Hope

These chapters in the Book of Mormon are always heartbreaking to read. The contrast between the perfect society we read about in 4th Nephi and the total wickedness and destruction of the people we read about in Mormon 1-6 is so depressing and yet can be so instructive as well. Mormon tells us in chapter one that because of the wickedness that did prevail in the land, "the work of miracles and healing did cease... and there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any" (v.13-14). To me, this points to the importance of always striving to have the Holy Ghost with us, because when the Spirit ceases to be with us Satan begins to gain power over us.

So what can we learn about how to stay faithful and hopeful during hard times from the history that Mormon relates to us in these chapters?

1) Surround yourselves with believers: There must have been some believers around when Mormon tells his story because we are told of Ammaron, the record keeper, who was "constrained by the Holy Ghost" to hide up the sacred records (4 Nephi 1:48). Ammaron must have had enough interaction with Mormon at a young age to be able to describe him as sober, quick to observe, and to entrust him with the care of the sacred engravings of the Nephite people. Surrounding ourselves with people who share our beliefs can bring us strength and hope.

2) Teach and learn from the scriptures:  Mormon also says that at about ten years of age, he "began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people" (Mormon 1:2). If you look at footnote "b" in that verse, it takes you to Mosiah 1:3 where it explains that to be learned was to be taught from the plates of brass, or, as we would say, the scriptures. So we know that someone (probably his family) was around to teach him from the scriptures. As we teach and learn from the scriptures we are anchoring our testimonies to a firm foundation that will bring us stability and hope during uncertain times.

3) Have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ: Mormon tells us that he was "visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus." (Mormon 1:15) He also knew that "he would be lifted up at the last day." (Mormon 2:19) No matter how wicked the world is, we can choose to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We can know for ourselves the goodness of Jesus and have confidence that we too can be lifted up one day to be with Him. 

4) Fortify and gather: I'm always impressed that Mormon never gave up trying to help his people. Even though he has a couple of years where he "utterly refuse(s)...to be a commander and leader of this people" (3:11), he ultimately "repents of the oath which (he) had made" (5:1) and commands the army once again. As commander, Mormon continues to fortify the Nephite cities and gather the people together, even though he knows that unless they repent it will all be in vain. The comparison we can make here is that we can also fortify, or strengthen, our homes and families and be involved in the gathering of Israel. Additionally, we can follow Mormon’s example and never give up trying to help people.

5) Love and serve others: I'm also impressed that Mormon genuinely loved his people and prayed for them to repent and be baptized. That love came as he served them as their commander. Closer to the beginning of his commander years he says, "I had led them many times to battle, and had loved them, according to the love of God which was in me, with all my heart; and my soul had been poured out in prayer unto my God all the day long for them." (3:12) And when the war is over and all but a few people remain alive, he again expresses his love for them by saying, "O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair sons, and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return." (6:17-20) Even though the people were so wicked and had no desire to repent and turn from their evil ways, he continued to love them and mourn for them when they were gone. The gospel principle that we love those we serve is so evident in Mormon’s lament. He never stopped serving his people and as a result he was blessed with the gift of charity, the pure love of Christ. Serving and loving those that are different from us can be hard, but the reward is the gift of charity, which is the greatest of all gifts. (Moroni 7:46)

At times when it feels like the world is so wicked and there is nothing good happening, it helps to know that there are things we can actively do to help bring hope into the world and into our lives. We can continue to live the gospel and stand as witnesses of Jesus Christ, and by doing these things we can keep hope alive in our hearts and in our homes.

The condition of our hearts

Recently, I've been drawn to studying about the condition of our spiritual hearts. It started a couple of months ago when I read an article on LDSLiving.com that was entitled "What was the greatest battle fought in the Book of Mormon?" The author, Robin Johnson, explains that as she had been curiously searching for the greatest battle in the Book of Mormon, she discovered something she wasn't expecting to find-that every war scene in the Book of Mormon was proceeded by the same phrase: "they hardened their hearts". Her conclusion was this: "If Satan can win the hearts of men, then destruction is sure to follow."

That was such a profound thought to me, and from that day since, I've tried to pay more attention to the word "heart" as I've read the scriptures and how the condition of the heart plays a major role in either the prosperity or destruction of the people in the Book of Mormon.

