26:4
What we ARE and what we DO is what will determine whether we will be burned as stubble. This verse clarifies this for us. "Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, for they shall be as stubble." So, the two things are:
Those who ARE proud. Why is pride so bad? It is pride that keeps us from humbly submitting to God. It is pride that limits our teachability - limiting our progression. It is pride that makes us feel that we are better and have no need for change. It is pride that keeps us from serving others - considering others as lesser. It is pride that keeps us from relying on God. It is pride that directs our faith towards ourselves rather than Christ. Pride is bad.
Those that DO wickedly. Doing wicked things is the quickest way to develop into a wicked being. If our actions are consistently wicked, we become wicked. Our path separates from God's path. Wickedness is generally connected to selfishness. We lie or steal to get gain. We put our lusts and cravings above all others. What's worse, is when we know what is right but choose wickedness deliberately. This is open rebellion. If we are a rebel in this life, how will that affect our future rebellion in the spirit world?
26:7
"O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just." First, Nephi is very upset at the demise of his people. This is solid empathy. I want to feel more emotions when I'm seeing others suffer. Working on it.
Second, he is very upset by what he is seeing. He's obviously seen a vision of their destruction. He could have easily turned his back on God for allowing this to happen to his people. Many of us would. But, Nephi's perspective is correct and he sees the goodness of God regardless of the destruction of his people.
26:10
"...they sell themselves for naught; for, for the reward of their pride and their foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield unto the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to hell." Nephi's descendants are selling themselves for nothing. They are giving up their righteousness for a hellish future. If we can see EVERYTHING that this world has to offer as meaningless and temporary, we will be less tempted to give up our righteousness for something that is meaningless and temporary.
If we all understand this, why do we still make bad choices? It is our "pride and foolishness." Sometimes we are putting our will above all else. We want what we want and our wants our paramount. Or we are simply foolish and are going through the motions of a worldly life without attempting to see things from an eternal perspective. We are distracted, tricked, cheated by Satan. Allowing ourselves to be distracted and fooled by the devil is the greatest kind of foolishness.
26:11
"For the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. And when the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man then cometh speedy destruction, and this grieveth my soul." Wait a second - I thought that the Gift of the Holy Ghost was a constant companion after we are baptized and confirmed?? From this verse, it sounds like this may not be the case.
I think the key word here is "strive." The Holy Ghost will strive with us in our journey of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost will not strive with us in our journey in the wrong direction. The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead and he's a smart person. He isn't going to deliver constant promptings when he knows his promptings are certainly going to be ignored.
If we are striving to be righteous, if we are striving to be faithful, the Holy Ghost is RIGHT THERE to strive with us. If we ignore the Spirit, we will not enjoy the benefits of his striving along with us. He is anything but clueless. Even the most silly among us won't keep talking to someone who isn't ever listening. We will stop until that person is willing to engage with us again. The Holy Ghost is like this.
26:16
Nephi is speaking about those who have written scriptures in ancient times for our benefit. "...their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power, that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust." I think it's interesting that the scriptures have a voice and that voice is familiar to us. Why is that? I think it's because we have been taught every gospel principle in the premortal world. We know all about the plan of salvation and the atonement of Jesus Christ. Even with a veil, we are still the same people who rejoiced at the announcement of the plan. When we hear it, our souls find it familiar.
Also, part of what makes these principles familiar is the whispering of those who are looking over us. I believe that spirits, good and bad, can whisper and our souls pick it up. We mostly can't hear these whisperings with our ears - but our souls can definitely hear and understand.
26:20, 29
"And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor." Those who are relying on the support of their believers must make THEMSELVES the star of the show. They are attempting to create disciples of THEMSELVES.
They aren't pointing people to Christ. Instead, they "preach up unto themselves." They aren't attempting to rely on the wisdom of Jesus Christ, they are relying on "their own wisdom and their own learning." They have to be the one's making the point for their followers. They have to appear to be spiritual geniuses and help their congregations experience something that increases their devotion to the church leader - rather than Jesus Christ.
I've listened to many talented pastors who have amazed and entertained me. They have made connections in the scriptures that I would have never considered. They were brilliant and sincere and incredibly talented at being one with the audience. One in particular, I could have listened to him for hours. He had the crowd wrapped around his finger with his sincerity and intellect. But, he was the definition of someone who "preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning." Incidentally, he was now over a dozen different congregations based out of California. His business was flourishing.
"He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion." I think many televangelists are doing just this. Having said that, we should look inward and consider how much of our effort is misdirected. How much do I want to speak in church so that I look smart and spiritual? How much do I want the young men and young women to think I'm really cool when we deliver a lesson? Getting kudos from ward members is "gain and praise." We should regularly consider what our motivations are for our preaching to others.
