Seven chapters in the book of Jacob. I wanted to save chapters 5 and 6 to discuss together, so I'm "lumping" chapters 4 and 7 together. Thing is, they seem to go together pretty well when you consider them as the act of a real, live person who loved the Lord and acted on that love.
After delivering a powerful sermon to his people, Jacob takes on the daunting task of putting the message onto golden plates. He tells us that this is the only way to preserve the words: "But whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon plates must perish and vanish away..." (Jacob 4:2). He's right; in anything but the most arid of climates, any other written medium would eventually erode and be gone. I know, I know, the Dead Sea scrolls... Think of where they were, though: the most arid of climates. Jacob and his people were (presumably) in central America, most likely in a jungle type of area. Only a metal that does not corrode would survive for any length of time.
Think of what an effort it would take to inscribe words onto metal. "...I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates..." (Jacob 4:1). It would have required a metal instrument to literally scratch the writings onto metal plates. Thank goodness it is gold, which is relatively soft as metals go. Still, the effort would be tremendous. It helped that the words were recorded in a succinctly written language. Previously in 1st Nephi, we learn that these words were written in the language of the Egyptians, based on the learning of the Jews (see 1 Ne 1:2). Moroni explains why: "...we have written this record according to our knowledge, in the characters which are called among us the reformed Egyptian... And if our plates had been sufficiently large we should have written in Hebrew..." (Mormon 9:32-33). Two things come to mind: How likely is it that Lehi would have learned Egyptian sufficiently well, and taught his sons, that they could record these marvelous things in detail? I'll answer: The Lord prepared them for this life-work. Also, it kind of gives a window into the economic and social status of Lehi's family. Could a family who was scratching out a living day-to-day have been able to learn another language so fluently? I don't think so.
So, if it was so hard, why did they do it? Back to Jacob: "...we labor diligently to engraven these words upon plates, hoping that our beloved brethren and our children will receive them with thankful hearts... for this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory..." (Jacob 4:3-4). We must be grateful for their efforts to painstakingly engrave their words for our benefit.
Chapter 7 of Jacob brings the first time in the Book of Mormon where we read of the great face-off between good and evil. A man called Sherem comes into the midst of the Nephites and "preaches" his beliefs. He is a smart man and is good with words; Jacob tells us that he uses much flattery in leading people away from Lord. In short, he teaches that there would be no Christ. He tells Jacob to his face that Jacob "... goest about much, preaching that which ye call the gospel, or the doctrine of Christ. And ye have led away much of this people that they pervert the right way of God... into the worship of a being which ye say shall come... this is blasphemy; for no man knoweth of such things..." (Jacob 7:6-7).
Of course, Jacob refutes this man, using powerful weapons: The truth, delivered by the power of the Spirit, and logical common sense. Sherem falls back on that tired old demand "...show me a sign by this power of the Holy Ghost, in the which ye know so much" (Jacob 7:13 - note the sarcasm in Sherem's words). End result: Sherem is disgraced, admits his wrongdoing and dies.
It's interesting to me that Sherem uses Satan's tried and true tactics: semblence of truth and flattery. I think most people can naturally discern truth. Satan knows this; he tries to make his lies resemble truth as closely as he can, then he disguises the lie with flattering words. People fall for the flattery and overlook what they shouldn't miss in the imposter truth.
This continues to happen today. The scary thing is that falling for this trick is a slippery slope. The more we accept the masquerading lie, the easier the next one is to swallow. Our day is full of examples of this. We need to keep close to the Holy Ghost to be able to ward off the flattery and discern the truth. We need to be courageous to expose the faux truth where we can. We need to be seasoned spiritual warriors to see truth and act to further God's kingdom on earth.
Don
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Moving on.... Jacob 1 - 3
Nephi has moved on.... It's now 55 years since Lehi's family left Jerusalem. Nephi turned over the care and trust of the sacred record he was keeping on the small plates of Nephi to his brother Jacob and passes away. It also appears that he handed over the duties of prophet and teacher to Jacob, who is a ready and able spiritual leader; Jacob takes his responsibility to heart and in Jacob 2 - 3 we read an address he delivers to the people of Nephi.
It's interesting to me that the line of authority is carefully observed and the role of a spiritual leader has been preserved. Jacob had been consecrated as a teacher over the people most of his life; he wasn't even born when Lehi's family left Jerusalem. We can assume that he was born before the Lehites ( Lehi's family, including the sons and daughters of Ishmael as well as Zoram) boarded the newly built ship to sail for this continent. It is reasonable, then, that Jacob is at least 47 years old at the point that the book of Jacob is recorded (it was 8 years after leaving Jerusalem that they were in the land Bountiful when Nephi was commanded to build a ship, see 1 Ne 17; 1 Ne 18 declares that Jacob and Joseph were born in the wilderness). Certainly Jacob, and Joseph as well, were well groomed in leading and teaching righteousness to the people. We can see from this example of organizational continuance that the Lord provides righteous leaders for his people.
