We meet next on January 6th. We will be reading 2 Nephi 6&7. Have a wonderful Christmas! Be safe and happy!
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Choose Joy
This is Amy and I hope that you don't think I am taking over the blog. I am excited to put my thoughts down on "paper" per se. I have been thinking about the things I learned from last week and this week and want to solidify them. Plus I have quite a few things that I quoted during our meeting today.
Last week we ended with the question - How do we find JOY in our life? I mentioned that Esther's middle name is Joy and that it is because I was told in numerous blessings before she was born that she would bring JOY to people around her (and people on the other side would rejoice - that's joy too.) I share that because when you see her she tries to engage you and get you to smile at her. That is pure Joy. But as we discussed - we don't feel it enough. I find that it is lacking in the mundane life of a mother. So I made it my mission this week to find an answer to how to do it. Included here will be a couple references to scriptures, talks and other references that I hope you will read.
We talked about today that sometimes we get caught up in the real aspects of life and some of the "necessary" things of life and don't feel the spirit like we should. I felt a really strong amount of the spirit this week because I was focusing on finding how to have joy in my life.
In my personal reading I am in 1 Nephi chapter 17. As I read this section we find Nephi's family reaching the sea before the come to the Americas. When they approached the sea they rejoiced, even though they had "suffered many afflictions and much difficulty". The Lord had been with them and "all things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish." As I read this I thought, "The Lord knows me intimately and believes in me." He wants us to succeed. If we follow him our life will be blessed and we may overcome "those chains that bind us down."
The other thing I mentioned today was from the Daughters in my Kingdom book. We have talked about the retrenchment before and my sister had mentioned it a couple of days ago in a letter to our family and so I thought. I better read this. That part is amazing and helped me to realize that I need to improve. But as I read I was drawn to the next section and it was on personal revelation. In it Sister Eliza Snow said, "that the Holy Ghost “satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart, and fills up every vacuum. When I am filled with that Spirit,” she continued, “my soul is satisfied, and I can say in good earnest, that the trifling things of the day do not seem to stand in my way at all. " This section stopped me. I was astounded at what I just read. Did you see that "EVERY LONGING" part? It struck me that those inadequate feelings I have and those times I just don't think I am good enough can be overcome with the spirit. I thought about how my week had been and realized that even though my life had not changed, my attitude had and I was being strengthened as I had been working on having the spirit more fully in my life. I was feeling pure JOY. Even if for just a moment I knew I was loved by someone above.
Lastly sacrament meeting was amazing. The talks focused on the talk "The Atonement covers all pain" from the April General conference address by Kent R. Richards. The speakers spoke to my heart. They helped me to realize that I can be healed from the feelings of inadequacy and despair that I have been feeling. That they are also covered under the atonement. He (Christ) is able to heal ALL of our pain. I could feel the spirit speaking to my soul. And as I read the 4th chapter of 2 Nephi for our class I could see Nephi's pain and anguish of soul and hear him tell us "AWAKE" again. It is a plea from Nephi to break ourselves from the things that bind us down. That is some of what I got from my study of these wonderful reference.
Today we spoke about how Nephi felt this same inadequacy and other feelings and he WAS A PROPHET. We talked about how sometimes we don't see prophets as people who would have inadequate feelings or feel like we do. They are prophets after all. Aren't they perfect??? (Said with sarcasm.) It is nice to see they are human too.
Rachel mentioned that these verses were what brought about a hymn that I can't remember. Maybe she can tell us again in the comments.
We also talked a little bit about keeping Christ in Christmas and how hard that can be. I mentioned a pin that I had found that was a wonderful FHE for helping the kids see that Christ is the real reason for Christmas. It has you tell the kids about a wonderful guest that we are having visiting our home. It describes what the kids think is Santa but it is really Christ. Here is the link. ( I also mentioned a book called "I Believe in Santa" that says and does much the same thing.We talked about a FHE lesson on the symbols of Christmas and here is a link to the poem. I have also uploaded some of the research I did for this FHE. It is located at the link here you are welcome to download what you want.
I guess I better go, this post got really long and I am sure I missed a ton. But I hope that I have given all of you a little bit of Joy. Remember that GOD LOVES YOU. He sent his Son so that we can live again with him. And because of HIM we can CHOOSE JOY!!!
Love ya,
Amy
Last week we ended with the question - How do we find JOY in our life? I mentioned that Esther's middle name is Joy and that it is because I was told in numerous blessings before she was born that she would bring JOY to people around her (and people on the other side would rejoice - that's joy too.) I share that because when you see her she tries to engage you and get you to smile at her. That is pure Joy. But as we discussed - we don't feel it enough. I find that it is lacking in the mundane life of a mother. So I made it my mission this week to find an answer to how to do it. Included here will be a couple references to scriptures, talks and other references that I hope you will read.
We talked about today that sometimes we get caught up in the real aspects of life and some of the "necessary" things of life and don't feel the spirit like we should. I felt a really strong amount of the spirit this week because I was focusing on finding how to have joy in my life.
In my personal reading I am in 1 Nephi chapter 17. As I read this section we find Nephi's family reaching the sea before the come to the Americas. When they approached the sea they rejoiced, even though they had "suffered many afflictions and much difficulty". The Lord had been with them and "all things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish." As I read this I thought, "The Lord knows me intimately and believes in me." He wants us to succeed. If we follow him our life will be blessed and we may overcome "those chains that bind us down."
The other thing I mentioned today was from the Daughters in my Kingdom book. We have talked about the retrenchment before and my sister had mentioned it a couple of days ago in a letter to our family and so I thought. I better read this. That part is amazing and helped me to realize that I need to improve. But as I read I was drawn to the next section and it was on personal revelation. In it Sister Eliza Snow said, "that the Holy Ghost “satisfies and fills up every longing of the human heart, and fills up every vacuum. When I am filled with that Spirit,” she continued, “my soul is satisfied, and I can say in good earnest, that the trifling things of the day do not seem to stand in my way at all. " This section stopped me. I was astounded at what I just read. Did you see that "EVERY LONGING" part? It struck me that those inadequate feelings I have and those times I just don't think I am good enough can be overcome with the spirit. I thought about how my week had been and realized that even though my life had not changed, my attitude had and I was being strengthened as I had been working on having the spirit more fully in my life. I was feeling pure JOY. Even if for just a moment I knew I was loved by someone above.
Lastly sacrament meeting was amazing. The talks focused on the talk "The Atonement covers all pain" from the April General conference address by Kent R. Richards. The speakers spoke to my heart. They helped me to realize that I can be healed from the feelings of inadequacy and despair that I have been feeling. That they are also covered under the atonement. He (Christ) is able to heal ALL of our pain. I could feel the spirit speaking to my soul. And as I read the 4th chapter of 2 Nephi for our class I could see Nephi's pain and anguish of soul and hear him tell us "AWAKE" again. It is a plea from Nephi to break ourselves from the things that bind us down. That is some of what I got from my study of these wonderful reference.
Today we spoke about how Nephi felt this same inadequacy and other feelings and he WAS A PROPHET. We talked about how sometimes we don't see prophets as people who would have inadequate feelings or feel like we do. They are prophets after all. Aren't they perfect??? (Said with sarcasm.) It is nice to see they are human too.
