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Alma 53-63 “They Did Obey…Every Word of Command with Exactness"

“God  be thanked for this marvelous thing (Book of Mormon) which has come forth as a testimony to the nations of the divine reality of the Son of God…I hope all of us are reading it. I hope we read it again and again and again. As we do so, we will find things we have never seen before.” Gordon B. Hinckley, Church News, February 15, 1997.

Michelle: Who can dispute the purity and power of the 2,060 Stripling Warriors? They were, “men who were true at ALL times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. Yea, they were men of truth and soberness.” Alma 53:20-21  We can all be like them when we turn our lives over to God, when we remember our purpose here on earth and when we put the things of eternity first on our busy schedules. I know the gospel is true.

Alma 43-52 "Firm in the Faith of Christ"

Alma 40-42 "The Great Plan of Happiness"

Alma 36-39 “Give Ear to My Words"

Michelle:  These are the chapters of Alma teaching and counseling his sons…his example is one of love, patience and a fervent testimony of the Savior and His Gospel. Take note future fathers.

Cara: My favorite part of these chapters has got to be in chapter 36:17-20. I love the focus that it puts on Christ and shows the healing and enabling power of the atonement. The Bible Dictionary describes repentance as a “turning of the heart and will to God, and a renunciation of sin to which we are naturally inclined.” By letting his sons know of his mistakes and see that he is human, Alma sets a beautiful example for his children. Yes, Alma is a prophet now. But he has not always been that way. He came a long way. And we can as well. It reminds me of Elder Holland’s talk The Laborers in the Vineyard. He says that “It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines…His concern is for the faith at which you finally arrive, not the hour of the day in which you got there.” What a hopeful statement. And Alma is a living example of that

Alma 32-35 “The Word Is in Christ unto Salvation"

Alma 30-31 “All Things Denote There Is a God"

Alma 23-29 “Converted unto the Lord"

Alma 17-22 “They Taught with Power and Authority of God"

Alma 13-16 “Give Us Strength According to Our Faith…in Christ"

Alma 8-12 “More Than One Witness"

Alma 5-7 “Have Ye Received His Image in Your Countenances?"

Mosiah 29; Alma 1-4 “Alma…Did Judge Righteous Judgements"

Mosiah 25-28; Alma 36 “My Soul Is Pained No More"

Mosiah 18-24 “None Could Deliver Them but the Lord"

Mosiah 12-17 “God Himself…Shall Redeem His People"

Mosiah 7-11 “A Seer…Becometh a Great Benefit to His Fellow Beings"

Mosiah 4-6 “Ye Shall Be Called the Children of Christ"

Mosiah 1-3 “Eternally Indebted to Your Heavenly Father"

Enos, Jarom, Omni, Words of Mormon “For a Wise Purpose"

Jacob 5-7 “The Allegory of the Olive Trees"

Jacob 1-4 “Seek Ye for the Kingdom of God"

“I have read a reasonable number of books in my life…I can recognize profundity in print, especially when I see it page after page. In a lifetime of reading, the Book of Mormon stands preeminent in my intellectual and spiritual life, the classic of all classics, a reaffirmation of the Bible, a voice from the dust, a witness for Christ, the word of the Lord unto salvation.” Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, pg. 350.

2 Nephi 31-33 “Press Forward with a Steadfastness in Christ"

Quote by Marion G. Romney ~ “I remember reading...with one of my lads when he was very young. On one occasion I lay in the lower bunk and he in the upper bunk. We were each reading aloud alternate paragraphs of those last three marvelous chapters of Second Nephi. I heard his voice breaking and thought he had a cold, but he went on to the end of the three chapters. As we finished, he said to me, ‘Daddy, do you ever cry when you read the Book of Mormon?’ ‘Yes, son,’ I answered. ‘Sometimes the Spirit of the Lord so witnesses to me that the Book of Mormon is true that I do cry.’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘that is what happened to me tonight.’” (CR, April 1949)

Michelle Nephi explains so crystal clear about the Savior’s example of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. He intently lays out faith repentance, baptism and the Holy Ghost. After his teaching, I sense his disappointment in the people who don’t quite get it. His teaching of the Holy Ghost and speaking with the tongue of angels is marvelous! His last three words are a testimony of how he lived his entire life…”I must obey.” 

2 Nephi 26-30 “He Inviteth All to Come unto Him"

“Is the Book of Mormon true? -Yes. Who is it for? -Us. What is its purpose? To bring men to Christ. How does it do this? By testifying of Christ and revealing his enemies.” (President Benson CR, April 1975)

Ally  This is from E. Scott in the family discussion part- “In the middle, it is difficult to discern what is right and what is wrong. This middle area is where Satan works with righteous people. … It is easy to become confused here. Live well within the wonderful area of good the Lord has defined, and you won’t have any problems with temptation. If you are not sure whether something is appropriate to look at, to listen to, to think about, or to do, then avoid it. You could be headed for one of Satan’s traps”
**That's a little heads up for all of us!