Jacob was anxious for the welfare of his people and, like a good spiritual leader, sought guidance in which he "...first obtained mine errand from the Lord" (Jacob 1:17). As we serve in church positions, the most basic foundation that can be laid for success is to learn what to do.... including what the Lord would have you focus your attention and energy on. If you are called to a church calling you need to know the whats, the hows, and the whos of the job. The what to do can be learned from reading and being taught by others. The how to do is learned by reading, being taught, and by observing. The who to help and serve comes from being taught, observing, and seeking the spirit's guidance. It's important that we recognize the role of the spirit in our church callings. Certainly Jacob recognized this principle.
Jacob's address to his people is a study in spiritual boldness; he denounces love of riches, pride, and other unholy practices. He addresses unchastity very pointedly in his address. He reminds the people that sin hurts not just their spiritual selves but also hurts their wives and their children. From this we learn that we are not islands. Our actions, for good or for bad, affect others. Committing a sin is like throwing a stone in the lake; anyone near to us will feel the repercussion of the thing we do. Satan would have us think that we are the only one that our sin damages, but this is not true; the effects are felt by our loved ones. Our example is displayed to those around us. We need to keep this perspective always in our lives as motivation to do good.
I am impressed that Jacob would carry out the duty of naming the sins of his people so boldly. Several times during the address he apologizes that he had to discuss the sinfulness of the people - "Yeah, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before the presence of my Maker that I must testify unto you concerning the wickedness of your hearts" (Jacob 2:6). He talks about his anxiety for the people to the extent that his eyes water his pillow at night. As we serve in our callings, we must take on this level of commitment to our responsibilities. In doing so, we become anxious that those we serve are being touched for the good by our service. In committing ourselves, our service becomes sacred and is prospered by the hand of the Lord. The result is that we prosper and grow right along with those we serve.
Don
It's interesting to me that the line of authority is carefully observed and the role of a spiritual leader has been preserved. Jacob had been consecrated as a teacher over the people most of his life; he wasn't even born when Lehi's family left Jerusalem. We can assume that he was born before the Lehites ( Lehi's family, including the sons and daughters of Ishmael as well as Zoram) boarded the newly built ship to sail for this continent. It is reasonable, then, that Jacob is at least 47 years old at the point that the book of Jacob is recorded (it was 8 years after leaving Jerusalem that they were in the land Bountiful when Nephi was commanded to build a ship, see 1 Ne 17; 1 Ne 18 declares that Jacob and Joseph were born in the wilderness). Certainly Jacob, and Joseph as well, were well groomed in leading and teaching righteousness to the people. We can see from this example of organizational continuance that the Lord provides righteous leaders for his people.
Jacob was anxious for the welfare of his people and, like a good spiritual leader, sought guidance in which he "...first obtained mine errand from the Lord" (Jacob 1:17). As we serve in church positions, the most basic foundation that can be laid for success is to learn what to do.... including what the Lord would have you focus your attention and energy on. If you are called to a church calling you need to know the whats, the hows, and the whos of the job. The what to do can be learned from reading and being taught by others. The how to do is learned by reading, being taught, and by observing. The who to help and serve comes from being taught, observing, and seeking the spirit's guidance. It's important that we recognize the role of the spirit in our church callings. Certainly Jacob recognized this principle.
Jacob's address to his people is a study in spiritual boldness; he denounces love of riches, pride, and other unholy practices. He addresses unchastity very pointedly in his address. He reminds the people that sin hurts not just their spiritual selves but also hurts their wives and their children. From this we learn that we are not islands. Our actions, for good or for bad, affect others. Committing a sin is like throwing a stone in the lake; anyone near to us will feel the repercussion of the thing we do. Satan would have us think that we are the only one that our sin damages, but this is not true; the effects are felt by our loved ones. Our example is displayed to those around us. We need to keep this perspective always in our lives as motivation to do good.
I am impressed that Jacob would carry out the duty of naming the sins of his people so boldly. Several times during the address he apologizes that he had to discuss the sinfulness of the people - "Yeah, it grieveth my soul and causeth me to shrink with shame before the presence of my Maker that I must testify unto you concerning the wickedness of your hearts" (Jacob 2:6). He talks about his anxiety for the people to the extent that his eyes water his pillow at night. As we serve in our callings, we must take on this level of commitment to our responsibilities. In doing so, we become anxious that those we serve are being touched for the good by our service. In committing ourselves, our service becomes sacred and is prospered by the hand of the Lord. The result is that we prosper and grow right along with those we serve.
