Day 12 in the Book of Mormon

This scripture isn't from today's reading, but it is perhaps the most powerful two verses in all of Scripture:

26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

27 Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?

Day 11 in the Book of Mormon

I realized I didn't have something to say each day, but have continued reading the Book of Mormon each day, just enjoying it, and marking things I had forgotten, or never noticed.

I was very glad to see in 2 Nephi 4 that Lehi did in fact give Sam his own blessing, and he was blessed to be "like unto" his brother Nephi, and to be blessed in all his days.  So he would receive the same blessings as Nephi.  The faithful follower isn't any less blessed than the faithful inquirer. 

I wish those today who confine the Nephites to such a limited existence would read and reread chapter 5 in 2 Nephi.  These were not people confined to walking everywhere they went.  They had horses, they built buildings, they built temples.  Surely if Nephi could build a ship, he could build a carriage to be pulled by a horse. 

I will continue my reading tonight in 2 Nephi 7. 

Day 7 in the Book of Mormon

In Chapter 16, after Nephi has explained the meaning of Lehi's visions to Laman and Lemuel, they tell Nephi, Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.  It is so sad when people feel that way.  The Gospel is a joy to live.  The hard part is trying to have one foot in the Gospel and one foot in the world.  It just doesn't work.  We have to be "all in" to experience the joy of the Gospel.

In Chapter 16 we see the great patriarch Lehi murmur when Nephi's bow was broken.  It's just a warning to everyone that no one is so spiritual that they are beyond temptation.  Lehi was quickly brought to repentance, but I'm glad that Nephi included that incident. 

The Liahona was a wonderful gift, and I've often craved my own Liahona.  The scriptures tell is that we can as easily be led by the Spirit as they were by the Liahona, but I still long for a "writing" from the Lord from time to time.  Even if it was a chastisement. 

The complaints and murmurings from Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael are very tedious to read.  Over and over again they complain, then they repent, then something hard happens again, and they complain more.  And every time they complain, they become more resistant to the Spirit, and they became murderers in their hearts.  I pray that the Spirit would expose my murmurings and complaints so that I can see mine as easily as I see theirs, and be as repulsed by mine as I am by theirs.  Can I go even 1 day without complaining? 

Day 6 in the Book of Mormon

Chapter 11 starts Nephi's visions, which are probably the most talked about in all of the Book of Mormon.  When we talk about the Tree of Life, we usually refer to Nephi's account of it, and not Lehi's.

One thing that we can't miss because it is so critical is the opening dialog between the Spirit and Nephi.  The Spirit asks Nephi what he wants.  Nephi says, to see the things my father saw.  It's important to note that the Spirit comes back with, do you believe what your father said?  And Nephi says, Yes.  Nephi wasn't asking for a testimony that what his father saw was true.  Nephi already had that.  Nephi wanted to see what his father saw.  So why was it important for Nephi to see what his father saw?  Let's see if we can discovery why.

First is the Spirit's reaction.  He cried with a loud voice, "Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all.  And blessed art thou Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God."  Was there such a dearth of unbelievers in the words of the prophets that the Spirit rejoiced when Nephi said he believed his father? I don't think there's any other recorded reaction by the Spirit to the faithfulness of a believer.  I'm just wondering what we are supposed to get out of it.  Maybe I was wrong to draw a distinction between those who inquire to know for themselves, and those who are content to believe on the words of others.  Maybe the Spirit doesn't want us to ever be content to just believe on the words of others.  I don't mean to just say, well he's the prophet so what he says must be true.  But having a testimony by the Spirit that what the prophet says indeed is true.  That the Spirit doesn't want us to be content with that testimony, the Spirit wants us to see for ourselves.  Maybe the people that are content to have a testimony are those that are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus, those who inherit the terrestrial kingdom.  I shall have to think on this some more.

