The Love of God

Today I read 3 Nephi 9, where the Savior speaks to the inhabitants in the Americas and explains to them what has happened and what needs to happen going forward. As we have talked about before, the Lord destroyed a lot of cities, probably the majority of the cities. It always does strike me as so odd that during the life of the Savior there was such vast wickedness, but there has to be a balance as we have already discussed.

I find it interesting that the Savior teaches the Nephites more doctrine here when they are in this state of mind. I'm sure most of them had no clue what he was talking about and probably only Nephi and his brother and those like them understood what He meant by no more sacrifices. At least that is my thought.

But what will probably be surprising to some is that the theme that keeps coming back to me from this chapter is love, the love our God has for us. Some might find that extremely odd considering the majority of this chapter is a list of the cities and their people that were destroyed. But if you look past that, or even if you look at it really since those cities were generally destroyed for the benefit of the righteous and the slain prophets, you will see vast love in the message the Savior is conveying.

I always feel sad for the Savior when I think about the Atonement and what He had to go through for us, for me. I feel even more sad when I think of the vast majority of the people that will not even take advantage of His merciful sacrifice. Here our elder brother has suffered more than any of us can truly comprehend and now, mere hours later, He takes the time to speak to the people of the Nephites, and the subject of the discussion must have been painful for him. Despite what I am sure some people think, it is really hard for the truly righteous to behold great wickedness. I am sure when our Heavenly Father looks out among the world and sees how wicked we are becoming the forefront emotion He has is not anger, not sadness, but pain.

When I first met my wife and we started dating and we were talking about our likes and dislikes she mentioned that she sometimes watched a certain popular show, Crime Scene Investigation, or CSI. I told her that I did not watch such shows because of the way they make me feel. She did not understand then, as most people don't, what I meant by that. I can handle scary movies about ghosts and goblins and the paranormal, but I cannot tolerate movies where normal people are doing such evil things to each other. Shows like CSI have a spirit about them, and it is NOT the Spirit of the Lord and it only serves to remind me of the evils of the world. I told my wife then that I do not like such shows because I can literally feel the Spirit of the Lord leaving my presence when those shows come on. At times it leaves so fast it is physically painful. It is no surprise to me that the Savior was in such pain during His ordeal, not the least of which was caused by the withdrawal of the Spirit.

I am a very sensitive man, too sensitive some have said, and just right my wife says, another reason she is my wife! :) And I feel so badly for our Heavenly Father having such a scene as our current world before Him. Now, I know there is much good in the world, there is a LOT of good in the world. But there are also things that go on in this world that if I think on them too long for sure will reduce me to tears, I can only imagine what it does to our Father in Heaven. And that is why I say that the main theme of this chapter is love.

The Savior is giving the rest of the Nephites a chance to repent and come back to Him. He is telling them of His Atonement for them and any who would argue that is not love has no true understanding of the Atonement and what it was. I'm pretty sure I have mentioned this already but, one of the ways I help myself be better is by reminding myself that all of my sins cause Him who is our Redeemer to suffer even more, and then it's not quite so hard to resist temptation. I hope if helps you as well. Until tomorrow.

The Savior Dies

Today I read 3 Nephi 8, there is not a lot to say about this chapter really. I often wonder at what is meant by the phrase "the whole face of the land was changed". I have often wondered if everything that can be different is now different. I have no way of knowing of course like all of my musings but it is always fun.

I am however curious why the Lord had there be 3 days of darkness in the Western Hemisphere. Of course I get why it lasted 3 days, it is a symbol of Christ's physical body lying in darkness for 3 days. But what I am asking is why did the Lord desire to have such a literal symbol, and why was it only in the America's? Many scholars have theorized that the darkness was caused by ash in the air from volcanoes and the fires of the cities and I am inclined to believe them due to the fact that it says they could feel the vapor in the air.

But for me I am mostly curious why it was done at all. We know not everyone who was saved were righteous, they were just more righteous than their brethren. Some of them still had some repenting to do. I do not have an answer to why this particular sign was given save it was what the people needed. The Lord does not do things that are not for our benefit. We may not understand what that benefit to us is, but there is a benefit.

I do want to point out though that even though some of the wicked were spared, I do believe most if not all of the righteous were spared. So again we are taught the lesson that if you want to have the best chance at a full life, we need to be living a righteous life. The prophets and apostles have taught us time and again that a righteous man(or woman) will not be taken home before their time. As we strive to be the best people we can be, we can take comfort in that if we are doing our best to live the gospel as we should be, we need not fear death. I use that terminology on purpose. We may still die very, very early if we are righteous, but we don't need to worry about it or have concern over our death. We have the comfort of knowing it will not be by some accident or mistake and that our lot will be a good one after this life. And if you think about it, that's all we can really ask for from this life. Until tomorrow.

Balance

Today I read 3 Nephi 7, the Nephite government is destroyed and the people separate into tribes, much like they do once the Nephites are completely destroyed. As I read this chapter I am struck by the concept of opposition in all things.

The Nephite government was destroyed in the year 30 a.d., the exact year that the Savior started His earthly ministry. I almost have to wonder if we could get hold of the dates if the Nephites did not destroy their government in the same month that Jesus was baptized. We will probably never know in this life but it's always fun to dream and wonder about such things.

However, I find it no coincidence that the Nephites were at their most evil at the time when the most righteous being ever to walk this earth was performing His miracles and teaching His gospel half a world away. Lehi teaches us in 2 Nephi 2 that there must needs be opposition in all things. So it is no surprise that there is an evil in the world sufficient to be opposite the goodness of the Savior at the same time He is doing His Father's work. Now, I am not trying to imply that the Nephites are the only counterbalance to the Savior's ministry, but I am sure they made up the vast majority of it, especially since when the Lord talks to them after His death He mentions that the city of the Gadianton Robbers was the most corrupt in all the earth.

This is actually a principle I learned in my early adult life. I had been taught it as a teenager but I did not really experience it for myself until my mission. Have you ever noticed that when you have something truly wonderful happen to you within a few weeks or even months some times you will have something truly awful happen to you too? I firmly believe that is the opposition and counterbalance taking effect. Most missionaries know well this concept because they are surrounded by the Spirit all the time, if they are doing what is right anyway, they also have lots and lots of bad experiences too. I know in at least my case though the good way outweighed the bad.

