November 11–17
“An High Priest of Good Things to Come”
Even faithful Saints at times suffer “reproaches and afflictions” that can shake their confidence (see Hebrews 10:32–38). Paul knew that Jewish converts to Christianity were experiencing serious persecution because of their new faith. To encourage them to stay true to their testimonies, he reminded them of the long tradition of faithful believers from their own history: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sara, Joseph, Moses—“a cloud of witnesses” that God’s promises are real and worth waiting for (Hebrews 12:1). This heritage of faith is shared by all those who look “unto Jesus [as] the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). Because of Him, whenever adversity makes us want to “draw back,” we can instead “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22, 38). For us, as for the ancient Saints, Jesus Christ is our “high priest of good things to come” (Hebrews 9:11).
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Hi Melanie, I just want to thank you for doing this podcast and helping so many people, including myself. I just finished last weeks episode on Hebrews 11…I’m a little behind-surprise, surprise! I was inspired by the story you shared about the African women who walked 18 miles and stood all day in the heat to get a temple recommend they knew they would probably never have the opportunity to use. Hearing that, it hit me. That’s what I need to do to be more diligent. I need to get my temple recommend! I have not held one for several years. My husband is not a member, nor does he have any current desire to become one. After we were married I just didn’t see the point in having one. I want to wait for that eventual, HOPEFUL, day that he joins and we can go to the temple together to receive our endowments. However, after hearing that story of those amazing women I realized, it doesn’t matter. I need to hold a current temple recommend to show my obedience to Heavenly Father and so that I am worthy and able to go to the temple whenever the time comes. As soon as the podcast finished I text my bishop to get in for an interview. Thank you for inspiring me today and for helping me get one step closer to where I need to be!