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Savior. I don't know if that's me or a product of environment or what. I never really thought about it until the past decade, but that's the title I most commonly use. Hmm. Not really. Perhaps when considering stories which use those symbols. I'm more likely to think of my self as a (poor example of a) disciple.

I watch on YouTube because I can speed it up - I find it easier to concentrate at high speeds. Also, I can pause it to take notes, then resume. But I like that the Church has an app and that it has all the features one could want (as far as I can tell).

Alternately, you can get the Church's new "Gospel Stream" app! Now you don't have to be me to skip YouTube commercials. And it still supports playing videos at 2x. And you can download them for playback (in Sunday meetings, for example).

Welcome to Third Hour, @KingDumb!

This is the only documented version I could find: (I copied that from Verse by Verse The Old Testament Volume 2 by Andrew C. Skinner, D. Kelly Ogden - the entry for Isaiah 5.)

Good question. I'd have to do research - I remember reading it in a manual, hearing it in class, but I couldn't tell you who originally said it.

Klaw disagrees.

2 Nephi 12 @Jamie123, we believe verse 2 is prophesying of the temple in Salt Lake. And that this: ...is saying that in the Millennium, Christ will rule the government from Zion (the new Jerusalem, which will be in / around Independence, Missouri) and the Church from Jerusalem (the old one). v5+: When we go astray, we lose the Lord's guidance, so don't go astray. v22: Who cares what people think? Follow the Lord. 2 Nephi 13 The fate of those who rebel against God. v4-5, 12: Am I the only one who feels like this is already the case (despite having a senile POTUS)? v10: A little hope for those trying to follow Christ. Just stay faithful, cuz the consequences for not doing so are icky.... 2 Nephi 14 ...but things will be good for those who love and obey the Lord. 2 Nephi 15 Don't be wild! Exercise good judgement, be righteous, regard the work of the Lord. v18: Quit dragging your sins around! (Love the imagery here.) v23: Sounds like our day, too! v26-30: @Jamie123, we believe Isaiah was seeing the modern world, with things like trains, cars, and air travel, and did his best to describe what he was seeing. The ensign to the nations is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Be humble, repent, follow Christ.

2 Nephi 10 v14: The greatest tragedy to befall the Americas is when, nation by nation, we reject our King (Jesus Christ). v23: Cheer up! The Lord won't forget you, and you are free to choose eternal life or everlasting death - whichever you prefer. 2 Nephi 11 v4: All things typify Christ - Part 4 of the talk I'm about to link is amazing in this regard. The whole talk is one of the best I've ever heard. It's longish (30 minutes - a BYU devotional), but I listen to it at 2x - and this is one of the rare ones I recommend listening to (I'm a reader more than a listener), but the way he delivers the talk is significant (and he's pretty funny)... “True Doctrine, Understood, Changes Attitudes and Behavior” by Todd B. Parker V4+: We should delight in the things of the Lord. (Right now, Klaw is delighting in the spring-style door stop... )

Why not go for broke? I predict1: North Korea, Vatican City, Iran, and Israel. 1That it won't be any of these.

Sorry, a post-lunch crash delayed my scripture study today... 2 Nephi 9 What can one say about the beginning? Jacob is teaching the plan of salvation and the take-away is to believe in Christ and his atoning power. v8-9: @askandanswer, I referred without reference to this very verse in my replies above. v9: Just cuz they look all light and shiny doesn't mean they're telling the truth. Learn the gospel. Learn to recognize the Spirit. v20+: Christ knows you and all the good and bad you experience, intimately and perfectly. Trust him. v23: Action plan. v28+: Don't let your learning make you arrogant; don't let your riches make you proud, stingy, and mean; don't think refusal to learn more will go over well in the judgement day. Repent early and often. v40: If you are striving to live as God commands, then even truth which points out your failings will not upset you (for long) because it will help you in your sincere desire. If the truth hurts, consider that it's because you need to repent so that you can welcome God's correction. v41: The keeper of the gate that leads to life, salvation, and exaltation is Christ. Revelation 1:18 (and I'm sure there are more, but I'm too lazy to find them): Christ also holds the keys of death and hell. Thus, whichever way you're going, he is the way, the keeper, the one with the keys to let you in or lock you in... Satan isn't the one with the keys to his own "kingdom" - Christ holds even those. v48: @Jamie123, in the Church, it's pretty common for people to express a desire to know what's on the portion of the plates that weren't translated, or to otherwise have more knowledge and revelation than we now do. Yet this verse makes it clear - until we master what we already have, we will not get more. (There's a verse in the D&C that says this as well, but I'm too lazy to go look for it right now.) v49: Our goal should be to feel the same. v54: Maybe this was General Conference. Or maybe 2-day meetings were common. And here we are complaining about 3-hour church...

