Follow Him: A Come, Follow Me Podcast - Genesis 37-41 Part 1 • Dr. Brad Wilcox • Mar. 9-15 • Come, Follow Me

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

How do you stay faithful when life is unfair, lonely, and full of temptation? Dr. Brad Wilcox shows how Joseph of Egypt overcame betrayal and adversity by understanding his birthright and covenant mission, and why modern disciples share that same calling.YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/rTg6CPjMORIALL EPISODES/SHOW NOTESfollowHIM website: https://www.followHIM.coFREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKSNew Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBookOld Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBookBook of Mormon: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastBMBook  WEEKLY NEWSLETTER https://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletter  SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/followHIMpodcast Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastTIMECODE:00:00 Part 1 - Dr. Brad Wilcox01:56 Teaser02:48 Joseph is type of Jesus Christ04:22 Bio07:47 Joseph’s background11:44 What is the birthright?16:02 Jacob sleeps on a rock19:45 A covenant relationship began21:43 Mt. Moriah and a “wrestle”28:50 Four mothers and 13 children33:25 A preparatory law35:59 A young Elder Russell M. Nelson41:09 Ephraim and Manassah45:18 Born to Change the World and a special guest51:22 Women’s Conference 50th Anniversary53:32 Elder Bednar’s question55:10 Big picture help59:01 President Nelson reminds about identity1:00:11 Potiphar’s wife1:02:58 End of Part 1 - Dr. Brad WilcoxThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Cofounder, Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsAmelia Kabwika: Portuguese TranscriptsHeather Barlow: Communications DirectorSydney Smith: Social Media, Graphic Design "Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com

Coming up in this episode on Follow Him. We are talking about something that's very personal. We're talking about something that is very applicable in our lives because we have entered the same covenants and we have access to the same blessings, including a birthright. Hello, my friends. Welcome to another episode of Follow Him.

name is Hink Smith, I'm your host. And can we find such a co-host as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is, there is none so discreet and wise as John, by the way. John, did you love that introduction? Yes. I thought you were going to say I had a coat of many colors, but that would be my wife. She has coats of many different colors. Yes, yes. I know that of Kim. John, that is Genesis 41 Pharaoh is talking about Joseph of Egypt. John, I don't know how you felt about recording today, but I know my heart like leaped and then my whole soul became just comforted because I love this man so much. And we've been friends for so long and you've been friends with them even longer. Dr. Brad Wilcox is back on follow him. Who is not to spree at all. Can we find such a one as this? You both fit this category.

Brad, welcome back. Hey, it's so great to be with you. I just have been watching all the good you've been doing. It's remarkable to see this podcast blossoming, reaching more and more and more people. I love it. Some people see us as a bit of a trio, and I love to be included in that. However, John, you've known Brad since the 1900s. I have it. Tell me about Brad in the 1900s. That's right. My first year as an E.FY counselor, anciently we called it EFY, was in 1984. Brad came to speak in...

1985. 1985, the very next year. I remember watching him going, wow, who is this guy? I found out... He's not very discreet. He was walking down discreet, but he wasn't.

Dad jokes, they're starting already. I think everybody who was listening is now tuned out. Yes, this is going to be the whole time, I promise. Before we get too far into this, John, tell me what you think of Joseph of Egypt. You know how I feel. I think it may be the greatest story ever told. I love it, and the more you study it, the more you see types and shadows of Christ, and you see how Joseph's going to save the whole rest of the House of Israel,

and you go, oh, and in the latter days, what's our job, go gather Israel, learning more about ourselves when we learn about Joseph and what he was supposed to do. The things he went through are kind of tough. Oh, man, I call him an unconquerable spirit. Speaking of unconquerable spirits, Brad, what are you thinking about today? What do you want to do? I want to focus on Joseph, but I think we can't do that without backing up a little bit. I want to go back a few chapters, and let's talk about the context in which Joseph lived,

let's talk about his family, let's talk about the covenant. Then I think we're going to be able to understand why he is able to deal with adversity, why he is able to be guided and inspired by God, why he's able to flee temptation, and how he can help Egypt prepare for hardship. We can see why he can stand as a type of Christ because we have a little background. So are you game?

Can we go backwards first before we go forward? Brad, I love it. In fact, it's one of the reasons I said we need to have Brad on the show for this part of the lesson. was hoping that you would do this. Now, Brad, I know you're ready to go, but John, there may be, I don't know who. There may be someone who's a brand new member of the church, who's just started listening to our show, and they don't know who Brad is. So do you have a bit of a bio? I do, yes. Brad is a professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture at BYU. He receives his

bachelor's degree in elementary education and actually taught sixth grade in the Provost School District. wouldn't it be fun to have Brad as your sixth grade teacher? Oh, man. I sure had a lot of fun. Oh, I imagine. He returned God had a master's degree in teaching and learning and a Ph.D. At the University of Wyoming, he joined the faculty at BYU, spent many years in teacher education, and then moved to ancient scripture in 2016.

