Friday, May 27, 2016
Tuesday, May 24, 2016
"...the fair sons and daughters of my people."
3 Nephi 9
You can read a verse of scripture a hundred times, and then you read it again and a much fuller meaning comes out of nowhere. Except it isn't out of nowhere.
Today I read the 2nd verse in 3 Nephi 9, and it hit me differently than it ever has before.
"Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!"
What did I see in this verse that I had not seen before? Stick with this post and I will tell you.
Chapter 8 was full of destruction and despair and darkness, and now in chapter 9 the people upon all the land hear a voice.
It is the voice of Christ, and it tells the people what has occurred in the cities of their land, and if sorrow for their own destruction was not heavy enough, it must have been added upon as they thought of those they loved who were far away.
After explaining the destruction, he explains that those who are left are the "more righteous" and he asks, "...will ye not return unto me, and repent of your sins and be converted that I may heal you?" (vs. 13)
And then in verse 14 he gives them the same promise that he gives to you and me.
"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."
What an interesting contrast. In verse 2 the devil and his angels laugh at the "slain" and in verse 14 Christ is offering the survivors eternal life.
Death or Life.
We choose.
What struck me differently than any other time I have read verse 2 is that satan and his angels weren't just laughing at the physical destruction of the "fair sons and daughters" of the Nephites. He was laughing because, much more tragically, they were spiritually dead, and they were spiritually dead when they departed from this life, which has rather long lasting implications for the next one. The last part of verse 2 explains, "and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!"
Notice the exclamation point at the end of the sentence, "...they are fallen!"
Just as satan and his angels laughed at their destruction, I can only imagine how Christ must have felt about it. Through the atonement, he had just born the sins of every man and woman who would ever live on the earth, whether they chose to repent of them or not. Yet here were so many of his people, beautiful and beloved people, who had chosen to follow satan, a being that held them in contempt, instead of following the one who loved them the most.
How did the devil and his angels cause these fair sons and daughters to fall?
It was the probably the same spiel Korihor sold the people in Alma 30, or the same thing people say these days to convince others there is no Christ.
Why did Christ allow a great destruction before he visited the people? I don't know, but ask yourself what would have happened if the more wicked part of the people had not been destroyed. How might this have changed what was to follow?
The rest of this chapter has Christ explaining who he is, how he has fulfilled the law of Moses, and the new way we should sacrifice to remember him.
You can read a verse of scripture a hundred times, and then you read it again and a much fuller meaning comes out of nowhere. Except it isn't out of nowhere.
Today I read the 2nd verse in 3 Nephi 9, and it hit me differently than it ever has before.
"Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!"
What did I see in this verse that I had not seen before? Stick with this post and I will tell you.
Chapter 8 was full of destruction and despair and darkness, and now in chapter 9 the people upon all the land hear a voice.
It is the voice of Christ, and it tells the people what has occurred in the cities of their land, and if sorrow for their own destruction was not heavy enough, it must have been added upon as they thought of those they loved who were far away.
After explaining the destruction, he explains that those who are left are the "more righteous" and he asks, "...will ye not return unto me, and repent of your sins and be converted that I may heal you?" (vs. 13)
And then in verse 14 he gives them the same promise that he gives to you and me.
"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me."
What an interesting contrast. In verse 2 the devil and his angels laugh at the "slain" and in verse 14 Christ is offering the survivors eternal life.
Death or Life.
We choose.
What struck me differently than any other time I have read verse 2 is that satan and his angels weren't just laughing at the physical destruction of the "fair sons and daughters" of the Nephites. He was laughing because, much more tragically, they were spiritually dead, and they were spiritually dead when they departed from this life, which has rather long lasting implications for the next one. The last part of verse 2 explains, "and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!"
Notice the exclamation point at the end of the sentence, "...they are fallen!"
Just as satan and his angels laughed at their destruction, I can only imagine how Christ must have felt about it. Through the atonement, he had just born the sins of every man and woman who would ever live on the earth, whether they chose to repent of them or not. Yet here were so many of his people, beautiful and beloved people, who had chosen to follow satan, a being that held them in contempt, instead of following the one who loved them the most.
