Day 330

The student manual notes the similarities of king Riplakish and king Noah... how both oppressed the people, relished in their own desires, and ultimately were then killed by their own people...

This reminded me of the opposite situation, in the case of Lamoni's father, and all of the Lamanites that were converted unto the Lord when he sent out the decree to let these Nephites preach.  Thousands were brought to the knowledge of their Lord. 

Were these people just ready and waiting... or did the example of their leader, their king turn their hearts?

It was probably both.  If your heart isn't ready to hear the witness, then it wouldn't matter if people were preaching to you right?  As I say that I want to take it back.  Even if your heart isn't ready, the goodness and love, the change that comes through seeing people who are happy can be small, but influential.

And, if you had a king that prevented that knowledge to be taught, you wouldn't hear it.

What was the result of the different kings and their kingdoms?  Evil vs. good.  Happy people and peace vs. oppression and anger. 

Indeed our leaders have much to do with the pulse of the land they are ruling over.

I feel fortunate to live in a land where I have choice, especially with religion.  Whether I agree or disagree with politics or practice... I have freedom to love and worship how I will.  And really that is what will lead me home peacefully to my loving Father in Heaven.

Day 329

This verse seems a little confusing... this whole chapter is filled with wickedness, secrets, killing... how does this do away with evil?

When we see all of the wickedness, see what destruction it brings not only to individuals, but to a whole people, who later are all wiped out, we hopefully can learn from that.  Give it a name!  Satan has power!

Elder Oaks said:
… Satan’s methods of deception are enticing: music, movies and other media, and the glitter of a good time. When Satan’s lies succeed in deceiving us, we become vulnerable to his power” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2004, 46; or Ensign, Nov. 2004, 43).

'We become vulnerable to his power'.  This is the warning.

The good news, though, is we have the power to overcome.
It is a choice to take the path that leads away from God.  Our choices may be small and we need to be aware of them, but the choice is always ours.

Agency is the foundation of God's plan.  It will always be our choice.
The millennium, which this scripture is looking forward to, will be a time when Satan has no power, but that won't be because someone has trapped him, put him in a cage, it will be because we choose God, all of us, and therefore he will have no power.

Yes, we are living in the last days, there is much prophecy fulfilled, much evil around, people are trapped and imprisoned by the choices they've made.

But there is much light and joy, there is hope, there is always goodness and light when we choose to follow Jesus Christ.

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) declared: “The devil has no power over us only as we permit him; the moment we revolt at anything which comes from God, the devil takes power” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 214).

Week 47 Prompts

Week 46 Prompts

Day 317

I missed a couple of days here and there this past week.
What happens to your study when you miss a day or so?
Do you then find that you are missing more days after that?

If I'm doing a 1/day type study I start to feel overwhelmed, like I've got so much to catch up on!
Sometimes all you can do though, is just start again!  Pick up where you are and start again!

The less time, between when I stopped and start again, the better!

Now, posting... yikes, that is a whole new monster!  But, again, I'll be back around these parts of the B of M again, I'll pick up where I am and go from there!

Day 317 Mormon 9:1-6 Miserable In God's Presence
1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.

 2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?

 3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?

 4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.

 5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you.

 6 O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day.

 

Matt and I were talking one time and he said, mostly kidding, 'See the celestial kingdom will be filled with people just like... (name here)... I don't want to be there! 

 

The person he was speaking of was someone we view as pretty righteous!

 

Of course we all have struggles and no one is perfect, but you know those people... they just seem to have a stand by ticket already waiting for them... good for them!

 

Why wouldn't he want to be there?  Well even here in this funny earth experience he feels like he can't be himself, make his funny off-color comments, let the sarcasm flow like honey...

 

This is what this scripture is talking about. 

 

If you don't believe now, practice faith now, use the atonement now, having a knowledge of it, what makes you think you'll want to when you are standing before our Savior?

 

Hopefully the fact that you are indeed standing there would compel you to fall to your knees and seek mercy, forgiveness.

 

But, would it?

 

When we feel the guilt of being a non-believer, making the choices we did, and the guilt overwhelms us... will we then turn to the Savior?  Do you magically have faith now that you are standing in front of Him, or do you let the guilt overwhelm you and dictate a choice that you don't belong with Him?

 

It will still be a choice, it will always be a choice.  Will you choose to have faith in his atonement, and in faith seek cleansing and healing?

 

The scriptures tell us that now is the time to prepare to meet God.  Why?  Because the after life will be an extension of what this experience is!  All that we have become and learned go with us and enhance the spirits we recognize when we pass through the veil to the other side.  Our convictions, our habits, our thoughts, they all go too!