That's Ammon, but yeah. (The book of Alma includes the stories of an awful lot of people. Not sure why Mormon, when he was compiling everything, crammed so much into one book called Alma - there is an Alma - two (father and son), but others as well.)

To expound further: It's not just Satan who entices, the Holy Ghost does as well, and apparently, we cannot act for ourselves without both enticements. This suggests that making good choices is not our natural state, hence the need for the enticings of the Spirit. (And yes, I know, choosing to yield to those enticings is a good choice, but that choice exists only because we have the influence of the Spirit.) So... I would say we have thereby allowed Christ to save us from him. Yes, we make choices. We choose which enticing to follow. We become more and more like Christ and stronger and stronger in Him. But I'm not willing to say we save ourselves - I think we are too dependent upon Christ to make that claim. And yes: But again, can there be righteousness without Christ? Can we know what right is without the enticings of the Spirit? Can we have power to choose right without the grace of Christ? I don't think so. We are weak, but He is strong... FWIW.

I know it looks and seems like this, but I submit that we cannot make righteous choices, let alone continue to make more right choices and fewer wrong choices without the grace of Christ to enable them, without the influence (and eventually) gift of the Holy Ghost. If it doesn't seem that way to you, I submit for your pondering 3 Nephi 9:20: ...which suggests to me that we can be under the influence of the Holy Ghost and not consciously realize it - strange as that seems. This also suggests to me that those who have the gift of the Holy Ghost may not realize just how much of what they do is through that gift and how different they would be or how little good they could do without that gift or influence. Also, because I have nowhere else to put it:

I hope I'm not the only person here praying for this young man, whoever he is. If he's willing, @askandanswer, perhaps some family history work (I know, right now he can only do research and make connections) would help to get him assistance from the other side of the veil, too.

The Gospel Topic entry on Same-Sex Attraction may help. I like @CV75's answer though - a blessing of peace or guidance may be what this man needs first. And remember to keep Christ at the center of everything - Christ is the one who can help you and him.

Note that what you quoted is older wording and the Church leadership wouldn't phrase it that way these days. The Atonement is not a sentient entity or a process or anything else capable of doing something. Jesus Christ does it all - he atoned for us - the Atonement is what he did, what he went through. Jesus Christ saves. We build faith in Christ, that Christ, because of his atonement, has the power and right to save us. This is flat-out false. Scriptures clearly teach that without Christ, we would be subject to the devil forever. He redeems us. We cannot save ourselves. As for how one sin can condemn a person to eternal torment - it's a flaw. An un-repaired flaw (and we can't repair our own flaws) will get worse, guaranteed - if you don't believe it, just sit outside your house for a century without repairing anything and see what happens. In the words of Nibley (Approaching Zion, Chapter 2 "What is Zion? A Distant View"): Not gonna comment on the rest, but everywhere you write about "the Atonement" doing something, replace "the Atonement" with "Jesus Christ" and you'll have a clearer view.

2 Nephi 6 v2: "...I have spoken unto you exceedingly many things." In our day, Jacob would have been a High Counselor or maybe a Stake President. (Historically, Stake High Counselors get teased a lot for giving long, boring talks that put people to sleep. Obviously, whether this is true will depend on the individuals.) v3: Before you can teach, you have to learn, so study the word of God so that He can make use of you. Be on the Lord's side - however bad things get, life is better there. 2 Nephi 7 Don't know what to add. 2 Nephi 8 v7+: The Lord's law should be in your heart and you should not fear men - the Lord is more powerful and true. Remember him and his blessings. Repent. Be humble. Don't afflict others, cuz it's not gonna be pleasant for those who do...