How did the devil and his angels cause these fair sons and daughters to fall?
It was the probably the same spiel Korihor sold the people in Alma 30, or the same thing people say these days to convince others there is no Christ.
Why did Christ allow a great destruction before he visited the people? I don't know, but ask yourself what would have happened if the more wicked part of the people had not been destroyed. How might this have changed what was to follow?
The rest of this chapter has Christ explaining who he is, how he has fulfilled the law of Moses, and the new way we should sacrifice to remember him.
"And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not." (vs. 20)
This broken heart and a contrite spirit is something I am still trying to understand more completely, but there are many passages of scripture, and many talks like this, that are helping me.
And then, in the last verse of the chapter, he asks them to repent and be saved.
"Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold, for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth, and be saved."
Perhaps the call to become like a little child is one step on the path to that broken heart and contrite spirit.
So, in conclusion, here is that sad verse once again:
"Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!"
And here is the happy verse:
"Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me." (vs. 14)
Good-bye iniquity and abominations. Hello eternal life.
I pray that we, along with our fair sons and daughters, will come unto him and be healed. I bear my testimony that we can.
Friday, May 20, 2016
A Just Man Who Did Keep the Record
3 Nephi 8
With all the action that happens in this chapter, I have always been the most impressed by the very first verse, which is really no more than an introduction of the timeline.
With all the action that happens in this chapter, I have always been the most impressed by the very first verse, which is really no more than an introduction of the timeline.
"And now it came to pass that according to our record, and we know our record to be true, for behold, it was a just man who did keep the record—for he truly did many miracles in the name of Jesus; and there was not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed every whit from his iniquity—"
While they did not give the name of the record keeper, they described him as a man who did many miracles in the name of Jesus, and they explained that to do a miracle in the name of Jesus, he had to be cleansed every whit from his iniquity.
I find this impressive. Not just the miracles. Not just the "cleansed every whit from iniquity." The man kept an accurate record. Thats big.
As someone who struggles to keep any record of anything up to date and accurate, I am intrigued.
Our ward has a bishop, two counselors, and approximately a million clerks and secretaries. That might be a slight exaggeration, but accurate record keeping seems to be a very important part of what we are supposed to be doing.
In Moses 6: vs 5 we learn that even Adam and his family kept a book of remembrance.
In every temple, there is a recorder. I don't know much, but in all temples everywhere I have ever been, he seems to be a Very Important Person. When I think about how what he records has bearing, not just on earth, but for eternity, I can't quite wrap my mind around most of it.
In every temple, there is a recorder. I don't know much, but in all temples everywhere I have ever been, he seems to be a Very Important Person. When I think about how what he records has bearing, not just on earth, but for eternity, I can't quite wrap my mind around most of it.
I think about all the family history records of my own l must organize and the life history I should write, and my personal journal that is almost out of pages and must be replaced I feel overwhelmed. But that is wrong. I believe one of the ways the adversary stops us from doing things that are vitally important is to overwhelm us to the point where we give up and don't do anything because we are afraid of doing it wrong.
Enough about records.
There is a lot of destruction that happens in the rest of the verse that follows the death of Jesus Christ, and in all the destruction there is terrible darkness.
"And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.
And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them." (vs. 22-23)
My mind wonders about how the darkness would feel and be like and what would have caused it. I certainly don't know what the cause of it was, but as an Idahoan who has roamed the caves and lava fields of Craters of the Moon National monument, I find it fascinating that it's last eruption was 2000 years ago.
Despite the darkness and destruction of these verses in chapter 8, the light that is coming will be such an amazing contrast for the surviving Nephites.
I'm so glad someone kept a record of it.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Unstoppable Prophets and Formidable Family Gatherings
3 Nephi 7
Getting together with your extended family can be a lot of fun, but the why and the way they did it in chapter 7 of 3rd Nephi sounds less than pleasant. Those who had wanted a king destroyed the government and killed the chief judge and everyone split up into their families or tribes.
Getting together with your extended family can be a lot of fun, but the why and the way they did it in chapter 7 of 3rd Nephi sounds less than pleasant. Those who had wanted a king destroyed the government and killed the chief judge and everyone split up into their families or tribes.