In this weeks reading of Come, Follow Me (3 Nephi 27-4th Nephi), we learn about a society of believers that were described as having no contention among them and as people that could not be happier among all the people who had been created by the hand of God because of the love of God that did dwell in their hearts (4th Nephi 1:15-16). But this perfect society only lasts for about 200 years until the power of Satan gets a hold upon their hearts (vs. 28) and the people begin to harden their hearts (vs. 31, 34) and begin to be proud in their hearts (vs. 43)

So why is the heart so important? Elder Marvin J. Ashton gave a talk back in October of 1988 entitled "The Measure of our Hearts" . In this talk he state’s “The Lord... has a different standard by which he measures a person. When it came time to choose a king to replace King Saul, the Lord gave this criteria to his prophet Samuel: “Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; … for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” (1 Sam. 16: 7). When the Lord measures an individual, He does not take a tape measure around the person’s head to determine his mental capacity, nor his chest to determine his manliness, but He measures the heart as an indicator of the person’s capacity and potential to bless others. The measure of our hearts is the measure of our total performance. As used by the Lord, the “heart” of a person describes his effort to better self, or others, or the conditions he confronts.”

We often hear the word “soft" associated with the word "heart” as a way to judge whether or not our heart is willing to change and be molded. But what does a soft heart look like? Or, what are some other words that can be used to describe a heart that is willing to change? In order to answer this question, I looked in the scriptures to find what other words are associated with the word heart. The scriptures I read were both expansive and instructive. Here's a list of some that I found...

A heart that is lifted up (Ezekial 28:2)

A prepared heart  (1Chronicles 29:18)

A heart that pondereth (2 Nephi 4:16, Luke 2:19, Moroni 10:3)

One heart (Acts 4:32, Moses 7:18) 

Integrity of the heart (Genesis 20:6) 

A cheerful heart (D&C 59:15) 

A heart that trusteth (Psalm 28:7)

Wise hearted (Exodus 36:2)

strength of heart (Psalm 73:26)

a heart that is moved (Isaiah 7:2)

a valiant heart (2 Samuel 17:10)

pure in heart (Matthew 5:8)

a heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23)

a clean heart (Proverbs 20:9)

full purpose of heart (2 Nephi 31:13)

an open heart (Mosiah 2:9)

Real intent of heart (Moroni 7:9)

Lowly of heart (Moroni 7:43-44)

Energy of heart (Moroni 7:48)

Sincere heart (Moroni 10:4)

a song of the heart (D&C 25:12)

Paying attention to the condition of our hearts is so important today. The battle for our hearts has never ended. Satan is still trying to attack our spiritual hearts and we need to be ready. I hope that we can pay more attention to the condition of our hearts and use that information to bring us closer to Christ. I hope that our hearts are soft enough that the Savior can mold and change us into what He needs us to be in order to further His work in the kingdom here on earth.

There are more things...

 There are more things that I learned this past week while studying 3 Nephi 20-26 that I feel like I need to write down before I forget them and move on to next week's Come, Follow Me study.

First. Record Keeping/Scripture Study. I love Chapter 23, as Christ takes a little break from talking about the gathering of Israel to talk to the Nephites about the importance of record keeping and searching the scriptures and the words of the prophets. It's instructive to note that Christ has just been quoting Isaiah-and will soon quote Malachi-two Old Testament prophets whose words Jesus himself would have "searched diligently" during his own life and ministry in Jerusalem. So, again, he's providing us a great example of what he's asking us to do. I discovered a chiasmus in verses 6-14. If you don't know what chiasmus is, its a literary form where concepts are repeated in a reverse order to emphasize a main point. If you want to learn more about chiasmus in the Book of Mormon, visit this link "Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon" Here's the chiasmus that I found...

a. Jesus expounded all the scriptures unto them that they had received (vs. 6)

    b. other scriptures I would that ye should write (vs. 6)

        c. many saints should arise from the dead and minister (vs. 9)

            d. Samuel prophesied thy words and they were all fulfilled (vs. 10)

        c. many saints did arise and appear and minister (vs. 11)

    b. Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written (vs. 12)

a. Jesus expounded all the scriptures in one, and he commanded them to teach these things (vs. 14)

The main point that is being emphasized in this chiasmus, is that the words prophesied by the prophet, Samuel, were all fulfilled! I love that this principle is emphasized in the middle of theses chapters that are filled with promises from Christ to covenant Israel.

