Ponder Daily

2 Nephi 7

2010-11-01T02:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I read Isaiah I get confused. I get confused for lots of reasons but in particular today I was confused as to whether Isaiah was talking about himself or about Jesus. The chapter heading answered that question for me. It says that in this chapter Isaiah is speaking Messianically, or in other words, that he is speaking about the Messiah. Then I had this question: Why did Jacob (this chapter is part of a longer discourse given by Jacob to the people of nephi) and Nephi (who decided to include Jacob's discourse in his records) feel that this was important for their people? And why is it important for us to have now?

I thought perhaps maybe the reason that Isaiah gave the prophecies originally was so that when the Messiah came his people would be able to recognize him. But the people of Nephi would not need to recognize the messiah, because when he visited them he didn't come as a man, and there was no mistaking. And for us in our day the messiah has already come we can compare the things we read in Isaiah to what we know of Jesus and in that way it can help us recognize the messiah, but I think that there is a more important reason that these prophecies are so important.

John 17:3

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom though hast sent.

Salvation, or eternal life, comes through coming to know Christ and God. In this way all people in all periods of time need to be able to "recognize" the messiah. Not to identify him with an actual living person as the better part of the Jews failed to do when Jesus was on the earth. But to come to know who he is, to understand his character and his qualities, and then also to emulate them. One reason it's important to know God and to know Christ is so that we know who we are supposed to be. And so we have these scriptures from Isaiah that tell us about the Messiah.

2 Nephi 7:6-7

I gave my back to the smiter, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

So we learn about the type of man God is. His willingness to submit to the shame of man and his faith in God. Perhaps this is an example of what it means to "endure it well" (D&C 121:8). And this is just a couple versus. Isaiah, and the rest of the scriptures, filled with insights into the characteristics of Christ. Which is of course, one reason we read them.

2 Nephi 3

2010-10-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

The Lord has shown time and again that he is able to do miraculous things with ordinary people. This chapter talks about prophesies that Joseph of Egypt gave concerning the future of his people. One speaks of Moses:

2 Nephi 3:17

And the Lord hath said: I will raise up a Moses; and I will give power unto him in a rod; and I will give judgment unto him in writing. Yet I will not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much, for I will not make him mighty in speaking. But I will write unto him my law, by the finger of mine own hand; and I will make a spokesman for him.

It occurred to me here that Moses' job could have been done by just about anybody. The Lord gave him a rod and a spokesman and wrote unto him his law. Moses was a great prophet, I think anyone would have a hard time arguing otherwise, but after reading this scripture I think his major qualification was that he was willing to go where the Lord asked him to go, and do what the Lord asked him to do. And because of his faith, the Lord was able to make something great out of his service.

The Book of Mormon is an interesting example of this principle. Those of us who have read it and believe it will testify as I do that it has had a powerful effect on our lives. Personally the book of Mormon has changed my life in several ways and it was through reading the Book of Mormon and then applying the principles therein that I gained a true testimony of Jesus Christ and the power of the atonement. The book is powerful, but many of it's authors complained that they were not able to write much because of the awkwardness of engraving on plates. (Jacob 4:1 ,Ether 12:24) And Moroni went on to say that he was afraid that people would make fun of his words.

Ether 12:25

Thou hast also made our words powerful and great, even that we cannot write them; wherefore, when we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at our words.

Yet the Book of Mormon has had a powerful effect on millions of people. Well this chapter in 2 Nephi explains why.

2 Nephi 3:21

Because of their faith their words shall proceed forth out of my mouth unto their brethren who are the fruit of thy loins; and the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith, unto the remembering of my covenant which I made unto thy fathers.

Because they had the faith to make the record, and faith that it would reach their descendants God has made something mighty out of their weakness. I thought as I reached the end of this chapter that if I wanted to, I could be like that. If I just went to work. I just started doing something... anything good. We don't need a special calling for God to take our ordinary efforts and make them extraordinary... we just need to make some effort.

1 Nephi 22

2010-10-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

1 Nephi 22: 8, 9

And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders. And it shall also be of worth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but unto all the house of Israel, unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

OK so when I read this I pretty much felt like it is referring to temple work. First because in our time God has made known unto us the covenants that he made with Abraham and we make the same covenants in the temple. When we are sealed to our spouse or family in the temple we make the same covenant that if we are faithful we will have an endless increase.

But specifically this scripture refers to the part of the Abrahamic covenant where God promised Abraham that through his seed all of the nations of the earth would be blessed. I think most of the time that is seen as referring to Jesus, which fits because he came through Abraham's seed and he blessed all the families and people of the earth through his atonement. However this scripture is referring to a great and marvelous work that will be done after the time of Christ. I think that this is again referring to temples. In the temple we work vicariously for all of the people that have ever lived on this earth. All families of the earth will be sealed together for eternity creating an unbroken chain from Adam to our day. Essentially, individual families will be sealed together but also the entire human family will be connected, in a literal and spiritual way, through the power of the priesthood. We will all be gathered into one family, with one Father in heaven. And it will be brought to pass through the seed of Abraham, this is part of the covenant. Hence the churches mission to preach the gospel and to redeem the dead.

1 Nephi 18

2010-10-07T06:33:00.000-07:00

In life, for some reason we have this idea that justice prevails. At least I do. I'm used to seeing the good guys win in comic books, in cartoons, in movies. And though I might claim that in real life the good guys don't always win, I don't really believe it. This is partly augmented by the gospel. I am taught that the Lord's work will prevail, and though I truly believe that it will, I think that a problem arises when people like me begin to associate righteousness with power, specifically temporal power, or man's idea of power. I think it's safe to say that western culture in general makes this association to some extent. As I mentioned, our good guys are always more powerful than our bad guys. This is what I was thinking about when I read this chapter in Nephi.

1 Nephi 18:11, 17
And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness; nevertheless, the lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked.

The story in this chapter is a story of the mutiny at sea and it's an example when the wicked have power over the righteous. Or do they? Maybe one problem is the way that we view power. I think most of us, myself included would look at Nephi bound hand and foot and call him powerless. We would see Laman and Lemeul breathing out threatenings to all those who come to Nephi's aid (1 Nephi 17:17) and we think that they are in power, that they are controlling the situation. But maybe this isn't the way that God sees power. Maybe to God, who sees the end from the beginning, who has all knowledge and all power, there is no difference between the mortals who think they are in control and the mortals who think they are not. The scripture said that the lord suffered it "that he might show forth his power..." To me, that is the point: the Lord that has power, and we don't.

This isn't the first time in the book of Nephi that Laman and Lemuel have bound Nephi.

1 Nephi 7:17-18
But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound. And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spake unto them again.

At first glance this may seem like it has a different outcome and I think we tend to focus on the difference in the amount of time it takes for Nephi to be released from his bonds. In this story it's immediate where in the other it takes 4 days, but I think that the message of both of the stories is similar.

Nephi prays for the strength to burst his bands. He asks for the power to free himself. This in itself follows the temporal idea of power, "If I was stronger, I could break these bands." But instead, God looses his bands so that they just fall off of him. There can be no mistake as to who freed Nephi, no way for him to claim that he broke the bands himself. In this way both stories are examples of God showing men that he is the one with the power. In this instance the Lord was showing his power to Nephi, in the other when the ship was almost destroyed (1 Nephi 18:20) He was showing his power to Laman and Lemuel.

So while God is powerful and man is not, this doesn't mean man is not completely powerless. We have access to the Lord's power in as much as we align ourselves with the Lord. Most people probably agree with this statement on paper but the real life application can be more difficult, because all of us humans tend to seek for control over our environments according to our will and pleasure.

Doctrine and Covenants 121: 39

We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

But this is not the way the Lord deals with us. Though he has all power he allows us to chose and seldom intervenes. He does not compel us to righteousness because compelling others is contrary to God's law.

Doctrine and Covenants 121: 37

...When we undertake to cover our sins, to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion, or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.

God exercises his own power according to the principles he gives in Doctrine and Covenants 121.

Doctrine and Covenants 121: 41

No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;

Power or influence should only be maintained through persuasion, through long-suffering, through gentleness and meekness, and through love unfeigned. I believe this is most applicable with our family relationships. This is where the greatest temptations are to exercise dominion or compulsion over other children of our Father in heaven.

Going back to the story of Nephi on the boat, God allowed Nephi to be bound. The words used are "the Lord did suffer it". This is something that we must all learn to do, to allow bad things to happen. Now, I am not suggesting that we just sit back and let the unrighteous dominate the righteous and I don't mean that we should ignore injustices, but I do mean that sometimes patiently suffering through injustices is the right thing to do. Indeed, patiently enduring our trials and even praying for our enemies is the Lord's path to power. Nephi practiced long suffering when he was bound hand and foot on the boat.

1 Nephi 18:16

Nevertheless, I did look unto my God and I did praise him all the day long and I did not murmur against the Lord because of my afflictions.

Other examples of long suffering can be found all throughout the scriptures but in the end the ultimate example is Jesus, who although he is God, he not only suffered all of the sins and weaknesses and pains of all mortals, but also allowed himself to be taken and crucified. Likewise, sometimes even when we are right, we may need to allow others to exercise their will upon us. We are not in control of the world.

In conclusion, often we take up the fight for righteousness and truth in an all too temporal way. We battle with men on man's terms, and we struggle for power with other men. But true power is not the ability to make someone else do something, or even to convince someone else to do something, true power is when you live in such a way, and when you love in such a way, that people will choose to follow you by themselves, even if it means they must follow you through all types of suffering.

And then...

Doctrine and Covenants 121:46
...thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.

1 Nephi 12

2010-09-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

I'm going to get a little theoretical here, potentially stepping beyond the bounds of established church doctrine. So feel free to ignore/disagree with me. I was asking myself one time how the Lord would judge all people in a single day. Now of course I understand that "day" could merely be referring to a period of time, but I was still very much impressed with the idea that every soul that has ever lived on this earth will have a period of judgment where he will be held accountable for his actions during his mortal life. That's still amazing to think about in terms of it's scope. There are a lot of people that have lived on this earth. I imagined a long line of people all waiting to see the Lord. But then I came across this scripture.

1 Nephi 12: 9-10

And he said unto me: Thou rememberest the twelve apostles of the Lamb? Behold they are they who shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, the twelve ministers of thy seed shall be judged of them; for ye are the house of Israel.

And these twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood.

This scripture states that the Twelve tribes of Israel will be judged by the twelve apostles of Jesus. And also that the 12 ministers chosen by Jesus from the people of Nephi will judge the people of Nephi, but that they will be judged by the twelve apostles because they are of the house of Israel. This creates a whole new picture of the judgment. I imagined that possibly we will be judged by our current twelve apostles. This led me to develop the theory that we in fact will be judged by our bishops or stake presidents, the same way that we are judged by them to see if we are worthy to enter the temple. Bishops are called to be judges in Israel after all (Doctrine and Covenants 107:72.) The Doctrine and Covenants also teaches us:

Doctrine and Covenants 1:38

What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.

So, yes, I'm making the argument here that whether we are actually judged by the Lord, or we are judged by his servants it is the same. So my picture of the judgment here looks something like this. We are judged by our bishops and stake presidents who have been judged by the twelve apostles that gave them their calling who have been judged by Jesus. OK but what about the scripture that says "he employeth no servant there" I thought about that and I wasn't sure how to reconcile it with the scripture from 1 Nephi 12 (quoted above) so I actually took the time to find the scripture.

2 Nephi 9:41

O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.

