Dear friends,
The Stake Presidency has decided to wait until the Fall of 2021 to resume our studies. We will not meet this winter in-person or on Zoom. I miss seeing you and learning together. Hopefully things will look very different in the Fall!
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
Update on Class
Hi friends,
Due to continued concern and restrictions regarding COVID, our Stake Presidency has decided to delay the beginning of class, in-person or online, until January. We are hopeful things will be more normalized by then. I will post updates here as we determine the next steps. I miss seeing you!
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Moroni 7-10
Following are the quotes and the link for the recording of today's class. Thank you for continuing to make this a wonderful experience even in the midst of difficult challenges. Your preparation and participation made this study memorable for all of us. I deeply appreciate each of you. Thank you!
We will begin class again sometime in October following October school break. I will keep the blog updated on starting dates and course of study. I hope you all have a wonderful summer as we move forward in uncertain times.
ZOOM RECORDING
CHARITY
“True charity has been known only once. It is shown perfectly and purely in Christ’s unfailing, ultimate, and atoning love for us. It is Christ’s love for us that ‘suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not.’ It is his love for us that is not ‘puffedup...,noteasilyprovoked,thinkethnoevil.’ ItisChrist’sloveforusthat ‘beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.’ It is demonstrated in Christ that ‘charity never faileth.’ It is that charity—his pure love for us—without which we would be nothing, hopeless, of all men and women most miserable. Truly, those found possessed of the blessings of his love at the last day—the Atonement, the Resurrection, eternal life, eternal promise— surely it shall be well with them.”
Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 336-7
“Only charity never fails us. Only Jesus Christ the Healer is a sure foundation. Because they are the same.The most perfect form of love the universe has ever known is fully realized in the Christ of the Restoration. Encountering that reality is the sole means of anchoring our faith in the Restoration on unassailable foundations, moving us from fragile faith to the durable discipleship of love. Only truth that is hard won, dearly bought, and firmly grasped can nourish and sustain us through the crucible of life, of doubt, of loss. Like the philosopher’s stone of legend, the foundation we build in Christ can transmute the earthy elements of our poor selves into celestial material fit for glory if that foundation be laid in a correct understanding.We believe this is true for one simple reason. In that dramatic colloquy in the Tower with his daughter Meg, who complains, 'Haven’t you done as much as God can reasonably want?,’ Robert Bolt’s Thomas More explains, ‘Well finally, it isn’t a matter of reason. Finally, it’s a matter of love.’ Even to begin to know our Heavenly Parents and their Christ, through the prism of the restored gospel is inevitably and irresistibly to love them with a love that is healing, transformative, and redemptive."
Givens,Fiona.The Christ Who Heals: How God Restored The Truth That Saves Us .Deseret Book Company. Kindle Edition.
MORMON’S LETTER
“The letter shocks the reader.Yet, that may well have been Moroni's intent. He offers no explanation as to why he included this letter in his writings. However, as it stands, it provides a striking contrast that enhances Moroni's invitation to come unto Christ.This is what Gerald N. Lund calls a scriptural foil: a technique used by scriptural writers who place ‘two contrasting principles or examples side by side to show even more clearly what they [are] trying to teach.’ Moroni chapters 9 and 10 together contain the last of several contrasts found in the Book of Mormon that illustrate one of its major themes: we are ‘free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil.’ Chapter 9 illustrates what happens when we choose ‘captivity and death’ through the power of Satan, while chapter 10 offers hope and encouragement to those who desire ‘liberty and eternal life through Christ.’”
Bruce K. Satterfield, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/sites/default/files/archive-files/pdf/ satterfield/2015-12-10/21_bruce_k._satterfield_moroni_9-10_1995.pdf
MORONI’S FINAL EXHORTATION
“Moroni’s relation to his enemies is unusual, even for a prophet.We ought to wonder at his charity, but that charity is a model for what we should imitate in our own lives. It isn’t easy to do that. Anyone who has been humiliated or seriously hurt by another knows how difficult is forgiveness, the love that imitates Christ’s redeeming love. It may be that, except for Jesus Christ, we have no better model than Moroni.As we will see, Moroni takes that love to be the heart of the gospel.”
“Sealings and Mercies: Moroni's Final Exhortations in Moroni 10,”
Read Moroni 10:3-4
1. What does Moroni want the Lamanites (and all of us) to remember and ponder?
2. Why does he want readers to meditate on this topic?
3. Why is an understanding of this topic an essential preface to the exhortation of verse 4?
4. What are “these things” Moroni refers to when he says “ye shall receive these things” in verse 4? 5. Why is God referred to here as “the Eternal Father” rather than by one of His other titles?
