Psalms 49–51; 61–66; 69–72; 77–78; 85–86 Part 2 • Dr. John White • August 24-30 • Come, Follow Me

August 20, 2026

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5 min read

Dr. John White, a theologian who converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2023, walks through Psalms 49–86 with a central argument: the psalms are not merely ancient poetry but a divinely given language for the soul, teaching readers how to rightly order their love toward God. White, who left a tenured position at Baylor University after his baptism, insists that one’s view of God directly determines one’s view of self, and that the psalms provide the vocabulary to express everything from desperate thirst to unshaken trust.

The Soul as Thirst: Psalm 63 and the Body’s Role in Worship

White spends the most time on Psalm 63, which he calls “the one I’ve been waiting to talk about.” The psalm’s opening — “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee” — begins with covenant relationship, not abstract belief. White emphasizes that the Hebrew word for soul here literally means “throat,” the organ of thirst. “You don’t have a thirst,” he says. “You are a thirst.” The whole embodied self longs for God, and the body is not a distraction from spirituality but its vehicle.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:01) **Introduction to Psalm 61: The Divine Refuge** - Dr. John White introduces the concept of God as a rock and a refuge that transcends geography and emotional distance.
2 (01:24) **Personal Story: Belonging Before Believing** - Dr. White shares his conversion story, emphasizing how being welcomed into a community of Saints preceded his intellectual belief.
3 (04:10) **Psalm 62: Unshaken Rest in God Alone** - The soul's rest is found exclusively in God, not in status or wealth, as emphasized by the word "only" used six times in six verses.
4 (05:10) **Psalm 63: Aiming the Soul's Thirst** - Dr. White unpacks this psalm, arguing that you are not a being with a thirst; you *are* a thirst, and the only thing that can satisfy it is God.
5 (11:38) **Rightly Ordered Love and Embodied Worship** - Augustine's insight is discussed: we must love all things appropriately in relation to God, and our bodies are essential to this worship.
6 (18:28) **The Body, Theology, and Restoration Doctrines** - Dr. White connects the embodied worship in the Psalms to key doctrines of the Restoration, including a corporeal God and premortal existence.
7 (22:22) **The Cost of Conversion: Opposition and Sacrifice** - Dr. White details the personal and professional sacrifices he made, including losing his tenured position at Baylor, to join the Church.

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Guests on this episode

Dr. John White

Show Notes

Dr. John White continues the study of the Psalms, showing how scripture invites us to bring God our real, unfiltered emotions and revealing what it means that we have a Savior that weeps alongside us.

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TIMECODE:
0:00 Part 2 - Dr. John White
1:30 Baylor Choir
3:08 Belonging before believing
5:57 The Fixed Morning Psalm
7:43 The body and soul
9:27 The temple and the sanctuary
11:12 Augustine and rightly-ordered love
13:56 The body being shaped in worship
16:38 Body and spirit are connected
18:33 Deification and the divine nature
20:33 Ritual and body
25:25 Dr. John White’s conversion at the Sacred Grove
26:23 Elder Kim B Clark’s counsel
27:50 John’s university backstory
28:38 Telling his friends
30:09 Opposition from his best friend
32:02 Psalm 85: Mercy and truth kiss
34:03 Zion and social justice
35:29 “How Great the Wisdom and the Love”
37:24 Zion as a place and a cause
39:55 Psalm 86: Unite my heart
41:57 Doubt and unbelief
43:31 Consecration is the only surrender
44:45 The full circle of deliverance and mercy
47:20 A God who weeps
51:48 End of Part 2 – Dr. John White

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