I remember for years my parents telling me that it was really hard to plan a trip to the temple, which was 8 hours away and almost always something bad would happen. There for a few years I remember they would not plan a trip more than 1 month in advance if even that far out! We have explored this concept before that if the devil is leaving you alone, you may want to examine your life and find out why he isn't concerned about you, and if disasters mar your life, you are probably doing something right!

The thing to remember too though is the bad things in your life don't have to be horrible bad things either, they can be lots of little bad things piling up. I remember in August, a month before our daughter was born that it seemed everything that could go wrong with our apartment did go wrong. The dishwasher broke, we had a leak that made a hole in the ceiling, we had unexpected bills show up, my wife and I both got sick, Crys' grandmother got sick, everyday brought some new disaster. It was a horrible month! But then we were blessed with the most beautiful, wonderful little girl you have ever seen and let me tell you it was all worth it!

One final thought on chapter 7, I find it interesting that the people did not like Nephi because when he came preaching, such was his faith that they could not disbelieve his words. That is powerful right there! I cannot even imagine being so full of the Spirit that when you taught people just had to believe you. What an awesome responsibility that must have been! I think Nephi was a counterbalance himself for the man Jacob, the leader of the Gadianton Robbers. Of course that is my speculation again. I just can't help myself. :) Until tomorrow.

Carefully down to Hell

Today I read 3 Nephi 6, which is in my opinion a very sad chapter. In this chapter we see the fall of what were once very good men. The war with the Gadianton Robbers is now over and the people have left and gone back to their homes. The Lord begins to bless them for their righteousness. And thus begins again the pride cycle.

It is sad to me that in the space of only 4 years some of the Nephites would become the very thing that they had nearly died repelling. I have never understood why someone who thinks they are better than someone else just because they have a lot of money. I mean, really what in the world does having money have to do with what your eternal worth is? We are all equal in the sight of God. So what is it about having more than enough for your needs that suddenly people begin to think that they are better than others.

Nevertheless, it is a fact of life, just like we read in the Doctrine and Covenants that most people cannot handle having power, it corrupts them. I have seen good men do terrible things once they are given a little power. I can never understand it. Friends that just a few short weeks before would never do the things they do once they get a little authority. It is quite sad.

I know we have talked several times in the past of how amazing it is that a people can go from extremely righteous to ripe for destruction in just a few years, but this to me is simply amazing. In this chapter, you have good, righteous men who acknowledged the hand of God in their salvation and fought a 7 year war against the Gadianton Robbers, and then 4 years later they have killed the prophets and in order to not be punished for the 2nd worst sin anyone can commit, they have become the very thing they hated most. They are now Gadianton Robbers, or organized crime.

This I believe is what is truly known as the devil leading men carefully down to hell. These men were "poisoned by degrees" as we talked about a few months ago and slowly over the course of 4 years have been led to a place of horror that they never meant to go. After the war with the Robbers, if these men had been asked to join them it would have been anathema to them. But you make them rich, give them a little power and suddenly they quite literally are a different person.

This is exactly why the prophets throughout ALL dispensations have cautioned us to avoid even the appearance of evil. Because even a small misstep if not immediately corrected can have dastardly consequences. Because once you take that first step into the darkness it is so incredibly easy to take the next one, and the one after that and so one until you can't even begin to understand how you got there, if you even care anymore.

I do not need to expound on this as countless prophets of ancient and modern dispensations have already spoken on this subject countless times. As Alma said before me, the scriptures are before you and if you will wrest them you will do so to your own destruction. These ARE the lessons we are meant to learn from the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon teaches us many things not the least of which is giving us examples of what not to do. May we heed those lessons and not have to go through them ourselves. Until tomorrow.

The Word of God

Today I read 3 Nephi 5, a strange chapter. The 1st half consists of the Nephites and what happened to them after the battle with the Gadianton Robbers. The 2nd half consists of Mormon explaining what he has been doing, again. This is not the first time that Mormon interjects into the Book of Mormon and explains what his purpose is. Although the first time, the Words of Mormon, is mostly explaining about the small plates compared to the large plates.

The part of this chapter that I find interesting is verse 4, where it says that all the Gadianton Robbers that they captured were taught the gospel. And as many people as believed the word of God and entered into a covenant were allowed to go free and live their lives. And as many as would not and still expressed a desire to kill and commit sins were punished according to the law. I can only assume that means they were put to death since the punishment for murder is death.

I am again struck by the sense of integrity these people had. In this day and age, if we were to do this, the people would have no qualms about lying to save their lives. But the Nephites word was so important to them that they would rather tell the truth and die than tell a lie. It really is amazing that they had such a sense of integrity, even towards an enemy. You just don't see such integrity very often in this day and age.

This chapter always reminds me of Alma 31, where the Zoramites have fallen away from the Nephites and the scriptures state that the word of God had a tendency to teach a man to do that which is good. I really like that the Nephites instead of just punishing their prisoners tried to reform them. I was actually just talking to a co-worker Saturday night about how our prisons these days are not set up to reform anyone, they are set up to punish only. At least as far as I am aware. I myself have never frequented one, nor do I ever plan to.

But the scriptures are right, I know, no brainer huh? If a person is truly converted to the word of God it will cause that person change his/her behavior and to become a better person than they are today. You cannot receive such a drastic change by threat, coercion or any other means generally. That is because only the Spirit can change our very nature, which is what is needed to make someone truly change. We have to have a mighty change of heart as Alma calls it so that we no longer have any desire to do evil as King Benjamin taught his people. Only then can we truly change people. And that's what this life is all about, changing ourselves, for the better or the worse. I hope you are choosing to change for the better. I know I am. Until tomorrow.

The Nephites Prevail

Today I read 3 Nephi 4, an account of the Nephites battles against the Gadianton Robbers. It has long been a topic of discussion between my father and I of whether or not a righteous people need a standing army. The Lord does indeed take care of His people in their time of need. This chapter shows that actually. But if you ask my dad he will reference scriptures like Enoch where the Lord changed the course of rivers and uprooted mountains so that His people did not have to fight.

I on the other hand ascribe to the theory that as long as we are not guilty of the first or second offense, we have the right to defend ourselves and our families. It is a fun, healthy debate and never gets resolved but I am reminded of it in instances like this chapter. We talked last time about how the Nephites all gathered into one place in the center of their lands, as far as we know.

