Day 16 - Mosiah 25-29; Alma 1; D&C 61-64

[pam]

Discussion

[pam]

Mosiah 25:22 notwithstanding there being many churches they were all one church

One of the most remarkable characteristics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is its worldwide uniformity. If you go to McDonalds in a third world country, the Big Mac doesn’t always taste the same. But if you go to a Sacrament meeting in a third world country, though you sit on a dirt floor, in a room with no more than a handful of members, and no one is speaking English—still, the taste of the spirit is just as sweet. So it was in the days of Alma, for the priests were careful not to teach something that wasn’t in the program. It was forbidden to do so. The result was that the Lord did pour out his Spirit upon them, and they were blessed, and prospered in the land (v. 24).

An Armenian convert who was baptized while in Austria wrote, “In the International Branch in Vienna, I felt the real Spirit of the Church because they had so many members. When I moved to the Armenian Branch, there were very few members, 10 or 15, attending every Sunday. So it was a little bit odd for me, but now I understand that it is not the quantity of the people necessary to feel the Spirit. The Spirit is the same, No matter where you go, the Church doesn’t change.” (Church News, Feb 14, 1998)

“’The Church is the same wherever you go!’ I grew up hearing this from returning vacationers and from missionaries reporting their missions. And I understood what they meant. They didn't mean that the same hymns were sung elsewhere- though they were- or that everyone used the same lesson manuals, or that everyone thought the same. They meant the gospel felt the same wherever they went. This resulted from the presence of the Holy Spirit, which is the universal way we recognize the things of God. It's the same when you learn something new or see something from a new slant, and suddenly it all makes sense. You know it's right, because it feels right and is consistent with other glimpses of truth that you've had.” (Book of Mormon Symposium Series, edited by PR Cheesman, MS Nyman, and CD Tate, Jr., 1988, p. 105)

I feel this is so true. I recently had an experience similar to this. I participated in a Choirside for a stake in the SLC area. The majority of the members of this stake are Tongan. The opening prayer was not given in English but in the speakers native tongue. Though I understood not one word..I truly knew that the message was the same whether I was hearing it in his language or in English.

[pam]

Mosiah 26:6 they did deceive many with their flattering words

The enemies of the church use flattery to deceive the very elect. Flattery is to preach that which is pleasing unto the carnal mind (Alma 30:53). Although Mormon doesn’t give us specific examples of what was said, elsewhere in the Book of Mormon we are told, Eat, drink, and be merry…God…will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this (2 Ne 28:8). Today, we have many examples of modern-day flattery designed to destroy the members of the church. In particular, there are many, who like the dissenters of Alma’s day, find pleasure in fostering apostasy among the members. The following quotations are taken from websites designed to “enlighten” Mormons and encourage those who are struggling in the faith. Their words are flattering to the carnal mind. The first two promote fear and paranoia about the massive, power-hungry Church, the next two are the battle cry of the atheist, and the last is the sectarian warning about Moroni 10:4:

“The Church is not a benign organization. It believes in using tactics similar to McCarthyism of the 1950’s.”

“I am very concerned about the Mormon church gaining more political power. The church ‘owns’ parts of Idaho, Arizona and practically all of Utah. Utah also has a very powerful senator in Orin Hatch.”

“I had been exposed to the idea of evolution before, but usually in a negative light. But in this class, we were required to read a lengthy passage from Darwin's ‘Origin of Species.’ It detailed the basic arguments of evolution and some of the evidence. It was like a light had gone on in my mind. I began to read everything I could about evolution, and the more I read, the more it made sense to me.”

“I refuse to believe in a god that would drown his children, allow untold suffering and injustice to others, give the truth to a few and then damn to hell the rest of them who refuse to believe and do what he says. I'm sorry, but that does not compute.”

“Asking a potential new convert to pray to God to reveal to them feelings of confirmation that the B of M is true is a ‘a form of positive hypnosis’.”

The list could go on and on, but if there is a common theme to all of these statements it is that they make sense to the carnal mind and, therefore, are a form of flattery. Paul explains that the man who destroys with flattery is vainly puffed up by his fleshy mind (Col 2:18). This has been the tool of the adversary for millennia. It worked for him in the days of Alma and it continues to work for him now.

