2 Nephi 28:7-9

Yea, and there shall be many which shall say:
Eat, drink, and be merry,
for tomorrow we die;
and it shall be well with us.

And there shall also be many which shall say:
Eat, drink, and be merry;
nevertheless, fear God –
he 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;
and do all these things, for tomorrow we die;
and if it so be that we are guilty,
God will beat us with a few stripes,
and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

Yea, and there shall be many
which shall teach after this manner,
false and vain and foolish doctrines,
and shall be puffed up in their hearts,
and shall seek deep
to hide their counsels from the Lord;
and their works shall be in the dark.

Week 6 - Looking Back

The great divide took place not many days after Lehi’s death. The hardened hearts of Laman & Lemuel once again plotted to kill Nephi. Their excuse? He wanted to be their boss. The real reason? He was a gigantic reminder to them of how much they were at odds with their father’s teachings and what was written. After being warned by the Lord, Nephi and those who followed him made their way to a safer place. Once they got there, they became a very industrious people. Not surprisingly, the Lamanites became a very idle people. It needs to be understood that the curse that came upon the Lamanites was that they were cut off (by their own choices) from the Lord (5:20). The dark skin that came upon them was a sign of that curse – a way to keep them from being enticing to the Nephites by making them easily recognized. While the Nephites lived their lives “after the manner of happiness” (v. 27), the Lamanites filled their days with mischief and subtlety (v. 24). How easy it is to see the difference in the lives of these two groups and how they’re tied to the choices they made. And so it is with us today.

Much can be learned from Jacob in chapter 6:

In verses 1- 3 there are five reasons given as to why Jacob was qualified to teach. 1) He was called of God; 2) He held the priesthood; 3) He was set apart by the prophet Nephi; 4) He cared deeply about his people; 5) He had already put a great deal of effort into teaching the gospel.

In verse 3, it is clearly stated what is necessary for us to effectively teach the gospel: 1) personal testimony; 2) teachings of the living prophets; 3) the scriptures.

Jacob’s sermon (found in chapters 6 thru 10) covered a period of two days. We only have a part of the proceedings of those days. During that time, he read to them from the words of Isaiah – and like his brother, Nephi -- found ways to “liken” the scriptures unto his people. The “likening” was powerful enough to reach down thru the centuries to us today. What a strength and comfort Isaiah’s words (Isaiah 51 and 2 Nephi 8) must have been to the early Saints as they struggled to build Zion as they were being delivered from their enemies. In Chapter 9, Jacob takes Isaiah’s words to a whole new level as he taught and testified of the Lord’s power to deliver us from our greatest enemies – death and hell.

Hopefully, from your “O and Wo” exercise in chapter 9, you were able to see even more clearly the need for and the reach of the Savior’s atonement. Joseph Fielding Smith said, “The ninth chapter of II Nephi . . . should be carefully read by every person seeking salvation.” The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that one of the things necessary in order to “exercise faith in God unto life and salvation” is to have “a correct idea of [God’s] character, perfections, and attributes.” We can learn much about God from Jacob’s exclamatory statements that begin with “O” in 2 Nephi 9.

Let me back up for just a minute to a verse (7) in chapter 8: “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, …” I sure hope that that’s us He’s talking to. God’s “word” is in just about every home in Christendom, I dare say. It’s found in abundance spread out on the tables in the seminary room. The Bible, itself, is still the #1 selling book of all time. But what a difference it makes when His words are written on our hearts – yours and mine, individually! As powerful and clever as Satan is, he has no power over us when that is the case. (You might want to check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_books (Note also where the Book of Mormon is on that list. Pretty amazing!)

A little trivia from 2 Nephi 9:39 (Thanks, for pointing it out, Rachel!):

Spiritually

Minded

Is

Life

Eternal

SMILE!

A quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell in reference to this beautiful verse - 2 Nephi 9:41:

“The self-assigned gatekeeper is Jesus Christ, who awaits us out of a deep divine desire to welcome us as much as to certify us; hence, ‘He employeth no servant there.’ If we acknowledge Him now, He will lovingly acknowledge and gladly admit us then!” (Notwithstanding My Weakness [1981], 124).

Another interesting tidbit from 2 Nephi 10:3 – this is the first time the word, “Christ”, is used in the Book of Mormon.

“Christ” (Greek) & “Messiah” (Hebrew) both mean Anointed One.

“Jesus” (Greek) & “Joshua” (Hebrew) both mean Savior.

Happy Birthday, Harrison!!!

2 Nephi 9:28-29

O that cunning plan of the evil one!

O the vainness,

and the frailties,

and the foolishness of men!

When they are learned they think they are wise,

and they hearken not unto the counsel of God,

for they set it aside,

supposing they know of themselves,

wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness

and it profiteth them not.

And they shall perish.

But to be learned is good

if they hearken unto the counsels of God.

Happy Birthday, Bryce!!!

Katie's Idea

One day when class was over . . .

Week 5 - Looking Back

Nuggets from the week:

Chapter 1 – Lehi, when speaking to some of his sons before he died exhorted, “Awake . . . and be men . . .”

In the April 1992 General Conference, Elder Carlos E. Asay shared an experience he had as an eighteen year old priest. It came at a time when he refused to become involved in some inappropriate activities with a group of his peers. He said, “As I walked away . . . , my companions taunted me by shouting, ‘When are you going to grow up? When will you stop being a sissy and a religious fanatic? When are you going to be a man?’”

The world’s definition of what it takes to be a “man” is quite different from what we know a “real man” to be. Lehi, in his counsel to his sons, named many attributes of the “real men” he wanted them to become. The Savior stated His expectation succinctly, “What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am: (3 Nephi 27:27).

Chapter 2 – If there were nuggets to be found in the other chapters, then chapter 2 is a whole gold mine. So much truth packaged in such a small space! We spent two days on this chapter and could have spent more. The further you dig, the more you seem to find. Many parts of the Plan of Salvation are addressed here. Among other things, the role of afflictions is taught; instruction is given on salvation, redemption, and the need for a Savior; why opposition is necessary (thanks, Catherine, for helping with that object lesson); information is given on the three grand pillars of eternity: the creation, the fall, and the atonement – and we discussed this thought by Bruce R. McConkie: “…without a knowledge of all of them, it is not possible to know the truth about any one of them…”; the major purposes of life are laid out – to receive a body, to test us to see how we will use our agency, and ultimately, that we might have joy; it is clearly taught that we are free to act for ourselves and not to be acted upon; that we are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator or captivity and death so that we can be miserable like the devil. Every day we make decisions: the associations we’ll have, the activities in which we will be involved, how we’ll entertain ourselves, how well we’ll carry out our responsibilities, whether or not we will choose to get an education, how we’ll treat our bodies, and a multitude of other things. Really, though, we can place every decision we make into one of these categories: liberty and eternal life OR captivity and death. We learned from the video in a symbolic way that “green is good.” Now you know why there is green crepe paper on the door to the seminary room. When you walk through that door you are making a choice that fits in the liberty and eternal life category!

Pres. Ezra T. Benson said, “The Book of Mormon teaches that ‘it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things’ (2 Nephi 2:11) – and so there is. Opposition provides choices, and choices bring consequences – good and bad. The Book of Mormon explains that men ‘are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil (2 Nephi 2:27). God loves us, the devil hates us. God wants us to have a fullness of joy as He has. The devil wants us to be miserable as he is. God gives us commandments to bless us. The devil would have us break these commandments to curse us. Daily, constantly, we choose by our desires, our thoughts, and our actions whether we want to be blessed or cursed, happy or miserable” ( Ensign, May 1988, 6).

Chapter 3 – A quote by Pres. Boyd K. Packer goes well with verse 12:

“The Old Testament and the New Testament . . . and . . . the Book of Mormon . . . are now woven together in such a way that as you pore over one you are drawn to the other; as you learn from one you are enlightened by the other. They are indeed one in our hands”

(Ensign, Nov. 1982, 53).

