. Mm-hmm. Is just believe. I know you're there. I can't see you, I can't feel you, but I know you're there.

Yeah. And I, I think that that's where it's just believing. Um, yep. Another thing that kind of just kind of made me giggle a little bit was, um, in verse 12, very verily I say unto you, I come quickly. I am the Lord and your redeemer. Even so, but I thought, oh my goodness. If he's saying it's quickly, then right quickly, am I quickly, or two different times.

But the piece I get from knowing I have a choice to turn to him, I know he's there. I know he is the peacemaker. Mm-hmm. He is the greatest light. So. I can find, I can find him, I can seek him. I can. He will be there no matter what. I know that. But I wish he'd come quickly. I wish he'd come quickly too. I remember when I learned that verse, I was like, and I have written to the side of my verse, is he coming quickly or will his coming be quick?

I don't know. Now I don't know which one it is, but boy, we need him to come. Can, let's just pray every night. Jesus, please. We're ready. Please, please, please. So thank you to both of you for everything you prepared for that discussion. Those verses were awesome. So we're not done with our discussion of peace.

We have one more section and in the next section we are gonna mark what I think is probably one of the sweetest and most peaceful of all the verses in this whole segment. And we'll do that next.

Segment 6

---

I want you just to imagine right now that you are a cute little fluffy sheep and you're in a little flock, and if you were a cute, little, tiny, fluffy sheep, what's something you might be afraid of? Start listing all the things that might give you fear and anxiety and all the things. Well, first of all, I'll start off by saying, uh, for a portion of my life, I was on a farm and we took care of bummer lambs.

So what [01:00:00] I know, the sheep are afraid of wolves or anything that's going to hurt them, okay? They're afraid of being alone and lost, and they're afraid of not getting fed. Oh, please. I gotta write that down. Oh my gosh. That is awesome. Anything you wanna add, Ian? Well, I wish I was on the farm with Chris when she was younger.

'cause then I would've joined the church a lot earlier. So that would've been great. But, uh, you know, when I'm thinking of sheep, what they might be afraid of, I would probably, knowing what I know now, I'd probably be that one sheep that just bailed. 'cause Jesus would come and find me. Right? So the 99 and one, right?

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So I know, I, I think they're probably afraid of fireworks and loud noises. Um, yes. And unfamiliarity, you know? Yeah. So those are my two things, but man, there's so many stories that, you know, you probably have to keep this two and a half hours. Chris, talk about, or bummer lambs and her bunnies and everything on the farm.

Wait, what does it mean? Bummer Lambs. Well, bummer lambs are lambs that the mom has not taken on. So if she's had twins, she only picks one. Or if the mom dies in birth or anything like that, it's called a bummer lamb, because without help, it's gonna die. It's, it's not accepted or it's not being fed. So my dad would bring them home and we would make a formula and feed them out of bottles and, and get them raised to, uh, an adult age.

How would you get in contact with bummer lambs? Did people just know you took care of them? Um, my dad, uh, he worked on a feedlot for a while. He knew someone, I mean, a filas for cows, but he also, his brother, the ma owner's brother took care of sheep, so he just knew people. And so when they had these bummer lambs, sometimes in the spring when lots of lambs are being born, there's lots of bummer lambs.

So they need people to help take care of them and get them, uh, mature. Oh my gosh. I am writing down so many things. This is so cool with this verse. Are you guys are both smiling? 'cause you know the verse, don't you? No. Hey, surprise us there. This is so cool. Oh my gosh. Stop it. Okay, so let's go to Dr. And Covenant section 35.

And there's a lot in this section. We don't even have time to cover all of it. But what we wanna highlight is verse 26 and 27, because after he gets done saying everything to Sidney Rigdon. Now mind you, this is kind of cool about Sidney Rigdon. Here's what you wanna know about him with this revelation specifically.

So Sidney Rigdon, he was baptized in November of 1830, and then Les like a month later, he's given this revelation. He, he had only been a member a month, and Sidney Rigdon was a Baptist minister. And then he left that religion and signed up with the Reform Baptists and started leading that congregation.

When the people got called on their mission to the Layman Night missionaries, they were called to go and serve and teach the Lamanites on their way. They happened upon Sidney Rigdon and his people and convert Sidney Rigdon, as well as 120 other converts who were belonging to Sidney's church. They all join and become members of the Church of Jesus Christ, of Latterday Saints.

So we love these verses like verse three. Will you read that for us, Ian? Behold, verily, verily, I say unto my servant, Sidney, I have looked upon thee and thy works. I have heard thy prayers and prepared thee for a greater work. I mean, what a comforting verse of scripture right there for him. New convert.

