A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 39:1 On family dynamics: Alma starts into his council towards his son, Corianton, by what appears to be a comparison to his older brother. This isn't a comparison though.  Rather this is guidance and a testimony of the power of "a good example". There is a footnote here that I will delve into deeper tomorrow. --- I have spent a small amount of time reviewing scripture that talk of example. I like how it is also equated with light, leadership, standard of righteousness, and pattern.  We are commanded to be an example of what we believe. In John 13 , the Savior says, "For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." Then two verses later, He adds " If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." The relationship between testimony and conversion is thus put into its proper place here. Why are we commanded to be an example of the believers? Why should we let our light shine before men that they can glorify...

Alma 37:21-32 A preliminary review of these verses points out in my mind two things. Workers of darkness have their signs and wonders --secret oaths and hidden systems to accomplish their wickedness. This could have many modern parallels.  The works of righteousness are different in all things than that of darkness. --- If one does not pay close attention, we miss that these verses are expressly the words of the Lord concerning  darkness and wickedness. Christ is very interested in preserving the faithful even in the midst of darkness. So much so that he even prepares tools that will afford the righteous power to discern wickedness and bring those secret works of darkness out into the light. I am reminded of other adages as I review these verses, like "..it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men;" ( Doctrine and Covenants 3:3 ) I am also reminded of the real difference between wickedness and righteousness, light and darkness.

Alma 36:17-23 The first thing that catches my attention is the contrast between before and after; the bitter and the sweet; the despair verses the hope. Moments earlier, in the gall of bitterness, Alma says: Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct both soul and body, that I might not be brought to stand in the presence of my God , to be judged of my deeds. ( vs. 15 ) Then as evidence of  this mighty change of heart, he says: Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there . ( vs. 22 ) One moment there is such fear and torment at the thought of being brought into the presence of God. In the next, Alma has a longing to be there singing praises to God. The natural question that follows is: What caused Alma to change internally? (It wasn't seeing an angel.) What about the act of having f...

Alma 28 Not all missionary experiences end with happy endings. Earlier I had mentioned how Alma 26 was the unspoken homecoming address that seemed to mark the end of the missionary labors. However chapters 27 and 28 are the "rest of the story" that frequently gets overlooked. In fact, I have read this story many times and had completely disassociated the connection between the large-scale conversion of so many Lamanites and the war that resulted from this major social shift. The impact that this has had upon me this time has been jarring. So much good had been accomplished. So many Lamanites had been brought to the knowledge of the truth! Why was there such a large scale ramification? This causes me also to consider the Lord's preferred method of gathering in the last days: "one of a city, and two of a family," ( Jeremiah 3:14 ). Drop by precious drop, little by little Isreal is gathered. Oh how I ought to be more invested, more concerned with the ga...

Alma 26:1-7 This chapter represents the end of 14 years of missionary labors for Ammon and his brethren, though it doesn't expressly say so at the beginning of the chapter. Rather, this chapter starts immediately with the remarks of Ammon as he is reflecting back upon their labors. His remarks begin with a series of questions: "...Could we have supposed when we started from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings?" (vs. 1) "...What great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?" (vs. 2)  Ammon proceeds to answer for himself with this statement first: ...Our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God!  (vs. 3) And then he points to the blessing: And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work. (also ...

Alma 19:1-11 In this group of  verses, King Lamoni has been overpowered  by the influence of the Holy Spirit and has laid prostrate for 2 days. The queen summons Ammon to inquire of him the state her husband's well-being so that she could know what to do. The queen explains to Ammon that the servants of her husband regarded him as "a prophet of a holy God " and that he had "power to do many might works in his name. " On this premise, on the testimony of the servants of her husband, the queen asks Ammon for guidance. Verse 6 reads as such: Now, this was what Ammon desired, for he knew that king Lamoni was under the power of God; he knew that the dark veil of unbelief was being cast away from his mind, and the light which did light up his mind, which was the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness—yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul, the cloud of darkness having been dispelled, and that the light of everlasting l...

Alma 12:8-19 Alma speaks with such clear authority on the topic of the post mortal condition, spiritual death, and judgement that it causes me to step back and consider how he obtained his knowledge. We know from elsewhere in the scriptures that such knowledge is obtained through the spirit of prophecy and revelation, through prayer and fasting. The thought that comes to my mind is that it is needful to be possessor of such knowledge as Alma has on this topic of things that are to come that pertain to our salvation.   --- I've had to spend a little time reconditioning spiritual muscles to be able to drink deeper from these passages of scripture. I'm still working on it. Reviewing this video has been one of the best reconditioning exercises that I know of spiritually speaking. It forces me to re-look at things and reminds me of spiritual priorities. --- Verse 14 talks of how our words, thoughts, and action will condemn us before God if we are unrepentant. Taken out of context...