I find it interesting that the Robbers are unable to maintain their "living" except by plundering and murder. The scriptures says that they would not spread themselves out to raise grain for their food because of fear of the Nephite armies, yet they did not hesitate to spread themselves out in order to try and lay siege to the Nephite city. It goes back to what we said yesterday, the Robbers are inherently lazy. They will not work for their living. I was actually speaking with a co-worker last night who is originally from Detroit, MI and we were talking about organized crime and I mentioned my theory that whatever reason they give, the real reason people join organized crime is laziness and an unwillingness to work. She replied that while she had never thought of it that way, it's true. Most people turn to a life of crime because they do not wish to work. I realize there are some exceptions to the rule, but it holds true for at least 80% I feel.

One of the interesting parts of this chapter is that the Nephites recognized that they had to defeat their enemy, it was not enough to just defend themselves. However, they still listened to the Lord. As long as the Robbers were in their lands, they pursued them and attacked them. But as soon as the Robbers entered the wilderness, Gidgiddoni stopped them and would not allow his armies to pursue them any further.

However, the most telling part of this whole tale to me is the fact that when it was all said and done, they gave total credit for their great victory to God. It could indeed be argued that they saved themselves by their excellent strategies, but the Nephites knew better. They knew that it was the Lord their God who had delivered them from the hands of their enemies. And if you think about it, we can attribute everything good that we do to the Lord. For the Lord blessed us with life, He created us and gives our bodies life that we might survive in this mortal experience. I know that anytime I do something great, I always thank Him for His help. Even in college I used to thank Him after a test for helping me to remember the things I had learned. After all, D & C 59:21 states that in nothing is God offended save those who confess not His hand in all things. I take that statement very literally. We are our God's creations, our good works are His.

It is an important lesson to learn however that we should be involving God in our lives much more than we currently do. At least for most of us it's much more than we currently do. Elder Bednar taught in a recent conference that our morning prayer should be the spiritual creation of our day and we should go through our day with a prayer in our hearts. Imagine how much better we will behave if we have a prayer constantly in our hearts? When we invite the Lord into our day and make Him feel welcome, our lives will change. That I can promise you. You will behave differently because you will feel His presence near you, like He is looking over your shoulder throughout the day. That is my challenge to each of you, invite Him into your life, just for a day, and see what a difference it makes. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Until tomorrow.

The Gadianton Robbers go to War

Today I read 3 Nephi 3. This chapter has always fascinated me. For starters, the leader of the Gadianton Robbers. If has always amused me that he would take the time to write a letter to the chief judge of the land and ask for the people's surrender. I always wonder if he was worried he wouldn't be able to take over the lands himself or what his reasoning was for doing this.

Maybe it was divine intervention? The reason I say this is because in the end of chapter 2 it states that the Nephites were slowly being taken over by the Gadianton robbers in warfare and maybe the Lord softened the leader's heart to give the Nephites time to save themselves? The other reason I can think of is laziness. I mean if you really think about it, despite what they tell themselves, the true underlying reason behind people joining the Gadianton robbers or a life of crime in this day and age, is laziness. They don't want to work for what they need or want, so they become criminals and take it by force and whatever other means necessary. So maybe this is just another way of laziness for the Robbers, they didn't want to spend the energy necessary to take over the lands they wanted to rule.

Whatever the reason, they did not come on "the morrow month" as the Robbers threatened, but rather if I am reading the dates right, the Nephites spent 2 years preparing themselves. We don't know the month Lachoneus received the letter from the Robbers in the 16th year, but we do know that his own proclamation was not until the latter end of the 17th year, so it was at least 1 year, and the first verse of the next chapter tells us that the Robbers did not actually come until the 18th year. So the Robbers did not even hold true to their threat. However, I DO believe in that case it was divine providence that held them back.

The Nephites in the latter end of the book of Helaman had spread from sea to sea, north to south and east to west. That is a LOT of people. And I cannot imagine it was a quick walk, especially with cattle, from all their settlements to the land of Zarahemla. This is another example of the Lord taking care of his people. I also love that the leaders of the Nephites were not coerced into going after the Robbers in their own lands. They knew that to receive the protection of the Lord they needed to defend their families, not go on the offensive.

It must have been an interesting experience having all the Nephites in one location. I often wonder just how many square miles they covered being all together like that? I wonder if there were more than a million of them and things like that. But that is just my idle wonderings and have no real bearing on anything. This chapter also makes me think of the gathering of Israel and the trek westward in our own day and age when the Saints fled Illinois heading to Utah.

The important parts of this chapter to me though are the leaders of the Nephites and how successful they were in helping their people overcome the challenges of their day and in getting them to repent. It always makes me re-evaluate how much I pay attention to our own leaders, especially President Monson, our Prophet. I always feel a redoubled desire to follow his counsel when I read this chapter, and I hope you do too. Until tomorrow.

Same Old Song and Dance

Today I read 3 Nephi 2, which for all intents and purposes, is nothing we haven't seen at least 3 times before in the Book of Mormon. It is a scary time in their lives though I am sure. As I read the words and picture that these are real people it actually makes me shudder to think what these poor righteous Nephites and Lamanites had to put up with.

It says that the Gadianton Robbers were so bold as to be taking over cities. At least here in America, organized crime has never been so bold, not even during it's high point in the 1930's. I cannot imagine the state of mind these poor righteous had to deal with that the wicked were so wicked that they would just openly attack cities like this. It's really a very scary thought.

It is a neat idea though that one can become jaded to anything. At the beginning of the chapter it says that the people were getting less and less impressed with signs and wonders from Heaven. It does not say the signs and wonders stopped, it says the people became less and less impressed. Can you imagine how many signs these people would have to see for them to actually get to the point when they didn't even care about a miracle? The only thing I can even compare it to is if human beings were suddenly able to start flying without assistance. Yes, for the first year or so that would be an amazing thing and it would totally blow your mind. But after that first year it would become common place and not really anything special.

I remember a conversation I had with my Dad once about how the Holy Ghost communicates with our spirits and it leaves a more permanent impression on us than even if the Savior himself were to appear unto us. At first I did not really believe him or understand what he was talking about. But the older I get and the more miracles I see in my own life and in the lives of others and how people are just unimpressed with the miracles in their lives I see how that would be possible.

