Talking Scripture

→ Watch on YouTube

→ Detailed Show Notes

→ Timestamps:
(00:00) An overview of these chapters.
(02:05) Abraham’s prophetic call and the symbolism of the mighty tree with sacred associations.
(13:26) “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”
(14:00) Hebrew word play with laugh, rejoice, and Isaac’s name. Doubts and hopes are tied together in this story.
(16:36) Abraham bargains with the Lord for Sodom and Gomorrah to be saved because he knows the mercy of God.
(23:25) The story of Sodom and Gomorrah also portrays God’s justice.
(24:34) Lot makes efforts to save his family from destruction in Genesis 19.
(29:33) Lot pitching his tent toward Sodom cost him his family.
(33:41) The troubling narrative of Lot’s two daughters and the cave in Genesis 19.30-38.
(38:22) Beauty for ashes in Isaiah 61.3. Through tragic experiences, beauty can come to pass. Your origin story is not who you are.
(41:48) Genesis 20 is a triplet of the same story. This chapter introduces the Elohist’s narrative, a source text most likely related to Lehi’s Brass Plates text.
(43:04) The long-promised day finally comes and Isaac is born. We should trust and have faith in promises that take time to be fulfilled. The Song of Sarah.
(44:57) Hagar and Ishmael are cast out of Abraham’s household and they wander in the wilderness. Their water runs out and God shows her a well of water. God helps us, but also wants us to do all we can.
(55:22) Complexities, gaps, and anachronisms in Genesis 21. A covenant, a sacred well, and a tree at Beer-sheba are illustrations of temple imagery, connecting the Patriarchs to figures of the temple and visionary experiences.
(58:41) The burial of Sarah in Genesis 23. Different ways to read Abraham’s “mourning” and “weeping” for Sarah.
(1:03:00) The Lord asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac upon Mount Moriah, the foundation stone, Jerusalem’s most sacred ground.
(1:06:47) We are here to be tested. We will have trials of faith equal to Abraham’s.
(1:11:05) Isaac is an excellent type of Jesus Christ. Elder Melvin J. Ballard shares his feelings regarding Heavenly Father sacrificing his Son.

→ For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here.

→ Enroll in Institute

→ YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook

The post Ep 360 | Genesis 18-23, Come Follow Me 2026 (February 23-March 1) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

→ Watch on YouTube

→ Detailed Show Notes

→ Timestamps:
(00:00) The blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant include preservation, protection, priesthood, power, a place, and posterity.
(09:20) The responsibility of the Abrahamic Covenant is to make Christ’s name known to the world and help all to obtain priesthood and temple blessings.
(19:29) The Lord places Abraham and his posterity, Israel, in the center of the world. Our challenge is to influence the world without being influenced by the world.
(29:51) Abraham and Sarah experience “The Hero’s Journey.” Sarah’s combat with Pharaoh is similar to Eve’s battle with the serpent.
(39:01) Abraham grants the superior land to Lot. We should be generous with others as was Abraham.
(40:32) Anachronisms in Genesis 14 are clues as to when it was written.
(43:20) Melchizedek has largely been removed from the Hebrew Bible, but was on the Brass Plates. Melchizedek is a type of Jesus Christ.
(49:57) Abraham and Sarah both gave God the benefit of the doubt in regard to his promise of having seed. Like them, we should do all we can to ensure the Lord’s promises are fulfilled.
(52:49) The ritual cutting of sacrificial animals in Genesis 15 relates to ancient covenant making.
(57:53) Abraham’s visionary experience included both light and darkness.
(1:01:04) The Lord tells Sarai to choose Hagar to bring forth Ishmael. The word used for bringing forth children relates to the idea of “building.”
(1:05:40) Circumcision is a token or sign of the covenant given to Abraham.
(1:07:04) How El Shaddai (the Almighty God) can be read as a representation of our Divine Mother in Heaven, with blessings connected to children and life. The historical evolution of Israel’s view of the nature of God.

→ For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here.