..."the thirtieth year, they did destroy upon the judgment-seat, yea, did murder the chief judge of the land.
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."
Notice it said they did divide "one against another." The adversary would have us be wicked, separated, and "sifted as wheat". When we aren't united in righteousness, we lose every time.
vs. 3
" And every tribe did appoint a chief or a leader over them; and thus they became tribes and leaders of tribes.
" And every tribe did appoint a chief or a leader over them; and thus they became tribes and leaders of tribes.
vs. 4 " Now behold, there was no man among them save he had much family and many kindreds and friends; therefore their tribes became exceedingly great."
We know that the family unit is how eternity is organized, but there is nothing heavenly about this situation as we read on into verse 6 and 7.
"And the regulations of the government were destroyed, because of the secret combination of the friends and kindreds of those who murdered the prophets.
And they did cause a great contention in the land, insomuch that the more righteous part of the people had nearly all become wicked; yea, there were but few righteous men among them."
What must that have been like? You and all your (most likely) unrighteous family are hunkering down for mutual support because the government (read laws and other stuff to keep you safe) is gone. It says in seven, "nearly all became wicked" so you can imagine how much fun your relatives might be to live with. This would not be your average throw-the-frisbee-and-have-a-nice-picnic family reunion. This would be ugly.
The friends and family of those who had entered into the secret combination established a king named Jacob, and he was a smart enough leader to know he was outnumbered by the non-secret- combination-but-still-pretty-wicked people who hated him and his people for destroying the government and their way of life.
" Therefore, Jacob seeing that their enemies were more numerous than they, he being the king of the band, therefore he commanded his people that they should take their flight into the northernmost part of the land, and there build up unto themselves a kingdom, until they were joined by dissenters, (for he flattered them that there would be many dissenters) and they become sufficiently strong to contend with the tribes of the people; and they did so." (vs. 12)
This allowed those remaining to agree not to kill each and "in some degree they had peace." (vs. 14)
"... nevertheless they had come to an agreement that they would not go to war one with another; but they were not united as to their laws, and their manner of government, for they were established according to the minds of those who were their chiefs and their leaders. But they did establish very strict laws that one tribe should not trespass against another, insomuch that in some degree they had peace in the land; nevertheless, their hearts were turned from the Lord their God, and they did stone the prophets and did cast them out from among them." (vs. 14)
These "peaceful" but wicked people may have been stoning the prophets and casting them out, but apparently this was no deterrent to Nephi. While his people's change from righteousness to wickedness was quick enough to make his head spin and his heart break, it did not weaken his resolve to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love Nephi!
Apparently, so did Jesus, because 5 chapters from now, after all the destruction and death, Christ will call Nephi to him by name when he appears at the temple in Zarahemla. I am amazed at the love and service he gave to the very people who would have liked to destroy him.
"15 And it came to pass that Nephi—having been visited by angels and also the voice of the Lord, therefore having seen angels, and being eye-witness, and having had power given unto him that he might know concerning the ministry of Christ, and also being eye-witness to their quick return from righteousness unto their wickedness and abominations;
16 Therefore, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds—went forth among them in that same year, and began to testify, boldly, repentance and remission of sins through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
17 And he did minister many things unto them; and all of them cannot be written, and a part of them would not suffice, therefore they are not written in this book. And Nephi did minister with power and with great authority.
18 And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.
19 And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean spirits; and even his brother did he raise from the dead, after he had been stoned and suffered death by the people.
20 And the people saw it, and did witness of it, and were angry with him because of his power; and he did also do many more miracles, in the sight of the people, in the name of Jesus.
21 And it came to pass that the thirty and first year did pass away, and there were but few who were converted unto the Lord; but as many as were converted did truly signify unto the people that they had been visited by the power and Spirit of God, which was in Jesus Christ, in whom they believed.
22 And as many as had devils cast out from them, and were healed of their sicknesses and their infirmities, did truly manifest unto the people that they had been wrought upon by the Spirit of God, and had been healed; and they did show forth signs also and did do some miracles among the people."