Don
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Nephi's farewell - 2 Ne 29-33
What a great man Nephi must have been... His people loved him. They called him their king and protector. He had great spiritual manifestations and taught many important truths in the things he wrote.
There are many things in these chapters that I could bring up, but I will only touch on a couple of things that interested me:
2 Ne 29: 3-4 "...gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have a Bible and there cannot be any more Bible. ...they shall have a bible and it shall proceed forth from the Jews... And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them?". We do have a bible and it is full of truth and great treasures of spiritual wisdom. But the Lord (through Nephi) says that His words have been given to more than just one people. His word is the same to one nation like unto another nation and is the same yesterday today and forever. For those who say they don't need any more scripture than the bible, the Lord had two words: "Thou fool". I say how sad, because the Book of Mormon is such a great testament of Christ. For those who say that the Book of Mormon was copied from the Bible, please know that these words of Nephi are true. The Lord spoke to his prophets of the Book of Mormon just as he did to the prophets of the Old Testament. If His word is the same to all people and all time, is it any wonder that they sound alike? This is known as the testimony of 2 and 3 witnesses establishing the word of truth. ""And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews" (2 Ne 29:13).
Nephi foreshadows the destruction of his people: "For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy..." (2 Ne 30:10). This happened in the Nephite civilization at least twice: Think of the destruction just before the Savior visited the Nephites. Think of the Nephites final destruction. Now think of this day; are the wicked separating themselves from the righteous?
Obedience of the Savior was seen by Nephi and he discusses this in Chapter 31. Jesus would be baptized by John, in Nephi's vision, even though he was the holy Son of God. Nephi explains: "And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized... ... But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments" (2 Ne 31: 5,7). A question for each of us: Is it easier for Jesus to be obedient to Heavenly Father's commandments than for us? I suggest that it is just as easy for us to be obedient, if we approach the commandments in the proper attitude. Certainly Jesus had the right attitude.
When you're not feeling like praying, look to 2 Ne 32: 8, and if you will "...hearken to the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; fo r the evil spirit teacheth him that must not pray". If feel like you can't or shouldn't pray, that is when you need it the most. Find the courage to start the prayer, then proceed from there. Nephi says to do it.
I have to admire Nephi's black or white outlook. In ending his writings, he speaks in Nephi-fashion: "...I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day. And now, my beloved brethren...Farewell until that great day shall come. And you that will not partake of the goodness of God... I bid you an everlasting farewell, for thes words shall condemn you at the last day..." (2 Ne 33: 12-14). May we heed Nephi's words and meet indeed in the Lord's kingdom.
Don
There are many things in these chapters that I could bring up, but I will only touch on a couple of things that interested me:
2 Ne 29: 3-4 "...gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have a Bible and there cannot be any more Bible. ...they shall have a bible and it shall proceed forth from the Jews... And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them?". We do have a bible and it is full of truth and great treasures of spiritual wisdom. But the Lord (through Nephi) says that His words have been given to more than just one people. His word is the same to one nation like unto another nation and is the same yesterday today and forever. For those who say they don't need any more scripture than the bible, the Lord had two words: "Thou fool". I say how sad, because the Book of Mormon is such a great testament of Christ. For those who say that the Book of Mormon was copied from the Bible, please know that these words of Nephi are true. The Lord spoke to his prophets of the Book of Mormon just as he did to the prophets of the Old Testament. If His word is the same to all people and all time, is it any wonder that they sound alike? This is known as the testimony of 2 and 3 witnesses establishing the word of truth. ""And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews" (2 Ne 29:13).
Nephi foreshadows the destruction of his people: "For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy..." (2 Ne 30:10). This happened in the Nephite civilization at least twice: Think of the destruction just before the Savior visited the Nephites. Think of the Nephites final destruction. Now think of this day; are the wicked separating themselves from the righteous?
Obedience of the Savior was seen by Nephi and he discusses this in Chapter 31. Jesus would be baptized by John, in Nephi's vision, even though he was the holy Son of God. Nephi explains: "And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized... ... But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments" (2 Ne 31: 5,7). A question for each of us: Is it easier for Jesus to be obedient to Heavenly Father's commandments than for us? I suggest that it is just as easy for us to be obedient, if we approach the commandments in the proper attitude. Certainly Jesus had the right attitude.
When you're not feeling like praying, look to 2 Ne 32: 8, and if you will "...hearken to the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; fo r the evil spirit teacheth him that must not pray". If feel like you can't or shouldn't pray, that is when you need it the most. Find the courage to start the prayer, then proceed from there. Nephi says to do it.
