“We are blessed to live and serve in a most remarkable season of the dispensation of the fulness of times,” Elder David A. Bednar teaches in his article “As Long as the World Shall Stand.” Comparing the power of temple covenants that fueled the Latter-day Saints during their exodus from Nauvoo with miracles associated with temples today, he witnesses, “No unhallowed hand and no pandemic can keep the Lord’s holy work from progressing.”

This issue of the Religious Educator explores God’s holy work, especially as it centers on seminal events and cherished teachings of the Restoration. Scholars from across Church Education, including BYU in Provo, BYU–Hawaii, and Seminaries and Institutes explore doctrinal insights from Joseph Smith’s First Vision, Christ as the embodiment of law, using section 84 to emphasize the priesthood power of women, teachings about the book of Revelation, and the voice of the Lord in Joseph Smith’s Liberty Jail letter. Students of pilgrimage and religious tourism, a clinical psychologist, the retiring dean of Religious Education, and a former general officer of the Church show how to include historic sites into our curriculum, assist anxious students struggling with scrupulosity, and guide learners to a correct understanding of the nature of God.

Our prayer echoes that of Elder Bednar. We hope the study of this content causes our “spiritual vision [to] be magnified and refined,” with the goal that we all better teach these concepts. As our understanding is expanded, we desire to “learn that the seemingly small miracles in [our lives] will be the mightiest and most impactful of all.”

Scott C. Esplin

Editor in Chief