Nephi did not let his apparent failure to help the Nephites remain righteous stop him from going forth and trying to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ! It says right in 21 that "there were but few who were converted unto the Lord" but it did not slow him down. And Nephi was not alone in doing all this good.
"25 Therefore, there were ordained of Nephi, men unto this ministry, that all such as should come unto them should be baptized with water, and this as a witness and a testimony before God, and unto the people, that they had repented and received a remission of their sins."
I am glad Nephi wasn't alone in preaching righteousness. A few righteous friends can make all the difference.
And in the last verse, more people do start becoming righteous.
What does this make me think about?
1. I want to be as stubborn, and brave, and righteous as Nephi. And I want to know how he pulled it off. Was his amazing faith the magic bullet for the discouragement that could have so easily beset him? See this video about the power that comes from faith in Christ. It is very instructive.
So is this one.
2. Sometimes you have to wait awhile before the righteous who turned wicked will turn righteous again. And they may want to destroy you before they repent.
3. We have to be ready to teach those who are not interested in the message of Jesus Christ. We have to love them.
4. I want to have faith like Nephi that is so great that people could not disbelieve my words when I taught.
5. I want to be unstoppable in teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When I think about people who are unstoppable, I usually think of Isaiah. When God needed someone to preach, he came forward.
"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:4 KJV
He taught a people who usually did not listen to him and he was supposedly put in a hollow tree and cut in half by those who did not appreciate his calls to repentance. But even death did not stop him as we read about his ministry in the 138th section of the Doctrine and Covenants verse 42 to those who did not have the opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ while living on the earth.
I wonder if Nephi is there also, teaching along side Isaiah. Wherever he is, I bet he is doing something amazing.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Bring On The Pride Cycle
3 Nephi 6
The Nephites are returning to their lands after destroying the Gadianton Robbers, building up their cities, their roads, and their wealth. Yep! Bring on the pride cycle. Who needs the GR's to destroy their civilization when Nephites are always so much better at doing it themselves.
It seems there was a lot of pride and boasting from those who had cashed in on the rebuilding--it mentions lawyers, merchants and officers (vs. 11). They had begun to distinguish themselves one from another by rank (vs. 12). Some were educated and rich and some were poor and ignorant and there was much inequality in the land (vs. 14).
In vs. 15 it says that they were puffed up with pride,
tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches and the vain things of this world.
In verse 18 it points out that they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them, therefore they did willfully rebel against God.
God sent men "inspired from heaven and sent forth" but this just made them angry-- angry enough to kill them, but killing was against the law and it wouldn't do for a judge or a lawyer to do that, at least not when anyone was watching, so they just murdered the prophets in secret.
When a complaint came before the govenver in Zarahemla, the unrighteous decided it was time to make an evil covenant to destroy the people of God, set at defiance the laws
and the rights of their country, and establish a king over the land that there should be no more liberty.
Notice that it wasn't getting rich that destroyed the peace of the Nephites. It was the pride that divided them into ranks--educated, not educated, rich, poor, and who knows what else.
The Gadianton Robbers couldn't destroy them, but the constructs inside their own minds of who was better and who was worse stole their peace.
President Benson gave a powerful talk about how pride can destroy us, and he basically outlined how pride caused us to have enmity towards god and enmity towards our fellow men.
The Nephites are returning to their lands after destroying the Gadianton Robbers, building up their cities, their roads, and their wealth. Yep! Bring on the pride cycle. Who needs the GR's to destroy their civilization when Nephites are always so much better at doing it themselves.
It seems there was a lot of pride and boasting from those who had cashed in on the rebuilding--it mentions lawyers, merchants and officers (vs. 11). They had begun to distinguish themselves one from another by rank (vs. 12). Some were educated and rich and some were poor and ignorant and there was much inequality in the land (vs. 14).
In vs. 15 it says that they were puffed up with pride,
tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches and the vain things of this world.
In verse 18 it points out that they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them, therefore they did willfully rebel against God.