 

If you aren't preparing to live a celestial life now, will you really want to live one?

 

What I do believe is that we will have a choice, there, after all is revealed.  And, if your choice is to now believe, repentance and change will have to take place.  I think this is where we will lose some, because change is hard, whether we do it here on earth or on the other side.  And, I think some will not feel it is worth it, and will choose to stay where they are with their progress, feeling content... maybe even happy.

 

The beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ, revealed to us today is that there are degrees of glory, and all of them are better than our earth life here!

 

We will be happy!  We will go to the degree of glory we have earned, and that we will feel comfortable living in!  All of it is good, because all of us are loved, all of us are God's children and he wants us to be happy!

 

I have faith in that!

 

 

Day 311 & 312 - God's Hands and Rejection

311 - Mormon 5:23 - In the Hands of God

 

Chapter 5 starts out feeling a little yuck right?  Is there any hope left?
As I read this I ponder and wonder, try to imagine the scene at the time...
Do you wonder about the wife of Mormon?  He was righteous so we assume he had a wife... he has Moroni for a son. 
I wonder what she was like.  Did she dwindle in unbelief?  Did she believe as her husband did?  Was she captured and sacrificed?  Was Mormon the only believer in his family?  We don't have that record,  it is part of his personal story, which we don't always get... but sometimes I wonder. 

I wonder... were there others who still believed, just not in the area that these people lived and were keeping records?   I'd like to become more familiar with world history so I can see what is happening everywhere at this time. 

I wonder about the scattering, about people of Lamanite descent being the only ones standing after all the fighting.  I think about new people inhabiting this land, the future plans all being played out.  I think about a prophet of old prophesying about this very book I'm reading... right here in my hands.

In the Hands of God... 
“Hands are one of the symbolically expressive parts of the body. In Hebrew, yad, the most common word for hand, is also used metaphorically to mean power, strength, and might (see William Wilson, Old Testament Word Studies [1978], 205). Thus, hands signify power and strength. …
“To be in the hands of God would suggest that we are not only under His watchful care but also that we are guarded and protected by His wondrous power.

I see it!  I see His power used to bring forth His work.  Some turn away, seeing a God that has left them, or never existed, or doesn't step in to rescue and help when other's have used their agency to do awful things. 
I see more than that.  I see purpose, opportunities, open arms, a plan, protection and love... so that even those who can't or don't see what I see, still can have all that He has.

312 - Mormon 6: 16 - 22 - Don't reject the open arms of Christ

 

I can't imagine what it would be like to be in a battle.  People that I love and respect go to war.  The calamity Mormon speaks of is so great and extreme... 24 survivors left and a ground covered with your people.

I'm sure the emotions of surviving that enhance the 'anguish'.

 

It is hard to see the ones you love turn from the God you believe in, the one they once believed in.  I know this, I have lived this. 

To see the prophecy fulfilled, to see a whole nation destroyed because everyone chose that same path... devastating to witness I'm sure.  Mormon abridged the plates, he saw this prophecy, then watched it fulfill.

 

He realizes his sorrow can't change anything and he leaves it up to the Lord.  He will judge, he will determine.  Sometimes that is all you can do.

 

We see a sad story, though of a nation that doesn't believe in God anymore.  Only anger and evil, vengeance and killing consume all of these people, both the Nephites and the Lamanites... that is what got them all to this end. 

 

The joy of life is found through Jesus Christ.

 



President James E. Faust explained:

“We long for the ultimate blessing of the Atonement—to become one with Him, to be in His divine presence, to be called individually by name as He warmly welcomes us home with a radiant smile, beckoning us with open arms to be enfolded in His boundless love. How gloriously sublime this experience will be if we can feel worthy enough to be in His presence! The free gift of His great atoning sacrifice for each of us is the only way we can be exalted enough to stand before Him and see Him face-to-face. The overwhelming message of the Atonement is the perfect love the Savior has for each and all of us. It is a love which is full of mercy, patience, grace, equity, long-suffering, and, above all, forgiving.

“The evil influence of Satan would destroy any hope we have in overcoming our mistakes. He would have us feel that we are lost and that there is no hope. In contrast, Jesus reaches down to us to lift us up. Through our repentance and the gift of the Atonement, we can prepare to be worthy to stand in His presence” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2001, 22; or Ensign, Nov. 2001, 20).