6. What is Moroni teaching about the Savior by saying readers must ask “in the name of Christ?”
7. What does it mean to “know the truth of all things?”
MEEKNESS
For further understanding see Doctrine and Covenants 97:1-2. Meekness includes "seeking diligently to learn wisdom and to find truth."
“The point is for us to see God’s long-suffering mercies for his people.As we read scripture, do we see those mercies? As we read of those mercies, do we recognize them as a prototype for what happens in our own lives, or do we see instead only our failures? If the latter, then we implicitly use our own will and power as the measure for our lives and deny the mercy of God. Moroni exhorts—urgently appeals to—the Lamanites to stop looking at the world in terms of their own power and their own will, for if they do they will ultimately see only a record of failure and destruction. But if, instead, they see the mercies with which God has blessed their ancestors and them, they will understand their lives in a completely different way.They will see themselves as children of God rather than masters of their own fate.As children of God, they will experience the happiness brought through his mercy.”
“Clearly Moroni urges his readers to want to know that truth. But their ultimate intent, that on which their gaze should be fixed, is salvation, which is why they must have faith in Christ.The truth of the Book of Mormon may seem irrelevant if we are not concerned about our salvation, and our salvation is impossible if we do not have faith in Christ. So the Lamanites are told to ask God to tell them, in his mercy, whether the record is true, and they must do so with their whole being, with a gaze fixed on salvation and with faith in the mercy of their Savior, Jesus Christ.”
“Sealings and Mercies: Moroni's Final Exhortations in Moroni 10,” James E. Faulconer https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1509&context=jbms
Sunday, April 26, 2020
ZOOM Invitation for April 28
Below is the link for our ZOOM class on Tuesday, April 28 at 9:30 a.m. This will be the last class of the year. I look forward to seeing you!
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 987 0697 8831
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Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Moroni 1-7
Following are the quotes and the link for the recording from class on Tuesday, April 21.
We did not get through all of the material on Tuesday, so we will finish up chapter 7 next week.
READING ASSIGNMENT FOR APRIL 28
Moroni 7: 40 - Moroni 10
RECORDING LINK
https://zoom.us/rec/share/-d5INZLiqFJJG4ns5xnuX6MmBp_7eaa813Qf-PFenhpYnSAMS-O04vZ2uf2Vxam5?startTime=1587486666000
MORONI
“The moral of the story comes through loud and painfully clear:‘Give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than that which we have been.’ Just maybe the cataclysms that erase nations and encroach on our own soil are not inevitable. Just maybe we are given reason here for hope.
This is itself an amazing dimension of the Book of Mormon, given its apocalyptic perspective, stark deathbed scenes, dark focus on the gloomy end of all things: the hope that shines through it. I am sometimes given to gloominess and to the pervasive pessimism of my own time, so I harbor a deep respect for hope. If ever hope were earned, it is this optimism pervading the Book of Mormon narrative, even in the face of the end of all things. ... Seeing what he has seen, that Moroni is able to still promote the idea of being ‘holy without spot’ inclines me to think it may be possible.”
Steve Walker, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/sites/default/files/archive-files/pdf/walker/ 2016-02-04/07_steve_walker_last_words_readers_book_of_mormon_2008.pdf
THE SACRAMENT PRAYERS
“The sacrament prayers used in the time of Moroni were closely based on the very words that Christ Himself spoke when He visited the Book of Mormon peoples.The words of Christ were likely used to replace the language of an already rich history of covenant making rituals among the Nephites, but the replacement still preserved some of the verbiage from their traditional covenant renewal ceremony.As BYU Professor JohnW. Welch has noted, 'It seems that Nephite texts and traditions have combined and coalesced beautifully into the final sacrament prayers in Moroni 4–5.’”
“One particularly noteworthy phrase appears in the prayers as found in Moroni 4–5 that was not included in the recorded words of Christ in 3 Nephi 18 — “that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son” (Moroni 4:3).As shown in the above table, that phrase parallels King Benjamin’s words as he put his people under covenant to take upon themselves the name of Christ (Mosiah 5:8) about 150 years before the appearance of Christ at the temple in Bountiful.”
