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.

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). 

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--

1. Chorus)
2. Lord, I would follow thee.
3. 2. Who am I to judge another
   When I walk imperfectly?
   In the quiet heart is hidden
   Sorrow that the eye can't see.
   Who am I to judge another?
4. 3. I would be my brother's keeper;
   I would learn the healer's art.
   To the wounded and the weary
   I would show a gentle heart.
   I would be my brother's keeper--
5. 4. Savior, may I love my brother
   As I know thou lovest me,
   Find in thee my strength, my beacon,
   For thy servant I would be.
   Savior, may I love my brother--
6. Text: Susan Evans McCloud, b. 1945. (c) 1985 IRI
   Music: K. Newell Dayley, b. 1939. (c) 1985 IRI

Discipline, Freedom, and Really Good Jazz.

I have been thinking about freedom.   With all the talk in the last few chapters of Helaman  concerning how following commandments was giving away freedom,  I wanted to share this simple and weak (but the best I've got) analogy.

I like jazz, especially the parts that are  improvised.    To me, it is a great example of how discipline brings freedom.  Some people think improvisation is just music that is made up while it is being played, and they are right.    But in order to "make up" that music on the spot in front of an audience, not to mention the ruthless critics sitting behind you in the trumpet section, you have to know stuff and you have to be stuff.

Here is a piece of classical music:

Here is a chord progression for an improvised  blues solo.  

Now you tell me what sounds easier:  Playing what is placed before you, all thought out ahead of time by somebody else, or understanding, practicing, and memorizing a bunch of scales, arpeggios and riffs in all twelve keys so you can come up with something worthwhile on your own in real time.  

Playing improvisational jazz is an amazing kind of freedom,  but the cost of understanding it  enough to do it well takes huge piles of discipline beforehand.   The more scales you understand and the more riffs in the music files in your head and the more desire in your heart to create something beautiful,  the greater your level of freedom to improvise.

What does this have to do with the gospel?  Jesus talked about how being his disciple and continuing  in his word (I'm guessing that means practicing all the things he taught) would make the people free.  It is all right there in  John 8:31-34.

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.  (bold type added because disciple is related to discipline and I really want you to get that part if you hadn't already.  I know nothing of subtlety! Or grammar).   

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

33 ¶They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

Everyday we mortals mess up, give away our freedom, and become, to one degree or another, "the servant of sin."   Everyday we have the atonement of Jesus Christ, who bought our freedom with his love and sacrifice.  All we have to do is practice  the commandments he gave to keep us free in the first place.  

"The Ten Commandments are not rules to obey as a personal favor to God."

"The Ten Commandments are not rules to obey as a personal favor to God." 

That is a quote from an address given by Cecil B. DeMille, director of the epic biblical film The Ten Commandments, to the student body at Brigham Young University.  He then went on to say,

“God does not contradict Himself. He did not create man and then, as an afterthought, impose upon him a set of arbitrary, irritating, restrictive rules.

He made man free—and then gave him the Commandments to keep him free” (“Commencement Address,” in Commencement Exercises, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [31 May 1957], 4–5).

That line of thinking is a tough sell.  But it is still true.  

I listened to another address given to BYU students by Elder Paul Johnson that echoed DeMille's words while I walked on the treadmill yesterday.*  

The title of his address was, "Free to Choose Liberty or Captivity".   THIS IS A GREAT TALK!   You should stop reading this blog and listen to it right now.  Just do it.  

Before this blog post continues, consider the following:

1.  There is a God.

2.  He wants us to be free.

3.  There is a Satan.

4.  He does not want us to be free.  

There is a quote in this talk that has stuck with me since I heard it.

"When we obey Satan, we give him power. When we obey God, He gives us power."

Satan can't take our freedom, but we can give it to him.  Pick a sin, any sin, do a little thought experiment and follow it's effects to the end and you will see this is true. 

Take a look at the  10 commandments.  Stealing?  Lying? Coveting? Adultery?  Murder?  Eventually, they will mess you up and take away your freedom in one way or another.     But if you truly keep the first five commandments, even the first one, you will never want to do the last five to begin with. Problem solved.  

The first commandment always sounds more understandable to me when it comes from Jesus in the New Testament:

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew  22:36-40 

When you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, you loves others also.   (1 John 4:21)  If you love others, you aren't going to be lying, stealing, and all the rest.  

  

1. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).

2. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (Exodus 20:4). 

3. “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exodus 20:7).

4. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8).

5. “Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12).

6. “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13).

7. “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). I

8. “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15). 

9. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16). 

10. “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:17). 

You want to be free?  Obedience doesn't sound like free to you?  Remember the quotes at the beginning of this post.  Those commandment aren't to keep us from being free, they were given by a loving God to keep us from being enslaved, entangled, or generally messed up and unfree.  

“ This is not the message we get from the world, but it is the truth. Real power, the power to become like the Savior, is only found in obedience. Real freedom is found in obedience—in subjecting ourselves to God’s will rather than to the will of the flesh or the will of the devil. Freedom through obedience: this sounds like a paradox, but those who have lived this way can testify it is true. Obedience brings power, freedom, joy, peace, and hope."  --Elder Paul V. Johnson

Hard Deadlines and Good Cheer.

3 Nephi 1

Deadlines can be scary, especially when missing it results in something horrible.   I have never had a hard deadline that was quite as bad as the following,  but the Nephites in this chapter did.

"Now it came to pass that 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.

10 Now it came to pass that when Nephi, the son of Nephi, saw this wickedness of his people, his heart was exceedingly sorrowful.

11 And it came to pass that he went out and bowed himself down upon the earth, and cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people, yea, those who were about to be destroyed because of their faith in the tradition of their fathers. 

I love that it doesn't say, "Nephi prayed for himself."  He was facing death just like all the other believers, but cried mightily to his God in behalf of his people.

 12 And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

How long did Nephi pray before the voice of the Lord came unto him?  All day long?  He certainly received a wonderful answer to his prayer. 

 13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

 14 Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given.

 15 And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was nodarkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came."

Luckily, those who were planning to destroy the believers fell to the earth and had second thoughts about it when the night was as bright as midday.   How awkward it must have been for them when they met a believer in the market the next day.  

Did the believers hold a grudge against those who would have destroyed them?  Apparently not, for there was no contention for a few years and "the more part of the people did believe, and were converted to the Lord."  (vs. 22)

But the Gandianton Robbers who dwelt in the mountains were still murdering and slaughtering the people (vs. 27) and worse yet, soon they were causing sorrow to the Nephites by absorbing their dissenters and also to the Lamanites by leading away their children.  

Seventy five years before, the sons of Helamen conquered the enemy with their faith and righteousness.  What, other than the span of years,  was the difference between these generations?

Sometimes the Crowd Is Just Plain Wrong.

Helaman 16

Finally, the chapter where it describes the Nephites throwing rocks and shooting arrows at Samuel, but to no avail, as  shown in this picture that I have loved since childhood. 

The first hundred times I typed in Samuel the Lamanite, the auto correct on this computer changed it to Samuel the Laminate.  It was pretty annoying.  But sometimes it made me smile because, just like a good laminate flooring, this Lamanite was durable.  Not an arrow or a rock hit him (vs. 2) because the Spirit of the Lord was with him.  

And not everyone was trying to kill him.  It says as many as believed went to the prophet Nephi, confessing their sins and were baptized.  (vs. 1).  And Nephi was a busy prophet because it says:

"...Nephi was baptizing, and prophesying, and preaching, crying repentance unto the people, showing signs and wonders, working miracles among the people, that they might know that the Christ must shortly come— Telling them of things which must shortly come, that they might know and remember at the time of their coming that they had been made known unto them beforehand, to the intent that they might believe; therefore as many as believed on the words of Samuel went forth unto him to be baptized, for they came repenting and confessing their sins." (vs. 4-5)

So the question I ask myself is, "If I were standing on a wall preaching to the Nephites, would their arrows and stones have found me?"   No, wait.  The question I ask myself and the question that I could actually have any impact on and the question that actually matters is, "Would I have bothered to climb the wall in the first place?"   God has let plenty of people seal their testimony with their lives for his own righteous purposes and I don't know if Samuel understood whether or not he was ever coming down off that wall.  But he got up on it, he stretched forth his hand, and he cried with a loud voice, and he preached the word of God.  (Helaman 13:4) While we can't choose what happens to us when we follow the voice of the Lord, we do have to choose whether we follow it or not.  There is no fence sitting.  Either you do or you don't.  

When the unrepentant Nephites realized they couldn't shoot him down, "they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this fellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.

