Day of Grace

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Mormon was the great ancient American  military general, a Nephite prophet of his people, and record keeper of
their history (311-385 A.D.)

Mormon was  instructed to prepare himself to take charge of the records and record keeping.  At the time Mormon was 10 years old. Ammaron, the one who was keeping the records and preserving the records at that time, noticed that Mormon was" a sober, and quick to observe" child.  He told him that when he reached the age of 24, he was to go to the specific hill that he had hid all the records, and go there and engrave the things he observes with the people.  After recording the history of his own lifetime, Mormon abridged the large plates of Nephi on the plates of Mormon. He later turned this sacred record over to his son Moroni. These plates were part of the record from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon (See also: Introduction to the Book of Mormon) )

Mormon lived during a very violent, corrupt, and evil stricken time of Book of Mormon history. Horrible scenes  were their everyday life, and can only be placed at the end of a civilization . (Mormon 1)

But wickedness did prevail upon the face of the whole land, insomuch that the Lord did take away his beloved disciples, and the work of miracles and of healing did cease because of the iniquity of the people. 

 And there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief. 

 And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus. 

And I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but my mouth was shut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them;

 At what we would consider now a days, a very young age, Mormon was called to lead the Nephite army. He was 15.  The people looked to Mormon as a savior.  To save them.  They looked to him as if he were their last and only hope of survival. Yet, it was without  hope because they would not listen to Mormon, and would not repent of their sins and come unto Christ so that HE could save them. 

Mormon went to great lengths and personal sorrow, to teach them to repent and come unto Christ. At times, he was hopeful that their sorrows would turn them to Christ. But it was not to be.

 Their Day of Grace had passed.

"And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword for their lives" Mormon 2:14

"And it came to pass that my sorrow did return unto me again, and I saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually; for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open rebellion against their God, and heaped up as dung upon the face of the land. And thus three hundred and forty and four years had passed away" Mormon 2:15 

Their day of grace had passed. Their day of grace had passed both temporally and spiritually.    I found that to be a powerful statement.

Did you know that there was a grace period with the Lord?

We have grace periods in our temporal everyday lives when it comes to the law. 

This definition of grace period can be thought of in a spiritual way with the Lord in mind.

Definition: A grace period is a time past the deadline for an obligation during which a late penalty that would have been imposed is waived. Grace periods, which can range from a number of minutes to a number of days or longer, depending on the context, can apply in various situations, including arrival at a job, paying a bill, for meeting a government or legal requirement, or in many other situations.

So with that definition, I learn that the Lord's Day of Grace is FILLED with mercy.  He has forgiven, He has given and shown mercy when mercy wasn't expected or deserved. He has gone on- and -on with waiting, showing mercy, forgiving, when the time was WAY past for change and repentance. Yet He still forgave and gave mercy.  It sounds to me as if HE the Lord, determines the time period of our day of grace and when it is passed.  Each specific and extremely personal to each one of His children.

The Bible Dictionary explanation of GRACE:

The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ.

It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by His atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.

Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the Fall of Adam and also because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings. However, grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Ne. 25:23). It is truly the grace of Jesus Christ that makes salvation possible.

The Day of Grace passed for the Nephite people because they did not put forth any works of righteousness. Grace applies AFTER we have "expended our own best efforts"  "total effort on the part of the recipient"  "after all we can do"

If we give up, don't care, quit trying, and live a life of wickedness-grace cannot be applied towards us. At least that is how I understand it.

It is a gift given to us as we do our part.

Understanding Lehi's Dream

In 2007 something kind of awesome happened.  There were 3  Devotional/Fireside talks  given back to back one month after another....on Lehi's Dream.  Coincidental??  I think not!

• Lehi's Dream and You - President Boyd K. Packer, BYU Devotional given January 16, 2007
• Reservoir of Living Water-Elder David A. Bednar CES Fireside, given February 4, 2007
• Hold Fast to the Words of the Prophets - Elder Neil L.Anderson CES Fireside given March 4 2007

Interesting don't you think that all three randomly inspired, chose to speak on the same topic?  Here is what Elder Anderson said prior to giving his CES Fireside talk.

