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If you want the full talk from October 1947, you can get the free Deseret Bookshelf app and download the free "Conference Report October 1947". This talk was given in the last session. (It's possible I can get a PDF of this off my other computer from another source, should anyone need it. But there are plenty of free books in the Bookshelf app that make it worth it to me.)

Alma 3 I suppose there are lots of things we could say in regards to symbolically "marking" oneself and about the importance of the groups with whom you choose to associate. And yet, we have missions to the Lamanites and we today are called to share the gospel in all the world, so there's associating and then there's associating... It seems to me the important lesson here, though, is simply to be a humble follower of Jesus Christ - then you don't need to rebel or "distinguish" yourself from others (surely a sign of pride), or find someone else to follow... Alma 4 v1-3: War is a terrible thing. v3: Don't wait for a "war" to "awaken" you - repent continually. v4: (Hopefully upstream from where they dumped all the bodies... Just sayin'.) v6: Seriously wishy-washy people. Perhaps their extreme "mood swings" is why they were the perfect source from which to teach modern man who, thanks to the "smart phone" has a 2 nanosecond attention span. Knowing that living the gospel brings abundance, prepare your heart so that abundance doesn't lead you to pride and sin. (Or check your heart and remove pride and sin that have come from your abundance - before the Lord lets that sin remove the abundance and crush your pride.) Don't buy your clothing on Rodeo Drive. v8: Sometimes I think this phenomenon is like: "OK, I'm doing the gospel checklist, and I still have some spare time, so I'm going to pursue some pleasant thing", which then starts to eat into the time previously spent on the gospel checklist, which then leads to sin and abandoning the gospel. Don't let the gospel be a checklist - in all things, if it's not changing who you are and strengthening your relationship with Christ, find a way to change it, a different way to do it, a different perspective or thought pattern. Don't focus on the task, focus on changing your heart through the task. v8: "began to persecute those that did not believe" - I suspect I've always read that as "people who weren't members of the Church" - but it's obvious now that it's saying "people who didn't agree with them". And we see this at times, regardless of the membership of the parties involved. v10: We are meant to be the leaven - when the church goes bad, the whole world gets worse! v15: "...nevertheless the Spirit of the Lord did not fail him." Remember this - the Spirit of the Lord will not fail you. Rely on the Lord, trust him, stay true to him. (See v13 & 14.) v19-20: Jesus Christ is the answer. Got problems? Teach the word of God.

OK, one of my favorite things - makes me smile every time:

Hmm. @Jamie123, given the opening graphic, doesn't The Sound of Music or at least Julie Andrews (or her singing) need to go on your list? (Sure, I can't say what she was like in real life, but from an interview of her that I watched, she's possibly the most gracious person I've ever observed - which may say more about the people I hang out with, but still, I was impressed. It made me think "finishing school" should still be a thing.)

I've been deliberately avoiding this topic because I'm sure if I said everything I think it would be misunderstood, dismissed, and create an uproar all at the same time, but I will say two things: 1. These records were kept by men who were primarily concerned with covering what were, at the time, the affairs of men. (This isn't a value judgement either way, it's just what it is.) 2. I assert that the women who lived at the time these events were going on had a more profound impact on how things went down than anyone else - at least, the mothers among them. Don't believe me? Ask Helaman's "sons". A mother is a force of nature who alters generations of history. That we have nearly no record of the details of the wifing and mothering these women did is unfortunate, but I need no record to know that they were at least as heroic in their spheres as the men were in theirs. (And yes, as the records show, some of them were a terrible force for evil.)

Love it! Some people have no sense of humor. And if it's a young missionary, she may be one of those 20-somethings who are overly obsessed with their freshly minted "adulthood" and is trying hard to be "mature" or "serious". Meanwhile, I've never quite managed to grow up (after more than 5 decades on the planet and losing both parents - they say that's when you really grow up, but apparently not). I have decided that drawing lousy pictures of cockatrices with fountain pens is a perfectly valid activity for a "middle-aged" person. I find it hilarious that his home planet is the same as the cheap dishes I grew up eating off of.

You're not the only one having such thoughts. IMO, a person would have to be purposefully blind not to see some similarities in these events between various parties in our day.

