Wednesday, March 28, 2012

No BoM Club Tomorrow!

Hey Ladies,

Just a reminder that there will be no BoM club tomorrow because of Spring Break. We will reconvene on April 5th, at my house (3918 N Washington St. Westmont, IL 60559) and have a little brunch while we are at it! The chapters for that week will be 2 Nephi 21 and 22. See you all then!

Naomi

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Congratulations!

Congratulations are in order for Rachel and her new son, Adam Michael Ferguson, 5lb 15oz, 19.5" long! Rachel left church worried on Sunday when she couldn't feel her baby kicking and ended up having an emergency C-section. Her mom is in town until Saturday, but I'm sure any help we can muster after that would be much appreciated. Let's all keep them in our thoughts and prayers!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Assignment for 2/23/2012

Hey Everyone,

We had an amazing discussion yesterday about Isaiah and are hoping to continue on our streak of understanding next week! We will be meeting at Stephanie Hereth's home (2662 Sumac St. Woodridge, Illinois 60517) at 9am for brunch and a stellar discussion on 2 Nephi Chapters 15 & 16. I will be bringing my mom since she will be in town that day. Hope to see you all there!

Naomi

Friday, February 10, 2012

Reading Assignment for 2/16/2012

Hey Ladies,

We had a great discussion about 2 Nephi 12 (Isaiah 2) yesterday with the help of many great minds and a few extra study guides. (Thank you Amy for posting the link to Understanding Isaiah!)

A quick answer to a question that was brought up in the discussion: In this particular chapter, Isaiah is speaking directly to this dispensation even though he uses many comparisons to the wicked in his days, "and hearken unto the soothsayers LIKE the Philistines..." the council is directed to ALL who live in our times and is meant as a warning not to follow in the footsteps of those in his time. (According to the book Understanding Isaiah by Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry, and Tina M. Peterson)

Also, when Isaiah mentions worshiping idols, we were wondering what he meant since people don't really walk around worshiping Zeus or the gold calf anymore. The book I'm reading says that the false idols are the things of man "Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made."

Anyway, the chapter was a great reminder that we all need to be attending the temple regularly and that we should constantly be humbling ourselves before the Lord!

Next week we decided to read both chapter 13 and 14 since they are each so short. Good luck in your studies and see you next Thursday.

P.S. does anyone want to volunteer a snack? 

Monday, February 6, 2012

10 keys to Isaiah chapters link


Here is the article that I mentioned at Book group last week. I think it will help us as we go through the Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon. We decided to take each chapter one by one from here on out until we get through the Isaiah chapters. We will start this Thursday with 2 Nephi Chapter 12.

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1973/10/ten-keys-to-understanding-isaiah?lang=eng I posted this on facebook but here is the link again.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Changing the date

I posted on Facebook that I thought we should change the day we meet to Thursday.  Should we start this week?  I am all for it.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

2 Nephi 8&9

This is not going to be an extensive review of what happened on Friday, but I will try to highlight some of our thoughts that we discussed.  Many of us had either read the material a couple of weeks ago or had not got through both chapters, but thanks to notes in the margins and a quick review of what was being said.  We had a great discussion.
 
We started discussing in Chapter 8 verse 5  about the line "mine arm shall judge the people."  We figured that it meant Jesus Christ.  Other verses also reference his arm through out the chapter.  Like verse 9. 

Once again we saw reference to "Awake".  Every time I read verses that say that I think, this is obviously important and we need to review what is being said.  Verses that say Awake and those that follow have much meat in them.  After verse 9 says Awake - then we read in verse 12 that "I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you."  Do we remember that when we are entrenched in sin or as we drift away from right?  Even verse 13 says ". . . forgettest the Lord thy maker, that has stretched forth the heavens,. . . "  vs 15 "I am the Lord thy God, whose waves roared; the Lord of Hosts is my name."  vs 16 " . . . Behold, thou art my people."  It is just amazing to hear those words.  There is much that can be taken from these verses, but if we see it as a reminder that GOD IS WITH US AND FOR US.  Then maybe we can do a little better each day.

We also liked the reference in chapter 8 vs 2 about Sarah.  Again we discussed how important that Isaiah (and God) for that matter feel about women.  There are many women referenced in both the bible and Book of Mormon.  We are told here to not only look to Abraham, but to also look to Sarah.  We felt that these verses although directed at the Children of Israel are also directed to any who accept the gospel.  That is us.

Chapter 9 has a beautiful reference to the plan of salvation starting in verse 6.  I loved how it talks about the atonement and how important it is in helping us to overcome death.  But also to overcome our carnal natures and be able to overcome Satans power.  This chapter is one that needs to be read over and over again.  To help us see that the atonement and God's love for us are eternal and that the value is beyond anything we might imagine.  Read it if you haven't had a chance.

We discussed all about the "Wo UNTO's"  and each of us had one that stuck out clearly in our minds.  I loved Diana's memory of verse 31.  And wo unto the deaf that will not hear; for they shall perish."  Her deaf companion read it and was totally offended,  her knowledge of the gospel had been limited by her deafness.  She didn't realize that being deaf in this verse is all about those who chose not to hear - not those who are born deaf or lose their hearing.

Vs 47"Would I harrow up your souls if your minds were pure?"  is about how these words would not be as hard for us to listen to if we were free from sin.  Vs 48 says.  "Behold, if ye were holy I would speak unto you of holiness; but as ye are not holy,  . . . I teach you the consequences of sin."

Sorry this has gone on and on.  It is hard to put on paper(computer) what was discussed in an hour long group.  There is so much more then what I have written.  Plus you are getting my perspective only.  I love this group and know that my testimony of the Book of Mormon increases each day as I read from its pages.  Thanks for putting this together and thanks to those who contribute each week.

NEXT WEEK we will discuss 2 Nephi Chapters 10 and 11.  Are we still meeting on Friday or should we change it to a new day?  I will leave that decision up to Naomi and she can add or change my note here to give us a heads up to when we will be meeting.