I have to admire Nephi's black or white outlook. In ending his writings, he speaks in Nephi-fashion: "...I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day. And now, my beloved brethren...Farewell until that great day shall come. And you that will not partake of the goodness of God... I bid you an everlasting farewell, for thes words shall condemn you at the last day..." (2 Ne 33: 12-14). May we heed Nephi's words and meet indeed in the Lord's kingdom.
Don
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Nephi Prophesies, Continued... 2 Ne. 27 & 28
I start with a challenge: Read through the Isaiah chapters and Nephi's prophesies found in 2nd Nephi; find one page that doesn't have deep meaning to it. Just one. Can't be done.
Nephi talks a lot about the future he has seen and relates it to the classic struggle between those who heed God's commandments and those who don't. He points out some things that have happened that were future to his time:
He sees the lives of his posterity; both those who, in their iniquity, would be destroyed from the earth and those who would exist in our time. He sees the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He relates the incident with Martin Harris, who takes translated manuscript and copies of the characters Joseph Smith was translating to a professor of Egyptian antiquities (see the account in the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History). He sees our day and the multitude of churches. He sees the Book of Mormon being taught to and read by his descendants. That is what these chapters are about: Nephi explains what he saw and how the people dealt with God's commandments. Here's a few things that jumped out at me:
The people or nations that fight against God's kingdom on earth will be left empty and wanting, as a starving man who wakes after dreaming about a sumptuous meal (2 Ne. 27: 3). How descriptive! Hopefully we won't have first hand experiences like this...
The Book of Mormon will come forth, and the words will be "...of them which have slumbered" (2 Ne. 26:6). Nephi says that the Book of Mormon will "...be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power of Christ..." (2 Ne. 27:11). Learned men will not translate the book, but a man who is not learned will bring the book forth (2 Ne. 27 15-22); by doing so, God shows that He is a God of miracles, and is the same in all times (2 Ne. 27:23). The things written in the Book of Mormon "...shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and especially [Nephi's] seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel" (2 Ne. 28:2). These few passages alone could be pondered for hours. I testify that the Book of Mormon truly is a divine work, written by God's prophets and miraculously translated and published for our day.
Our times were seen by Nephi; think of these vividly recognizable things: Many churches would be built up and their doctrine would be based upon the principles of man, mingled with some of God's teachings. They would contend with each other but would deny the spirit of God in their teachings and actions. People would believe things that are not of God and treat the true word of God with disdain. Pride would corrrupt God's word, and people would call good evil and evil good. Do any of these things remind you of this day and age? We hear about these things happening every day. Just try to talk to a proponent of gay marriage about God's commandments!
God has promised that in the end He would welcome those who repent and accept him: "...nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them [the gentiles], sayeth the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts" (2 Ne. 28:32).
I pray that we can recognize and accept the gifts from Heaven. I pray that we can recognize and reject the snares of Satan. If we can only hold true to the promises and covenants we have made with God, God our Father will hold true to the marvelous blessings he has in store for us.
Don
Nephi talks a lot about the future he has seen and relates it to the classic struggle between those who heed God's commandments and those who don't. He points out some things that have happened that were future to his time:
He sees the lives of his posterity; both those who, in their iniquity, would be destroyed from the earth and those who would exist in our time. He sees the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He relates the incident with Martin Harris, who takes translated manuscript and copies of the characters Joseph Smith was translating to a professor of Egyptian antiquities (see the account in the Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith History). He sees our day and the multitude of churches. He sees the Book of Mormon being taught to and read by his descendants. That is what these chapters are about: Nephi explains what he saw and how the people dealt with God's commandments. Here's a few things that jumped out at me:
The people or nations that fight against God's kingdom on earth will be left empty and wanting, as a starving man who wakes after dreaming about a sumptuous meal (2 Ne. 27: 3). How descriptive! Hopefully we won't have first hand experiences like this...
The Book of Mormon will come forth, and the words will be "...of them which have slumbered" (2 Ne. 26:6). Nephi says that the Book of Mormon will "...be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power of Christ..." (2 Ne. 27:11). Learned men will not translate the book, but a man who is not learned will bring the book forth (2 Ne. 27 15-22); by doing so, God shows that He is a God of miracles, and is the same in all times (2 Ne. 27:23). The things written in the Book of Mormon "...shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and especially [Nephi's] seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel" (2 Ne. 28:2). These few passages alone could be pondered for hours. I testify that the Book of Mormon truly is a divine work, written by God's prophets and miraculously translated and published for our day.