“Readers may note that the prayers used by the modern Church today, as found in Doctrine and Covenants 20:76–79, are almost exactly the same words recorded in Moroni 4–5. It is significant that these words are essentially the words that Christ spoke (and perhaps what He would speak if present) when He introduced the ordinance Himself in 3 Nephi 18.The prayers recorded by Moroni demonstrate an effort to keep the prayers as close to Jesus’ own words as possible.
Moroni was careful to record these precious sacrament prayers precisely, because they were sacred, were based on the actual words of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, and conveyed through the sacramental ordinance the powers of the sacrificed body and atoning blood of Christ. In addition, those words also communicated the power of the Holy Ghost and aligned the will of the Father with ordinary men and women who seek to keep his commandment.To serve these holy purposes, Moroni was careful to convey the words of these prayers with solemn exactness.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/where-did-moroni-get-the-sacramental-prayers-from
THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
“The light of Christ is just what the words imply: enlightenment, knowledge, and an uplifting, enabling, persevering influence that comes upon mankind because of Jesus Christ. The light of Christ fills the ‘immensity of space’ and is the means by which Christ is able to be ‘in all things, and is through all things, and is round all things.’
The light of Christ should not be confused with the personage of the Holy Ghost, for the light of Christ is not a personage at all. Its influence is preliminary to and preparatory to one’s receiving the Holy Ghost.”
Bible Dictionary, Gospel Library,“Light of Christ”
“The light of Christ is the means by which members of the Godhead are omnipresent, and also the means through which the Holy Ghost communicates gifts and blessings to all mankind.”
Joseph Fielding Smith, 1:40, 54
We did not get through all of the material on Tuesday, so we will finish up chapter 7 next week.
READING ASSIGNMENT FOR APRIL 28
Moroni 7: 40 - Moroni 10
RECORDING LINK
https://zoom.us/rec/share/-d5INZLiqFJJG4ns5xnuX6MmBp_7eaa813Qf-PFenhpYnSAMS-O04vZ2uf2Vxam5?startTime=1587486666000
MORONI
“The moral of the story comes through loud and painfully clear:‘Give thanks unto God that he hath made manifest unto you our imperfections, that ye may learn to be more wise than that which we have been.’ Just maybe the cataclysms that erase nations and encroach on our own soil are not inevitable. Just maybe we are given reason here for hope.
This is itself an amazing dimension of the Book of Mormon, given its apocalyptic perspective, stark deathbed scenes, dark focus on the gloomy end of all things: the hope that shines through it. I am sometimes given to gloominess and to the pervasive pessimism of my own time, so I harbor a deep respect for hope. If ever hope were earned, it is this optimism pervading the Book of Mormon narrative, even in the face of the end of all things. ... Seeing what he has seen, that Moroni is able to still promote the idea of being ‘holy without spot’ inclines me to think it may be possible.”
Steve Walker, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/sites/default/files/archive-files/pdf/walker/ 2016-02-04/07_steve_walker_last_words_readers_book_of_mormon_2008.pdf
THE SACRAMENT PRAYERS
“The sacrament prayers used in the time of Moroni were closely based on the very words that Christ Himself spoke when He visited the Book of Mormon peoples.The words of Christ were likely used to replace the language of an already rich history of covenant making rituals among the Nephites, but the replacement still preserved some of the verbiage from their traditional covenant renewal ceremony.As BYU Professor JohnW. Welch has noted, 'It seems that Nephite texts and traditions have combined and coalesced beautifully into the final sacrament prayers in Moroni 4–5.’”
“One particularly noteworthy phrase appears in the prayers as found in Moroni 4–5 that was not included in the recorded words of Christ in 3 Nephi 18 — “that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son” (Moroni 4:3).As shown in the above table, that phrase parallels King Benjamin’s words as he put his people under covenant to take upon themselves the name of Christ (Mosiah 5:8) about 150 years before the appearance of Christ at the temple in Bountiful.”
“Readers may note that the prayers used by the modern Church today, as found in Doctrine and Covenants 20:76–79, are almost exactly the same words recorded in Moroni 4–5. It is significant that these words are essentially the words that Christ spoke (and perhaps what He would speak if present) when He introduced the ordinance Himself in 3 Nephi 18.The prayers recorded by Moroni demonstrate an effort to keep the prayers as close to Jesus’ own words as possible.
