Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86 Part 1 • Dr. John White • August 24-30 • Come, Follow Me
August 20, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readPsalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86 Part 1 • Dr. John White
Dr. John White, a theologian who converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2024, brings a distinctive perspective to this study of the Psalms. His journey began when he saw "a light" over a Latter-day Saint colleague at an academic conference—something he initially hesitated to mention because "as a theologian, I didn't expect to see those kinds of things." That experience opened him to investigate the restored gospel, and he now reads the Psalms with both his scholarly training and his fresh convert's eyes.
The Psalms as a Window to God's Character
White opens with a foundational question: "Who is God?" The Psalms, he argues, spend far less time telling us what to do and far more time showing us who God is. This matters because "what we ought to do should always be in agreement with who God is as far as doctrine." White connects this to a Joseph Smith quote he discovered during his investigation: "If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves." The Psalms thus become a double mirror—as we grow in knowledge of God, we grow in knowledge of ourselves, and vice versa.
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What you'll learn
- 1 Timestamped Outline: Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86 Part 1
- 2 (00:00) **Dr. John White's Personal Story** - Opens the episode with his fraternity experience, father wound, shame, and first serious encounter with Scripture in 1987
- 3 (01:30) **Introduction of Guest Dr. John White** - A theologian who converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2024-2025, now at BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute
- 4 (03:40) **Conversion Story: From Baylor to BYU** - Describes the investigation that led from a light vision to reading about the restored gospel and multiple witnesses
- 5 (08:06) **Big Picture: Who Is God?** - The Psalms show us who God is, which then shapes what we ought to do
- 6 (11:50) **How to Read the Psalms: Structure and Three Registers** - The Psalms are organized in five books, with mercy at the center, and can be read through three lenses
- 7 (14:59) **The Book of Mormon and the Theology of the Body** - Dr. White's academic work on embodiment prepared him to receive the restored gospel
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
What does a former Baylor theologian see in the Book of Mormon that changes the entire trajectory of his life and career? Dr. John White, a convert baptized last year, continues the study of Psalms, tracing how mercy is at the center of the Psalter, and at the heart of his own unlikely journey to the restored gospel.
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TIMECODE:
0:00 - Part 1 - Dr. John White
1:54 Teaser: Watch for the inclusio
3:39 Bio
4:53 The beginning of a conversion story
7:50 Introducing Psalm 49-86
9:50 Reframing our vision of Him
12:06 The 5 books of Psalms
13:54 Bonhoeffer’s 3 Ways to Pray the Psalms
15:58 His Book of Mormon ring and Alma 32
18:31 The disciple scholar
20:15 Theology of the body and the Zoramites
21:33 The kinds of Psalms
24:29 Hebrew poetry and parallelism
28:08 Hebrew structure in the Book of Mormon
31:37 Turning to Psalms 49-51 and 61-66
32:39 Wealth cannot ransom a soul
36:32 Longevity billionaire sand the immortality strategy
38:57 God as covenant judge
40:09 You can’t pay God off for salvation
45:06 His first conversion
48:49 Create in me a clean heart
51:22 Covenant is a promise and an obligation
53:47 Repentance as a joyful choice
56:27 A broken heart in 3 Nephi
1:00:13 New scripture for a new convert
1:04:26 The Holy Spirit and the Natural man
1:07:36 A sacrament meeting in Madrid
1:109:57 End of Part 1 - Dr. John White
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