→ Enroll in Institute

→ YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook

The post Ep 359 | Genesis 12-17; Abraham 1-2, Come Follow Me 2026 (February 16-22) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

→ Watch on YouTube

→ Detailed Show Notes

→ Timestamps:
(00:00) Different approaches to reading the flood account.
(03:47) The flood can symbolize a second creation of the earth.
(05:55) A strange passage in Genesis 6.1-4. This text introduces concepts like Watchers, Giants, and a conflict between Enoch and the forces of darkness. It can be read as a polemic against Babylonian religious and political views.
(18:26) Mount Sinai and Mount Hermon as headquarters of the opposing forces of good and evil.
(25:01) Jesus addresses his disciples in Caesarea Philippi, at the foot of Mount Hermon in Matthew 16.13-19.
(32:00) The harsh reality of the portrayal of destruction throughout the scriptures. The Book of Mormon provides a pattern for how to live in peace.
(39:05) The people of Noah’s day were swept off because the earth was corrupt and filled with violence.
(43:33) The Lord sent a prophet and gave them 120 years to change. The people were warned before they were destroyed.
(48:22) Noah’s Ark can be a symbol of the temple.
(57:19) A pattern of how to follow a prophet. It takes patience and faith to follow prophets in a day of peace.
(1:01:48) The bow in the cloud is a token of the covenant in Genesis 9.12-13. When we look up at the rainbow we are remembering the promise of God to bring Enoch and Zion to earth.
(1:06:35) Ways to read the curse Noah gives Canaan in Genesis 9.20-27.
(1:12:27) The Table of Nations in Genesis 10. The dividing of the land and the languages. The Tower of Babel as a polemic against the beliefs of the Babylonians.
(1:17:01) Our connection to Abraham and his covenant. God has promised to preserve us just as he preserved Noah.

→ For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here.

→ Enroll in Institute

→ YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook

The post Ep 358 | Genesis 6-11; Moses 8, Come Follow Me 2026 (February 9-15) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

→ Watch on YouTube

→ Detailed Show Notes

→ Timestamps:
(00:00) Moses 7 reveals the true character of God. He is an eternal being who weeps for His children.
(09:06) The law must be administered. Moses 7.38 – “a prison have I prepared for them.” There is an exit from hell as explained in D&C 19.
(14:51) Terryl and Fiona Givens share their view on “The God Who Weeps.”
(22:19) The teaching that “The Son of Man” will come down to earth, be lifted upon the cross, resurrected, and take up the saints to be crowned (Moses 7.53-56) is rejected by those that edited the Old Testament. Enoch, Lehi, and Nephi teach the message of the Messiah.
(27:40) Enoch literature is apocalyptic and was not included in the Christian canon.
(30:49) Many ideas in the Bible are influenced by the writings of Enoch.
(48:30) There is great wickedness upon the earth. Boyd K. Packer discussed how the youth of our day face greater challenges than those of his generation.
(57:24) Defining what Zion means. Enoch and his people established Zion and were taken up to God.
(1:06:04) In the last days, we are to gather again into a holy city called Zion and the city of Enoch will return.

→ For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here.

→ Enroll in Institute

→ YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook

The post Ep 357 | Moses 7, Come Follow Me 2026 (February 2-8) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.

→ Watch on YouTube

→ Detailed Show Notes

→ Timestamps:
(00:00) The book of the generations of Adam. Another way to view the long lives of the early Patriarchs. The Sumerian King List may help give context to their ages.
(11:38) A brief overview of Enoch literature. The name Mahijah in Moses 6.40 was also found on second century fragments discovered at Qumran in 1948.
(19:13) Scriptures are a book of remembrance.
(21:15) Seers see things we cannot see.
(31:54) The call narrative. Enoch’s prophetic call is consistent with elements of the narrative call pattern.
(34:44) The Plan of Salvation as taught by Adam and Enoch is the same message the Savior taught. The Atoning Messiah is central to the plan, but was removed from the Old Testament.
(49:26) Another way of understanding “children conceived in sin” in Moses 6.55. This text can be connected to the Fallen Angels or the Watchers in 1 Enoch.
(54:50) Children of Christ versus Children of Satan as portrayed in Alma 5 and its connection to Moses 6.55.
(56:19) “Man of Holiness” in Moses 6.57 can be describing God as a man of the temple or the husband of the divine woman.
(58:55) An invitation to find Jesus everywhere.

→ For more of Bryce Dunford’s podcast classes, click here.

→ Enroll in Institute

→ YouTube → Apple Podcasts → Spotify → Amazon Music → Facebook

The post Ep 356 | Genesis 5; Moses 6, Come Follow Me 2026 (January 26-February 1) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.