"I want to tell you of the Lord’s guiding hand in our meeting tonight. During the early days of January I worked to organize and outline what I would present to you. Knowing that Elder David A. Bednar was scheduled to speak to you in February, I asked him if he had finalized the subject he would address.

I was taken aback when he responded that his talk was about holding fast to the iron rod. It was the exact title I had chosen for my talk. The choir was already practicing this beautiful number that they have just shared with us.

As Elder Bednar and I discussed the messages we had prepared, it was evident that we had approached the subject differently. Elder Bednar thought for a moment and said: “The Lord loves the young adults of the Church. There is purpose in this. This is a message the Lord wants delivered.” I determined to proceed.

Then, just a week later and before Elder Bednar’s talk, President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, gave a BYU devotional address he entitled Lehi’s Dream and You.  He too included in his talk what it means to hold fast to the iron rod.

My brothers and sisters, this is a subject the Lord wants you to think about."-Elder Anderson
 

That was six years ago, and I can't stop thinking about these talks.  Here are some significant highlights :

"You may think that Lehi’s dream or vision has no special meaning for you, but it does. You are in it; all of us are in it." -President Packer

 

"At your baptism and confirmation, you took hold of the iron rod.  But you are never safe. It is after you have partaken of that fruit that your test will come. " -President Packer

(Lehi's dream refers to members of the Church)

 

"The mist of darkness will cover you at times so much that you will not be able to see your way even a short distance ahead. You will not be able to see clearly. But you can feel your way. With the gift of the Holy Ghost, you can feel your way ahead through life. Grasp the iron rod, and do not let go. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, you can feel your way through life"-President Packer

 

"Largely because of television, instead of looking over into that spacious building, we are, in effect, living inside of it. That is your fate in this generation. You are living in that great and spacious building." -President Packer

____________________________________________________________________



 

 

• "Father Lehi saw several groups of people pressing forward along the strait and narrow path, seeking to obtain the tree and its fruit.
• The members of each group had entered onto the path through the gate of repentance and baptism by water and had received the gift of the Holy Ghost (see 2 Nephi 31:17–20)
•  The tree of life is the central feature in the dream and is identified in 1 Nephi 11 as a representation of Jesus Christ.
• The fruit on the tree is a symbol for the blessings of the Savior’s Atonement.

 Interestingly, the major theme of the Book of Mormon, inviting all to come unto Christ, is central in Lehi’s vision. Of particular interest is the rod of iron that led to the tree (see 1 Nephi 8:19). The rod of iron is the word of God.

• Group 1: Baptized members of the Church, as soon as the "mists of darkness" came they were gone.  No mention of the rod of iron. 1 Nephi 8:21-23

"Those who ignore or treat lightly the word of God do not have access to that divine compass which points the way to the Savior. "-Elder Bednar

• Group 2: "Clingers" This group pressed forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. When they were mocked by the members of the great and spacious building, they were ashamed and fell away into forbidden paths and were lost. Please notice that this group is described as clinging to the rod of iron. 1 Nephi 8: 24-28

"Clinging to the rod of iron suggests to me only occasional “bursts” of study or irregular dipping rather than consistent, ongoing immersion in the word of God." -Elder Bednar

• Group 3 "Held Fast":  Members of the Church who "held fast" to the rod of iron continually pressing forward until they reached the tree.we read about a third group of people who pressed forward continually holding fast to the rod of iron until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree. The key phrase in this verse is “continually holding fast” to the rod of iron. 1 Nephi 8: 30 No mention of them wandering off or getting lost.

 "Perhaps this third group of people consistently read and studied and searched the words of Christ. Perhaps it was the constant flow of living water that saved the third group from perishing. This is the group you and I should strive to join." -Elder Bednar

 

• Group 4 :  Probably not members of the Church-people who did not even come to the path but went straight for the great and spacious building

"Are you and I daily reading, studying, and searching the scriptures in a way that enables us to hold fast to the rod of iron—or are you and I merely clinging? Are you and I pressing forward toward the fountain of living waters—relying upon the word of God? These are important questions for each of us to ponder prayerfully."

______________________________________________

 

"The iron rod is the word of God. I like to think of it in this way:

 

The word of God contains three very strong elements that intertwine and sustain one another to form an immovable rod.

