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Showing posts from October, 2017

9 - 15 Mar - Learn With Joy and Not With Sorrow - Jacob 1 - 4

Jacob 1 - That We Might Persuade Them to Come Unto Christ I'm taking an online economics class right now, which prompted me to think of the definition of economics in the context of the scriptures. Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. In the case of Nephi and his successor Jacob, the plates upon which they engraved their record was a scarce resource. They were costly to make and difficult to engrave, and instilling a tradition of passing them through generations was surely cumbersome.  Recognizing the great importance of spiritual things and the challenge of maintaining records, Nephi instructed Jacob to prioritize religious instruction saying, " if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our people" (Jacob 1:4).   This priority was not only reflecte...
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Mosiah 20 - Being Ashamed to Return to the City of Nephi

After fleeing into the wilderness, the priests of King Noah abducted 24 daughters of the Lamanites, and the Lamanites wrongly assumed the people of Limnhi had abducted the women. This incited a battle between the Lamanites and the people of Limhi before the misunderstanding was resolved and appropriate blame was placed on the priests of Noah.  The record details some of the reasons why the priests of Noah committed this crime. " And now the priests of king Noah, being ashamed to return to the city of Nephi, yea, and also fearing that the people would   slay   them, therefore they durst not return to their wives and their   children" (Mosiah 20:3).  Their decision to remain on the run and abduct the Lamanite women as wives was rooted in a sense of shame. Unwilling to come to terms with their failure and accept just consequences, they sank deeper into sin. This verse highlights an extreme example of the toxic influence of shame and fear in our liv...
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Mosiah 19 - He Himself Being a Just Man

King Noah faced internal political opposition and was nearly killed by a man named Gideon. At the climax of the conflict, Noah was temporarily spared when Lamanites invaded the land, took the people captive, and required them to pay an annual tribute in exchange for their lives. In the course of battle Noah and his priests left their wives and children and fled into the wilderness. Outraged, King Noah's priests turned on him and burned him to death, fulfilling Abinidi's prophecy. Noah's son Limhi ruled in his father's place and the people lived peacefully for two years as vassals of the Lamanites.  What an interesting position for Limhi. We learn that despite his father's wickedness he was a "just man" and worked to reestablish peace for his people as subjects to the Lamanites. The record states  " Limhi was desirous that his father should not be destroyed; nevertheless, Limhi was not ignorant of the iniquities of his father, he himself being a j...
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Mosiah 18 - What Have You Against Being Baptized

After fleeing King Noah's court, Alma repents and secretly preaches the gospel. Many are converted and baptized in a place called the waters of Mormon." As part of his sermon to the people who followed him, Alma explains the commitment we make when we are baptized: "as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have en...
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Mosiah 17 - I Will Not Recall the Words Which I Have Spoken

Abinidi stayed true to his testimony in the face of death and gave his life for his convictions. I wonder what he thought, and what feelings of the Spirit were his immediately before his death. Did he have any sense of the impact his words would have, or did he die without any reassurance that his efforts mattered? One of the priests of Noah named Alma was moved by his words, repented, and became a great spiritual leader, but all that Abinidi would have known was that Noah cast Alma out and was trying to kill him. "There was one among them whose name was Alma, he also being a descendant of Nephi. And he was a young man, and he believed the words which Abinadi had spoken, for he knew concerning the iniquity which Abinadi had testified against them; therefore he began to plead with the king that he would not be angry with Abinadi, but suffer that he might depart in peace. But the king was more wroth, and caused that Alma should be cast out from among them, and ...
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Mosiah 16 - Speaking of Things to Come as Though They Had Already Come

Abinidi explains how Christ's atonement heals and redeems the righteous, while the wicked remain in their sins to be judged. The remarkable thing to me about Abinidi's teachings, and the teachings of all the Book of Mormon prophets who lived before Christ, is their level of conviction in what where, at the time, future events. Christ had not come yet. They looked forward to the ministry and atonement of Christ and were fully persuaded of its reality and the eternal impact it would have. It is hard enough to believe in Christ and follow His teachings after the fact, even with records of His life, and hundreds of millions of people who share a belief in Christ's divinity. But all that Abinidi and other prophets of his time had were their own revelations and inspiration from the Spirit.  Abinidi also alludes to Christ's own faith saying, "now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they had already come, there coul...
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Mosiah 15 - And Who Shall Be His Seed?