One last fun little musing for the day. Unlike Alma, that it was made known he had been translated, Nephi the elder departed out of the land and no one knew where he had gone too. He was apparently young enough that no one worried if he had died, at least not the way Mormon writes. And I would think the righteous of the church would have been told if Nephi had been translated or not. So where did he go? Well, it is just a theory of course but my Dad and I have actually long believed that he was one of the 3 wise men who came to see the Savior. The timing fits. Based on the language of Mormon he was not an old man, and no one knew where he went. We will of course never know until this life is over, but it's always fun to speculate. Until tomorrow.

The Sign is Given

Today I read 3 Nephi 1, where the Savior is born. This chapter has always been interesting to me. For one thing, in my personal thoughts, the Nephites who believed the prophets at this period of time are the only ones who really know he meaning of the word peer pressure to me. I have never really understood peer pressure. But then again, as I said yesterday, and as my wife likes to point out, I'm really not like other people. I have never understood the idea of doing something just because other people want you to do it.

Now there are friends of mine that would argue otherwise. For example, I have a friend that would probably swear on his death bed that I only served a mission because my father wanted me to. The funny thing is, he is right but he's referring to the wrong Father. I served a mission because it was a commandment of the Lord. But I make no secret of the fact that I really, really did not want to serve a mission at first. In fact I didn't really catch the spirit of my mission until the first Monday in the mission field. But once I caught the spirit of it, I loved what I was doing and I loved my mission and will tell any young man who has doubts to go and do and you will never regret it.

However, it might be hypocritical of me, but I personally feel that anything that gets you to do the right thing is a good thing. I mean, even if you do the right thing for the wrong reason it's a start right? If you can start on the path, whatever the reason, as long as you change your heart and start doing it for the right reason at some point. As I sit here and think on this though, I think I am changing my mind. I can think of several reasons that are not good for doing something that is right. The story of Cain and Abel quickly comes to mind. Cain offered a sacrifice to the Lord because Satan told him to do it. He was doing the right thing but for a very wrong reason and the Lord did not accept his sacrifice.

So I was wrong it seems. I know that the attitude with which we do things matters of course, after all we all know the scripture that tells us not to do things grudgingly or we might as well not do them at all. We are getting very far afield from where we started though. These righteous Nephites in my opinion are some of the few in this world who can really say anything about peer pressure. I mean, can you imagine being told to renounce your beliefs or you will be killed? Now, I know that some people have indeed been told that before and I can only imagine. Now, if you have an eternal perspective and realize that this life is a mere blip on the eternal radar then it really is no choice anyway. But I can tell you that your thoughts and opinions really change when you have a wife and family to care for. I remember before I was married I never worried about my house being broken into. When my wife and daughter are visiting my in-laws I never worry about leaving my house during the day. But when they are home and I leave them there, I worry about it, sometimes constantly.

The difference is I now have something to lose. Something more precious to me than my own life. So I can empathize with those poor Nephites. Of course, it is obvious to me that it is no coincidence that the very day the unbelievers chose to put the believers to death is the very day they were going to be put to death. The scriptures teach us that the Lord will try His people to see if they will be faithful in all things. We all need to learn who we really are and if we really will serve God no matter what. God already knows what we will choose, but we don't, not until we are put in that situation and have to choose between that which is most important to us, and what God wants us to do.

A final thought on this chapter. I have to wonder at the sheer idiocy of some of the Nephites. In verse 22 it says that Satan sent lyings among the people so that they would not believe those signs. I'm sorry but the caliber of individual who can believe the lyings of Satan after witnessing all of that just makes me wonder. I mean that is a person who almost wants to be damned they are so dumb. Thankfully the scriptures say that those who disbelieved the signs were very, very few in number. But as sad as it is that there were people who would not believe the signs at that time, there are still those in our day that won't believe signs and wonders either, despite them being in plain sight. They are dismissed as coincidence. Let me assure you that there are no coincidences in this life. Only divine providence. Until tomorrow.

The Way People Think

Today I read Helaman 16, the end of Samuel's prophecies and the last year before Christ was born. I have noticed something these last 2 days. My wife and I also read the Book of Mormon to our new daughter and we are still in 1 Nephi but we read a portion where Laman and Lemuel sound much like the Nephites of this era.

It has always seemed so strange to me that the Nephites can be so recalcitrant. But then again it always is hard to believe when I across ridiculously stubborn people. But I realized something today. I don't know about the rest of you, but until I met my wife, throughout my whole life I have believed and acted upon said belief that people are generally like me. And today as I was reading the last chapter in the book of Helaman I had the thought that maybe everyone does that.

The reason I think that maybe I am not alone in believing that maybe everyone believes other people are generally like them too is because the wicked of the Nephites in this chapter start saying absolutely ridiculous things, and if they really stopped to examine the situation they would probably realize that they are being ridiculous with such thoughts but most people, including myself, don't stop to think about such things and just assume others are like them.

The reason that the Nephites, the wicked ones at least, were so convinced that the righteous Nephites would lie to them in order to subject them to "bondage" and servitude is because that is exactly what they desire to do to the righteous Nephites if given the opportunity. The unrighteous Nephites DID in fact want to "work some mysterious art" that would bring the rest of the Nephites into bondage, because that is what they desire, power.

Now, the reason I think most people believe everyone else is just like them, is because it helps people tolerate themselves. I am mostly speaking about the unrighteous. It is a lot easier to live with yourself if you steal things by saying to yourself if others were in your position they would do the same. That is my thought anyway since I have not been in that situation. But if you don't tell yourself such things, then you are forced to deal with the harsh reality that you are a sinner and in some cases a really wicked, maybe even evil, person. In my particular case, I was more giving people the benefit of the doubt, thinking to myself that certain things could never happen because people are not that dumb. Like for example, the first time I saw the movie "Live free or Die Hard" and the scene where all the lights turn green at the same time I thought to myself that people would not just rush off despite the fact that the other lanes were also clearly moving. In my mind people are like me and would see that other cars were also moving and would wait. But I was forced to concede that in fact most American's would in fact go anyway thinking they had the green light and were in the right and the rest of the world be darned.