 

These three elements include, first, the scriptures, or the words of the ancient prophets."

The second element of the word of God is the personal revelation and inspiration that comes to us through the Holy Ghost

 

... the third element, a critical addition intertwining with the other two...the words of the living prophets. We must also hold fast to the word of God as delivered by the living prophets."  -Elder Anderson

 

 

 

These are all must read talks that I will include in my LDS Talks tab for quick reference.  These are significant talks given by living prophets and apostles, each inspired to teach in a three month period..back to back on the principles of Lehi's Dream.  Just as President Packer taught, it applies to you and me.

 

 Next post will be a more in-depth study of the groups spoken of by Elder Bednar. Stay tuned!!

What is The Book of Mormon?

A question from a friend not of my religion, "what is The Book of Mormon"?

 "I haven`t understood why the prophecies of LDS are considered by critics to be more fake than those of any other religion in the world and I like the part in the Book of Mormon that says that there can still be new prophecies as opposed to general view in many religions that the prophecies ended forever with their favorite prophet.

But if it is clear that the Book of Mormon has been assembled in different times according to current political views of the leaders and made to look like a whole, then it would be understandable why some people don`t take it seriously. Personally I find all central books of religions are influenced by the writer`s views and it is known that the Bible was assembled over a long period. It would just be honest to admit that parts of the book have been added or rewritten later and are thus fictional illustration to held beliefs."

I wrote a blog post a while ago called: The Bible and The Book of Mormon are Both Good Fruit  which clarifies our belief in both the Bible and The Book of Mormon. I would encourage you to read that post.

What is The Book of Mormon?

 On the front cover of The Book of Mormon is says: "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" 

 The Book of Mormon is literally another testament of Jesus Christ along with the Holy Bible, which we use the King James Version. The same version used by most Christian religions.

On the Introduction   page of The Book of Mormon it explains where this book came from and what it is about.

• The Book of Mormon is holy scripture written by prophets who lived on the American continent anciently from 600 B. C. to 421 A.D.  It was written by prophecy and revelation and contains the fullness of the gospel.
• The record was written on plates of gold and passed down from prophet to prophet, each writing God's dealings with their people during their specific life-time. They were commanded of God to write down these things for a future people [us]. Because it was inscribed on metal plates, it was not destroyed.  A prophet-historian named Mormon abridged all the records into what is called The Book of Mormon. Moroni, Mormon's son was the last prophet of The Book of Mormon.  He was commanded to hide up the plates, to preserve them for a future generation.  He put the plates with other special artifacts in a stone box and hid them in a hill covered with a large stone. There it stayed hidden, and preserved until the Lord wanted them to be found.
• Joseph Smith, commanded of God, was led to Hill Cumorah where the plates were hidden in the stone box in the hill..  He translated the plates. I wrote about it here.  You can also read Joseph Smith's own account of that experience here.
• The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.

One thing to keep in mind while reading The Book of Mormon: it is not necessarily in chronological order.  If you look on the very bottom of the page you are going to see dates.  This will tell you the general time period on that specific page.

For example in Omni we read about Mosiah, father of King Benjamin. The book of Omni occurred between 279 B. C. and 130 B. C. See photo below:

 In our natural minds we assume that this happened WAY before the events written later in the book about King Noah and Alma.  This actually occurred during the same time period.  You have events happening in one area, events happening in another area, but happening at the same time.  This makes it even more exciting to me. 

 See the photo below of Mosiah 17 when Abinidi was martyred. You will notice this happens during the same time period as the book of Omni, 37 pages earlier.

I wrote a Mosiah time line a few years ago for myself. You can view it here if you are interested.

What else about The Book of Mormon? 

 'The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after his resurrection. It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come." [ Introduction page]

"The Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” -Joseph Smith

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3–5.)

Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah." [Introduction page]

It is TRUE.  It is of GOD.  You don't have to take anyone elses word for it. You can find out for yourself! 

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." [Moroni 10:4-5]



Church History Tour-Angel Moroni Comes and Joseph Recieves the Plates

For those following my Church History Series, these are posts about a North Eastern Church History Tour my husband and I went on this past summer.  It was a dream vacation for me that was testimony building to say the least and life changing in many ways. 

