The Plan of Salvation

As I was reading today in 2 Nephi chapter 2, I wanted to gain a better understanding of the Plan of Salvation, how I can apply it better in my life. I searched through lds.org I found a talk that had been given by Duane B Gerrard in the October 1997 General Conference called The Plan of Salvation: A Flight Plan for Life.

Scripture Study

I've been trying to find different ways to help me study the scriptures more effectively. I was invited by my cousin to follow on Instagram bofm365 to study the Book of Mormon for the year. Although I haven't been as regular in keeping up, I love how they break down the chapters and give you a question to ponder as you read.

I also had been pinning scripture study journaling ideas on Pinterest, and I finally settled on a way that will help me track my thoughts as I study. I settled on The Red Headed Hostess' scripture journal templates. I like her format.

I mean I've always had a journal for my spiritual thoughts, I just wanted a better way to do it. I'm just about done writing in one journal, so with my new one I already cut and pasted some of the template into it. I can't wait to start on this new way of studying.

What's your method to studying the scriptures?

Prayer

In my personal study I thought that I would concentrate on Prayer. This is a subject that I need improvement on. I will admit that I'm not the best at getting down on my knees every day to thank my Heavenly Father for the things that I need or have. It is something that I've committed to being better at. But I wanted to share my thoughts as I studied this topic, b/c there may be someone that needs to read this.

What is Prayer? - Prayer is our communicational life line with our Father in Heaven. It has a special language that we should use to show respect to our Heavenly Father. Elder Dallin H. Oaks (one of my favorite apostles) said, "We should address prayers to our Heavenky Father in words which speak of that language associated with love and respect and reverence and closeness." (1993 April Conference, The Language of Prayer) This was a fantastic talk by the way. I love how he mentions in this quote that the language should be in closeness. To me this means pray as if he was standing right next to you. For some that is hard to do and for others it's really easy. I'm stuck in between, but will get to that closeness.

When we are praying we should make it a special conversation and should do it in a private place, if we are doing it alone. Find a special spot where you won't be disturbed while pouring out your heart. In Matthew 6:6-7 this is what is says about praying in secret.

"But thou, when thou prayest, enter into a thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to they Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking."

 Don't pray to gain an audience of others, but to have the audience of your Heavenly Father. We need to be sincere in our prayers or else they don't mean anything. Sometimes I feel like I'm repeating myself when I pray, but I try to be conscience of what I'm praying for, and how I'm praying. When we are praying from the heart then our prayers will be sincere and will be answered.

My other thought was when should we pray? Should I pray only in the morning or just at night? The answer is simple: ALWAYS.

In D&C (Doctrine and Covenants) 10:5 it says, "Pray always, that you may come of conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work."

I had never really noticed how the word 'conqueror' was spelled. I always would say conquer. I looked it up and it means self-mastery. So I read it again using self-mastery in its place and it made more sense. We need to pray to humble ourselves so that we can fight off Satan with Heavenly Father's help. By praying all the time it makes us stronger with the Lord, which leads me into the next scripture in Alma 13:28.

"But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering."

Not only should we be praying on our own, but with our families. When we pray as a family we become stronger. Just like the scripture in Alma is talking about. We need to take the time to pray as a family, because the world is not a place to out into without feeling the Lord's love and protection.

"Think of the power for good as you gather and thank God for all of his blessings. Think of the eternal significance of daily thanking him for each member of your family and asking him to guide and bless and protect each one. Think of the strength that will come to your family as, daily, one member or another pours out his or her soul in love to God for other family members." Elder John H. Gorberg (1982 April Conference, The Power of Family Prayer)

I've mentioned when we should pray, how we should pray, what about the why? Why should we pray? This was partially answered in D&C 10:5, to ask the Lord's help to overcome Satan. Why else are we praying for? For me it's to include Him in major life decisions. Like; should I marry this person? Is this the right school to go to? Should I take this job offer? Is this where my family should move to? We need to involve the Lord in our life to make it a richer, fuller life. I know that when we include Him in big decisions we feel at peace. It should also be to ask for his forgiveness, because we are not perfect and we need it.