Rachel mentioned that these verses were what brought about a hymn that I can't remember. Maybe she can tell us again in the comments.
We also talked a little bit about keeping Christ in Christmas and how hard that can be. I mentioned a pin that I had found that was a wonderful FHE for helping the kids see that Christ is the real reason for Christmas. It has you tell the kids about a wonderful guest that we are having visiting our home. It describes what the kids think is Santa but it is really Christ. Here is the link. ( I also mentioned a book called "I Believe in Santa" that says and does much the same thing.We talked about a FHE lesson on the symbols of Christmas and here is a link to the poem. I have also uploaded some of the research I did for this FHE. It is located at the link here you are welcome to download what you want.
I guess I better go, this post got really long and I am sure I missed a ton. But I hope that I have given all of you a little bit of Joy. Remember that GOD LOVES YOU. He sent his Son so that we can live again with him. And because of HIM we can CHOOSE JOY!!!
Love ya,
Amy
Thursday, December 15, 2011
An Invitation...
Hey Ladies,
You may notice that I sent you an email inviting you to be an author of this blog. I thought it would be nice for you all to be able to contribute extra study materials or thoughts on the chapters we are reading whenever you feel like it. You do not have to accept, and if you do, there is no real obligation to post each week. This is just so you have the option to if you want it. Hope you are all having a fantastic day!
Naomi
You may notice that I sent you an email inviting you to be an author of this blog. I thought it would be nice for you all to be able to contribute extra study materials or thoughts on the chapters we are reading whenever you feel like it. You do not have to accept, and if you do, there is no real obligation to post each week. This is just so you have the option to if you want it. Hope you are all having a fantastic day!
Naomi
Notes from 2 Nephi 2-3
Once again, I simply ran out of time (with all the Christmas craziness I have going on) and forgot to post about last week. And I still don't really have time to review what we discussed but wanted to at least let you all know what's going on.
Tomorrow we will be discussing 2 Nephi 4-5. It will be the last time we will meet this month due to the holidays but we will reconvene on January 6th, 2012 as long as the world hasn't come to an end :) As for tomorrow, I can't remember if someone volunteered for food, so I thought I would just invite everyone to bring a Christmas snack (healthy or not) if they are feeling up to it. If not, I will make sure I bring something so our spirits and bellies can survive the spiritual feast. See you all tomorrow!
Naomi
Tomorrow we will be discussing 2 Nephi 4-5. It will be the last time we will meet this month due to the holidays but we will reconvene on January 6th, 2012 as long as the world hasn't come to an end :) As for tomorrow, I can't remember if someone volunteered for food, so I thought I would just invite everyone to bring a Christmas snack (healthy or not) if they are feeling up to it. If not, I will make sure I bring something so our spirits and bellies can survive the spiritual feast. See you all tomorrow!
Naomi
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Notes from 1 Nephi 22 and 2 Nephi 1
Hey ladies!
Sorry this is so late but I wanted to remind you all that we discussed 1 Nephi 22 and 2 Nephi 1 last week and we will be discussing 2 Nephi 2-3 today and Stephanie offered to bring a snack. Also, I just wanted to share the link about choosing joy that Amy shared with me. You can follow it from here: http://www.lilblueboo.com/
Naomi
Sorry this is so late but I wanted to remind you all that we discussed 1 Nephi 22 and 2 Nephi 1 last week and we will be discussing 2 Nephi 2-3 today and Stephanie offered to bring a snack. Also, I just wanted to share the link about choosing joy that Amy shared with me. You can follow it from here: http://www.lilblueboo.com/
Naomi
Monday, November 21, 2011
Notes from 1 Nephi 19-21
For Friday's discussion we read 1 Nephi 19-21, which includes the first time that Nephi quotes Isaiah in the Book of Mormon.
Nephi begins by talking about the records he is making and why they are important. Then he relates the account of the ministry of Christ on the earth and his crucifixion by the Jews. This would be followed by the fires and tempests in the Americas and the eventual dispersion of the Jews.
Nephi then begins addressing the eventual physical and spiritual gathering of the House of Israel. Nephi says that he quotes Isaiah to "fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer" (19:23), and that he likens Isaiah to his people that they "may have hope" (19:24) in the mission of Christ.
In Chapter 20, Nephi quotes Isaiah who is speaking as the Lord. The Lord states that He has revealed the plan of salvation to His people so that they would know it was His work and not the work of men. He admonishes the people to leave Babylon and Chaldea- symbols of the wickedness of the world. The Lord tells the people to follow His commandments and in this they will have peace.
In Chapter 21, Isaiah continues speaking as the Lord and relates how Christ was chosen from the beginning to be the Messiah to both the Jew and the Gentile. And in the last days the House of Israel will begin to be gathered from the four corners of the earth, because the Lord has not forgotten His covenant with the House of Israel. This gathering will begin with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon from the Gentiles to the Jews and will continue as the House of Israel gathers both physically- the Jews returning to the land of Israel- and spiritually- as missionary work spreads across the earth and people are converted to the truth.
Next week (November 25th, 2011) we will NOT be meeting due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Instead we will reconvene on December 2nd to discuss 1 Nephi Chapter 22 and 2 Nephi Chapter 1. Once again, I can't remember who I asked to bring the snack, so if it was you, please leave a comment and let me know. Otherwise, I will just assume I forgot to ask and bring something myself :) Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you again in December!
Nephi begins by talking about the records he is making and why they are important. Then he relates the account of the ministry of Christ on the earth and his crucifixion by the Jews. This would be followed by the fires and tempests in the Americas and the eventual dispersion of the Jews.
Nephi then begins addressing the eventual physical and spiritual gathering of the House of Israel. Nephi says that he quotes Isaiah to "fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer" (19:23), and that he likens Isaiah to his people that they "may have hope" (19:24) in the mission of Christ.
In Chapter 20, Nephi quotes Isaiah who is speaking as the Lord. The Lord states that He has revealed the plan of salvation to His people so that they would know it was His work and not the work of men. He admonishes the people to leave Babylon and Chaldea- symbols of the wickedness of the world. The Lord tells the people to follow His commandments and in this they will have peace.
In Chapter 21, Isaiah continues speaking as the Lord and relates how Christ was chosen from the beginning to be the Messiah to both the Jew and the Gentile. And in the last days the House of Israel will begin to be gathered from the four corners of the earth, because the Lord has not forgotten His covenant with the House of Israel. This gathering will begin with the coming forth of the Book of Mormon from the Gentiles to the Jews and will continue as the House of Israel gathers both physically- the Jews returning to the land of Israel- and spiritually- as missionary work spreads across the earth and people are converted to the truth.
Next week (November 25th, 2011) we will NOT be meeting due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Instead we will reconvene on December 2nd to discuss 1 Nephi Chapter 22 and 2 Nephi Chapter 1. Once again, I can't remember who I asked to bring the snack, so if it was you, please leave a comment and let me know. Otherwise, I will just assume I forgot to ask and bring something myself :) Until then, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I look forward to seeing you again in December!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Notes from 1 Nephi 17-18
So its nap time at my house and I'm trying to pound out blog posts as fast as I can whilst I am technically "on break". I don't think I am going to try to recap all that we said anymore because frankly, I've been getting so caught up in our conversations that I never remember to take notes. But I do want to continue to post any additional resources that were used or mentioned during our meetings.
