A few years ago, my husband told us he was planning to write a mneumonic song, to help folks remember the sections in the Doctrine and Covenants.

“How’s it going to go?” I laughed. Then I sang the following to the tune used for the New Testament song: ‘1, 2, 3, and 4, and 5, 6, and 7?'”

In response, Bryan sang the first part to us, to the tune “Flow Gently, Sweet Afton” (as in the youtube video above):

“The Doctrine and Covenants has more of God’s word:
Section 1’s the Lord’s Preface; the 4th calls to serve.
18, souls are worth much; 19, please repent.
The Church formed in 20; 27, sacrament.

This past year, Bryan fleshed out the entire text, refining a word or two here and there as we began our 2021 study of the Doctrine and Covenants. On Easter, Bryan finished the video and posted in to Youtube.

For my part, I tried to argue for some of my favorites (the Elect Lady revelation in D&C 25, the discussion of Church governance in D&C 28). But I am pleased to share a song we’ve enjoyed in our family over the years, which helps us remember some of our favorite sections.

One of my favorite movies is “Groundhog Day,” which I have written about on this blog. As many readers will know, it is about a cynical weatherman (played by Bill Murray) who is forced to relive the same day over and over again until he becomes a better person.

The lockdowns have turned the world into “Groundhog Day” for many of us, but of course there is hope, and that hope was made very clear in the words of the prophets over the weekend.

I am still trying to wrap my head around 20 new temples being announced in places like Grand Junction, Colorado and Elko, Nevada. Before the pandemic I went to the temple at least twice a month, and it was usually the highlight of my week. Stuck in these lockdowns, I find it difficult to imagine ever going again, but clearly we will go again, and the thought brings tears to my eyes.

President Nelson’s talk Saturday night during Priesthood Session penetrated my stony heart. It seemed to be aimed right at me. The prophet’s optimism and his accentuation of the positive during the lockdowns gave me hope and reminded me that the suffering of this time will be a blip in the eternities. In terms of the Gospel, things will return to normal soon.

President Oaks’ inspired defense of the US Constitution was a much-needed reminder at a time when so many people seem to think the government should control the actions of others. President Oaks reminded us that the Constitution is about individual rights protecting us from government tyranny.

The international flavor of the Sunday morning session was uplifting and a reminder that we are a growing and worldwide Church.

As the prophets reminded us, we have much to look forward to in the days ahead. This uplifting message was perfectly timed and well-received by so many people. My testimony of the inspiration of Church leadership has never been stronger.

In a few minutes, we will have the chance to participate in General Conference. I almost miss the days when we would live-blog conference. I have fond memories of sitting in darkened chapels, typing away at my computer keyboard, giving you my synopsis of what I was taking away from the session.

But now any of us with modern devices can listen and watch live from whatever corner of the world we are in. Just go to ChurchofJesusChrist.org and click on the Conference stream image (above). And if we can’t participate to the live stream, we can access recordings of the live stream immediately afterwards.

May you have a wonderful Conference weekend and a Holy Easter Sunday!

One of the delights of moving to home-focused, Church-supported study is implicit permission to take your own studies far beyond the level that is appropriate for a general audience meeting for less than an hour in Sunday School.

On April 16, BYU Studies will be releasing a much-anticipated commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, which was the subject of an entire online conference broadcast on March 6, 2021.[ref]The BYU Hebrews Commentary Conference is available on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXbAVRWvW61YxGGxH2xqj1MulRbjefwqs.[/ref]

When I was provided an advance copy for review, I didn’t understand why a commentary on 13 chapters in the New Testament could justify a book that runs nearly 900 pages. But gamely I dove in.

The Gem Painted in Pauline Authorship

The Epistle to the Hebrews is commonly attributed to Paul. But the early fathers noted that the Greek of this epistle is more elegant and refined than Paul’s rather blunt language. It is as if one were to read something written by Neal A. Maxwell and be told it was the work of Bruce R. McConkie.

This beautiful and powerful early epistle clearly could not be entirely attributed to Paul. At best, it was an epistle that someone with a better command of Greek could have written based on the teachings of Paul, himself.

For hundreds of years, Christian leaders struggled to find a way to canonize this precious document. There were those who argued it had to be Paul, despite the wholly different nature of Greek usage. Eventually those who didn’t agree the author was Paul felt it was more worthy to include the Epistle to the Hebrews than to allow this gem to be excluded because its unknown author could not be known to be an apostle.

[The unknown author of the Epistle to the Hebrews refers to himself as a man, so no spinning feminist theories about this one.]

Why read (buy, study, delight in) this Commentary?

The Epistle to the Hebrews was written to children of converts, pleading for them to remain true to Christ. All of us who have embraced the baptism of Christ benefit from the author’s plea to reject today’s faithless ones, embrace Christ, and unite with the faithful from the beginning of time.