To me (and hopefully I'm not just saying this to back up my "point" because that's really not what this blog is about) the gate referred to in this scripture seems to not be an actual gate that we will stand before to be judged, but a metaphorical gate that we must pass through to get onto the path of righteousness (Similar metaphors have been made for baptism). So I would interpret this scripture as saying that Christ is the only person we can come to for salvation, that we cannot go to any of his servants or to any other person because it is only through Christ that we can be saved.

I'd be interested in hearing any thoughts.

1 Nephi 11

2010-09-21T01:19:00.001-07:00

1 Nephi 11:5

And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father.

This is a very simple scripture but it had great meaning for me today. As I read it I asked myself why Nephi didn't just say yes. Obviously he must have had a testimony that the Lord knew the thoughts and intents of his heart, that the Lord already knew that he believed in the words of his father. But what was significant to me was that because he understood that the Lord knew his heart, he could not lie. If he had doubts he would have had to answer "You knowest that I have doubts."

Imagine being Nephi. Can you answer the same, Lord you know that I believe? When I imagine myself in this situation I realize that I need to do some heart searching just to discover for myself what the Lord already knows. Perhaps this is why God asks questions he already knows the answer to, because he wants us to discover the answer for ourselves.

When we communicate with the Lord in prayer do we share our whole hearts with him? Or do we keep back a part of it? Do we admit to him and to ourselves that he already knows our innermost secrets, desires, and beliefs? All of us should take the time to quietly examine the contents of our hearts so that when we approach the Lord we can be on the same page. We will know what he knows, we will admit to him our doubts, our weaknesses, our strengths, and our desires both the righteous and unrighteous. Then we will be in a position to ask him to help us truly overcome those doubts and weaknesses instead of ignoring them, and to truly change those unrighteous desires. But it starts when we stop trying to hide things from Lord or from ourselves.

1 Nephi 10

2010-09-20T01:56:00.000-07:00

1 Nephi 10: 18-19

For he is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.

The other day in a conversation with a friend he said, "All churches think they have the truth, but what I'm interested in is what makes your church different from the others."

Something that I think makes our church unique is our perspective. True, most churches think they either have THE truth or enough of it that they don't need to look elsewhere. But this scripture in the Book of Mormon teaches that the way that God has dealt with man has never and will never change. The way that all man receive salvation is the same for all people that have ever lived on the earth. This means people that died 4,000 years ago receive salvation from God the same way as people who live on the earth right now. We also believe that all people who live will be given an opportunity to be taught the gospel after they are dead. As the apostle Peter taught:

1 Peter 4:6

For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.

God's plan has never changed and he has continued to re-establish his kingdom on the earth every time that his people have dwindled in unbelief and iniquity. We believe that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints is not only the restoration of the same church that Jesus Christ established, but that it is just the modern-day version of a church and religion that has existed in various forms and at various times throughout the history of the earth, and that is being preached right now to the spirits of the dead by the servants of God from all dispensations of time.

Does this mean that we think Moses and Jesus and Abraham were Mormon? No, it does not. But it does mean that we believe the same spirit and power of God that existed in the teachings and religion of Abraham, Moses, and Jesus is on the earth today in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints.

I can see how critics of the church can claim that we believe that all people throughout the history of the world must become "Mormon" to be saved, but I think this is a tragic misrepresentation. The fact is that we do not believe that. It is an oversimplification (sometimes purposeful) of what we do believe, which is that all people throughout the history of the world, including mormons, must follow the gospel of Jesus Christ to be saved. And we believe, as Nephi taught, that you can learn that gospel through revelation from God regardless of your religion, race, lifestyle, or the time period in which you lived. "He that diligently seeketh shall find, and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost..."

1 Nephi 6

2010-09-16T00:53:00.000-07:00

1 Nephi 6: 4, 5

For the fullness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved.

Wherefore, the things the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world.

The first of these two verses was one of the first scriptures I had memorized on my mission. I guess I thought it was a good summary of my purpose as a missionary. But now that I am a wannabe writer (meaning that I want to be a writer), I find a somewhat different application to my life. These scriptures lead me to ask "What is my intent?" Why do I want to be a writer? Why am I writing this blog right now? Am I writing this just so all the pretty girls who are looking at my Facebook page (because so many pretty girls look at my Facebook page) will follow the link to this blog and be impressed with my "spirituality" and want to date/marry me? I sure hope not. I would hope that I am not only writing things that are pleasing to God, but writing them with an intent to please him. But personally I find the battle for pure intent to be an ongoing one.

It is the same battle I must fight whenever I give a talk, or teach a lesson, or bear my testimony, or even if I am just making comments in Sunday school. What is my intent? Why do I want to give an insightful well planned talk or lesson? Is it to help people feel the spirit and come unto Christ or is it to impress people in my ward. I always have this voice inside that says things like, you're such a genius, you are so insightful, you are such a good public speaker, you're talk is going to be good and everyone will love you because of your abilities, everyone will be so impressed. And so when I give talks I find myself praying more for humility than for guidance on the topic. Because I know that God doesn't need a genius, he doesn't someone insightful, and he doesn't need good public speakers (but if everyone in the church would at least try to improve those skills it wouldn't hurt).

Doctrine and Covenants 64:34

Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

The lord requireth the heart. I'm sure that most of us have heard the idea that the Lord doesn't choose the qualified, he qualifies the chosen. I have a testimony that it is the spirit that will lead men to come to Christ, not me or my words. And I know that when I write this blog, when I give a lesson, when I make comments in Sunday school, if I am prideful, or if I am seeking my own glory then I will not have the spirit. Nephi said the "fullness" of his intent was to persuade men to come to God. That leaves no room for desires for the praise of men, or as is slightly more applicable to me, women (even if it's the praise of the good men and women of the church). And so the battle continues to purify my desires and fully give my heart to the Lord. It's a great and silent work of introspection and "feeling". Searching my heart diligently for the answer to the question "Why am I doing this REALLY?" Is it for my glory or His. And then praying that God might help me do good things for the right reason.

1 Nephi 1 and 2

2010-09-11T05:55:00.000-07:00

As I read these chapters the first thing that occurred to me was that Lehi was a great prophet. Not that I didn't already think of him as a prophet but just that I realized that because his writings were lost, we don't know much about him or his prophecies and I think that causes us to focus more on the story of his son Nephi. If we had his book I think that we would have a much different view of him.

Regardless I think we can agree that Lehi and Nephi were both great prophets. What is interesting to me is that in the very first two chapters of the Book of Nephi we have the story of Lehi's call to be a prophet and the story of Nephi's conversion, and that the stories are quite similar.

1 Nephi 1:4-6

...and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed. Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people. And it came to pass that as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much...

He goes on to have visions and dreams and he begins to preach repentance unto the people at Jerusalem, and to preach unto them about the coming of the Messiah. He is now a prophet.

1 Nephi 2:16, 18-19

And it came to pass that I Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.

But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them. And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

In both of these stories we see a pattern. Lehi heard the words of the Lord from the prophets and they caused him to pray, he then received his own personal witness that they were true. Nephi heard the words of Lord from his Father and he prayed and received his own personal witness that they were true. We have the words of the Lord from prophets and from the Bible and the Book of Mormon and we can pray and receive our own personal witness that they are true.

Also, in both of these situations Lehi and Nephi both shared the witnesses they received with others. Lehi prophesied of the Messiah and the destruction of Jerusalem to the Jews and Nephi shared the witness he received with his brothers. If we follow that example it means that once we receive a witness we need to bear testimony.

And finally, it was interesting to me that both Lehi and Nephi were visited by the Lord, Lehi by a pillar of fire and Nephi by the voice of the lord, while they were praying for OTHER PEOPLE. In fact there are many other examples of Book of Mormon prophets that received revelation while they were praying for other people. Off the top of my head I can think of Enos (Enos 1:9-13), Nephi (son of Nephi son of Helaman, 3 Nephi 1:11-13), and Moroni (Ether 12:36-37). I'm willing to bet that there are others as well. The point is, it is interesting that these people all received revelation while praying for others. I wonder if praying for others brings us closer to the spirit or opens our hearts in a way that prepares us to receive revelation. I don't know.

But I do know that once in the past when I was sincerely pouring out my heart in behalf of some other people I did receive revelation. It was one of the most profound moments of my life. I think that when we are are really struggling before the Lord in behalf of someone else, perhaps that is when we come the closest to understanding the atonement, to having charity.

Moroni 10

2010-09-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine once remarked at how surprised she was at the family she was a nanny for. She said that they were totally atheist but that they were still really good people. This is an idea that we hear often, and it has always bugged me. I don't hate atheists, I just don't see what "good" they think can possibly come from welding their mind shut to the idea of God. Recently another friend of mine told me that she thought that a belief in God would make absolutely no difference in her life, that she would be just as good of a person either way. I told her that for me, the purpose of life is to change, to become not just a good person, but a perfect one, to become like Christ, to love and serve as he did. I told her that I do not believe that a person with no belief in God could be as inspired to change their life as a person with a firm belief in God. I still believe that.

While it's true that there are often no differences between the lifestyles of believers and atheists that doesn't mean that either of them are "good". In fact I realized the other day that when you say something like "He is an atheist, but he is still a good person" you are making a lot of assumptions about what it means to be "good". I asked myself what God's definition of "good" is. Then this morning I read the following scriptures in Moroni 10.

Moroni 10:24, 25

And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth- that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be because of unbelief. And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God.

No not one. An interesting thing to note about these scriptures is that Moroni does not talk about being good, he talks about DOING good. After reading this another scripture came to mind which I looked up with the help of google.

Matthew 19:16, 17

And behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

I got to thinking that maybe according to God there are no "good people" whether or not they believe in him. As Jesus said, there is none good but God. And we cannot even do anything good unless we work by the power and gifts of God. (Conversely if we do anything by the power and gifts of God than that thing is a good thing.)

But as I said before, to me life is about more than what we do. It's about what we become. The purpose is to become perfect like Christ, to become perfect through Christ. As Jesus said to the young man in Matthew 19.

Matthew 19:21

Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me.

And Moroni gives us this challenge which I think is one of the greatest scriptures of the Book of Mormon.

Moroni 10:32

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

Moroni 7

2010-09-04T01:46:00.000-07:00

This chapter is full of great doctrine on miracles and faith, hope, and charity and many other things but I am going to focus on some ideas in this chapter that may go overlooked but that I find of great importance to myself.

Moroni 7:9

And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.

What does that mean "with real intent of heart"? I define "heart" as our center, our core. Our true inner desires. Our true selves. Our identity independent of all other people or influences. The things we would say and do if we lived alone on a island, and there were no other people to "act" for. So when we pray if we wish God to receive us, we must truly be sincere.

The general idea expressed in this scripture is that it doesn't count if we don't mean it. It takes constant effort to "mean it", to overcome the tendency we all have to revert back to just "going through the motions". Do you have a testimony in your core that you pray in sincerity and with real intent of heart? Only you can answer that question for yourself and it takes some heart searching, but I think if we're honest with ourselves we can all find the answer.

Moroni 7:44

If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God; save the meek and lowly in heart;

Now terms like lowly in heart are used all too often in the church, but I find personally, if I'm put on the spot, I struggle to provide adequate definitions for them. Now that I have plenty of time to ponder, I would define lowly in heart as being sincerely humble, as being humble in our very core. It means we fully admit to ourselves the gap between us and the Father and our dependence on the savior and his atonement to bridge that gap. It is related to the sentiment expressed by Ammon when he said "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak" (Alma 26:12) Do we have a testimony of our own nothingness?