Interesting, Nephi was told the Bible went forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles by the hand of the 12 Apostles, and then came the formation of the great church that took away many plain and precious things.  So the Jews at the time of Christ must have had the same prophecies as contained in the Brass Plates that the Nephites had -- including the prophecies of Zenoch and Zenos, and all the plain and precious things of the Old Testament.  So the scriptures the Jews had at the time of Christ were complete -- they may not have been widely used and mostly neglected in the synagogue readings, but they were complete nonetheless.  So the 12 Apostles did provide the Gentiles with a Bible.

Nephi hears from the Lamb that many of his seed will "write many things" and these things shall go to the Gentiles by the gift and the power of the Lamb.  So Nephi knows that the things he and his posterity write will be for the benefit of the Gentiles. 

Day 5 in the Book of Mormon

I'm in chapter 10, where Nephi tells us more about Lehi's prophecies.  One in particular has always seemed so much more specific than what we have about the last days.  He said that "even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem" the Messiah would come to the Jews.  The prophecies about the Lord's 2nd coming are not nearly that specific.  I wonder why.  Why was it important for the Jews to know precisely when Christ would come the 1st time, while we have such vague prophecies for His 2nd coming?  Everything God does is for a reason.  What I think is the difference between the 1st Coming and the 2nd Coming is that the 1st was the call to repentance, the new covenant. God and Christ wanted as many people as possible to recognize Christ when he came, so they could be brought into the New Covenant.  But if they didn't, it wasn't the end for them. Now we have the restored covenant and we have a space before the 2nd Coming, but the 2nd Coming isn't the call to repentance -- that's what's going on right now, the call to repentance.  When Christ came the 1st time it was a Beginning; when he comes the 2nd time, it is The End.  And if we had such a specific prophecy about the date of the 2nd Coming, most of us would procrastinate until it was too late.  So we have to be in a constant state of preparedness.

Lehi also talked about Christ's death and resurrection, and going to the Gentiles.  There's not much of the mention of the gospel going to the Gentiles that survived in the Old Testament.  That's why it was such a surprise to Peter when it happened.  Peter wasn't ignorant of the scriptures -- it just wasn't in the Old Testament, or at least not being taught in the synagogues.  We have to keep that in mind when we are tempted to judge the people of Christ's day.  They didn't have the plain and precious prophecies that we now know about.  Nephi must have known that the major prophecies of Christ's 1st and 2nd comings would be preserved mostly in Isaiah, and that's why he spent so much time expounding Isaiah to us.  That's what would survive in the Old Testament.

It's after Lehi gave all of these prophecies that Nephi desires to see, and to hear, and to know by the Spirit, and not just believe on Lehi's words.  The Lord gave those same visions to Nephi, and even expanded on them, to have a second witness.  I said before that perhaps some are called to inquire, and others are called to believe on their words.  Perhaps it's a matter of personality.  Perhaps the gift we receive from the Spirit fits our personality, so that it becomes a natural thing, not unnatural.  Sam had the personality of a follower, and Nephi had the personality of an inquirer.  It's not that one is better than the other, but that we fully live up to whichever one we are.  That we fill the measure of our creation.

Chapter 11 begins Nephi's visions, so I'll leave that till tomorrow. 

Day 4 in the Book of Mormon

I'm in Chapter 8, Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life.  I want to see if there's anything that I've missed before, if there is some meaning I hadn't noticed before, or that hasn't been brought to my attention. 

Lehi starts off telling them about the vision by saying  how he rejoices in Nephi "and also of Sam, for I have reason to suppose that they, and also many of their seed, will be saved."  So here we have a very positive statement by Lehi that Sam is indeed a faithful follower, just as worthy as Nephi of salvation.  In the scriptures, I believe "salvation" isn't just being saved in a kingdom of God, as that could include the telestial and terrestial kingdoms, but being saved in the celestial kingdom.