Hank, a lot of people might know Brad from the great talk he gave at BYU. Everybody can find it on speeches called His Grace Is... sufficient. He also wrote the continuous atonement and the continuous conversion. It's just a great follow-up to that book. Brad grew up in Provo, but he spent his childhood years in Ethiopia, served a mission in Chile and later served as a mission president in Chile-Santago East Mission. He and his family also lived in New Zealand and Spain, where he directed study abroad programs for BYU. He served as a member of the Sunday School General Board. And most recently, as the first counselor in the Young Men General Presidency,

he and his wife, Debbie, have four children and ten grandchildren, right, Brad? Yeah, lots of fun. Brad, you've been released from the Young Men General Presidency. What have they got you doing now? I always tell people that calling's come and go, but covenants never change. If you're living your covenants, you're always going to be busy doing something. I am still having the opportunity to be out with the youth, which I love. I'm still having the opportunity to teach young adults, which I love.

I'm still having the opportunity to help build the kingdom, and that's what I love. I remember once I accidentally posed a question to my friend, who's a state president, I said, hey, what are you now that you're not state president? And he said, happy. I was like, hey, that's not what I meant. That's not what I meant. Let's jump into the Come Follow Me Manual because I want to give Brad all the time to walk us through the House of Israel and through this story. The title of the lesson this week is The Lord was with Joseph.

We know that God blesses people who trust him and keep his commandments. But sometimes it doesn't seem that way. Sometimes the person who trusts God is abused and abandoned by family members. Sometimes the person who bravely refuses to violate. the law of chastity, gets falsely accused anyway. When things like this happened to us, we might be tempted to become angry with God. We might wonder, what's the point of trying to do the right thing if it only seems to make life harder? Joseph, the son of Jacob, could have wondered that, at times this faithful man prospered. At other times, it seemed that the more faithful he was, the more hardship

he faced. But Joseph never left the Lord, and the Lord never left Joseph. That doesn't mean the Lord prevented bad things from happening to Joseph, but through it all, the Lord was with him. Hmm, beautiful. All right, Brad, how far back do we need to go in order to really grasp this story? I want to go clear back to chapter 25 of Genesis. We've just completed the part where Abraham is commanded to sacrifice Isaac. Isaac is willing to be sacrificed.

Some people say, what's the difference between consecration and sacrifice? When we sacrifice, we're putting ourselves in the place of Abraham. When we live the law of consecration, we're putting ourselves in the place of Isaac. We're giving our all. That's now what's happened. And then Isaac has led to his wife in 20, we find out, the very end of 24, it says, and Isaac brought her into his mother, Sarah's tent, and took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her.

Then in the introduction to 25, it says, Rebecca conceives, and Jacob and Esau, twins, struggle in her womb. The Lord reveals their destiny to Rebecca. Over to 23, verse 23, it says, and the Lord said unto her, her. Two nations are in thy womb. Skip down to the bottom of the verse, and it says, And the elder shall serve the younger. So the Lord is revealing to her that the youngest born is the one that's actually going to be the one who has the birthright. Twenty-five, the first they called Esau, and after that came his brother, and his name was called Jacob. Now, go over to the end of 25, and in verse 29 we read, and Jacob made potage.

Potage is anything that you can make in a pot. Think chili, think stew, think chicken noodle soup, anything that can be made in a pot. And Esau came in from the field and was faint. And Esau said to Jacob, feed me, I pray. And Jacob said, sell me this day thy birthright. Now I have been in Israel, and I have been with tour guides who are from the Muslim faith,

I have been with tour guides who are from the Jewish faith, and I have been with tour guides who are from a Christian faith. All three times that I've been with those tour guides, they all say, Jacob tricked Esau, that Jacob tricked him.

He got him when he was hungry, and then he threw this out there, that Jacob was really the one who swinded, his brother out of the birthright. But if we read right here in the scriptures, we see that that's not the case. It's Esau who says, look at verse 32, what prophet shall this birthright do to me?

And then in verse 33, he sold his birthright to Jacob. And then in 34, Jacob gives him bread and pottage. Then the very end of that verse, Esau despised his birthright. It's not that Jacob's tricking him. It's that Jacob values the birthright. He values the blessing. And Esau doesn't. We could go so far as to say, Jacob values a covenant relationship with God. Esau doesn't. So we don't have to feel bad for Esau. We have to remember that he chose not to value something that Jacob chose to value. Brad, I was looking at this same verse in the contemporary English version of the Bible.

