A state of happiness

This post is not from my normal reading of the Book of Mormon, but the verse has been on my mind lately. 

In Alma 40:12, Alma teaches his son Corianton about about life after death. He says, "And then it shall come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, as state of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their torubles and from all care, and sorrow."

What an amazing promise to those that are righteous.

If you posterity is obedient

As Nephi was confronted with the choice of killing Laban to get the brass plates, he remembered a promise that the Lord made him in the wilderness. "If your posterity keeps my commandments, then they will prosper in the promised land" (1 Nephi 4:14). Nephi realized that his choice at that point in time would not only affect his own life, but also have a great impact on the lives of his children and his children's children. This prompted me to ask myself, "what am I doing to insuree that my posterity will be able to inherit their own promised land?" I believe that this question provides ample opportunity for introspection to all those who ponder it. It is a good question to ask ourselves when we face hard choices in life. 

As the Lord Liveth

Nephi and his brothers have just gone back to get the brass plates from Laban. On the first attemp, Laman went to Laban's house and asked for the plates. He was run out of the house and came back to tell his brothers that Laban was not going to give them the plates. They were about ready to give up and return to the wilderness when Nephi starts to testify about their mission. He says that they cannot return without the plates. one phrase in particular caught my attention: "As the Lord liveth and as we liveth" (1 Nephi 3:15). Nephi compares God's existence to his own existence. As I read these words, it came across to me as an absolute. There was no doubt in his mind that God lives. What a great example of faith. 

Each Individual is Entitled to Personl Revelation

In the opening verse of 1 Nephi Chapter 3, Nephi write:

"After I Nephi returned from speaking with the Lord."

I don't see any evidence that Nephi spoke with the Lord face to face, although it is possible that he did so. Rather, in my opinion it is likely that Nephi spoke with the Lord through fervent prayer and listening to the voice of the Spirit. My point is that we don't have to have a grand vision or visitation to speak with the Lord. Each of us can do so daily through prayer. 

In the October 1979 session of General Conference Boyd K. Packer stated:

"We succeed in the Church, by and large, in teaching our members to pray. Even our little ones are taught to fold their arms and bow their heads, and with whispered coaching from their parents and from brothers and sisters, they soon learn to pray.

There is one part of prayer—the answer part—that perhaps, by comparison, we neglect."

By spending more time listening or as Elder Packer puts it, focusing on the "answer part" we can not only speak to the Lord, but speak with Him as Nephi did. 

The Promised Land

A couple days ago I wrote about how when we give something up for the Lord, we are given something even greater in return. I inferred that by giving up their land of inheritance, Lehi's family was prepared to inherit an even greater land. As I was reading last night, I found something to back up that inference. In 1 Nehphi 2:20 it reads:

"Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, evena land which I have prepared for you, yea a land which is choice above all other lands."

Sometimes we have situations in life that are pretty good. These situations might include good jobs, health, a calling we enjoy, etc... When the Lord has a different plan in mind than the status quo, we need to keep in mind that as we are obedient to his will, we will find "a land which is choice above all other lands." The really interesting thing about this verse is that this is the first time a "land of promise" is mentioned in the Book of Mormon. As far as I can tell, Nephi did not know that the Lord was going to prepare a new land that was better than his home in Jerusalem. As far as he knew when Lehi asked them to pack up and leave, his family was simply being led into the wilderness. What a great example of faith in the Lord!

Seeking in Dilligence

The context of the verse below is that Nephi has been praying to know if the things that his father has asked him to do (e.g. leave Jerusalem and go into the wilderness) are right. After he receives the confirmation, He tells Laman and Lemuel and they basically tell him that he doesn't know what he is talking about. Sam on the otherhand believes Nephi and gains a testimony as well. 

Here is what Nephi says:

"Blessed art thou Nephi, because of thy faith for thou hast sought me dilligently with lowliness of heart."  (1 Neph 2: 19)

Here is one of the reasons why I love reading the Book of Mormon in Chinese. I hear this verse quoted often, but it has become quite cliche. I read it in Chinese and it the translation means the same thing but it is written somewhat differently. Here is what it says literally in the Chinese:

"you have continuing happiness because you use a heart of humility to dilligently seek and solicit/request me."

Now that that is out of the way, here are the insights that I gained when I read this:

1. When we are humble we recognize that we have to have the Lord's help. We really can't do it on our own. 

2. With this type of attitude we "seek [Him]" just as Nephi did. I really like how "seek" is translated here because it involves requesting the Lord's help. 

Desire, Visitation and Belief

I read 1 Nephi 2:16 and was impressed with the process by which Nephi was able to increase his faith. Here's what it says: 

          "having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry    unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father;"

As I pondered this further, I found the following statement from Elder Maxwell: 

          "God’s plan, however, is not something to be deduced by logic alone, nor is  human experience deep enough or long enough to inform us adequately. It    requires revelation from God.

          How else would we really know the truth of who we really were, “really are,   and … really will be” (see Jacob 4:13; D&C 93:24)? There can be no true felicity    without true identity." 

                             --Neal A. Maxwell, “‘God Will Yet Reveal’,” Ensign, Nov 1986

Nephi provides us such a simple pattern. If we desire to know, then the Lord will visit us through revelation. As Elder Maxwell has so eloquently put it, belief comes through revelation. 

 

 

Plant a Bean and Get a Bean, Plant a Melon and Get a Melon

There is a Chinese proverb that says:
Plant a Bean and Get a Bean, Plant a Melon and Get a Melon (種豆得豆,種瓜得瓜)

As I was reading in 2 Nephi Chapter 2 this morning, I came up with a variation on this. In verse 11, Nephi explains how his brothers Laman and Lemuel were complaining about the hardships they were required to endure. One of which was "to leave the land of their inheritance." After inferring a few things, I came up with this variation on the Chinese proverb:

"Follow the Lord's command to leave your land of inheritance and inherit an even greater inheritance."

How often do we have something that the Lord asks us to give up, which seems hard! If we would only realize that by giving it up we can obtain so much more in return.

Post I

A couple of weeks ago, Presdient Dave Brown challenged the members of the Hunter West Stake to feast upon the Book of Mormon each day, then pray in faith to obtain the blessings that we need in our lives. 

Here's what he said:

"If you do this, Read the Book of Mormon every day, what will happen?  I’m not sure, but I can tell you this is what the Spirit wants me to tell each of you:

            The Lord is waiting to pour out His blessings upon you.  Those blessings will be individualized for you.  They may be temporal or spiritual.

            Some of you will experience miracles, some of you will have your prayers answered.  For some it will be peace, for some it will lead to baptisms.  For some, children and loved ones will come back.  For some it may be jobs, for some health, and for some extra protection from Satan.

            Read daily, feast upon the word, pray with Faith and expect blessings to be poured out upon you and your family".

Already as I have tried to take this challenge I have seen the blessings come into my life. I have decided to read the Book of Mormon in Chinese this time. I love doing this because I read the verses that I am so used to reading in a different way, which allows me to be opened up to new insights.

I figured I would start a blog to share some of these insights from the Book of Mormon, as well as some other things.