3 Nephi 24

13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say: What have we spoken against thee?
14 Ye have said: It is vain to serve God, and what doth it profit that we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?

I can see how those people got to this point. I remember in the Bible that there were times when they would fast and try and look weak for the vanity of it. But then, it's an excuse for them to do what they want and that's the problem.

15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard; and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

I read through this about 5 times. What else was I supposed to learn? I feel like I missed something.

2 Nephi 16

5 Then said I: Wo is unto me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar;
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said: Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Now, that's a painful way to purge a sin.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then I said: Here am I; send me.

This is beautiful to me. I am in resonance with this verse.

Jarom 1

8 And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of war—yea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all preparations for war.
9 And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not prosper against us. But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land.

Interesting to apply this to today. First, if you are prepared, ye shall not fear. Those words are so true.

Also, if you keep the commandments you will prosper. The US prospered for a long time, and we have had recessions from time to time. I heard once that there have been 12 starting with the Great Depression. I wonder if each depression is started with a rise in wickedness. I know the Great Depression was, and the one in the 70s, and this one. I don't know about the 80s or any of the others.

D&C 36

5 That as many as shall come before my servants Sidney Rigdon and Joseph Smith, Jun., embracing this calling and commandment, shall be ordained and sent forth to preach the everlasting gospel among the nations—
6 Crying repentance, saying: save yourselves from this untoward generation, and come forth out of the fire, hating even the garments spotted with the flesh.

You can pretty much say this same thing about the state of the world today.

D&C 39, Mormon 7

23 And again, it shall come to pass that on as many as ye shall baptize with water, ye shall lay your hands, and they shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and shall be looking forth for the signs of my coming, and shall know me.
24 Behold, I come quickly. Even so. Amen.

My verses go together again, I love that. I wonder what Even so means.

Mormon 7

8 Therefore repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and lay hold upon the gospel of Christ, which shall be set before you, not only in this record but also in the record which shall come unto the Gentiles from the Jews, which record shall come from the Gentiles unto you.

You can go straight from the last verse of D&C to the first verse here, like a speech. That's cool.

9 For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them.

This is written so that you will believe the Bible, and if you believe the Bible, then you will believe this writing. It took me years to get to this point when I understand what this verse is saying.

10 And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen.

Follow the example of the Savior and you're good. What is the first attribute that comes to mind when you think of Jesus? I have mine, but I don't want to taint yours...

D&C 129

7 Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message.


Nuff said.

D&C 83

3 And if they are not faithful they shall not have fellowship in the church; yet they may remain upon their inheritances according to the laws of the land.
4 All children have claim upon their parents for their maintenance until they are of age.

I guess this just shows that the Church goes by the laws of the land. Back in the day a lot of the land that was owned by church members technically belonged to the church, at least I think that's how it went... So it's a big deal to let people stay on the land if they didn't care about the church anymore.

Interesting that they have to have a scripture to tell parents to take care of their kids.

Joseph Smith History, D&C 100

13 At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.
14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.

This is how I found the church to be true. I finally broke down and asked, really wanting to know. Or rather, sick of fighting and willing to just know instead of try and understand in my head.

15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.

Been there. As my one reader knows :)

16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.

In one verse he goes from absolute despair and loathing for 3/4 of the verse and the very last lines are so hopeful and uplifting. I love it.



D&C 100

13 And now I give unto you a word concerning Zion. Zion shall be redeemed, although she is chastened for a little season.
14 Thy brethren, my servants Orson Hyde and John Gould, are in my hands; and inasmuch as they keep my commandments they shall be saved.

I like to insert my own name in here :)


15 Therefore, let your hearts be comforted; for all things shall work together for good to them that walk uprightly, and to the sanctification of the church.

I remind myself of this all the time. It IS for my good.