In Mark 11:24-26 this is what it says about why we should pray.

"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if you have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." 

Prayer is essential to our eternal progression. We need our Heavenly Father's help in this life. I know that I need to be more committed in communicating with him because I've seen the blessings that come from praying daily.

Tree of Life: Mist of Darkness

I've finally reached the last section of this chapter.

1 Nephi 8

vs. 23 - Mist of Darkness

At first this section was hard for me to study, I didn't know exactly where to start but after much contemplation the thoughts started to flow.

The mist of darkness is a representation of temptation. The devil is sneaky and will try to lead you away with temptations. We need to resist and not get side-tracked.

- 3 Nephi 18:18

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley gave some good advice, " You must keep control of your desires. For you there is no future in any course . . . Nonetheless, yielding to temptation can become like a wound that seems never to heal and always to leave an ugly scar." (2004 April conference, Stay on the High Road)

Keeping control of our desires is key. By keeping yourself in check you are warding off the temptation to sin. No one wants to sin.

"One of the great myths of life is when men think they are invincible. Too many think that they are men of steel, strong enough to withstand any temptation." - Pres. James E. Faust (2002 April conference, It Can't Happen to Me)

- Luke 8:13
- James 1:12

Elder W. Craig Zwick said this, "It requires courage to make good choices, even when other around us choose differently. As we make righteous choices day by day in little things, the Lord will strengthen us and help us choose the right during more difficult times." (2008 April conference, We Will Not Yield, We Cannot Yield)

It can be hard to be conscience of the choice you make, but it can also be rewarding. If your true desire is to not sin, then you will be blessed. The Lord wants us to come to him when the choices are hard. Find your knees and plead for his help. He wants us to.

- D&C 10:5

"We get side tracked by submitting to temptations that divert us past the bounds of safety. Satan knows our weaknesses. He puts attractive snares on our path at just those moments when we are most vulnerable." - Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1990 Oct conference, The Straight and Narrow Way)

I know that I have been tempted at times to sway in the other direction, but when I do I go to the Lord and ask him to help me. I don't want to be walking through the mist of darkness alone because I can't always see what is out there. Stay conscience of your surroundings and steer clear of the things that will trip you up and bring you down to Satan's level. As Pres. Hinckley said we to say on the high road.

Tree of Life: Straight and Narrow Path

Today I will be sharing my thoughts on the Straight and Narrow Path.

1 Nephi 8

Vs. 20 - Straight and Narrow Path

As I was reading, these were my thoughts about the straight and narrow path.

• the iron rod runs along side the path

• without either we cannot find our way home

• they lead us to eternal life

• we need to teach our children the importance of staying on the path

Sister Rosemary M. Wixom said this about the path, "No child needs to walk the path alone so long as we speak freely to our children of the plan of salvation." (2010 Oct conference, Stay on the Path)

I love how she says that we need to teach our children of the plan of salvation. By doing so I know that we are reinforcing them to understand that eternal life is the goal.

- D&C 68:25, 28

A hymn came to my mind as I read Sister Wixom's quote and that is Teach Me to Walk in the Light (177).

Teach me to walk in the light of his love;

Teach me to pray to my Father above;

Teach me to know of the things that are right;

Teach me, teach me to walk in the light

Come, little child, and together we'll learn

Of his commandments, that we may return

Home to his presence, to live in his sight

Always, always to walk in the light.

Father in Heaven, we thank thee this day

For loving guidance to show us the way.

Grateful, we praise thee with songs of delight!

Gladly, gladly we'll walk in the light.

How simple are these words!?

We should also help others come to the path and help those who have lost their way. Our love for others will help us in this effort, because everyone deserves a chance at happiness for eternal life. 

- D&C 132:22

In order to teach and help others to stay on the path we need to do the same.

"How can we keep ourselves on the straight and narrow way? The Lord have the answer over and over again. We must learn the word of God by studying the scriptures and apply his word by praying daily to the Lord and serving our fellowmen." - Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1990 Oct conference, The Straight and Narrow Way)

We should also be encouraging our youth to be virtuous which will keep them on the path. Help them to put on the whole ARMOR of GOD. 

