In conjunction with the Come, Follow Me Old Testament curriculum of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the 2026 Religious Education Symposium in honor of Sidney B. Sperry is a celebration of the Old Testament. The keynote speaker at the conference that was held on BYU campus Friday and Saturday, January 23–24, is Chad H Webb, administrator of Seminaries and Institutes of Religion and first counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency.

The title of the published volume is Tender Mercies and Loving-Kindness: The Goodness of God in the Old Testament. The published volume contains a selection of presentations from the 2026 symposium, which focuses on the exploration of God’s tender mercies and loving-kindness recorded in the Old Testament for inspiration in teaching at home and at church.[1]Tender Mercies and Loving-Kindness is available now online at deseretbook.com and in Deseret Book stores.

From cosmic beginnings at the Creation to the creation of new heavens and a new earth, the Old Testament gives an account of God’s relationship with his children (Gen. 1; Isa. 65:17–25). God expresses love for his children anciently and today through his tender mercies and loving-kindness. The term tender mercies (Hebrew raḥamim) means to have compassion, mercy, and love for others. In the Old Testament, it usually refers to the Lord’s acts of love for his children, such as the Israelites’ redemption from bondage in Egypt, which is a type of Christ’s Atonement. Nephi identifies tender mercies as a central theme of the small plates in the Book of Mormon (1 Ne. 1:20). On Mount Sinai the Lord described himself as “the Lord God, merciful [raḥum] and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness [ḥesed] and truth” (Ex. 34:6).

Loving-kindness (Hebrew ḥesed) refers to Lord’s acts of kindness, faithfulness, and steadfast love for his children. Such actions are also an obligation placed on the Lord’s covenant people: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy [ḥesed], and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8). God invites us to become like him through imitation of his attributes. The goodness of God welcomes a wide spectrum of inquiry focused on his mercy, compassion, grace, and love for his people as revealed in the narratives, prophecies, and poetry of the Old Testament.

We as Latter-day Saints are indebted to the prophetic ministry of Russell M. Nelson, whose teachings on this subject have changed our communal framework and shifted our vocabulary. President Nelson emphasized that our covenants “create a relationship with God that allows Him to bless and change us.” In these covenant relationships, President Nelson taught: “Both parties are bound to be loyal and faithful to each other. . . . Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us. Each of us has a special place in God’s heart.”[2] In this framing of relationship, faith is a posture of trust,[3] repentance is an act of reconciliation,[4] baptism is an act of binding together,[5] and temple ordinances allow that bond to deepen.[6] Our relationship with God and his Son brings divine power into our lives.[7] The Hebrew word ḥesed (which President Nelson defined as an act of mercy and loyalty motivated by covenant relationship)[8] has helped us give expression to an idea that lacked a concise English term.[9] In sum, the chapters in this volume reflect the insight and impact of President Nelson’s ministry, and we hope, through our scholarship, to commemorate him and to amplify his prophetic voice.

The volume’s chapters are organized canonically according to the primary text of the Old Testament. Spanning from Genesis to Jonah, these chapters illustrate the consistent presentation of mercy and loving-kindness throughout the Old Testament and serve as a helpful companion to our study of the entire text. By following the chapters in order, readers will be able to integrate them into their study of the Old Testament Come, Follow Me curriculum. To assist in meeting this objective, the volume contains a chart with a column designating the Old Testament book or chapter that is the primary focus of each author. This may be of worth to teachers and parents who are looking for examples of God’s divine love and compassion in the Old Testament as they prepare to teach from the text each week.

Taken together, the chapters in the volume highlight the covenantal relationship between God and his people. They emphasize the bond that God forged with his children through covenants in the ancient world and provide poignant insights into how such bonds are equally accessible to us as God’s covenant people today. “And now the year of my redeemed is come; and they shall mention the loving kindness of their Lord, and all that he has bestowed upon them according to his goodness, and according to his loving kindness, forever and ever” (D&C 133:52).

Members of the 2026 Sperry Symposium Committee are David Rolph Seely, Joshua M. Sears, Joshua M. Matson, Jo Ann H. Seely, and Beverly Yellowhorse. The symposium is free and no registration is required. For more information about the on-campus event, visit https://religion.byu.edu/conferences/sperry.

Notes

[1] See Neh. 9:17, 31; Ps. 86:15; 111:4; Joel 2:13.

[2] Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2022, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[3] See Russell M. Nelson, “Christ Is Risen; Faith in Him Will Move Mountains,” Apr. 2021 general conference, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[4] See Russell M. Nelson, “We Can Do Better and Be Better,” Apr. 2019 general conference, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[5] See Nelson, “Everlasting Covenant.”

[6] See Russell M. Nelson, “The Temple and Your Spiritual Foundation,” Oct. 2021 general conference, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[7] See Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” Apr. 2017 general conference, www.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[8] See Nelson, “Everlasting Covenant.”

[9] See Emily Linder, “Have You Paid Attention to the Hebrew Word President Nelson Keeps Teaching About?,” LDS Living, Sept. 29, 2022, www.ldsliving.com.