Chapter 4 – This chapter begins with Lehi’s counsel to some of his grandchildren prior to his death. In verse 12, we learn that Lehi died. “Not many days after his death” (v.13), Laman and Lemuel became angry with Nephi. In verses 15-35, we have Nephi’s words that are referred to as a psalm. In the beautiful poetic Hebrew style, he first expressed sorrow for his sins. Then he named his blessings, resolved to improve, and lastly – expressed his trust in the Lord and his desire to be redeemed. A few of the mini-sermons included in that psalm:

For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them . . . (v.15)

O wretched man that I am! Yea my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. (v.17)

I know in whom I have trusted. (v.19)

Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. (v.29)

Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of evil? (v.31)

May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! (v.32)

O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; (v.34)

Our faithful effort to offer to our family the testimony we have of the truth will be multiplied in power and extended in time. We have all seen evidence of that in families we have known. I saw it in South America as I looked into the faces of missionaries. Hundreds of them passed by me, shaking my hand and looking deeply into my eyes. I was nearly overwhelmed with the confirmation that these children of Father Lehi and of Sariah were there in the Lord’s service because our Heavenly Father honors His promises to families. To nearly his last breath, Lehi taught and testified and tried to bless his children. Terrible tragedy came among his descendants when they rejected his testimony, the testimonies of other prophets, and of the scriptures. But in the eyes and faces of those missionaries I felt confirmation that God has kept His promises to reach out to Lehi’s covenant children and that He will reach out to ours” (Pres. Henry B. Eyring, Ensign, May 1996, 64).

Free to Choose by Miriam Crawford

This is a story that Sis. Crawford sent that goes well with the Scripture Mastery verse we've focused on this week, 2 Nephi 2:27. She said it was a true story - most of it, anyway:

We should have named him Houdini. Never has there been an animal more bent on escape. Good at it too. You’d think that a hamster with the run of two cages loaded with wheels, tunnels, state-of-the-art truants, food, water and all the cedar shavings he could want would be happy. But noooooooo, not Houdini. Every waking moment was spent on pursuing any possible means of escape. Those solid, fool-proof screw-on air holes were a challenge; and the hamster was up to it. Somehow, who could figure, he escaped time and again. We were able to find him a few times and return him to safety and food. But safety and food were not what Houdini wanted. He wanted freedom! The last time he escaped we would catch a glimpse now and again as he would tease and mock our inability to lay hands on him. My husband even said he saw the hamster run in front of the TV late one night, pause, then stand up on his two hind legs, wearing a tiny miners helmet with a teeny light shining bright and a pick in one paw. The hamster laughed and laughed at him, then exited left behind the sofa. It was a though Houdini had it all figured out. “If I can just get out of here, he thought, “I can choose anything I want. I can go where I like, eat what I choose, pick my own friends and nobody will be my boss. I’ll be free.”

When we finally found Houdini he had made a whopper of a bedding bachelor pad under the back corner of the kitchen stove. He had surrounded himself with every desirable thing he could find. There was some stuffing from a pillow, a little yarn, some shredded newspaper, bits and pieces of noodles, wheat, sweet potato, and one more thing….rat poison. Those little blue pellets of rat poison. They looked appealing, they probably smelled and tasted good. It only took one glance for us to know what the hamster’s fate had been.

I couldn’t help but think…if only he had asked. I could have told him: don’t touch that. It will destroy you. But in his desperate search for freedom he wanted no one helping him make decisions. Then I wondered about each of us. As we use our own freedom to choose what we will surround ourselves with, what does Heavenly Father see? Does he watch as we gather those things that will destroy us? Satan is very clever at disguising his bait. He makes so many seemingly harmless temptations. They look good, they smell enticing, they taste great, and they please all the senses. What danger could there possibly be? Ask Houdini.