26:22
The initial temptation from Satan is always small and "flaxen." "...he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever." Satan never leads with a diabolical sin. He always starts with something minor - almost insignificant. He's extremely talented at this. He knows each of us and where we are weakest. He knows what temptations we'll reject and which ones we'll accept. He can whisper and he knows the perfect thing to say to weaken us. We must understand his skills to be able to fight against them.
26:24
"He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him." It's important that we always keep in mind how much Jesus has done for us. His entire existence is about us. Our Father's "work and glory" is about us. Why are they so fixated on our progression? Simple. They love us. The greatest evidence of this, besides the plan of salvation itself, is that Jesus suffered and died for us. He was definitely a mortal who was very anguished about what he was being asked to do. He wasn't sure about the degree of suffering he would have to endure. But, he walked towards it like the lamb to a slaughter. Why? Again, just because he loves us.
26:27
"...he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance." So, we are commanded to persuade all men to repentance. What does that look like? How do we persuade? For me, my persuasion tactics aren't too developed. I currently:
Teach the young men and young women every two weeks. Marci and I take this responsibility very seriously and see it as the primary way that we are persuading others to repentance.
I write a weekly blog that inevitably talks about repentance and our reliance on Jesus Christ. That's pretty good even though only a few read it.
I look for opportunities to testify of Jesus and his gospel in conversations with others. I look for chances to bring up the gospel in normal and natural ways. I haven't lost any friends yet...
That's basically the list. Marci and I have served a couple of missions together. We were doing a lot of persuading then. We'll go on some more so that's good.
I think it's healthy to do an inventory about what we are doing to persuade others to repent and have faith in Jesus Christ. It is part of our responsibilities as members of the church to do so.
27:1
This verse says that both Jews and Gentiles "will be drunken with iniquity and all manner of abominations." I'm curious why the word "drunken" was used. How are drunkenness and iniquity/abominations connected? When I am drunken, I'm not thinking straight. I lose control of myself. I am not responsble. I do not see the big picture. I'm easily influenced. I can see a connection between partaking in iniquity and abominations leading to a form of drunkenness.
27:3
"And all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision; yea, it shall be unto them, even as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul is empty." I think it's going to be interesting for those who think they have this world figured out to wake up one morning and Jesus is coming. Their past lives will suddenly be like a dream. All of what was important will be meaningless. His previous perspective will fade away like the mist of a dream. What had made him fat and happy will suddenly leave him feeling empty. It will be a rapidly changed perspective and his new reality will be shocking.
27:26
"Therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, yea, a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise and learned shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hid." I know that the "marvelous work and a wonder" is the restoration of the church.
However, I think part of the wonder is that the church will proceed forth successfully IN SPITE of the efforts of all of us. We witnessed this firsthand in the missionary department. Marci and I could be considered less-qualified to lead the MLS missionary training considering that we only served a 2.5 month mission. However, the department got set up, systems established, curriculum created and trainers trained successfully. Our weaknesses seemed to not make a dent in the progress needed. It's almost like we were carried.
I remember one night when I was writing a section of the manual that the Spirit seemed to be directing my fingers as I typed. I turned to Marci and said, "It's like I'm not the one typing. I'm just trying to keep up with my fingers." It felt that way.
The wonder of this restoration is that it is proceeding regardless of the weaknesses of it's members. Some past church leaders have made mistakes, yet the church moves forward. We're led locally by plumbers and insurance salesmen, yet the church moves forward. Nothing we can do will stop the restoration from proceeding. It's truly a wonder that the Lord can accomplish this work in spite of all of our combined weaknesses as mortals.
28:1, 4-6
"And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as the Spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely come to pass." What if we could say that for every talk or every lesson we teach? How much more power would our words have? We can all get better at relying more on the Spirit and less upon our own understanding.
On the other hand, Nephi predicts that many churches will be built "and not unto the Lord." Nephi says, "...they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost which giveth utterance." I have to admit that I rely on my learning when I teach and depend less on the Holy Ghost than I ought. I'm working on it. I am working on my faith in this area.
There is a phrase in the next two verses that is interesting. "Hear ye our precept..." and "...hearken ye unto my precept." I looked up "precept" and one definition is, "a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought." I think the precepts of men are almost always this way. They are created to regulate behavior or thought. These precepts have ulterior motives other than our agency and progression. Instead, the precepts of men are to regulate and relegate.
28:7
This is a very famous verse. "Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us." The bad part of this isn't "...and it will be well with us." The bad part is "...eat, drink, and be merry."
Truly it will be well with us. By the grace of Jesus Christ and God our Father, we are saved from death and hell. Christ finished his atonement for us. It is done.
