Latter-day Peace Studies presents: Come, Follow Me

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Ben Petersen and Shiloh Logan’s long friendship has coalesced around a deeply shared love of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They’ve spent countless nights together with their families talking about the wonders of hope, love, and peace that come from the gospel of Jesus Christ. In these podcasts, we are searching for moments to sit with the Divine. As we contemplate each week’s readings, we look for how we can understand and use the Sermon on the Mount and the atonement of Jesus Christ to more fully understand the greater narratives of the scriptures.

Latter-day Peace Studies


    • Mar 28, 2023 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 1h 21m AVG DURATION
    • 141 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Latter-day Peace Studies presents: Come, Follow Me

    Episode 142: Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5-6

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2023 94:18


    Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5-6

    Episode 141: Matthew 13; Luke 8, 13

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2023 62:44


    Matthew 13; Luke 8, 13

    Episode 140: Matthew 11-12; Luke 11

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2023 74:06


    Matthew 11-12; Luke 11

    Episode 139: Matthew 9-10; Mark 5; Luke 9

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2023 54:06


    Matthew 9-10; Mark 5; Luke 9

    Episode 138: Matthew 8; Mark 2-4; Luke 7

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2023 74:06


    Matthew 8; Mark 2-4; Luke 7

    Episode 137: Matthew 6-7

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2023 46:16


    Matthew 6-7

    Episode 136: Matthew 5; Luke 6

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2023 80:28


    Matthew 5; Luke 6

    Episode 135: John 2-4

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2023 91:09


    John 2-4

    Episode 134: Matthew 4; Luke 4-5

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 1, 2023 58:36


    Matthew 4; Luke 4-5

    Episode 133: Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 24, 2023 64:18


    Matthew 3, Mark 1, Luke 3

    Episode 132: John 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2023 77:59


    John 1

    Episode 131: Matthew 2 and Luke 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2023 93:51


    Matthew 2 and Luke 2

    Episode 130: Matthew 1 and Luke 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 3, 2023 64:35


    Matthew 1 and Luke 1

    Episode 129: Intro to the New Testament

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2022 122:49


    An Introduction to the New Testament: Context, Text, and Meaning with Dr. David Peck

    Episode 128: Malachi

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 15, 2022 56:20


    Malachi

    Episode 127: Haggai and Zechariah

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2022 83:00


    Haggai and Zechariah

    Episode 126: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2022 48:09


    Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah

    Episode 125: Jonah and Micah

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2022 78:37


    Jonah and Micah

    Episode 124: Amos and Obadiah

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 15, 2022 55:28


    Amos and Obadiah

    Episode 123: Hosea and Joel

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2022 59:54


    Hosea and Joel

    Episode 122: Daniel

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2022 93:31


    Daniel

    Episode 121: Ezekiel

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2022 68:58


    Ezekiel

    Episode 120: Jeremiah 30-52, Lamentations

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2022 101:59


    Jeremiah 30-52, Lamentations

    Episode 119: Jeremiah 1-29

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2022 83:30


    Jeremiah 1-29

    Episode 118: Isaiah 50-66

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2022 74:22


    Isaiah 50-66

    Episode 117: Isaiah 13-49

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2022 71:31


    Isaiah 13-49

    Episode 116: Isaiah 1-12

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2022 75:30


    Isaiah 1-12

    Episode 115: Song of Solomon

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 6, 2022 95:16


    Bonus Episode: Song of Songs (Song of Solomon)

    song of solomon songs song
    Episode 114: Proverbs and Ecclesiastes

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2022 108:03


    Proverbs and Ecclesiastes

    Episode 113: Psalms Part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 24, 2022 85:38


    The Book of Psalms: Part 2

    Episode 112: Intro to Psalms

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2022 47:51


    Intro to Psalms

    Episode 111: Job

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2022 55:35


    Job: The poem about human suffering

    Episode 110: Esther

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 25, 2022 63:01


    The Book of Esther

    Episode 109: Ezra-Nehemiah

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 19, 2022 82:31


    Ezra-Nehemiah: The Remnant Returns

    Episode 108: 2 Kings 17-25

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 11, 2022 78:11


    2 Kings 17-25 Prelude to Exile

    Episode 107: 2 Kings 1-16

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2022 78:56


    2 Kings 1-16 Elisha

    Episode 106: 1 Kings 12-22

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 27, 2022 27:02


    1 Kings 12-22

    Episode 105: 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1-11

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2022 61:48


    Ben flies solo in this episode on 2 Samuel and 1 Kings. The reign of David and Solomon are the golden age of Israelite history. Despite civil wars and brutal rebellions, the monarchy persists and grows in its prestige and splendor. David's sins bring great tragedy and sorrow, but seem to have some profound and timeless lessons. Solomon fulfills his father's promise to build the temple and the project takes on cosmic themes that remind us of the creation in Genesis.