Sister Mary N. Cook said, "Center your life on the Savior and develop daily habits of righteous living." (2009 April conference, A Virtuous Life - Step by Step)

Let us all strive to create and keep daily habits of righteous living so that we can help others and our families gain eternal life.

Tree of Life: Iron Rod

I know that it's been awhile since I last posted. I just haven't had a chance to sit down to post the rest of my thoughts from the Tree of Life chapter. The next part that I wanted to share is on the Iron Rod.

1 Nephi 8

Vs. 19 - Iron Rod

The Iron Rod is a representation of the Word of God, in other words the gospel.

- 1 Nephi 11:25

"Continually holding fast to the rod means that we strive to keep all of God's commandments, to have daily personalanf family prayer, and to study the scriptures daily." - Elder Kevin S. Hamilton (2013 Oct conference, Continually Holding Fast)

I love the hymn The Iron Rod, it's simple and states the purpose the iron rod has in our life. I will share with you the words of this beautiful hymn.

The Iron Rod - 274

To Nephi, seer of olden time,

A vision come from God.

Wherein the holy word sublime

Was shown an iron rod.

While on our journey here below

Beneath temptations pow'r

Through mists of darkness we must go

In peril ev'ry hour.

And when temptation's pow'r is nigh,

Our pathway clouded o'er,

Upon the rod we can rely,

And heaven's aid implore.

And, hand o'er hand, the rod along,

Through each succeeding day,

With earnest prayer and hopeful song,

We'll still pursue our way.

Afar we see the golden rest

To which the rod will guide,

Where, with the angels bright and blest

Forever we'll abide.

Chorus:

Hold to the rod, the iron rod;

'Tis strong, and bright, and true.

The iron rod is the word of God;

'Twill safely guide us through.

"Holding to the iron rod is not always easy. We may let go because of peer pressure or pride, thinking we can find our way back - later. When we do so, we are leaving our safety equipment behind." - Sister Ann M. Dibb (2009 Oct conference, Hold On)

I know that I've been tempted to let go. In fact I had "let go" for a short time. I wasn't going to church, I wasn't paying my tithing. At the time I also wasn't teaching my little boy the scriptures. My home didn't have the spirit. It was a rough patch for our family spiritually.

- Luke 8:11-12

"If there is any one thing most needed in this time of tumult and frustration, when men and women and youth and young adults are desperately seeking for sneers to the problems which afflict mankind, it is an "iron rod" as a safe guide along the straight path on the way to eternal life." - Pres. Harold B. Lee (1973 April conference, Stand Ye in Holy Places)

I love this quote that I found from Elder Robert D. Hales, "Standing obedient and strong on the doctrine of our God, we stand in holy places, for His doctrine is sacred and will not change." (2013 April conference, Stand Strong in Holy Places)

- D&C 87:8

- D&C 101:22

When we stand firm in holy places, such as the temple, church or a spiritually uplifting home we are grasping and holding strong to the iron rod.

Tree of Life: River of Water

Today I'm going to expand on the river of water.

1 Nephi 8

Vs. 13 - River of Water

- water is filthy and the depths of hell
- it ran near the tree but not to it, I saw the significance of this because no unclean thing can be in Heavenly Father's presence

"Be clean - in language, in thought, in body, in dress." - Pres Gordon B. Hinckley (2007 Apr Conference, I Am Clean)

"Our behavior in public must be above reproach. Our behavior in private is even more important. It must clear the standard set by the Lord." - Pres Gordon B. Hinckley (2002 Apr Conference, Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood)

"We cannot indulge in sin, let alone try to cover our sins. We cannot partake of the vanity of unrighteous ambition. . . If we do any of these things, the powers of heaven are withdrawn. The Spirit of the Lord is grieved. The very virtue of our priesthood is nullified. Its authority lost." - Pres Gordon B. Hinckley (2002 Apr Conference, Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood)

- I may not hold the priesthood, but access to it may be denied if I am not worthy

•  Col 1:10

- I need to always strive to be clean and worthy, teach my children the importance of living a worthy life

"Imagine, the consoling, liberating, exalting feeling that will come to you when you see the reality of the Atonement and the practical, everyday value of it to you individually." - Elder Boyd K. Packer (1997 Apr Conference, Washed Clean)

- The atonement is there for us to be made clean and pure

- 3rd Article of Faith: We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.