Our times were seen by Nephi; think of these vividly recognizable things: Many churches would be built up and their doctrine would be based upon the principles of man, mingled with some of God's teachings. They would contend with each other but would deny the spirit of God in their teachings and actions. People would believe things that are not of God and treat the true word of God with disdain. Pride would corrrupt God's word, and people would call good evil and evil good. Do any of these things remind you of this day and age? We hear about these things happening every day. Just try to talk to a proponent of gay marriage about God's commandments!
God has promised that in the end He would welcome those who repent and accept him: "...nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them [the gentiles], sayeth the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts" (2 Ne. 28:32).
I pray that we can recognize and accept the gifts from Heaven. I pray that we can recognize and reject the snares of Satan. If we can only hold true to the promises and covenants we have made with God, God our Father will hold true to the marvelous blessings he has in store for us.
Don
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Nephi Prophesies - 2 Ne. 26
Nephi taught us some great things in the final words in 2nd Nephi. He was honest, plain, and direct (true to his character) in testifying that the Savior would come to the Earth and the purpose for the Savior's mission. He told of the ulitmate fate of many of his people, including his descendants, in the last days. He described the things that have happend and will happen in these last days. There are so many things I could mention for a reader to ponder from these chapters, I just can't discuss everything. Read the book. Re-read it. If you do, and if you ask for a witness of it's truth, you'll be happy that you did it. And you'll have a better understanding of the things that Nephi discusses in these chapters.
Nephi talks about the Savior's birth and of his resurrection. He says: "great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish...because they cast out the prophets, and the saints and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God..." (2 Ne 26:3).
I have always wondered about the blood crying out for vengeance. This concept is found in the Book of Mormon in several places: 2 Ne 28:10; Mos. 27:29; Alma 1:13, 3 Ne. 21:21, Mormon 3:15. It is found in the Bible: Gen. 4:10; Rom 12:19 and in many other places. Clearly the Lord, who said "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay", reserves His right to punish the wicked. Does this make him a uncaring, unfeeling, unloving Father? Look at 3 Ne. 21:21-22: "And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. But if they (the unrepentant wicked) will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob...". This threat and this promise applies to everyone, all who have been mortal upon the earth.... aren't we all sinners? We can heed this promise and be numbered among His children by repenting, following His word and not becoming hard-hearted to the Gospel. If we choose otherwise, we face the penalty which was described above.
How does blood cry from the ground? This may be is a figure of speech; the Lord, who is omniscient, certainly knows what happens when His prophets and His children suffer at the hands of wickedness. Because of his obligation to justice, He must exact the penalty for sin; it can be no other way. But if the sinner becomes the repentant, the repentant can lean on the mercy of Christ, our Redeemer and mediator.
I find verse 4 of 2 Ne. 26 very interesting: "Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, for they shall be as stubble" (2 Ne 26:4). This is very close to what Malachi said in the close of the Old Testament (Mal. 4:1), and what was said by the Savior to the Nephites, spared from calamity and destruction, when He visited them following His crucifixion and resurrection (3 Ne. 25:1). Here is Nephi, approximately 550 years before the Savior is born on earth, expressing extremely similar words to Malachi and to words of the Savior. Some Book of Mormon critics would say that Joseph Smith copied these words from the Bible. They would say this is evidence that he was a fraud and the entire Book of Mormon is a work of fiction, or worse. It would perhaps be easy to understand their line of thinking.
The Lord indicates in many places in the scriptures that His word would be established by multiple testaments. His word is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. It doesn't surprise me that the expressions used in these different circumstances would be similar, if not the same. We can take these similarities as proof of their authenticity and not as proof of deception. How many mathematicians does it take to prove that two plus two equals four? (By the way, similarities like this are found all over in the scriptures; The Beatitudes are in the New Testament and 3 Nephi; the Charity never faileth message is found several places; description of the creation is found multiple times in the scriptures. The New Testament has 4 description of the Savior's mortal life. We shouldn't be surprised when similar phrases are used).
I thought I would get through multiple chapters in this post, but I am still thinking of Chapter 26. One last thing: Nephi was shown in detail what would befall the earth's inhabitants, especially his descendants. Imagine seeing your posterity killing each other. Imagine seeing them perverting their beliefs, their lives and completely turning away from the Lord. Can you imagine seeing their destruction? Nephi did. It must have been awful; he exclaims "O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just." As awful a thing to witness as that must have been, Nephi still bows to his God's will.
Don
Nephi talks about the Savior's birth and of his resurrection. He says: "great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish...because they cast out the prophets, and the saints and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God..." (2 Ne 26:3).
