Readers of the Tanakh, or Old Testament, see that the Lord marks Israel as a chosen people.

Modern Latter-day Saints identify with being a peculiar people as well as a chosen people.

But what does it mean to be chosen? And how does one's peculiarity mark boundaries of values,

identity, and peoplehood? Chosenness does not mean a life without disappointment or despair,

but it does bring comfort in recognizing the divine power of our heavenly parents' love for all of their children.

In today's episode of Abide, a Maxwell Institute podcast, we dive into Genesis 28 through 33 to explore chosenness in three ways.

Covenant relationships, expectations, and longing as it affects the ancient Israelites and modern saints alike, and much, much more.

My name is Joseph Stewart. I'm the Public Communications Specialist at the Neely Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at Brigham Young University.

Christian Heel is a research fellow at the Institute.

In each week we will be discussing the week's block of reading from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,

Come Follow Me curriculum. We aren't here to present a lesson, but rather to hit on's block of reading from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Come Follow Me curriculum.

We aren't here to present a lesson, but rather to hit on a few key themes from the scripture

block so as to help fulfill the Maxwell Institute's mission to inspire and fortify

Latter-day Saints and their testimonies of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and engage

the world of religious ideas. Today, we are also joined by McKay Bowman, a pre-business major freshman here at

BYU from Layton, Utah. After McKay graduates, he plans to attend law school. Welcome

McKay to abide. Thanks, guys. Glad to have you here. And Christian, as we begin, what's going on

in Genesis 28 through 33? In this section, we see the establishment of the House of Israel, which was no easy task.

It's filled with strife, trickery, deceit, love, yearning, birth, death, betrayal, blessings, and reconciliation.

The future of this house was unclear when Jacob fled his homeland in fear of his life.

He took with him the birthright and the blessings of the firstborn, but also the knowledge

that he had deceived his father and betrayed his brother to acquire them.

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