    Episode 104: 1 Samuel

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2022 63:51


    Ben and Christopher continue with a discussion of the first book of Samuel. The various sources that make up the book portray multiple perspectives on monarchy and the kingship. Saul is anointed as the first king of Israel. His military success initially endears him to the people, but his disobedience causes him to lose favor with Samuel and God. David is anointed to succeed Saul and the narrative recounts stories of his bravery, piety, and military prowess. The story of David and Goliath is the unmistakable source of literary allusion in Nephi's account of slaying Laban in the Book of Mormon. What might this say about Nephi's intent, message, inspiration, and actual experience?

    Episode 103: Ruth

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2022 55:53


    The book of Ruth is a love story about a particular kind of love. Hesed is often translated as loving kindness, but it is also loyalty, grace, and courage. It is the kind of love that characterizes the covenant relationship of God with the people or of a man and his wife. Ruth exemplifies hesed in her relationships with Naomi and with Boaz, counting her a worthy ancestor to the Davidic line despite being a foreigner. Hannah pours out her soul to God and is filled. The life of Samuel prepares him for the unique role he will play in transitioning Israel from being ruled by judges to being ruled by kings.

    Episode 102: Judges

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2022 57:42


    The book of Judges traces a pseudo-history of the Israelites after the conquest of Joshua. Israelite judges are more often legendary military heroes than arbitrators of justice. The people follow a cycle of obedience, success, idolatry, bondage, and deliverance. The message is that while God will always deliver his people, the cycle of disorder and bondage can only be broken by a centralized monarchy. “There was no king in Israel” foreshadows the arrival of an anointed king and also evokes a Christological hermeneutic. The symbolism of trees returns in the account of the prophetess Deborah, the calling of Gideon, and the fable of the trees in search of a king. The stage is set for the book of Samuel and the creation of the Israelite monarchy.

    Episode 101: Joshua

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2022 57:13


    The Book of Joshua recounts the Israelites' story of their conquest of Canaan. The Israelites are tasked with creating a sacred space for God's presence. Ben and Christopher discuss the perennial question of Divine Genocide as presented in the text. How does the rhetoric of the text match up with actual known history? If the Israelites didn't actually kill the Canaanites en masse, then why does the text say they did? What does the Book of Joshua have to say to modern peace-loving Christians?

    Episode 100: Deuteronomy

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2022 112:29


    Deuteronomy, Devarim, Words. Moses' words recall his uneasy relationship with speech all the way back to his conversation with God at the burning bush. Moses recounts Israelite history from the Exodus on, continually reiterating that he will not cross into the promised land with his people. This melancholy reminiscing of Moses is likely a product of later editors who crafted this text to fit their contemporary religious reforms around the 7th Century BC. God is more narrowly defined and religious practice is centralized under the authority of the temple priests. This context provides interesting possibilities for the narrative of Lehi and his family in the Book of Mormon. To what degree might Lehi's persecution be for what are deemed by the Deuteronomistic reformers to be unorthodox beliefs and religious practices? How might Nephi's vision of the Tree of Life relate to the Divine Feminine that is so systematically subverted in Deuteronomy? This final book of the Torah calls for interpretation as much as it is itself a complex work of reinterpretation and reform of the Israelite tradition.

    Episode 99: Numbers

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2022 122:43


    Numbers, Bamidbar, In the Wilderness. The children of Israel journey in the wilderness, encountering death, failure, rebellion, and hope. In this largely imagined past there are profound ties to psychological and philosophical questions. Moses struggles with his responsibility as leader and prophet while the people murmur. The threat and reality of divine violence are ever-present, even when God's mercy and love shine through the cracks. The staff of Moses has been a consistent symbol of divine authority and force, but does God have a new way to offer Moses that involves persuasion and gentleness through speech? The Brazen Serpent is raised in the wilderness, offering to heal all who look and typifying the persona of Christ. How are we to perceive divine violence in scripture, even when it is explicitly justified in the text?

    Episode 98: Exodus 35-40; Leviticus 1-27

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2022 101:49


    Can we properly understand the Old Testament if we skip reading some of its chapters? In this longer-than-usual episode, Ben and Christopher tackle Exodus 35-40 and the entire book of Leviticus. This intimidating section of scripture was difficult to approach, but with some help from the great Rob Bell, much of the seemingly irrelevant and bizarre has taken on relevance and profound meaning. In this Priestly manual, the sons of Aaron are invited to participate in the tending of the sacred space created in the Tabernacle as part of a new creation extending beyond it. Israel is called to be this new creation because the LORD has delivered them from slavery in Egypt. Their new system and society respond to the injustices of their captivity, establishing the weekly, seventh-year, and 50th-year (Jubilee) Sabbaths as signs of Israel's covenant relationship with the LORD. All of this in about an hour and a half. As a bonus, Ben and Christopher spend about half an hour more responding to the above question, first raised by Christopher's daughter (though already on Christopher and Ben's minds) by delving deeper into what scripture is, and what to do with it in our own covenant relationship with the LORD.

    Episode 97: Exodus 21-34

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2022 75:22


    Ben and Christopher discuss the laws put forth in the Book of the Covenant. These laws have an Ancient Near Eastern context mirrored in contemporary legal codes in the same context. The general exceptions are in how they treat the disadvantaged of society. Nephi's killing of Laban finds its justification in these verses. The LORD gives instruction on how to construct the tabernacle, being a representation of the cosmos in creation and Eden. Moses wins an argument with God after the people worship before a golden calf. What are we to understand about God and His relationship with the people from this event?