Jacob then gave Esau some bread and some of the beans stew. When Esau had finished eating and drinking, he just got up and left, showing how little he thought of his rights as the firstborn. Exactly what we're talking about. Now, if we look up birthright in the Bible dictionary, it will say go to firstborn. If we read under firstborn, then it tells us that the birthright doesn't mean that Esau doesn't get anything. The birthright simply means that Jacob now gets a double portion, an extra portion. So if we go back to the Old Testament, we have a dad and we have a mom, they have number one son, they have number two son, they have two daughters, and they have the baby son.

if that's our family in the Old Testament and Dad dies, I mean he's wealthy, he's loaded, and he dies, who gets the money? Now, if we think of it in today's world, people would say, well, the mom does. If we go back to the Old Testament world, who gets the money? Then everybody's going to say, the number one son. But that's not the case. If dad has three sons, then his estate is divided into four equal parts. baby gets his share and he's out of here he's going to go make his way in the world then the number two son gets his share and he is going to go make his way in the world but the number one son the son with the birthright

gets two shares but notice he's not going anywhere because with the extra portion comes added responsibility he has to care for his mother he has to care for his sisters provide them dowries so that they can be properly married and even after he marries and has a a family himself. He will stay to the end of his days to govern the affairs of his father's kingdom. Now let's think about that in Joseph's life. Joseph ends up with the birthright. Does he care for his brothers and sisters? Oh yeah, he saves their lives. Does he govern the affairs of his father's kingdom? Yes, and all of Egypt at the same time. He fulfills his birthright. Well, what does that mean for us. Today we're not talking about Old Testament gender roles and we're not talking about birth order

in earthly families. We're talking about God's family and we're talking about the blessings that are ours as we choose to enter the covenant. As we enter the same covenant that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob entered, then we become heirs to the same blessings. And one of those blessings is the birthright. So we have a birthright? We certainly do. We have an extra portion temporally and spiritually. My goodness, there's not anybody who's listening to this podcast who can't say, I have received temporal blessings, and I have received spiritual blessings. Now, with those blessings, it's not too much for God to ask us to do something extra, do something more. because he's already given us so much more. So he asks us to care for our brothers and sisters.

Why do I have to pay humanitarian aid? Why do I have to pay fast offerings? Why on earth do I have to go on a mission? To care for my brothers and sisters? Why do I have to have a calling? Why do I have to stand up in front of people and go like this and nobody even looks at you? To govern the affairs of my father's estate.

God can ask more of us because he's given more to us. As I said in general conference when I spoke on this topic, does that mean that we are better than others? No. It simply means that God expects us to help others be better because we have already entered a covenant relationship with him. Now let's go to chapter 28 and let's see this covenant relationship. relationship in a Jacob's life. It says in the introduction, he blesses Jacob and his seed with the

blessings of Abraham, the same covenant that Abraham had entered, that Isaac had entered. Now Jacob is going to enter this same covenant relationship. Jacob sees a vision of a ladder reaching up into heaven. Let's go to 10 and we'll start there. Hank, do you have that in front of you? Do you mind reading for us? And Jacob went out from Bereshiba and went toward Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night because the sun was set. And he took up the stones of that place and put them for his pillows. Not a very comfortable pillow. But do you realize that the stone that English monarchs have sat on for years when they are crowned?

is called the Stone of Scon, or the Stone of Destiny. It's kept in Edinburgh. They bring it to Westminster Abbey when there is a coronation. So if you've watched a coronation, you have seen a queen or a king be crowned while sitting on a wooden chair that has the stone beneath them. The legend is that this was the very stone that Jacob slept on. They're claiming authority from a stone, much like many people in the world claim authority from the Bible.

But the Bible can't give authority. A stone can't give authority. But isn't it interesting that they're claiming authority based on a stone that a prophet slept on? How blessed we are because of the restoration. because we understand that we actually have the same authority, the same covenants that were had by Jacob, that we're not dependent on a stone to be able to have a claim to that authority. Look at the covenants now that Jacob is entering, 12, and he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven, and behold the angels of God ascended

and descending, ascending and descending on it. Now, in our language today, we probably wouldn't see a ladder going up to heaven, but we could see a covenant path. He is entering the covenant path. And as he does, look at 13. And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham, thy father, the God of Isaac, and then he promises the same blessings of the covenant to Jacob. Look at land, promised land, what we could see eternally as the celestial kingdom. Look at 14, he promises seed or posterity, which we could see eternally as an internal family. Then he says all the families of the earth will be blessed, and how will they be be blessed through the priesthood keys that are given.

Priesthood, posterity, promised land. These are the blessings that were given to Abraham, blessings given to Isaac as they entered a covenant relationship. And now these are the blessings that are being given to Jacob. And they are the blessings that we all can have as we enter the same covenant relationship that they are entering. Look at 15, I am with thee. What was the title of this lesson, Hank?

The Lord was with him. Yes. He's telling Jacob, I am with thee. I will not leave thee. This is a relationship. A covenant isn't a contract where we have a landlord and a renter, and if the renter doesn't pay rent, the landlord kicks him out. It's not a contract. It's a relationship. I am with thee. I will not leave

thee because we are now in a covenant relationship with each other. And it says, 16 and Jacob awakened out of his sleep and he said, surely the Lord is in this place. If the Lord is in this place, could we call it a temple? Well, that's what they do. Look at 17. This is none of other, but the house of God. And this is the gate of heaven. Then look at 19, and he called the name of that place, Bethel. Beth, of course, means house of. Bethlehem means house of bread. So Bethel means house of Elohim. This is a temple where they're making covenants. If God will be with me. Jacob vows a vow. If God will be with me and will keep me in the way that I go, then I will have his raiment to put on. Do we receive special clothing as we make an oath

and covenant with God? Do we receive a garment? Do we receive the robes of the priesthood? Yes, we certainly, certainly do. Brad, according to Jewish rabbis, this spot is Mount Moriah. It's the very place where his father was about to be sacrificed by his grandfather, and the same place where the temple was eventually built. This is a sacred place. We'll cover one more thing before we start going into the House of Israel. Genesis 32, 24.