Second. The blessing of paying Tithing. In this most recent General Conference, Elder Bednar gave a talk entitled "We will Prove Them Herewith". In his message he talks about how this life is a test and whether or not one day, we will be able to prove to God that we were willing to keep His commandments. So, after hearing that talk, it was interesting to read the words in Chapter 24:10 "prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it."(italics added) So the Lord is saying to us that now it's our turn to put Him to the test. And the test is this: If you pay your tithing, I will pour out blessings upon you. When we know the character of God, and that He keeps all his promises, then we should never fear the commandment to pay our tithing, because we know that God keeps His promises.

Third. A refiner's fire. Chapter 24:2-3. I heard someone tell a story this week about two ladies that went to see someone who was a refiner of silver. As they watched this process of the worker firing the metal in order to remove the impurities, one of them asked him, "how do you know when you're done?" And he responded "when I can see my reflection in the metal." I like the analogy there, that we're not "done" being perfected until Christ can see His reflection in us.

Fourth. The Importance of the Sacrament. Christ is only with the people for three days (26:13), and yet during those precious few days, he partakes of the sacrament twice with them (chapters 18,20).  And then after he leaves, the scriptures say that he "showed himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them." (26:13). When Mormon tells us that he could not write "even a hundreth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach unto the people."(26:6), then its important to note the emphasis that Christ/Mormon put on recording the time that was spent partaking of the sacrament.

Promises to covenant Israel

I love the object lesson Christ teaches about the gathering of Israel right before he begins to teach the Nephites about the real gathering of Israel. Back in 3 Nephi, chapter 16, Jesus starts to teach the Nephites about the gathering of the House of Israel, but he stops because he perceives that they are weak and cannot understand everything that He's been commanded by the Father to teach them (3 Nephi 17:2). So, instead of plowing through His sermon about the gathering of Israel (which is huge!), He sees an opportunity to teach about the principle of gathering on a much smaller scale. He asks all the believers to leave and go find somebody who needs to be healed and that they then bring that person back with them to the temple, to Him, to be healed. That is exactly what the gathering of Israel is all about! The ones who have already been gathered (covenant Israel/us) are asked to go and gather those who need to be gathered (scattered Israel) and bring them back to the temple/Jesus (where they can make covenants) and be made whole! (3 Nephi 17: 7-10) I love the symbolism in that object lesson. 

It’s amazing that just one week after President Nelson’s General conference invitation to "make a list of all that the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel" ("Let God Prevail"), we are studying 3 Nephi 20-26,  which is full of these promises! These are great chapters to start making your list. I'm sure I've missed some, but here's my attempt at starting a list of promises for covenant Israel. 

1. We shall be gathered and brought to a knowledge of our Redeemer. The fullness of the gospel will be preached unto us. (20:13, 29-30)
2. We shall be given a land for our inheritance (20:14, 22, 29)
3. The power of heaven will be among us (20:22), (21:25)
4. Our seed shall bless all the kindreds of the earth (20:25, 27)
5. We will have the blessing of the pouring out of the Holy Ghost; which blessing shall make us mighty above all (20:29)
6. The Lord will go before us and be our rearward (20:42) (21:29)
7. He will establish His church among us (21:22)
8. Christ will be in our midst (21:25)
9. We will receive everlasting kindness, mercy, and peace from the Lord (22:7-8, 10, 13)
10. Our children shall be taught of the Lord (22:13)
11. We shall be far from oppression (22:14)
12. We shall not fear (22:14)
13. Terror shall not come near us (22:14)
14. Those that gather against us shall fall (22:15)
15. No weapon that is formed against us shall prosper (22:17)
16. As we pay tithing the windows of heaven will open and blessings will be poured out so that there will not be room enough to receive them (24:10)
17. The Lord will rebuke the devourer for our sakes (24:11)
18. All nations shall call you blessed (24:12)
19. We will be spared as a man spareth his own son that serveth him (24:17)
20. We will be able to discern between the righteous and the wicked (24:18)
21. The hearts of the fathers will be turned to their children, and the children to their fathers (25:6)

We are covenant Israel and these are our promised blessings! And just as President Nelson prophesied, I was astounded to find so many promises in these chapters that have been "hidden" from me until I accepted his challenge to look deeper. As I've been thinking about these promises throughout the week,  I'm beginning to understand how President Nelson can be so optimistic about the future. When we truly understand that God keeps His promises, then we can trust that He will fulfill all of the promises that he has made to covenant Israel as well. President Nelson is encouraging us to look for these promises in our Book of Mormon studies because he wants us to be as joyful and optimistic about the future as he is! And as we begin to understand how the Lord will lead, guide and protect us through these challenging times, then we will be blessed with that same joy, excitement and optimism as well😊.