D&C 39

17 Wherefore lay to with your might and call faithful laborers into my vineyard, that it may be pruned for the last time.
18 And inasmuch as they do repent and receive the fulness of my gospel, and become sanctified, I will stay mine hand in judgment.
19 Wherefore, go forth, crying with a loud voice, saying: The kingdom of heaven is at hand; crying: Hosanna! blessed be the name of the Most High God.
20 Go forth baptizing with water, preparing the way before my face for the time of my coming;
21 For the time is at hand; the day or the hour no man knoweth; but it surely shall come.

The cool thing is, the church is doing these things. That's a good feeling.

Revelation 18, Mormon 7

12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

It's interesting to see what was held in high esteem. scriptures written today would say, all manner of technology, video games, etc.

14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood far off,
18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

This is really sad. It's talking about Babylon, it would be sad to see a city burning. It happens all over the world still, it would be sad to witness it.

19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

People are always humble and repentant AFTER the crisis. I hope to learn from stories like this and try for more humility without having to be struck down. That is the ultimate goal I guess. I know one person who seems to have it mastered, and I would be honored to be more like him. It seems like life would be easier.



Mormon 7

4 Know ye that ye must lay down your weapons of war, and delight no more in the shedding of blood, and take them not again, save it be that God shall command you.

You can take this to a smaller level and call a weapon anything you want. Words can be weapons. So, lay down your harsh words unless you feel like God is telling you to use them. Or any vice you have, lay it down unless you are commanded to use it.

Mosiah 20

24 And it came to pass that the king was pacified towards his people; and he said unto them: Let us go forth to meet my people, without arms; and I swear unto you with an oath that my people shall not slay thy people.
25 And it came to pass that they followed the king, and went forth without arms to meet the Lamanites. And it came to pass that they did meet the Lamanites; and the king of the Lamanites did bow himself down before them, and did plead in behalf of the people of Limhi.
26 And when the Lamanites saw the people of Limhi, that they were without arms, they had compassion on them and were pacified towards them, and returned with their king in peace to their own land.

It's so easy to think of the enemy as less than human, but they are capable of compassion. This is so cool to see in the scriptures. They were a fearful people, but capable of compassion.

Joseph Smith History

2 In this history I shall present the various events in relation to this Church, in truth and righteousness, as they have transpired, or as they at present exist, being now [1838] the eighth year since the organization of the said Church.
3 I was born in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and five, on the twenty-third day of December, in the town of Sharon, Windsor county, State of Vermont . . . My father, Joseph Smith, Sen., left the State of Vermont, and moved to Palmyra, Ontario (now Wayne) county, in the State of New York, when I was in my tenth year, or thereabouts. In about four years after my father’s arrival in Palmyra, he moved with his family into Manchester in the same county of Ontario—

When Chris and I went to Vermont on vacation we drove down to Sharon to see his birthplace. It was a great experience. They used to have a replica of the cabin, but it burned down at some point. But they still have the hearth stone that was in the actual house itself. They call missionaries to live there and present the place and tell all about the history. There are amazing paintings and a sculpture of Joseph. It's a beautiful memorial.

4 His family consisting of eleven souls, namely, my father, Joseph Smith; my mother, Lucy Smith (whose name, previous to her marriage, was Mack, daughter of Solomon Mack); my brothers, Alvin (who died November 19th, 1823, in the 26th year of his age), Hyrum, myself, Samuel Harrison, William, Don Carlos; and my sisters, Sophronia, Catherine, and Lucy.
5 Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, “Lo, here!” and others, “Lo, there!” Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist.

And this still happens today...

6 For, notwithstanding the great Love which the converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who were active in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they were pleased to call it, let them join what sect they pleased; yet when the converts began to file off, some to one party and some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the priests and the converts were more pretended than real; for a scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued—priest contending against priest, and convert against convert; so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions.
7 I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father’s family was proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that church, namely, my mother, Lucy; my brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison; and my sister Sophronia.
8 During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended their several meetings as often as occasion would permit. In process of time my mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire to be united with them; but so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was bright and who was wrong.
9 My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and Methodists, and used all the powers of both reason and sophistry to prove their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others.

What's interesting to me is his age. I have never met a child of his age so concerned with what church to go to. At his age I was thinking of ways to get out of going to church.