The Words of Mormon

I am in awe of Mormon.  To me, he is simply amazing.  What a task to be given, to abridge all those plates.  What a hard time in history to be striving to be righteous and do what Heavenly Father asks.  Mormon is one of those people I think of when people talk about how wicked the world is right now, and how hard it is to be righteous.  I think of Mormon and Moroni and their family living as the Nephites turned to wickedness and were destroyed.  I also think of Noah and his family working on the ark day after day, living righteously while everyone around them were not keeping the Lord's commandments.  I think of them, and then I figure that living in this last dispensation isn't so bad.

In this chapter, Mormon tells us that he has already made "an abridgement from the plates of Nephi, down to the reign of this king Benjamin, of whom Amaleki spake"(v.3)  when he found the small plates of Nephi and decided to include them even though they cover the same time period which he has just finished abridging. He says he is including them because it appeals to him that they contain the prophecies of the coming of Christ that his fathers know have already been fulfilled.  He writes that he will "take the remainder of [his] record...from the plates of Nephi" and continue the abridging process, but these plates he is just going to keep in his records as is.  In verse 7 he says:

"And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me.  And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will."

This is very much like what Nephi said about the small plates when he wrote them--I don't exactly know why I'm doing this, but the Lord wants me to, so I will.  We, of course, know why.  We know the story of the 116 pages that were lost by Martin Harris and were not retranslated because Joseph Smith was told by the Lord not to do so.  Because these prophets obeyed, we still have the stories of Lehi's family, the Tree of Life and others.

I am so grateful for the example of these faithful men.  They are a wonderful example to me of the importance of following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

The Book of Omni

The Book of Omni is a very interesting one.  Made more so, I think, by the fact that I used to feel it had practically no importance.  It has 5 authors:  Omni, Amaron, Chemish, Abinidom, and Amaleki.  The plates pass from father to son except for when Amaron passes them to Chemish.  These two are brothers, like when Nephi passes them to Jacob, except that these two don't have much to say.

The real meat of this chapter is written by Amaleki.  He writes about Mosiah being "warned of the Lord that he should flee out of the land of Nephi, and as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord should also depart..." (Omni 1:12) 

Mosiah and those who go with him were led by the Lord to Zarahemla and another group of people that had come from Jerusalem.  These people are called "the people of Zarahemla" in the text, but the chapter heading identified them as the Mulekites.  I had no idea where that information came from so I searched the internet and found an awesome article that answered a lot of my questions.  It is in the March 1987 Ensign and is called The Mulekites by Garth a Wilson.  I highly recommend reading it if you want to understand the history of the Book of Mormon people.  In Helaman 6:10 it tells us that, Mulek, one of the sons of King Zedekiah was brought by the Lord into the land north while Lehi was brought to the land south.  The people of Zarahemla, the Mulekites, were so excited to see Mosiah and his people because they had brought with them the brass plates.  The Mulekites had been brought by the Lord out of Jerusalem but had no records.  Because of this, "their language had become corrupted."(v.17)  Mosiah directs that they be taught in his language, the two peoples unite, and Mosiah is made king over them.  

This is where the Book of Mormon history can become a little confusing.  You have the Laminites in the land of Nephi in the south.  The Mulekites combined with the Nephites that fled with Mosiah and both peoples together are generally referred to as Nephites.  They live north of the land of Nephi.  More north than that is the  land where the Jaradites used to live.  Coriantumr, the last the Jaradites who were brought to the land at the time of the tower of Babel, lived with the Mulekites for a time before his death and Mosiah translates engraving from a stone that is brought to him that gives an account of Coriantumr.  Actually, Ether was also still alive as a witness of the destruction of the Jaradites, but the plates written by him aren't found until later.

Anyway, Amaleki writes that he has lived to see Mosiah die and his son Benjamin take the thrown.  He, Amaleki, has no seed so he passes the full small plates of Nephi to King Benjamin so he can keep them with the other records.  Before he does so, he writes a little about a group of people that left Zarahemla and returned to the land of Nephi.  These people that left provide us with lots of Book of Mormon stories.  These people are the people that fight the Lamanites off under King Zeniff who confers the kingdom to his son Noah.  We then get the story of wicked King Noah, the prophet Abinadi, and Alma.  We get the story of Noah's son, King Limhi and Ammon--the Mulekite, not the son of Mosiah that cuts off the arms.  In fact, I have to wonder if Mosiah didn't name his son after that Ammon.  Does it say that anywhere?  Or was it just a common name back then?  Anyway, King Mosiah, who is given the thrown by his father, King Benjamin, is the one that sends Ammon and others to find out what happened to that group of people that had left.  Eventually, the Lord helps Ammon and King Limhi make it back to Zarahemla, and the Lord also helps Alma and his follows get there as well.

All very interesting stuff.  I'm so glad that the Book of Omni got me thinking today.

The Book of Jarom

Jarom is the son of Enos, making him the great-grandson of Lehi.  In verse 9, he reminds of the promise the Lord made to Lehi: "Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land."

I have heard people reference this when their lives are less than perfect.  They lament that they have kept the commandments, so why are they not prospering?

I have a vague feeling about this.  It is something that I don't quite understand yet, but the Lord does look at things differently than us.  I think this promise is specifically referring to a people, not an individual person.  The Nephites, as a whole people, were watched over in their struggles with the Lamanites--who always seem to be more numerous than them--as long as they are keeping the commandments.  I really do feel the Lord has a greater sense of these things and often speaks of "peoples" and "generations of people."  It is sometimes hard for us to understand because our perspective is so small and narrow.

That being said, the scriptures have a way of teaching us principles to be applied in our own lives through stories that have many layers to them.  I would say that if we keep the commandments we will prosper.  It just kind of depends on your definition of prosper.  It may not mean that we are rich, or that our family is always healthy.  For me it means that even if life is hard, even if it gets really, really hard, when we are close to the Lord, He helps us.  He walks with us and, sometimes, he carries us, just like in the poem Footprints in the Sand.  Having the Lord in your life is to prosper.  He helps us be more than we can be by ourselves.  He is ultimately trustworthy and always there.  When you really think about it, isn't that what matters most?

Enos

Enos is the son of Jacob, the nephew of Nephi.  I always remind the kids I'm teaching of those relationships because, for me, it helps Enos feel more real.  He was real, of course, but we hear so little about the next few prophets that make recordings on the plates of Nephi that it is sometimes hard to feel as if we know them like we know Nephi.  It helps to try to keep things straight as to who is who.

Enos has always intrigued me.  He prays and his sins are forgiven, yet he doesn't stop there.  He is immediately concerned and prays for his brethren, the Nephites.  Once the Lord answers him on that front, he begins to pray for the Lamanites.  I have always felt like it is a guide to judge my own spiritual well-being.  Am I concerned for others enough that their names naturally occur in my prayers?  Can I sincerely pray for my enemies? 

The last verse of Enos makes more of an impact on me when I think of him as a real person, instead of a prophet of the Book of Mormon.  He says in verse 27:

"And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest.  And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me:  Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father.  Amen."

I hope that I can someday feel like that.  Enos writes with such confidence.  It brings to mind Doctrine and Covenants 121:45-46 which reads:

"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood, shall distil upon they soul as the dews from heaven.  The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever." (emphais added)

Catch Up--Jacob 6 and 7

I have been unable to post for a while.  I thought that something was wrong with the blogger website, but I finally tried from a different computer and it is working, so there is something going on with my computer.  My laptop internet connection is sketchy at best, so it goes without saying I'm not happy with computer technology right now.  Mat would probably say the computer doesn't love me either.  I tend to have more problems than the average person with computers breaking when I'm around. :)

I just want to mention a few things in way of catching up even though I've tried not to read too far ahead of the blog.  Jacob 6 has a couple of favorites in it worth mentioning.  Jacob 6:5 uses the phrase "full purpose of heart" which I have like for years.  I think it is a wonderful way to describe the way that I want to follow the gospel.  No vacillating between what Heavenly Father wants me to do and what the world says.  I have noticed that it can be challenging and yet I wonder if an individual is really sincere in that desire, does it get easier?