It says, and Jacob was left alone. and there wrestled a man with him or an angel with him until the breaking of the day. Brad, I love this footnote here. Footnote 24A takes you to Enos. I love how Enos starts. Enos has one book in the book Mormon, and he says, let me tell you of the wrestle that I had before I obtained a remission of my sins. He didn't wrestle with anybody. He wrestled with himself. Of all the things he wants to tell us about, Here's how I obtained a remission of my sins, and he described it as a wrestle. See, he's not saying here he's wrestling with an angel.

He's wrestling with himself before God, before an angel, like Enos. Look at the bottom of 36. I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. Wait, he already has received blessings. He received a promised land. He received posterity. He received the priesthood keys. what other blessings are there?

You mean we only make a covenant once? No, we make a covenant more than once. If a covenant is a contract, maybe you'd only need to sign it once. But if a covenant is a relationship, then you're going to renew that relationship. Now Jacob is going into a deeper relationship. When we are ready to go into a deeper relationship with God, we enter the temple to make more covenant.

and we receive a new name. Now watch what happens to Jacob, and he said unto him, what is thy name? And he said Jacob, 28, and he said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. Israel is his name now that he is making additional covenants.

What did President Nelson teach us that Israel means? Bible Dictionary has one who prevails with God and let God prevail. Yep, and right here in verse 28, it says, power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. We see there's meaning in this name. So the house of Israel is simply the family or posterity of Jacob. Are there people on the earth at this point who have descended from Noah, but not from Jacob? Yes, of course, many. Are there people who have descended from Abraham who have not descended from Jacob? Many. We now realize that the House of Israel does not include

all of mankind. These are the ones that will be tasked with the job of taking the blessings to all mankind. These are the ones who will be tasked with the responsibility of bringing all of God's children home to him. When I spoke in general conference on this theme, I said, so does that mean that we're chosen? Yes. But not chosen to rule and reign, chosen to serve. I said, does that mean that we are loved? Yes, but more important, it means that we are trusted. God trusts the House of Israel to be the workers who will then extend God's blessings to all of his children. Look at 30. Has he entered into greater covenants? Yes, Jacob said, for I have seen God, face to face. Let's talk House of Israel.

Now we're at a point where we can start with Jacob. I am an elementary school teacher, and I'm going to hold up some signs here so that people can stick with me. Jacob, righteous man, we're in Genesis 29. He wanted the covenant. He wanted the birthright. He lived the covenant. He lived the birthright. He wanted to marry a girl named Roe.

Rachel. Now, Rachel was someone he worked for seven years to be able to marry her. And by the time it was time for her to be married, then her older sister, Leah, was not married. It was inappropriate for an older sister to marry after a younger sister. So Jacob marries Rachel first, and then he marries Leah. What? My students in my classes say, Brother Wilcox, that's a lot. That's a lot. That's a sounds like polygamy. And I say, no, it doesn't sound like polygamy. It is polygamy. And it's right in the Bible. Some of them say, Brother Wilcox, I'm struggling with my testimony because I found out Joseph Smith was a polygamous. And I say, how come you're not struggling with your testimony because Jacob was a polygamous? It's right in the Bible. Oh, so am I saying that everybody's going to have to live

this way? No, God has never asked this of all of his children, but he has asked it of some when he is trying to have a posterity that can bless all of his children. Why did we have to live polygamy at the beginning of the church? I don't know all the reasons, but I know a good one to get me here. How many listening to this podcast are on this earth because somebody lived polygamy? Those of you who don't have your hands up, maybe you're not going back far enough. We all are here because someone was willing to live this law when it was asked of them. Occasionally, when we're doing this similar thing in my class, I'll say Abraham and, and they'll say Sarah, and they'll say Isaac, and they'll say Rebecca, and I'll say Jacob, and they'll say

Rachel, and then I'll just sit there. And what? I'm like, Leah, Bilha, Zilpa, And it's almost like we don't want to talk about these people who are our family. This is our family. This is our story. We don't just throw these three women. Well, they're not really in our history. Well, then you're losing how many of the tribes, Brad? I think 10?

Yeah. 10 of the 12 tribes of Jacob, of Israel. Yeah. That's a wonderful point. Leah then starts having children. She has Rubin, number one. son. She has Simeon, number two son.

She has Levi, number three son, and she has Judah, number four son. Now about now, Rachel's like freaking out. She's like, whoa, Leah is filling the whole primary. Like the whole primary

belongs to my sister. I want to have children too. She says, will you, Jacob, marry my handmaiden Bill Haugh, and will You have children to me, this is in Genesis 30, through her. So Jacob marries Bilha. She becomes his third wife, his first concubine.