Anyway, today we discussed chapters 17 and 18 where Nephi builds a ship, his brothers give him a hard time, they set sail for the promised land, his brothers give him a hard time, and eventually they make it to the promised land alive and well, DESPITE Nephi's brothers giving him a hard time!
During our conversations Amy mentioned a link that she had sent me earlier in the week to help me with my little computer/food addiction, and I wanted you all to be able to read it as well. You can find it HERE.
Rachel also mentioned a talk by Julie B. Beck called Mothers Who Know. I had never read it before so I thought I would put it on here for anyone else who wanted to see what she had to say. You can find her talk HERE.
Also, I just want to say Thank You to everyone who comes to our little club. My life has been blessed by your testimonies and friendship more than you will ever know and I am so grateful to be able to sit with so many incredible women each week and discuss the gospel.
Next week we will be discussing 1 Nephi Chapters 19, 20, and 21. Nicole will be bringing the snack and I will bring my DVD player again so if you have a great movie that you think will keep the kids distracted while we are chatting, please bring it! See you all next Friday at 9am in the Gym!
Anyway, today we discussed chapters 17 and 18 where Nephi builds a ship, his brothers give him a hard time, they set sail for the promised land, his brothers give him a hard time, and eventually they make it to the promised land alive and well, DESPITE Nephi's brothers giving him a hard time!
During our conversations Amy mentioned a link that she had sent me earlier in the week to help me with my little computer/food addiction, and I wanted you all to be able to read it as well. You can find it HERE.
Rachel also mentioned a talk by Julie B. Beck called Mothers Who Know. I had never read it before so I thought I would put it on here for anyone else who wanted to see what she had to say. You can find her talk HERE.
Also, I just want to say Thank You to everyone who comes to our little club. My life has been blessed by your testimonies and friendship more than you will ever know and I am so grateful to be able to sit with so many incredible women each week and discuss the gospel.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Notes from 1 Nephi 14-16
On Friday the 4th, we discussed the chapters in 1 Nephi that wrapped up Nephi's vision with the Angel, had Nephi's explanation to his brothers of the tree of life, and told the story of Nephi breaking his bow.
One of my favorite discussions from the day was about how Nephi must have felt after breaking his bow. I mean, think about it! He never really did anything wrong and when he accidentally brakes his bow, his siblings want to KILL him and his father, who has ALWAYS been on his side, is upset with him. Yet instead of feeling abandoned and alone, or giving up, Nephi takes the opportunity to teach his family and his father about faith. And he does it in a very respectful way.
I don't know about you, but I think if I were in that situation I would have had an explosion of pride! I would be rubbing everyone elses' mistakes in their faces and trying to defend myself. I certainly wouldn't have gotten back up, made a new bow, and asked for guidance from my father! And although I think me and Nephi would have fought a lot if we were siblings because of his tendency to scold, I'm going to give him mad props for sticking to his guns in this situation. Go Nephi!
Anyway, we had a great time together and are excited for next week. If you are planning to join us, we will be discussing 1 Nephi Chapters 17 and 18 and I will be bringing a breakfast-ish snack for all of us to enjoy! Hope to see you there! (Friday, November 11th, 9:00 am in the Cultural hall.)
One of my favorite discussions from the day was about how Nephi must have felt after breaking his bow. I mean, think about it! He never really did anything wrong and when he accidentally brakes his bow, his siblings want to KILL him and his father, who has ALWAYS been on his side, is upset with him. Yet instead of feeling abandoned and alone, or giving up, Nephi takes the opportunity to teach his family and his father about faith. And he does it in a very respectful way.
I don't know about you, but I think if I were in that situation I would have had an explosion of pride! I would be rubbing everyone elses' mistakes in their faces and trying to defend myself. I certainly wouldn't have gotten back up, made a new bow, and asked for guidance from my father! And although I think me and Nephi would have fought a lot if we were siblings because of his tendency to scold, I'm going to give him mad props for sticking to his guns in this situation. Go Nephi!
Anyway, we had a great time together and are excited for next week. If you are planning to join us, we will be discussing 1 Nephi Chapters 17 and 18 and I will be bringing a breakfast-ish snack for all of us to enjoy! Hope to see you there! (Friday, November 11th, 9:00 am in the Cultural hall.)
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Notes from 1 Nephi 7-13
So I haven't been awesome at updating the blog with our notes, but not because the group hasn't been awesome! In fact, the BoM Brunch club is often the highlight of my week. Anyway, because I waited so long to update I don't remember every great point that was made but I do know we've talked a lot about the characters in the BoM and what they must have felt as they took this miraculous journey.
Many of our thoughts have also gone toward parenting and how to teach righteously without producing Laman and Lemuels. We've also talked a lot about the "Mists of Darkness" (temptations) and the "Great and Spacious Building" (Pride and vain imaginations) and how we struggle daily to fight off our own temptations (i.e. internet, chocolate) and ignore our personal vain imaginations (i.e. the media, body image).
This last week we even got to discuss our thoughts about the "Great and Abominable Church" and what we thought it was. The conversations have all been fascinating and have even produced a little after hours studying in other resources. Thus, I would like to share a few links here that have been shared during the book club:
This link was provided by Amy and provides some great information about parenting in righteousness: http://lds.org/manual/a-parents-guide/chapter-2-principles-for-teaching-children?lang=eng
This link was provided by Stephanie and has some fantastic History on the Bible: http://byutv.org/show/123d4a82-3d47-488e-beda-2496a5a1ff2c
Amy also pointed out that much of the October Ensign discusses the things we've been studying this month. Here is a link to the online Ensign: http://lds.org/ensign/2011/10?lang=eng
And just for fun, here is another link from Amy that has recipes for the muffins she made a couple weeks ago: http://thecookingdilemma.blogspot.com/2011/10/three-recipes-for-muffins.html
Next week (October 28, 2011) we will NOT be meeting due to some VERY busy schedules. However, we will still be planning to meet up at the church on November 4th, at 9 am to discuss 1 Nephi 14-16. Ummmm... and I don't remember who volunteered to do the snack so if it is you, could you leave a comment letting me know? That way I won't get nervous and bake a bunch of "just in case" cookies! See you in November!
Many of our thoughts have also gone toward parenting and how to teach righteously without producing Laman and Lemuels. We've also talked a lot about the "Mists of Darkness" (temptations) and the "Great and Spacious Building" (Pride and vain imaginations) and how we struggle daily to fight off our own temptations (i.e. internet, chocolate) and ignore our personal vain imaginations (i.e. the media, body image).