The ideas expressed in these verses relate to our true selves, not only the actions that we perform but the ideas and desires behind those actions. These scriptures show us that a person may pray and may have faith and hope but may still be unacceptable before god. While god wants us to have hope and faith and to pray he is also vitally interested in the actual changing of our hearts. It's about making real change, becoming something new in our very core. He wants us to truly become like his son Jesus Christ, and this is a work done alone, in our hearts. It is between us, our Father, and the Savior. And only we can know our own sincerity and our own progress.

And never forget...

1 John 3:20-21

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

Moroni 6

2010-09-03T00:49:00.000-07:00

Moroni 6: 1-2

And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized unless they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it. Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.

I remember when I was 6 my cousin was in my back yard flipping off the sky. He immediately dropped to his knees and asked God for forgiveness, then stood up and flipped him off again. I watched him do this for a minute and then, as kids do, I started copying him. He stopped me. He told me that I didn't need to repent cause I wasn't baptized yet. My cousin understood that when he sinned he should immediately repent, and he understood that as often as we repent we will be forgiven. But I don't think he quite grasped what it means to sincerely repent, or to have a contrite spirit and a broken heart.

As many other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I was baptized when I was 8 years old. At this time did I really understand repentance? I probably had a pretty good grasp on it for an 8 year-old (I'd like to think it was better than my cousins). But is 8 too young to bring forth true fruit meet that they are worthy of baptism? My answer is, obviously not, or God would have told us not to baptize people until they are older. So that makes it the responsibility of the parents and teachers and other adult members of the church to teach children what it means to have a contrite spirit and a broken heart and to help them bring forth fruit worthy of baptism. I also am in favor of not letting some children get baptized until they show adequate understanding of these principles. I personally know one 7 year old girl, who I would not allow to be baptized unless she was able somehow have a change of heart. True children cannot sin. but innocence is not the same as righteousness. One disfavor we do to our children is by teaching them to itemize sin. Sins are not only actions but they are attitudes and once a child turns 8 they become accountable not only for what they do from that point on but for who they are. And it now becomes their personal responsibility (though obviously adults still have a great responsibility to help these children) to start the process of changing who they are, of becoming like the savior.
Is this a little extreme? I don't know, but I don't think that baptizing kids who have no idea what they are doing, does any good for anyone. It promotes an attitude in the church where we just do things cause it's the thing to do, the same reason many 19 year-old boys go on missions. I think that if we show our children just how important baptism is by making it something that they have to work at, they will grow a lot more, and have a much deeper understanding of repentance.
But for all of us who just did it cause we were 8 and everyone else in our Sunday school class already did it. We can still learn what it really means to come forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and truly witness to the church that we have repented of all of our sins. We can do this every Sunday as we partake of the sacrament and renew the covenants we made at baptism to take upon us the name of Christ and to follow him.
And if we make mistakes in any aspect of our lives, if we made mistakes when we were children, if we make mistakes in raising our children, if we, metaphorically speaking, flip off the heavens, we can always find forgiveness from God and from each other as church members, if we sincerely repent.

Moroni 6:8

But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven.

Moroni 2-3

2010-09-02T01:53:00.000-07:00

Moroni 2: 1-2

The words of Christ, which he spake unto his disciples, the twelve whom he had chosen, as he laid his hands upon them- And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles.

I found it interesting that he made their authority conditional. First they had to call upon the Father in mighty prayer before they would have power to give the Holy Ghost. Usually we think of priesthood power as transferred directly my the laying on of hands by those who are in authority. Perhaps this is part of the difference between power and authority. Authority is conferred upon us, it is simply given to us by those who already possess it, but true power in the priesthood is obtained by aligning our hearts with the Father through mighty prayer and through the atonement of Jesus Christ. And then once we have obtained the authority and power of the priesthood, what do we do with it?

Moroni 3:3

...to preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end.

We are called as teachers, priests, elders, high priests, etc. to preach to all the world that they must change. That they must become something more, something better. That they must repent, and as they do they will be forgiven of all their mistakes and transgressions and receive a remission of their sins. And the way that they accomplish all of this is through Jesus Christ.

Real repentance is difficult, it involves changing your desires. We should not be timid in asking the world to change. It is our responsibility. It is the reason that we were given the priesthood. To help all men women and children come unto Christ and become like he is by having faith in him until the end of their lives. This doesn't mean we shouldn't be tolerant of other lifestyles and world views, just that we should invite them to change their views to align with Father in Heavens.

BUT the first step in this process is changing our own views and desires through faith in Christ and through mighty prayer in his name. Only then that we will receive the true power of God to do his work here on the earth.

Mormon 2

2010-06-10T05:19:00.000-07:00

Mormon 2:13

But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin.

The people of Mormon's time were fulfilling the prophesy of Samuel the Lamanite. Who in speaking of their time said:

Helaman 13:38

But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yeah for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.

Happiness is not something that can be forced or faked. It's not something that we can buy, or make, or steal or even earn. In your heart you will know if you are happy. And unhappiness comes from living contrary to the knowledge that we have, contrary to the light of Christ.

Alma 41:10,11

...Behold I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness. And now, my son, all men that are in a state of nature, or I would say, in a carnal state, are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; they are without God in the world, and they have gone contrary to the nature of God; therefore, they are in a state contrary to the nature of happiness.

Mormon 2:14

And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword for their lives.

Happiness, on the other hand, flows from living in harmony with your values, living at peace with yourself, and most especially by living righteously, by sincerely seeking to become like Christ and living for God and not for yourself.

Mathew 10:38, 39

And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not wothy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

My belief is this: That those who seek to live for themselves will find no value in their own lives, but those who give up their own interests and desires and dedicate themselves to the work of the Lord will find great happiness and joy. It's also interesting to me that the people of Mormon's time, though they had only misery would fight and struggle to preserve their own lives, where as one of the marks of a true disciple has always been a willingness to give up their physical life. Why wouldn't the people who actually find joy in life be the ones seeking to preserve it. I guess for me the answer is, they realize that just like life could not give them happiness, death can not take it from them. God is the source of all good things including happiness. And while life is a great gift from God, neither life nor death have any inherent happiness or unhappiness, neither are inherently good or evil and both are part of God's plan. And most importantly those with a testimony of the savior will know that through him they will live again.

3 Nephi 27

2010-06-03T00:27:00.000-07:00

3 Nephi 27:21

Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

Is it me or is this something we focus on with primary aged members of the church but tend to focus less on with ourselves (Adult members of the Church)? I tend to take this scripture pretty literally. If the point of this life is to become like our Heavenly Father then we must follow Jesus because he is like our Heavenly Father. Let me propose an alternate slogan to "What Would Jesus Do?" Here it is: "What Did Jesus Do?" Because the works that we have seen him do we should also do. The answers to this question range from the general: He kept his Fathers commandments. He ministered to the sick and afflicted. He prayed. He finished the work that God gave him to do. To the more specific: He was baptized. He blessed and administered the Sacrament. He prayed that we might all become one with Him and God.

But for me the most important work that he did and one that I have found to be quite applicable to my own life is the atonement. The atonement falls into the category of "a work that we have seen him do that we must also do" in 2 major ways. First was that he willingly suffered the terrible pains of the atonement because it was God's will.

Matthew 26:39, 42

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

We might seek Father in Heaven's will in many of the choices we make in life but do we willingly submit ourselves to the worst trials that life has to offer? We are not like Jesus, we are merely mortal, but luckily we have not been asked to suffer an infinite amount of pain. But perhaps we are required to experience a proportional amount of suffering. We will have suffering in this life. It is part of the plan. And we must strive to be like Jesus and suffer it willingly, enduring it well until the end.

The second way that the atonement is "a work that we have seen him do that we must also do" is in that through the atonement Jesus took upon himself the pains and sicknesses of all the people of the world. Now again we are not like Jesus in that we are merely mortal, but if we have been baptized then we have made a covenant to bear one another's burdens (Mosiah 18:8-9). Each of us can follow Jesus example by striving to take upon ourselves the trials and afflictions of our friends and family and neighbors. This can apply to more than just physical afflictions, even to sins as did the Saviors atonement. For example we all have friends or family neighbors who struggle with certain sins (as everyone does) if they choose to let us know about it, we can talk to them about it openly and pray for them privately. We can help shoulder the weight of their failures and comfort and inspire them and when they overcome we will certainly share in the joy of their success (I write from personal experience).

3 Nephi 27:27

...Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

Why should we limit ourselves? The purpose of this life is to become like the Savior. While there will always remain great distinctions (no one should ever pray in our name, and no one can ever receive forgiveness through us) I think that we can take this charge to be like him further in every aspect of our lives.

3rd Nephi 19

2010-05-03T03:01:00.000-07:00

This chapter contains some similar content to one of my favorite chapters of scripture: John 17. In this chapter as in John 17 Jesus prays for his disciples and their followers "those whom I have chosen" (3rd Nephi 19:20) "and also for all those that shall believe on their words" (3rd Nephi 19:23). This chapter contains many important lessons on prayer including how we should pray and what we should pray for. The lessons are simple, we just follow the example of Jesus and his disciples.

3rd Nephi 19: 24

And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus prayed unto the Father, he came unto his disciples; and behold, they did still continue, without ceasing to pray unto him; and they did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire.

As these disciples we must continue to pray, without ceasing, or pray always as other scriptures have said. These disciples also had the words which they were praying given unto them. They were inspired as to what to pray for. Maybe if when we approach God we would ask to be instructed on what to pray for, or even just listen and feel for what is the right thing to ask God, and then act in faith on impressions that we receive then we will also be given the words that we should pray and we will not "multiply many words" but pray simply specifically and with inspiration. The final ingredient is one that I feel to be of great importance. These disciples were filled with desire. When we pray we must be filled with sincere desire for the things that we ask for. Again we can ask god to help us develop pure and righteous desires, or to give us greater desire.

In summary we need to pray continually without ceasing, with a sincere desire, for the things that God has instructed us to pray for.

I believe that God will instruct us personally on the things we should pray for but he has also given us examples of things we should pray for in the scriptures. I think we should all follow the Savior in this chapter and pray for the things that he prayed for:

3rd Nephi 19:21

Father, I pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall believe in their (the disciples) words.

I think that this includes praying not only for those that haven't received the gospel yet, but also for ourselves, that 1. we may believe the words of the apostles and prophets, and 2. that we may be filled with the Holy Ghost.

3rd Nephi 19:23

And now Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou Father, art in me, that we may be one.

We should all pray to have a greater belief in Christ and to be one with him.

3rd Nephi 19:28-29

...I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their (the disciples) words, even as they (the disciples) are purified in me. Father I pray not for the world, but for those whom thou hast given me out of the world, because of their faith, that they may be purified in me, that I may be in them as thou, Father, art in me, that we may be one, that I may be glorified in them.

We should pray for faith in Christ. We should pray to be purified through Christ's atonement and through our faith in him and on the words of his prophets. We should pray that again that we can become one with him and that we will glorify him.

This is not a list of things that we have to pray for everyday but I think that as we strive to become like the Savior we should strive to have the same desires as he and pray for the things that he prayed for.

Personally something else that I thought as I read this chapter is that those of us who have been fortunate enough to have spiritual experiences with God and have a testimony that there is a god should be very grateful. Many times I have criticized others for not believing in God but I realized that I am quite lucky to have had God make his presence known to me through the Holy Ghost. We should thank him for those things and pray that others will also be able to believe.