I am sharing with all of you my pictures, some thoughts, and information from many of these sites.  This is mainly for my mother.  We share this love for the gospel  and scriptural insights.  It would have been so much fun to take her along with us.  She would have loved every second of it.

I am constantly updating my Church History posts with pictures and information. So keep checking back to see the changes.  This gospel is so true!!

Previous Posts from this Series:

Who Were Joseph Smith's Ancestors

Religion Prior to the First Vision

Joseph Smith Sr. Father of the Prophet

The Birthplace of Joseph Smith

Alvin Smith: the Ideal Son and Older Brother

Re-visiting the First Vision

Joseph and Emma

At the age of 14, Joseph Smith had what is called the First Vision. For the next 3 years he did not have any visitations, and life continued on, although everything from normal. 

JS-H 1:22 I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great ^apersecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an ^bobscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects—all united to persecute me.

On the evening of September 21, 1823 Joseph went to bed with his brothers in these upstairs bedrooms.

The staircase right off the kitchen leading the the Smith children's bedrooms

The front bedroom is the boys room, the back bedroom is the girls

Joseph shared a bed with his brother as well as a whole room with the other boys

Sometimes I think we have this visual in our mind, due to pictures from artists, that Joseph had his own room when Angel Moroni visited.  To me, it makes the story even that more amazing to know that no one else saw, heard, or even knew about Joseph's all-nighter with Angel Moroni.

As Joseph knelt down to say his prayers, no doubt the others were asleep in their beds, he felt weighed down with  his weaknesses sins of "levity" and asked for forgiveness and his standing before God. He says, he had  "full confidence in recieving a divine manifestation as he had previously done"

Distraction: I have an older brother who for years,  was actually scared an angel would appear in his bedroom.  His brothers used to love [and still do]to tease him about that. 

In answer to Joseph's prayer, Angel Moroni appeared in his bedroom with a very important message

see Joseph Smith -History 1:27-54 and my previous post [towards the end]

Alvin the Ideal Son and Older Brother

On September 22, 1823, after telling his father about the message and visit of Angel Moroni, Joseph went to a hill near his home, that came to be known as Hill Cumorah.  Here an ancient record of the inhabitants of the American continent was saved, preserved, and hidden in the hill . This record, written in reformed Egyptian, contained the fullness of the gospel and Joseph would translate it through sacred instruments provided him.  The time for that translation would be in the future.   Joseph saw the place in his vision, and recognized it immediately when he came to it.

He did not receive the record immediately, although he handled it and saw it.  He was told to come to the exact spot every year for four years on the exact same day.  During these early visits, Joseph was taught immensely about these people.  He would go home, and the family would all gather around as Joseph would tell of his experiences.  His mother shares that Joseph spoke with such ease of these ancient people: their dress, mode of travel, buildings, animals they rode upon, etc. as if he had spent his  entire life among them.

Receiving the plates was emotionally agonizing for Joseph and his entire family.  They knew the importance of it, and wanted more than anything for Joseph to be worthy and seen as worthy to the Lord to receive them. They had moments when they were very worried if Joseph would be able to pull  it off.

On one of Joseph's early visits, the plates were in a box and he set them down behind him. When he turned around the box and plates were completely gone.  He panicked, not knowing where the plates were. He prayed and asked the Lord what happened to the plates.  Angel Moroni came and reminded him of the early instruction to not let the plates out of his sight for even a second.  It was a hard lesson and Joseph went home "weeping"  His father, fully expecting Joseph to bring the plates home, and not understanding the whole situation, told Joseph, "If I were you, I would have just taken them"  Joseph said, "Father you don't know what you speak of, the angel wouldn't let me have them."

Another time, he reached in to take the plates, and was thrown "violently onto his back"  Receiving the plates was a heart-wrenching experience, that Joseph was very inexperienced in what was expected of him. But  he was taught every step along the way, and many times with very hard lessons.

September 22, 1827 the night that Joseph received the plates from Angel Moroni, Heber C. Kimball in another part of the country-Mendon, Ohio, saw a great vision.  There is no coincidence of timing involved here. 

"Sept. 22, 1827, while living in the town of Mendon, I having retired to bed, John P. Greene, a traveling reformed Methodist preacher, waked me up calling upon me to behold the scenery in the heavens.

