Small and Simple Things

This evening I had the opportunity to participate in our Relief Society Christmas Program entitled, Women Who Knew Christ. I was asked to play the part of the mother of Mary. As I practiced my part, there was a phrase from Luke 1:35 that jumped out at me:

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Had I read correctly? Did the angel just refer to the Son of God as a holy thing? And right then Alma 37:6-7 was brought to my remembrance:

Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

Yep. The very Son of God was born by and in and to small and simple circumstances.

Compared to how a king would have been received.

Compared to how birthing accommodations are today.

Compared to what can be announced to the world in real time on social media.

Yet, in His small and simple way, He continues to confound the wise and brings about the salvation to many souls.

I share my witness with King Benjamin that "there is no other name give nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent."

Book of Mormon Reading: Moroni 10

Today I finished reading the Book of Mormon!!

Did you know that the word "exhort," in some form or another, appears in the Book of Mormon 28 times?

6 of those times span within the book of 1 Nephi.

10 of those times appear in Moroni 10, alone!!

• I have spoken a few words by way of exhortation unto you:
• I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men,
• I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ,
• I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God . . .
•  I exhort you, . . . that ye deny not the gifts of God . . .
• I would exhort you,  . . . that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ.
• I would exhort you, . . . that ye remember that [God] is the same yesterday, today, and forever, 
•  I exhort you to remember these things . . .
•  I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ . . .

exhort: To incite by words or advice; to animate or urge by arguments to a good deed or to any laudable conduct or course of action.

Perhaps President Nelson does not use the word "exhort," but his does use words such as "urge," "invite," "encourage," and "plead." These words summon me to action.

I love the Book of Mormon!

I know the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.

And I know that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, the Savior of the World.

P.S. Just did a quick search on General Conference talks, and President Nelson used the word "exhort" in THIS TALK and in THIS TALK.

Book of Mormon Reading: Moroni 9

After reading Moroni 9 chapter, I truly believe that the goodness and prosperity of a nation reflects on how women and children are treated and regarded.

Book of Mormon Reading: Moroni 8

Today's reading prompted me to make this important scripture note:

Performing saving ordinances correctly is of utmost importance to God. Doing otherwise mocks Him and His atoning sacrifice. Thus, when the Spirit ceases striving with an individual (or, as a whole people, as in the case of the Nephites), then there is a greater likelihood that ordinances will be changes according the to teachings of man, rather than the doctrine of Christ.

Book of Mormon Reading: Moroni 7

I marveled today at these phrases of Christ, which are all found entirely in Moroni 7. These phrases talk, speak, rejoice, and testify of Him.

What was even more amazing to me was when I placed them in a list, in order, I realized, these phrases follow the chiasmus rule (oh me, of little chiasmus knowledge).

Peaceable followers of Christ

     Spirit of Christ

          Believe in Christ

               Power and gift of Christ

                    Light of Christ

                         Child of Christ

                              Coming of Christ

                                   Good cometh of Christ

                         Faith in Christ

                    Word of Christ

               Atonement of Christ

          Jesus is the Christ

     Pure love of Christ

True followers of His Son, Jesus Christ

Book of Mormon Reading: Mormon 1-6

What I read:

"Ye shall call on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have power that to him upon whom ye shall lay your hands . . ." (Moroni 2:2).

What I learned:
The Lord strongly encourages those who hold the priesthood to pray before giving a priesthood blessing.

Book of Mormon Reading: Ether 12-15

The entire story of the Jaredites is a lesson to me of what happens when a people forget their God.

Here are the final numbers in the final days of the Jaredites:

Team Coriatumr and Team Shiz spend four years (4 years!) gathering together their team, their army, their support. Then, the battle begins:

Day 1-2: Fighting and death all the day long; mourning and howling all the night long.

Day 3: Team Coriantumr writes a note to Team Shiz, "Please, let's not do this anymore. Take my kingdom. Spare our lives." Team Shiz, "Not on your life."

Day 4 - 6: Fight on. Die on. Sleep on swords.

Day 6: More fighting. More bloodshed. More deaths. End of day Team Coriantumr: 52. Team Shiz: 69. (And another night of sleeping on swords).

Day 7: More fighting. More bloodshed. Deaths. Eating and sleeping to prepare for death on the  morrow.  End of day: Team Coriantumr: 29. Team Shiz: 32
(P.S. That's a reduction of 58% of Coriantumr's army and a 46% reduction of Shiz's army in ONE day!)

Day 8: Both armies fight for three hours. Faint because of the loss of blood. Rest up and, with remaining strength, the army of Shiz pursue the remaining of the army of Coriantumr. Into the night.

Day 9: Shiz's men overcome Coriantumr's men, leaving only Coriantumr and Shiz. Coriantumr prevails.

End of the Jaredite civilization.

Contrast that to the building up of God's kingdom:

Suppose for a moment you are a member of a team. The coach beckons you from the bench and says: “You are to enter this contest. I not only want you to win; you shall win. But the going will be tough. The score at this moment is 1,143,000,000 to six, and you are to play on the team with the six points!”

