20 July 2014

Lesson 25:  Let Everything That Hath Breath Praise The Lord

This lesson covers the Book of Psalms.

Here is the link to the lesson from the Teacher's Manual:  Lesson 25

Here is the link to the lesson from the Class Member Study Guide:  Lesson 25

I would like to start off with listening to Psalm 117 - in Hebrew.  Hebrew is the language of the Jewish people, and the language of the Old Testament.  Click on the mp3 on the upper right corner of the following page to hear Psalm 117 recited.

Psalm 117

The Psalms are known as the ancient hymns for the House of Israel.  They were initially chanted, and later a melody was added to make it a hymn.

Many of the hymns in the Hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the hymnal used in Church) come from the Psalms.

Which hymn was made based upon Psalm 117?  If you look in the hymnal, you will find on Pages 410 - 414 a section that gives you hymn numbers according to scriptures.  This will help you to find a hymn according to a particular scripture you are looking for.  In this case, the hymn for Psalm 117 is:

Praise The Lord With Heart And Voice - Hymn 73

What exactly are Psalms and who wrote them?

Many came from David, but not all of them.  A better explanation is found in the Bible Dictionary.

Some pronunciations can be helpful when reading this.

Tehillim  - te - hee - leem

Mizmor - mees - mor

King James Bible was in 1611

Psalms 23 - per the Harvard Bible 1640 - Bay Psalm Book

The Lord to me a Shepherd is want, therefore shall I not
He in the folds of tender grass doth cause me down to lie
to waters calm me gently leads
restores my soul doth he
he doth in paths of righteousness for his names sake lead me
yea though in the valley of deaths shade I walk none will I fear
because thou art with me thy rod and staff my comfort are
For me a table thou has spread,
in preference of my foes,
thou doth anoint my head with oil,
my cup it over-flows.
Goodness and mercy surely shall all my days follow me,
and in the Lord's house shall I dwell so long as days shall be.


Common phrases used that come from Psalms

Joyful noise
sweet as honey
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Sections to cover:

1.  Prophecies of the life and mission of Jesus Christ

2.  "The Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee"

3.  "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me?"

4. "Trust in the Lord"

Changes To Scriptures

For the purposes of study and teaching, I will be using the 2013 Edition of the Scriptures produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Further information on this edition can be found here.

In addition, some wonderful articles regarding textual changes to scriptures can be found here:

Understanding Textual Changes in the Book of Mormon

The Value of New Textual Sources to the King James Bible

A Prophet Looks at Exodus through Deuteronomy:  Insights from the Joseph Smith Translation

How We Got the Book of Moses

Welcome!

I've just been called by the Lord to serve as a Gospel Doctrine Teacher for my Ward.  I'm so excited!

I'm hoping to provide some links where visitors can find information shared in the class.

A little about me:

I was born in a Jewish hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised Baptist.  I went looking for God when I was 14 years old (I didn't know the story of Joseph Smith at the time, but I found out about it when investigating The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).

While investigating different religions, I learned a number of different things, particularly the differences in how these religions taught about who God was.  My own ideas and thoughts on God had already been formed since I was a small child, and I already had a personal relationship with God.  There were some religions who celebrated this relationship, others did not.  The closest I came to a religion I felt was correct were known at that time as the Messianic Jews (Jewish people who believe and accept Jesus as the Messiah).  It was when I attended meetings at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the first time that I knew this contained all of the beliefs I knew to be of God, and that this was where God wanted me to be.

My family, however, was not happy with this and I had to wait until I turned 18 years of age to be baptized.  It was a hard battle, emotionally and spiritually, but one I am thankful for now, as it forced me to learn the doctrine of the Church very quickly in order to handle the falsehoods I was hearing about the Church.

My life has been very different since, as I was married in the Mesa Arizona Temple in 1998, only to lose my husband in 2000.  We were unable to have children, which has led me to other opportunities that I would not have come to me if my circumstances had been different.

My experiences since my husband's passing have given me further insight into life on the other side of the veil, eternal marriage, eternal life and lives, the Holy Priesthood and other facets of life in the Kingdom of God.