    Episode 96: Exodus 18-20

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2022 62:36


    Moses and the Children of Israel have been delivered from slavery and brought out of Egypt by the power of the LORD. As Moses struggles to bring the people into a relationship with the LORD, he receives wise counsel from his father-in-law Jethro: By creating a bureaucracy, Moses might better govern the people. While this counsel is timely and practical, it also leads to the loss of a deeper experience and relationship Moses was modeling. The Messianic type here is reminiscent of the ministry of Jesus. What moments with God do we lose out on in our daily quests for efficiency? As Moses ascends Mount Sinai, the people are invited to follow him, but they are fearful of the presence of the LORD. They content themselves with second-hand expressions of the divine experience. Do we? The Ten Commandments provide a model for how we might approach scripture avoiding common pitfalls in our approach to interpreting it.

    Episodes 94 & 95: Exodus 7-13; 14-17

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 1, 2022 84:20


    Ben and Christopher combine two weeks' readings into one podcast on the core of the Exodus narrative. The LORD afflicts Egypt with 10 plagues before Pharaoh agrees to let the Israelites go. The God of the Hebrews triumphs over all others and displays his matchless power in their deliverance. The narrative is summarized and repeated in the poetic verse of chapter 15, which is likely a much earlier source of the story that could be attributed to Miriam as a prophet. The LORD continues to deliver his people in the wilderness from thirst, hunger, and enemies.

    Episode 93: Exodus 1-6

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2022 77:55


    In this episode, we begin the Book of Exodus. God begins to fulfill the promises made to the patriarchs when he raises up Moses to lead his people out of bondage in Egypt, and while they won't make it to the promised land until the Book of Joshua, Exodus provides the foundational story of the creation of the nation of Israel. The Book of Exodus can be divided into three parts: First, we witness the power of the Lord as he extends his arm against Pharaoh, sending the ten plagues and finally parting the Sea of Reeds, which swallows up Pharoah and his army, letting Moses and the Israelites escape into the wilderness. In the second part, Moses will ascend Mount Sinai and receive the law (Torah). The final section of the book is devoted to the construction and description of the tabernacle, or the portable temple the Israelites will carry with them over the next 38 years they spend in the desert. A three-part division is also seen in the Sinai episode where the people are gathered at the bottom, the elders are part way up, and Moses is on top speaking with God. We see a similar tripartite division in the third section's description of the tabernacle with its courtyard, Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies.  Later mystics and teachers would use these three-fold divisions to describe the soul's journey to God, labeling the stages with terms such as ‘purification,' contemplation,' and ‘union'. After giving a brief overview of Exodus, we discuss some of the main themes of the book as a whole, and briefly touch on their importance for Israelite religion, later scripture and theology, mysticism, and world literature. This week's reading, chapters 1-6, gives us the background to the story of Moses, with his people enslaved and him in Pharaoh's court. His life takes a drastic turn when he kills a man and has to flee to the desert where he marries Zipporah and lives with his father-in-law, Jethro, as a lowly shepherd. God speaks to him from a bush that burns without being consumed and calls him to lead his people out of Egypt so they can serve Him instead of Pharaoh. God overcomes all of Moses' objections, reveals to him the name by which He will henceforth be known, and Moses makes his first attempt to convince Pharaoh, which fails miserably and makes the situation even worse for the Israelites.  As promised in the podcast, here is a link to an article describing the connection between the Feast of Trumpets and the giving of the gold plates to Joseph Smith.

    Episode 92: Genesis 42-50

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2022 84:02


    The story of Joseph in Egypt is found in texts outside the Bible. Not only do we see it woven deeply into the Book of Mormon narrative, but the account in the Qur'an adds fascinating details. Comparing and contrasting these narratives, Ben and Christopher develop the central point of the story: forgiveness. Despite all that has happened to him, Joseph finally sees God's influence in bringing about the salvation of his family from famine. Even if not every single thing that happens to Joseph is specifically orchestrated by God, Joseph's willingness to forgive his brothers is ultimately the mechanism by which God works the miracle of reuniting and saving his family from destruction, keeping his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

    Episode 91: Genesis 34-41

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2022 83:22


    This week the Come Follow Me curriculum omits a few chapters in Genesis. Ben and Christopher discuss these anyway since they touch on important themes. Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah in turn all make choices that put their legitimacy as heirs in question. Jacob returns to Bethel to establish a mode akin to temple worship. Isaac dies, and the presence of both Esau and Jacob hints at final reconciliation between the brothers. Joseph's story begins, interrupted by the narrative of Judah's impropriety. This contrasts with Joseph's character and legitimacy as the heir of the birthright of Israel. Joseph is sold into Egypt and the Lord is with him through it all. Joseph's story is a fundamental narrative underpinning the story of the Nephites in the Book of Mormon and the development of the Latter-day Saint ethos.

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