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...

Alma 17:18-39 In these verse, we read about the deaths of seven who opposed a servant of the Lord. I have witnessed similar before, though not to the same degree. Yet, it is only because of my own personal, first-hand experiences with the Lord's work that I have perspective enough to appreciate what is happening here among the Lamanites. Those that would oppose the Lord's servants or directly oppose the work of the Lord, are removed from mortality when they rub too close to the truth, choose not to give heed, and stand in open opposition to the work that was about to transpire. This is what is happening in these verses. At first it seems that this is just Ammon who is slaying these wicked men, but the footnote on verse 38 shows that if not Ammon, then the Lord himself is able to intervene as well in the taking of life. (Conversely, I've also seen more recently how death of a worthy servant has also been used to advance the Lord's work. In either case, it is a tool o...

Mosiah 22:1-9 In this passage, the people of Limhi are gathered to devise a plan for their escape from the Lamanites. They have at this point concluded that the only way to remedy their bondage from the Lamanites was to "depart into the wilderness". ( vs. 2 ) There are simple subtleties in these verses that stand out to me in this reading. First, Gideon, upon soliciting the king's attention, presents himself as servant to the king. Gideon at this point, had developed a plan for the deliverance of their people, how long he had had this option in mind we do not know, but what does seem certain is his confidence in the plan. In this reading I also paid closer attention to the actual directions that Gideon outlined to the king. It appears to have been a very indirect route, perhaps the least obvious of all possible, which would cause them to travel around the land of Shilom. ( vs. 8 ) The most intriguing part of this chapter however is Gideon's ability to be an effective ...

Mosiah 18:11-12 I currently am serving in a presidency for a church calling. I have been blessed to observe the preparation of other members of the presidency as they have taken seriously their assignments, and are working to have the Spirit of the Lord with them. I wonder if my own approach has been perhaps a bit too casual.  Alma began the work of baptizing those that were found with him at the waters of Mormon with this sober plea: "O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart." ( vs. 12 ) I am in need of this instruction this morning because, though I am willing to do the work of the Lord, I am perhaps too casual in my approach, expecting that the work and will of the Lord will be done, merely for "attending" to my duties without sufficient preparation or prayer and supplication in connection with these duties. We read in the scriptures, and in the testimonies of the prophets about spiritual gifts that accompany t...

Mosiah 2:17 Just typing the title phrase this morning has brought a great deal of peace to a presently weary mind. King Benjamin in this part of his discourse to his people is sharing a profoundly unique perspective, which was the source of peace to him as king, and most likely the source of peace for his nation . Since a week ago Sunday, I've been much impressed by the Savior's injunction to "take [his] yoke upon [me], and learn of [him]," ( Matt 11:29 ).  In the class where this was presented to me, the general discussion hovered around how Christ could make our burdens light. However, we then began to discuss the symbolism of the yoke. A yoke is what an ox uses to carry its load. We, like the oxen, have loads that we carry. What impressed me about Christ's invitation, is not that he is inviting us to let him carry our load. No not at all! The paradox of the invitation is that to the burdened and the weary he says in effect "Come and labor in my vineyard....

2 Nephi 16:11-13 The footnote in the Isaiah equivalent of verse 11 is on the question: How long? It explains that Isaiah is inquiring of the Lord how long will man be this way. To which the Lord answers as long as they exist shall they so be. Before reading this footnote, I took the question to be an inquiry as to how long he should expect to serve in his capacity. In this case, the Lord's answer is as long as man exists, there shall be a need of service. At the very end of this chapter is a prophecy of the gathering of Israel. Only a tenth part shall return. The result of their scattering is because of their disregard for the things of the Lord. That ancient covenant which resides deep within their being (probably unbeknown to them) is what will bring them home.

1 Nephi 6:3-6 Now that I've spent the last three days focused on the first two verses of this chapter, I've almost overlooked the purpose in Nephi's choosing not to include a more detailed genealogy. He says in verse 3, "For I desire the room that I may write the things of God. " This is even more clearly understood as he goes on in the next verses. The genealogical evidence that would have been facilitated through Nephi rendering a full account of his ancestry was not a priority. In fact, he was deliberately choosing to not included anything that would offer worldly evidence of the book's origin. "The things which are pleasing to the world, I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world." (verse 5) Additional Supporting Scripture: John 20: 30-31 - Though Christ did many things that were not recorded in the Scriptures, the events that are recorded are given that we may believe in Him. Galatians 1...