A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 23:7-18 We read in verse 7 : For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren. Symbols of conversion to Christ included a name change and they become a "very industrious people." It is a few mornings after the first day that I have read this group of verses. I am now sufficiently humbled to hear the word of the Lord. (How many times has this pattern been repeated? I come to a seemingly clerical set of verses - a set of verses that appear to only be there for housekeeping reasons, or to connect the story lines from one point to another. But time and time again, nothing is in this Book of Mormon without deliberate purpose. Such is this passage.) So we have here a list of the seven lands that were converted to the Lord. The list may seem like just a list of names at first. But do we ever regard converts to the Lord with such superficial, trivial attenti...

Mosiah 28:10-20 (Such are the mercies of the Lord upon me when I do not feel worthy to receive the instruction that He sends me, yet He does it anyways.) I'm not sure how to get from point A to point B in this explanation, however there are important truths found in the footnotes of this section. I should also preface this study with a reminder that I have recently been impressed with the importance of the heart in discerning spiritual matters, for the Spirit of God communicates through the mind and the heart working together. ( Doctrine and Covenants 8:2 ) As was mentioned back in Mosiah 21 in the conversation between Ammon the scout and king Limhi, "king Mosiah had a gift from God, whereby he could interpret... engravings."At this point in the record, we learn that king Mosiah had no one to confer the kingdom upon because all of his sons had gone off to preach to the Lamanites. This caused him to prepare the records that he had in his possession to be transferred. The ...

Mosiah 25:1-13 Upon the arrival of the people of Alma to the land of Zarahemla, king Mosiah caused that the records that had been kept by the people of  Zeniff, and also the account of Alma, should be read among all the people of Zarahemla, which at this point in time now consisted of Nephites, Mulekites, and the newly joined people of Limhi and Alma (though they too were also descendants of Nephi). As I've contemplated the purposes for which king Mosiah would cause to read this history, there are a couple of thoughts that impress me about this. I am reminded also of President Hinckley's emphasis on our own pioneer history. Strategically, here king Mosiah had received a notable influx of new citizens among their own, the natural human tendency, without understanding of where they were coming from and what hardships they had endured, would probably have given way to gossiping and other forms of potentially harmful misunderstandings. To completely eradicate such a tendency, and t...

Mosiah 3:1-4 This new chapter is a continuation of King Benjamin's remarks to his people. Having just preached obedience to the commandments of God, my first thought was, "Why not conclude there?" The answer that I find in chapter 3 is, "Because he is now about to preach unto them Christ Jesus." In verse three , the phrase "the glad tidings of great joy" has two footnotes on it. One for "glad" and the other for "joy."  The first reference for "glad" takes me to Isaiah 52:7-10 : " How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! " Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. " Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the ...

Ether 5 Vs. 1 - Moroni had written down all that is found in chapter 4 from memory. How clear was his intelligence, his recollection. Look at this! "I have told you the things which I have sealed up; therefore touch them not in order that ye may translate;" There was a part of the plates that was sealed up. Moroni just said he told us what is on them according to his memory. So it was a summary that we have. Of what though? It's also interesting to note that it was Moroni who sealed up that part of the Book of Mormon. So what we have now is literally what Mormon and Moroni  were commanded of the Lord to write. Vs. 4 - Is there no power in the Book of Mormon? Most definitely there is. By the power of this book will all the world be judged at the Last Day. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost all testify of the Book of Mormon.