Hopefully no one is offended by my candor. My intent is not to offend but rather to help others understand how the Nephites could possibly believe that the righteous Nephites would ever try and trick them into believing something. It is because that is what they themselves would do in the situation. And as I can attest it is a very hard thing for one to think outside their own box and realize that others don't think like them, or in my case almost no one seems to think exactly like I do, not even my wife. It's a little disconcerting to discover you are not normal but are in fact quite different from the average person. It's kinda fun though.

Now we are reaching the really neat part of the Book of Mormon, the birth of the Savior and then his death and visit to the Nephites. 3 Nephi has 30 chapters in it, so it will take us 1 month to read it together and I look forward to each and everyday as we read about our beloved Savior together. Hopefully you do too. Until tomorrow.

The Lord Chasteneth who He Loves

Today I read Helaman 15, I can still remember when I learned the principle that Samuel teaches the Nephites in this chapter, that the Lord chastens those He loves. I was in college, attending BYU - Idaho at the time and I read that verse. I remember it struck me like a thunderbolt.

I can remember being a child and my parents would not let me do certain things that I wanted to do and saying what just about every child says in those situations, that if my parents loved me, surely they would just let me do this thing. I don't even remember any of the things that were so important and caused all the drama. I wonder if every person when they get older looks back on their childhood with chagrin and wonders what was wrong with me back then?

Anyway, as every parent well knows, chastening is an act of love. We chasten out of love because we want to correct poor behavior. The parent spanks the child who tries to play in the street out of concern. The parent scolds the child who tries to touch the bright red stove top out of fear. The parent grounds the teenager who stayed out too late because they are worried. And I could go on and on. To children this all just looks like parents being over protective and not trusting the children. Nothing could be farther from the truth in most cases.

The purpose of chastening is to improve behavior. If the parent in question did not care about the child, then improving the behavior would not be one of the parent's goals and no chastening would take place. But our parents do love us in most cases and the wise parent knows that being strict with the child is necessary. A parent who cares about their child's future knows the worst thing they can do is give their child everything the child wants. We have all heard the term tough love. It is a very apt statement. Sometimes the best thing for the children is to those things the child are sure will "kill" them.

Heavenly Father knows all of this too. He knows that the worst thing He can do for us is to say yes to every prayer we offer. He knows that in order to help us grow we need trials that push us and make us stronger. He knows that, as hard as it is, the best thing right now is to wait and be patient because what we truly need, and want if we only knew it, is just around the corner.

It can be hard thing to reconcile in our own minds, but we really only chasten those we love and want to grow. As we've said before, those who do not chasten their children either do not love them, or have a very incorrect interpretation of what love is and are for sure NOT preparing their children for the future. I'm sure such a statement would get me tarred and feathered by some, but it is the hard truth. If a parent gives in every time and gives their child everything, they are creating a VERY unreal expectation for their children and are not preparing their child for the future and that child is going to have a very hard life.

Such parents are confusing, for lack of a better term, short-term love for long-term love. They are only focusing on the hear and now and "proving" to their child that of course they love them, look at all they give them. The wise parent knows that such childhood storms will pass and the best thing they can do for the child is focus on their long-term future and prepare them for what is down the road and I am sure it is a very hard thing to do, but the rewards for such true love for ones child are eternal! Until tomorrow.

The Prophecies of Samuel

Today I read Helaman 14, Samuel's prophecy concerning the Savior's birth and his death. This chapter also has Samuel teaching the Nephite's why the Savior's death was necessary, something they should have already known since it had been taught to them before. But I have found in my life that when a person lives a life a wickedness, they forget, or lose the light and knowledge that they once had. I have seen this in my own life with a friend who was raised in the church but lived a life of sin for most of their life and then came back to the church. They had almost no knowledge of things and had to start over.

There are many, many interesting points in this chapter. For starters, the prophecy of the Savior's birth how there would be a day and a night and a day with no darkness. I have no idea how this was accomplished. Especially considering it only happened on this side of the world. The eastern hemisphere where the Savior was actually born did not experience this. So we can conclude that it was not the new star that appeared since that star was seen in Israel also.

Secondly, I don't think Heavenly Father gets nearly enough credit for the new star. Do you realize just how far in advance that star had to be created and placed into orbit for it to start shining at the exact moment of the Lord's birth? If there ever was a doubt in any believer's mind that God knows the end from the beginning, a short session of pondering on this star and what it actually represents should dispel those doubts immediately. We also don't know if that star is still around or if it only shown for a few days/years. We are not told. For all we know it could still be a star in our sky.

Another interesting thought that comes from this verse is when Samuel is talking about the Lord's death. He mentions that the earth's plates are all one at that time but they would be broken up upon his death. If this is true, it begs the question, did they have earthquakes before the Savior's death? Because earthquakes are caused by the movement of the earth's plates. Well if they were all one mass before His death, could they move? And if they couldn't move then they couldn't cause earthquakes, right? Just food for thought.

A final thought, both in the Bible and again here, it could just be the way it is written but it is very confusing to me. The way it is written in this scripture makes it seem like the graves opening up and the saints appearing unto many, happen before the three days of darkness and the Savior's resurrection. Even in the Bible it makes it sound like that is the way it happened. However, we know from the other scriptures that this is not the case. We know that the Savior was resurrected first and then the righteous who have gone before were resurrected afterwards. Just another interesting tidbit from this chapter.

This chapter really is quite neat and deserves a thorough reading because it contains so much doctrine and teaches so much. I did not delve into it in this entry because all the doctrine has been dealt with in other entries in my blog and also that is not what I felt impressed to write about this time. Perhaps the next time I read this chapter I will feel impressed to focus more on the doctrine. It will of course really depend on my frame of mind/spirit and what is needed in my life. That is the great thing about the scriptures, you can read them 100 times and they can teach you 100 different things depending on your needs when you read them. And it always makes for an interesting read. Happy reading! Until tomorrow.

Saved by the Righteous

Today I read Helaman 13, the first chapter in Samuel the Lamanites prophecies to the Nephites. Samuel was one of the Lamanites who was converted to the truth and was very faithful. He was sent to the Nephites and was cast out of their cities but the Lord commanded him to return and give them His message. So he climbed a wall and proceeded to prophecy to them.

Part of his message to them was to point out to them how unrighteous they were at this time. He mentions that the prophets who are sent to them they kill and cast out and say they have a devil. But if one comes along who says it's ok to do what you want and it is not a sin, then they hail as a prophet and give him money. It really reminds me of the scripture that says wo unto them who call good evil and evil good. This really was the state the Nephites were in at this time.

