Vision's Study Thread

[VisionOfLehi]

Maybe this'll help keep me motivated to study, and to record my "learnings."

Today we went over the small chapters of the Book of Mormon in Sunday School.

Enos (Enos)

Jarom (Jarom)

Omni (Omni)

Words of Mormon (W of M)

9 Now I, Chemish, write what few things I write, in the same book with my brother; for behold, I saw the last which he wrote, that he wrote it with his own hand; and he wrote it in the day that he delivered them unto me. And after this manner we keep the records, for it is according to the commandments of our fathers. And I make an end.

To me, the wording of the part I emphasized, seems to indicate to me that he wrote more than just this one verse... But it seems like it didn't make it through the years, or the abridgments.

But, what DID make it through is that they preserved the records, even though they waited till the last minute, really... Because they were commanded by their fathers.

The production of the Book of Mormon was so vital for these days, that even though there were times it seemed to just get passed down from generation to generation, it was never lost.

Behind me, a guy was discussing with his mom something from 1 Nephi. It was really cool!

CHAPTER 9

5 Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not.

Nephi didn't know why he was writing the abridgment of his father Lehi's plates! Chapters 1-8 weren't something he really wanted to do, and wasn't sure why he had to, besides the Lord told him to!

But we know why! Because the Lord knew that the book of Lehi would be lost! And the really vital stuff was still kept through Nephi's obedience to the Lord. How awesome is that!?

That's what I have for today.

[WillowTheWhisp]

It's great isn't it when people are humble enough to do what the Lord asks even though they don't now why or it may not even make sense to them at the time.

[Guest tomk]

What intrigues me is this verse:

Omni 1:2 Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.

I would give my left arm to find-out why this was not 'abridged-out' of the Book of Mormon. On the outside it would seem to serve no purpose to either take the time to include this statement in the first place, or leave it there in the finished record.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Maybe it's to help us realise when we fall short of how we ought to be, that we aren't alone in that and there is hope for us. A bit like Paul and his 'thorn'.

[Misshalfway]

Or maybe that people don't always act according to the dictates of conscious...... or that they still recognize duty or truth even though their lives aren't completely clean...........

Or maybe that being perfect isn't always a prereq for being trusted of the Lord...... Everytime I read that, Tom, I feel the love of the Lord for Omni or that God understands Omni's capacity in a way that perhaps he doesn't recognize in himself yet. Don't know why exactly.....

Just guessing.

[Hemidakota]

Remember the prophet Alma [Junior]? Or perhaps Jonah? We have our moments with mortality with choices.

[MaidservantX]

On a practical note, I think Mormon makes mention somewhere (Words of Mormon?) that Nephi through Omni is NOT an abridgment, but that he found the records and thought they were perfect for the timeline he was making and just tacked them on (to the plates).

[Jenamarie]

What intrigues me is this verse:

Omni 1:2 Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.

I would give my left arm to find-out why this was not 'abridged-out' of the Book of Mormon. On the outside it would seem to serve no purpose to either take the time to include this statement in the first place, or leave it there in the finished record.

That verse intrigues me too. I see it though as a statement of that author's humility and disappointment in himself. He had to have known that the small plates would be coming into his possesion eventually (it had been handed down father-to-son for a few generations by that point), but perhaps he didn't appreciate it and didn't live up to his parents' teachings, and so felt unprepared when the responsibility was finally given to him. I see him as being like a young missionary who grew up expecting to go on a mission, and yet didn't spend much time preparing for it, and suddenly realized the full weight of that responsibility when he finally found himself going door to door. The feeling of disappointed in himself for not living up to what he'd been taught and warned to prepare for, is what I get from that verse.

[VisionOfLehi]

I see, now. Thank you Xhenli!

The purpose of those things, IMO, was to provide a lineage of the Book of Mormon. It probably has other purposes, too, but it seems Mormon added them because it shows that the Book of Mormon was passed down directly from person to person. So there's no gap in the timeline.

I'm going to study for next Sunday's lesson today. Mosiah 1-3.