In this doctrinally rich passage, Abinidi teaches about the divinity and saving role Jesus Christ.  One of the passages that has been most difficult for me to understand in the past is found in versus 2-5. While God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct personages, Christ is often referred to as the "Father." Abinidi explains the the use of this title for Christ this way:  " And because he   dwelleth   in   flesh   he shall be called the   Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the   will   of the  Father, being the Father and the Son—The Father,   because   he was   conceived  by the power of God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—And they are   one God, yea, the very   Eternal   Father  of heaven and of earth. And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or the Son to the Father, being one God,   sufferet...
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Mosiah 14 - He Hath No Form nor Comeliness

Abinidi quotes Isaiah to king Noah and his priests to teach about the Savior and His atonement. Speaking of the Savior, Isaiah taught, "he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him" (Mosiah 14:2).  Doing the will of the Lord is not a glamorous endeavor, and the gospel is not a sales pitch. Christ and His kingdom are understated and require us to live a life that will challenge and stretch us. A life of persistent dedication to serving and living the commandments does not come with accolades and endorsement checks. In fact, the world and our natural tendencies will not be drawn to Christ, and will try to reject Him. As Paul explained to the Corinthians, "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know  them,  because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14)...
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Mosiah 13 - Salvation Doth Not Come by the Law Alone

Abinidi is protected while he delivers his message to king Noah and his priests. Knowing that God has a plan for our lives and will help us fulfill His plan can free us of fear and self-doubt. When king Noah and his priests try to slay Abinidi, he retorts,"God will not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time" (Mosiah 13:3). When Joseph Smith was wrongfully imprisoned in Liberty Jail he and his companions suffered unimaginable injustice, and received a similar assurance from God. "Therefore, hold on thy way, and the priesthood shall remain with thee; for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever" (D&C 122:9). No matter how brief our remaining time on earth, it is sufficient to accomplish all that God has in store for us in this life.  Abinidi's confidence and obedienc...
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Mosiah 12 - Know Ye Not That I Speak the Truth?

Abinidi is imprisoned because he prophesied of the destruction of the people of King Noah if they did not repent. Noah's priests flattered the king and asserted that he was righteous and had not sinned. Noah brought Abinindi before him and his priests to question him and catch him in his words, but Abinidi spoke boldly and testified of their wickedness.  Abinidi accepted a calling from the lord to challenge the most senior leader in the land. He challenged wickedness in no uncertain terms and was willing to suffer imprisonment and eventually death as a result. We don't know anything about Abinidi's life before he prophesied against the wickedness of the king. We don't know his age, or how he was spiritually prepared for his calling. There is no record of him seeing an angel, hearing a voice, or receiving a vision instructing him to testify against wickedness. Where did his clarity around good and evil come from, and how did he muster the bravery to speak and act as...
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Mosiah 11 - After the Desires of His Own Heart

King Zeniff concerned the kingdom on his son, King Noah, who ruled in wickedness and brought destruction to his people. "For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart . And he had many wives and concubines. And he did  cause  his people to commit sin , and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness" (Mosiah 11:2). Here we learn that leaders, and I would argue those with privilege in general, bear greater responsibility for their actions based on the number of people they impact. The effects of King Noah's sin and pride were not limited to his own life, and spread throughout his entire kingdom. Each individual is ultimately responsible for their own behavior, and we cannot blame our mistakes on poor leaders, bad parents, failed societies, or unfair circumstances. But we are accountable for...
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Mosiah 10 - Thus We Did Have Continual Peace

After a period of peace, a new Lamanite king tried to overthrow the people of Zeniff and make them slaves. Zeniff was able to achieve this period of relative prosperity through a combination of defense and industry. He took steps within his control to protect his land and his people, and encouraged them to work hard. Specifically, Zeniff recounted, " And I caused that there should be weapons of war made of every kind ... a nd I set guards round about the land, that the Lamanites might not come upon us again unawares and destroy us" (Mosiah 10:1-2). The Book of Mormon is filled with stories of combat and conflict, which hold a variety of lessons for us as readers today. My favorite way to read these passages is as an extended metaphor for spiritual health and resilience.  The great struggle of our lives and this world is between good and evil. Satan is a literal being who, with his followers, seeks to destroy the happiness and progress of God's children. Zen...
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