I called my wife and sister Fanny Young (sister of Brigham Young) who was living with me; it was so clear that you could see to pick up a pin, we looked to the eastern horizon and beheld a white smoke arise towards the heavens, and as it ascended it formed itself into a belt and made a noise like the rustling of a mighty wind, and continued southwest, forming a regular bow dipping in the western horizon.

After the bow had formed it began to widen out and grow clear and transparent of a bluish cast, it grew wide enough to contain twelve men abreast.

In this bow an army moved, commencing from the east and marching to the west. They moved in platoons, and walked so close, the rear ranks trod in the steps of their file leaders, until the whole bow was literally crowded with soldiers.

We could see distinctly the muskets, bayonets, and knapsacks of the men, who wore caps and feathers like those used by the American soldiers in the last war with Britain; also their officers with their swords and equipage, and heard the clashing and jingling of their instruments of war and could discover the form and features of the men. The most profound order existed throughout the entire army, when the foremost man stepped, every man stepped at the same time: I could hear the step.

When the front rank reached the Western horizon a battle ensued, as we could distinctly hear the report of the arms and the rush.

No man could judge of my feelings when I beheld that army of men, as plainly as I ever saw armies of men in the flesh it seemed as though every hair of my head was alive. This scenery was gazed upon for hours, until it began to disappear.

Subsequently I learned this took place the same evening that Joseph Smith received the records of the Book of Mormon from the Angel Moroni."

Joseph received the plates and during the years of translation,  Joseph had to go to GREAT lengths to keep the record safe.  During this time, he and Emma were living in the frame home in Palmyra with Joseph's parents and family.  This large barn is directly across the road from the frame home.

In the barn loft

Between Lucy and Katherine asleep in bed

In the box

In a barrel of beans, Joseph's father was a wet cooper and made barrels.
This photo is actually inside the Newell K. Whitney store in Kirtland

Underneath the hearth bricks

Of coarse, Joseph was able to keep the record safe until he finished translating.  After which, Angel Moroni came and took them. 

If this post wasn't long enough for you, and you want to read more, see my post The Bible and the Book of Mormon are Both Good Fruits

I can't explain to you how incredible it was to walk where Joseph walked, and to see first hand the very places where sacred events happened in our Church History.  I know now more than ever before it is true.  Joseph was a Prophet of God.  Jesus Christ lives and directs this work. This is His Church on the earth. 

POWER in the Word

I want to add my witness that scriptures have power to change lives.

"Prophets and apostles have assured us that as we face the trials of mortality, we can find strength, comfort, and peace in the gospel of Jesus Christ. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said, “I testify as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ … that the gospel is true, and that it offers the answers to all personal and collective challenges the children of God have on this earth today.”¹

Our individual circumstances may vary, but we can each turn to a divine source of power—the scriptures. ” (2 Nephi 31:20)."  (Ensign August 2012, Finding Power in the Scriptures)

 

Many years ago, I  was a young mother with 4 children under 4.  Two were toddlers, and two were newborn twins.  There is really only one word to describe my life back then...overwhelming! After all of my help left, (aka, my mom) getting through each day was a hard challenge. When I wasn't feeding or changing a newborn baby, I was taking care of my oldest two daughters who were 3 and 2. 

Can you imagine how busy and crazy that was!  I look back now, with fond memories, yet wonder how I did it? The answer is, I didn't do it alone.  None of us do and the scriptures had everything to do with how I successfully managed motherhood then and now.

 Without  a regular pattern of prayer and scripture study  in my life, I wouldn't have the power, strength, and guidance to magnify the most important calling in my life:  Motherhood.

 I learned very quickly, that reading my scriptures and saying personal prayers wasn't something I could opt out of as a mother.  I needed  the power that comes from daily prayer and scripture study.  

The very day I opened up my scriptures, the Lord immediately blessed me .  {See Mosiah 2: 24}

How have the scriptures changed your life?