Whoa, concubines. I thought those were wicked and evil. Well, they are in the book of Mormon when King Noah takes them without authority. But a concubine is secondary wife. In this case, a wife who's given rather than taken. In this case, a wife who is from a lower social status. This is her handmaiden. Now, do we have a precedent for a wife giving a handmaiden to have children?

Yes, right, with Abraham and Hagar. We have precedent with Abraham and Sarah. Then Abraham marries, according to the doctrine and covenants, marries Hagar, and she has a child to Sarah. We've got the precedent there. Bilha has two sons. She has Dan, number five, and Naftali, number six. Well, then about then, Leia says, this is a great idea.

Get another woman to have your children? Oh, I love that idea. She says, will you please take my handmaiden, Zilpa, and will you have children to me through her? So Jacob marries Zilpah. She becomes his fourth wife, his second concubine. And she has son number seven, gad, and son number eight, Asher. Now you think it's got to be Rachel's turn.

It's just got to be Rachel's turn. Well, it's not. Leia kicks in again. And she has son number. nine, Isacar. Now, who is his grandpa? Isaac. Isaac. He's named after his grandfather. How many listeners have been named after grandparents? Well, that's what's happening here. See, this whole family, this has the texture of reality, not the texture of fiction and fantasy. All right, here we go. Then she has son number 10, Zebulon, and then she has the only daughter who's mentioned,

and that is Dinah. Finally now, it is Rachel's turn. And Rachel now has her two sons, Joseph, number 11, and Benjamin. This is in Genesis 35. There you have the 12 sons, the 12 tribes of Israel, but we're not done.

That's where we end when we're teaching primary. that's where we end when we are writing Broadway musicals. But it gets a little more complex than this. Remember, it has the texture of reality. It's complex. The first thing we need to realize is that we don't worry too much about the number 12. How many men are in the quorum of the 12? More than 12.

More than 12. When one passes away, do we call up? at the quorum of the 11? No. Don't worry too much about the number. You're going to find out there's 14 tribes that patriarchs can use when they're giving patriarchal blessings. And as you read the Old Testament, you'll find out there's half tribes beyond that. Let's go now to the complexity. The first thing we need to understand is that Levi is not a traditional tribe. He has a posterity, but he doesn't have a land of inheritance. Because Levi is the priesthood. Have you ever heard of the Levitical priesthood? When Moses was taking the Israelites out of Egypt, he found out it was a lot

harder to get Egypt out of the Israelites, a lot harder. They needed a preparatory law, a preparatory priesthood, and the Levites were the ones chosen to administer that priesthood. And, to take care of the priested responsibilities like the sacrifices. We have Levi that's not a traditional tribe, no land of inheritance. Then, where does the other tribe come from? Who has the birthright? Now you're going to understand why I've backed way up. Who has the birthright?

We would say, well, the oldest son was Rubin. Ruben has the birthright. What is the birthright according to the Bible dictionary? A double portion, an extra portion. We could say that instead of one tribe, Ruben would have two tribes. But Ruben also has something else. Ruben has a morality problem with one of his father's wives. Bill Haugh. I know. It's worse than TV. It's worse than some sort. soap opera. But they repent. Bilha repents. Ruben repents. Ruben retains his tribe. But he loses the birthright. You mean a birthright can be lost? Yes. This extra blessing, these extra responsibilities can be passed to another when we don't choose to live the covenant

that we have entered. Ruben loses the birthright, and it's passed not to Simeon, which would be the case if Jacob only had one wife. But because he has multiple wives, then the birthright is passed to the firstborn of the second full wife, and that is Joseph.

Go, go, go, Joseph. Come on now, Joseph, nah, na, na, nah. Come on now, Joseph, na, na, na, nah. That's Joseph. He has the birthright. He has the extra portion. Now, remember the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors. Remember the story. Why do the storybook say he got the coat? Because he was daddy's little favorite. But remember that President Nelson, when he was a young apostle in 1988, John, this was back when we were just starting to work with EFY, in 1980, in 1988, that young apostle blew my mind.

He came to a devotional, and it was called Thanks for the Covenant. You can find it at speeches.b.w.edu. And he said, Joseph didn't get the coat because he was Daddy's little favorite. He got the coat because it was a symbol of his extra portion, a symbol of his birthright. Now you want to get even more interesting. Hugh Nibble used to tell his classes that the coat could not have just been a coat that we think of as something over clothing. The coat could have been coat as in coats of skins, as in something we wear under clothing, as in a garment. Yeah, but a colored garment?

Well, when you wash yours with your reds, then you also have a coat of many colors, but you only do that once, and then you'll learn your lesson. What did Hugh Nibbley say was meant by many colors? He said it this way, a coat of many markings. Do we wear a coat?

coat of many markings, that remind us of our covenant, that remind us of our birthright? Oh, yes, we do. We do. Joseph has the birthright. And if a birthright is an extra portion, then instead of one tribe, how many tribes does Joseph have? Two. And he has two sons. He marries Asinath, and then he has Manasa, who is born first, where in Genesis 48, he has Ephraim, who is born second, Genesis 48. Then Grandpa, Jacob adopts these boys. They're no longer grandsons. They're going to be on equal footing with the other tribal leaders. He adopts them, and he adopts them in a different order. He adopts Ephraim first, and then he adopts Manasseh.

