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.