Come, Follow Me, Genesis 37-41, March 15, 2026

 

Come, Follow Me 

Genesis 37-41

Quotations Used

A) Concubines – In the biblical world they were legally recognized secondary wives who lived within a man’s household in a stable, exclusive relationship but without the full covenantal or legal standing of a wife.

o   She was often of lower social status, sometimes enslaved or a foreign captive.

o   Her relationship was recognized, not secret or illicit.

o   Her children were legitimate but often secondary in inheritance.

B)  Birthright - In the patriarchal order, the firstborn son is the heir and inherits the leadership of the family upon the death of the father. This is often spoken of in the scriptures as birthright. This generally included a land inheritance as well as the authority to preside. The eldest son received a double portion of his father’s possessions and after his father’s death, he was responsible for the care of the mother and sisters.

From time to time certain prerogatives, opportunities, and blessings have attended those who were born of a particular lineage. Lineage alone does not guarantee the blessings or spiritual power of the office, but the opportunities are offered to the firstborn of the selected lineage.

C) Presentism - The interpretive mistake of judging the past by the standards, values, assumptions, or knowledge of the present. It treats earlier people as if they thought like we do, had our information, or operated under our moral frameworks.

Moral presentism — evaluating historical figures as if they lived under today’s moral norms, social expectations, or legal frameworks.

D) Brother David A. Ridges:

“There is perhaps a major message here for us. In a healthy eternal marriage, the husband and wife serve together as “equal partners” (See “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”). Thus in matters pertaining to the family, sometimes the husband leads out and sometimes the wife leads out. Eve led the way in the Garden and Adam followed. Later Adam led in offering sacrifices by the authority of his priesthood and Eve followed.

“In this case, with her prior knowledge of the “proper order of things”, Rebekah led out and eventually Isaac followed.” (Ridges, Old Testament Made Easier, B1,P25)

 

E) President Marion G. Romney:

“When Jacob traveled from Beersheba toward Haran, he had a dream in which he saw himself on the earth at the foot of a ladder that reached to heaven where the Lord stood above it. He beheld angels ascending and descending thereon, and Jacob realized that the covenants he made with the Lord there were the rungs on the ladder that he himself would have to climb in order to obtain the promised blessings—blessings that would entitle him to enter heaven and associate with the Lord.

“Because he had met the Lord and entered into covenants with him there, Jacob considered the site so sacred that he named the place Bethel, a contraction of Beth-Elohim, which means literally “the House of the Lord.” He said of it: “… this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” (Gen. 28:17.)

“Jacob not only passed through the gate of heaven, but by living up to every covenant he also went all the way in. Of him and his forebears Abraham and Isaac, the Lord has said: “… because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.” (D&C 132:37.)

“Temples are to us all what Bethel was to Jacob.” (Temples, The Gates to Heaven, Ensign, 1971, p16)

 

F) My Son, David Saetrum:

 

“I do wonder what context we miss in such a short record in the scriptures that has to condense the idea into just a few paragraphs or chapters. Surely a great deal of the practice was due to cultural and financial practice. Women didn't work the land and also cost an immense amount of money to get married to another family. If you had sons, you had someone who not only helped made money but could also tie your family to another one. So, due to those pressures (which honestly persisted until relatively recently in history) I think that there was likely a great pressure put on women to provide a male heir to their husbands.

 

“Now as to why that practice followed even in the church when it seems so antithetical to the teaching of eternal families, humility, and husbands & wives being equal - I genuinely don't have a good answer other than the situation of that day must have been different enough that without proper context we just don't see all the reasons for it. I think of Noah and his daughters and the incest that happened there to produce offspring, and the concubines of David, Solomon, Abraham. I realize that there is an overarching context that I just don't have enough information or to understand. Maybe there were just so few righteous men, that when one existed, they were commanded to produce as many children as they could to provide righteous opportunities for the spirits waiting to come down.  I think of my specific heritage and William Draper who had many wives, and for the tradition of church service and righteous heritage that he & his wives created through their faithfulness.  I am grateful for them.  I imagine it was terrible from an emotional standpoint, and likely had several downsides outside of the obvious jealousy and emotional impact.  

 

“The Lord's purpose to bring to pass the immortality of man cannot be frustrated, and will not be stopped. For that to happen there must be homes where children have the opportunity to be raised in righteousness. I have to believe that is at least a big part of the reason for the practice, but I admit it is on my shelf of questions to ask again when I have more light and knowledge or have better clarity or when I'm in Heaven.”

G) Genesis 38 (Institute, Old Testament Student Manual)

“With typical honesty, the Old Testament includes the sordid tale of Judah’s incestuous relationship with his daughter-in-law. There seem to be several reasons for its inclusion here.

“First, once again are illustrated the effects of the covenant people forgetting the importance of marrying in the covenant. Unlike his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather (Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham), Judah was not concerned about intermarriage with the Canaanites.

“The negative results of this marriage out of the covenant are clearly shown here. Second, the story shows the lineage of Judah from which the Messiah would eventually come (see Matthew 1:3; Luke 3:33).

“An additional lesson here shows that ancestry is not the determiner of one’s righteousness.

“Finally, the truth that failure to honor one’s commitments often leads to greater trouble is clearly shown. Had Judah faithfully kept his promise to Tamar, the seduction would never have taken place. Likewise, had Judah been faithful to the laws of morality, he never would have sinned with Tamar.” (Institute, Old Testament Student Manual)

H)  Elder Hartman Rector, Jr:

“The story of Joseph, the son of Jacob who was called Israel, is a vivid representation of the great truth that ‘all things work together for good to [those] who loved God.’  Joseph always seemed to do the right thing; but still, more importantly, he did it for the right reason. And how very, very significant that is! Joseph was sold by his own brothers as a slave and was purchased by Potiphar, a captain of the guard of Pharaoh. But even as an indentured servant, Joseph turned every experience and all circumstances, no matter how trying, into something good.

“This ability to turn everything into something good appears to be a godly characteristic. Our Heavenly Father always seems able to do this. Everything, no matter how dire, becomes a victory to the Lord. Joseph, although a slave and wholly undeserving of this fate, nevertheless remained faithful to the Lord and continued to live the commandments and made something very good of his degrading circumstances. People like this cannot be defeated, because they will not give up. They have the correct, positive attitude, and Dale Carnegie’s expression seems to apply: If you feel you have a lemon, you can either complain about how sour it is, or you can make a lemonade. It is all up to you.” (Hartman Rector, Jr., “Live above the Law to Be Free,” Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 130.)

I)  Brother David A Ridges:

“It would be logical to assume that she was an Egyptian. But this cannot be the case since their son, Ephraim, received the birthright, which included the Abrahamic covenant and the responsibility to take the blessings of the priesthood to all the world (see Genesis 48:14-13). Therefore, we conclude that the priest of On and his wife and daughter, Asenath, were Noah’s descendants through Shem or Japheth, rather than Ham.” (Ridges, Old Testament Made Easier, B 1, P 313)