Ephraim and Manassah. There you have the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph is not a traditional tribe. He's represented by Ephraim and Manasseh. Levi is not a traditional tribe. The two tribes that take the place of Joseph and Levi are Ephraim and Manasseh. If we go to First Chronicles 5-1, we read that the birthright was given to the sons, plural, of Joseph. The sons of Joseph.

Ephraim and Manassah are both holders of the birthright blessings and the birthright responsibilities. Now let's do what you can't do in any other church. Let's do what you can't do in any other religion. How many who are listening are from Ephraim? How many are from Manasseh. Hmm, interesting. Ephraim and Manassah gathered first in the final last days because they have the birthright. They are now responsible for gathering all the other tribes of Israel.

Now, if you go to 49 of Genesis and you look at the introduction to the chapter, you see the words temporal and spiritual. If we link those up to the order in which the sons were adopted, then we see that Ephraim becomes the temporal kingdom builders, and Manasseh becomes the spiritual kingdom builders. Ephraim and Manasseh, working together to prepare the world for the second coming of Jesus Christ, gathering the other tribes of Israel so that when Christ comes, there's an additional layer of organization. So what if you're from Zebulon?

So what if you're from Naftali? So what if you're from Judah? So what if you're from Benjamin? What does that mean? Well, right now, all the tribes will work together to help Ephraim and Manasseh prepare for the second coming. Isaiah says that when Jesus comes, the government shall be upon His. shoulders. Well, if it's on his shoulders, then it's also on our shoulders. We will have the organization of the church and the world will be governed spiritually by Jesus Christ. President Oak says,

that's where the tribes may come in. He calls the tribes the government of God. Jesus, when he comes, He's not going to have a president. There's not going to be a Congress or a Senate. There's not going to be prime minister or a parliament or kings or queens or princeses. He will run the world. Will we live in our tribes? No. Family is the organization of heaven.

We will live in families. But can families have different responsibilities? They do now. Your dad's in the bishopric. Your mom's in the primary president. your sisters in the presidency of the oldest young women class, and your brother is the first counselor in the teacher's quorum presidency. We have different responsibilities, but we still live as families.

How can family members be from different tribes? President Oaks has taught that when the patriarch puts his hands on your head, he's not giving you a DNA test. At this point, after all the generations, and all the intermarrying between tribes and outside of Israel, we're all mudbloods in Harry Potter language. We're not pure blood anything. So when the patriarch is putting his hands on your head,

he is by inspiration from the Holy Ghost. He is declaring what President Nelson said is your linkage to the past and your linkage to the future. Not just your linkage to the past, the tribe through which you will receive your blessings, but the tribe through which you will bless others. Now we have hints, Moses's blessings of the tribes, we have hints, Jacob blesses the tribes, and those give hints as to what the tribes may one day be responsible for, but we don't know until Jesus Christ comes again.

we have to have an organization in place. Now do you understand why when I had the opportunity to speak to the youth of the church, I said, don't sell your birthright for a mess of pottage. Think of Rubin. Don't trade everything for nothing. Don't let the world change you when you were born to change the world. We needed that background. John and Hank, I'm sorry I've taken us on a little diversion from Joseph,

but we needed that background to understand why Joseph makes the choices he makes and why he does what he does. This gives us that background. suddenly we realize we're not just learning a story that they can teach in vacation Bible school. We're not just learning a Broadway musical. We are talking about something that's very personal. We're talking about something that is very applicable in our lives because we have entered the same covenants

and we have access to the same blessings, including a birthright. Brad, this reminds me of some of the material you covered. You wrote a little book called Born to Change the World. Yes. Also, Brad, you wrote one called Your Patriarchal Blessing. I don't know about both of you, but how often do you get questions from somebody that it is from Dan or from Asher? What am I supposed to do?

because they're looking way back to this little brief, tiny fractional account of a blessing that Jacob gave or Moses mentioned or something, not looking at their own patriarchal blessings. So I'm glad you covered that. I loved that President Nelson told the missionaries, go find those who are willing to let God prevail. I thought that was such a great description. Who is the House of Israel? They are those who are willing to let God prevail. We're not just looking for a bloodline. We are looking for anybody who's willing to come in. Remember, Esau had a bloodline, but he didn't want it. We're looking for anybody who's willing to enter this covenant relationship with God, to let God prevail, and be willing to be willing to be part of the workers who are going to be able to take the blessings of Abraham. to all of God's children on both sides of the bail.

Brad, what you just did, you've done a few times in different firesides. I've been teaching it ever since President Nelson spoke to us in 1988. I have been on fire about teaching the House of Israel. Quite a few times. I give a similar fireside, and people will come up after and say, you really should get to know Brad Wilcox, because he gives it very similar. And I'll say, oh, okay, well, thank you.