Days 309 & 310

309 - Mormon 3: 8-11  refusing to be commander

The study guide talks about how Mormon was abridging the plates still, while all of this was going on... and surely he was learning about the wars of the past and the righteous cause with which his people used to fight.  Now the purpose of war is to avenge and out of hate.  He removes himself from that.
This abridging he is doing is surely how he continued in righteousness... getting that lift and connection he needed with Heavenly Father while the world around him fell into wickedness.  There is something to learn from that right?  Stay in your scriptures, there is safety there!

I also read down into verse 12 and Mormon talks about how he had led the Nephites, as a commander, how he loved them, despite their wickedness.  He stuck with his people.  He led them.  He continued to cry repentance unto them... he continued to love them... even as they turned from their faith, even as they spiraled further into wickedness.  When is the time to separate yourself from those you love, that may be wicked?

There is a point of no return. 
President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) described how we today might also remove ourselves from the cleansing grace of repentance: “It is true that the great principle of repentance is always available, but for the wicked and rebellious there are serious reservations to this statement. For instance, sin is intensely habit-forming and sometimes moves men to the tragic point of no return. … As the transgressor moves deeper and deeper in his sin, and the error is entrenched more deeply and the will to change is weakened, it becomes increasingly near-hopeless, and he skids down and down until either he does not want to climb back or he has lost the power to do so” (The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 117).

Mormon separates himself, but I'm sure the love for his people still remains.

310 - Mormon 3:20-22 admonition to believe in Christ

Is there any question we are Christian?  The Book of Mormon is here as an additional witness that Jesus is the Christ!  We do have this record among us today, brought forth at a time the world needs additional witnesses, additional record, that our Savior indeed walked the earth, atoned for our sins, died on the cross, returned as a resurrected being and established his church here on the earth.  And, it has been restored to the earth again.  This book is witness of that!

Pride and Rebellion Against God

From last week...

What I've been pondering most about last weeks reading is from 4 N 1:20... there began to be Lamanites.

Divisiveness is a result of unrighteousness. The following commentary suggests that pride is the beginning of all such divisions and the reason that some individuals “revolted from the church” and took upon themselves the name Lamanites (4 Nephi 1:20).
“Why would it matter to a people what they were called? Why would it be so important for them to be called Lamanites? Why would a group choose to forsake the transcendent privileges of unity in order to be designated by this or that name?
The answer is simple: pride. A desire to be different. A yearning to be acknowledged. A fear of being overlooked. A craving for public notice.
The righteous feel no need for attention, no desire to be praised, no inclination to demand recognition.
The prideful demand their rights, even when they are wrong. The prideful feel that they must do things their way, even when that way is the wrong way. The prideful insist that they must pursue their own path, even when the road they take is wide and broad and leads to destruction” (Joseph Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 4 vols. [1987–92], 4:204–5).

I've thought about this in my own life, as I label myself a Mormon. 

Of course I'm not revolting from anything or creating a separation from the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I wonder if others look at us and think that we are.  Is that label so important?  Is it so important to separate ourselves from other followers of Jesus Christ?

Labels are of course good, and create clarity and organization, which I think is the intention of labeling myself a Mormon... or anyone stating which faith they belong to... or don't belong to.

We see, though, that the caution is in the pride factor, which can change everything.  If for any reason that label begins to bring about an air of entitlement, or a craving for recognition, or an 'I'm better than you' attitude we've slipped into the pit of pride.  Just something to watch for.  Where is your heart?

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And, I love this thought regarding the willful rebellion against God (Mormon 1:16)... do we see this today?  Yep!

Remember Mormon’s description of those who turned away from the true path in his day. They did not sin in ignorance. They willfully rebelled against God. It did not occur as a universal movement. It began as individual members of the Church knowingly began to make compromises with the Lord’s standard. They sought justification for their diversions in the knowledge that others were compromising as well. Those who willfully sin soon seek to establish a standard of their own with which they can feel more comfortable and which justifies their misconduct. They also seek the association of those who are willing to drift with them along this path of self-delusion.

“As the number of drifting individuals increases, their influence becomes more powerful. It might be described as the ‘great and spacious building syndrome.’ The drifting is the more dangerous when its adherents continue to overtly identify with and participate with the group that conforms to the Lord’s way. Values and standards that were once clear become clouded and uncertain. The norm of behavior begins to reflect this beclouding of true principles. Conduct that would once have caused revulsion and alarm now becomes somewhat commonplace” (“Likening the Scriptures unto Us,” in Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr., eds., Alma, the Testimony of the Word [1992], 8).

Week 45 Scripture Prompts