Samuel also told them that the only reason they were currently being spared was because of the righteous and if there ever came a day when the wicked would cast out the righteous, then there would be nothing to stop the Lord from pouring out His wrath upon them. This thought really does comfort me. I know that is kind of morose, but really, it gives me hope. There is a lot of evil going on in this world and it saddens me when I see it and when I look at it. But when I realize that there are still righteous people in the world, it makes me not quite so sad or scared.

This is a pattern the Lord has kept for many thousands of years too. When the Lord wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, he told Abraham that he would spare the city if Abraham could find 10 righteous people inside of it. Sadly, those two cities were so corrupt, that they could not even find 10 righteous people between the 2 cities. That is really quite pathetic and really sad if you think about it. I know we rag on New York and Los Angles all the time for how rude the people can be and for how unrighteous city life sometimes is, but those two cities are still full of righteous people in addition to the very unrighteous. I feel confident we could find at least 1000 righteous people in each city!

Today at church we talked about Elder Nelson's recent Conference talk about being a good member missionary and one of the things Elder Nelson spoke about was creating a profile on Mormon.org. I did that this afternoon and am pleased that with each new invention it becomes easier and easier to share the Gospel with the world. Sadly, Satan always has his counterfeit and it is just as easy for him to use these wonderful inventions in order to spread his "gospel" also. That is why it is so important for us to make sure that we are taking advantage of all the opportunities that are available to us to be good examples to those around us, to be the best people we can be and to make sure that we are doing our part to make the world a better place to live in.

I get saddened by all the evil in the world these days and it's only going to get worse according to the prophecies and the scriptures. We have to do what we can in our own sphere of influences to remind people of all that's good and descent in the world. As we do this, we will be amazed at how much good we can accomplish in His name. I hope each of you will also create a profile on Mormon.org and do your part to spread the "good news" of Jesus Christ and help make this world a better place for all of us! Until tomorrow.

Mormon's Monologue

Today I read Helaman 12, where Mormon takes time out from his narrative of the Nephites to give observations on mankind and on God and His nature. We have already talked about most of this before today, and it is nothing new in our day and age.

The part of this chapter which never ceases to catch my interest, just as it does in Alma 30 when Alma is talking to Korihor, is Mormon's knowledge of astronomy and the planetary motions. There's absolutely no reason why the Nephites should not have had this knowledge, it's just very interesting to me when I see a culture have knowledge of sciences that were "lost" during the dark ages. I honestly wonder as I sit here, how many times astronomy has been "discovered" by cultures since Enoch. Enoch is the first one to really learn about the heavens that I am aware of, although it is possible that Adam knew about them too, we just aren't told.

That brings up interesting speculation which I won't dwell on long because it is not the purpose of this blog but I think is fun nonetheless. Are we really the most advanced civilization that has ever been on this earth? Whether you believe in evolution which puts the human race timeline at millions of years, or a Christian which puts time starting around 4000 B.C., that's still a LOT of time and I find it hard to believe that discoveries that truthfully only took less than 200 years were never discovered by anyone else in all that time. My personal thoughts are we are re-discovering a lot of things over again, similar to our re-discovery of astronomy.

In this chapter Mormon laments the natural man and how he is an enemy to God. He does not use that terminology but that is what he is saying. And as I have said before I used to wonder how the Nephites in just a matter of years could turn their backs on the Lord and go back to their evil ways, and then I saw it happen with my own eyes after September 11, 2001. It is a sad commentary on our society that most of our nation is carnal, sensual and for some, devilish. I don't know what is worse to me, the fact that so many people are that way, or the fact that so many of them enjoy it!

I think that is what disturbs me the most, the fact that our nation is full of "natural men" and they enjoy being that way. There is no drive in them to be better, to be more than they currently are, they see nothing wrong with their lifestyle. Most people would not say this, but this is the way I feel, we are a nation of alcoholics. Most people only use that term for someone who cannot control their drinking of liquor, but I look around me and I see a nation of people who cannot stop drinking liquor. It actually disgusts me how when my wife and I go out to eat together, the waiter/waitress automatically assumes we will be drinking an alcoholic beverage, as if that were the only choice! I do not wish to dwell on this topic but I can understand Mormon's frustration with his fellow man.

I hope, as Mormon did before me, that we can all shake off the natural man and come to rely on the arm of Jehovah more fully and become better saints and learn to take true enjoyment in living the Gospel. Until tomorrow.

The Sealing Power is Used

Today I read Helaman 11, where Nephi uses the sealing power the Lord has granted to him. As I was pondering this morning reading this chapter, I remembered what it was about and I was thinking about it. In this chapter the Nephites begin a war which goes one for a couple of years, and Nephi asks the Lord to send a famine in the land.

I was pondering this morning before my reading just why Nephi would ask the Lord to send a famine when they were already killing themselves with the war. The answer came to me during my reading. When people, especially men, start fighting, the adrenaline starts pumping and they generally do not have much capacity for rational thinking at that point. Thus one can conclude that if the Nephites were to continue to fight their war, they would not remember the Lord their God but rather just keep remembering the unreasoning anger towards each other until they were destroyed. We see this happen not once but twice in the Book of Mormon, with the Jaredites and the Nephites at the end of their civilization.

It is rare that a war will stir up people's remembrance to the Lord, especially when so many of the wars are fought in His name, or as His will, Crusades anyone? However, a famine, now that will stir up the people to remember the Lord their God and to repent of their ways and cause the people to repent of their sins. And it truly did, it worked exactly like Nephi wanted it too, and for a number of years they were righteous again. But then, sure enough the people started getting wicked again.

I've always found this chapter to be interesting because it talks about the Nephites and Lamanites sending armies into the hills and mountains to try and destroy the Gadianton Robbers and how they were unsuccessful. I have always wondered how that could be, and then about 3 weeks ago I was driving from Indiana to Utah with my wife's family and we were in Wyoming and I was looking out at the landscape and I could easily understand who whole armies of robbers could hide in those hills and never be found or use them to their advantage and kill the armies being sent against them even given the high visibility in areas like that. I pointed out my observation to my father-in-law and he commented on much the same thing. It's not so hard to believe when confronted with an area where it is possible to hide for years and never be found.