I have always wondered about the blood crying out for vengeance. This concept is found in the Book of Mormon in several places: 2 Ne 28:10; Mos. 27:29; Alma 1:13, 3 Ne. 21:21, Mormon 3:15. It is found in the Bible: Gen. 4:10; Rom 12:19 and in many other places. Clearly the Lord, who said "Vengeance is mine, and I will repay", reserves His right to punish the wicked. Does this make him a uncaring, unfeeling, unloving Father? Look at 3 Ne. 21:21-22: "And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even as upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. But if they (the unrepentant wicked) will repent and hearken unto my words, and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob...". This threat and this promise applies to everyone, all who have been mortal upon the earth.... aren't we all sinners? We can heed this promise and be numbered among His children by repenting, following His word and not becoming hard-hearted to the Gospel. If we choose otherwise, we face the penalty which was described above.
How does blood cry from the ground? This may be is a figure of speech; the Lord, who is omniscient, certainly knows what happens when His prophets and His children suffer at the hands of wickedness. Because of his obligation to justice, He must exact the penalty for sin; it can be no other way. But if the sinner becomes the repentant, the repentant can lean on the mercy of Christ, our Redeemer and mediator.
I find verse 4 of 2 Ne. 26 very interesting: "Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, for they shall be as stubble" (2 Ne 26:4). This is very close to what Malachi said in the close of the Old Testament (Mal. 4:1), and what was said by the Savior to the Nephites, spared from calamity and destruction, when He visited them following His crucifixion and resurrection (3 Ne. 25:1). Here is Nephi, approximately 550 years before the Savior is born on earth, expressing extremely similar words to Malachi and to words of the Savior. Some Book of Mormon critics would say that Joseph Smith copied these words from the Bible. They would say this is evidence that he was a fraud and the entire Book of Mormon is a work of fiction, or worse. It would perhaps be easy to understand their line of thinking.
The Lord indicates in many places in the scriptures that His word would be established by multiple testaments. His word is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. It doesn't surprise me that the expressions used in these different circumstances would be similar, if not the same. We can take these similarities as proof of their authenticity and not as proof of deception. How many mathematicians does it take to prove that two plus two equals four? (By the way, similarities like this are found all over in the scriptures; The Beatitudes are in the New Testament and 3 Nephi; the Charity never faileth message is found several places; description of the creation is found multiple times in the scriptures. The New Testament has 4 description of the Savior's mortal life. We shouldn't be surprised when similar phrases are used).
I thought I would get through multiple chapters in this post, but I am still thinking of Chapter 26. One last thing: Nephi was shown in detail what would befall the earth's inhabitants, especially his descendants. Imagine seeing your posterity killing each other. Imagine seeing them perverting their beliefs, their lives and completely turning away from the Lord. Can you imagine seeing their destruction? Nephi did. It must have been awful; he exclaims "O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just." As awful a thing to witness as that must have been, Nephi still bows to his God's will.
Don
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Nephi Discusses Isaiah - 2 Ne. 25
It's pretty interesting reading what Nephi says after he recorded chapters of Isaiah on the plates reserved for spiritual things. It's always been a contradiction to me that Nephi says he glories in plainness and then says he glories in the writings of Isaiah. Isaiah's writings, to me, have been anything but plain. But in carefully reading 2 Nephi 25, you can see that it really isn't a dichotomy. For one thing, I think Nephi misses his old neighborhood - Jersalem - somewhat, but growing up there gives him insight. He also tells us the key to understanding gospel truth. He says:
1) Isaiah is hard to understand unless you've lived among the people of Jerusalem and understood their ways; Nephi says "I came out from Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews..." (2 Ne 25:5).
2) The prophecies of Isaiah are plain when discerned by the spirit of prophecy: "... the words of Isaiah...are plain unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy." (2 Ne 25:4).
Nephi teaches us in these passages these lessons:
The Lord's word can be felt, understood, and learned when we have the spirit with us. If we don't have the spirit, we are left to the devices of man and therefore we can't feel, understand, or learn His word.
The more familiar we are with the gospel - the scriptures, the hymns, the ordinances - the more we can understand and appreciate them.
We need to pray for guidance whenever reading the scriptures. Listen to the prelude music and feel the prayer when you attend Sacrament meeting. Open your spirit, mind, and heart when you are at Sunday School. Do this and the spirit will attend you in your spiritual life. Do this regularly and with purpose, and you become ever so much closer to God's word.
True to his nature, Nephi tells us - in his plain and direct way - about the visions and revelations he was given. He starts off by saying what every person on the planet ever needs to know and do: "...we labor diligently to write to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. ...we are made alive in Christ because of our faith... And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, rejoice in Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies..." (2 Ne 25:23-26).
The rest of the next few chapters consist of Nephi prophesying and relating the visions he has had and then tying them to relevant Gospel living. He is very specific about the future of his descendants. These chapters are a treat to read and re-read. If you have breezed through 2nd Nephi in the past, I challenge you to go back and read them carefully. More to come concerning the rest of 2nd Nephi.