3rd Nephi 13

2010-04-08T00:14:00.000-07:00

In this chapter Jesus delivers more of the sermon on the mount to the Nephites and the recurring message in this chapter is that we should do our alms/prayers/fasting in secret.

3 Nephi 13:5-6

And when thou prayest thou shalt not do as the hypocrites, for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to thy Father who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

But the point is not just to do these things in secret but to do it unto thy Father, who is in secret (3 Nephi 13:18). The message of this chapter is not to avoid praying or fasting or alms in public, but to do them with real intent. Where is your focus when you pray or fast or give alms? On God or Man? This applies to everything we do not just fasting, prayer, and offerings. When we give a talk, go to work, or write a blog post where is our focus? What do we want? To be seen of men or to please our Father who sees in secret?

3 Nephi 13:19-21

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.

This is the same idea. Is our heart set upon earthly things? On the praises of men or the glory of the world? Or is our heart set on Eternal things?

3 Nephi 13:22-23

The light of the body is the eye; if therefore, thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

Our eye, is our focus. It is our heading. It is our goal. And if it is single than we have but one focus, one goal, and that is our Father in heaven, his work, and his glory. But if our focus is our own work and our own glory than we will be filled with darkness. So I think the main message to take from this is that we must be sincere and honest in our worship and in our lives and strive to do all that we do for God and not for ourselves. Remember,

3 Nephi 13:24

No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.

The other master doesn't have to be Satan, it can be the glory of men, or it can be ourselves.

3rd Nephi 6-7

2010-04-01T03:00:00.000-07:00

These chapters had more information on Satan and secret combinations, something I wrote about before. The Nephites had just defeated the gadianton robbers in chapter 4 and they all believed the prophets but they quickly turn wicked and form secret combinations again, which eventually destroys the Nephite government.

3rd Nephi 6:15

Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this- Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world.

We see multiple times that people seeking for power and authority causes them to form secret combinations. Here's another thought though, do we ever seek for power and authority in our Families? In our relationships with others? Do parents seek for power and authority over their children? And to what extent can we righteously exert power and authority over them? Maybe the key to this is pride, why do we enforce rules or punish. We will say it's because we love them but is any of it really because we want to be "the boss". Do we want to be the ruler of our families or do we make God the ruler and ourselves the stewards? This seeking for power and authority is dangerous in relationships, in families and as we saw with the Nephites, in societies as a whole. In societies seeking for power causes a division between the righteous and the wicked. Righteous people do not seek for power. We can contrast the attitude of the people in verse 15 with Moroni's attitude in Alma 60.

Alma 60:36

Behold, I am Moroni, your chief captain. I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country. And thus I close mine epistle.

So we see that the attitude of righteous men like Moroni is in direct opposition to the goals of the power hungry people in from the previous verse. The prophets also testified constantly concerning their iniquities and these things made these people angry..

3rd Nephi 6:28-29

And they did enter into a covenant one with another, yea even into that covenant which was given by them of old, which covenant was given and administered by the devil, to combine against all righteousness. Therefore they did combine against the people of the lord, and enter into a covenant to destroy them, and to deliver those who were guilty of murder from the grasp of justice, which was about to be administered according to the law.

Here we see the idea again that one of the goals of secret combinations is to deliver people from the consequences of sin. This is one of Satan's great lies, that you can escape the consequences of wickedness, or that there are no consequences. And like I discussed here this wickedness caused a separation in the people.

3rd Nephi 7:2

And the people were divided one against another; and they did separate one from another into tribes, every man according to his family and his kindred and friends; and thus they did destroy the government of the land.

3rd Nephi 7:5

...and all this iniquity did come upon the people because they did yield themselves unto the power of Satan.

3rd Nephi 1

2010-03-22T02:09:00.000-07:00

3rd Nephi 1:9

Now there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.

I don't think I have ever thought about this in a real apply-it-to-myself kind of way before. This is crazy. What if a group of people in America decided that they were going to set a date on which to kill all Christians unless the second coming happened. Isn't enough to just think you are right? Do you actually have to kill the person who you think is wrong? Maybe the only way to actually feel like you are right is to make the other argument go away entirely. But why do people have the tendency to be angry with people who do not agree with them? Is it because of pride? I think that might have something to do with it, Pride inherently causes us to separate ourselves from others because it causes us to compare ourselves to them and usually to see ourselves as better. This division nearly always leads to contention and anger. To remedy this first we should remember that all people are children of our heavenly father and so they our brothers and sisters. We are the same family and shouldn't see ourselves as opposing, though sometimes it is very difficult because we are not going to always agree with our brothers and sisters. When this happens we should remember the 11th Article of Faith.

Article of Faith 11

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

Helaman 14

2010-03-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

Helaman 14:30-31

And now remember, remember, my brotheren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free.

He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might chose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you.

I think verse 30 was one of the first scriptures I memorized on my mission. It is one of my favorite ideas in the gospel. God has given us freedom to choose what we will be in this life. This freedom is given to us through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

2nd Nephi 2:26

And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall, and because they are redeemed from the fall they become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

So we are redeemed from the fall, redeemed from death, but we each must choose for ourselves whether we will fall into spiritual death on our own or whether we will rise above into eternal life through the atonement. We are given freedom to choose for ourselves between life or death. (Does this have implications for suicide or is it only speaking about spiritual death. That is a serious question.)

We are free to become like Christ if we wish, through faith and repentance ...which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart... (Helaman 15:7) or to become any other thing. The other corollary of this freedom we have been given, is that at the end of our lives, we will be exactly who we have chosen to become. No one will make us be anything, but we, through exercising our agency at all times to choose, will create ourselves. And we can either create ourselves in the image of God, as he originally created us, which is eternal life, or we create ourselves in the image of something else, which is eternal damnation.

Helaman 13

2010-03-18T03:12:00.000-07:00

Helaman 13:21-22

Behold ye, the people of this great city, and hearken unto my words; yea, hearken unto the words which the Lord saith; for behold, he saith that ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your riches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not hearkened unto the words of him who gave them unto you. Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things which he hath blessed you, but ye do always remember your riches, not to thank the Lord your God for them; yea, your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions, and murders, and all manner of iniquities.

This chapter is Samuel the Lamanite preaching to the wicked city of Zarahemla. And what I found most interesting this time I read it was how applicable it seems to be to our current society. Is there any question that our current financial crisis was caused by a society full of people with their hearts set upon riches? Whether it was the great masses of people who were accumulating far to much debt trying to get rich off of real estate and other ventures, or the greed of the large financial institutions that irresponsibly exploited the peoples greed for their own profit. Either way the recent events have shown us just how "slippery" our riches can be.

Helaman 13:38

But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.

(Incidentally this is one of my favorite Book of Mormon scriptures) I also felt that this was very applicable to our present society. And it's interesting to note that Samuel says that happiness can not be obtained in iniquity. Many times we look at our neighbors and those around us who we think are living righteously and I have heard some people speculate that maybe God allows the wicked to prosper but he will not uphold them or something like that, the idea comes from people who are trying to understand how wicked people can have all types of riches. Has anyone else ever heard anything like that? Well the whole idea I think is based on someone having their hearts set upon riches. Money has nothing to do with righteousness or happiness and other peoples money is no indicator of whether those people are happy and if someone is unhappy does it really matter how much money they have? The righteous prosper and the wicked do not, and money never enters into any part of the equation. And until we understand that prospering is all about happiness and has nothing to do with money, in some way our heart will always be set on riches.

I also found it interesting that in this chapter Samuel does not say that the people will be destroyed immediately, but that if they do not repent they will be destroyed in four generations from now. Maybe we will have to wait a couple hundred years to see the real consequences of our actions.

Helaman 11

2010-03-13T01:56:00.000-08:00

In this chapter Nephi asks god to replace the war the Nephites are having with a famine.

Helaman 11:6

...and the whole earth was smitten, even among the Lamanites as well as among the Nephites, so that they were smitten that they did perish by thousands in the more wicked parts of the land.

If the whole earth was smitten why did they perish more in the more wicked parts of the land? What was it about the wicked parts of the land that made them more susceptible to famine. I highly doubt that it had anything to do with food storage (I doubt that because the less wicked parts of the land weren't exactly righteous) though I am sure that even then the Lord asked his people to be prepared for disaster/drought. As I ask myself what it is about wicked communities that makes them less likely to survive a famine, I think it has to do with their relationship to each other. One recurring element of wickedness is the tendency to be for one's self. And maybe it is this lack of community that caused the wicked parts to die by the thousands during the famine (like the crabs in the bucket analogy... anyone?)

But do wicked communities really have less solidarity? I think they do because as I heard once: Righteousness unites and sin separates. Sin separates us from God as well as from each other. The Book of Mormon provides us with many examples of this. When Nephi first separated his people from the people of his bretheren it was because of his brothers' wickedness. Throughout the Book of Mormon we see dissenters separating themselves from the Nephites because of their wickedness. And when the people become totally wicked at the beginning of 3rd Nephi they separate into tribes. Also at times when all have been righteous they become one people, and there are no longer Lamanites or Nephites. So we can learn from these examples in The Book of Mormon that the way to build strong communities and strong families is to live righteously.

Helaman 9

2010-03-11T00:26:00.000-08:00

I am going to apply this chapter to arguing on the internet. Online there are many opportunities to disagree with people. People who don't believe in God, people who don't believe organized religion, people who don't believe that Mormons are Christians, people who do believe that Mormons are bigots. There is no end to people that we disagree with on the internet. Chapters 8 and 9 of Helaman tell the story of Nephi prophesying to the people that their chief judge, Seezoram, has been murdered. 5 of the people who are gathered listening to Nephi ran to see if it is true and they find the judge murdered.

Helaman 9:4-5

...they had not believed the words which Nephi had spoken concerning the chief judge. But now, when they saw they believed, and fear came upon them lest all the judgments which Nephi had spoken should come upon the people...

This was interesting to me because it was an example of people who when they saw they believed. There is a saying that seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing. Well maybe believing is believing and seeing may or may not have anything to do with it. They had already exercised enough faith to run see if the chief judge really had been murdered. They were the only 5 who went to see after all. At any rate, these people believed when they saw. And maybe some people who read your comments, or testimony on the internet will be touched, maybe some will be inspired to learn more, so it is important to keep putting your beliefs out there. But most people will probably react like the judges did.

Helaman 9:16

And now it came to pass that the judges did expound the matter unto the people, and they did cry out against Nephi, saying: Behold, we know that this Nephi must have agreed with some one to slay the judge, and then he might declare it unto us, that he might convert us unto his faith, that he might raise himself to be a great man, chosen of God, and a prophet.

Most people will continue to believe what they want to believe, regardless of what evidence or signs are shown unto them. In this chapter the 5 believed when they saw were converted while they were in prison and they rebuked the judges for accusing Nephi.

Helaman 9:18

...and did contend with them one by one, insomuch that they did confound them.

This is amazing to me. I wondered what it is that they said that they could confound the judges. Certainly this is something that we will not be able to do unless we are guided to do so by the spirit. BUT...

Helaman 9:19

Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken and bound and brought before the Multitude...

It didn't matter. Even after the judges were confounded they still just did what they were going to do anyway. And as Nephi points out:

Helaman 9:24

...because I showed unto you this sign ye are angry with me, and seek to destroy my life.