Tree of Life: Fruit

I love that I can find related topics through lds.org to help me learn and understand what I'm studying in the scriptures. Today I'm going to share about the Fruit from the Tree of Life.

1 Nephi 8

vs. 10-12 - Fruit

- this represents Eternal Life; the Plan of Salvation
- eternal life will be sweet with the ones we love
- in order to have eternal life we must partake of the fruit which is faith in Christ
- we need to keep the commandments

"However, conversion and baptism alone are not sufficient to one's assurance of eternal life. To receive exaltation in the kingdom of God, a person must abide the fullness of celestial law." - Elder Delbert L. Stapley (1973, Oct Conference, The Path to Eternal Life)

"Your eternal destiny will not be the result of chance but of choice. It is never to late to begin to choose eternal life." - Elder Randall K. Bennett (2011 Oct Conference, Choose Eternal Life)

• John 3:36 
• 1 John 5:11-12

"God's way provides man a divine way of life. The Lord promised his children salvation in the kingdom of God if they would live and follow his ways. It is important to know that man can become Godlike through the thoughts and ways of the Lord." - Elder Bernard P. Brockbank (1973 Oct Conference, God's Way to Eternal Life)

Tree of Life: Large and Spacious Building

It's been awhile since I last posted, but does not mean I haven't forgotten about what I'm studying. Life was pretty hectic during the holidays. Well anyway, time to catch up on what I have learned.

1 Nephi 8

Vs. 9 - Large and Spacious Building

• In the verse it is referred to as a field, but in the footnotes you go to 1 Nephi 12:16-18 and it is now a building, I think that they can be interchangeable
• It represents the pride of the world

"Trying to please others before pleasing God is inverting the first and second great commandments. And yet, we have all made that mistake because of the fear of men. . . This peer pressure tries to change a person's attitudes, if not behavior, by making one feel guilty for giving offense." - Elder Lynn G Robbins (201 Oct Conference, Which Way Do You Face?)

• Which way do you face?
• Do you have your heart set on things of the world or of God?

"In reality these stories are not of the crowds but individuals among those crowds. . . I think each one of us understands what it means to partake of the fulfilling fruit of the tree of life within sight and sound of those who mock and what it means to exert every courageous effort to pay them no heed." - Elder Dennis Neuenschwander (2008 Apr Conference, One Among the Crowd)

• Jeremiah 7:24

"Pride is a very misunderstood sin, and many are sinning in ignorance. . .Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing. The central feature of pride is enmity - enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen." - Pres Ezra Taft Benson (1989 Apr Conference, Beware of Pride)

- I was never aware that pride was such a complex sin. It really does make you think, "Am I sinning? Do I recognize the signs of this sin?"

• Romans 12:16

The Tree of Life - Dark and Dreary Waste

Today as I was listening to the Book of Mormon it came to the chapter of Lehi's dream of the Tree of Life. As the chapter finished I decided that I would study this chapter a little bit more in depth. There is so much to learn from this one little chapter, so I'm going to start with the Dark and Dreary Waste. The following are my thoughts and quotes that I found that helped me to understand this section better.

1 Nephi 8

Vs 7: Dark and Dreary Waste

• sometimes we wander aimlessly in our trials b/c we are confused
• we feel lost

"It seems that down through the ages people have wandered to and fro in the earth, and many never find their way out of the wilderness in which they are lost. The dictionary describes wilderness as an empty or pathless area or region, a pathless waste of any kind, a confusing multitude or mass. And thus those who aimlessly wander through life, confused and uncertain, waste the precious time that they have been given to prove themselves in this important stage of their existence." - Elder N. Eldon Tanner (1974 Oct Conference, Why Is My Boy Wandering?