Alma 1 v4: Mortality has no point, do whatever you want. Very popular teaching. The strange thing to me is that people would feel the need to pay someone to tell them this - I guess it helps them to believe their own lies... v11: You know you're far gone when you boldly claim that murdering an old man over words was justified. v16: It's tempting to only consider this in relation to religion (this preaching for money), but really, I think it applies to a lot of things - get rich quick schemes, MLMs, various health crazes, etc. - any time someone teaches about the "vain things of the world" - things that aren't needed, that add no value, that offer nothing in exchange but vain, "results may vary" promises. How the world loves these false promises - anything that promises gain without work. v17: God is in favor of freedom of conscience. v17 & 18 essentially outline the rights of life, liberty, and property. v24-: Don't let your faith and testimony be swayed by non-believers. Don't let them anger you or provoke you into a "fight". The minute you allow that, you have already lost. (See v25+ for the better way.) v26-27: A different definition of equality. v28: Peace despite persecution is something we will want to have now and in the future. v29-31: The Lord prospers the obedient. v32: 1-800-Psychic will only make you poor. Alma 2 V1+: I want to say that the story of Amlici's attempts at power can be used in our modern world to analyze those who seek power of any sort, that those who are trying to change the law to take power from others and give it to themselves can thereby be identified as something we don't want (for example), or those who rile up the people to contention, or betray the nation to its enemies, etc. But frankly, we don't need this lesson. Our country's leadership and potential leadership are already awash is such characters. Indeed, it would be hard to identify one who wasn't like this. Awaken to our awful state indeed. It may be of use to remember that Mormon's whole life was lived in a state of near-constant warfare. That may explain the degree of detail and what details he includes throughout the "war chapters". (NOTE: I also firmly believe that the Lord instructed him as to what to include, and that these chapters are for us in these days - I frequently recognize parallels between the world around me and the things portrayed in these chapters. Further, I find no shortage of ways to "abstract" what it said into general counsel that is useful in my day-to-day life, without physical warfare being involved.) Some examples: Keep track of your enemies (e.g. things that would lead you into sin, your own weakness, etc.) and don't let them gather against you while you're not paying attention. Pray mightily to God for strength, and life worthy of the blessing. "Contend mightily" against those "enemies". Seek the blessings of God not for your own benefit, but that you might serve him.

Were this rule followed by every head of government everywhere and for all time, there would not be nearly so many wars nor so many deaths in war. I think we should reinstate it. I think it a shame it's not part of the Chief Executive's duties mandated by the US Constitution.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

Unless you count the Book of Mormon as an ancient record, in which case, Mormon tells us in Mosiah 28:13 that they are "fastened into the two rims of a bow." That's the only description I can find in the BofM. FWIW.

Well, that's annoying, but I guess since the app only has the Book of Mormon, it can't exactly have footnotes linking to the Old Testament (at least, not without them making a whole new set of footnotes for the app). Should you wish, you can graduate to the Gospel Library app... I don't believe these are the same Urim and Thummim that were in Aaron's breastplate. I believe they're a different set. It appears that there's: 1. Aaron's set, (I wonder if this set didn't come from Abraham - see Abraham 3:1, 4) 2. The Jaredite set (which would definitely be separate from Aaron's), 2 or 3. The ones Mosiah II had (perhaps the Jaredite set recovered, we don't know), and It appears that Joseph Smith had set 2, the Jaredite set (assumption from D&C 17 wherein the three witnesses to the BofM are told they will see the Jaredite U&T). If there were other sets, we don't know anything about them. I suppose in theory, after Israel was sacked one too many times and its precious things stolen from the temple, the Urim and Thummim could have been recovered and repurposed by some servant of the Lord, so that there could be only 2 sets - one from the old world and one from the new. But I don't see any way for the Jaredite set to be the same as Aaron's - timing overlaps. Gospel Topics entry

Other than them being prepared by God, no. The earliest reference is in Exodus - they were in Aaron's breastplate (per the footnote). Don't know if they're the same ones or another set. Yes. But I expect Mosiah II got the idea (at least in part) from the brass plates.