[pam]

Mosiah 27:11 as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them

Wouldn’t it be great if every enemy of the Church was visited by an angel of the Lord and commanded to repent? Many of the rebellious have required a sign of the Lord. They argue that they will not believe unless an angel appears unto them to tell them what to do. Yet, the persecutors have been rebuked by an angel in only two instances, that of Alma and Saul of Tarsus. The similarities are striking but there are also differences. Alma and his brethren should have known better. They were in a state of rebellion against parents, church, and God. On the other hand, Paul thought he was doing the Lord’s work. Always a zealot, he was trying to purge Judaism of the new threat brought on by the followers of Jesus. Yet, in both instances, the visitation causes a great change in the hearts of the persecutors. In a miraculous way, they became great missionaries for the Lord.

What does this tell us about such divine interventions? The Lord doesn’t send an angel to rebuke every rebellious soul because many of these would still not repent even if they saw an angel. The witness of the Holy Ghost is more powerful than the visitation of an angel. Heber J. Grant taught, “Many men say: ‘If I could only see an angel, if I could only hear an angel proclaim something, that would cause me to be faithful all the days of my life!’ It had no effect upon these men that were not serving the Lord, and it would have no effect today.” (Conference Reports, Apr. 1924, p. 159) An example of this is seen in the life of Lyman Johnson.

“Lyman Johnson…reportedly apostatized after having seen an angel…‘I remember hearing President Snow say on more than one occasion,’ recalled Mathias Cowley, ‘how determined Lyman E. Johnson was to see an angel from the Lord. He plead [sic] with and teased the Lord to send an angel to him until he saw an angel; but President Snow said the trouble with him was that he saw an angel one day and saw the devil the next day, and finally the devil got away with him.’26” (FARMS, vol. 2, no. 2-Fall 1993, p. 171)

Hugh Nibley

“Brigham Young said, ‘Pray that you never see an angel.’ He was talking historically. Almost everybody who saw an angel left the Church. They came back, but they had these terrible problems. It gave them inflated egos, etc. They thought they were somebody special. They were, but they couldn't take it. It would be very dangerous if we were exposed to the other world to any degree. Only people that are very humble can do that. Not us, we can't do that. We are not that humble.” (The Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Lecture 41, p.193)

Wilford Woodruff

“…the Lord never did nor never will send an angel to anybody merely to gratify the desire of the individual to see an angel. If the Lord sends an angel to anyone, He sends him to perform a work that cannot be performed only by the administration of an angel. I said to him that those were my views. The Lord had sent angels to men from the creation of the world, at different times, but always with a message or with something to perform that could not be performed without.” (Collected Discourses 1886-1898, ed. by Brian Stuy, vol. 5, Wilford Woodruff, Oct. 19, 1896)

Hugh Nibley

“If the purpose of miracles is to convert, then Jesus wasted his miracles all on believers…To impress people with miracles is one thing; to give them a testimony of the gospel another. As the experience of the Apostles showed, if people will not accept the gospel by the word without miracles, they will not accept it with miracles: ‘If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead’ (Luke 16:31).” (The World and the Prophets, p. 140-1)

[pam]

Alma 1:3 he had gone about…declaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become popular

Alma introduces us to the second anti-Christ in the Book of Mormon—Nehor. He sought for fame and riches by establishing religious position based on popularity not worthiness. His idea was in direct conflict with what had been taught in Zarahemla for decades. King Benjamin had taught that even the king should not set himself apart from his subjects, even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes (Mosiah 2:14). The same doctrine was practiced and preached by his son Mosiah, all their priests and teachers should labor with their own hands for their support (Mosiah 27:5). Therefore, a popular priesthood goes against everything that had been taught so far among the Nephites. In his day, Nehor was an ideologic rebel. Yet, if he was born in our day, he would have been a televangelist.

Hugh Nibley explains how Nehor’s doctrine is really designed to set his class apart and gain prestige.

Hugh Nibley

“Next comes Nehor, the Great Liberal, ‘declaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become popular; and they . . . ought to be supported by the people’ (Alma 1:3). This is a familiar ‘liberal’ paradox. The liberal is unpretentious and open-minded, just like everybody else--yet he forms a jealously guarded clique for the exploitation of the general public, and distinguishes sharply between the intellectual class to which he belongs as a special elite and the layman, who is expected to support him and to seek instruction at his feet.” (An Approach to the Book of Mormon, p. 366)

[KeithLBrown]

Joseph Smith's First Prayer and the First Vision

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Precious Fruits of the First Vision,” Ensign, Feb 2009, 4–8

This is how Joseph Smith’s First Vision blesses our own personal lives, the lives of families, and eventually the whole human family—we come to believe in Jesus Christ through the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Prophets and apostles throughout the history of mankind have had divine manifestations similar to Joseph’s. Moses saw God face-to-face and learned that he was a son of God “in the similitude of [His] Only Begotten” (Moses 1:6). The Apostle Paul testified that the resurrected Jesus Christ appeared to him on the road to Damascus (see Acts 26:9–23). This experience led Paul to become one of the Lord’s great missionaries. Hearing Paul’s witness of his heavenly vision during the trial at Caesarea, the powerful King Agrippa admitted, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28).