Notice how when the judges are faced with something, like the prophecy of Seezrom's death, that they can't just argue away their solution isn't to change but to get rid of Nephi so he will stop telling them they need to repent. When ever we challenge someones beliefs or way of life they will most likely be angry. If we did manage to confound someone, they would also be angry. And when they challenge us and our beliefs then we will also get angry. The internet, or the world in general, can be a very angry place. But we've been told by the Savior:

3 Nephi 11:29-30

For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but us of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. Behold this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

So while it is important to share your testimony and your beliefs, it is equally important to share love and to not stir people up to anger or allow yourself to be angry or contentious.

Just don't get drawn in to the arguments. Maybe the solution is to bare your testimony gently, and walk away.

Helaman 6

2010-03-08T04:09:00.001-08:00

This is an interesting chapter because there is a lot of information about Satan in it. It gives us a great deal of information on Satan's plan and how he tries to mislead us. Although Satan would probably do anything to turn us away from God, there are some basic patterns that he finds the most success with. This chapter deals specifically with secret combinations but we can apply it to ourselves even if we do not have any temptations or opportunities to join one.

Helaman 6:27

Yea, that same being (Satan) who did plot with Cain, that if he would murder his brother Abel it should not be known unto the world. And he did plot with Cain and his followers from that time forth.

Helaman 6:21

But behold, Satan did stir up the hearts of the more part of the Nephites, insomuch that they did unite with those bands of robbers, and did enter into their covenants and their oaths... that they should not suffer for their murders and their plunderings, and their stealings.

We learn from these two scriptures that one of the ways that Satan gets people to join secret combinations is by telling them that they will not get caught, that no one will know, that they will not have to suffer the consequences for their actions. This is a lie that he tells nearly everyone else as well.

Helaman 6:28

And it is that same being who put it into the hearts of the people to build a tower sufficiently high that they might get to heaven...

Here we see that Satan was telling these people that they could get to heaven on their own. That they did not need the Savior and that they did not need to keep the commandments of God. 2nd Nephi 28 gives tells us some more lies Satan uses.

2nd Nephi 28:21-22

And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well-and thus the devil cheateth their souls and leadeth them carefully down to hell. And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is o hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil for there is none-and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

Both of these lies are intended to create a false sense of security. That we don't need to change. All of these lies fall in with Satan's plan from the beginning, they are elements of his first great lie. If you remember Satan's plan:

Moses 4:1

And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying- Behold here am I, send me, and I will be thy son and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.

I will redeem all mankind, that not one soul shall be lost. Really? There aren't any specifics here of how Satan was going to accomplish his plan, in the church we often say that he was going to force us to keep the commandments, (I couldn't find where this idea comes from, if anyone knows, leave it in a comment) but I think a simpler explanation is that he was going to take away our ability to chose by taking away the choices. If there is no wickedness, we cannot choose righteousness.

This is still Satan's plan today. To convince us that there is no law, that we will not suffer consequences for our sins, that there is no hell, that we will not suffer for our murders, and plunderings, and stealings. He tells us that we do not need to get to keep the commandments to get to heaven (how about all those people who believe we are "saved" just by saying we accept Christ). He tells us that all is well. In essence Satan tells us that we do not need to repent. He tells us that we do not need to exercise our agency to change and to chose to become more like Christ.

Maybe Satan's plan could have worked and we could have all been saved, but none of us would have been exalted. For that we need to become like Christ by choosing to repent of all our ungodliness.

Helaman 5

2010-03-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Helaman 5:10-11
And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins. And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance; therefore he hath sent his angels to declare the tidings of the conditions of repentance, which bringeth unto the power of the Redeemer, unto the salvation of their souls.

What does it mean to be saved from your sins? I think it is important for us to remember Christ's role as Savior. He can and will save us from our sins. Not only from the consequences but it is my testimony that he will save us from the sins themselves by giving us power through his atonement to turn from our sins. He will give us power to change our hearts. He will give us power to repent. But we must repent, we must change, in order for him to save us either from the condition of continuing to commit the sins, or from the consequences of the sins we have committed. We do not have to cease from all sin or even completely from the sins in question before we can be saved from them, we can start right now to pray sincerely and have faith in the Savior no matter our current spiritual condition. But, we can not be saved in our sins. Meaning we cannot hope to both be saved and remain in our sins. If we hope to be saved me must also hope to become sinless. Indeed true salvation is receiving exaltation and becoming like the savior and how can we hope to do that and still remain in our sins. Jesus can help us become righteous but he can not exalt us in our wickedness.

Helaman 5

2010-03-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

Helaman 5:3

Yeah, and this was not all; they were a stiffnecked people, insomuch that they could not be governed by the law nor justice, save it were to their destruction.

I think this verse describes a situation that can apply to both societies and individuals. Societies can gradually become more and more permissive until they run into the problem of how do you punish someone when there aren't any rules. In the individuals case, which I'm sure contributes to the societies, the heart of the matter is as the scripture says stiffneckedness. Some, a lot, maybe most, people just want to do what they want to do regardless of what is best for everyone or what is right. And because of pride they are unwilling to submit themselves to God or to the law. I think most people beleive that they are above the law. How many children do you think willingly submit themselves to the punishments imposed by their parents without complaint? I think this is something most people never grow out of. It takes a lot of humility for us to willingly submit ourselves to the law and justice.

Helaman 5:8

And now my sons, behold I have somewhat more to desire of you, which desire is, that you may not do these things that ye may boast, but that ye may do these things to lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, yea, which is eternal, and which fadeth not away; yea, that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life, which we have reason to suppose hath been given to our fathers.

I was surprised as I read this. I guess I wasn't expecting him to tell them that he wanted them to be motivated by laying up treasures in heaven for themselves. But after I thought about it a while I realized that there is no commandment against wanting good things for yourself. I think that as a culture we have been conditioned to think that it is wrong to think about yourself. But the fact is that this is how we will make most of our choices in life, by thinking about ourselves. And there is nothing wrong with that.

In my opinion, the key to a zion people is not to have a community of people who do not think about themselves, but it is to have a community of people who think of their neighbors as part of themselves. When you are married your spouse becomes a part of you and suddenly when you make choices you make choices that benefit you both together. Then when your children come their welfare is included in your own idea of self preservation. It is just something that happens naturally. The key to being of one heart and one mind in a community is for each member of the community to see the other members not only as their literal brothers and sisters but as part of themselves. By doing this we might begin to understand what Christ prayed for in his intercessory prayer: That we might all be one as he is one with the Father. I don't the unity he spoke of was physical but maybe it is more literal than we think.

At any rate we must first save ourselves before we can lead those around us. Our sphere of responsibility will expand through life as our families grow and as we love and serve those around us, but at it's heart of our responsibilities will always be ourselves.

Helaman 3

2010-03-02T01:49:00.000-08:00

Helaman 3:27

Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.

Several times throughout the scriptures we find the idea of having a sincere heart. I think it is very closely related to the idea of a pure heart. A person's heart is their core. It is the thing that is "I". It is their feelings and their desires. The thing that drives all of their choices. A man or woman must know their own heart and change them to fall in line with God and the gospel teachings.

But, what does it mean to do something in the sincerity of your heart? It think it has to do with the idea of our heart being our desires. Are our desires sincere? When we kneel down to pray to our Heavenly Father what do we want? What do we really want? Why are we doing it? Is it a cultural thing? A habit? Or are we truly looking for guidance or mercy?

One does not have to have perfect faith to sincerely approach God, maybe you can only want to believe, or maybe you can only want to connect to something more, but whatever level you are at you must admit that is where you are in order to be sincere. Sincerity requires that we be honest with ourselves and with God. This includes admitting your sins in their fullest and not trying to hide them from God, or admitting that you do not believe the things you have done are sins.

To be sincere our hearts must also be open. We can not sincerely approach God unless we do it on his terms. This is because the purpose of approaching God is not to tell him what he should do for you but it is to find out what his purpose for you is, to align our hearts with his. So, while we must begin where we are in terms of being honest about our actual faith or beliefs we must be open to changing those beliefs. We must be willing to let go of beliefs, thoughts, and actions that will keep our hearts from aligning with his. If we are not willing to make these changes then we are not really sincerely calling on God. In essence we don't really mean it.

And remember.

1 John 3:20-21

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

Alma 31

2009-09-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

Alma 31:26-28

And he (Alma) lifted up his voice to heaven, and cried, saying: O, how long, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that thy servants shall dwell here below in the flesh, to behold such gross wickedness among the children of men?

Behold, O God, they cry unto thee, and yet their hearts are swallowed up in pride. Behold, O God, they cry unto thee with their mouths while they are puffed up, even to greatness, with the vain things of the world.

Behold, O my God, their costly apparel, an their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold, and all their precious things which they are ornamented with: and behold their hearts are set upon them, and yet they cry unto thee and say - we thank thee, O God, for we are a chosen people unto thee, while others shall perish.

As I read this passage it struck me that a large portion of the Zoramites sin was pride. It is interesting to see how much their pride and their insincerity bothers Alma. It is also interesting to read verses 27 and 28 as if they apply to current latter-day saints or to ourselves personally. I think that all to often they fit just right. I know I have had moments when I have prayed to God but my heart was set on vain things of the world, or other moments when I have thought I was better than others because of the gospel, because I am part of a chosen people.

Contrast that attitude with the attitude of Alma and the other missionaries later in the chapter:

Alma 31:35

Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.

Alma 31:37

And after that they did separate themselves one from another, taking no thought for themselves what they should eat, or what they should drink, or what they should put on.

Now we might not be in a position where we should take absolutely no thought for our food or clothing, but the point is which do we think more about? Our clothes? Our food? Our material things? Or our brethren? What do we really care about? What things are precious to us personally? The souls of our brothers and sisters or the "precious things which (we) are ornamented with."

Alma 30

2009-09-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

When I read this chapter several things struck me as odd. I don't have any great insights but I noticed somethings that were interesting. First of all it's interesting that they never tell why Korihor was brought before the chief judge in the land of Gideon. Well maybe the do, it could be just because he was preaching against Christ, but the chapter goes into detail about how the law could have no power over a man because of his belief which leads me to suspect that there must be some other sort of infraction.

Another thing that I found interesting is when Korihor is cursed and confesses that he always knew there was a God, then he asks Alma to lift the curse pray to God that the curse might be lifted. Alma refuses. But I have to think that if Korihor truly repented he could have had the curse removed, which makes me wonder if maybe his whole confession was a ploy to try to get Alma to undo what he did, after all he was "possessed by a lying spirit" (Alma 30:42) Alma seems to think that this is the case because he says that if he were to remove the curse Korihor would continue to lead away the hearts of the people.

It struck me as as weird that we would have this example of a man being treated much the same way as many of the prophets have been treated. He was arrested seemingly just for teaching something that the people didn't agree with and then he was asked to deny the words that he was teaching. But it makes sense that Korihor should resemble the prophets because he was a prophet, although he was a false prophet. Superficially his story looks similar to other prophets though the main difference was that he taught against Christ. And I think the whole point of this chapter is summed up in the final verse:

Alma 30:60

...and thus we see that the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell.

This story of Korihor contrasts the preceding stories in the Book of Alma. Previously we have seen the sons of Mosiah and Alma the younger preaching the gospel and being bound and brought before the leaders of the people they were preaching to, but they overcame their obstacles and wrought miracles through their faith in Christ. Korihor on the other hand was cursed by the power of God because he denied Christ and God. The devil has no power to uphold his false prophets.

Jarom & Omni

2009-03-20T10:03:00.000-07:00

Jarom 1:9

...But the word of the Lord was verified which he spake unto our fathers saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land.