That large number was the approximate population of the earth in the year 1830 when the restored church of Jesus Christ was officially organized with six members. The setting was remote and rural. By standards of the world, its leaders were deemed to be unlearned. Their followers seemed so ordinary. But with them, the work was begun. . . .

If any tasks ever deserved the label impossible, those would seem to qualify. But, in fact, our Lord had spoken: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

I want to be numbered with those who do not forget who is Lord, their God.

Book of Mormon Reading: Ether 6-11

In my reading today, this particular title of the Savior stood out to me: "Son of Righteousness." (Which, by the way, is found only three times in the scriptures and only in the Book of Mormon).

One way I pondered this titles is that Righteousness is the very personification of our Heavenly Father. One definition of righteousness is "it includes all we call justice, honesty, and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion."

Thus understanding the true nature of the Godhead is understanding true religion.

Another way I have pondered this title, "Son of Righteousness," is that through obedience to my covenants and by applying the atoning blood of Christ, I, too, can become a daughter of Righteousness. That is why I chose to come to earth--to prove that I want to live His life (which is eternal life) and be with Him forever.

Book of Mormon Reading: Ether 3-5

Exercising faith in Jesus Christ requires a degree (I would say a high degree) of sanctification. And in that sanctification in Him, the Lord promises (and I know His promises are sure), "then will [He] manifest unto [us] the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are" (Ether 4:7).

Wow.

Just wow!

Book of Mormon Reading: Ether 1-2

The story of Jared and his brother (the brother of Jared, ha ha), continues to fascinate me every time I read it

This time around wasn't any different.

What really stood out to me is how much the Lord does prepare things for us in our present and in our future, and how much He wants to help us prepare for good and bad things that will come.

I love that the brother of Jared is the spokeman to the Lord for his family.

I love the role Jared plays in that making sure Jared is the spokesman for their family.

I love this injunction from the Lord: "Go to work and build."

And I love that the Lord cares for the physical needs of the Jaredites (air to breathe) and sets the brother of Jared to ponder and act onhow to take care of their spiritual needs (light for the barges).

Book of Mormon Reading: Mormon 1-9

I don't think I have ever read the whole Book of Mormon in one day.

I'm not talking 531 pages of The Book of Mormon, but the Book of Mormon chapters in The Book of Mormon 1 through 9.

And I have to admit that in reading all nine chapters today, I was completely overcome with emotion. I was not expecting to feel such deep anguish and sorrow for the Nephites who were annihilated because of their wickedness. And I was definitely not expecting to have my love and admiration for Mormon grow.

Beginning at age 16, Mormon served as the head of the Nephite army. He held that title for 36 consecutive years, and then, because he couldn't lead such a wicked nation, he relinquished his title and his leadership, taking somewhat of a sabbatical and wiping his hands from the wickness of his generation. But twelve years later, he once again agreed to lead the Nephite nation. All in all, Mormon served as a leader of war for 45 years. 45 years!!

In addition, at the age of 10, Mormon was asked to be the future record keeper of the plates. If my calculations are close, he started compiling and keeping the records when he was about 24 years old.

So here's this boy-to-man Moroni, who, in the midst of being in charge of protecting/defending an entire people, keeping record and compiling a book for our day, he also has a family and, as we know, raises up a righteous son, Moroni.

And in spite of the wickedness and evil; carnage and terror; whoredoms and abominations, he and Moroni, are ever true and steadfast disciples of Jesus Christ.

They exercised faith and obedience when God withdrew from their people.

They endured with Him, even when they knew it was over for their people.

They witnessed miracles because of their immovable faith in their Redeemer.

Mormon and Moroni set a precedence. They teach me that I can live righteously and teach righteous living in a day like today.

"Be wise in the days of your probation," Moroni wrote, "strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that you may consume it on your lasts, but ask with the firmness and shaken, that you will yield to no temptation, but that you will serve the true and living God" (Mormon 9:28).

Book of Mormon Reading: 4 Nephi

After the visit of Christ in the Americas, there were years of plenty.

110 of them filled with peace.

"No contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people

No envyings.

No strifes.

No tumults.

No whoredoms.

No lyings.

No murders.

No lasciviousness.

"Surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God. . . they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God" (4 Nephi 1:15-16).

Imagine what we, as a people, would give up, if we were filled with peace; if we were filled with the pure love of Christ.

Certainly, the headlines for the nightly news would be different---or not exist at all.

It would be Christmas everyday.

Book of Mormon Reading: 3 Nephi 24-30

God tries my faith.

First, by seeing if I will accept the small and simple things He has already placed before me:

Scriptures.

Words of living prophets.

Commandments.

Ordinances and covenants.

If I believe on these things, He manifests greater things unto me.

If I don't, then those greater things are withheld and, I am held accountable.

I am grateful He sees fit to try me faith.

Book of Mormon Reading: 3 Nephi 21-23

Some thoughts from today's reading:

1. God's wisdom > the cunningness of the devil

2. Being clean to bearing the vessels of the Lord:
     For men: being worthy to hold the priesthood to administer the sacrament
     For women: being worthy to bear choice spirits that are given to us as children

3. God's timing + my obedience = gathering of Israel

4. There will come a day when "all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children" (3 Nephi 22:13).

Book of Mormon Reading: 3 Nephi 14-20

3 Nephi 17 is one of my most favorites from 3 Nephi.

This morning, I noticed Mormon's careful compilation of this chapter.