- there are many things that will cause us to be confused 

"Let us diligently strive to understand the wonderful things of God. The jewels of the gospel of Jesus Christ are within our reach. But we must seek - ask and strive for - and live the principles of truth." - Elder Royden G. Derrick (1984 Oct Conference, By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them)

- What are you doing to not feel lost?

- Are you asking for help?

" How stimulating and edifying to approach Him in prayer each morning and evening and feel His nearness and His love as we acknowledge His hand, and in our need, seek His help." - Elder Rex C Reeves (1982 Oct Conference, Look to God)

Family Home Evening - The Articles of Faith

I've neglected this blog. But I hope that I can get back into writing my thoughts and ideas on here again. I gotta make it a habit.

Well for the last 8 weeks or so we have been studying The Articles of Faith for our Family Home Evening lessons. So far it been great! It's fun to learn more about the church with the built in gospel topics through the articles of faith. We all have been able to find study helps through lds.org to create a lesson and use the primary songs for the articles of faith. My son is learning them and we hope that he can pass them off later this year.

The Articles of Faith

For Family Night last night I gave the lesson on The Articles of Faith. Now that my son is almost 7 we thought that it was time to start memorizing The Articles of Faith. I gave a brief history on how they came to be and was surprised that I didn't know it. I love Church history and somehow this one fell through the cracks of my readings. Well anyway there is no real lesson on the Church website so I adapted a Primary Sharing Time lesson which included a picture to color. Score! It was short lesson, and it was interactive which was perfect b/c my son's attention span is like 5 mins tops for things like this. I wanted to share with you the short little history that I found in case you are wondering about it.

- Where did the Articles of Faith come from?

In March 1842 the Prophet Joseph Smith received a letter from Mr. Wentworth, a newspaper publisher in Chicago, Illinois, asking questions about the Church. As Joseph answered the letter, he was inspired to write thirteen statements that contain many of the beliefs of the Church. These statements became our Articles of Faith.
Later, in 1880, members at the October general conference of the Church voted to accept the Articles of Faith as scripture.

* reference to Sharing Time: The Articles of Faith

As a family we are now committed to memorizing an article of faith each month starting with the first one.

We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

I even created word docs with a fun border with an article of faith inside, 13 total. I printed the first one on white cardstock and "laminated" it with contact paper and hung it on the fridge.

Here is a free printable for you to download and print.

Article_of_Faith_1
*disclaimer: when I loaded it onto Scribd the font changed. If you would like a pdf file with prettier font please email me at thepinksenorita@hotmail.com.*

Memorizing

Ok, so not quite about memorizing but recently my husband and I have decided to teach our son how to sort of memorize scriptures that we think are important. He is doing a very good job. What we do it pick a scripture that correlates to what we talked about during family home evening. So here are a few sciptures that he has learned.

"Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." 3 Nephi 11:25

"And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."
Mosiah 2:17

"And now as I said concerning faith – faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Alma 32:21 - - This one we are learning this week and he is picking it up pretty quick

2 Nephi 3-6

This morning my son woke up not feeling so good so I brought him into my room to sleep in my bed and as I lay there with him, hoping to fall asleep again myself, the thought occurred to me that I had not been reading my scriptures the last several weeks. I can't believe that it has been so long and that I let it slip away from me. So with that thought in my head I got up and came downstairs. The house was very peaceful, I turned on the lamp in the family room and sat down in the chair and opened up my scriptures to read where I had left off. Here are a few thoughts from the chapters that I read.

Chapter 3
vs 5-6: Lehi is telling his son Joseph that a latter day prophet wil be born from his lineage. He is talking about Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel.

vs 8: is a reference to the restoration

vs 17: gives a small description of Joseph Smith's character. He was not a very educated person but had a great presence and influence on people

vs 19: reference to the writing and translation of the Book of Mormon

Chapter 4
vs 17-35: Psalm of Nephi, in these verses Nephi pours out his heart

• he prays to the Lord for strength and forgiveness
• he asks for help w/ his enemies

Chapter 5

vs 2-3: Laman and Lemuel want to kill Nephi b/c they think that he wants to be their ruler

Nephi and his believers leave and begin to prosper

vs 15-16: Nephi teaches his people how to build using all kinds of materials that are available to them. they begin to build a temple.

