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"A Commandment that We Must Call Upon Thee," Ether 3

Ether 3

It's uplifting to listen to the way in which Mahonri humbly submits himself unto the Lord for answers to his prayers.

Vs. 2 - "...because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires... O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people."

Cross reference to Moses 1:10: "Now for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed." (Interesting to note that I was guided by the Spirit to think of cross referencing that scripture before I looked at the footnotes.)

Also in vs. 2: Mahonri knew the commandment to pray unto the Lord. Where was this given, for in order for one to obey, they must receive the commandments?

[Note for scripture study - looking for an example of some one with an amazing tool and then they use it for some sort of primitive purpose. It is the same way with the scriptures. This is what happened to me: a master taught me principles to help me better study the scriptures, which truly brought out the true meanings of the scriptures -- the mysteries of God. (See Acts 8:27-31)]

Back to the question from vs. 2, the first mention of man beginning to pray is in Genesis 4:26, but there is much left out in this account; for there is no mention of a motive or commandment to pray. It does not acknowledge the Lawgiver.

In Mosiah 4:11, a commandment to pray is given (after Ether however) as a result of conversion and recognition of your own nothingness. Here is the very first time: Moses 5:5 "...He gave them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God" and offer sacrifices to him, and in vs. 8 an angel explained the purpose of the sacrifice and commanded them to repent and cry unto God in the name of the Son forever more.

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