1. There is a third person narrative, describing the event.

2. There is a first person invitation, from the Savior Himself, to the Nephites, as He beckons them to come to Him for healing.

3. There is a powerful plural first person witness of 2500 souls, who jointly testify that seeing, hearing, and learning from the Savior is too marvelous and wonderful to capture in any earthly words.

I add my witness to theirs.

I know He heals.

I know He lives.

I know He loves us.


** You can use this chapter to teach the power of the word of God. In a group setting, have one person, who has been assigned before hand to read the chapter, take 1-2 minutes to summarize what happens in 3 Nephi 17. Then, have another person from the group read this chapter word for word. Discuss with group members the difference that was felt in reltaing the story and in reading from the scriptures.

Book of Mormon Reading: 3 Nephi 11-13

Two principles stood out to me in my reading today:

First, God speaks to holy prophets today to preach us what we need to know and do now. With many changes that have been made in the past year, we are to follow the directives that have been given us in 2018, not what we have been doing in the past.

Henry B. Eyring taught:

The choice not to take prophetic counsel changes the very ground upon which we stand. It becomes more dangerous. The failure to take prophetic counsel lessens our power to take inspired counsel in the future. The best time to have decided to help Noah build the ark was the first time he asked. Each time he asked after that, each failure to respond would have lessened sensitivity to the Spirit. And so each time his request would have seemed more foolish, until the rain came. And then it was too late.

Second, I'm very grateful God gives me more than just one chance to hear and understand His voice.

Book of Mormon Reading: 3 Nephi 8-10

"He is coming! He is coming!"

I am sure that is what was in the minds of the faithful and those less wicked who remained after three hours of quaking earth and lightenings and thunderings and winds and storms. And after three days and nights of complete darkness.

A complete opposition to what had happened when the sign was given of the Savior's birth.

Complete. Darkness.

This has made me think that without Christ, there could be no light.

Or rather, without Christ, there would be no light.

But Christ is.

And there is light.

Even in the beginning, "God said, let there be light, and there was light."

Because Christ was in the beginning, with the Father, from before the foundations of the world.

#LightTheWorld

Book of Mormon Reading: 3 Nephi 5-7

The first time the phrase "covenant path" was used in General Conference was in October  2007 by Elaine S. Dalton in her talk entitled, "Stay on the Path," when she quoted the following from Jeffrey R. Holland: 

Beginning with our baptism, we make covenants as we follow this path to eternal life, and we stay on the path by keeping them. …

… The promptings of the Holy Ghost will always be sufficient for our needs if we keep to the covenant path. Our path is uphill most days, but the help we receive for the climb is literally divine. We have three members of the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost—helping us because of the covenants we have made.

To remind us of those covenants, we partake of the sacrament each week. In the prayer offered on the bread, we ‘witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that [we] are willing to take upon [us] the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given [us]; that [we] may always have his Spirit to be with [us]’ [D&C 20:77]”.

Since then, that phrase "covenant path" has been repeated 61 times in General Conference; 36 of those times were during this year's April and October 2018 General Conferences.

My reading today made me recognize how easy it is to get off the covenant path, and the personal and social dangers that come when the covenant path is not followed. Particularly for those who know the will of God and willfully rebel.

Which has made me think of something President Nelson has warned in the past:

Difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord “shall suffer persecution.” That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives.

I will not be crushed into silent weakness, for I, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Book of Mormon Reading: 3 Nephi 1-4

One thing is for sure, the Nephites were very cognizant about time. They noted years that had passed from the time Lehi left Jerusalem. They noted the years, the "reign of judges" that had passed since King Mosiah formed a new government. Then, with the prophecies of Samuel, the Lamanite, they began making note of the five years that would pass before the signs from heaven would testify of the Savior's birth and His death.

This has made me ask myself, am I that cognizant of time?

Am I taking note of the things that prophets and apostles are sharing?

Am I counting the days when the Savior will come again, seeking the signs that have been promised from heaven?

* * *

The Book of Mormon has been written for our time, in order for us to recognize the signs of the Savior's Second Coming. So, it should not be a surprise that there is a decrease of faith and righteousness and an increase of wickedness in the rising generation and among the very elect. It says so in the scriptures.

No wonder President Nelson has said, "I love you and thank you and now bless you with the ability to leave the world behind as you assist in this crucial and urgent work. Together we can do all that our Heavenly Father needs us to do to prepare the world for the Second Coming of His Beloved Son."

Book of Mormon Reading: Helaman 11-16

Took several one-liner notes from today's reading:

* Understanding true doctrine invites revelation.
* Being cast out of God's presence is a personal choice.
* Righteous parents can serve as a protection to their unrighteous children.
* When there are signs and wonders, Satan will be there to make my disbelieve.
* Do NOT procrastinate!
* The power of God's voice can do ALL things.