Mosiah 28 v1+: Conversion yields a desire to share the gospel. I've wondered if, in part, they wanted to go to the Lamanites because they weren't well received among the Nephites, and after doing what they could to repair the damage they'd done formerly, they found that people wouldn't trust them (or something like this). v2: Hope is a good thing, no matter how it may seem to the natural man. v3-4: Our own repentance should bring similar results. If not, perhaps ponder why not. v6-8: Just because you're scared (and Mosiah surely was - see v7), don't let your fear keep your children from pursuing great ends. Counsel with the Lord and trust his judgement over your fears. v10+: When facing a situation you don't know how to resolve, turn to scripture, history, and the Lord. v13-14: @Jamie123, these are called the Urim and Thummim in other places (footnote to v13). v15: is rather interesting - no mention of righteousness or of the Lord's teachings, but to reveal "iniquities and abominations". Yet we know that Urim and Thummim (if not these same ones) were used to translate the Book of Mormon... Don't really know what to make of it, just interesting to note. v19: It is interesting the importance Mormon places on this book of Ether. It's also interesting to note that Mormon says the account will be written later, and it's Moroni who writes it. v20: The records were separated between kings and prophets, then joined under king Benjamin, and now they go to the prophets, where they stay for the remainder of the Book of Mormon - whatever records the judges kept (when the prophets weren't the judges), we don't know - though I suppose Mormon may have used some of those records, too. Mosiah 29 v5+: I can imagine Mosiah was inspired by the judges Israel once had (from the brass plates) and spent a lot of time considering this dilemma, and praying for guidance. v10: Considering the future, the consequences, and potential dangers of any course is only wisdom. v11+: Choose your leaders well. v17, 31: The wicked ruler doesn't have to be a king to "inspire" iniquity in the people. v18+: Learn from history! v38: Freedom.

It seems to me that when Mosiah I fled from the Lamanites, not everyone came with him (Omni 1:12 "...and as many as would hearken unto the voice of the Lord should also depart out of the land with him..." - aren't you glad for Omni now? ). Presumably those who stayed behind were either killed or absorbed by the Lamanites - the Book of Mormon talks frequently about dissenters from the Nephites who go join (and usually "rile up") the Lamanites.

Do you suppose they also have ceiling dentists?

You read Mormon's abridgement. As you later note. I think the text you cited is just the record of Alma from the time he fled King Noah, when he and his followers became a separate people with a separate record. (Though that doesn't explain the "from the time they left Zarahemla" - perhaps Alma kept personal records the whole time...) It's coming. When Ammon and his brothers announce they're going on a mission to the Lamanites - their fellow Nephites call them crazy and say "we should just go kill them all" (or words to that effect). (Perhaps the children of those who had great compassion a short while ago...) Technically, we don't know if "the people of Zarahemla" (the person) were a kingdom or something else. It's logical to assume, but we don't know enough either way. Time to get ready for Church!

Next week thread is here:

Please see the Book of Mormon Reading Group thread for details (and discussion of 1 Nephi 1 - 5). Our goal is to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I'll make a new post before each Monday so that it's ready to go - weeks go from Monday to Sunday for our purposes. This week's schedule: Oct 23 Alma 2 Monday Oct 24 Alma 4 Tuesday Oct 25 Alma 5 Wednesday Oct 26 Alma 7 Thursday Oct 27 Alma 9 Friday Oct 28 Alma 10 Saturday Oct 29 Alma 12 Sunday Last Week: Book of Mormon Reading Group: 16 Oct - 22 Oct 2023 (Mosiah 14 - Mosiah 29) Thread Index

Mosiah 27 v4-5: God clearly does not want people preaching for money or just living off someone else's largess. He wants us working with our own hands. v16: This command to remember the captivity of one's fathers and that the Lord rescued them, is common in the Book of Mormon (and perhaps the OT). God wants us to remember all the ways he's helped people so that when we go through trials, we will trust him to help us through them - and so we can stay humble and grateful. v20: Prophetic perspective, I suppose. I doubt anyone today would rejoice at the arrival of their basically comatose son... v24+: Similar to how our physical birth is something that happens to us, spiritual birth is something we must allow Christ to work for us - yes, we must cooperate, repent, do all we can to obey, and be humble so that he can change us, but in my experience, I'm not the one that changes my heart - Christ is (v28 - Alma the younger did all he could - repenting nigh unto death - but it was still Christ who "snatched" him). v30+: It seems part of his repentance process was learning all about Christ. (Which makes perfect sense.) v32-33+: Spiritual rebirth doesn't just change your heart, it changes your behavior (or, if your heart is truly changed, you will change your behavior to match). v34: Here we get the next Ammon (the one who goes to the Lamanites). v35: True repentance requires one to make amends, as much as possible. This is also a demonstration of humility and love. v37: We are blessed as we teach about Christ.

