A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 18:8-17 As I'm reading these verses about Ammon's faithfulness as a servant to King Lamoni, the words of the Savior come to mind: "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:" ( Matthew 20:26-27 ) So back in Alma in verse 13, we read "And one of the king’s servants said unto him [Ammon], Rabbanah, which is, being interpreted, powerful or great king, considering their kings to be powerful; and thus he said unto him: Rabbanah, the king desireth thee to stay." Suddenly, because of his faithfulness as a servant to the king, the other servants were now calling him a great and powerful king. On the topic of praise, I should note a few other references. I think praise often gets in the way of the Lord's work, becoming an end and a road block to further opportunities to teach. Christ himself deflected praise when he said, "Why callest thou me good? none is good, save...

2 Nephi 15:21 "Wo unto the wise in their own eyes..." This is a clear condemnation of those that profess to be wise according to their own ideas and perceptions. Wisdom comes from God. To profess wisdom otherwise, is to publish a false doctrine as truth--relative, absolute, or however one wishes to frame it. Truth is eternal and can only fully emanate from the divine fountains of life itself. "... and prudent in their own sight!" This is the part of the verse that truly strikes me as curious this morning. "Prudent" according to their own making. It perhaps the first time that I've considered that the world's ultra-conservative idea of prudence might be off or too extreme. There is a footnote on "prudent" which leads to the topical guide listing for prudence . From there we learn that prudence for the most part is a desirable trait for a man of god. Yet, there are verses only in Isaiah and the Gospels that specifically call out the pruden...

2 Nephi 1:1-6 Lehi's perspective on the family's circumstances is vastly different from that of Nephi's brothers. Where Laman and Lemuel possibly still held begrudgingly in memory the years now distant of their lives in Jerusalem, Lehi considers their present situation. Laman and Lemuel's perceived recollections of what they had had and what they had lost at Jerusalem impaired them from seeing their present situation. Perspective in a person's mind is reality. Laman and Lemuel were miserable because of their skewed perspective. Lehi, on the contrary, has a drastically different perspective of the same situation. Later, Lehi prophesies that none shall be brought to the land that they had inherited except the Lord should bring them.

1 Nephi 7:6-22 It is amazing to consider the unwaivering faithfulness of Nephi. Herein he is required to reprimand his older brothers--moved upon by the Spirit. He prays to be delivered after being bound with cords. He instructs his brothers to pray to God for forgiveness and is frank to forgive them any offense that they had against him. How did he manage to maintain such perfect alignment with the Lord? The capacity to reprove "when moved upon by the Holy Ghost" ( Doctrine and Covenants 121:43 ) is a manifestation of an extremely disciplined individual. Nephi was aware of his position before God. He definitely had a sense of mission that defined what God expected of him. This enabled him to be prepared, perhaps even motivated him to be prepared for the challenges that leadership and fulfillment of a righteous cause demand of the righteous. This also reminds me that no amount of sinning can render the same preparation that obedience to principle can. Nephi was extremely youn...

1 Nephi 3:28-31 Oh, the importance of perspective! Having just escaped the supposed opposition, Nephi and his brothers conceal themselves in the cavity of a rock only to have Laman and Lemuel to break out in violent anger against their younger brothers. Surely they were besides themselves having just lost every worldly possession that they had had their hearts set upon. Any hope of returning to their riches was now gone. As far as they could see, the reason for the loss was Nephi. Nephi notes in his account that before they picked up the rod, they broke out in strong language against him and Sam. This is an account in action of what James, the Lord's apostle, taught: ...The tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and is set on fire of hell. ( James 3:5 & 6...

1 Nephi 3:9-27 Nephi's response to his brothers upon Laman's failure to obtain the Brass Plates demonstrates an understanding of the purpose of their mission, even if he didn't know how he was to accomplish it. He is echoing his conviction, clearly stated at the front of the chapter ("I will go and do...[for]the Lord giveth no commandment... save he shall prepare a way"). Now in the heat of the moment when they were about turn back, his simple reminder ("...we will not go... until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.") gives them the strength to continue on their original course of action. (see 1 Nephi 3:7, 15 ) Nephi was also wise to have a plan of action to support his determination to keep the Lord's commandments. Surely he was not trying to obtain marks in persuasive speaking techniques, but his matter-of-fact stance in reminding them why they were about this particular errand demonstrates Nephi's perspective of th...