Alma 9:18-24 Alma continues his primary discourse against the people of Ammonihah, explaining that iniquity should not, nay, cannot be an option amongst any of the people of Nephi, if they should expect to continue living peaceably in the land. Verse 19   reminds me that the people of Ammonihah were actually plotting to overthrow the entire nation of the Nephites. Alma states here that if they were to fall into sin and transgression in the face of so much light and truth, that the Lord would rather send the Lamanites upon them to "utterly" destroy them. The light and knowledge to which Alma points has to do with the people's relationship with God and the root causes of their prosperity, namely, prophecy and revelation, the gifts of the Spirit, and deliverance from bondage of every kind: captivity,  famine, sickness, diseases of every kind and battle. All these are blessings from a merciful God. Considering this, I have to ask myself, why do we when we are the recipients o...

Alma 5:14 After completing a brief review of the terms of salvation that were extended to the previous generation of Saints, Alma goes on to ask three very direct questions in succession : Have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Now the first and the third questions, I can find references to elsewhere in the scriptures to broaden my understanding of what Alma is asking. For example, the first question ("Have ye spiritually been born of God?") sounds very similar to the Savior's conversation with Nicodemus. "How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?" ( John 3:4 ) The third question ("Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?") also has meaning elsewhere. King Benjamin's people exclaimed that "because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change...

Mosiah 16 The joy that swells inside of me as I read about Jesus Christ this morning is beautiful. Phrases like "He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened ; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death." ( vs 9 ) Some additional thoughts that have come into my mind, in no particular order, as I've contemplated Christ as the author of life and light and salvation, the Eternal Father. There is so much to learn, the acquisition of knowledge is becoming more like Christ. Creation is divine, the creation of life is holy. Endless light, there is nothing that can diminish its influence.  I am particularly fascinated by the light. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, a light which can never be darkened, a light that continues to grow and become stronger and stronger.  And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that qu...

2 Nephi 19:1-2 , see also Isaiah 9:1-2 Isaiah continues to explain the calamities that are to come upon the House of Israel, as they ignore the Lord their God, his law, and the testimony of the prophets. Yet Isaiah pauses here at the beginning of this chapter to testify of the coming of Jesus Christ. He says that their gropings in darkness will not be as bad as in times past, primarily because "the Light" will come among them. It makes reference to the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali. We learn from footnotes and from an account of the Savior's ministry that these were lands near or within the land of Galilee. (Galilee is also referenced here in the same verse, but it doesn't really illustrate the proximity of the regions to one another. ) In Matthew 4:14-16 , there is a direct reference to these verses of scripture as being the reason for which the Savior did set off in the specific direction that he did at that point in his ministry. This is one of many instances where...

2 Nephi 15:20 "Wo..." The list of condemnations that Isaiah pronounces against the house of Israel in his day continues. Yet, these condemnations are so applicable to me in my day. "unto them that call evil good..." There are footnotes on both "call" and "evil". The footnote that emphasizes "call" condemns those that would take judgment upon themselves, assuming that they know better than the Lord what is good and what is evil. Moroni reminds us in chapter 7, verses 14 &18 that we should not judge wrongfully, judging the evil thing to be of God, or that which is of God to be evil. Most importantly, at the end of verse 18, Moroni states, "For with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged." This is a very interesting thought, that as I choose to treat and perceive others, so shall I be treated and perceived by God in the end. There is something of a secret in becoming like God in this simple observation. ...

Ether 6:1-11 Vs. 3 - Double meaning. The Lord prepared stones fro the Jaredite boats that they might not cross the waters in darkness. The same happens for us. The Lord has given us light that we might not travel through this life in darkness. Vs. 5-8 - What a beautiful, spiritual parallel these verses are.  The waters can be compared to the world. While we must live and pass through this world, we do not need to be swallowed up in it.  The wind that pushed them along was the Power of God which if we let it will lead us to progress along the waters. The wind (the power of God) never did cease to blow. The vessels that protected them from the waters were their preparation, having had headed to the word or council of the Lord, they were protected from the waters or the world, though at times they did get swallowed up in them. Like the early latter-day Saints, at times they were swallowed up in afflictions, but the Lord always allowed them to come out on top, because they cr...