1 Nephi 16 - key messages

Key messages from 1 Nephi 16:

1) Justice helps the righteous, condemns the wicked - (though at times all of us have fallen short)

2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken ^ahard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the ^bguilty taketh the ^ctruth to be hard, for it ^dcutteth them to the very center.

2) Get married

7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the ^adaughters of Ishmael to ^bwife; and also, my brethren took of the ^cdaughters of Ishmael to wife; and also ^dZoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.

3) Keeping commandments and being blessed are intertwined:

8 And thus my father had fulfilled all the ^acommandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly.

4) When we are commanded, oftentimes we receive the help after starting or right before starting on the journey

9 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his ^ajourney into the wilderness.

10 And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ^aball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one ^bpointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.

5) When God leads us, it's in the most fertile parts he can guide us in (may still be a "desert", but the most fertile parts possible)

14 And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the ^aRed Sea.

6) Not our right to judge who God has placed in charge and is giving guidance to (Bishop or other church leader). We are wise to ask their advice on things in their jurisdiction, sometimes even when they're being "wicked".

23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did ^amake out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my ^bfather: Whither shall I go to obtain food?

7) God's word and guidance helps according to the attention we pay to it (some may see the scriptures and say they're useless words; their power is not opened until they are followed):

28 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the ^afaith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

8) The wicked have a short memory and explain away the "miracles" of the Lord in their mind. Laman and Lemuel had seen angels:

38 Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that^aangels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman^bstir up their hearts to ^canger.

9) God is involved, even personally, when he's needed:

39 And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did ^achasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.

1 Nephi 15 - key messages

Quickly wanted to highlight some of the flow of topics in 1 Nephi 15 and 16.

1 Nephi 15

1) How to get revelation

11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ^aask me in ^bfaith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

2) Discussion on restoration of Israel to the gospel (olive tree)

14 And at that day shall the remnant of our ^aseed ^bknow that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the ^ccovenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and ^dcome to the ^eknowledgeof their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.

3) Explanation of key parts of the dream:

a) tree of life

b) iron rod (word of God)

24 And I said unto them that it was the ^aword of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would ^bhold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the ^ctemptations and the fiery ^ddarts of the ^eadversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

c) river of water (great gulf - hell - separating wicked from righteous)

28 And I said unto them that it was an awful ^agulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.

These are fascinating thoughts to make it into the scriptures. How to be guided by God, the restoration of their seed to the gospel (important prophecy, important to understand how God works - over hundreds and thousands of years), key parts of plan of salvation and how to succeed in life.

Power of the Holy Ghost to touch people - weak and simple of the other preach the gospel

There's two young Tongan men in our ward; they're 17 and 19. One of them likes to bear his testimony every couple months. Remarkably, when he gets up and talks in his broken English and says basic truths, such as "I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet" and "I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior", I feel it is true. Every time. That young man has the spirit accompany his words.

It's the first time in my life someone has had that power with me. I know the Spirit testifies of his words. I love that young man. He makes my testimony meetings better.

This is what happens when he speaks - 2 Nephi 33:1

for when a man ^bspeaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.

He touches my heart.

Seeing the world correctly

Many groups of people in the world see the exact same thing happen and have various ideas about whether it was good or bad, neutral, positive, or negative. What's important is to see things the right way, the way God sees them.

The Book of Mormon gives us a hint about how to see things in life the right way. Here's a verse in 1 Nephi 15 that explains the anchor to guide our decisions:

24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

The word of God can guide our thinking and help us realize the right way to think and how to have the right perspective on many things. Most importantly, it will keep us from becoming blind due to the temptations and harmful intensity created by the adversary.

Have a great day.

Enjoy the scriptures.

Captivity - how to avoid it

1 Nephi 14 explains that those who fight against the church and the Lamb of God will fall prey to their own traps.

3 And that great ^apit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that ^bhell which hath no end.

4 For behold, this is according to the ^acaptivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him.

As I've thought more about captivity, I've learned that it's the wickedness of the world and unwillingness to keep the commandments of God that brings captivity. That's what ensnares the wicked. As they fight against God and his commandments or express ignorance in spiritual matters, they become stuck in bad thoughts/habits that will drag them down.

Thus, it's the righteousness of the Saints that protects them as the Saints avoid the evil of the world and the bad habits/ruts that come with it:

13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to ^afight against the Lamb of God.

14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were ^aarmedwith ^brighteousness and with the ^cpower of God in great glory.

As the time comes closer to the coming of Christ, it'll be more and more clear which side we're on. Our lives and the choices we make each day will delineate for us:

7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a ^amarvelous work among the children of men; a ^bworkwhich shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto ^cpeace and ^dlife eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the ^ecaptivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.

Have a good day: