Skip to main content

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...
1 comment

Dec 30 - Jan 5, 2020: That They Might Not Be Destroyed - The Introductory Pages of the Book of Mormon


If you only had three minutes and twenty seven seconds to share the most important message you could with the world, what would you say?

In the twilight of President Monson's life, I remember focusing on his brief General Conference addresses. The scarcity of his words made them more precious to me, and I was struck by the economy of what he had to say. He must have known as he prepared each talk that he would only have about five minutes before his shoulders would slump--palms pressed down to braced against the podium--and his words would grow heavy and slow in his mouth. 


In April 2017 he said, "My dear associates in the work of the Lord, I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day. As we do so, we will be in a position to hear the voice of the Spirit, to resist temptation, to overcome doubt and fear, and to receive heaven’s help in our lives." I was listening to his talk on my run to work, and I remember stopping halfway up a hill and pulling out my earbuds as the weight of his promises sank in. He assured me that by reading the Book of Mormon I would "be in a position:
  • to hear the voice of the Spirit,
  • to resist temptation,
  • to overcome doubt and fear, and
  • to receive heaven’s help in our lives."

Those were things I needed then, and still need now. His words and the example of a dear friend inspired me to blog about every chapter in the Book of Mormon. 

Two years later in October 2019, another prophet of God, Russel M. Nelson, has invited me to "commemorate the ... foundations of the restored gospel," and "to ponder important questions such as, 'How would my life be different if my knowledge gained from the Book of Mormon were suddenly taken away?'” In the spirit of that invitation, I hope to revisit some of my old blog posts and share my thoughts and notes as I follow the 2020 Come Follow Me Book of Mormon curriculum.

That They Might Not Be Destroyed

The first lesson for the week of December 30 - January 5 points out that "the title page of the Book of Mormon provides more than just a title ... it lists several purposes of this sacred record." Re-reading the title page this time, I noticed that the Book of Mormon is intended to show what great things the Lord hath done, to teach about covenants, and to convince all people that Jesus is the Christ. 

The title page speaks to the unique value of the Book of Mormon to the descendants of the Lamanites, and says the Book of Mormon was written "that they might not be destroyed." While this phrase was specific to the Lamanites, the Book of Mormon holds protective power for everyone who reads it. 

I've been in a bit of a spiritual slump since moving back from Taiwan. Habits are naturally disrupted during an international move, but it's lasted longer than I expected, and I've found myself struggling to find my groove. Jumping into a much more demanding role at work, applying to business school, and raising five young kids has not made the task any easier. Maybe because of this slump, I'm inclined to cling more tightly to the protective power of the scriptures in the new year. 

Hopefully blogging will help lend some structure to my scripture study, and I know that by spending time reading the Book of Mormon and recording my thoughts, I'll have the resilience to weather slumps and setbacks, and lay claim to promised blessings. 



Image Credit: Unknown

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1 Nephi 17 - That I May Find Ore to Molten, That I May Make Tools

Nephi is given the daunting task of constructing a ship to carry his family across the ocean. Like Nephi, the Lord asks us to do things that are beyond our current knowledge and ability with a promise that he will help us: "And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them ( 1 Nephi 17:3 ) From the experience of Nephi and his family, we can also see that the Lord grants us joy in our trials and certainty in his direction when we follow his commandments. When Nephi and his family reached the seashore, a brief respite before crossing the ocean, they enjoyed the break and celebrated their progress: "Notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its m...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Matthew 6 - Consider the Lilies of the Field

They Have Their Reward I've alway been a pragmatist when it comes to serving others. My attitude is that regardless of the purity of our motivations, it is better to serve someone than to not. I don't think Christ's teaching in the sermon on the mount necessarily contradict that notion, but He does teach a higher, holier way of being. He warns the hypocrites who give alms, pray, and fast for public recognition that they will not receive the blessings they might otherwise merit. He doesn't condemn service with impure motives, but simply warns that those who hypocritically do good for impure motives "have their reward" (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16).  In so many instances, we get to choose the spiritual outcomes of our lives. Even in the final judgment, we will not be  assigned to glory or punishment as much as we will  self-select based on our level of comfort. If we have not been transformed by the power of Christ we will not desire to be in his presence. ...
Post a Comment
Read more