Jacob 6:12 is such a wonderful scripture.  It connects me to Jacob like nothing else that he writes.  He has been preaching to the people, trying to deliver the messages Heavenly Father has told him to, and trying through persistent effort to have an effect on the Nephite's behavior hoping to create in them a desire to do good.  In verse 12, I can almost hear him sigh as he says:  "O be wise; what can I say more?"  Don't you just feel like that sometimes as a parent or a friend trying to get through to someone?

Jacob 7 tells the story of Sherem who denies Christ and flatters people away from the gospel.  It is a pretty straight forward story about the way the devil works to deceive.  What really struck me in this chapter was verse 24 where Jacob says that "many means were devised to reclaim and restore the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth; but it all was vain..."  I think it stood out to me because in Primary we are studying how Ammon and the sons of Mosiah are finally successful in preaching to the Lamanites.  It makes me wonder about life.  Jacob was obviously a faithful prophet of God and yet he had no success in bringing the Lamanites back to the gospel.  Maybe sometimes our best faithful efforts with others won't yield the results we desire, but that doesn't mean we are doing anything wrong.  Maybe what matters is the fact that we put forth the effort, that we are faithful in performing that which was asked of us, and that we do not despair and give up.  Sometimes it can be hard when we don't see the results that we desire, but we need to keep trying.

Jacob 5 (continued)

I realized this weekend how very far behind the ward we are in our family scripture reading of the Book of Mormon.  We never did manage to get a bookmark that had the schedule on it, and so we just read whatever we have time for and discuss what we like and are blissfully unaware.  One of my Primary kids said they were in Alma already which probably explains why one of them always knows the story we are talking about in Primary so well, they just read it with their families.  That makes me smile.

My family is still reading in Jacob, and the last part of Jacob 5 had me crying during family scripture study.  I never really think of myself as a crier, but I guess I do it more than I realize.  Anyway, the Lord of the vineyard works so hard to save his trees and at one point they are all wild/wicked.  This is the Great Apostasy.  He says the Nephites were the last good fruit left and then they turn wild as well.  Sad for them and for the Lord of the vineyard.

Jacob 5 speaks of the goal of the last grafting (the restoration and gathering of Israel in these last days) being that the tree will be one (v.68) and in verse 74 it says "like unto one body."  As we are taught to be one in the gospel, to be one in Christ.

In verse 70, it says the servants were few, and, in verse 72 it says the Lord labored with them.  I like that.

In verses 65 and 66 is says something interesting (the Lord of the vineyard is speaking):

"...ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard.  For it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard: wherefore ye shall clear away the bad according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in strength, until the good shall overcome the bad, and the bad be hewn down..."

This scripture is definitely food for thought.

Then in verses 75 and 76, it talks about the Millennium:  "...my vineyard is no more corrupted...for a long time will I lay up of the fruit of my vineyard unto mine own self against the season, which speedily cometh..."

Chapter 5 ends with verse 77 and the end of the world.  I feel kind of uncomfortable with that phrase, "the end of the world."  Why does it always conjure up in my mind images of crazy people in movies?  Perhaps because Hollywood would have us believe that the whole concept isn't real?  Regardless, let me say instead "and the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisaical glory." (Article of Faith 10)  The Lord of the vineyard speaks of evil fruit returning to the vineyard and gathering the good and the bad in order to preserve the good unto himself and cast the bad away.  "And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire."