And there were many other ancient prophets who also bore powerful testimony of Christ. All of these manifestations, ancient and modern, lead those who believe to the divine source of all righteousness and hope—to God, our Heavenly Father, and to His Son, Jesus Christ.

God has spoken to Joseph Smith for the purpose of blessing all of God’s children with His mercy and love, even in times of uncertainties and insecurities, of wars and rumors of wars, of natural and personal disasters. The Savior said, “Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive” (3 Nephi 9:14). And all who accept this invitation will be “encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love” (Alma 26:15).

Through our faith in the personal witness of the Prophet Joseph and the reality of the First Vision, through study and prayer, deep and sincere, we will be blessed with a firm faith in the Savior of the world, who spoke to Joseph “on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty” (Joseph Smith—History 1:14).

Carlos E. Asay, “‘Oh, How Lovely Was the Morning!’: Joseph Smith’s First Prayer and the First Vision,” Ensign, Apr 1995, 44

As described in the hymn, Joseph Smith’s first vocal prayer resulted in a remarkable experience now known to millions of people as the First Vision. It was the first of many visions that the Prophet Joseph Smith received during his short ministry in mortality. It was the first in a series of events that ushered in the dispensation of the fulness of times—a time when there would be a restitution of all things spoken by all of the holy prophets since the world began (see Acts 3:18–21). It was the first of a number of spiritual occurrences that accompanied the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishment of “the only true and living church” (D&C 1:30). It marked the beginning of a worldwide movement destined to roll forth “until it has filled the whole earth” (D&C 65:2).

But Joseph Smith’s first vision was not the first of its kind in the history of mankind. Moses saw God face to face and talked with him. In the process, Moses learned of his relationship to God—that he was a son of God, “in the similitude of [his] Only Begotten” (Moses 1:6). He learned also of the darkness of Satan and the glory of Deity in contrast to man’s present condition (see Moses 1:2–20). The Apostle Paul testified that Jesus of Nazareth appeared to him on the road to Damascus and changed the course of his life (see Acts 26:9–23). His recital of the heavenly vision prompted King Agrippa to say, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian” (verse 28) [Acts 26:28]. Who knows how many converts Paul won during his missionary journeys after receiving his fountainhead experience? Others, such as Lehi, Nephi, and Alma, could be added to the list of privileged individuals who received marvelous manifestations of godly powers. Each vision received and recorded was glorious in its own right and was provided in accord with divine will and to fulfill divine purposes.

One might ask what divine purposes were realized by the manifestation that took place in a grove near Palmyra, New York, in the spring of 1820. The full answer to this question comes only to those who understand the circumstances surrounding this singular happening. A long night of spiritual darkness, unusual religious excitement, divisions among professed Christians, ordinary farm folks seeking a greater knowledge of godly matters, and other unique conditions set the stage for the Prophet Joseph’s entrance into a drama that is still being played out.

S. Michael Wilcox, “Let Us Ask of God,” Ensign, Dec 2004, 22

The experience of a young boy in a grove of trees teaches that our Father blesses each of us generously as we humbly seek Him through personal prayer.

It has always brought a sense of wonder and comfort to me to realize that the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ began with a boy’s private prayer. Perhaps one of the most powerful lessons the Prophet Joseph Smith taught the world is contained in five simple words he spoke to his mother after his experience in a grove of trees: “I have learned for myself …” (JS—H 1:20). His whole life was an illustration of the truthfulness of those five words, and we all continue to benefit from the answers he received. I believe, however, that this first profound experience given to him was also meant as an assurance to all of us that we also “might ask of God, and obtain, and not be upbraided” (JS—H 1:26).

[Seanette]

I actually read this and took notes on it on 7/17 (delayed by problems such as a public transit run to Fry’s for a needed memory upgrade on a very hot day that left me feeling pretty lousy), then really got hit with motivation problems. I will get the challenge reading done within that 40 days. It will happen.