Must Read Talks on the power of scriptures:

The Power of Scripture- Elder Richard G. Scott, November 2011 Ensign

Finding Power in the Scriptures- August 2012 Ensign, pg 54

The True Source: Jesus Christ

{Source}

Today during Stake Conference, President White, our 2nd counselor in our Stake Presidency,was sharing 2 Nephi 25:26 in his talk:

 "And we ^atalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we ^bprophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our ^cchildren may know to what source they may look for a ^dremission of their sins."

 My mind kind of stopped on the reference  of "source" and how Jesus Christ is our source for a remission of our sins and everything else.


 Then in my mind's eye I saw a photo from one of my blog posts with the word "SOURCE" underneath to identify where that picture originated from and who it's true author was. See the example above.

Out of my own curiosity I looked up the synonyms for "source" to help me understand more about how Jesus Christ is our true source .  I was amazed at how much meaning and depth it brought to the scripture by just understanding all the different meanings of that word.  I didn't know it meant so many things.

These were some that I found: author, authorship, begetter,expert, fount, father, informant, parent, specialist, starting point, wellspring...

Each one of those words applies to Christ and who He is and can be in our lives, if we look to Him.

I am a very visual learner, so I put together some pictures to help illustrate how the Savior is our true source. [Make sure you click on source.]

For a remission of our sins

Source

In our faith growing and being sustained

source

In Prayer

source

In being directed and guided,
He is our light

source


 In our joy

source

In our marriages

source

In our Families

source

In the food we eat and depend on daily

source

In the beauty of His creations

source

In our daily spiritual feasting of the scriptures

source

In the saving ordinances and covenants

 available in Holy Temples that will allow us

 to return to live with Him again someday

source

Feasting Upon the Scriptures

2 Nephi 9:51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.

If you think about feasting, you probably have visions of a great Thanksgiving-type meal with everything you love to eat before you.  You don't just take a nibbling of food and be done. NO-you feast!


 Most of us probably eat too much at these holiday meals.  We fill up on turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, salads, veggie trays ,sweet potatoes, rolls etc.  As we are feasting, we are having this wonderful experience with the food on our plate.  It tastes so good! Our taste-buds are dancing with delight. There is a part of us that doesn't want it to end.  We'll ask Aunt Helen "how did you make these delicious rolls?  They are so soft and buttery!"  We go on and on fully engaged and partaking of this feast before us.  

After a while, we then fill up on the fatness mentioned in the scripture above.  And oh how we love that part of the holidays!  We love the pies and desserts. 

This is feasting.  This feels good to the soul to be able to indulge like this physically every so often.

After we physically feast on food, our stomachs eventually empty, and we want it all over again. Although the meal is momentarily satisfying, it is not eternally lasting.

The Lord says, "...come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not"

We are reminded that a true feast, is a spiritual one.

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the ^abread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never ^bthirst.

Interesting that the Lord uses the word FEAST when talking about reading and studying the scriptures. He could have said read, glance over,flip through, skim, apprehend, or learn. Instead he used the word FEAST, which conjures up all kinds of emotions, visuals, and meaning inside us.   Being mortal, we love to eat.

As we were discussing this verse in Sunday School, it really made me ponder..

Where is my scripture reading at?
Do I feast?

Becoming Like the Brother of Jared

I am still thinking about  the Brother of Jared.

{This goes along with my earlier post:What I have Learned from the Brother of Jared}

I am reading the book of Ether very carefully and pretty slow so I can capture all the good stuff. This scripture has been with me for a few days as I have been mulling it over in my mind on HOW I can personally become like this:

Ether 4:7 "And in that day that they shall exercise ^afaith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become ^bsanctified in me, then will I ^cmanifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my ^drevelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the ^eFather of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are."
Can I become like the Brother of Jared was? Can I  ever have enough faith like that? 

The answer is yes.  I can.  And you can. We all can. But like the Brother of Jared, we have to pay the price of exercising our faith and obedience like He did.

I know I have had moments in my life when I have been in the mode of exercising pure faith in God.  I have felt the Lord beginning to "unfold" personal revelation to me. Those are extremely touching spiritual moments. At those times, I have tried to remember to grab a pen and write those thoughts, feelings, and impressions from the Spirit down as I have learned they can be very fleeting.

So because of these moments of exercising pure faith, I know it is possible.

The Lord then refers to being sanctified. I am not really sure if I fully understand what that means: to be sanctified.  The dictionary defines it as being holy or sacred.