I will see if I can go down the hall at BYU and get to know him. Yeah. Brad, if I remember right, it was a big audience last year at BYU's women's conference. You were able to do this talk and it was quite a scene because you had a special guest. Tell us all about it. Well, it was so funny because I had been invited to speak on this and they wanted me to talk about the House of Israel and the Covenant. I thought, oh, it'd be so cool if I could get that coat there, that coat of many colors. So I called Donnie, who's a friend from high school days, I said, Donnie, could I borrow the coat to show at women's conference?

He said, absolutely not. He says, I would never let that coat out of my sight. He says, but I'll come. And I said, wait, you have like a Las Vegas show you're doing. How could you break away? And he says, actually that night, I'm on a break. I am not doing a show that night. He says, I'll just come with you.

So I called the people who were running women's conferences and said, would it be all right? If Donnie Osmond came wearing the coat of many colors, and they said only if he sings. And so he did. But it was so fun. I actually got Donnie's family, his grandkids, to come up and hold these little cards

that I was holding up. They came out dressed in the Old Testament clothing, and they stood there and they were the little family. Then I said, oh, you know what would really be cool is if we actually have the guy that played Joseph on the Broadway show and in the movie, and it would be so cool if we had the guy who actually wore the coat. I said, wouldn't it be cool if we had Donnie Osmond here

and then Donnie came out? And everybody was screaming and clapping. And Donna came out showing the coat. And it was really something. He helped me teach and he testified. He talked about John, his own patriarchal blessing. He did a beautiful job of talking about how the coat is a symbol of covenant and how the coat is a symbol of birthright.

I mean, it was beautiful. And then he sang. He sang. He sang Amazing Grace. And he sang, do, do my name. coat do da da laing lining da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da everybody was just loving it loving it loving it that was a lot of fun donnie osman the person that people picture when they're thinking of joseph he was right there he was right there and it was just wonderful how beautiful is that i tried out for that part

soon as i said i look handsome i look smart i mean right there they cut off the addition. You're just not right for this part at all. You're not a walking work of art. Exactly. I wanted to give a shout out to Donnie because it was 30 years ago. I lived in the river bottoms in Provo in a little condo and I had the nerve to go knock on his door and he's saying happy birthday to my sister Sally at the piano. When I showed that to my sister, she about lost it. So as good and as nice as a person as you hope he is, he is. He and his wife, Debbie, are a powerful team. They have a wonderful family.

And it was so fun to have them up there on the stage. And nobody quite knew exactly who they were at first. A couple people started catching on. But then when Donnie walked out, everybody just went crazy. That's so great. So great. Those of you watching on YouTube, We'll put some pictures up over the video feed here.

I don't know if brother or sister Osmond listened to the show, but someone who knows them, tell them thank you for being part of our show today. Yeah. And a special came came on the show. That's an invitation. Come on the show. You're always welcome. John, we never do a commercial on Follow Him,

but we're talking about Women's Conference, and both of you know that I will be thrown out of my family. If I don't mention that Women's Conference is having its 50th anniversary this year. I'm really excited for that. President Camille Johnson is speaking. Sister Tamara W. Runea is speaking. Elder Bednar is speaking. Sister Dew is speaking. Of course, many, many other speakers are coming,

and my sister, Jennifer, who runs that show, will keep me in the family now that I've told everybody. Well, it's an incredible experience. it's totally worth it. I want to throw something in, because as we've just outlined this backstory, I want to fast forward it to the future and read something from one of my favorite writers and speakers,

and I'll read it in my most interesting voice, although I won't be able to do it as well as he does. Listen to this storytelling. In my imagination, I see Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, Rachel, Leah, Bilha, and Zilpa asking the Savior how and when he would fulfill the promise made to their family. I see them reminding him that he had promised priesthood, posterity, and promised lands, which you told us about, Brad.

I picture them waiting eagerly, pacing back and forth until the Savior calls them over. With a gesture toward the earth, this is beautiful writing, he shows them a young boy, a humble farmer, walking into a grove of trees in upstate New York, and saying something like, I'm starting right now, with him. Then with the sweep of his hand towards an innumerable host of spirits he had held back for this very moment, you, me, our parents and grandparents, our children and grandchildren, the Savior must have added something like, and they are my grand finale. If I were to ask a typical primary age child why they came to earth, I imagine I'd hear things like to get a body or to be

tested, to have a family, to become like Heavenly Father, which are all age-appropriate answers. But listen to how Elder David A. Beddnard answered that question. I'm still quoting one of my favorite authors. He said, we were four ordained in the premortal existence and born into mortality to fulfill the covenant and promise God made to Abraham. That is who we are, and that is why we are here today and always. That's the end of the quote from Elder Bedinard. Now back to one of my favorite speakers. Now please listen to me. You will always feel something missing from your life if you are not helping to gather Israel. And you will find your most profound and purest joys

when you are fully engaged in his work with your loved ones. Why? Deep down, your spirit knows why you came here. John, I know the talk. I know the talk. It was given to Ensign College by our very own Hank Smith. By Hank Smith. How do you find that, Hank?

