followHIM - I Looked Out the Window and What Did I See? Earth! • followHIM Favorites • January 6 - January 12 • Come Follow Me

Episode Date: January 2, 2025

SHOW NOTES/TRANSCRIPTSEnglish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC202ENFrench: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC202FRGerman: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC202DEPortuguese: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC202PTSpanish: https://tinyurl.com/podcastDC202ESYOUTUBEhttps://youtu.be/aOJLjPZfrSwALL EPISODES/SHOW NOTESfollowHIM website: https://www.followHIMpodcast.comFREE PDF DOWNLOADS OF followHIM QUOTE BOOKSNew Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastNTBookOld Testament: https://tinyurl.com/PodcastOTBookWEEKLY NEWSLETTERhttps://tinyurl.com/followHIMnewsletterSOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followHIMpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastThanks 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 NotesJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsAmelia Kabwika : Portuguese Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com

Hello, everyone. Welcome to Follow Him Favorites. This is where John and I share a single story to go with each week's lesson. John, the Come Follow Me lesson this week is Harken, O Ye People, Doctrine and Covenants, Section 1. And I know you have a story that fits perfectly with what happened. You need to know how the section came about first to understand the story. Yeah, because we call it section one, but it wasn't the first one to be revealed in order. In fact, it would have been what, Hank, about number 67 or something. Yeah, in the 60s. So they had all these revelations that are putting them together. You know,

we should write a preface for this book of commandments we're going to make, as they early called it. So they had Sidney Rigdon, they had William McClellan, Oliver Cowdery had made attempts to writing it, and they all got picked apart. Suddenly the Lord reveals his preface to Doctrine and Covenants section one, and it is amazing. Like verse one, hearken, O ye people of my church, saith the voice of him who dwells on high, whose eyes are upon all men. Ye verily hearken, ye people from afar, and ye that are upon the islands of the sea, listen together. Whoa. And now you go to verse 24, behold, I am God and have spoken it. These commandments are of me and were given unto my servants in their weakness. It's like, whoa, better than anybody could have written.

And it reminded me of this story. And as you read section one, I mean, please do. It is so powerful, this preface to the Doctrine and Covenants. But Hank, I got interested in this because of a talk that Sister Tamara Runya gave in General Conference about the overview effect. And I started reading about Apollo 8. It was so interesting to me because Apollo 8 was the first lunar orbit mission. They didn't land on the moon. That was Apollo 11. But they were the first to go to the moon in orbit. And they got so far away from the Earth, took that photograph, amazing photo of the earth

that Sister Runya talked about. The astronauts said they could reach out their thumb and cover up every memory they'd ever had, every person they'd ever known, every experience they could cover up the whole planet with their thumb. And that overview effect is a physiological thing. Well, I got really interested in this and I started studying Apollo 8. I discovered that timing was Christmas Eve, 1968. NASA told the astronauts, okay, guys, you're going to have the largest listening audience ever in the history of planet Earth. Think of something to say on Christmas Eve. And they talked to a few people. I mean, this is like the same story. Can you write something? We'll try. Can you write something?

We'll try. None of it really worked. The story is one of the astronauts asked one of their wives, what should we do? And she wisely said, why don't you just start at the beginning? Please remember too, 1968, what's going on? The Earth's in turmoil. Vietnam, Robert F. Kennedy assassination, riots. It's a tough place. What they said is an overview effect for the planet. You can watch it on YouTube or I can just read to you what happened. And Hank, I'm such a nerd. I got to show you this. My son, who has a 3D printer, made an Apollo 8 command module for me. They were in that little capsule.

They were in this little thing in this part up here. Very cramped quarters. Largest audience on planet Earth listening ever. And this is what Frank Borman, the astronaut, said, we have a message to you on earth. And this is what he said. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, let there be light, and there was light.

And if you listen on the YouTube, you'll hear them pass a paper, and the other astronaut, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, will also read this creation story. It was amazing. And then at the end, Frank Borman says something like, good luck, and may God bless you, bless all of you on the good earth. This overview effect. So I want to show you something, Hank. This is a stamp of those three astronauts or an envelope, a commemorative envelope. It says Apollo 8. Can you see that stamp? It's a picture of the earth rise over the moon and something you might not see on stamps

very often. It says, in the beginning, God. That's fantastic. If you really need a good preface, have the Lord write it. If you really need a good message from Apollo 8, have the Lord write it. No, John, and it's such a good lesson for all of us. We think I'm trying my own way. I'm trying my own way. I'm trying my own way. It's not working. Why don't you try the Lord's way? Give it a try.

Perfect. Have the Lord do it. Yeah. You might see something incredible like section one or like that moment for those astronauts. I love it. I hope people will go and find it on YouTube and watch it. And the audio is terrible and the video is terrible. But the message on Christmas Eve from the astronauts was beautiful.

That is awesome. That's awesome. We hope you'll join us on our full podcast. It's called Follow Him. You can get it wherever you get your podcast. It's called Follow Him. You can get it wherever you get your podcast. And we're with Dr. J.B. Hawes this week as he walks us through section one and the history behind it. He is wonderful in every way. Then come back here next week. We'll do another Follow Him Favorites.