Cara  I read this quote for my Book of Mormon class and really loved it. it goes right along with Ally's comment (I assume Ally...maybe it's Alan.) Ezra Taft Benson said that "In his cunning, Satan knows where and how to strike. It is in youth when his victims are most vulneralbe...The devil uses many tools." I think that the Book of Mormon is our biggest tool to fight back with. we can do ALL things through Christ, but if we aren't reading and studying like we need to be then the Lord cannot help us more than we are putting in.
As grandpa loves to say...You get out what you put in! :)


Garret That quote by President Benson is quite straightforward. Those who don't understand his purpose in saying that might interpret it incorrectly. "Is the Book of Mormon true? Yes." We should not look on blunt statements like these as being confrontational or condescending toward members of other faiths; rather, we should allow the surety with which President Benson speaks to bolster our own faith and courage.

2 Nephi 11-25 “My Soul Delighteth in the Words of Isaiah"

We’ve been commanded by the Savior Himself, “…behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.”  ~3 Nephi 23:1

Michelle  Since my wonderful Isaiah Class…I now LOVE to read any Isaiah passages in the scriptures…he is quoted a fair amount in the Old and New Testament, the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. Isaiah’s main subject he wants us to understand? THE TEMPLE! He wants to get us going to the temple, to drink deeply and to come to know God and our Savior there.

2 Nephi 6-10 “O How Great the Goodness of Our God"

“No member of this church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon.” Joseph Fielding Smith (CR, October 1961, 18)

Garret   That quote seems intimidating at first, but it should really be encouraging; as we "seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon," we are bringing ourselves closer to divine approval. That's neat!

2 Nephi 3-5 “I Know in Whom I Have Trusted"

“Young [people] the Book of Mormon will change your life. It will fortify you against the evils of our day. It will bring a spirituality into your life that no other book will”. (Ezra Taft Benson, CR, April 1986)

1. Stan  In 2 Nephi 4:15-16, Nephi explains how much he enjoys pondering the scriptures. I get two things out of this scripture. First, in my personal life, I need to find time to slow down, to ponder. Great personal revelation comes when we are pondering the scriptures or pondering the things of the Lord. Second, my role as Patriarch is to liken the scriptures unto ourselves for the profit and learning of my children. Teaching my kids to get answers to questions through pondering and scripture study.
2. Garret One of the first real experiences I had with the scriptures was with 2 Nephi 4; as I read it I felt that I could relate to Nephi (although now I realize his problems were much bigger than mine!). Back then I was grateful to read about someone else who had problems and was discouraged by his own weaknesses, as well as those of his brothers. Now, however, as I read through the same chapter, the main theme to me is the relationship of complete trust that Nephi has with his Heavenly Father. He trusts his Father enough to obey Him consistently, even when it's hard.

   
   Today in Gospel Doctrine, we learned that even after much hardship, the people of Nephi were able to live "after the manner of happiness" (2 Nephi 5:27). Then we read through chapters 4 and 5 and looked for reasons why they were able to be so happy. How many can you find?
3. Brianna   It took me forever to get on the blog, I finally realized I had spelled Bassett with only 1 t, oops. Well we are a week ahead of you since you already had stake conference and ours is in 2 weeks. So spoiler alert because this is for next weeks lesson. I really liked what one of our students pointed out in 2nephi 9:39 the last line is "to be spiritually minded is life eternal" Which can be abbreviated as smile. Because when you are thinking about eternal life and being spiritually minded you smile and I thought that was really cute.
   
   
   Landon   I thought this was a cool chapter because it only reinforces Neph’is willingness to serve God. in one part he says, “oh wretched man that I am” even though we all know how great nephi was, his brothers continually pulled him down. We need to lift up others in life and look on the bright side of the world.
   
   
   Michelle  Chapter 4 is the well known poetic like sermon of Nephi’s that Landon mentioned. My favorite line from it is in verse 30 - “Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and rock of my salvation.” That is the essence of life, the message of the Gospel. That because of Christ we are redeemed! The reason for true joy!
   
   
   Ross  2 Nephi 4:16 - “Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which i have seen and heard.” I love that Nephi uses the word “continually” because it emphasizes the fact that we should have a place for Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father in every aspect of our lives.
4. 
   

Week 5: 2 Nephi 1-2 “Free to Choose Liberty and Eternal Life"

"The Book of Mormon is the best guide to learn how well we are doing and how to do better.” Henry B. Eyring, October General Conference, 2011


Michelle  AWAKE, ARISE…get up, open your eyes, see what must be done, stand up and be counted, let your light shine, be on the Lord’s errand…don’t let complacency rule your life…be up and doing and valiant in the cause of the Gospel.


Garret   In stake conference on Saturday, Elder Johnson of the Seventy spoke about our lives and said that they should be like Nephi's ship: "of curious workmanship." Just as that ship was not built "after the manner of men", our lives should be different! It doesn't mean we're better than other people by any means. But it means we've received instructions from the Lord as to how we should pattern our "ship", and we should follow those directions no matter how weird it looks to other people.