Sadly though, this chapter shows not only the repentance but also the return to wickedness to the point that in only 10 years the people where just as wicked as when they had started. We have already talked about how that is possible in a previous post and how actually in most cases a society can go from extremely righteous to wicked in a very, very short amount of time. Mormon actually examines this very concept in the next chapter.

It has been years, even thousands of years since a prophet used the sealing power to bind the heavens, that we know of. Today we use it for much more happy purposes of eternal marriage, for which I am very, very grateful because it made possible my marriage to my wonderful companion. I am forever grateful to my Father in Heaven for making it possible to have this wonderful woman by my side, not just for this life, but for eternity. I hope you treasure your eternal companion too if you are so blessed to have one. May we all heed President Monson's Sunday Morning talk from this past October General Conference and be grateful for what we have, and not focus on what we don't have. Until tomorrow.

Nephi is Given the Sealing Power

Today I read Helaman 10, where Nephi is given the sealing power. You know, it just amazes me that after all they have now witnessed in the space of just a few hours, coupled with the fact that Nephi is being carried about in the Spirit from multitude to multitude, that people still would have hard time believing in what he is saying. I mean that just blows my mind!

This chapter is mostly known for the fact that Nephi is given the sealing power in this chapter. The sealing power of course is the power to bind things on earth, as well as in heaven. It is the power with which Elijah sealed the heavens and there was no rain for 3 years. It is the power by which husband and wife are joined for eternity in the holy temple.

The phrasing in this chapter when the Lord gives him the sealing power is very telling to me. The Lord in verse 5 tells Nephi that the Lord knows that he will not ask anything that is contrary to His will. Can you imagine if you were told this by the Lord himself? I would be in awe to be told that He knew that whatever I asked of Him, He knew it would be the same as His desire. I can only imagine being so in tune with the Spirit that I only desired that which the Lord desired. I can one day hope to get so righteous and get my wants and desires so in tune.

I am a firm believer that we cannot surprise the Lord. I mean, He has already told us that all is before Him, from eternity to eternity. I do believe that He knows exactly what we are going to do and how we are going to react even before we do. I think trials that we go through are more meant to help us learn about ourselves. I cannot remember how said it this last General Conference, but one of the speakers mentioned that our trials and tests are not when character is developed, it is when character is revealed. I believe it was Boyd K. Packer that said it and how right he was. I was told once as a teenager that it is how we act when we think no one is watching that our true self is revealed. That is when we "let our hair down" and behave as we really are.

So I think Nephi needed to hear the Lord say that Nephi would never desire anything contrary to His will because we all need that affirming voice. The Lord knew it, but Nephi needed to learn just how much he had grown. It is very similar in my opinion to when Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac to the Lord. Those are trials that are meant to reveal our character to ourselves. We will all have our own trial of faith, sometimes many of them, in this life. Hopefully we will find what we wish to find and that we choose the Lord in our times of need and give Him what He asks for. Trust me when I say it will not be easy and might very well be the hardest thing you ever do, and it WILL make you question your faith. Hopefully we learn what we need to the first time and do not need to learn it a second time! :) Until tomorrow.

Uncircumcised of Heart

Today I read Helaman 9, the very detailed prophecy of Nephi that he uses to prove his innocence to the people of Nephi and identify the murderer of the chief judge. I've always liked this chapter because it is very rare that you get to read such a detailed prophecy, in fact I am not sure that you ever really get to read one quite as detailed and specific as this one is.

In fact in my own life I think the closest I can think of to so much detail is an experience from my mission. I remember when I was a district leader I had to interview a young woman for baptism. She had all the right answers and knew what to say but at one point during the interview, she got a little hesitant and I could tell that she had a question for me. So I asked her what was on her mind and she mentioned that Elder Rhodes and all the other missionaries including me, kept saying that we know the Gospel is true, and she wanted to know how she too could know. So we talked about faith and I asked her if she believed it was true. She said she wanted to believe it was true and I told that was enough and we then read from Alma 32 that just having the desire to believe is enough to start with. We kept talking and I felt impressed to promise her something. I told her that if she would pray, that very night and I even gave her the words to pray, that God would hear her, and answer her, and then she too could know it was true. She thanked me and promised me she would and we closed the interview. The next day was her baptism and I did not get a chance to talk to her until after her baptism but when I did and she saw me she got the biggest grin on her face and I asked her if what I had told her was right. She said that yes, all my words had come true and she now knew for herself.

That is the closest I have ever seen in my personal life to such a clear cut prophecy but even that does not compare to what Nephi did in my opinion. I've often wondered with such clear prophecies does God show them a scene, like a movie, and that is how they are able to describe it in such detail? Or does the Spirit whisper to them exactly what to say? I know in my case it was a thought that popped into my head and because an idea which because a sentence I should speak and I knew it was right.

The other part of this chapter I wanted to discuss was a phrase Nephi uses. He calls the judges who accuse him of being complicit in the murder of the chief judge fools and uncircumcised of heart. That is such a unique phrase. I do not for the life of me have any idea what it actually means though. The one thought that pops into my head is this, and I warn you it will be a tiny bit sexual in nature. When a man is circumcised, they remove the extra skin at the end of his penis and to my understanding, the only real side effect is it increases the sensitivity of the now exposed skin of the penis. With this in mind, we can then conclude that an uncircumcised heart would not be as sensitive as one that is circumcised. Perhaps Nephi is implying that they are too far gone to feel the sensitive promptings of the Spirit and past feeling the things of the Spirit. That was the idea that came to me at least.

The other thought is circumcision was used as part of a covenant between the Hebrews and God to signify their duty to Him and their devotion to Him. Perhaps Nephi is implying that these judges have turned their back on their God and do not perform even the outward portions of the law anymore and are so corrupt that even the most basic of covenants are not kept. Again, I just don't know. But I intend to ponder this phrase some more throughout the day and see what the Lord can teach me about it. Whatever its intended meaning is, we know it is not pleasant since it was used to describe evil men. May we all keep the commandments and follow the prophecies of a prophet, even if they are not as clear cut as Nephi's were. Until tomorrow.

The Fallacy of Men

Today I read Helaman 8. This chapter is a continuation of Nephi speaking to the Nephites from his tower in his garden. This chapter is mainly his astonished musings about how in the world these people can be the way that they currently are.