Don
1) Isaiah is hard to understand unless you've lived among the people of Jerusalem and understood their ways; Nephi says "I came out from Jerusalem, and mine eyes hath beheld the things of the Jews..." (2 Ne 25:5).
2) The prophecies of Isaiah are plain when discerned by the spirit of prophecy: "... the words of Isaiah...are plain unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy." (2 Ne 25:4).
Nephi teaches us in these passages these lessons:
The Lord's word can be felt, understood, and learned when we have the spirit with us. If we don't have the spirit, we are left to the devices of man and therefore we can't feel, understand, or learn His word.
The more familiar we are with the gospel - the scriptures, the hymns, the ordinances - the more we can understand and appreciate them.
We need to pray for guidance whenever reading the scriptures. Listen to the prelude music and feel the prayer when you attend Sacrament meeting. Open your spirit, mind, and heart when you are at Sunday School. Do this and the spirit will attend you in your spiritual life. Do this regularly and with purpose, and you become ever so much closer to God's word.
True to his nature, Nephi tells us - in his plain and direct way - about the visions and revelations he was given. He starts off by saying what every person on the planet ever needs to know and do: "...we labor diligently to write to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. ...we are made alive in Christ because of our faith... And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, rejoice in Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies..." (2 Ne 25:23-26).
The rest of the next few chapters consist of Nephi prophesying and relating the visions he has had and then tying them to relevant Gospel living. He is very specific about the future of his descendants. These chapters are a treat to read and re-read. If you have breezed through 2nd Nephi in the past, I challenge you to go back and read them carefully. More to come concerning the rest of 2nd Nephi.
Don
Friday, March 4, 2011
Nephi Quotes Isaiah - 2 Ne. 12-23
Not to minimize the value and importance of the Isaiah chapters of 2nd Nephi, I decided to cover them all in one post. (By the way, I know I've slowed down in making entries in this blog; I am forging ahead, however. My reading has taken me almost to the end of 2nd Nephi, and I would like to catch up a little).
There can be no doubt that Nephi wanted his future readers - his posterity and us - to learn specific things from these chapters. Isaiah held a special place in Nephi's heart. He must have, to take the time to inscribe upon metal plates all these chapters. I think that Nephi saw himself to be like Isaiah... he identified with him, especially since he grew up in Jerusalem (perhaps the fact that Nephi left his homeland made reading Isaiah more poignant to him. When I saw the movie "Jeremiah Johnson" I lived in New Jersey. The movie was filmed in the Wasatch mountains of Utah, not far from where I grew up. Seeing and recognizing those mountains struck a chord with me). As I read these chapters, I picked a few things to discuss, which I will do below. First, though, I want to give you my overall observation of these passages.
In these 11 chapters we find the message stated and restated: Israel has gone away from Lord. Israel would be punished for their wanton abandonment of the Lord and His commandments. Although they were to be punished and suffer great calamities due to their wickedness, the Lord would remember the promises He made to their fathers, and in the last days He would restore them to their inheritance. What lesson can we gain from this repeated message? Nothing, if not this: Without the Lord in our lives, we are nothing but mortal people and are subject to the whims of the flesh. Without God we become carnal, sensual, devilish. With God, we become Kings and Queens, children of the Heavenly Promise. That's the sum total of what I read in these chapters, and I think it is a vitally important lesson to learn. We have promises from our Heavenly Father which will be kept if we keep our covenants. That's it, period.
The other thing interlaced in these chapters, like gold amid sand, are the prophecies of the coming of the Savior... classic verses that can inspire us, and did inspire the likes of George Frederic Handel to write one of the greatest oratorios known to man!
A couple of interesting thoughts as I read the Isaiah chapters of 2nd Nephi:
Chapter 12: "in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord's house will be established in the top of the mountains... ...people shall go up and say Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord...". Last days? Mountains? Mountain of the Lord? Again with the Wasatch mountains, huh? After all, this is where modern day Zion was established, right? I'm not sure we fully appreciate that we are living the fulfillment of prophecy.
Chapter 13 gives an example of the predictions of punishment that would be meted out upon errant Israel. "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes... ...the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion and will discover their secret parts... ...instead of sweet smell there shall be stink...". What a mental picture. Here's a question: Is it just for this kind of punishment to befall this wayward people? Is it too harsh? If we truly read these passages and listen to the Spirit I think the answer can only be yes. A better question: Imagine that, after we've been given the great gift of a testimony, of spiritual manifestations, of living witnesses of God's love; Imagine that we were to turn away to complete abject rejection of God; if we were to not just "go inactive" but were to reject the things we had received spiritual witness of and totally turn to worldly, earthy beings. Would we be worthy of the Lord's condemnation? The road to this is slipperier than one would think.