Whew--that chapter takes a lot of thinking, but it is undoubtedly worth it.  Yep, I would say Jacob 5 and Zenos' olive tree allegory are anything but boring.

An Umbrella

I love this little riddle from my Primary lesson:

How are an umbrella and a Book of Mormon alike?

The kids in my class actually did a really good job thinking this through...

Do you have any ideas?

 Answer:  With both an umbrella and a Book of Mormon, you have to open them to receive the protection they can give.

Jacob 5

Jacob 5 is "the very long vineyard" chapter as my kids call it.  It is when Jacob quotes Zenos' allegory of the tame and wild olive trees.  Zenos is a prophet that we only know through what other prophets say about him.  It would be interesting to know what other things he wrote. As for this allegory it is about Israel and the gentiles and the scattering and gathering of Israel as it says in the synopsis at the beginning of the chapter.

It is kind of fun to see what I can recognize within the allegory, for example, verses 19 through 25 the Lord of the vineyard visits the natural branches of the tree which have been plucked off and replanted elsewhere in the vineyard.  A few that he planted in poor spots of ground have flourished and brought forth good fruit, but the one he planted in a good spot of ground has brought forth fruit of which half is good and half is wild.  Who does that sound like?  To me is sounds like the promised land and the Nephites and Lamanites.  Later, in the chapter it says of this particular branch:

"...this...I did plant in a good spot of ground; yea, even that which was choice unto me above all other parts of the land of my vineyard.  And thou beholdest that I also cut down that which cumbered this spot of ground, that I might plant this tree in the stead thereof."

Kimball, who was looking bored to tears as we read this in family scripture reading did perk up a bit as we tried to decipher what was being said.  He recognized that the Jaredites had been brought to the promised land before Lehi's family, but had killed themselves off through war.  In fact, I found a footnote reference that took me to the Book of Mormon chapter about the Jaredites that I feel helped me understand some things in Jacob 5 better.  I read the first half of Ether 13.  The footnote I found was under Jacob 5:63 and only referenced verses 10-12, but I understood much better when I went back and started at verse 1.  (So if you are having trouble understanding, I recommend reading Ether 13:1-13.)  I was seeking to understand the whole "and the last shall be first and the first shall be last" thing that is mentioned so often in the scriptures.  I don't know if anyone else has scriptural concepts that they feel they have to learn over and over again, but this is one of those for me.  I'll read the scriptures and think that I get it, but then next time I come across those words in a different context, the meaning becomes hazy.  In verse 63 it says:

"Graft in the branches; begin at the last that they may be first and that the first maybe last..."

Then, Ether 13:11-12 says:

"And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham.  And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture which saith, there are they who were first, who shall be last; and there are they who were last who shall be first."

That reference really does answer the question, but like I said, if it seems as clear as mud, start in Ether 13:1.

Abraham and The Little Mermaid

Jacob 4:5 refers to Abraham offering up his son Isaac in the wilderness.  This was a very hard scripture story for me to understand when I was younger.  When I was a child, it didn't bother me because I knew that Abraham didn't really have to go through with it.  An angel stopped him and a ram was found to sacrifice instead, but as I got older I realized that Abraham would have done it if those things hadn't happened and that was a little hard for me to swallow.  Why would the Lord ask such a thing?  How could Abraham be willing to do such a thing?  I'm sure there are many levels of this that I have yet to understand, but what I do understand is what Jacob points out in verse 5--it was in "similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son."

Thinking about things in light of Abraham laying Isaac on the alter brings a new dimension to the Atonement and the sacrifice of the Savior, it makes me think of how hard it must have been for Heavenly Father to withdraw his spirit from his perfect son, if only for a short time, and leave him on his own during his time of need.  I first understood the Father's sacrifice when I was in high school.  You are going to laugh, or maybe cringe, at the way I came to understand it.