I have wondered the same thing many times. I do not understand how people can believe ancient prophets but not modern ones. I do not understand how some people can pick and choose what they want to believe when a prophet speaks. Nephi mentions that the people believe the ancient prophets, they have the proof of those prophecies in some instances, such as Jerusalem being destroyed. But they deny that Jesus Christ will be born.

The power of mankind for self deception is incredible. People say that you cannot lie to the man/woman in the mirror, but I scoff at that. People lie to themselves everyday. Anytime people don't want to believe something about themselves they can just lie about it to themselves. They do it everyday. It's a very sad reality. We have already dealt with the concept of how there are more than enough witnesses for any court of law and yet people still want to lie to themselves and say there is no Jesus Christ, because it is easier for there to be no Christ and thus they can rationalize their life easier.

This will not be a long post, for I truly do not like dwelling on such topics overly long. It really is sad how people will believe the most outrageous things in order to avoid the truth. I hope each of us is more concerned with the truth and with believing in Jesus Christ than we are with living an "easy" life. Until tomorrow.

The Prayer of Nephi

Today I read Helaman 7, where Nephi prays on his tower in his garden and he starts his famous speech to the Nephites. I really feel badly for Nephi in this chapter. He has just spent a large amount of time, I am not sure how much at this point, among the lands of the north and based on what Mormon says he did not have any success there and not only that, but the people of the land he left, who were doing pretty well, are now back to being very unrighteous again and have taken over the government. It is not a fun situation he is in.

However this chapter shows me the true charity of Nephi. Nephi really does love his people. He wants to help them and like Ammon I think he really does fear for the eternal salvation of his people. He is also feeling somewhat discouraged though and feels kinda down in the dumps as is evidenced by the first thing he says, he is upset that he has to deal with it. But can you blame him? I honestly think he is being quite calm about whole situation, I would probably be losing my mind right about now if I were Nephi.

But that is why Nephi is a prophet and I am not. Nephi is more concerned with getting his people back on track than he is bemoaning his fate. Like a true prophet, his prayer is, help me find the strength, not help this to pass. I really feel badly for Nephi because he has to live in such a wicked world, the Gadianton Robbers are out in the open now and have taken control of the government. I can only imagine living in a world that is so openly evil that organized crime has taken over the government and the people do not care. I know some countries are that way according to what I have read, but I could not even fathom living in a country/time like that.

But Nephi does not shirk his responsibilities as a prophet to call his people to repentance. That is another thing that makes a prophet. Nephi is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ and of calling the people to repentance. And the rest of us seem to have trouble even sharing the gospel, let alone calling the members of the church to repentance. We have dealt with the concept before of the judgment and in order to live with God, we have to live the kind of life he would lead and enjoy it. Someone once said the true measuring stick of how converted you are to the gospel is your commitment to sharing it.

We will deal with the rest of Nephi's speech over the next few days but this is strong start. We get a good idea of Nephi's character in the beginning of his speech and learn that he really wants to help these people. He is upset that he has to even speak about this, but his reasons for doing so are pure, he wants to help them, he wants them to repent and that comes through on his speech. I am looking forward to discussing the rest of his talk to his people this week. Until tomorrow.

The Best of times the Worst of times

Today I read Helaman 6, which much like Charles Dickens said in his classic tale, "A Tale of Two Cities", "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." And it truly was. This is a time period of the Nephites and Lamanites when they enjoyed unprecedented peace and prosperity.

This was a period of history when the Nephites and the Lamanites, even though still very much 2 seperate peoples, enjoyed peace with each other and were able to move around freely. To my knowledge, never before since they split into two peoples, and never after, unless they become one people, do the Nephites and Lamanites enjoy such a period of peace. It must have been a great time to live.

I am getting a little ahead of myself here but a funny story that I think fits here better than it will in the later chapters of Helaman, growing up in the church I heard the story of Samuel the Lamanite and his prophecy, but I had such a hard time reconciling the fact that he was a Lamanite and a prophet in my mind. I could not understand how such a thing was possible. I mean, he was a Lamanite afterall! Well, this chapter explains how it was not only possible, but not uncommon as well. This chapter states that there were many, many Lamanite missionaries and I'm sure a number of Lamanite prophets also.

However, like Dickens said in his tale, this was also the worst of times. This is the period of the Nephite/Lamanite history where the Gadianton Robbers gain power and sadly, they never lose it until they are destroyed with the destruction that signifies the death of the Savior some 50 years hence. It really is heart wrenching to read the downfall of this great people. I can relate with Mormon's heartfelt lament at the end of his life as he surveyed the land and what his people had wrought with it. I do not understand why men lust after power.

Power is a fickle thing and only other people can give or allow someone to have power. Power is only yours so long as another person obeys you. We have already touched on this subject in a much earlier post and do not need to revist it. However, I do not understand why it is so addictive to some people. The reason people join an organization like the Gadianton robbers is for the purpose of getting wealth and power. There is no other reason. Even if their original motives are for something else, revenge or to right a wrong or whatever they tell themselves, they join the orginization because they lack the power to do what they desire in their current state.

And I think that is what is most sad of all. They join for some reason that doesn't even really exsist. I was watching a movie on my lunch break at work yesterday called "Blind Side", about a man named Michael Oher. He was a man who was born into poverty and into the slums and by a series of circumstances came to live with a good Christian family that adopted him and took him in. The sad part is he had a friend who did not have so much luck and joined a gang and at the end of the movie his friend is killed. Even sadder for that boy who is killed, it is based on a true story. I do not know his reasons, but I have read and been told that the vast majority of young people, these days, who join gangs do so because they want to belong to something and feel they do not have a family or anywhere else to turn to.

While it may be true that such people do not have a family here on earth, it is very, very sad that there is someplace they can turn to that would bring everlasting peace and happiness if they only knew where to look. But the vast majority of those poor people by the time they take those final steps to join such an orginazation have already been ensnared by Satan and in some cases, have fully given themselves up to him. There is no glory, or happiness to be found in such a life. Not even fleeting happiness. True, eternal happiness comes from a life centered around the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and by living a life of service. That is why Ammon was so happy all of the time. And we can have that joy too if we want.

We don't have to be a full time missionary or devote our entire life to preaching repentance like Ammon, Alma and Nephi did to have true happiness. We can attain the happiness and peace that it brings just as easily by living a life centered in Christ and on giving service. It is the most worthwhile life we can live. Until tomorrow.