Sanctified= holy or sacred

 So...{I am thinking out loud here}  sanctification comes as a result of our exercising faith.  THEN when we have become sanctified we are on our way to "paying the price" and becoming full of faith possibly like even the Brother of Jared.   Very cool!  I have such a LONG way to go!!

Here is what Elder David Bednar said in his book Increase in Learning;

"The things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out." (Teachings, Joseph
Smith, 267)

"Every man and woman should seek the Lord for wisdom, that they might get knowledge from Him who is the fountain of knowledge.." (Teachings, Joseph Smith, 266)

"Each of us can be blessed abundantly as we come to understand our individual responsibility to learn as well as what we should learn, how we can learn, and ultimately what we are to become." (page 8)

"Put forth your ability to learn as fast as you can, and gather all the strength of mind and principle of faith you possibly can" (Teachings, Brigham Young, 194) 

source

I love this picture.  The artist did a beautiful job of capturing the faith in his face.

 WE can become like the Brother of Jared

What I have learned from the Brother of Jared

I love the story of the Brother of Jared from the Book of Mormon

It gives us a glimpse into the lives of people who seem very real (they could be you and me) who lived at the time of one the most pivotal events in the world

The Tower of Babel

Sometimes I wish I could have been a fly on the wall back then just to be able to observe that whole scene unfold.

 I have always had one question:  Did they REALLY, seriously believe they could build a tower high enough to reach heaven?  Really? 

Well, I guess they did because they were doing it!

Which is where the brother of Jared comes in.  Well, actually he comes in when the Lord is confounding the languages and scattering the people.  This had to be a time of great chaos and panic.

Ether 1: 34  talks about some of the spiritual and physical features of the Brother of Jared:

·         He was large and mighty ( I would guess mighty both physically and spiritually)

·         The Lord LOVED him

·         He had an immense faith bordering on sure knowledge of Jesus Christ  from the beginning

·         He was a great spiritual leader among his family members as well as his friends

Then it seems to me that the Brother of Jared asks the Lord kind of the long shot question of the day by request of Jared, his brother: 

1.       “Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand  our words”

            And the Lord compassionately complied.  Then Jared asks his brother to pray a little more:

2.       “Cry again unto the Lord that He will turn his anger away from them who are our friends”

And the Lord compassionately complied. Then Jared had one more big question for the Lord.

3.       “Cry unto the Lord whether He will drive us out of the land, and if he does, where shall we go??”

       And the Lord compassionately complied, again. 

The Lord must have been just waiting for that question because HE HAD A PLAN FOR THEIR LIVES, but He was waiting for them to ask.

 Ether 1:43 “And this I will do because this long time ye have cried unto me”)

Then after a serious of miracles, they are driven, guided, and led by the hand of God to the promised land. It wasn’t just a better, safer land…it was the promised land-their promised land.

Ether 12:43  "And there will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me of thy seed, and of the seed of thy brother, and they who shall go with thee, a great nation. And ^athere shall be none ^bgreater than the nation which I will raise up unto me of thy seed, upon all the face of the earth.

And thus I will do unto thee because this long time ye have cried unto me."

You can, of coarse,  read the book of {Ether }to get that full account

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I think about this story and how the Lord so compassionately complied.  How He delivered them and saved this group of people.  Literally.  It was a physical and a spiritual rescue, like it can be so many times with us.

There are so many times the Lord has delivered and saved me personally.  It has been going on from my childhood and is still on-going.   I remember a time when I was 9 and fell through an icy lake and almost drowned.  Just when I thought I might not survive, I was able to pull myself out and walk home.  He has saved me. And has been doing it my whole life.

His rescue is has been on-going in my marriage and family I am raising now.  I have been amazed over and over again how the Lord loves us and continually guides and leads us to our kind of promised land.  Blessings that are especially perfect and catered to us.

Like the Brother of Jared and his family and friends, I have seen how the Lord does His best and greatest work in impossible situations.  Nothing is impossible to Him, only to us. 

I have also learned that the LORD HAS A PLAN for our lives…and a promised land for each of us.  If we trust in Him, and let Him lead us…He will write a better story for our lives than we would ever come up with on our own.