[Guest tomk]

That verse intrigues me too. I see it though as a statement of that author's humility and disappointment in himself. He had to have known that the small plates would be coming into his possesion eventually (it had been handed down father-to-son for a few generations by that point), but perhaps he didn't appreciate it and didn't live up to his parents' teachings, and so felt unprepared when the responsibility was finally given to him. I see him as being like a young missionary who grew up expecting to go on a mission, and yet didn't spend much time preparing for it, and suddenly realized the full weight of that responsibility when he finally found himself going door to door. The feeling of disappointed in himself for not living up to what he'd been taught and warned to prepare for, is what I get from that verse.

The admission is intriguing.

It's like "Well, I've got these plates here. Uh, I've got to write something but I don't feel worthy."

But somehow I feel it goes beyond that.

As others have pointed-out -- there are lessons we can learn from this admission.

Do we want to feel like this at the end of our lives?

Or do we want to feel more like Enos did at the end of his life?

[Hemidakota]

I see, now. Thank you Xhenli!

The purpose of those things, IMO, was to provide a lineage of the Book of Mormon. It probably has other purposes, too, but it seems Mormon added them because it shows that the Book of Mormon was passed down directly from person to person. So there's no gap in the timeline.

I'm going to study for next Sunday's lesson today. Mosiah 1-3.

Mosiah 2:25-26 is an unique answer to the creation of the dust. However, there are many plain precious truths in the first couple of chapters that Benjamin recites to the people of Zarahemla.

[bert10]

Hi Tomk. - "I would give my left arm to find-out why this was not 'abridged-out' of the Book of Mormon"

I would be careful of my words and thoughts...for it is often done to men according to their thoughts and words.

"But behold, I of myself am a wicked man"

Because, that Expression does contain a wealth of information that is most useful. The worth of it is great indeed. And I would like to share some of my thoughts with you on this.

"But behold, I of myself am a wicked man" - This term applies to all of us when we are not led by the Spirit of God.

Also please note In this sense "wicked" is not meant as in "Evil". Only in the meaning that one walks in one's OWN path instead of that of God.

Wickedness is Crooked Paths. These are the paths we pick to walk on by relying on the wisdom and knowledge of the flesh. These Paths normally look beautiful and the vast majority are walking in it, they are wide and full of ease. That kind of path is not the way of Holiness [isaiah] or the Straight and Narrow way [Jesus]. It is the path that world is on and as Jesus said it is wide and it LEADS to destruction -DEATH [eventually]

However, when we let go of the world and what it thinks and teaches...a most wonderful thing begins to happen to us. There are many blessings in listening to God in our hearts......but these two below are amongst the top of the list.

Galatians 5:18 - But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Romans 8:14 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

When we are led by the Spirit we are fulfilling the two commandments of Jesus [Love of God and Love of neighbors] and so we fulfill the law and the prophets automatically. For there are no higher commandments than these two.

Peace be unto you

bert10

Omni 1:2 Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.

I would give my left arm to find-out why this was not 'abridged-out' of the Book of Mormon. On the outside it would seem to serve no purpose to either take the time to include this statement in the first place, or leave it there in the finished record.

[VisionOfLehi]

This is one that stood out to me. I'm reading these using my LDS Scriptures CD-ROM edition. The (1) is a note/highlight that I added to the parts shown as bolded here.

Mosiah 2

21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by(1) lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

(1) God gives us life that we may have the freedom to choose.

[Hemidakota]

I for one delight in seeing these type of threads. As I am sure that our Father and His beloved Son, agrees on the same. It only draws us closer to the Godhead in seeking understanding of interaction between Them and man[Woman].

Book of Mosiah introduces Mormon's abridgment of the large plates of Nephi vice the smaller plates left Omni. If you compare the smaller plates of Nephi, these larger plates contain an uneven amount of history, which covers 40-years of history within 29 chapters.

The book of Mosiah contains authentic doctrinal truths as I discussed already. King Benjamin, been instructed by an angel of God, teaches his people of the necessity in putting off the natural man, being born within the soul, becoming sons and daughters of Christ, and retaining a remission of sins through selfless service. King Benjamin invitation to people is to renew and honor their covenants which they already made, as well in challenging members of the Church, take upon them the name of Christ. You’re find, these doctrines are the core message of the Book of Mormon.

verse 21 As you said, is a great rendition of 'freedom to choose.'

As children of divine Parents, we are indebted beyond our ability to pay back the debt. Even as grantors of life to other mortal beings, we cannot repay Deity who has granted this matchless privilege to us.