Omni 1:6

For the lord would not suffer after he had led them out of the land of Jerusalem and kept and preserved them from falling into the hands of their enemies, yea, he would not suffer that the words should not be verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land.

This is one of the most often repeated messages in the Book of Mormon and it is a promise that is extended to all people. If we keep the commandments of God we will prosper, if we don't keep his commandments, we won't prosper. In Jarom the Lord had just delivered the Nephites from the hands of the Lamanites, in Omni the Lord had just caused the more wicked parts of the Nephites to be destroyed. So we can see both sides of the promise fulfilled one after the other. I don't doubt that the Lord would have the more wicked part of the Church destroyed if we fail to keep the commandments that we have been given as well.

Enos

2009-03-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

Enos 1:3

...and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.

This was interesting to me because of what I wrote yesterday about Enos' father Jacob. Though he writes about his life and the life of his people being born in tribulation and mourning out their days, from this scripture me know that he often spoke of the joy of the saints. I think that most people probably see joy and mourning as mutually exclusive, but I don't think they are. I think that often sadness and happiness are experienced simultaneously. That when we experience pain, sorrow, or trials we can still be happy, and we can still have joy.

Enos 1:4

An my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

How much is your salvation worth to you? Human's are interesting in that when they get sick or tired, the lose a lot of their motivation to do things. Kneeling for hours at a time and praying is so little to ask in exchange for forgiveness. So then why don't more people kneel down and not get up until they are forgiven. Maybe either because people don't have the faith that it will work or because they don't have the determination. Or possibly they lose their faith/determination when their knees get sore. In Enos we have an example of someone whose desire for forgiveness outweighed his desire for food or sleep and, as is always the case, he was rewarded according to his desires.

Jacob 7

2009-03-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

Jacob 7:26

...the time passed away with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born n tribulation, in a wilderness, an hated of our brethren, which caused wars and contentions; wherefore we did mourn out our days.

A quick thought for today. Sometimes I think that as Christians we believe that if we are righteous then we will have nothing but happiness. Though we have examples like Job we still have this idea that if we are good we won't have to experience unpleasant things. Of course the gospel does bring joy but trials and mourning are natural part of God's plan for us. Jacob was a man who had seen angels and heard the voice of God, his faith could not be shaken (Jacob 7:5) but still in this farewell that he gives it sounds as though his life was kind of depressing. It was at the very least filled with lifelong difficulties. He says "we did mourn out our days."

Another thing that is interesting to me is how different Jacob's personality and writing style are from other Book of Mormon authors. That is apparent in these last few verses.

Jacob 6

2009-03-16T09:16:00.000-07:00

Jacob 6:5

Wherefore, my beloved brethren I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of day, harden not your hearts.

Jacob 6:8

Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ and the power of God, and the gift of the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you.

This is essentially the invitation that all prophets give, to repent and come unto Christ and partake of his mercy. This is the basic task we have to complete in or life. To sincerely turn all of our desires to God (come to him with full purpose of heart) and to become like Christ through repentance and the mercy of his atonement.

There are likely many ways that we can harden our hearts and reject the words of the prophets and the power of God, and quench the spirit. But I think two of the most common are believing that we do not need to change and believing that we can't change. Many people who are active members of the church harden their hearts in both these ways. They may think that because they are a temple recommend holder they have no need to repent, or they may not believe that they can change, they may think that some of their habits or behaviors are to hard to overcome, or even that nobody can be perfect so they can't get any better. The prophets and the spirit claim that all things can be overcome through Christ and that we can repent and become like him, so will we reject those words? I believe that people can change, that we are free through the atonement to choose who we will be, and that we can all choose to be like Christ.

Ether 12

2008-12-21T23:51:00.000-08:00

Ether 12:12
For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.

This makes me wonder whether or not God is unable to perform miracles unless we have faith because he doesn't have power to perform miracles without our faith, or is it one of those situations where God has said that he will not perform miracles unless we first have faith and he cannot lie, so he is bound by his word. I imagine it is probably the second one.

Faith is an interesting subject, as are most abstract ideas. It's difficult to grasp what exactly faith is and what it means. We know it's principle of action, that true faith prompts us to take action. I understand faith to be confidence in someone or something, specifically something that has not occurred, that can not be confirmed or proven, or that has an unknown outcome. My favorite scripture on faith is in Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11:13

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

For me this means that when we have true faith in the gospel and in the savior then we are more attached to the promises of the next life than we are to the things of this world. We are convinced of our own divinity and we see ourselves as out of place in a carnal world. To me that's the real question, do we have enough confidence in God and his covenants and our own eternal nature, that we do not put temporal things as our priority, that we don't set our hearts on the things of this world, that we lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven?

Ether 12:26 and 27

...my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness; And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness, I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

I had this thought a while ago while discussing this chapter in a Sunday school class and I wondered why I had never thought of it before. We talk a lot about Ether 12:27 but I think we overlook verse 26. In these verses we learn two things that God's grace can help us do. We all know that God's grace is sufficient for those who are humble and have faith that it can help them overcome their weaknesses, but we also learn that God's grace will help the meek to not take advantage of others weaknesses.

What does it mean to take advantage? At first, I thought it meant that we don't exploit others because of their weaknesses, but how could the gentiles possibly exploit Moroni for his weakness in writing? So, I think maybe it means that we put ourselves above another, that we discredit them or ignore or refuse to acknowledge their legitimacy, because of something they lack, because of their weakness. This can sound like a difficult thing to do, but God's grace is sufficient for us, that if we desire and have faith we will learn to take no advantage of other's weaknesses.

I also think that maybe that's what it means to be meek, that we don't take advantage of others weaknesses. And maybe what it means to be humble is that we are willing to recognize our own weaknesses. I can't help but think how many marriages cold be strengthened, or even saved if people could accept and work on their own weaknesses and not take advantage of their spouse's weaknesses.

Ether 11

2008-12-20T10:40:00.000-08:00

Today I was reading in the book of Ether and it struck me as odd that the record of the Jaredite people follows so many people who are wicked. It makes sense that it would follow the genealogy of Ether because he is the one that wrote it. But the book of Mormon is a record of the Nephite people and it was passed along by righteous men and contains their teachings and prophecies. The Book of Ether, however follows the one family line and does not contain any teachings of prophets other than the brother of Jared and Ether. It does mention prophets but won't say more than that they prophesied destruction.

Ether 11:20

And in the days of Coriantor there also came many prophets, and prophesied of great and marvelous things, and cried repentance unto the people, and except they should repent the Lord God would execute judgment against them to their utter destruction.

I wonder what those great and marvelous things were and why we don't have a record of them. And was it Ether that chose not to include them in his record or was it Moroni? And why is it that we have the example of wicked kings instead of righteous prophets. Are we supposed to learn more from the example of what happened to the wicked than we would learn from the teachings of the prophets?

The book of Ether fulfills the law of witnesses in that it provides another example besides the Nephite nation of a people who were prospered when they kept the commandments and were destroyed completely when they allowed wickedness and secret combinations to go unchecked. The Book of Ether also provides us with countless examples of how a wicked king leads the people to be wicked, or perhaps it's a wicked people that support a wicked government. Perhaps Moroni felt it was more important that we see another civilization that was destroyed by wickedness and secret combinations than that we have additional
prophecies of the savior.

Ether 8

2008-12-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

First, these chapters answered my question about whether or not the Jaredites had a written record that was brought with them over the ocean.

Ether 8:9

Whereby hath my father so much sorrow? Hath he not read the record which our fathers brought across the great deep?

So that answers that, but mostly this chapter deals with secret combinations. There is a lot of talk about secret combinations in the Book of Mormon, but it's hard to say what their direct equivalent is in our modern society. In a way gangs, organized crime, certain law firms, some politicians and lobbyists all fit into the category of secret combinations. by learning the characteristics of secret combination we can learn how to avoid and fight against them. And Moroni says that they are had among all people.

Ether 8:20-23

And now I, Moroni, do not write the manner of their oaths and combinations, for it hat been made known unto me that they are had among all people...

And they have caused the destruction of this people of whom I am now speaking, and also the destruction of the people of Nephi.

And whatsoever nation shall uphold such secret combinations, to get power and gain, until they shall spread over the nation, behold, they shall be destroyed...

Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain...

3 Nephi 6:28-30

And they did enter into a covenant one with another, yea, even into that covenant which was given by them of old, which covenant was given and administered by the devil to combine against all righteousness.

Therefore they did combine against the people of the Lord, and enter into a covenant to destroy them, and to deliver those who were guilty of murder from the grasp of justice, which was about to be administered according to the law.

And they did set at defiance the law and the rights of their country...

Ether 8:25

For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies; even that same liar who beguiled our first parents, yea, even that same liar who hath caused man to commit murder from the beginning; who hath hardened the hearts of men that they have murdered the prophets, and stoned them, and cast them out from the beginning.

OK, that's a lot of references, but we learn some important things about secret combinations from those scriptures. The purpose of secret combinations is to get power and gain, to combine against all righteousness and the people of the lord, deliver those who are guilty of murder from the grasp of justice, set at defiance the law, and to overthrow the freedom of all lands. There could be others but those are the ones I picked out. Also we learn that secret combinations lead to the destruction of any nation in which they are present, its important to realize that they destroy nations from within, they don't destroy other nations, much like sin, it can't hurt us unless we let it in (so be less afraid of Al Qaeda and more afraid of corrupt politicians). And finally and perhaps most important, we learn that secret combinations cannot survive unless we are willing to uphold them, they cannot get above us unless we let them. If a people is righteous and repents and does not seek for power or gain then secret combinations will not survive.

Moroni warned us of these things so that we can stop them. Again it seems like the Book of Mormon is prompting us to be involved in our government and take responsibility for the direction of our society. Moroni also was commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men (Ether 8:26). In the end it's all up to us because like secret combinations Satan has no power unless we give it to him. Neither Satan or secret combinations can hurt us if we repent.

Ether 6 and 7

2008-12-18T09:42:00.001-08:00

I don't have many insights today, mostly just some questions that I suppose I'll never had answered. First of all, how did the Jaredites know how long it took them to reach the promised land?

Ether 6:11

And thus they were driven forth, three hundred and forty and four days upon the water.

I guess thinking about it now it doesn't make sense that they would ever be underwater for a whole day. So perhaps they could have seen the sun each day and marked the passage of time that way.

My second question is whether the people of Jared had any written record. The oldest written record that I know about is the writings of Abraham. That were translated by Joseph Smith in the Pearl of Great Price. But one of the Jaredite people was named Noah. So it seems that either they had a record of Noah or at least an oral tradition.

Ether 6:17

And they were taught to walk humbly before the Lord; and they were also taught from on high.

It seems that they had continuing revelation but did they have any scriptures? If anyone has an answer for me, maybe something I have overlooked let me know in the comments.

The last thought I had when reading the scriptures is how connected religion is with the government and politics. We often teach and hear that America was founded with freedom of religion and freedom of speech to create an atmosphere where the gospel could be restored to the earth. In Ether 7, Shule is the king and his people are wicked. Many prophets start calling the people to repentance but the people revile them and persecute them.

Ether 7:25

And he (Shule) did execute a law throughout all the land, which gave power unto the prophets that they should go whithersoever they would; and by this cause the people were brought unto repentance.

So Shule gave the prophets the right to go and preach wherever they wanted and through that the people repented and became righteous. So the government and political atmosphere can have a great deal of effect on the righteousness of the people. It might not affect it directly but it creates an atmosphere that either supports or hinders righteousness. It is our responsibility to support governments and laws that foster righteousness within our own communities and nations.