Go to nsign.org. Go to Enzyne College's YouTube page, and they'll have it. What was the title of it, Hank? The righteousness of your Redeemer. I want to connect some Josephs here. Go to 2 Nephi 3. 2 Nephi talks to Jacob.

2 Nephi 3, Lehi talks to Joseph about a prophecy of Joseph of Egypt. And then he mentions a Latter-day Joseph who will be named after the name of his father. That's for Joseph so far in this chapter. that Joseph that, as you so beautifully put it, Hank, the Savior with a wave of his hand, directs our attention to this grove of trees where Joseph walks in and connects these Josephs all together. What a big story we're talking about today.

Yeah. We need the big picture so that we can truly appreciate the things we cover now as we talk about Joseph, who is hated by his brothers. His brothers are envious of him. He gets sold as a slave. He gets beaten up and put in a pit. We also see that they take an animal and kill the animal to put blood on his garment, on his coat, that they take to his father, who then grieves his death. This is a horrendous experience. But without the big picture, you almost feel like the older brothers are justified.

because Joseph has been nothing but a braggart. Oh, all of you are going to bow to me. I had a dream and I'm special and you're not. See, if we look at it without the big picture, then we can side with the brothers. If we see the big picture, then we realize that Joseph is actually a type of Jesus Christ, that his brothers are wrong to be working,

against him. Then he goes into all kinds of struggles and trials. Talk about adversity. I mean, he faces adversity. He goes, and then he's a slave, and he's sold, and he ends up being with Potipher, and he ends up making a name for himself in Potipers' house, and because he is handsome, because he is strong, then Potipers' wife starts trying to put her hooks into him. Look at what he's going through. Can we say he's blessed? Well, it depends on how you define a blessing. Blessing is anything that draws us closer to God than in a way he is being very blessed. Remember, the key isn't just that he was loved by God.

He was trusted by God. And look at how he proves himself trustworthy. Brad, you said something earlier that I just loved it and I hadn't thought about. You said, Joseph is able to make these incredible decisions, overcome these temptations, survive trials because he knew who he was. That's why we did that whole story. That's something I was thinking about when I gave that devotional John talked about, was if you know who you are and why you came here, decisions, trials, temptations, they change for you.

Absolutely. I mean, think about him. There was nobody in the house when Potter for his wife made her advances. And he could have said, well, nobody will know. The reason he was able to be obedient, even when nobody was watching. I mean, anybody can do the right thing when the bishop's right there staring at you or when your mom and dad are right there. But he was able to, even in private, make righteous decisions because he did know who he was. He knew the covenant he'd entered.

He knew the responsibilities that were his. He felt that sense of mission and he felt empowered because of this covenant relationship. he had access to the power he needed. He was able to be trustworthy, not just loved, but trusted to do the right thing. I think I was in 2022 when President Nelson said these three identities and made the young single adults in attendance repeat them back. I'm a child of God.

I'm a child of the covenant, which is what we're talking about today. and I'm a disciple of Christ. There may be times when you're thinking, I'm not good at overcoming temptation. Well, maybe you're not. You know who's really good at it? Jesus is. You are bound on a covenant with him.

And he's really good at it. He's saying to Joseph, what's the title of our lesson? I will be with you. The Lord was with Joseph. And what do we say at the sacrament table? What do we hear? Always have his spirit to be with them.

That's why I'm so glad, Brad, you emphasize. This is a relationship. This is different. As you just said, Brad, you have access to the Lord's power. Together, what's our theme this year? Walk with him. With me, you can do stuff, and you have access to his power. Understanding of Child of the Covenant, that's what President Nelson was talking about.

This bigger perspective helps us. this chapter where we're talking about Potipher's wife, I mean, this has been the basis of many a chastity talk, many a talk on standards, many a talk on living worthily. Yes, this could become a chastity talk, but as we're looking at the bigger picture, we have to understand that living the law of chastity is about much more than the do's and don'ts of sexual relationships. We're actually learning through the law of chastity the attributes of Christ and the attributes of God. Cleanliness is only one of God's attributes. There are so many other attributes that we need to be developing. The law of chastity can actually teach us those attributes. Attributes like charity.

Attributes like self-denial. attributes like postponed gratification, attributes like being willing to sacrifice something good for something better, being willing to be loyal, being willing to be trustworthy. Those are the things when we covenant in the temple to live the law of chastity, we're talking about becoming more like God. We're talking about being able to have an eternal family. It's the attributes of God that allow us to trust him.

As we develop those attributes, he can trust us. And I think that that's the bigger picture that we need to keep in mind when we're looking at Joseph making a choice. Brad, I like where you're going with this. You could turn this into a law of chastity lesson, which would be very appropriate. However, this isn't just about making, good choices. This is about knowing where you fit in in God's plan. You are in the House of Israel. You have been chosen by God to bless the entire earth. You are a child of the covenant. You are

youth of the noble birthright. Coming up in part two. Elder Holland was overseeing the work in Chile. We got to spend part of our mission working directly with him. And it was amazing to watch how he dealt with some really serious problems. One time he came and he spoke to our mission, he did a little Q&A. I'll never forget when one of the missionaries...