This last week we even got to discuss our thoughts about the "Great and Abominable Church" and what we thought it was. The conversations have all been fascinating and have even produced a little after hours studying in other resources. Thus, I would like to share a few links here that have been shared during the book club:
This link was provided by Amy and provides some great information about parenting in righteousness: http://lds.org/manual/a-parents-guide/chapter-2-principles-for-teaching-children?lang=eng
This link was provided by Stephanie and has some fantastic History on the Bible: http://byutv.org/show/123d4a82-3d47-488e-beda-2496a5a1ff2c
Amy also pointed out that much of the October Ensign discusses the things we've been studying this month. Here is a link to the online Ensign: http://lds.org/ensign/2011/10?lang=eng
And just for fun, here is another link from Amy that has recipes for the muffins she made a couple weeks ago: http://thecookingdilemma.blogspot.com/2011/10/three-recipes-for-muffins.html
Next week (October 28, 2011) we will NOT be meeting due to some VERY busy schedules. However, we will still be planning to meet up at the church on November 4th, at 9 am to discuss 1 Nephi 14-16. Ummmm... and I don't remember who volunteered to do the snack so if it is you, could you leave a comment letting me know? That way I won't get nervous and bake a bunch of "just in case" cookies! See you in November!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Notes from 1 Nephi 4-6
On Friday we got to discuss the chapters where Nephi slays Laban and gets the brass plates, Lehi finds out he is a descendant of Joseph in Egypt, and where Nephi explains his purpose in writing on his own plates.
Chapter 4 started out with Nephi baring his testimony to his brothers after they had whined again about their task and Laban's strength (despite seeing and being spoken to by an angel!) Two points came up when we were reading his reply to his brothers. One was that it was pretty amazing for Nephi to answer his brothers with a testimony of God rather than defensiveness or anger. Later on in chapter 5 we see the same thing when Lehi speaks to Sariah. She is worried about her sons and her faith seems to be shaken. Instead of chastening his wife, Lehi bares his testimony to her of the greatness of God and reassures her that their sons will be OK.
I thought both of these examples were a great lesson in communication, especially in marriage or family relationships when it is important not to burn bridges. We should try to follow the examples of Nephi and Lehi and remember our God when things seem hopeless. Which brings me to the second thing we talked about. When Nephi started talking to his brothers he said "Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even his tens of thousands?" This reminded me of a quote that I had read recently that said "Do not tell your God how big your storm is. Tell your storm how big your God is!" What a powerful sentiment. How often do we kneel in prayer to tell God how hard our lives and trials are, when we should instead, turn to our troubles and tell them that they can't bring us down because our God is more powerful than they are! And that is exactly what Nephi did when he spoke to his brothers.
During our conversation we also talked a lot about Sariah and the difficult situation she was put in when she had to leave her home and then send her sons into enemy territory, about the oaths between Nephi and Zoram, and a LOT about the state of mind Nephi must have been in when he realized he had to kill Laban to obtain the plates. There was so much emotion in these chapters that there was an endless stream of thoughts that we wanted to share with each other! :)
Anyway, we wrapped things up by talking about chapter 6 and how Nephi had wanted to use the plates to write the things of God and share them with people in our day. What a blessing to all of us that he was willing to take the time to write down and preserve these things so that we can all benefit from them today. I can't wait to keep reading more!
Next week on 10/07/11 we will be meeting in the gym at the church and will discuss 1 Nephi Chapters 7-9. Amy will be bringing the treat and we will have a great time! See you guys then!
Chapter 4 started out with Nephi baring his testimony to his brothers after they had whined again about their task and Laban's strength (despite seeing and being spoken to by an angel!) Two points came up when we were reading his reply to his brothers. One was that it was pretty amazing for Nephi to answer his brothers with a testimony of God rather than defensiveness or anger. Later on in chapter 5 we see the same thing when Lehi speaks to Sariah. She is worried about her sons and her faith seems to be shaken. Instead of chastening his wife, Lehi bares his testimony to her of the greatness of God and reassures her that their sons will be OK.
I thought both of these examples were a great lesson in communication, especially in marriage or family relationships when it is important not to burn bridges. We should try to follow the examples of Nephi and Lehi and remember our God when things seem hopeless. Which brings me to the second thing we talked about. When Nephi started talking to his brothers he said "Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even his tens of thousands?" This reminded me of a quote that I had read recently that said "Do not tell your God how big your storm is. Tell your storm how big your God is!" What a powerful sentiment. How often do we kneel in prayer to tell God how hard our lives and trials are, when we should instead, turn to our troubles and tell them that they can't bring us down because our God is more powerful than they are! And that is exactly what Nephi did when he spoke to his brothers.
During our conversation we also talked a lot about Sariah and the difficult situation she was put in when she had to leave her home and then send her sons into enemy territory, about the oaths between Nephi and Zoram, and a LOT about the state of mind Nephi must have been in when he realized he had to kill Laban to obtain the plates. There was so much emotion in these chapters that there was an endless stream of thoughts that we wanted to share with each other! :)
Anyway, we wrapped things up by talking about chapter 6 and how Nephi had wanted to use the plates to write the things of God and share them with people in our day. What a blessing to all of us that he was willing to take the time to write down and preserve these things so that we can all benefit from them today. I can't wait to keep reading more!
Next week on 10/07/11 we will be meeting in the gym at the church and will discuss 1 Nephi Chapters 7-9. Amy will be bringing the treat and we will have a great time! See you guys then!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Supplimental Reading for Nephi 4-6
Here's just a few quick notes to ponder while discussing these chapters. First, we see again Nephi using an oath commonly found amoung middle eastern peoples. After Zoram finds out the Nephi is not Laban, he tries to run away. He is caught by Nephi but continues to struggle until Nephi says "as the Lord liveth, and as I live...we would spare his life".
Once again Nephi swears by both his life and the Lords. And this seemingly simple phrase calms Zoram and convinces him to listen to Nephi and ultimately go with him. This is because of the emphasis and power placed on this type of oath. No one in that time would have considered breaking such a solemn covenant, and that idea has persisted through to our times. Hugh Nibly stated that "Hardly will an Arab break his oath, even if his life be in jeopardy, for there is nothing stronger, and nothing more sacred than the oath among the nomads."
One other note concerns the brass plates. We all know that the Lord, and consequently Lehi and Nephi, thought the brass plates were important. This is because the plates contained their religious teachings and prophecies from Adam to their current time. It also contained the Law of Moses and the 5 books of Moses, which were some of the most important scriptures to the Jewish people. Further, the plates recorded genealogy the Lehi's ancestors. When we look at the effect the plates had on the Nephites, we can see how their teaching were able to stay in line with the doctrines of the gospel and their language was preserved. This contrasts with the Mulekites, who left Jerusalem about 11 years after Lehi, but did not have access to any scripture. When the 2 civilizations eventually came together, the Mulekites had lost their language, religion, and civilization. It's amazing just what having the scriptures will do for a people!!
Once again Nephi swears by both his life and the Lords. And this seemingly simple phrase calms Zoram and convinces him to listen to Nephi and ultimately go with him. This is because of the emphasis and power placed on this type of oath. No one in that time would have considered breaking such a solemn covenant, and that idea has persisted through to our times. Hugh Nibly stated that "Hardly will an Arab break his oath, even if his life be in jeopardy, for there is nothing stronger, and nothing more sacred than the oath among the nomads."
One other note concerns the brass plates. We all know that the Lord, and consequently Lehi and Nephi, thought the brass plates were important. This is because the plates contained their religious teachings and prophecies from Adam to their current time. It also contained the Law of Moses and the 5 books of Moses, which were some of the most important scriptures to the Jewish people. Further, the plates recorded genealogy the Lehi's ancestors. When we look at the effect the plates had on the Nephites, we can see how their teaching were able to stay in line with the doctrines of the gospel and their language was preserved. This contrasts with the Mulekites, who left Jerusalem about 11 years after Lehi, but did not have access to any scripture. When the 2 civilizations eventually came together, the Mulekites had lost their language, religion, and civilization. It's amazing just what having the scriptures will do for a people!!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Notes from 1 Nephi 1-3
Once again, I was carried away in our conversations at the book club meeting and forgot to take notes. But I will do my best to recall some of the things we talked about.