I was watching Disney's The Little Mermaid.  For those who might not know the movie, King Triton is the king of the sea and his daughter, Ariel, signed a contract with the sea witch that, at the end of the movie, results in Ariel belonging to the witch.  The witch is about to turn her into a pitiful piece of seaweed when King Triton shows up and agrees to take his daughter's place.  By doing so, Ursula, the witch, gains control of the whole ocean.  She gains his crown and his powerful trident.  I remember watching this play out on the TV in my basement and understanding that Triton was weak.  He couldn't bear to watch his daughter suffer, so he sacrificed everything and everyone in the ocean to save her.  I remember feeling very grateful to Heavenly Father for being strong and loving enough to watch his Only Begotten son suffer and die so that I could live with him again someday.
 
At the time, I thought a Disney movie was an odd way to learn a gospel lesson, but I knew it was effective for me, a seminary student studying Abraham with a questioning mind who happened to watch The Little Mermaid that same week.  Now I have many other similar life experiences that have given me a testimony that Heavenly Father, through the Spirit, teaches us each important lessons in a myriad of ways.  He teaches things to each of us using the materials that are in our own lives to work with.  It is one reason to make sure you keep your life full of materials that don't drive the spirit away.  Give him something he can work with and he will teach you amazing things in very simple ways.

Thank You, Nephi

2 Nephi 33 is Nephi's farewell.  When we read it in family scripture reading a few weeks ago, I was a real bawl baby.  I was feeling kind of sheepish, when I looked up and saw that Evan had a tear in his eye as well.  He is my little softie.  I love him!

The thing that gets me about this chapter is that Nephi talks about how he isn't very good with the written word.  He says he is much better at speaking because the Holy Ghost helps so much when he's speaking.  If he is better at speaking than writing, how I would have loved to hear him speak!  But what I really want to point out, once again, is Nephi's faith.  In verse 4 he says:

"...And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good..."

He had faith that the Holy Ghost would bring his words into people's hearts as he had seen happen when he was speaking.  I hope someday I really will get to meet him like he says I will in verse 11:  "...you and I will stand face to face at his bar..."  I hope he is not just talking about people that dismissed his words.  I hope that I can meet him so I can tell him how much his words meant to me.  I hope I can meet him because I want to thank him.

2 Nephi 32

This is a wonderful chapter.  There are so many verses I could write about, but today I focused on verse 9 as I studied because it had a lesson in it for me.

I have been struggling with my Primary class lately.  I love the kids.  I was so excited to teach the Book of Mormon this year because it is the book of scripture I know best, and there is where my problem began.  I know it well, so I have been failing to sincerely ask my Heavenly Father's help in teaching its concepts to the children.  2 Nephi 32:9 helped me realize that this morning.  It says:

"...I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

Whenever I have to teach a Relief Society lesson, I say many prayers as I prepare.  Why wouldn't I be praying with that vigor just because I am now teaching children?  I have offered up prayers that I might receive guidance with discipline because my main problem is that the kiddos won't stop jabbering.  The answer I received is that the lesson needs to be worthy of their attention.  I need to be well prepared and have something (a game etc.) to allow them to participate and have a little time out of their chairs.  Three hours is a long time to sit.  But I have not been praying to have the Spirit with me as I teach.  How can I expect to teach spiritual things without the Spirit?

Another thing I learned today was why the scripture says "he will consecrate thy performance unto thee."  Don't we usually consecrate things unto the Lord?  I looked up consecrate in the dictionary, but that didn't help much.  I looked up the footnote references which confirmed the consecrating-things-unto-the-Lord theory, but didn't shed much light on my question.  So, I said a prayer that I might understand.  I can see now that it means we need to pray when we are performing a task for the Lord, like teaching a lesson or performing another service, so that we will be able to accomplish the thing in the way the Lord would have it done.  By doing so, it is added to the body of service we have given for the Lord during our time here on earth.  It is consecrated unto us.We learn much from giving service in such a way.  We gain confidence in our relationship with our Father in Heaven, and we add to our faith.  Our performance is then for the welfare of our souls.  Our body of service is definitely something we will take with us when we die.