However, our agency is still in effect. If we squander our time, how is that helping our progression. Christ's atonement isn't forcing anyone to progress. We must choose. If we choose, rather, to waste time in leisure and lust, we will not progress. If that attitude gets baked in, it could last forever.
28:8
This bad attitude is further illustrated in verse eight. "And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God." Again, the danger is the attitude of not seeing consequences to our actions. There are consequences for each and every decision we make each day. Some are small and some are large.
The big danger here is that, with this attitude, we are placing our will above God's. We are doing what we want, regardless of what we've been commanded to do. This isn't the definition of humility and obedience and submission - all of which are necessary to progress throughout eternity!
It's also dangerous to assume the mind of God. When we start to think we can discern his purposes about us specifically, we are on thin ice. Saying, "...fear God - he will justify in committing a little sin" is also dangerous. I've heard many people saying things like this. I've heard folks say, "God would never do that!" We should remember that our ways are not God's ways. We cannot know his thoughts.
The big problem with this is the attitude. God does know that we will all sin and the plan of salvation is created to overcome that. But, to RELY on this principle as permission to outright disregard the things we've been commanded to do will shape our character in a big way. Our job is to strive with the Spirit to be righteous and faithful. When we stop striving, we start heading to a lesser kingdom in heaven.
28:12
"Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up." Pride leads to so many problems! I've never thought about pride being directly connected to false doctrine. What are examples of false doctrine?
We do not need any more scriptures beyond the Bible.
The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one being.
Children must be baptized soon after they are born or they go to hell.
You can call yourself to be a preacher.
If a prophet is not perfect, he can't be a prophet.
Any church that has expectations for its members is a "high-demand religion."
If God is about love, then same sex marriages should happen in temples.
Many religions make people do evil things so religion is evil.
I can feel the Spirit more in the mountains than in sacrament meeting so I don't need to go to church.
I need to worship in the way that is best for me. My life's mission is to discover myself and who I really am.
The false doctrines being spread these days, even among members of the church, are laced with pride. Consider the last example about crafting a belief system that is uniquely matched to your preferences. Could there be a more prideful, narcissistic approach to spirituality?
28:14, 31
"They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men." Even humble followers of Jesus Christ can be led by false teachers who are teaching "the precepts of men." Humble, meek, teachable people can often be led astray by a clever, articulate, convincing teacher.
The key is to put our trust and faith in Jesus, not some smart person. "Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost." If we are relying on a charismatic leader to guide us, we will be led astray.
28:15
"O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!" So, Nephi is listing those types of people who will be "thrust down to hell."
The learned.
The rich.
The proud.
Those who preach false doctrines.
Those who commit whoredoms.
Those who pervert the right way of the Lord.
I'm only half of the things on that list so that's something! I don't preach false doctrines, commit whoredoms or pervert the right way of the Lord. I am kinda learned, rich and proud. These are some of the biggest challenges of life. They are strengths that can quickly become weaknesses. When we are strong, we can be weak because that strength leads to pride. Possibly hand in hand with scripture study is the belief that I'm better than others. Even righteousness can be a source of pride.
Sidenote: I think that is why faithfulness is an even better word than righteous. Faithfulness points outward. If we are faithful, we are a follower of something or someone. We believe in something outside of ourselves. Faithfulness is a combination of righteousness and humility. That's a great combination. Many of the blessings taught in the temple are tied directly to our faithfulness.
28:16
"Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth!" We're seeing this a lot in the post-Mormon community. They make fun of the temple ceremony. They criticize General Conference. Any news story about the church is twisted into a scathing rebuke. Joseph Smith was a treasure seeker and a con artist and a womanizer. There is a huge heap of cynicism connected with anything church-related.
Moroni had something to say about this in his title page to the Book of Mormon. "And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ." We should not turn aside good things and call it a "thing of naught." If you do that, plus create a YouTube channel to spread your wicked views, there will be consequences for that.
28:20
"For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good." Those who leave the church seem to display an anger and resentment towards the church. They actively attempt to gain a following under the banner of "I'm protecting people from the Church." What a convenient reason for your behavior. What could be considered pathetic is transformed into something brave and selfless. I don't buy it. I think they have to be comforted that they have made the right choice. They do this by gaining followers and allies. This movement will gain momentum as more and more people realize that they feel happier when they can just do what they want without any restriction. It feels good to do what feels good for you doesn't it?
28:21-22, 24-25
This verse is directed more to active members of the church. "And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell." Many of the church members - including me for most of my life - are gently lulled into attending church on Sunday, not breaking any commandments and feeling that they are as faithful as can be.
How much urgency do we feel about our discipleship? How actively are we working to progress? How intensely are we building our relationship with Christ? How hard are we working to feed His sheep? How much time and effort do we put into:
Living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Caring for those in need.
Inviting all to receive the gospel.
Uniting families for eternity.