One of the things that really stood out to me was when Nephi opened the book by stating that he was "born of goodly parents." I've read that line a hundred times but it wasn't until now that it occurred to me that that means Laman and Lemuel were ALSO born of goodly parents, yet we know they chose to take a much different path in life. One of the ladies pointed out that Nephi also said he had "been highly favored of the Lord" and that he "had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God." She related that to the gifts of the Spirit, which is something I'd never thought of before. It makes a lot of sense too if you think about the different paths the brothers all chose. It was also pointed out that Sam was probably blessed with the gift of believing in other's testimonies. That was made evident in 1 Nephi 2:17.
Another interesting thing we noticed in these chapters was that when Heavenly Father wanted Lehi to see the fate of Jerusalem as well as the greatness of God, he gave him a book to read. We are also given books to learn more about God in our day. (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) I continued the conversation with my husband after the book club and we had a thought: If all we take with us from this life is our knowledge, feelings, and personality, then wouldn't it make sense that "having the veil lifted" doesn't mean we will know ALL things, but instead, that we will remember all the things we had done and learned in our pre-mortal and mortal existences? And perhaps, when we enter the next life expecting to learn the answers to the questions that plagued us in this life, we will simply be directed to a giant library of books where we can actually learn ALL things! (Obviously, none of this is doctrine, just us speculating.)
During our meeting we also talked about the tendency of characters in the Book of Mormon to turn to murder to solve their problems (i.e. the people in Jerusalem sought to take away Lehi's life when he preached to them, and Laman and Lemuel sought to take away Nephi's life whenever he did anything that made them mad.) It seemed really crazy at first that a person would ever see murder as a solution, but when you really think about it, we still have those feelings today (i.e. I sometimes feel like we should use capital punishment on people who molest and rape children) the difference is we've been given enough light and knowledge to know that that is not an acceptable or Christlike way to solve our issues, and killing in and of itself has become very socially unacceptable.
One of my favorite things that we talked about during our time together was Nephi's reaction to the information given him from his father, versus the reaction of his brothers. When you read 1 Nephi 2:16 Nephi says that the Lord "softened his heart". This suggests that he was also struggling with the words of his father. The difference came when he chose to pray for clarification and understanding instead of brooding and becoming angry about how crazy his father may have sounded.
Anyway, we talked about a lot of fun stuff and had a great time together talking about the gospel and eating yummy fruit and dip!
Next week we will be discussing 1 Nephi 4-6 and Stephanie has volunteered to bring a snack. Also, we will be meeting in the cultural hall (gym) of the Woodridge Ward Building. See you Friday at 9:00 am!
One of the things that really stood out to me was when Nephi opened the book by stating that he was "born of goodly parents." I've read that line a hundred times but it wasn't until now that it occurred to me that that means Laman and Lemuel were ALSO born of goodly parents, yet we know they chose to take a much different path in life. One of the ladies pointed out that Nephi also said he had "been highly favored of the Lord" and that he "had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God." She related that to the gifts of the Spirit, which is something I'd never thought of before. It makes a lot of sense too if you think about the different paths the brothers all chose. It was also pointed out that Sam was probably blessed with the gift of believing in other's testimonies. That was made evident in 1 Nephi 2:17.
Another interesting thing we noticed in these chapters was that when Heavenly Father wanted Lehi to see the fate of Jerusalem as well as the greatness of God, he gave him a book to read. We are also given books to learn more about God in our day. (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) I continued the conversation with my husband after the book club and we had a thought: If all we take with us from this life is our knowledge, feelings, and personality, then wouldn't it make sense that "having the veil lifted" doesn't mean we will know ALL things, but instead, that we will remember all the things we had done and learned in our pre-mortal and mortal existences? And perhaps, when we enter the next life expecting to learn the answers to the questions that plagued us in this life, we will simply be directed to a giant library of books where we can actually learn ALL things! (Obviously, none of this is doctrine, just us speculating.)
During our meeting we also talked about the tendency of characters in the Book of Mormon to turn to murder to solve their problems (i.e. the people in Jerusalem sought to take away Lehi's life when he preached to them, and Laman and Lemuel sought to take away Nephi's life whenever he did anything that made them mad.) It seemed really crazy at first that a person would ever see murder as a solution, but when you really think about it, we still have those feelings today (i.e. I sometimes feel like we should use capital punishment on people who molest and rape children) the difference is we've been given enough light and knowledge to know that that is not an acceptable or Christlike way to solve our issues, and killing in and of itself has become very socially unacceptable.
One of my favorite things that we talked about during our time together was Nephi's reaction to the information given him from his father, versus the reaction of his brothers. When you read 1 Nephi 2:16 Nephi says that the Lord "softened his heart". This suggests that he was also struggling with the words of his father. The difference came when he chose to pray for clarification and understanding instead of brooding and becoming angry about how crazy his father may have sounded.
Anyway, we talked about a lot of fun stuff and had a great time together talking about the gospel and eating yummy fruit and dip!
Next week we will be discussing 1 Nephi 4-6 and Stephanie has volunteered to bring a snack. Also, we will be meeting in the cultural hall (gym) of the Woodridge Ward Building. See you Friday at 9:00 am!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Supplemental Reading for 1 Nephi 1-3
Here's a little background history and some random commentary that I hope will help with understanding more about Nephi chapters 1-3!
First some history. The Pharaoh of Egypt had exercised political control of the kingdom of Judah from 608 B.C. to 605 B.C. In 605 B.C., the Babylonians defeated Egypt at the battle of Carchemish and took control of the Jewish nation (see 2 Kings 23-25; 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 26-39). At this time, southern Palestine (the area controlled by the tribe of Judah and Benjamin- the other 10 tribes had already been scattered by Assyria) was made a vassal state of Babylon. However, the Jews decided to revolt against Babylonian rule and King Nebuchadnezzar came with his armies, surrounded Jerusalem, and ended the rebellion.
King Zedekiah was put in charge and it was in the first year of his rule that Lehi began preaching to the Jews against their wickedness and testifying that if they did not repent, Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed and the people scattered. Jeremiah was a contemporary of Lehi and also prophesied these same things. Jeremiah was eventually taken and cast into prison on charges of blasphemy by wicked priests who did not like his prophecies. Had Lehi stayed in Jerusalem, this would probably have been his fate too.
As a note, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 587 B.C. and carried away most of the Jews to Babylon. Those left behind eventually became the Samaritans and were hated by the Jews because they intermarried with other peoples while the main body of the Jewish people were in captivity. The majority of Jews were not permitted to return to Israel and rebuild the temple until after the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians and the Persian king Cyrus decreed the Jewish return in 537 B.C.