God sent men "inspired from heaven and sent forth" but this just made them angry-- angry enough to kill them, but killing was against the law and it wouldn't do for a judge or a lawyer to do that, at least not when anyone was watching, so they just murdered the prophets in secret.
When a complaint came before the govenver in Zarahemla, the unrighteous decided it was time to make an evil covenant to destroy the people of God, set at defiance the laws
and the rights of their country, and establish a king over the land that there should be no more liberty.
Notice that it wasn't getting rich that destroyed the peace of the Nephites. It was the pride that divided them into ranks--educated, not educated, rich, poor, and who knows what else.
The Gadianton Robbers couldn't destroy them, but the constructs inside their own minds of who was better and who was worse stole their peace.
President Benson gave a powerful talk about how pride can destroy us, and he basically outlined how pride caused us to have enmity towards god and enmity towards our fellow men.
"The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.
Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)
Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)
The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives. (See Hel. 12:6.) They pit their perceptions of truth against God’s great knowledge, their abilities versus God’s priesthood power, their accomplishments against His mighty works.
Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren’t interested in changing their opinions to agree with God’s.
Another major portion of this very prevalent sin of pride is enmity toward our fellowmen. We are tempted daily to elevate ourselves above others and diminish them. " (See Hel. 6:17; D&C 58:41.)
Monday, May 9, 2016
Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
3 Nephi 5
I have no problem writing on the pages of my scriptures. At the bottom of 3 Nephi 5:13 I found this written in my own messy handwriting, though I don't remember putting it there: "*read in front of mirror on bad day--send to Jason."
What is this uplifting verse that I am to say in front of the mirror on a bad day?
"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."
This was written by Mormon as he explained who he was and why he was making this record of the things that had happened since Lehi left Jerusalem. But it really applies to anyone who is trying to follow Jesus Christ. Jason was on a mission when I wrote this or I would not have written, "Send to Jason."
I don't know what caused me to write this down, but looking at it now seems rather bold--me, a disciple of Jesus Christ? But it must be something real and important because someone bothered to make a landing page for it on lds.org.
What a marvelous message! I hope that I say it to myself in front of the mirror everyday, not just on bad days.
Here is another page about discipleship
I have no problem writing on the pages of my scriptures. At the bottom of 3 Nephi 5:13 I found this written in my own messy handwriting, though I don't remember putting it there: "*read in front of mirror on bad day--send to Jason."
What is this uplifting verse that I am to say in front of the mirror on a bad day?
"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."
This was written by Mormon as he explained who he was and why he was making this record of the things that had happened since Lehi left Jerusalem. But it really applies to anyone who is trying to follow Jesus Christ. Jason was on a mission when I wrote this or I would not have written, "Send to Jason."
I don't know what caused me to write this down, but looking at it now seems rather bold--me, a disciple of Jesus Christ? But it must be something real and important because someone bothered to make a landing page for it on lds.org.
What a marvelous message! I hope that I say it to myself in front of the mirror everyday, not just on bad days.
Here is another page about discipleship
Saturday, May 7, 2016
How Bullies Build Zion and Destroy Themselves. Eventually.
3 Nephi 4
The more I think about how the Nephites willingly left their lands and brought all their animals and provisions to one area between Zarahemla and Bountiful to protect their families from the Gadianton Robbers, the more I am impressed by how difficult it must have been and how united in purpose
they were to actually accomplish it.
It was a drastic measure, but it was effective. It says in Vs. 3 that the wicked robbers were starving to death because the Nephites left nothing behind to steal, and they were "all in one body." All in one body sounds like Zion as described in Moses 7:18 to me if, in fact, they were righteous and there were no poor among them, which they must have been or, living as they were, they would have destroyed each other way before the GR's could have even tried.
The Nephites had prepared enough to survive together for 7 years (vs 4) in which they hoped to destroy the robbers off the face of the land. This makes me think that:
1. The Nephites weren't so bad.
2. The Gadianton Robbers were really bad. Who would leave their lands to hang out with thousands of others if they were not being seriously impacted by these Book of Mormon bullies.
Because the GRs couldn't steal what they needed, one separate place at a time, they had to go against all of the Nephites. This was much harder. They prepared for war by making themselves look scary (vs 7).