And there's so many. Just before we even get to how we wanna end this, is there any other verses you marked in this segment or in this section that you thought were so peaceful and cool? Well, I like the very first one. Oh, great. Read it. Listen to the voice of the Lord your God. Even Alpha Omega, the beginning and the end.

Whose courses? One Eternal round, the same today as yesterday and forever. Tell me why I, because that sums him up to me like that. He's everything. He's the, he's the beginning, he's the end. He he knows he. My understanding of eternal, um, gospel. Like what's gonna happen in the eternities and what's gonna happen?

You know, I, I don't have knowledge of that. I have no real clue. I know what I've been told by the prophets, but really, I don't know how it all works. I, and I just think it's amazing that someone has a plan and I'm a part of it mm-hmm. That someone knows me and, and knows where I'm going, and knows where things are going to go.

I just love that. I, I love this. That's your verse. Do you have one, Ian? I do. It's verse 13, section 35. And in the very beginning when I was [01:05:00] talking about like, you don't need to know everything. Mm-hmm. Here it is. Wherefore I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despise to thrash the nations by the power of my spirit.

Yeah. And if you know heavenly father. Our savior, Jesus Christ. That's all you really need to know to go talk about it right there. Share that with every new missionary about to go to the MTC. Amen. Oh, that's cool. Okay. This is so great. So let's go to how he ends this entire section 35. Here we go. Verses 26 and 27.

Highlight them and Chris, will you please read them for us? Yes. Lift up your hearts and be glad your redemption draw nay fear, not little flock. The kingdom is yours until I come. Behold I come quickly. Even so. Amen. So now I've just completely changed that verse for me forever because of you, Chris, where it says fear, not little flock, I put fear, not little flock, and I put off to the side of bummer lambs.

Aren't we all bummer lambs? Yes. Oh my goodness. I will never look at this verse the same because of what you just taught me. We all are bummer lambs. We all need someone to take care of us. I love how you said there's lots of them in the spring. They, and you said they all need help. They all need someone to take care of them.

Extra help is what I put. Because they're afraid of being lost and alone and hungry. And they're, Chris, you just taught a mouthful. In your experience working with these bummer lambs, I wanna know with your experience then, why do you think he refers to us as his little flock? You know, that actually really stands out to me.

Um, I think of all that God has created and you know, we're just a little part for one, but I believe. Little does refer to our understanding about Christ. And as a flock we're learning together, we're growing together, we're strengthening each other. Mm-hmm. Like when you're in a, a flock and you're moving together in the right direction, uh, more specifically, even following a shepherd, you, you're gonna be safe.

Mm-hmm. It's a safe place. So I think a flock makes me think of a safe place. Maybe. I agree. Oh, I think that's brilliant. It is a safe place, especially with the Shepherd. Mm-hmm. Here's some pretty cool quotes. We have one by Howard W Hunter when he spoke to the students at BYU and then Elder Udo when it comes to this idea of a little flock.

Uh, Ian, will you please read this quote by Howard W Hunter? Sure. My message to you today is to fear not little flock. It is to encourage you to rejoice in the great blessings of life. It is to invite you to feel the great thrill of the gospel living and our father in heaven's love life is wonderful. Can you just hear him say that in his words, right.

Life is wonderful even in the hard times, and there is happiness, joy, and peace that stops along the way and endless portions of them at the end of the road. Okay, keep your thoughts, Chris. We read the next one by Elder Udo. Um, yes, brothers and sisters. We are the Lord's little flock. Thank you. Okay, let's just take a minute then.

I want the both of you to sum up for anyone out there listening right now, give them encouragement about being part of the Lord's little flock. Is this life wonderful? Uh, I would say a hundred percent. It is wonderful. We all have a choice, um, as to which side we look on. Are we looking at those who are walking away, those who are, who are struggling and, and questioning, you know, are we lifting them?

Are we helping them through it, or are we afraid of it? I don't know. I feel like, uh, that's why the Lord gave us each other is to lift and inspire and to strengthen everything I've been through. All I wanna do is help someone else get through it too. Yeah. You know, I just wanna, if I can give him advice or comfort or whatever, peace, and I hope that the, the Lord will use me that way, you know?

Oh, absolutely. Thank you. Chris, what about you, Ian? I. I'm just thinking of the word flock in general. Um, you know, it's really around a bunch of people that are believers or disciples [01:10:00] of Heavenly Father's kingdom. And you know, I, I just think of, uh, not so much a stake with nine wards in it, or 12 wards in it.

I'm just thinking about the flocks that are within a ward, so we get little groups of people. Yeah. It could be the deacon's quorum, it could be the entire relief society. It could be the entire ward that a bishop has to watch over. It could be people in the ward boundaries who are. Either have been part of the gospel or not part of the gospel anymore.