What then is the greater debt that we owe to our Creator, as the Father of our spirits, and author of the plan? These simple verses of truths, one would say, we can repay by being obedience and with faithful service. King Benjamin reminds us such, is hardly so. A servant obedience and faithful service will be immediately rewarded with the blessings of heaven, and again, we are more indebted. As he stated, our relationship with God, at best, is unprofitable servants.

Anything, how small and insignificant it may seem, as servants, we should render thanks and praises to the Godhead. A humble servant who receiveth more would check his/her state before GOD on a daily basis:

"And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments" (D&C 59:21).

[MaidservantX]

I love Mosiah 3, one of the great places in the Book of Mormon where the mission of the Savior is explained, and I get such deep joy reading such passages.

v5"For behold, the time cometh . . .the Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay . . . he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth . . . shall crucify him. And he shall rise the third day from the dead;" through verse 10.

It sounds a little like Abinadi's testimony in Mosiah 15 (verse 1). On a side note, it is passages such as these that innoculate me against the suggestions of "anti"s that the Book of Mormon is not true.

[VisionOfLehi]

"And now, O man, remember, and perish not."

I absolutely love that.

It's the end of Mosiah 4. I didn't get to reading scriptures yesterday... No excuse.

Too tired to read any more tonight, but it was truly an amazing experience.

I read it aloud, as if I were King Benjamin addressing the multitude, and as if King Benjamin were addressing me personally.

It was... So strong. I prayed for a portion of the Holy Spirit to help me get something from the scriptures tonight, and I was just slammed.

King Benjamin is one of my favorites from the Book of Mormon.

I love to read the scriptures aloud. It forces me to read a little slower than I would, so that I can speak, and seeing and hearing it helps me retain it better. And... I read with good inflection. It makes the experience powerful, every time I read it aloud in my personal study. I definitely have to do it more often.

I can't pick out one thing I learned tonight, sorry for any visitors. Go read the entire chapter, because I wanted to highlight the whole thing.

[Hemidakota]

Lehi, think about the masses being collected together somewhere near the City of Zarahemla that when this King spoke from a tower, that the masses would be able to hear his voice. The location must have some form of rebounding audio wave that all could hear it no matter the distance from the tower postion.

[VisionOfLehi]

I've missed a couple days... But got to Mosiah 5 today.

My name is written the Lamb's Book of Life, right? I was baptized and have taken upon me the name of the Lord.

So I have that.

I like that.

Not only have I taken the name of Christ upon me, but He knows it. I know... that's obvious... But when I think about it, that He knows not only me and my name, but that my name is "recorded" in His Book of Life... that feels good.

The peoples' response to King Benjamin, and his response to them afterwards, is very much like the Sacrament prayer... The renewal of our covenants.

[Hemidakota]

Hmm...I need to blogged this one. Not all Saints will be called to the Church of the First Born. "...many are called but a few are chosen,..." the key here is chosen. Who chooses? The Savior through the Holy Ghost.

[Hemidakota]

Also, something I failed to mentioned that is seen here between 1 Nephi 15:9-11, 17:36-39, 2 Nephi 25:24-27, 29:13, Mosiah 3:18-19, 5:10-12, Alma 36, & Alma 41:13-15 is the oldest work of what is called 'Chiasmus.' A chiasm is a form of inverted, symmetrical parallelism found among older scriptures authors.

[VisionOfLehi]

I'm way behind, but thinking about my Laws topic, I wanted to find some scripture chains that I really like, and post them for posterity. (Haha?)

The Greatest Two Commandments

Matthew 22:

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

Mark 12:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

John 14:

15 ¶ If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Matthew 22:

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

John 15:

12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

John 5:

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Matthew 22:

40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Mark 12:

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

[VisionOfLehi]

Mosiah 6:

Mosiah becomes king. 3 years later King Benjamin dies.

It says in verse 7 there was no contention for 3 years, but it doesn't say whether or not this was before or after King Benjamin died.

So was there peace just for those 3 years King Benjamin was still alive, but Mosiah was reigning, or was there another 3 after that?

Mosiah 7 answers. It says after those 3 years Mosiah sent out men, and the footnote gives the same year as the year King Benjamin died. 121 BC

[Hemidakota]

This is why I can't wait to read the civic plates to see the governmental affairs of the people.