Mosiah 24 v1-4 (and all over the Book of Mormon): It's interesting to consider that the Nephites seem to extremify (Look, Ma, I made a verb!) the Lamanites, either for good (missionaries) or ill (defectors). Makes me wonder what the Lamanites would have been like without the Nephite influences... v6-7: The gift of good communication skills... v10: Don't wait until your afflictions are "great" before crying mightily to God - walk with Him all the time (easier said than done). v13: Sometimes we don't want to wait until the Lord fulfills his promises - we're in a hurry for the blessings, but in good times we're slow to turn to him (see v10 comment). v14: In the midst of trial, look for ways that the Lord is blessing you. Note them so that you can later lift others with your testimony of the Lord's goodness. v15: "...submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." The Lord's will wasn't that they suffer, it was that they endure well until such time as the Lord provided the means of delivery. This is real faith - the act as if the promised outcome were a certainty. Note that in easing the burdens of Alma and his people, no one's agency was violated - not the Nephites and not the Lamanites and not the Amulonites - the Lord didn't use force against anyone, he strengthened those who had asked for his help. We should keep this example in mind when looking for relief from our own burdens. v18: Guess Amulon didn't have spot-lights and barbed wire and alarms and such... v19: Trust God to fight your battles (when he says he will). v21: Be grateful now - don't wait until everything is perfect before being grateful - things will never be perfect. v23: When the Lord tells you to get a move on, get a move on. Mosiah 25 v3 is interesting. Are the wicked better at reproducing? Does wickedness appeal to more folk so the Lamanite numbers are enlarged by dissenters, or...? v5-6: Story time with the King. Guess this would be like going to the drive-in to watch a double-feature: War and Peace and Gone with the Wind. Folks had longer attention spans. (Do you suppose they'd figured out how to pop corn yet?) v7-11: Your heart should be soft enough to feel for the experiences of others. The end of this chapter is, to my recollection, the first instance of organized churches in the Book of Mormon - perhaps they were small enough before to only need the prophet to lead them... Mosiah 26 v3: To understand the things of God requires belief first (see also Ether 3:11). Presumably this is because the things of God can only be understood through the Spirit, and one must believe in order to receive testimony from the Spirit. (Also, one must not harden one's heart - be stubborn, refuse to accept, refuse to consider, etc.) v6: (Almost?) every person in the Book of Mormon who deceives people and leads them away from God is described as using "flattering words". Thus, when someone tells you things that seem flattering - in any way - or even just "reaffirming" - consider that you might be in grave danger and consider your situation very carefully. v9: Don't let your iniquity abound. v10-12: Love this exchange between Alma and Mosiah - "Here, you deal with them." "I'm not dealing with them; you do it." v13-14: When you can't figure out what to do, ask God - "pour out your whole soul" to him. v15-18: The Lord doesn't answer the question at first. Lesson: don't focus on the question so much that your mind is closed to whatever else God may have to say. v19: We are blessed simply because we inquire of the Lord. v20-27: Get to know the Lord. v28-32: The Lord's way is simple, patient, and merciful. v39: Pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all things.

Herbal tea doesn't go against the word of wisdom (assuming it's not spiked or mixed with regular tea).

No, and given when it was written, Don Quixote probably never had quick oats either... Don Quixote quixotically quipped that breakfast would be quite speedy if oats were quicker to cook.

Assuming one speaks Spanish (which I used to be able to do): key HOE tay (I just googled and listened to the "American" and "British" pronunciations and frankly, both made my skin crawl. It's key HOE tay.)

Pretty sure "we" are trying to accomplish what we always do: divide and conquer. Deal with stereotypes rather than individuals. Get all upset - or tell other people not to get all upset or make other people all upset. Or some similar nonsense.