Ether 3-5

2008-12-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

I remember reading Ether 3 as a missionary in the MTC getting ready to go to Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. I was inspired by the brother of Jared's experience and I thought that maybe I could develop that kind of faith to where I could not be kept within the veil. I think I imagined I would have an experience similar to the one the brother of Jared had.

Ether 3:10-13

...Lord show thyself unto me.

And the lord said unto him: Believest the words which I shall speak?

And he answered:
Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou are a God of truth, and
canst not lie.

And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.

It seems so easy. All you have to do is believe what God will say. Of course we all know that God doesn't lie, so who wouldn't believe him. That is what I used to think, but this morning as I contemplate this, I realize that I am kind of a skeptic. Who could imagine what God might say, it could be something that we might think is completely insane, or more likely, it could be the things that we already know. The things we are taught every Sunday.

This got me asking myself if I really believe the gospel. I'm pretty sure I believe in God and Jesus about 100%. Similarly I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are true books of scripture. But what does it mean to believe God. Do I keep his commandments like I believe that they really came from him? Or would I be more obedient if he came down with a voice of thunder and told me what to do (not likely to increase obedience over the long run, and most often we do not have witnesses like this until after we are already obedient).

If God appeared to me and told me I should cut my hair would I believe him. If he told me that I shouldn't watch certain movies, some of which were my favorites, would I believe him. If he told me that I should go to bed at a certain time everyday, would I believe him. Maybe the only way to measure whether or not I believe him is if I would actually do these things. In this way obedience becomes a measuring stick of belief. Likewise, wickedness is an symptom of unbelief.

Ether 4:15 and 16

Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind... yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit...

...then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by me servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people.

Not only wickedness but hardness of heart and blindness of mind are results of our unbelief. Now to an extent most of us suffer from unbelief. Otherwise why would we do the things that we know we are not supposed to do. I guess the question to ask ourselves is how do we cast off our unbelief. In the end this is going to have to be a personal decision for each of us. To exercise faith and choose to believe. No matter what it is we choose to believe in it takes faith and a choice. All belief is faith based, whether we choose to put our faith in God or in man.

To help us believe, God has provided that there be always two or three witnesses. In Ether 5
Moroni talks about the witnesses to the Book of Mormon.

Ether 5:3

And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true.

I find it an important distinction that the plates were not just shown unto them but were shown unto them by the power of God. I think their knowing of a surety probably had more to do with the power of God than with the seeing of the plates. None of these three witnesses ever denied their testimony, though some of them struggled to overcome their own personal unbelief. I am a descendant of Martin Harris who was one of the three that saw the Nephite record, and though I have not seen the original plates as he had, I have read the book that has been translated from them, and I know as he knew, that the Book of Mormon is true. Having that knowledge doesn't mean that I am free from unbelief. I still must strive daily to believe God's promises and commandments and live accordingly.

Ether 2

2008-12-16T11:48:00.000-08:00

Ether 2:11 and 12

And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may repent and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of god upon you as th inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

When I read this I had the thought that this scripture is a message written, in a sense, to the people of America, but most of the people in America have never even read it. I guess you could say I had a moment when I realized how important it was for us to do missionary work, and to share this message with our nation. If we as a people worship and serve Jesus than we have to need to fear other nations. Conversely, if we neglect the savior we will be ripe for destruction just as every people who possessed the land before us. I feel it's important that the rest of America understand that Mormons believe that the pilgrims and settlers and immigrants were all led here to worship God and to establish his kingdom, and if they don't than they are not fit to inhabit this land. So I suppose I need to bear my testimony more and share this with my fellow Americans.

On an unrelated topic, I have often found the response that God gave the brother of Jared in the end of Ether 2 interesting.

Ether 2:23

... For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire.

What I find interesting is that the brother of Jared is given a reason that he can't have windows but no reason is given for not having fire other than God says no. I wonder if God just didn't want Jared to take fire, or if God just didn't want to explain to Jared why fire wouldn't work. Obviously with Oxygen already being a problem for the little barges, fire would have used up the oxygen in the barge and everyone would have been asphyxiated. Not to mention the hassle of starting a fire over and over and the possibility of the barge getting burned as well. So fire wouldn't have worked but since the brother of Jared wasn't likely to have any understanding of chemical reactions God just told him no fire cause I said no fire. I think that this is a good example of God in his infinite understanding giving us commandments that we maybe don't understand but that are for our protection, and maybe the explanation for the commandment is just a little bit beyond us at the moment.

Mormon 9

2008-12-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at church someone told the story of Abraham. He was commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac and then when he was about to do it an angel came and stopped him and told him it had only been a test. I remember discussing with someone that I thought it was pretty messed up that God would make Abraham believe that he was going to have to kill his only son, and then almost actually go through with it, just to teach him a lesson. The person I was talking to said something that I have heard before something like "Yeah, the God of the Old Testament did some crazy stuff". Then this morning I read this:

Mormon 9:9

For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness or shadow of changing?

Mrmon 9:19

...And behold I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God...

So this made me realize something that I already knew all along, the God of the Old Testament is our God. He hasn't changed, and he never will. This means the same God that commanded the children of Israel to wipe groups of people off the face of the planet, and commanded Abraham to kill his son just to teach him a lesson (Oh, and how about, who commanded polygamy) is the God that I pray to and that I make covenants with. This brought to mind a scripture that I had to look up.

Isaiah 55:8 and 9

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

I guess the point of this is that I realized that as members of the church we are still influenced by cultural and societal factors. For example our sense of morality is basically the same as the rest of Americans (for Mormon Americans that is) with a few distinct changes. It is my opinion that for the most part, our sense of morality is not the same as God's. For God it is OK to command people to kill their kids and to command genocide, those things are all part of his plan. I guess my question is in the process of trying to become more like our Heavenly Father does that mean that we should strive to think the way he thinks?

Then we run into the problem of figuring out what are God's thoughts and what are God's ways. Does god command us not to murder because it is inherently wrong or is murder wrong because God commanded us not to. I don't know. What I am convinced of is that God sees this whole program very differently than we do. I also believe that God empathizes with us and cares about our feelings and beliefs and that he will judge us based on our own understandings according to the desires of our hearts. I don't think that any man can know God's thoughts or his ways unless it is given him by the holy spirit, so if we are ever meant to see life the way God sees it we will get there through prayer, scripture study, worship, and service that are all guided by the spirit.

Also I think it is important that we realize that we are not separate from our society and that we take responsibility for the beliefs and ideas of the societies we live in and try to mold them in the direction that they should go. I know that we need to be separate from the world but that doesn't mean that we can't be active in striving to make our communities and our Nation separate from the world as well. One reason we have the Book of Mormon is so that we can help save our society from the destruction that the Nephites faced because of their wickedness.

Mormon 9:31

Condemn me not because of mine imperfection, neither my father, because of his imperfection, neither them who have written before him; but rather give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than we have been.

Mormon 7

2008-12-14T23:06:00.000-08:00

I have a question. One of the major purposes of the Book of Mormon is to bring the remnant of the house of Israel to a knowledge of their fathers that they might know that they are part of the covenant people.

Mormon 7:1

And now, behold, I would speak somewhat unto the remnant of this people who are spared, if it so be that God may give unto them my words, that they may know of the things of their fathers; yeah I speak unto you , ye remnant of the house of Israel...

Mormon 7:5

Know ye that ye must come to the knowledge of your fathers...

Mormon 7:10

And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant...

It is my understanding that when it says people of the first covenant it means the Abrahamic covenant. And so my question was how does the book of Mormon bring us to a knowledge of the Abrahamic covenant. Actually the verse that sparked this question also may be part of the answer.

2 Nephi 3:12

Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to a knowledge of my covenants, saith the lord.

The Book of Mormon brings us to a knowledge of God's covenants in many ways. We have detailed teachings of Alma about the baptismal covenant in Mosiah 18, we also have record of conversations that prophets had with God where God covenanted to bring these writings forth to a remnant of their people. Nephi also teaches about the Abrahamic covenant.

1 Nephi 15:18

...which covenant the lord made to our father Abraham saying: in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

But to my knowledge the part of the Abrahamic covenant that talks about eternal increase and seed numbered like the sands of the sea (Genesis 22:17) is not contained in the Book of Mormon (I could be wrong). So I was wondering how the Book of Mormon will bring us to a knowledge of all God's covenants. I think the answer is that the Book of Mormon was never meant to be used alone. It may be the most correct book, but it was never meant to be the ONLY book. Going back to 2 Nephi 3:12, it is evident that the Book of Mormon does not confound false doctrines and bring us to a knowledge of our fathers and God's covenants by itself. It has grown together with the Bible in order to accomplish those things.

This brings us full circle.

Mormon 7:8-9

Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you.

For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.

The Book of Mormon may be the most correct book, but it's principle author tells us that the reason it is written is to convince us of the truth of the Bible. The Book of Mormon works with the Bible to bring us to a knowledge of our fathers and of God's covenants. And in accordance with prophecy, these books have grown together, so maybe we should stop thinking of them as separate and start thinking of them as parts of a whole.

Mormon 3 and 4

2008-12-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

So, I'm going to get a little political her and I apologize. As I was reading these chapters I found it very interesting that when the Nephites swore to get revenge against the Lamanites Mormon refused to be their commander. At first I was reminded of other instances where the Nephite leaders have refused to go up to battle against an enemy but instead wait for them to come to the Nephites. (3 Nephi 3:20-21) Because of our current issues with the Iraq war I couldn't help but think to myself that maybe it was wrong for us to go to Iraq to fight. I don't really agree with the war so I probably have preconceived notions, but I really feel like these scriptures are applicable to us. The Nephites were also defending themselves from an enemy, but the Lord would not help them defend themselves if they went on the offensive.

Mormon 3:15

Vengeance is mine and I will repay; and because this people repented not after I had delivered them, behold, they shall be cut off from the face of the earth.

Now because I was already thinking about the Iraq conflict, this scripture made me wonder if it was wrong of us to go to Afghanistan seeking for revenge against Osama Bin Laden. I don't really know, but I don't think it was. Then again, what good has come from it. Maybe we should have concentrated on defending ourselves and waited for God to deliver Bin Laden into our hands. I also think it's interesting that Mormon refused to fight in the Nephite army because he disagreed with it. That is something I believe that we should all be able to do. I think that it is the right thing to dodge a draft that you don't agree with, it takes courage and sacrifice but I believe it is the right thing.

Mormon 4:5

But, behold, the judgments of God will overtake the wicked; and it is by the wicked that the wicked are punished; for it is the wicked that stir up the hearts of the children of men unto bloodshed.

When I read this I thought that all wars caused by wickedness, and I don't think that our participation in Iraq was inspired by anything different. That's just my opinion, and it doesn't count for anything, God is the one who will judge. Which leads me to my next thought on these chapters.

In the end of Mormon 3, Mormon tells us all that we will all be judged of our works. What I found interesting was that In Mormon 3:18 and 19 Mormon says that The twelve tribes of Israel will be judged by the twelve apostles that Christ had in Jerusalem, and the remnant of the Nephites and Lamanites (who are also of the twelve tribes of Israel) will be judged by the twelve apostles that Christ chose in this land when he appeared to the Nephites, and finally that the twelve Nephite apostles will be judged by the twelve apostles from Jerusalem. To me this suggests that Christ will judge us all by delegation to his chosen servants. The twelve apostles from Jerusalem will oversee the judgment and they will judge other apostles who will in turn judge the people they are responsible for. So, we may be judged by a bishop, or a stake president, or a general authority who has been authorized by Christ to Judge (bishops are Judges in Israel). Or we might not, this is just an idea.

