Today is our first Gospel Lesson! Your teacher is Brother Ben Hemmings, and his topic rocks! Wait, his topic actually is rocks...

Today's reading: 1 Peter 2:5-9

Every day we walk over them. They are pieces of earth that we don't always consider. They can comprise the footpaths we walk on or the area where we park our cars. They are still used as weapons and still stacked to build the walls and foundations of our houses.

PLEASE NOTE: We are trying something different with this article. It presents an interpretation of a portion of scripture that is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the view of The Church of Jesus Christ. It is intended to promote thought and perhaps discussion on this topic. Please consider this before leaving any comments. – Gospel Blog Ministry Review Team

I've always loved the Bible and Book of Mormon but have felt uncomfortable when reading scripture that says, "...after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations." (See 1 Nephi 12:22-23; see also Alma 3:6, 2 Nephi 5:21-22, Jacob 3:8, 3 Nephi 2:15-16, among many others.)

Did you ever wonder why Jesus sits at the right hand of God?

The writer to the Hebrews refers to the Day of Atonement when he spoke of "a remembrance again made of sins every year" (Hebrews 10:3). That was the greatest day in the year to a godly Hebrew. It was a time to mourn sin and put it away — for the whole nation of Israel.

But God did not want the sacrifices and offerings of a people whose hearts were far from Him. They had sinned and had "come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). A spotless Lamb was required to be the perfect and only sacrifice.

"Help! I want to read the scriptures more, but there are so many books and chapters, and I'm not sure where to start!"

Drawing closer to the Lord through the word of God is so applicable to our lives, but sometimes we struggle to fully dig into the word because — let's face it — there's so much in there! Here are a few suggestions to develop our studying habits:

A few Sundays ago, our minister preached about the Apostle Peter. Have you ever given Peter much thought? A lot of people have. He's one of the more popular apostles to study because he's so likeable. Brash, rash, quick to act, slow to think, Peter reminds us a lot of us.