Um, I think about, um, you know, a nursery leader is there. You know, one of my favorite callings in the church when I first became a, a member was to be in the nursery and Oh, absolutely. I know. And it's the only time you could break your fast right away and eat water just on your hands and knees and you're rolling around with them.

Um, but, uh, I am so happy that I belong to many different areas of flocks. Yeah, yeah. Luke 1232. Fear not little flock for it. Is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom? And I think that's what we're trying to do as we're all flocking the flocking mm-hmm. All over the place, right? That we're really just trying to get back to what our Heavenly Father is giving us.

And that's the kingdom. I absolutely agree with you. In fact, I'm imagining Sunday now when I go to church, I will have a completely different look on it from what both of you have just said about this idea of being part of a flock, because now I'm going to be part of a bummer flock. I'm going to be part of this group of little bummer lambs.

And we're, we're all lonely, we're all hungry on some level, right? We're all trying to avoid being hurt and we don't like being in unfamiliar areas. And I just, I, I love the beauty of that, where the bummer lamb is the unwanted lamb from what you've said. I. That that got put off by the mother and they needed somewhere to go.

And that is church. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ and that the Savior is the best shepherd ever because he's you. Chris, as you said, he takes in the bummer lambs all of us. He finds the bummer lambs and he brings us home, and I think this verse is so beautiful now because of what you both taught me and fear not.

We've talked about fear in this whole episode, which the opposite would be peace then instead of fear, not, I'd like to say, have peace, little flock. The kingdom is yours. And so I love that. Wow. I love that. Thank you to both of you. Well, we're done. That's the end of our episode. Thought you guys were so good at this.

Thank you for inviting us. This has been a fun experience for us. Absolutely. Okay, so gather your thoughts. Think of all the things we discussed today and what is something, what is an eternal truth that you learned, which is, what did the Holy Ghost teach you again or reteach you or something you'll remember from our discussion?

I think the first time I read through this, I went, what does she want me to teach? Like I'm reading through it and I'm like, uh, okay. So they had to go on missions. You know, I, I don't know, I just read it in a different place. But when you brought peace into it, when you, I just, I noticed all the places where peace was, uh, if you're not was spoken of, we're opening your mouth, have faith, have peace, have comfort, um, I'll bring you peace.

I love that actually these chapters are just filled with that. And probably it will change how I continue to read the doctrine covenants this year. I wanna find things that have that peace with them and what maybe they did find peace in or what encouraged them to move forward. So, mm-hmm. I think that's what I got out of it, was read it a little differently and find those great moments that are in there.

Excellent. Wow. Thank you, Chris. I'm just going back to section 31 again and, uh, really diving back into that section 12 about pray. Always les you enter in temptation and lose your reward. As I studied this lesson, that was one of the bigger things that really stood out to me in the very, very beginning.

When I was coming through it, I kept coming back to it even after I read 31 and onto 32, 33 and 34, et cetera. It's about my reward. Mm-hmm. And I want to go back [01:15:00] with all the covenants that I've made and to keep them and to have the opportunity to be ready when the savior comes. Ian, thank you. Thank you to both of you.

Um, I will tell you, mine was your acronym, Ian. I loved it. Your acronym for fear and that was so cool, the forget everything and run or Face Eternal and rejoice. So cool. And Chris, for you for sure. I love the idea that we're all part of a bummer flock and I can't think of a better part of a flock to be a part of than, than that one.

So I'm so grateful what you taught me, both of you taught me so many great things in our discussion today. This is, this is one for the books. So thank you to you. You guys are great. Well, it's been a pleasure. Holly's not wrong. Thank you Holly. We love Holly. She's awesome. We love her. I write down moments like this.

It's very cool. Well, thank you. Been great. Okay. What eternal truth did you learn? Go join our Facebook and follow us on Instagram to share what you've learned or ask questions that you have throughout the week. And then at the end of the week, we'll post a question from this discussion. So comment on the post that relates to this lesson and share your thoughts.

You can get to both our Facebook and Instagram by going to the show notes for this episode at ldsliving.com/sundayonmonday. And it's not a bad idea to go there anyway because it's where we have links to all the references and a transcript of this whole discussion, so go check it out. The Sunday on Monday Study Group is a Deseret Bookshelf+ original, brought to you by LDS Living.

It's written and hosted by me, Tammy Lac Hall, and today our incredible study group participants were Chris and Ian French. And you can find more information about my friends at ldsliving.com/sundayonmonday. Our podcast is produced by Cole Wissinger and me. It is edited and mixed by Cole Wissinger, and our executive producer is Erin Hallstrom.

Thanks for being here. We'll see you next week, and please remember that you are God's favorite.