I just created next week's thread for 2 Nephi 10 - 2 Nephi 28:

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: Date Read Through Day of Week Sep 25 2 Nephi 11 Monday Sep 26 2 Nephi 15 Tuesday Sep 27 2 Nephi 19 Wednesday Sep 28 2 Nephi 23 Thursday Sep 29 2 Nephi 25 Friday Sep 30 2 Nephi 26 Saturday Oct 1 2 Nephi 28 Sunday Last Week: Book of Mormon Reading Group: 18 Sep - 24 Sep 2023 (1 Nephi 19 - 2 Nephi 9) Thread Index

You can get the entire set of "Collected Works of Hugh Nibley" - 19 volumes in Deseret Book's eBook format for a mere $857.991 (less than 9¢ / page). If you do, I'd say start with any of them. I haven't read them all, but of those I have, I like everything I've read, but especially: Approaching Zion Old Testament and Related Studies The World and the Prophets Lehi in the Desert 1 Based on a random sampling, the set is more expensive by far than if you bought the individual volumes. Apparently Deseret Book have stolen Amazon's "volume discount" pricing algorithm...

Where does it say that? For all we know, they were already married when they joined Lehi's group. In fact, in 1 Nephi 7:6, it says: "...and the two sons of Ishmael and their families..." - the sons were already married.

2 Nephi 4 v2: While we may wish we had these prophecies from the brass plates, it seems clear to me that the Lord gives to each dispensation and generation the prophecies which they most need. Lehi's descendants needed to know what Joseph prophesied regarding them. We don't need that (apparently). Similarly, there are things we have that they apparently didn't need. v15-16: Can we say we feel the same way Nephi did about the scriptures? Do we do as he did? v19+: Trust God, remember his blessings to you, continually plead for his help, learn from him. Let God's goodness motivate you to make better choices. Repent. v33: "Wilt thou make my path straight before me!" This is the only time I remember this phrase being used this way. Usually, it's "...Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." (The original, in Isaiah, makes more sense to me: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." and Alma's: "Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight") v35: Don't ask "amiss". 2 Nephi 5 When the parents are gone, the children get up to no good... v6: What sisters? This is the first (and only?) mention of Nephi having sisters. Are these the wives of his brothers or did Lehi have daughters that everyone forgot to mention until now? (We have no idea whether Sariah is alive or dead at this point.) v11+: The Lord blesses your efforts, not so much your procrastination or intent to do it tomorrow... v25: Perhaps our first reaction to "scourges" should be to remember God and repent... v27: The "manner of happiness" is hard work and obeying God (per previous verses). v30: When the Lord asks you to do something that seems redundant, do it anyway! v34: Even if it takes 10 years to complete...

Sort of like Who's on first? ETA: And there are four Josephs - it said Joseph Smith would be named after his father.

2 Nephi 3 @Jamie123, we believe that the writings mentioned in v12 and the "sticks" mentioned in the linked Ezekiel 37:15-20, represent the Bible (stick of Judah) and Book of Mormon (stick of Joseph). (And yes, also, the gathering of Israel back into one as mentioned in subsequent verses in Ezekiel 37.) When I was a teenager, it was common for some, especially missionaries, to refer to their scriptures as "sticks". Thoughts... Learning your family history can bring greater meaning into your life. v23: we are blessed through covenants others made. v25: learn from those with more experience. v20 and 21 "...the simpleness of their words." and "...and the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith..." remind me of this exchange in Ether 12: The meek won't go looking for things to mock (take advantage of another's weakness) in the Book of Mormon, especially in the way the authors worded things. We generally interpret this portion of Ether 12 as saying that the Lord can take my weakness and make it my strength, but I think this exchange and Moroni's concern show that it also means that the Lord can take something one person did in their weakness and make it a strength for another person who is acting with faith in Christ.