1 Nephi 21:15-16
I like the symbolism Isaiah uses when reminding the house of Israel of the Lord's promises:
"For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.
"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."
1 Nephi 22
In the previous two chapters Nephi teaches his brothers, quoting from the words of Isaiah as recorded on the Brass Plates. In chapter 22 he explains or elaborates on what Isaiah said. The chapter heading says:
"Israel shall be scattered upon all the face of the earth--The gentiles shall nurse and nourish Israel with the gospel in the last days--Israel shall be gathered and saved, and the wicked shall burn as stubble--The kingdom of the devil shall be destroyed, and Satan shall be bound."
I would like to be here when the following prophesy is fulfilled:
26 "And because of the righteousness of his [the Lord's] people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of many years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel reigneth."
That is a millennial prophesy, so maybe I will, or maybe I won't be here at that time. It is certainly a far cry from the conditions existing here on earth today!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Lord Blesses the Obedient
1 Nephi 17
Nephi gives grateful credit to God for their blessings as they journeyed in the wilderness towards the land the Lord had promised them.
7 "And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. 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; wherefore he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.
They journeyed for eight years in the wilderness, using the God-given Liahona to direct their travels, and finally reached the seashore, a place of beauty and plenty which they called Bountiful. They were there for the space of "many days" then the voice of the Lord came to Nephi, commanding him to build a ship to take them across the sea to their promised land. It would be a daunting task even though the Lord gave him specific instructions on how to do it. Nephi reflected back on the promises the Lord had previously given him, and he had faith that the Lord would give him the strength and ability he needed to accomplish the task. The Lord had promised:
13 "And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.
14 "Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem."
Then Nephi says:
15 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence."
Like Nephi, we can trust the Lord to be our light in the "wilderness" as we travel towards our "promised land" if we diligently strive to keep his commandments. Although we aren't commanded to leave our homes and journey in the wilderness towards some unknown land like Lehi's family was, we each are making the journey towards our place in eternity. The Lord has given us commandments and instructions on how to reach the real Promised Land - Eternal Life with Him. The above promises given to Nephi are also extended to us if we obey the directions and commandments we have received.
Nephi gives grateful credit to God for their blessings as they journeyed in the wilderness towards the land the Lord had promised them.
7 "And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. 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; wherefore he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.
They journeyed for eight years in the wilderness, using the God-given Liahona to direct their travels, and finally reached the seashore, a place of beauty and plenty which they called Bountiful. They were there for the space of "many days" then the voice of the Lord came to Nephi, commanding him to build a ship to take them across the sea to their promised land. It would be a daunting task even though the Lord gave him specific instructions on how to do it. Nephi reflected back on the promises the Lord had previously given him, and he had faith that the Lord would give him the strength and ability he needed to accomplish the task. The Lord had promised:
13 "And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.
14 "Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem."
Then Nephi says:
15 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence."
Like Nephi, we can trust the Lord to be our light in the "wilderness" as we travel towards our "promised land" if we diligently strive to keep his commandments. Although we aren't commanded to leave our homes and journey in the wilderness towards some unknown land like Lehi's family was, we each are making the journey towards our place in eternity. The Lord has given us commandments and instructions on how to reach the real Promised Land - Eternal Life with Him. The above promises given to Nephi are also extended to us if we obey the directions and commandments we have received.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
"The guilty take the truth to be hard"
1 Nephi 16
The following verses are so true of human nature. Nephi's brothers, Laman and Lemuel, were angry when Nephi tried to help them see the error of their ways. Verses 1-3:
1 "And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.
2 "And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.
3 "And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us."
In today's society, those who try to hold to spiritual and religious truths are called the "religious right" in a derogatory manner by people who want nothing to do with religion or anyone or anything that might bring to their attention their evil and unsavory lifestyles. There is building anger against righteous principles and people who try to uphold them. Those who support that marriage should only be between a man and a woman (no polygamous or homosexual "marriages") and who are against abortion (murder of unborn children) come under attack by the "liberal left," including most of the mainstream media. People who indulge in those and other immoral practices are angry at those who adhere to righteous truths.
The following verses are so true of human nature. Nephi's brothers, Laman and Lemuel, were angry when Nephi tried to help them see the error of their ways. Verses 1-3:
1 "And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.
2 "And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.
3 "And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us."
In today's society, those who try to hold to spiritual and religious truths are called the "religious right" in a derogatory manner by people who want nothing to do with religion or anyone or anything that might bring to their attention their evil and unsavory lifestyles. There is building anger against righteous principles and people who try to uphold them. Those who support that marriage should only be between a man and a woman (no polygamous or homosexual "marriages") and who are against abortion (murder of unborn children) come under attack by the "liberal left," including most of the mainstream media. People who indulge in those and other immoral practices are angry at those who adhere to righteous truths.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Seeking Spiritual Knowledge
1 Nephi 15
When Nephi returned to the tent of his father after having seen the same vision his father saw, he found Laman and Lemuel disputing about their father's dream or vision. They couldn't understand some of the things he had told them. Nephi asked them if they had inquired of the Lord, and they said "We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us." Nephi's response to them should be a guideline for all of us. Verse 11:
"Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?--If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you."
The Lord has promised that He will give us spiritual knowledge if we diligently and worthily seek it, and if we truly believe that He will answer us.