Mosiah 24 – Amulon and the other priests are made instructors of the people by the Lamanite king. The Lamanites are taught the language of the Nephites, but do not receive religious teaching. The secular education the people are given leads them to temporal prosperity. Amulon and his group begin persecuting the people of Alma, and they are forbidden to pray (they disobey this unrighteous law with secret prayer in their hearts). The Lord makes their burdens light, until it comes time to deliver them. The Lord causes a deep sleep to come upon the taskmasters. Alma’s people leave, and go to Zarahemla.

Mosiah 25 – The Mulekites become Nephites. They learn of Alma’s group and the people of Zeniff. The children of the priests of Noah refuse to be called by their fathers’ names. Alma preaches repentance and faith. King Limhi and all his people are baptized. King Mosiah authorizes Alma to organize the Church.

Mosiah 26 – Unbelievers lead believers into sin. King Mosiah commands that Alma, as high priest, must judge in religious matters. Alma is promised eternal life. Christ tells Alma that those who repent and are baptized are forgiven. Christ describes Judgment. The repentant will be forgiven as often as they repent. We are to forgive one another. Alma judges the people – the repentant join the Church, the unrepentant are excommunicated. Alma and his fellow priests preach the Gospel.

Mosiah 27 – King Mosiah prohibits all religious persecution (in any direction) and commands equality. He commands that the priests are to labor for their own support. They enter a period of peace and prosperity. Alma Jr. and the sons of Mosiah secretly fight against the Church. An angel of the Lord appears to Alma Jr. and commands him to stop this fight. Alma Jr. is struck down, and is taken to his father, who is told what has occurred. The priests spend two days and two nights fasting and praying for him. Alma Jr. recovers, repents, and is born of the Spirit. He speaks of Christ’s coming and judgment. He and the sons of Mosiah begin preaching and are in their turn persecuted (reaping what they sowed), but continue to work to repair the damage they did.

Mosiah 28 – The sons of Mosiah go on a mission to the Lamanites. None of them are willing to succeed their father as king. King Mosiah uses the Urim and Thummim to translate the Jaredite records. He passes the plates and other related items to Alma Jr.

Mosiah 29 – King Mosiah convinces the people they would be best off to be ruled by judges in accordance with the voice of the people, citing the probability of contention over succession issues and their experience with unrighteous kings. Alma Jr. is chosen chief judge by the people, and is also now high priest. Alma Sr. and King Mosiah die.

Section 61 – The Lord chastises a group of missionaries for speedy travel by water, because they’re passing by people on land who need to hear the Gospel. The Lord has decreed many destructions upon the waters, and says the day will come when no flesh will be safe on water. We are to prepare for the Second Coming.

Section 62 – Testimonies borne on earth are recorded in heaven. The missionaries of that time are told to use their own judgment in their traveling.

Section 63 – A day of wrath will come upon the wicked. The adulterous in heart will deny the faith and be cast into the lake of fire. There will be wars with the wicked slaying each other. This is a day of warning. The faithful will receive an inheritance on the transfigured earth, and will be blessed at the Second Coming and during the Millennium. Signs come by faith, and are not to be sought to obtain faith. The Saints are to gather to Zion and provide money to purchase inheritances. The full account of the events on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9) has not yet been revealed. Using the Lord’s name without authority is a form of taking the name of God in vain.

Section 64 – The Saints are to forgive one another. The unrepentant are to be tried in Church courts. The tithed will not be burned at the Second Coming. The Lord warns against debt. The rebellious shall be cut off. The Church shall judge the nations. Zion shall flourish.

JS-History – Not much new to be said here, as straightforward a narrative as this is.

Articles of Faith – Again, not much new to be said here, at least not by me. I’m sure someone with much more profound insight could say quite a bit.

[pam]

then really got hit with motivation problems. I will get the challenge reading done within that 40 days. It will happen.

That's the spirit Seanette. I too, am having serious motivational problems with reading at the moment. I'm about 6 days behind. But I too, will get this done within the 40 days. I'm determined.

[KeithLBrown]

Pam and Seanette, I am really impressed and inspired by your determination to see the challenge through to the end. I too at times have sensed Satan doing his best to throw obstacles in the way to prevent me from completing the reading. He knows that what we are reading is light and truth, and darkness cannot comprehend either. Keep up the good work and keep the faith. We shall be victorious!!