 7 And as they went forth to lay their hands on him, behold, he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy among his own people. 8 And behold, he was never heard of more among the Nephites." (vs. 6-8)

I am glad he was able to return to his own people and teach them, because, according to vs. 15, they needed his bold teaching also.  

It seems very familiar when these wicked, confused people said this righteous prophet had a devil.  If someone doesn't agree with those who are wicked, then the wicked are the ones who call the righteous evil,  and the wicked call themselves the righteous.   

Even when the wicked see "there were great signs given unto the people, and wonders; and the words of the prophets began to be fulfilled" (vs. 13) they used their own reasoning and explained it away and taught that  "it is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come."   (vs. 18) and that  the Prophet's reason for teaching about Christ was that they might "... by the cunning and the mysterious arts of the evil one, work some great mystery which we cannot understand, which will keep us down to be servants to their words, and also servants unto them, for we depend upon them to teach us the word; and thus will they keep us in ignorance if we will yield ourselves unto them, all the days of our lives" (vs. 21). 

So much of the latter part of Helaman deals with choice and freedom and peace and iniquity and destruction.  No one works harder to find truth and no one is more free than someone who seeks after Christ.  The fact that they have done the work to have the faith makes them strong.

Sadly, the chapter says that all this preaching and baptizing made "but little alteration in the affairs of the people  (vs. 12).

How could this be with Samuel and Nephi teaching the people?

Samuel was up on their wall,  Nephi was living next door, but Satan was in their hearts (vs. 22) which has always been far more valuable real estate when it comes to influencing pretty much anyone.   

Samuel to the Nephites: No, really. You need to repent.

Heleman 15

Again, with the repentance.  Or your houses will be desolate.  And your women shall mourn. And you'll flee but there will be no where to go.  (vs. 1-2)  That is what Samuel the Lamanite has to say to the Nephites in Zarahemla.

He points out the Lamanites, when they hear the word of God, repent and are "firm and steadfast in the faith"  (vs. 8) and "they have been made free."   

He references the People of Ammon, (vs. 9) and reminds the Nephites that they were so serious about no longer being a war-like people that they covenanted with God not to fight and buried all their weapons.

I have heard many talks about asking ourselves what "weapons" or sins we need to bury in our lives to be more righteous, the latest one being yesterday in our stake conference.

Samuel talks of how the Lamanites will be blessed at a later time because their hearts are not as hard as the Nephites, and they sin because of the traditions of their fathers, not as the Nephites who sin because they know what is right and choose to sin anyway.

And in the last poignant verse, Samuel bears witness that the Lord will utterly destroy the Nephites if they will not repent, not withstanding the many mighty works which they have seen the Lord do among them.

This verse makes me wonder if Samuel had  seen the vision that so many prophets had seen that showed that very thing happening.  Did his heart break for the Nephites like Eno's heart broke for the Lamanites?  Was it much worse because he knew the Lamanites would ultimately be saved but the Nephites would not?

Not only did the Nephites have their own history filled with the "might works" of God, but they had the records brought from Jerusalem as a witness for and against them.  It reminds me of covenant people who live in this day and the many modern witnesses of God's mighty works in our own lives and in the records of the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

Moroni 10:27  reminds me I am also responsible for the light and knowledge I've been given and I will have to account for how I have used it.  Or if I lose it.

And that is why it is again with the repentance.

I can personally make it through my own little pride cycle three times before lunch.

And that is why I love repentance and the Savior who gave it to me.

Just like President Urchdorf said in a recent talk about the Savior, He will place you on his shoulders and carry you home.  

But first, you have to want to go home.

Many More Things Which Cannot Be Written...but don't worry, because the important stuff is all there.

  Helaman 14

In the very first verse we learn that  Samuel prophesies to the people many things which can't be written (I really really really wish I knew what these things were), but more importantly, he prophesies in a very specific way when he tells them the Lord will come in 5 years to redeem the people who believe in him and tells them the signs that will appear so that they will know when these great events are happening half a world away.  I love how God doesn't just leave them in the dark...okay, they will be in the dark, but just because it is one of the signs.

And then Samuel teaches again about faith and repentance and remission of sins and resurrection, but my favorite part of the chapter is at the end where he reminds them of their free agency to choose to believe this or not to believe.  He also reminds them of the consequences.

And now remember, remember, my brethren, 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 choose 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.  (vs. 30,31)

"...for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free."

And that is a great and a fearsome thing.