Week 4: 1 Nephi 16-22 “Hearken to the Truth, and Give Heed unto It"

"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things . . . that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

"And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

"And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

"And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever" (Moroni 10:2—7).

Michelle  In building the ship, Nephi did not follow after the manner of men, but instead with incredible faith and fortitude, he built the ship after the pattern the Lord set forth. Great lesson for me.

Week 3: 1 Nephi 12-14 “The Things Which I Saw While I Was Carried Away in the Spirit”

"I testify that one cannot come to full faith in this latter-day work—and thereby find the fullest measure of peace and comfort in these, our times—until he or she embraces the divinity of the Book of Mormon and the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom it testifies." ~ Elder Holland, October General Conference


Michelle  It’s interesting to see how Nephi’s vision of his people parallels with our day.

Cara In my Book of Mormon class, we were talking about Nephi's vision. A girl brought up a really interesting point. She said that it was "mists" and "vapors of darkness" that fall upon the land. That is the same words used in the vision of the Tree of Life. People were not being led away by a thick fog that they could not see through, but rather by giving in to small and fleeting temptations

Things as They Really Are

We live in a time when we must very carefully and deliberately choose what we will do each and every day. We want to immerse ourselves in the Gospel as much as we can. I love Elder Bednar’s questions at the end of the message. Studying the Book of Mormon definitely qualifies as: 1-inviting the Holy Ghost 2-enlarging our capacity to live, love and serve. What a great blessing in our lives.

Garret BassettJan 10, 2012 11:58 AM

I remember hearing that talk when it was first given at a young adult fireside. We should always remember that the most important things in life are real, like our families. I love you guys!

"...to be encircled about eternally in the arms of His love will be a real, and not a virtual, experience."

Week 2: 1 Nephi 8-11; 12:16-18; 15 “The Vision of the Tree of Life"

"In 1829, the Lord warned the Saints that they are not to trifle with sacred things (See D&C 6:12). Surely the Book of Mormon is a sacred thing, and yet many trifle with it, or in other words, take it lightly, treat it as though it is of little importance." ~Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon - Keystone of Our Religion,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 4


StanJan 14, 2012 02:13 PM

I love Nephi's example of personal revelation. He goes to the Lord in faith and asks to see the same vision that his Father saw. Because he acted on faith and has a track record of acting on faith he is given the vision and the interpretation thereof. Right now I am struggling with getting the revelation I need in my personal life to know the right way to go. I am balancing between not being commanded in all things and asking for a little direction. Each of us, in a similar way, is looking for similar discernment: buying a home, getting a job, deciding on a major, going to Ecuador, which college, where to serve, making a team... The part I am trying to figure out is not waiting for a clear cut answer but just moving and getting course corrections along the way.

AllyJan 15, 2012 09:39 AM

I have read this chapter many times, and what stood out to me this time was the great and spacious building, representing the pride of the world. In 11:36, it reads that "it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great... Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”

Alan often calls our family "team win." No matter how much oppression or discrimination we, and the church face, we all know who will ultimately win. We just need to be faithful and choose that willing team.

Alan Jan 15, 2012 10:16 AM

I thought this week about how important it was for Lehi to receive this revelation. I'm sure even as a prophet it was hard to leave everything behind and go forward knowing everything would be alright. This vision shows Lehi the joy that him and his posterity can enjoy as they seek after the fruit.

Landon Jan 15, 2012 12:49 PM

This was a cool chapter and i thought it was very cool how when lehi prayed to the lord, the lord showed him the way and he partook of the fruit, we can all help each other partake of the fruit like lehi helps sariah, sam and nephi

Michelle
I love studying the “Tree of Life” chapters. I must smile & agree with Neal A Mawell’s quote about the great and spacious building. He was speaking of those who criticize the church and said, “Like the throng on the ramparts of the “great and spacious building,” they are intensely and busily preoccupied, pointing fingers of scorn at the steadfast iron-rodders. Considering their ceaseless preoccupation, one wonders, ‘Is there no diversionary activity available to them, especially in such a large building - like a bowling alley?' …Brigham Young advised that this ‘people (church members) must be kept where the finger of scorn can be pointed at them.”


-Let them laugh and point…righteousness WILL increase! :)

Week 1: 1 Nephi 1-7 “All Things According to His Will"

This is our first assignment this week. I pray you will all be faithful and feel the Spirit as you search, ponder and pray over this wonderful book.

“I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” (Joseph Smith-History of the Church, 4:461.)

MichelleJan 6, 2012 09:09 AM

I have already had some great inspiration as I’ve read the first few chapters. 

1. In the very first verse, Nephi acknowledges that he has “seen many afflictions” YET he immediately says, “nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord”. We ALL have afflictions, tests and trials to be of benefit if we let them. What a blessing.

2. I love verse 5 where Lehi prays “with all his heart, in behalf of HIS people.” He loves them, they are HIS people and he is willing to do all he can to help them.

alsquaredJan 8, 2012 08:09 AM

Elsie looks at the pictures in her book while I read. She likes the picture of Nephi with the sheep, and she thinks the picture of Jerusalem looks like the temple. _ Ally