Lehi saw a man dressed in white who told Lehi to follow him -- but he led him into a dark and dreary waste.  That is not where we expect to be led by the Lord.  But that's where Lehi was led.  And he traveled for the space of many hours in this waste, and then began to pray to the Lord for mercy.  After he prayed, he beheld a large and spacious field, and the tree with the fruit desirable to make one happy.

What is there about first being led into a dreary waste?  The Lord teaches through opposites.  Lehi experienced the dark and dreary waste to better comprehend the beauty of the tree and the blessing of the fruit.  We sometimes don't understand how necessary opposition is.  We don't realize that when the Lord had led us into some darkness, then it's so we can better appreciate what lays ahead.  God our Father understands human nature -- He's lived through it.  And Christ also lived through it.  Though Christ lived a perfect life, he was also tempted in every way known to man. 

As soon as Lehi partakes of the fruit, he wants his family to enjoy its blessings.  When looking around for his family, that's when he notices the river of water.  At the head of the river, he saw Sariah, Sam and Nephi and they looked like they didn't know where to go, so he called out to them and they came and partook of the fruit.  No hesitation, no questions, no need for explanations -- they just followed Lehi's instructions and partook of the fruit. And we know that Laman and Lemuel did not. 

Then the rest of the vision is for us.  Lehi sees a strait and narrow path, and a rod of iron along the path, which led to the tree of life.  The path connected a large and spacious field, as if it were a world, and the tree of life.  And many people did come out of the world and commence in the path towards the tree.  But then there was a mist of darkness, causing those people to lose their way and wander off.  But the people who caught hold of the rod of iron and clung to it, made it to the tree and partook of the fruit.  Of course, we know the explanation is that we must hold fast to the Scriptures and the Living Prophets or we will lose our way.

But some of them were ashamed -- because of the mockings of the people in the great and spacious building.  These I think are the saddest group, they make it to the tree and partake of the fruit only to become ashamed.  We have been advised several times in the last few General Conferences that the day is coming when we will be ridiculed for being Christian -- it is happening to a certain measure now. 

But others do hold tight to the rod of iron, do partake of the fruit, and do remain faithful.  Still others go directly to the large and spacious building. 

As important and complete as this vision was, it was not all the Lord wanted to reveal.  That's the way it is with the Lord -- He gives us the seed, and then depending on how much we want further light and knowledge, He gives us more and more until we have the full tree.  It was Nephi that asked the Lord for more light and knowledge.  I believe one of the gifts of the Spirit is to have that inquiring mind, that deep desire to know more.  Nephi had that gift of the Spirit, and he inquired.  Another gift of the Spirit is to receive that greater light and knowledge from others.  Sam had that gift - he didn't inquire but he believed.  Laman and Lemuel didn't have either gift, they wouldn't inquire and they didn't believe.  Which gift do I have?  Or have I, like Laman and Lemuel, rejected both gifts?

We have to be careful when we assess how someone is acting.  I used to think poorly of Sam for not inquiring.  But that simply may not have been one of his Gifts of the Spirit.  We know that God does not give everyone every gift.  So it may not have been a weakness in Sam to not inquire -- it may simply have been that inquiring wasn't his gift -- believing was his gift.  Nephi was already called to be Lehi's successor as the spiritual leader of the family, and so that gift of the Spirit would be an essential element of his call.  It would have been a much bigger deal if Nephi had failed to inquire.

Day 3 in the Book of Mormon

Before I get into the Book of Mormon, I want to share some feelings I have.  My grandson, Ryan, my oldest grandchild, was not accepted for a mission because of his learning disabilities.  I believe this is a mistake, that his learning disabilities while they were very difficult in his young years, and even up until his Sophomore year in high school, he has overcome them so well that someone meeting him now would not even know he had any.  Yet, he was deemed unable to serve a proselyting mission and was given an honorable release.  He was referred to the Family and History Administration mission in SLC, but after several weeks of interviews and waiting, he was turned down for that, too.  He so much wanted to serve.  It breaks my heart that he won't be able to, but I have God's solemn promise that Ryan will not be denied any blessings or promises because of this mistake, whosever mistake it is.  God knows Ryan's heart, and his worthiness, and He will make things right in the end.