Chapter 14: Isaiah describes the depth that Israel has sunk to: "... my people are gone in captivity because they have no knowledge [of the Lord]... their honorable men are famished and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore, hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth wihthout measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp , and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.". How pompous men are throughout the ages! Continuing: "Wo unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness fo rlight and light for darkness...". That doesn't happen in these days, right? Right?? Yeah, right.
Chapter 19: Messianic prophecy... "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." It gives me chills an waters my eyes just to read these words!
Chapter 20 contains a warning to refrain from puffing ourselves up because we may have been instruments in God's hands: "Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up... ...Therefore shall the Lord... send among his fat ones, leaness...". Who does the Lord's work? We are instruments in His hands and we are rewarded, not for our achievements, but for our willingness.
As I said, there are many lessons to be learned from these chapters. Isaiah is said to be hard to understand, but I think that in reading each verse for meaning, rather than skimming them to get through them, we can obtain much!
Don
There can be no doubt that Nephi wanted his future readers - his posterity and us - to learn specific things from these chapters. Isaiah held a special place in Nephi's heart. He must have, to take the time to inscribe upon metal plates all these chapters. I think that Nephi saw himself to be like Isaiah... he identified with him, especially since he grew up in Jerusalem (perhaps the fact that Nephi left his homeland made reading Isaiah more poignant to him. When I saw the movie "Jeremiah Johnson" I lived in New Jersey. The movie was filmed in the Wasatch mountains of Utah, not far from where I grew up. Seeing and recognizing those mountains struck a chord with me). As I read these chapters, I picked a few things to discuss, which I will do below. First, though, I want to give you my overall observation of these passages.
In these 11 chapters we find the message stated and restated: Israel has gone away from Lord. Israel would be punished for their wanton abandonment of the Lord and His commandments. Although they were to be punished and suffer great calamities due to their wickedness, the Lord would remember the promises He made to their fathers, and in the last days He would restore them to their inheritance. What lesson can we gain from this repeated message? Nothing, if not this: Without the Lord in our lives, we are nothing but mortal people and are subject to the whims of the flesh. Without God we become carnal, sensual, devilish. With God, we become Kings and Queens, children of the Heavenly Promise. That's the sum total of what I read in these chapters, and I think it is a vitally important lesson to learn. We have promises from our Heavenly Father which will be kept if we keep our covenants. That's it, period.
The other thing interlaced in these chapters, like gold amid sand, are the prophecies of the coming of the Savior... classic verses that can inspire us, and did inspire the likes of George Frederic Handel to write one of the greatest oratorios known to man!
A couple of interesting thoughts as I read the Isaiah chapters of 2nd Nephi:
Chapter 12: "in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord's house will be established in the top of the mountains... ...people shall go up and say Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord...". Last days? Mountains? Mountain of the Lord? Again with the Wasatch mountains, huh? After all, this is where modern day Zion was established, right? I'm not sure we fully appreciate that we are living the fulfillment of prophecy.
Chapter 13 gives an example of the predictions of punishment that would be meted out upon errant Israel. "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes... ...the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion and will discover their secret parts... ...instead of sweet smell there shall be stink...". What a mental picture. Here's a question: Is it just for this kind of punishment to befall this wayward people? Is it too harsh? If we truly read these passages and listen to the Spirit I think the answer can only be yes. A better question: Imagine that, after we've been given the great gift of a testimony, of spiritual manifestations, of living witnesses of God's love; Imagine that we were to turn away to complete abject rejection of God; if we were to not just "go inactive" but were to reject the things we had received spiritual witness of and totally turn to worldly, earthy beings. Would we be worthy of the Lord's condemnation? The road to this is slipperier than one would think.
Chapter 14: Isaiah describes the depth that Israel has sunk to: "... my people are gone in captivity because they have no knowledge [of the Lord]... their honorable men are famished and their multitude dried up with thirst. Therefore, hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth wihthout measure; and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp , and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.". How pompous men are throughout the ages! Continuing: "Wo unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness fo rlight and light for darkness...". That doesn't happen in these days, right? Right?? Yeah, right.
Chapter 19: Messianic prophecy... "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." It gives me chills an waters my eyes just to read these words!
Chapter 20 contains a warning to refrain from puffing ourselves up because we may have been instruments in God's hands: "Shall the ax boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up... ...Therefore shall the Lord... send among his fat ones, leaness...". Who does the Lord's work? We are instruments in His hands and we are rewarded, not for our achievements, but for our willingness.
As I said, there are many lessons to be learned from these chapters. Isaiah is said to be hard to understand, but I think that in reading each verse for meaning, rather than skimming them to get through them, we can obtain much!
Don
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