1 Nephi 21-22; 2 Nephi 1-2

I wanted to focus on 2 Nephi 2. This chapter is loaded and it's one of my most read and marked chapters in the entire Book of Mormon next to Alma 32, which I will get to much later.

Chaper 2 talks about opposition, agency and the fall of Adam.

Opposition

vs 11 says this "For it must needs be, that there is an a opposition in all things. If not so . . . righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility." - - -I don't think that I could explain it any better than this verse does. We are all faced with opposition every day and we should use it to grow and learn from it to better ourselves.

Agency

I have broken down agency into 6 things with correlateing verses, so that I can better understand it. We were given agency so that we can choose right from wrong.

1. Free to choose (vs 27)
2. alternatives/opposition (vs 11)
3. knowledge (vs 24,26)
4. entice (vs 16)
5. consequences (vs 27)
6. repetance/ atonement

Side note ** Each of the verses listed next to the key word explains why. **

The Fall

Most people are taught that Adam sinned when he ate the fruit, but really he trangressed, which is different.

Here are the definitions to what each one means

To transgress is to violate a law

To sin is an offense to religious or moral law

Now with that in mind, Adam had 2 things that he must do. 1) to mulitply and replenish the earth, which was commandment from God and 2) to not partake to of the forbidden fruit which was in a sense a law.

Adam had to trangress the law of eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in order to fulfil God's first commandment which was to mulitply and replenish the earth. Without that none of us would exsist and Adam and Eve would have remained in the Garden of Eden in what would be a state of innocence. For those of you who are reading this I hope this makes sense, b/c to me it does, b/c I've grown up being taught this.

One of my favorites scriptures explains this and it says (vs 25) "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

That's all I'm going to write about today.

disclaimer - -Remember these are my notes and thoughts on what I've read.

1 Nephi 17-20

Chapter 17

vs 3 - If we keep the commandments the Lord will provide for us what we are in need of

Nephi chastizes his brothers and relates the story about Moses and the Israelites and how wicked they had become

vs 44 - There is a line in this verse that I really liked and it says "and the Jews also sought to take away his life." - Nephi is explaining that the Jews wanted to kill Lehi - the Jews are the ones who wanted to crucify Jesus. I love how in the scriptures many of the prophets are types for Christ! It makes the scriptures easier to understand by knowing this.

vs 45 - this is a really great verse that I wanted to share. Here is a part of the verse that I really liked "and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words." I also had a quote in my scriptures that goes along with this verse. Quote: "We can be too busy to pay attention to the promptings of the spirit . . . It is a spiritual voice that comes into your heart." Boyd K. Packer (The Cloven Tongues of Fire, May 2000 Ensign) We shouldn't keep our hearts closed b/c then we can't hear what is important

Chapter 18

vs 10-15 - Nephi is bound and his brothers become wicked and the Liahona stops working. When we are being wicked we drive away the spirit and we tend to loose our way. We need to repent so that we can have his Spirit with us always.

1 Nephi 13-16

These chapters had a lot going on so I will briefly describe what they were about.

Chapter 13

vs 12-19 These chapters talk about Christopher Columbus and his discovery of the Americas

vs 28 The bible was changed to benefit the presiding church/ religion of the time

The Great and Abominable Church - some say that it was the Catholic church b/c it was corrupt, but I think that it's any religion that distorts the truthfulness of the God's teachings to benefit themselves. For example right now there are some Muslims who believe that a Jahid (sp?) is war for God but from what we are seeing it is only an excuse to go on a killing rampage and hide behind their religion.

Nephi sees the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine & Covenants

Chapter 16

vs 2 - Nephi tells his brothers that "the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center." - - this is b/c they know that they are being wicked and don't want to hear about it.

vs 3 - if you are doi g what's right you are not defensive and will listen to what is being said

vs 10 - Lehi finds the Liahona - this can be likened to the a modern day GPS system to help us find our way.

1 Nephi 9-12

I've been readinng but keep forgetting to post. So I will be posting from the last few days worth of readings.