Now to the Book of Mormon, Chapter 3, and I am going to have to speed this up if I am going to read the entire book by the end of the year.

One interpretation that I often hear is that when the 4 brothers went back to Jerusalem to get the brass plates, that they first tried it man's way, and then they did it the Lord's way.  No, that is wrong.  It is the Lord's way to give the person the best opportunity to prove himself, and so the Lord gave Laban the opportunity to simply give up the brass plates at the request of Laman.  That would have been Laban at his noble best.  Then the Lord used Laban's greed to get him to part with the plates -- and the brothers offered to buy them from him.  Still Laban resisted.  That left the Lord blameless for taking Laban's life.  The Lord works the same way with us -- he always appeals to our best nature first, then to our base human nature.

It's curious to me that the Brass Plates even included the prophecies of Jeremiah, Laban and Lehi's contemporary.  Someone was very dutiful in keeping the brass plates up to date, even with prophets that were rejected by the Jews.  I wonder what access Laban had to hear the prophecies of Jeremiah.  

I've often wondered what relationship Lehi's family had with Ishmael's family.  I don't believe they were strangers.  Perhaps there was already an expectation of marriage between the children.  At any rate, it was the 4 sons that convinced Ishmael and his family to come along.  I can't see that Laman and Lemuel would have been very negative about it, as that wouldn't have been very persuasive. 

After they leave Jerusalem with Ishmael's family, there is another rebellion.  Nephi asks them, "how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us," and that is our problem, when things go bad, we forget all the good things the Lord has done for us.  And that is the temptation now, with this situation with Ryan -- are we going to forget all the good things the Lord has done for us?  People make mistakes -- but people are imperfect, as we are imperfect.  I need to these next few days remember what good things the Lord has done for me and my family.

The overwhelming problem for them seems to be their disbelieve that Jerusalem would be destroyed.  After all, the Lord had always protected Jerusalem in the past, why wouldn't He continue to do so?  Some Jews just didn't believe the Lord would allow his holy city and his holy temple to be destroyed.  Nephi told them very bluntly that if they returned to Jerusalem, they would perish along with everyone else.  I think if I had been Nephi, I would have just said Go.  But he didn't want them to return to Jerusalem because he didn't want them to perish.

Another interesting thing about Laman and Lemuel is that they always repent -- they are always sorry -- until they weren't.  That's the danger in sin/repent cycles, at some point the sin isn't followed by repent.  It's a very dangerous way to live.

Chapter 8 is Lehi's vision of the tree of life, so I will pick up there tomorrow.

Day 2 in the Book of Mormon

Chapter 2 is the command to Lehi to take his family and leave Jerusalem -- leave behind all of their riches and comforts -- and go into the wilderness to live in tents.  I do not like camping.  I camped with my two young children in the 1970s for 6 weeks, and I have never camped since.  Would I have responded positively to the Lord's instructions?  We often stumble when the Lord asks us to do something we already don't like to do.

Laman and Lemuel went with their father, but they didn't go willingly.  I've struggled to understand what was going on with these two oldest sons of Lehi.  They weren't bad people, they just could not get 100% into the game.  That little bit of resistance to what their father had them do exhibited itself through almost constant complaining. 

The difference for Nephi is that pivotal point when he "cried unto the Lord" and the Lord did soften his heart.  Laman and Lemuel never prayed for the Lord to soften their hearts.  They experienced the same things as Nephi, yet their responses were so different.  One single moment of crying unto the Lord made all the difference for Nephi.

The Lord says over and over again that it is through the simple things that His mighty works are accomplished. 

