As religious educators, we seek to help others recognize the light and truth that comes from our Savior Jesus Christ and his servants the prophets. This issue of the Religious Educator features a beautiful address by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in which he states, “My dear friends, our quest in life is to seek for light and truth and to walk with our Savior and to receive the magnificent blessing of having Him walk with us, despite the darkness that exists in the world today. . . . I plead with you to take charge of your testimony. Work for it. Own it. Care for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth. Don’t pollute it with the false philosophies of unbelieving men and women and then wonder why your testimony is waning.”

Elder Soares goes on to stress how our study of the scriptures, combined with heeding the words of the living prophets and spending more time in the temple, can help us to “walk in the light and discern the truth without being deceived.” As we heed Elder Soares’s counsel, we will grow in our ability to help those we teach and serve in their efforts to learn “how to walk with the Lord and simultaneously receiving the magnificent blessing of having Him walk with us.”

After highlighting how our study of the Old Testament this past year helped us in our efforts to seek light and truth, Elder Soares encouraged us to spend time in the Book of Mormon for the same purpose. There is power in bringing the words of scriptures together to form a unified witness of Jesus Christ and his everlasting gospel. Several articles in this issue make connections between different books of scripture or examine doctrinal and historical subjects spanning multiple books of scripture.

One article looks at Christ’s postmortal ministry through scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants, the New Testament, and the Book of Mormon. Another article examines the connection between a title of Christ found in the book of Daniel, the New Testament, and Restoration scriptures. A third article examines the role of agency in the plan of salvation through ancient and modern scripture as well as other prophetic writings. There is a brief article highlighting what we can learn from Old Testament teachings about the Day of Atonement and Paul’s clear references to our need for atonement in the New Testament. Two other articles focus on the New Testament directly through an investigation of how the book came to be and what we can learn from the resurrection of Christ. Finally, there are two articles with a more contemporary focus, one assessing the teaching value of reconversion narratives and the other reprising the history of the Church College of Hawaii.

I hope you find this issue of the Religious Educator informative and directly helpful in your efforts to seek after light and truth, both individually and in your service to others.

Michael A. Goodman

Editor in Chief