When the Nephite's saw the GR's army, they fell to the earth and started praying. The GR's were happy, thinking their battle swag would defeat their enemies and finally get them a decent meal. They were wrong.
"...for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them."
Not only was the siege ineffective, but the Nephites kept going out day and night "and falling upon their armies, and cutting them off by thousands and by tens of thousands." (vs. 21)
This made the GR's want to run away, and so they did. But as they marched to the wilderness in the north, Gidgiddoni sent out his armies in the night time and did cut off the GR's way of retreat, and did place his armies in the way of their retreat. Those who did not yield themselves up as prisoners were slain, and their leader Zemnarihah was hanged on a tree. Then they cut down the tree and prayed in thanksgiving to God who had preserved them.
I wish I could hear what their prayer was like. I wish I could hear the song they sang!!!
"And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.
32 Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.
33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction."
and they knew it was because
of their repentance and their humility
that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction.
(Sounds like an equation for success any of us can follow).
These Nephites had been wicked enough to stone a prophet sent by the Lord (Samuel) but had repented when they were under the gun...er, arrow. I guess the really wicked Nephites and Lamanites had run to join the GR's before this happened so it was just the more righteous that were left. The constant attacks from the GR's helped bring the Nephites together both physically and spiritually and created a force that would decimate the evil that threatened to destroy them.
These days, those who stand bravely for moral, God-given principles, are being attacked by society, governments, and modern day Gaddianton Robbers--not necessarily robbers of physical goods, but of testimonies and faith and real happiness.
People are having to decide if they gather with the righteous (ideologically) bringing all their resources and whatever family will follow, or if they will listen to the flattering words of the GR's (3 Nephi 1:29), and call evil, good and good, evil.
These days, those who stand bravely for moral, God-given principles, are being attacked by society, governments, and modern day Gaddianton Robbers--not necessarily robbers of physical goods, but of testimonies and faith and real happiness.
People are having to decide if they gather with the righteous (ideologically) bringing all their resources and whatever family will follow, or if they will listen to the flattering words of the GR's (3 Nephi 1:29), and call evil, good and good, evil.
The irony is that by trying to destroy righteousness, they will build it. Eventually.
And then, what a song we will sing.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
3 Nephi 3: Choose the Righteous Leader
3 Nephi 3
Beginning Note: Since this is an informal blog with informal language, I will be using who and not whom.
You can tell a lot about a person, or a nation in general, by noting who they follow.
Beginning Note: Since this is an informal blog with informal language, I will be using who and not whom.
You can tell a lot about a person, or a nation in general, by noting who they follow.
While the Nephites in chapter 3 might not win any awards for Most Righteous People Ever, they must have been pretty good. Lachoneus, their governor, is described as a just man (vs. 12), and the chief captain of their army, Gidgiddoni, had the spirit of prophecy, the spirit of revelation, was their chief judge, and likely a crack shot with a bow to boot.
In contrast, the letter that Giddianhi, the governor of the Gadianton robbers, sends to Lachoneus makes him sound pretty smarmy. He may have been good looking, rich, and great at dinner parties, but he was not a nice man.
"Lachoneus, most noble and chief governor of the land, behold, I write this epistle unto you, and do give unto you exceedingly great praise because of your firmness, and also the firmness of your people, in maintaining that which ye suppose to be your right and liberty; yea, ye do stand well, as if ye were supported by the hand of a god, in the defence of your liberty, and your property, and your country, or that which ye do call so.
And it seemeth a pity unto me, most noble Lachoneus, that ye should be so foolish and vain as to suppose that ye can stand against so many brave men who are at my command, who do now at this time stand in their arms, and do await with great anxiety for the word—Go down upon the Nephites and destroy them." (vs 2-3)
What an unpleasant kind of diplomacy Giddianhi used as he paired false praise with threats of total destruction.
Luckily, the Nephite Governor Lachoneus, "was a righteous man and could not be frightened by the demands and the threatenings of a robber." (vs 12)
It says Lachoneus asked his people to pray hard for help. "... he did cause that his people should cry unto the Lord for strength against the time that the robbers should come down against them."