Hope

2 Nephi 31:20 says:

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

 There are some scriptures that are more difficult to write about.  This is one of them.  It is so perfect, so eloquent that it feels odd that I would attempt to expound upon its teachings with my own words.  However, that does not stop me from trying :)

I just wanted to record a few thoughts I had upon reading this scripture.  First of all, whenever I read the phrase "endure to the end" I think of a General Conference talk I once heard that said we should think of it more as "progressing to the end."  I can't find the talk or remember, with surety, who gave it, but I remember the message was one that spoke to my heart.  I thought of it like this--we are not supposed to merely endure, hanging on by our fingertips to our testimony as we ride through the ups and downs of life, but we are supposed to improve and build upon our understanding of the gospel as we are guided around and through the deep pitfalls and majestic summits we encounter during our time on earth.  As Elder Bednar would say--We are to act and not simply be acted upon.

The other thought I had when I read this wonderful scripture was how my understanding of hope has changed since I was young.  When I was a teenager, I distinctly remember trying to have hope.  I tried to will hope into my being much like I might try to strong arm a locked door to open, with about as much success too.  "Have some hope, Ambra."  I would tell myself whenever despair crept into my life.  It didn't really work and now I understand why.  I was trying to hope and then perfect myself.  I was reading the scriptures and going to church and trying very hard not to do anything wrong because to me when the scriptures said "repent" it sounded an awful lot like a chastising that I didn't want to be worthy of.  I didn't understand the Atonement.  I didn't understand that precious gift that Christ gave to us.  I didn't understand that the scriptures are continually urging repentance because everyone, prophets and apostles included, needs repentance because we can't perfect ourselves.  We must rely on Jesus Christ for our perfection.  We must come to trust him and love him and believe on his words if we want to live with Heavenly Father again.  It is when we do this that hope springs up in our souls like a wildflower, natural and lovely to behold.  It is through that hope that we come to love Christ more, trust him more.  It is a wonderful cycle that includes faith and charity in it.  I used to always marvel that a little thing like hope was included by Paul as one of the big three, as in "faith, hope, and charity."  Now, I see its worth, and feel it is a most grand concept.

2 Nephi 30

In 2 Nephi 30:12-18 it talks about when "the wolf [shall] dwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

If you look at footnote a of verse 12 it refers you to Isaiah 63:25 and the Topical Guide under Earth, Renewal of.  Isaiah 65:25 says much the same thing as verse 12 with the wolf and the lamb feeding together instead of one eating the other one, then it says:  "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."

I feel like sometimes we, as a society, want this to be true now.  We want everything to be marvelous and perfect, almost to the point of not accepting the realities of life.  Almost to the point of not putting the cycle of nature, as it is now, in it's proper perspective.  I have watched over the years as the commercials on TV that try to play on our sympathies and get us to donate money have gradually changed from asking for help for starving children into laying before us the plight of the polar bear.  It honestly feels like our society talks more about, and worries more about, the earth and the animals than people.  I'm not saying we shouldn't take care of our earth, but to me worrying so much over the polar bear seems to be one of Satan's distractions from what is really going on.  Satan can be a master magician, employing the art of distracting the audience with one hand as he performs the real tricky work with the other.

If you look under Earth, Renewal of in the Topical Guide it gives many references but the one I was checking for is one of the last.  It is Articles of Faith 10  "...the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory."  This is when "they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain."  Until then we are stewards of this earth and have been very blessed to have food that comes from the earth and its animals.  We can take care of the earth, but know that things in nature have cycles that are natural.  We can worry less about that stuff and more about the things the prophets guide us to focus on.  Teaching our children, serving others, and studying the gospel.  These things will bring us happiness and peace.