Mormon 2

2008-12-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

Mormon 2:14

And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword with their lives.

I have always found the irony in this scripture interesting. And I think that it would not be hard to find many people today that are in the same boat as this, who find no joy in their lives and wish to die, but who fear death and will kill to preserve their own lives. We can contrast this with the people of Ammon who when they were converted would willingly lay down their lives to avoid sinning.

Luke 9:24

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

The gospel is full of glorious paradoxes such as this one. When we focus on ourselves and make our own life all important, then we waste it, it is lost. Ironically we will also take less joy in it, or no joy at all and we shall actually end up in a position where we prize our own lives above all else and will struggle to the death for it and fear to lose it, although it brings us no value and we may even resent the fact that we are alive. We love our lives unto death.

The other end of this is when we lose our life for Christ's sake. We focus on him and his work, which is the eternal life of all our brother's and sisters. We give of our time, talents, and energy to others, maybe even finding none left for ourselves. But we do it willingly because we do not covet our own lives, we lose them in the service of God. We find infinitely more value in our lives when we live this way. Our existence is full of joy and peace, we find Life. Ironically the closer we are to God the easier it is for us to lay down our lives, as Christ did. We do not prize our physical life because we have found a Life that goes beyond this world.

Mormon 2 has examples of both of these. First are the people we have already discussed that curse God and wish to die, but struggle or their lives. Secondly we have Mormon, who lived a lonely life as one of the few righteous members of his society. It's important to remember that joy and sorrow are not opposites but are meant to be experienced simultaneously. Mormon was righteous, he had been ...visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus. (Mormon 1:15) I'm sure that his relationship with God brought him great joy. But at the same time he was also filled with sorrow.

Mormon 2:19

And wo is me because of their wickedness; for my heart has been filled with sorrow because of their wickedness, all my days; nevertheless I know that I shall be lifted up at the last day.

As I read this I realized that I also live in a wicked world and that I need to prepare myself for this type of isolation and sorrow. While I will hopefully have a righteous wife and children I am not likely to work with many people who keep the commandments, or even believe in God. As the world around us grows more and more wicked we need to be like Mormon, who stayed righteous and tried to lift the society around him. True discipleship of the Savior has always been difficult.

Luke 9:23

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.

I know that being a righteous follower of Christ will not make me popular with the world and it may at times get very lonely, but if I want to find my Life, to discover my true self, I need to let go of all the worldly things and of selfishness, and love not my own life unto death. It seems to me that for someone who has truly lost his life in the service of the Lord, things like isolation and unpopularity and death will be minor inconveniences. Truly why should we covet our own life if it has already been given away.

4 Nephi

2008-12-11T09:15:00.000-08:00

This is an example of a people who had peace and unity for hundreds of years. This must be close to what it was like for the people of Zion that were taken into heaven. So as I read I wondered to myself what did they do that made them one and how can we become one.

4 Nephi 1:2 and 3

...there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another. And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.

4 Nephi 1: 13

And it came to pass that there was no contention among all the people, in all the land; but there were mighty miracles wrought among the disciples of Jesus.

4 Nephi 1:15

And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people.

4 Nephi 1:18

And how blessed were they! For the lord did bless them in all their doings... and there was no contention in the land.

I think we read these scriptures and we mistake these verses as a description when they are really a prescription. To have the unity and blessings of Zion we should have no contention in the land. It is a choice that we can make and it begins in each of our hearts. W can choose to deal justly with our fellow men and to not have disputes or contentions with them. I think it's significant that one of the very first things that Christ taught to he people of Nephi when he appeared to them was that there should be no disputations or contentions among them.

3 Nephi 11:28-30

...And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been... For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one to another. Behold this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

It seems pretty obvious to me that God does not want us to be angry. Many people say it's ok to get angry because Jesus got angry in the temple but Jesus does a lot of tings that we aren't allowed to do like take vengeance, pass judgment, take life. I'm ot convinced that he was Angry in the temple but I am convinced that getting angry is NOT OK. Not only is it not ok but the sooner that we stop having contention in our hearts the sooner they can be filled with the love of God, and we can begin to build Zion.

Later in the chapter their Zion society disintegrates and the reasons that their Zion began to fall apart are some of the same reasons that we do not have one now.

4 Nephi 1:24-26

...there began to be among them those who were lifted up in pride, such as the wearing of cstly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls, and of the fine things of the world. And from that time forth they did have their goods and their substance no more common among them. And they began to be divided into classes; and they began to build up churches unto themselves to get gain...

I think many of us agree that the love of money is the root of all evil, but I am more interested in applying this to my life and finding out where I am lacking. I think that there are many active members of the church who have a problem with "costly apparel". I'm going to go ahead and say that I believe that it is wrong to shop at a place like Anthropology, or to buy a pair of pants for $80. There will be many of you who argue with that but I maintain that there is something wrong with your priorities if you spend on one pair of pants what could feed a family for a week. You have to admit that you are not focused on building Zion.

I realized however that I do the same thing with computers. I have a shiny MacBook Pro which I take great pride in. I did get a ridiculously good deal and otherwise I never could have afforded it, but the problem is that I look down on PC users. I do it because my computer is better than theirs. Now I would never hate or hurt anyone because of that, but I really do take pride in my computer and it creates a class distinction. So I think we all need to examine our priorities and try to humble ourselves and realize that clothes and computers and cars are all unimportant and don't deserve our time or money. This is a hard thing for many people, because they have their hearts set on these worldly things, and that is why we don't have a Zion like people right now. You always knew there were still things to repent of, here they are.

3 Nephi 28

2008-12-10T17:19:00.000-08:00

This was an interesting chapter for me. I like to tell myself and others that I have a different viewpoint on death, that death isn't that bad, that death is all part of God's plan. I think that God thinks death is good because his plan is perfect and death is an important part, he also recognizes that we never really die, we just change modes of existence. But there were a couple things in this Chapter that have made me think twice about God's view of death.

3 Nephi 28:7-8

Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death... And ye shall never endure the pans of death.

Now I guess that I thought that God looked at death and pain as insignificant when seen in the larger view of things and it was confusing to think that someone who didn't die would be "more blessed" than someone who did, this seems like a mortal view of death. I thought that it would make little difference either way in the long run and I had even thought that death might be an important learning experience for all of us. I still am not sure if death is a good or a bad thing or if it is neither, but after thinking about this scripture I think that perhaps I don't know anything about death, maybe being separated from our physical bodies is a truly horrible thing. Or maybe God just knew that the Three Nephites did not want to die so from their perspective they were more blessed, Or maybe the lack of death or presence of death had nothing to do with the more or less blessed part, but instead that was all about living to continue the work.

The thing that I have learned from this, that now seems so obvious is that just because something like pain and death which are infinitesimal when compared with eternity does not mean that they are insignificant, even to God. Truly God is concerned with all of our affairs and the hairs on our head are numbered. Whether or not God views death as a negative, or a positive, he does have love and empathy for us and he cares about our feelings.

3 Nephi 27

2008-12-09T19:39:00.000-08:00

3 Nephi 27:8

...if it be called in my name then it is my church, if it so be that they are built on my gospel.

So it isn't enough to be called by Christ's name, which should be obvious to most of us. Each week we partake of the sacrament and we covenant to take Christ's name upon us, that doesn't mean anything unless we build ourselves upon Christ's gospel. Christ tells us about what his gospel is in versus 13-21. The first few versus explain teachings of the gospel but I find it difficult to understand exactly what it is that I should be doing to live the gospel. Even in verses 16 and 20 the only instructions are to repent, be baptized, and endure to the end, the only problem is that it doesn't go into detail about what to repent of or how to endure to the end. But I think that verse 21 holds the key for me.

3 Nephi 27:21

...ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;

He says it twice for emphasis. We learned in verse 13 that Christ came to do the will of the Father. So in essence this is the gospel. Christ came to do the will of the Father and we should do the things which we have seen him do. In this way, we learn to do the will of Christ and of the Father and become like them.

3 Nephi 27:27

...Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.

So it is not just enough to call ourselves in the name of Christ, but we must strive to become like him. This is what is actually meant by taking upon us the name of Christ when we take of the sacrament. In St. John 6:56 and 57 we learn that when we partake of the sacrament correctly Christ will dwell in us and we will dwell in him and as Christ lives by the Father we should live by Christ. To take upon ourselves the name of Christ is to become his disciple, to do his works, to live as he would live, to become like him. It is a lifelong process, but that does not mean that we should not be striving for daily progress. And as we strive to become like the Savior we will find ourselves becoming more and more like our Father, that is what Christ came to show us how to become.

I also thought it was interesting that Christ said that those who are not built upon his gospel would have joy for a season. I think sometimes we think that just because people don't have the gospel then they can't be happy, apparently they can have joy for a season. I also think that this is more applicable to members of the church. This suggests that it is possible to be baptized into the church and take the sacrament every week (call ourselves in his name) and be very happy (have joy for a season) but never really become something more, never become like Christ, never really be built upon his gospel.

I think that people who stress out over being perfect in this life need to stop worrying and more importantly stop telling themselves that being like Christ means being perfect and start learning what it is that Christ is like and what it is that they should be. Christ was not a "perfect person", he was sinless because of the type of person he was. We worry about being perfect because we do not really know what it means. Our idea of perfection is different from God's and so our focus should not be perfection, it should be Christ. He said learn of me and take my yoke upon you, my yoke is light and my burden is easy (paraphrased of course). So essentially we need to stop telling ourselves we can't be like Christ in this life and start learning what Christ was really like so that we can start becoming what we were sent here to become.

3 Nephi 25

2008-12-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

This is when Christ is ministering to the Nephites, He gives them the teachings of the Prophet Malachi. (Compare Malachi 4)

3 Nephi 25:1

The day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud , yea, and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

As I read this scripture this time, I couldn't help but think about what it meant when it said the day would burn as an oven. I accept that there may be some literal burning on the judgment day as part of the cleansing of the earth but I think that this must have some deeper meaning. I remembered that the prophet Joseph Smith said that God dwells in everlasting burnings, and I remember reading in Moses that our natural selves cannot withstand God's presence, Moses would have withered and died unless he had been transfigured (Moses 1:11).

So I began to theorize that possibly the fire is from the presence of Christ. His presence is our judgment. He is the way the truth and the light. His fire is the fire of reality. The day will come when, in the presence of the Truth, we can no longer lie to ourselves about what we are, or what we've become, or why. And all the proud, yea and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble. In that day, we will have to face the Truth, and in the light of his glory all of our imaginary friends will disappear. All of the money , and the mansions, and the titles, and the things that never really mattered, won't matter. Those who have wasted their lives in iniquity will have nothing to show for themselves, they will not have become what they were supposed to become, they shall be left with neither root nor branch.

OK, so I also believe that being left with neither root nor branch means not having any ancestors (roots) or progenitors (branches) but maybe that is just a modern metaphor that we impose on ancient scripture (the family tree). But the last scripture in this chapter I think gives some support to that idea.

3 Nephi 25:6

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Doctrine and Covenants 138:48 adds lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse and utterly wasted at his coming.

In the day when we are forced face to face with reality , when God's brilliance illuminates all the darkest corners of infinity, and all our deepest secrets are torn from their hiding places, we may find that only those who have turned their hearts to their families , those who have made relationships with others their lifelong quest, have anything to show for their mortal existence. We may find that all other endeavors are simply a waste.