Because Lehi's life was in danger, the Lord commanded that he and his family should depart into the wilderness. They kept records of their journeys in what Nephi describes as consisting of "the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians" (1 Nephi 1:2) Reformed Egyptian would then have to have been very efficient at conveying many ideas with few words. For comparison, in English it takes about 15 words to translate 7-10 Hebrew words. And Mormon and Moroni stated that they did not use Hebrew because the plates were not sufficiently large to hold all their writings in Hebrew. Reformed Egyptian must have been quite the shorthand!
Continuing with Lehi's journey into the wilderness, we read that they came to the borders of the Red Sea and travelled through days through this wilderness before setting up the camp. It was from this place that the Lord commanded Lehi to send his sons back to Jerusalem for the plates of brass. The distance from Jerusalem to the fountain (meaning the head or beginning of) of the Red Sea (this is known as the Gulf of Aqaba now- see Bible Map 2)) is about 180 miles through hot, barren, thief infested land. And they travelled 3 days beyond that before Nephi went back for the plates of brass. That makes it about a 12 to 14 day trip one way to return to Jerusalem. Long way!
A few notes on Laban. For Laban to have a genealogy of Lehi's family, they must have been distance relations. However, Laban had risen to enough prominence to command a garrison of 50 men, he met with the elders of the Jews (a strong political connection), and had control of a treasury that contained the plates of brass among other things. Laban must therefore had quite a bit of power and, as he was a cruel and greedy man, must have been an intimidating person with whom to meet.
On Jewish oaths. The Jews were commanded by in the Old law to perform all their oaths unto the Lord. In 1 Nephi 3:15 Nephi says that "As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us." An oath made in the name of the Lord and in the name of the person performing the action was the strongest oath and promise that could be made. It was as good as the strongest written contract would be today. It is evidence that Nephi not only believed what he said in 3:7, but that he was staking his life on his belief.
One last gospel commentary. in 3:22-24 Nephi and his brothers gather all their worldly goods, everything that made them wealthy in the world (as Lehi was wealthy) and they planned to give all these things to Laban in exchange for the brass plates. Dollar to dollar value would not even come close to comparing. But Nephi and Lehi wanted the plates to "preserve unto our children the language of our fathers; And also that we may preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even down unto this present time." (3:19-20)
This reminds of the parables given by the Savior in Matthew about treasures in Heaven. Christ said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. " (Matthew 6:1-21) Nephi and Lehi understood that the treasure that was the brass plates had the power to bring them to eternal life and innumerable treasures in heaven in the presence of God, while their worldly wealthy could not stay with them forever. I've always loved that lesson!
Hopefully this background makes reading these chapters more enlightening!
First some history. The Pharaoh of Egypt had exercised political control of the kingdom of Judah from 608 B.C. to 605 B.C. In 605 B.C., the Babylonians defeated Egypt at the battle of Carchemish and took control of the Jewish nation (see 2 Kings 23-25; 2 Chronicles 36; Jeremiah 26-39). At this time, southern Palestine (the area controlled by the tribe of Judah and Benjamin- the other 10 tribes had already been scattered by Assyria) was made a vassal state of Babylon. However, the Jews decided to revolt against Babylonian rule and King Nebuchadnezzar came with his armies, surrounded Jerusalem, and ended the rebellion.
King Zedekiah was put in charge and it was in the first year of his rule that Lehi began preaching to the Jews against their wickedness and testifying that if they did not repent, Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed and the people scattered. Jeremiah was a contemporary of Lehi and also prophesied these same things. Jeremiah was eventually taken and cast into prison on charges of blasphemy by wicked priests who did not like his prophecies. Had Lehi stayed in Jerusalem, this would probably have been his fate too.
As a note, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 587 B.C. and carried away most of the Jews to Babylon. Those left behind eventually became the Samaritans and were hated by the Jews because they intermarried with other peoples while the main body of the Jewish people were in captivity. The majority of Jews were not permitted to return to Israel and rebuild the temple until after the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians and the Persian king Cyrus decreed the Jewish return in 537 B.C.
Because Lehi's life was in danger, the Lord commanded that he and his family should depart into the wilderness. They kept records of their journeys in what Nephi describes as consisting of "the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians" (1 Nephi 1:2) Reformed Egyptian would then have to have been very efficient at conveying many ideas with few words. For comparison, in English it takes about 15 words to translate 7-10 Hebrew words. And Mormon and Moroni stated that they did not use Hebrew because the plates were not sufficiently large to hold all their writings in Hebrew. Reformed Egyptian must have been quite the shorthand!
Continuing with Lehi's journey into the wilderness, we read that they came to the borders of the Red Sea and travelled through days through this wilderness before setting up the camp. It was from this place that the Lord commanded Lehi to send his sons back to Jerusalem for the plates of brass. The distance from Jerusalem to the fountain (meaning the head or beginning of) of the Red Sea (this is known as the Gulf of Aqaba now- see Bible Map 2)) is about 180 miles through hot, barren, thief infested land. And they travelled 3 days beyond that before Nephi went back for the plates of brass. That makes it about a 12 to 14 day trip one way to return to Jerusalem. Long way!
A few notes on Laban. For Laban to have a genealogy of Lehi's family, they must have been distance relations. However, Laban had risen to enough prominence to command a garrison of 50 men, he met with the elders of the Jews (a strong political connection), and had control of a treasury that contained the plates of brass among other things. Laban must therefore had quite a bit of power and, as he was a cruel and greedy man, must have been an intimidating person with whom to meet.
On Jewish oaths. The Jews were commanded by in the Old law to perform all their oaths unto the Lord. In 1 Nephi 3:15 Nephi says that "As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us." An oath made in the name of the Lord and in the name of the person performing the action was the strongest oath and promise that could be made. It was as good as the strongest written contract would be today. It is evidence that Nephi not only believed what he said in 3:7, but that he was staking his life on his belief.
One last gospel commentary. in 3:22-24 Nephi and his brothers gather all their worldly goods, everything that made them wealthy in the world (as Lehi was wealthy) and they planned to give all these things to Laban in exchange for the brass plates. Dollar to dollar value would not even come close to comparing. But Nephi and Lehi wanted the plates to "preserve unto our children the language of our fathers; And also that we may preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even down unto this present time." (3:19-20)
This reminds of the parables given by the Savior in Matthew about treasures in Heaven. Christ said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. " (Matthew 6:1-21) Nephi and Lehi understood that the treasure that was the brass plates had the power to bring them to eternal life and innumerable treasures in heaven in the presence of God, while their worldly wealthy could not stay with them forever. I've always loved that lesson!
Hopefully this background makes reading these chapters more enlightening!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Notes from the Introductions and Testimonies
On Friday the 16th we had our very first BOM book club meeting and it was FANTASTIC! Four of us showed up, got our kids busy in the nursery room, grabbed some cookies to munch on, and began our discussion about the introduction chapters of the Book of Mormon.
It was really neat to read the BOM from the first page and to be reminded why we have it, and what it's real purpose is (which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what the covenants of the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever - And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations.)
As we discussed the introduction further, a lot of comments were made about the character of the witnesses and how we are more like them then we realize at times. As Jennie pointed out earlier, many of them eventually left the Church, although they never denied their testimonies of the Book of Mormon. The times they were living in were harsh and the things they were asked to do were difficult. Looking at them from my life right now, I can see how it would have seemed easier to leave it all behind then deal with the cards they were dealt.