And then after the praying, he had them all gather together, build fortifications, place guards around the perimeters, and thoroughly repent of all their sins.
"As the Lord liveth, except ye repent of all your iniquities, and cry unto the Lord, ye will in nowise be delivered out of the hands of those Gadianton robbers." (vs 15)
And for good measure, he prophesied great and marvelous things that, "did cause fear to come upon all the people; and they did exert themselves in their might to do according to the words of Lachoneus."
As the chapter goes on, we read that the people followed all the admonitions of Lachoneus and also listened to Gigiddoni when he told them to make many kinds of weapons and to not start the war, but only defend themselves.
In this case, (spoiler alert) the Nephites devastate the Lamanites in battle.
This chapter has me thinking about who I follow personally and who we follow as a nation. I won't go into who we, as the people of the United States, are following. It is the day of the Indiana Primary of 2016 and I am a little discouraged.
Happily, I am not at all discouraged by who I can follow personally.
Remember Nephi 3:7? Nephi's father had told him to go and get the brass plates so their family would have a copy of the records (scriptures) and Nephi said, " And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
Notice he did not say, "I will go and do the things that my Father commanded." He had inquired of the Lord, the Lord had told him it was the right thing to do, and so he did it. His brothers, hard hearted and jealous, would only think he was blindly following their father. Thank you, President Eyring, for pointing that out to me in this excellent talk.
A few days ago in Fast and Testimony meeting, a young man stood up and talked about how a friend had made a very anti-mormon post with links to various places on a facebook account. He said he read a little, but was very confused, so he got on his knees and prayed and asked Heavenly Father for help. A huge feeling of love and warmth enveloped him and he was no longer worried about whatever it was that his friend had posted. He knew who he followed and he knew where to go to find the answers he was looking for.
Just like the Nephites prayed to be saved from a destroying army, this humble young man got down on his knees and prayed for help when his faith was attacked. He went straight to God. Not Google. Not a late night television personality. Not an anti-mormon relative or friend. Going to an anti-mormon to find out about mormonism is like going to Judas to find out about Jesus. (Maxwell)
So here is what I am pondering from this chapter:
When we are threatened by evil Gadianton Robbers (or people who want to destroy us spiritually or physically) we can:
Gather Together--Church is important. It can sometimes be hard, but it is still important. --Moroni 6:5, So is home and visiting teaching.
Pray--not wimpy praying either. Pray like you've got a Lamanite army breathing down your neck. Which you don't. You have something far worse. (Maxwell-All Hell is Moved).
Gather Together--Church is important. It can sometimes be hard, but it is still important. --Moroni 6:5, So is home and visiting teaching.
Pray--not wimpy praying either. Pray like you've got a Lamanite army breathing down your neck. Which you don't. You have something far worse. (Maxwell-All Hell is Moved).
Place Gaurds Around the Perimeter--two things come to mind for this one. I am sure there are a thousand more. The first way to guard your perimeter is to be clean. Think Armor of Righteousness, with it's breastplate of righteousness, sword of the spirit, and shield of faith, which are great, but if you aren't clean through repentance then the armor isn't going to fit and the Holy Ghost won't be able to guide and protect you. The second thing to keep in mind is to not venture over to the enemy's camp on your lunch break. There is no truce with the adversary. You can't hold on to the Iron Rod and still reach the enemy lines.
Build Fortifications--read scriptures, pray for revelation, do genealogy, do temple work, do service, fulfill callings, and just be good.
Repent--Lachoneus told them to repent of all their sins, not just some of them, or they would be destroyed.
There is an old saying that comes to mind. "If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" Every day I fall very short of what a follower of Jesus Christ should be, but I know there is more happiness and peace in trying to follow him, even when I fail, than in any other way of life. God loves you and me and I hope we can find a way as individuals and as a nation to follow him and love each other.
Here is one of my favorite hymns on the subject. I hope you like it, too.
Lord, I would Follow Thee
Savior, may I learn to love thee,
Walk the path that thou hast shown,
Pause to help and lift another,
Finding strength beyond my own.
Savior, may I learn to love thee--
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