More promises to covenant Israel- these are found in Mormon 7-9 (added Nov. 5, 2020)

• dwell in the presence of God in his Kingdom (7:7)
• sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above (7:7)
• live in a state of happiness with no end (7:7)
• it shall be well with you in the day of judgement (7:10)

• the Lord will remember the covenant which he has made with the house of Israel-that they may be blessed forever (8:23, 9:37)
• (whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing) whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him (9:21)
• (he that believeth and is baptized) shall be saved (9:23)
• the gift of protection (9:24)
• (whosoever shall believe in my name, doubting nothing) unto him I confirm all of my words (9:26)
• you will in nowise be cast out (9:29)
• prayers will be answered according to your faith (9:37)
• Armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory (1 Nephi 14:14)
• Gates of hell shall not prevail against you, the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your glory (D&C 21:6)

Patterns in Prayer

As I counted the word prayer 43 times in 3 Nephi 17-19, I thought it might be important to look more closely about what we can learn about prayer from these three chapters.

1st) Chapter 17-Jesus gives us an example of prayer as he prays with the people

2nd) Chapter 18-Jesus instructs the people how to pray

3rd) Chapter 19-Jesus continues to instruct the people and give personal examples of how to pray

I think there's a pattern we can follow here when it comes to teaching anyone about any aspect of the gospel. First, be an example. Second, teach them. Third, continue to teach and provide that example. "Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up-that which ye have seen me do." (3 Nephi 18:24). As we pattern our life after the Savior's example, we in turn will be an example to others.

As we look closely at what Christ does in each of His prayers, we can find another pattern to follow in our own personal prayers.

1st)  go to a secluded place (19:19, 27, 31)

2nd) kneel/bow down (17:13) (19:19,27)

3rd) express gratitude (19:20, 28)

4th) pray for others (17:21) (19:23, 28)

Ministering as Jesus Christ did

One of the prompts in the "Come, Follow Me" manual this week was to look for how the Savior ministered to the people and discover how we can follow His example. Even in a multitude of 2,500, the Savior ministered one by one (11:15, 17:21). It is part of His character to know each of us individually. And if we want to become more like Him, we need to minister like Him. 3 Nephi 17-19 are great chapters that teach us how the Savior ministers to His people and how we can do the same.

1. have compassion for your people (17:6)
2. bring your people to Him (17:7)**
3. worship Him (17:10)
4. pray unto the Father for your people (17:15-17)*
5. be willing (18:10)
6. watch and pray always (18:15,17)*
7. meet together oft (18:22)
8. hold up your light (18:24)
9. never give up - "you know not but that they will return" (18:32)
10. pray-minister-pray (19:7-8)*

*In these three chapters alone I counted 43 forms of the word prayer! Truly there is a powerful connection between prayer and ministering.

**I love that the Savior asks the people to go and find others that need to be healed and bring them to Him (17:7). Here's a question to think about...who would you bring? There's a lesson we can learn here: Our job is to bring people to Christ to be healed. Christ's job is to heal. 

Just like when Jesus came to visit the Nephites and introduced a higher law to them (3 Nephi 9:19-20), we've also been given the higher law of ministering. When Pres. Nelson announced the decision to "retire home and visiting teaching as we have known them" he then announced that we would be replacing that effort with "a newer, holier approach to caring for and ministering to others." Ministering like Christ invites us to become holier; to become more like Him. I like this quote I found about living a higher law. It states, “the higher law is a law for celestial living. It is a law of heart and soul. It is not a schoolmaster of specific behaviors, but a law of living a Christlike life that we might become perfect” (Teachings and Commentaries on the Book of Mormon by Ed J. Pinegar and Richard J. Allen, pg. 440)

I hope that I can do better to follow Jesus Christ's example when it comes to ministering, and approach that calling not just as a responsibility, but also as an opportunity to love and care for others the way our Savior did.