How often do we, in our much simpler lives, feel that it would be easier to stay home from church than wrestle small children for 3 hours, or skip going to the temple for a month rather than spend endless hours trying to find and coordinate with a babysitter? Our circumstances are different than theirs, but the little excuses and moments of doubt we experience can easily lead us down that same path.
That being said, I think we all felt a little more gratitude for Joseph Smith for enduring far more than we could ever imagine and still sticking to it until the bitter end. A consequence of thinking about these men as individuals with real lives and feelings has strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon and the doctrines it contains. I mean, if you really think about it, if a person as flawed as we all are could bring about such a great work, then surely the hand of God must have been involved, and SURELY with the help of our Heavenly Father we can accomplish ALL things!
Anyway, the conversation was so intriguing that I forgot to take notes, so now I can't remember everything we talked about. Perhaps the other ladies in the group can chime in with some of the things they remember in the comment section. But until then, I just wanted to end this with my last thought as I was finishing up reading the intro pages...
When I was reading through the brief explanation of the Book of Mormon, I was suddenly struck with feelings of gratitude and humility toward Mormon and Moroni. All the work they did, dedicating their very lives to making sure we, in our day, could read this book, came at a great cost. The loneliness alone that they experienced is more than I can imagine having to bare. But they did it because I believe they felt a great deal of the love our Heavenly Father feels for us. That same love that allowed Moroni to continue his work with Joseph Smith and see the fruits of his labors. That same love that coaxes me out of bed each day and buoys me up in my times of need. That same love that is flowing through every page of the Book of Mormon. And they knew we would need to feel that love, so they finished what they started no matter the cost and we are all so very lucky that they did!
For next week we will be discussing First Nephi Chapters 1-3. We will be meeting in the nursery room of the Woodridge Ward Building at 9:00 AM and I will be bringing a HEALTHY (but delicious) snack for us to munch on. Hope to see you all there!
It was really neat to read the BOM from the first page and to be reminded why we have it, and what it's real purpose is (which is to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what the covenants of the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever - And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that JESUS is the CHRIST, the ETERNAL GOD, manifesting himself unto all nations.)
As we discussed the introduction further, a lot of comments were made about the character of the witnesses and how we are more like them then we realize at times. As Jennie pointed out earlier, many of them eventually left the Church, although they never denied their testimonies of the Book of Mormon. The times they were living in were harsh and the things they were asked to do were difficult. Looking at them from my life right now, I can see how it would have seemed easier to leave it all behind then deal with the cards they were dealt.
How often do we, in our much simpler lives, feel that it would be easier to stay home from church than wrestle small children for 3 hours, or skip going to the temple for a month rather than spend endless hours trying to find and coordinate with a babysitter? Our circumstances are different than theirs, but the little excuses and moments of doubt we experience can easily lead us down that same path.
That being said, I think we all felt a little more gratitude for Joseph Smith for enduring far more than we could ever imagine and still sticking to it until the bitter end. A consequence of thinking about these men as individuals with real lives and feelings has strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon and the doctrines it contains. I mean, if you really think about it, if a person as flawed as we all are could bring about such a great work, then surely the hand of God must have been involved, and SURELY with the help of our Heavenly Father we can accomplish ALL things!
Anyway, the conversation was so intriguing that I forgot to take notes, so now I can't remember everything we talked about. Perhaps the other ladies in the group can chime in with some of the things they remember in the comment section. But until then, I just wanted to end this with my last thought as I was finishing up reading the intro pages...
When I was reading through the brief explanation of the Book of Mormon, I was suddenly struck with feelings of gratitude and humility toward Mormon and Moroni. All the work they did, dedicating their very lives to making sure we, in our day, could read this book, came at a great cost. The loneliness alone that they experienced is more than I can imagine having to bare. But they did it because I believe they felt a great deal of the love our Heavenly Father feels for us. That same love that allowed Moroni to continue his work with Joseph Smith and see the fruits of his labors. That same love that coaxes me out of bed each day and buoys me up in my times of need. That same love that is flowing through every page of the Book of Mormon. And they knew we would need to feel that love, so they finished what they started no matter the cost and we are all so very lucky that they did!
For next week we will be discussing First Nephi Chapters 1-3. We will be meeting in the nursery room of the Woodridge Ward Building at 9:00 AM and I will be bringing a HEALTHY (but delicious) snack for us to munch on. Hope to see you all there!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Supplemental Reading for The Introductions and Testimonies
It's amazing that, for as many times as I've read the Book of Mormon, I rarely take a moment to read these initial testimonies. But reading through them this time has given me a powerful reminder of just how important the BofM is in our developing a testimony of Jesus Christ. I'd like to offer a few thoughts about the introductions and testimonies found at the beginning of the BofM.
First, the title page to the BofM according to Joseph Smith is a literal translation taken from the last leaf, left hand side of the gold plates and was written by Moroni. The title page contains the thesis statement or purpose of the BofM. It is written "to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever-And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations". To me, this statement reminds me that Jesus is the Christ- my personal Savior- and that through His Atonement, I can make covenants with the Lord that will return me into His presence.
Next comes the Introduction, written to give an overview of the history of the BofM peoples and some of the crowning events found therein. The lines that stuck out to me in the third paragraph described how when Christ visited America he gave instructions that "puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come." I thought this was a very succinct summary of the gospel of Christ. I also enjoyed the quote by Joseph Smith found further down the page that states, "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."
When I read the testimonies of the witnesses, I am humbled by the fact that these men were given the privilege of seeing and handling the plates and were given the opportunity of testifying of its truth to the world. I find it interesting that all 3 witnesses-David Whitmer, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery- did eventually apostatize from the church, though Harris and Cowdery did later repent and return to membership. But even after their apostasy, none of them denied their testimony of the Book of Mormon. Even David Whitmer, who never returned to activity in the church, never did denounce his testimony included in that of the 3 witnesses. Similarly, 3 of the 8 witnesses were also excommunicated, but did not deny their experiences or testimony of the Book of Mormon.
I love the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith because it shows how he had to learn and progress in order to be worthy of his calling from the Lord. Sometimes I think that he must have been nearly perfect in order to be given such an assignment, but the fact that it took 4 years of preparation before he was even allowed to remove the plates, shows that he needed to learn and grow just as I do. This account also strengthens my testimony that God will protect us and assist us in doing the works that he has commanded. There are numerous accounts of attempts made to steal the plates from Joseph, starting with the very night he received them. Men hid in the woods and attacked him as he ran for home. But God kept Joseph and the plates safe until the work was finished, just as He will protect us as we strive to do His will.
One last note. In seminary I wrote down 3 keys through which the light of the Holy Ghost allows us to understand the Book of Mormon, and I'd like to share them. First, remember the BofM is a modern witness that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 8:6, 2 Nephi 25:22-30). Second, remember that this was written for our day-for us (Mormon 8:34-37). Third, remember you can know for yourself that this book is true through revelation from the Holy Ghost (Moroni 10:3-5).
-Jennie Smith (Naomi's cousin)
Note from Naomi: The BOM Book Club will be held this Friday, September 16th, at 9:00 AM at the Woodridge Ward Building. For anyone who can not come but still wants to participate, Jennie and I will be doing weekly posts on this blog about the topics we are studying. Feel free to follow along and leave your thoughts and feelings in the comment section for the rest of us to see! Otherwise, see you Friday!