The Testimony of Two Nations is a Witness

As I read 2 Nephi 29 this morning, I felt in my heart what a wonderful time in history this is to be alive.  I have heard people say that before but have never really felt it.  I remember President Hinckley saying it time and time again, and yet I always felt it was more scary than wonderful. 2 Nephi 29:1-2 speaks of the "marvelous work" the Lord will be doing as he remembers the covenants he has made unto the children of men by, among other things, bringing forth the words of the Nephites.  The Lord then goes on to say that people will reject the words because they feel they already have all the words of God in the Bible.  And so we see the scary and the wonderful together, but for some reason the wonder has won out for me today and for that I am grateful.

2 Nephi 29:7-9 is a direct response to those who reject additional scriptures given to us by our Heavenly Father.  It says:

"Know ye not that there are more nations than one?  Know ye not that I, the Lord you God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nation of the earth?  Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word?  Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another.  And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.  And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever..."

These are great and logical scriptures.  I love the clarity of the reasoning laid out for us about why the Bible and Book of Mormon were written and given to us--"two nations is a witness" and "I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever."  I marked them, excitedly thinking of my friend, who kindly handed back the Book of Mormon I had given her, explaining that she believes the Bible to be the only scriptures given to us by God.  I didn't argue with her, but I felt sorry that she was missing out on so many powerful testimonies.  I think, maybe, if the same thing happened again tomorrow, I could put the Lord's reasoning into my own words and speak a little bit about it.  I do realize that you can never convince someone through logic and reasoning.  Spiritual things are taught by the spirit, but if I keep a prayer in my heart perhaps next time the spirit can convey something to the heart of my friend when given more to work with than my silence.

Counsel vs Command

2 Nephi 28:30 says:  “I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.”

I enjoy this scripture.  I have read it before but this time a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants came to mind as I pondered on verse 30.  It seems unrelated in any way except that the two scriptures pop into my head every now and then.  I’ve just never thought of them together before.

Doctrine and Covenants 58:26-28 says:  “For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.  Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;   For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves.  And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.”

I have been thinking about how much we learn when we open ourselves up to the guidance of the Holy Ghost and how much more we can do with our lives.  I have been feeling that Heavenly Father has so much He wants me to learn.  He wants to help me with all aspects of my life, and I am grateful for that.  Yet, I wonder about how D&C 58:26 comes into play.  I feel like, in the past, I have ventured to do things on my own without praying as often as I should partly because I don’t want to be an unwise servant, needing to be compelled in all things.  This has been rattling around in my brain for days as I’ve rushed about and gotten only short bits of scripture studying in.  I have many reasons and excuses, some better than others, for letting my hour of scripture study reduce to mere minutes but the truth is I have felt the difference in my life.  I am happy things have calmed down, and the internet is working again, so this morning I determined to study and pray a little more diligently about this question so I could write a post about it.

The answer I got is this:   There is a difference between the word “counsel” and the word “command.”  As I read Doctrine and Covenants 58, I could see that in verse 25, right before the Lord says it is “not meet that I should command in all things,” he instructs those to whom he is speaking to “counsel between themselves and me (meaning the Lord).”  It seems to me that in section 58 the Lord is saying that he shouldn’t need to give an official “commandment” about everything.  A commandment, received through the prophet and given to the people as something to strictly follow, is not needed in all cases.  However, to counsel with the Lord and ask for personal revelation to guide us as we strive to be anxiously engaged in a good cause is what our Heavenly Father would have us do.  He wants us to learn "line upon line…and lend an ear unto [his] counsel.” (2 Nephi 28:30)  He wants us to take the instructions and commandments he has given us through the scriptures and seek to receive more.  Not just in the sense that every General Conference address adds to the word of God or that the Doctrine and Covenants added to the standard works, or even that there are more scriptures out there that we have not yet been given.  He wants to “give more” to us now as we seek to counsel with Him day by day, hour by hour.  How grateful I feel to Him for helping me understand so very quickly something that I could not “logic” through, even when I thought about it for days.