When Nephi returned to the tent of his father after having seen the same vision his father saw, he found Laman and Lemuel disputing about their father's dream or vision. They couldn't understand some of the things he had told them. Nephi asked them if they had inquired of the Lord, and they said "We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us." Nephi's response to them should be a guideline for all of us. Verse 11:
"Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?--If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you."
The Lord has promised that He will give us spiritual knowledge if we diligently and worthily seek it, and if we truly believe that He will answer us.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Vision Concludes
1 Nephi 14
I've always wished Nephi could have written what he saw past the end of chapter 14, as he was describing the conditions of the last days and saw clear through to the Millennium and beyond. But he was commanded not to write it, as the apostle John would be appointed to write concerning the Second Coming and life after that. John wrote what is known as the book of Revelation in the New Testament, and it contains that sacred information. But for us today, his writings are very hard to understand because of all the symbolism, whereas Nephi's are much more clear and easily understood.
A verse that stands out to me in this chapter is verse 7:
"For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other--either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken."
Here he is talking about the restoration of the Gospel as it was shown to him. Eventually, every person who lives on this planet will have the opportunity to hear the message of the Gospel (either in this life or in the spirit world before the resurrection) and will have to make a choice to either accept or reject it. The consequences of that choice are made clear in the above passage of scripture.
I've always wished Nephi could have written what he saw past the end of chapter 14, as he was describing the conditions of the last days and saw clear through to the Millennium and beyond. But he was commanded not to write it, as the apostle John would be appointed to write concerning the Second Coming and life after that. John wrote what is known as the book of Revelation in the New Testament, and it contains that sacred information. But for us today, his writings are very hard to understand because of all the symbolism, whereas Nephi's are much more clear and easily understood.
A verse that stands out to me in this chapter is verse 7:
"For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other--either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken."
Here he is talking about the restoration of the Gospel as it was shown to him. Eventually, every person who lives on this planet will have the opportunity to hear the message of the Gospel (either in this life or in the spirit world before the resurrection) and will have to make a choice to either accept or reject it. The consequences of that choice are made clear in the above passage of scripture.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Nephi's Vision Continues
1 Nephi 12
This chapter continues with the amazing vision Nephi was shown - a vast panorama of what was ahead for this earth and its inhabitants. He saw the devastation that would occur in the Americas at the time of Christ's crucifixion and witnessed the coming of Christ to the Nephites after His resurrection.
Verse 6: "And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them."
I love the account in Third Nephi telling of when Christ did manifest himself to the Nephites. I am so grateful the prophet-writers made a record of it for us.
Chapter 13 is full of marvelous information, so much that I will write what is in the chapter heading rather than comment on it, myself.
"Nephi sees in vision: the church of the devil set up among the Gentiles; the discovery and colonizing of America; the loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible; the resultant state of gentile apostasy; the restoration of the gospel, the coming forth of latter-day scripture, and the building up of Zion."
This chapter continues with the amazing vision Nephi was shown - a vast panorama of what was ahead for this earth and its inhabitants. He saw the devastation that would occur in the Americas at the time of Christ's crucifixion and witnessed the coming of Christ to the Nephites after His resurrection.
Verse 6: "And I saw the heavens open, and the Lamb of God descending out of heaven; and he came down and showed himself unto them."
I love the account in Third Nephi telling of when Christ did manifest himself to the Nephites. I am so grateful the prophet-writers made a record of it for us.
Chapter 13 is full of marvelous information, so much that I will write what is in the chapter heading rather than comment on it, myself.
"Nephi sees in vision: the church of the devil set up among the Gentiles; the discovery and colonizing of America; the loss of many plain and precious parts of the Bible; the resultant state of gentile apostasy; the restoration of the gospel, the coming forth of latter-day scripture, and the building up of Zion."
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Desire (pray), Believe, and Ponder
1 Nephi 11
Nephi believed his father Lehi when he told his family about the vision or dream he had had, and he had a great desire to see those things for himself.
1 "for it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the spirit of the Lord. . . ."
I like that scripture because it outlines some steps that are necessary in order to obtain spiritual knowledge from the Lord. He first desired, and the way to make our desires known to the Lord is obviously to earnestly pray about it. He believed that the Lord could make it known to him, and he pondered it in his heart. We (I) likely won't be visited by a divine messenger as was Nephi, but we can receive answers and knowledge through the Spirit.
Chapters 11-14 are full of important symbolism that was shown to both Nephi and Lehi. Fortunately, Nephi wrote much of what was explained to him, and we are very blessed to have it, as it relates to life today as we seek to return back to the presence of the Lord.
Nephi believed his father Lehi when he told his family about the vision or dream he had had, and he had a great desire to see those things for himself.
1 "for it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the spirit of the Lord. . . ."
I like that scripture because it outlines some steps that are necessary in order to obtain spiritual knowledge from the Lord. He first desired, and the way to make our desires known to the Lord is obviously to earnestly pray about it. He believed that the Lord could make it known to him, and he pondered it in his heart. We (I) likely won't be visited by a divine messenger as was Nephi, but we can receive answers and knowledge through the Spirit.
Chapters 11-14 are full of important symbolism that was shown to both Nephi and Lehi. Fortunately, Nephi wrote much of what was explained to him, and we are very blessed to have it, as it relates to life today as we seek to return back to the presence of the Lord.
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