First, the title page to the BofM according to Joseph Smith is a literal translation taken from the last leaf, left hand side of the gold plates and was written by Moroni. The title page contains the thesis statement or purpose of the BofM. It is written "to show unto the remnant of the House of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever-And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations". To me, this statement reminds me that Jesus is the Christ- my personal Savior- and that through His Atonement, I can make covenants with the Lord that will return me into His presence.
Next comes the Introduction, written to give an overview of the history of the BofM peoples and some of the crowning events found therein. The lines that stuck out to me in the third paragraph described how when Christ visited America he gave instructions that "puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come." I thought this was a very succinct summary of the gospel of Christ. I also enjoyed the quote by Joseph Smith found further down the page that states, "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."
When I read the testimonies of the witnesses, I am humbled by the fact that these men were given the privilege of seeing and handling the plates and were given the opportunity of testifying of its truth to the world. I find it interesting that all 3 witnesses-David Whitmer, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery- did eventually apostatize from the church, though Harris and Cowdery did later repent and return to membership. But even after their apostasy, none of them denied their testimony of the Book of Mormon. Even David Whitmer, who never returned to activity in the church, never did denounce his testimony included in that of the 3 witnesses. Similarly, 3 of the 8 witnesses were also excommunicated, but did not deny their experiences or testimony of the Book of Mormon.
I love the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith because it shows how he had to learn and progress in order to be worthy of his calling from the Lord. Sometimes I think that he must have been nearly perfect in order to be given such an assignment, but the fact that it took 4 years of preparation before he was even allowed to remove the plates, shows that he needed to learn and grow just as I do. This account also strengthens my testimony that God will protect us and assist us in doing the works that he has commanded. There are numerous accounts of attempts made to steal the plates from Joseph, starting with the very night he received them. Men hid in the woods and attacked him as he ran for home. But God kept Joseph and the plates safe until the work was finished, just as He will protect us as we strive to do His will.
One last note. In seminary I wrote down 3 keys through which the light of the Holy Ghost allows us to understand the Book of Mormon, and I'd like to share them. First, remember the BofM is a modern witness that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 8:6, 2 Nephi 25:22-30). Second, remember that this was written for our day-for us (Mormon 8:34-37). Third, remember you can know for yourself that this book is true through revelation from the Holy Ghost (Moroni 10:3-5).
-Jennie Smith (Naomi's cousin)
Note from Naomi: The BOM Book Club will be held this Friday, September 16th, at 9:00 AM at the Woodridge Ward Building. For anyone who can not come but still wants to participate, Jennie and I will be doing weekly posts on this blog about the topics we are studying. Feel free to follow along and leave your thoughts and feelings in the comment section for the rest of us to see! Otherwise, see you Friday!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Welcome!
Hello Ladies,
Welcome to our book club blog! Today my purpose is to give you a little explanation of what it is I'm trying to do, and why I'm trying to do it. So to start us out, I'm trying to set up a weekly book club to help us get more out of our Book of Mormon studies. I'm hoping we can meet in the church (where our kids can run around in a separate room) once a week to discuss our thoughts feelings, and insights from our weekly studies. Assignments on specific chapters will be given out each week so we are all on the same page and can better discuss our readings, and yummy snacks may occasionally be provided!
The reason behind putting this together is two-fold. Number one, I'm getting REALLY bored with my scripture study. I tend to be a one time reader. I loved the Harry Potter series but I only read each book once and plan to keep it that way. So its only natural that re-reading the Book of Mormon again and again gets a little trying on my attention span. However, I've found over the years that listening to the insights of others sparks interest in my studies. It's amazing what a new set of eyes and experience can bring to the table, and I often find myself surprised that I missed whatever it was that other people discovered. I'm hoping that by sharing thoughts with a group of people, I will be able to, once again, rediscover my love of the scriptures and their many secrets!
The second reason for starting this club is because I AM LONELY! I grew up in Utah where all my ward members lived on the same block as me and it was easy to make friends. Chicago has been a different beast. I feel secluded and apart from everyone in our ward. I also just went from a calling in the Young Women's Organization to one in the Primary, furthering my separation from adults my age who share similar life situations. I'm hoping that this club can help ALL of us to feel like we are a part of something and that we all have friends who are there for us, who know what we are going through, and who share the same love of the Gospel with each other.
I hope that each of you will strongly consider this invitation to be a part of my BOM book club and that if you really don't think you can fit it in to your busy schedules, you will at least drop by this blog occasionally to see what others have shared about our meetings as well as the scriptures.
Sincerely,
Naomi Hanks
P.S. I think I am going to tentatively schedule our first meeting for Friday, September 16th, at 10:00 AM in the Woodridge Ward Building. If you are planning to come, please read the BOM Introduction, The Testimony of Three Witnesses, The Testimony of Eight Witnesses, The Testimony of The Prophet Joseph Smith, and the Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon before you come. I will bring some yummo snacks and hopefully we will be able to enjoy an hour of good food, company, and conversation!
Welcome to our book club blog! Today my purpose is to give you a little explanation of what it is I'm trying to do, and why I'm trying to do it. So to start us out, I'm trying to set up a weekly book club to help us get more out of our Book of Mormon studies. I'm hoping we can meet in the church (where our kids can run around in a separate room) once a week to discuss our thoughts feelings, and insights from our weekly studies. Assignments on specific chapters will be given out each week so we are all on the same page and can better discuss our readings, and yummy snacks may occasionally be provided!
The reason behind putting this together is two-fold. Number one, I'm getting REALLY bored with my scripture study. I tend to be a one time reader. I loved the Harry Potter series but I only read each book once and plan to keep it that way. So its only natural that re-reading the Book of Mormon again and again gets a little trying on my attention span. However, I've found over the years that listening to the insights of others sparks interest in my studies. It's amazing what a new set of eyes and experience can bring to the table, and I often find myself surprised that I missed whatever it was that other people discovered. I'm hoping that by sharing thoughts with a group of people, I will be able to, once again, rediscover my love of the scriptures and their many secrets!
The second reason for starting this club is because I AM LONELY! I grew up in Utah where all my ward members lived on the same block as me and it was easy to make friends. Chicago has been a different beast. I feel secluded and apart from everyone in our ward. I also just went from a calling in the Young Women's Organization to one in the Primary, furthering my separation from adults my age who share similar life situations. I'm hoping that this club can help ALL of us to feel like we are a part of something and that we all have friends who are there for us, who know what we are going through, and who share the same love of the Gospel with each other.
I hope that each of you will strongly consider this invitation to be a part of my BOM book club and that if you really don't think you can fit it in to your busy schedules, you will at least drop by this blog occasionally to see what others have shared about our meetings as well as the scriptures.
Sincerely,
Naomi Hanks
P.S. I think I am going to tentatively schedule our first meeting for Friday, September 16th, at 10:00 AM in the Woodridge Ward Building. If you are planning to come, please read the BOM Introduction, The Testimony of Three Witnesses, The Testimony of Eight Witnesses, The Testimony of The Prophet Joseph Smith, and the Brief Explanation about the Book of Mormon before you come. I will bring some yummo snacks and hopefully we will be able to enjoy an hour of good food, company, and conversation!
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