What about Sam -- older than Nephi but younger than Laman and Lemuel.  We never get much of a glimpse into Sam, other than he believed his brother.  He never appears to be jealous of Nephi as were Laman and Lemuel.  Neither Lehi nor Nephi ever chastise him for any reason.  I fast-forwarded in the Book of Mormon to see what kind of blessing Lehi gave Sam just before Lehi died.  Lehi grouped Sam with Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, commanding them to hearken unto the voice of Nephi.  Perhaps the best title for Sam is "loyal follower."  He was where he was supposed to be, doing what he was supposed to be doing.  Some might think that makes him a very unimportant and unimpressive person.  But Christ said, Come Follow Me -- and that's what Sam did.  There is a need for a great many more followers in the Church than leaders.  Even when we serve in leadership positions, we are as often followers as we are leaders.  Lehi blessed Sam and the others that if they kept the commandments of God, they would prosper in the land and be in the Lord's presence.  That is the reward for being a good follower.

October 2018 General Conference

I felt that this Conference was particularly good.  New changes to the Sunday schedule and curriculum, 12 new temples to be built, and some very pressing direction for us to take as disciples of Christ.

President Nelson invited the women to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year.  I accept that invitation.  He invited us to mark every reference to Christ as we read.  I'm also going to continue with a goal I set some time ago, that is to try to get into each person's head and heart, to feel what they were feeling at the time.  So I have to think about how I would feel if the same thing happened to me.

In the first chapter of 1st Nephi, he tells us of the dreams and visions Lehi, his father, had.  Lehi was a very spiritual person.  He first saw a pillar of fire on a rock, and he saw and heard much.  Nephi doesn't give us any more details than that, but it really had an effect upon Lehi, who went home and went to bed, "being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen."

Lehi then saw another vision.  He saw the heavens open, and God sitting upon his throne and numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.  Then he saw the Christ descending out of the midst of heaven and his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.  Then he saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the heavens.  The twelve represent the Twelve Apostles that Christ chose during his earthly mission.  That's a remarkable vision, because the Old Testament doesn't contain any prophecies that I can recall that speak of Christ having 12 apostles during his earthly ministry.

One of the Twelve gave Lehi a book, and told him to read it.  That is similar to the Apostle John being given a book.  In the book, Lehi read of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity, which would happen in a few short years.  When Lehi finished the vision, he praised God and cried "Thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!"

God called Lehi to do a very big job -- to take his family out of Jerusalem, travel into the wilderness, cross a huge ocean, and settle in an uninhabited region.  When God asks his children to do such a big job, He prepares them for it.  Lehi's preparation included this vision of God sitting on His throne in the heavens, of Christ descending to earth for his mortal ministry, and of the Twelve Apostles that would assist Christ.  Then he saw in vision the Babylonian captivity.

I understand why Lehi was so overwhelmed.  Being so deep into the Spirit for it to even be possible is a very exhausting experience.

I believe Lehi saw these visions. But Nephi wasn't satisfied to just know that his father was telling the truth, he wanted to see for himself.  Apparently that is a very righteous thing to want, as rather than being chastised for it, Nephi was granted the visions. 

That's the question I ask myself.  Do I want to see the same things Lehi saw?  Or am I satisfied to believe on his words?  I certainly don't want to see his visions to satisfy my own vanity.  It seems, for now at least, that I am content to believe on his words.  I certainly don't fault Nephi for wanting to see for himself, I admire him for it, as he had as big a job to do as did Lehi, and he needed his own spiritual experiences.  But God hasn't called me to do such a big job.  So I am content to believe on their words.

There have been a few times when God has asked me to do a pretty big job -- such as when I left the Catholic Church to become a member of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ.  That required a lot of courage and faith to sustain me in all the changes necessary.  And God called me to do a pretty big job when Lisa and I moved from Kansas to Provo, UT.  There have been a couple more times, which I won't go into, and each time the spiritual experience or experiences made me equal to the job. 

The spiritual experiences God gives us are to prepare us for the jobs He asks us to do.  Some may object to the word "jobs," but I think the word aptly fits many situations.