Chapter 10

Nephi is told about Christ and the Atonement, that John the Baptist will baptize Christ

I also noticed that as I read that the very first account of the Olive Branches is mentioned. (vs 12)


Chapter 11

Part of this chapter is about Nephi's dream and another comparsion to the Tree of Life

• Tree = Love of God, Mary is also compared to the tree
• Fruit = Jesus Christ
• River = Love of God

Nephi is shown Christ's ministry and crucifixtion

Chapter 12

In this chapter Nephi is shown the resurrection of Christ

1 Ne 5-8

Chapter 5

Sariah starts to murmur against the Lord and Lehi. Sometimes our parents will question the Lord but they should ask the Lord for comfort when they are unsure. They are not always perfect and I as a parent myself I sometimes forget and will complain but I know that if I ask the Lord for his help he will comfort my fears.

This chapter also touches on what the Brass plates contained and this is what I found.

1. account of the creation (vs 11)
2. account of Adam and Eve (vs 11)
3. record of the Jews from the beginning (vs 12)
4. prophecies fo the prophets (vs 13)
5. genealogy (vs 14)

Chapter 7

when things get tough we forget to seek out the Lord for help and sometime we rebel against what is right

Chapter 8 - The Tree of Life

This is one of my favorite chapters of first Nephi. The dream starts out with Lehi in a "dark and dreary waste" (vs 7) - - - I interpret this as the trials of our faith

Lehi prays and then he finds himself in a "large and spacious field" and sees a tree a little ways off in the distance and he walks toward to eat the fruit.- - - to me the fruit is Eternal Life or the gospel

When we have tasted the sweetness of the fruit we want everyone to partake and enjoy it, but not everyone likes it or is unsure.

Then Lehi notices that there is a rod next to the tree and this is supposed to represent the Word of God (the scriptures). And along the rod is a straight and narrow path, which can also represent the Gospel.

Across the river is large and spacious building which in this vision is representing the World and the wickedness in it. How many times have we listened to the mocking that comes from this building that we sometimes shy away from the path? Sometimes we listen and sometimes we don't but we should never let go of the rod.

When we let go the "mist of darkness" surrounds us and we get lost in the temptations of the world. We should be clinging to the rod with all our might. It's hard for us when we see a family member who lets go and can't find their way back. We should be praying for them in hopes that they do find it and grasp and hold on to it. Just like Lehi called out to Laman and Lemuel.

I just love how we can use the scriptures to liken them in our lives so that they become more personal. This is what I'm trying to do and by writing down my thoughts as I read will help me to do this.

1 Nephi 1-4

Tonight I started a new reading schedule, thanks to my friend Brittany who drew it up and asked who wanted to read the Book of Mormon with her before conference. So I took up the challenge and thought that I would write down some thoughts that I had as I was reading.

Here is what I gathered from my reading tonight. Forgive me if this seems scattered, I just wrote down what I was thinking as I read.

Chapter 1

I never noticed before but Lehi had a vision in which he saw Christ in his full Glory along with him were his 12 apostles (vs 9)

Lehi was shown Jerusalem's destruction

When Lehi told the Jews that they needed to repent they were angry b/c they didn't want someone telling them that they were wrong in doing wicked things. This made me think of when a child, more like a teenager, is being told by their parents that they are being disobedient and that they need to change or something bad is going to happen. (vs 19-20)

Chapter 2

Lehi shows Laman the river and says that he should be like the river which is "continually flowing into the fountains of righteousness" (vs 9) we should always strive to be righteous and be constant in doing so.

Lehi shows Lemuel the valley and says that the he should be "firm and steadfast and immoveable in keeping the commandments of the Lord" (vs 10) We should strive to be immoveable in keeping the commandments and not faulter, but we are not always perfect but should be trying.

Chapter 3

This chapter i think was talking about how every parent wants what's best for their child and will do what it takes to make them happy even when they are not being righteous or are struggling with their faith.

Chapter 4

We should always keep the commandments because when we do the Lord will bless us (vs 14) Just like when Nephi trusted in the Lord to help get the plates. We should also have Faith that the Lord will help us when we need him.