These are our Divinely Appointed Responsibilities. Meaning, they are responsibilities given to every church member from God. For most of my life, I have not been actively engaged in these responsibilities. I have definitely been "lulled away into carnal security." Apathy is a bigger problem than disobedience in the church today. The day is coming when an apathetic approach to living the gospel will not be enough.
Along with "lulling," Satan uses flattery. "And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance." Satan is a master of flattery. What does this flattery look like? He says all is well. He says there is no consequence to your actions so do what you want. He says there is no enemy so you don't have to be on guard. To believe that all is well, there are no consequences and no enemy is a comforting thought. It makes me feel better about what I'm doing and my current level of performance. This is the danger of flattery. We can become convinced that we're nearly perfect when we have so much to do. Flattery can put our progression on hold. We can live in stasis.
"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!" As I picture myself sitting in the pews at church, I would say that I appear at ease. I think many of us, as long as our lives are running smoothly, are at ease. I often lack urgency that would be expected from someone who knows so much about the purpose of life and the plan of salvation.
28:28
"And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall." People who feel guilty get really upset when their sins are pointed out. We are seeing a visceral anger towards the church and principles of righteousness. In the wrong crowd, what will happen if you proclaim that marriage is between and man and a woman? What kind of agitation will you create? What if you walk up to the wrong protestors and say that abortion is wrong. What kind of anger will you face? You'll be yelled at, probably spit on, maybe assaulted. It won't be a pleasant situation. The rage that a truth of God can create is amazing. Nephi saw our condition.
28:30
"For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have." We all progress level upon level. It's not possible to skip ahead. There is always an organic, natural progression.
Even Saul, when he saw his vision, didn't skip levels. He didn't go from bad to good. From his perspective, he was a faithful warrior for his faith. He was obedient and diligent. He was a righteous man according to what he knew. Him seeing an angel was paradigm shift - not a switch from unrighteous to righteous. He was passionate about his beliefs. When he was pointed in the right direction, all of his energy, faith, diligence was aligned with the Lord.
Sometimes, we compare ourselves with the speakers in General Conference. We see the disparity in knowledge and righteousness and it can feel discouraging. We all must understand that we're not going to be able to watch a conference and suddenly be like them. They had to progress line upon line themselves! We can't compare ourselves to them. We simply can compare who we are today with who we were yesterday.
Those who are righteous and fully receive the word of God will be given more. Those who reject what is given, they will continue to diminish. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away." This may not sound fair on the surface but it is the way of the universe and eternity. We're always progressing one way or another.
29:2
"...my words shall hiss forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel." The Church provides standards, guidelines, words of wisdom, eternal principles. The standards of the world are always in flux. Not so with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We all have to live by the standards taught in the Book of Mormon. We cannot invent our own unique standards to live by.
29:4
"But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?" It is interesting that the entire Christian world accepts and reveres the Bible but disrespects the very people who brought them the book in the first place. How much love and appreciation is being shown the Jewish nation these days?
29:8
"Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also." The Bible could have just been a bunch of precepts of men that were handed down generation after generation. It could be fiction. The New Testament could be the product of a bunch of guys in a room coming up with a religion.
But, with the Book of Mormon coming from an entirely different source that teaches the same principles and testifies of the divinity of Jesus Christ, it cements the truth. This testimony from two completely separate nations is a "witness unto you that I am God." Without the Book of Mormon, I might be tempted to believe that the story of Jesus Christ is a nice story. Thank God for the Book of Mormon!
29:11
"For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written." How important are these books of scripture? Well, we'll be judged by what is written. That sounds pretty important. How our actions compare to what we've learned from our study of the scriptures will determine our eternal progression. So...study your scriptures.
30:2
"For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel." Is our lineage important in our potential? Nope. The primary factor in us partaking in the covenants that were made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is if we REPENT. That's it. It doesn't matter our race or sex or nationality. We will be divided by those who will repent and those who won't.
30:10
"For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire." Jesus, of course, taught that we should love God and love each other. He is the personification of pure love. The gospel of Jesus Christ helps us to love. The highest attribute we can acquire is that of charity.
Jesus did truly love all of us. That doesn't mean that he accepts everyone's behavior. It is possible to embrace a person without embracing his or her behavior. In families, some will accept the gospel and others will completely reject it. Those who reject may actively fight against the Church. Love is not the faithful embracing the choices of their loved ones! The gospel will definitely divide families! I've heard those critical of the church point out the fact that the Church separates families in that only those with a temple recommend can attend the sealing. They believe that this is separating families and not a demonstration of love. (See how things can get twisted around?)
Luke wrote Christ's words, "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: for from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law." Again, the gospel of Jesus Christ will divide loved ones. Again, the biggest distinction that can happen is those who repent vs. those who won't.
Comentarios