Moroni was careful to record these precious sacrament prayers precisely, because they were sacred, were based on the actual words of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, and conveyed through the sacramental ordinance the powers of the sacrificed body and atoning blood of Christ. In addition, those words also communicated the power of the Holy Ghost and aligned the will of the Father with ordinary men and women who seek to keep his commandment.To serve these holy purposes, Moroni was careful to convey the words of these prayers with solemn exactness.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/where-did-moroni-get-the-sacramental-prayers-from
THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
“The light of Christ is just what the words imply: enlightenment, knowledge, and an uplifting, enabling, persevering influence that comes upon mankind because of Jesus Christ. The light of Christ fills the ‘immensity of space’ and is the means by which Christ is able to be ‘in all things, and is through all things, and is round all things.’
The light of Christ should not be confused with the personage of the Holy Ghost, for the light of Christ is not a personage at all. Its influence is preliminary to and preparatory to one’s receiving the Holy Ghost.”
Bible Dictionary, Gospel Library,“Light of Christ”
“The light of Christ is the means by which members of the Godhead are omnipresent, and also the means through which the Holy Ghost communicates gifts and blessings to all mankind.”
Joseph Fielding Smith, 1:40, 54
Sunday, April 19, 2020
Invitation for April 21
Below is the invitation link for class on Tuesday. No password required. See you then!
Topic: Moroni 1-7
Time: Apr 21, 2020 09:30 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 962 3492 4036
Dial by your location
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Meeting ID: 962 3492 4036
Friday, April 17, 2020
Recording from April 14
ZOOM released the need for a password to watch the recording of class last week. You should be able to click the link and go directly to the recording. Also, classes will be deleted after two weeks because of storage requirements. I hope this helps those of you who want to watch the recording of Ether 7-15.
https://zoom.us/rec/share/791-Ba3U1EJOGbOcr371ZKUIG7_oaaa81yYa_6cKzEaf9qazLEqemoBc5tk_PlUJ?startTime=1586881767000
https://zoom.us/rec/share/791-Ba3U1EJOGbOcr371ZKUIG7_oaaa81yYa_6cKzEaf9qazLEqemoBc5tk_PlUJ?startTime=1586881767000
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Reading Adjustment for April 21
I would like to include Moroni chapter 7 in our discussion on Tuesday, so please read Moroni 1-7 instead of 1-6. I look forward to our discussion and your perspective on Moroni's counsel as we near the end of the Book of Mormon. See you Tuesday!
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Password for Recording
It has been brought to my attention that the recording for Tuesday’s class may require a password. However, it doesn’t seem to always require it. ZOOM has had some security breaches during classes and I think they working hard to keep up with it all. If the recording requires a password, it is k3&U7297. Please email me at debratolman75@gmail.com if you need help. Thanks for your patience!
Ether 7-15
READING FOR APRIL 21
Moroni 1-6
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
BOOK OF ETHER
“First, unlike the other two Book of Mormon migratory peoples,
the Jaredites (as we call them) are not Jews under the Law of Moses. They’re not even Israelite (also a late term) or Canaanite,
but Mesopotamian. So they are operating under a different set of religious ideas, different language (Sumerian, Akkadian, something else? Hebrew isn’t an option), different cultural background than the rest of the Book of Mormon. And indeed, Ether has a different feel to it than the rest. It’s largely political history, stories of wars between scheming royal families, imprisonment, regicide, etc.”
“We need to take careful account of the text, and not go beyond it, leaping to conclusions. The first issue is that Ether is, I think, the most heavily edited and translated book we have. Records of some kind are kept by the Jaredites and centuries later, edited and compiled by Ether.These plates are then translated by Mosiah. 500 years later, they are re-edited by Moroni who makes expansive and editorializing commentary into the Book of Mormon, and then they are translated again by Joseph Smith. So although it appears we are reading an immediate first-hand eyewitness account of a tower and language change, in actuality that record passed through lots of minds and editing, who we know inserted their own comments to the record.”
Ben Spackman, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/benjaminthescribe/2016/11/bom-gospel-doctrine- lesson-45-46-ether/
BOOK OF ETHER
“When people think of the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon, they often remember scenes of deception, darkness, and bloodshed.This is not all that surprising, for indeed the book of Ether contains much of these kinds of things.The text speaks of a time of terrible wickedness when ‘all the people upon the face of the land were shedding blood, and there was none to restrain them.’ All the men kept their swords in their hands and no one would lend anything to another because no one was trustworthy in all the land. These unrestrained contentions led to so much bloodshed ‘that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead.And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, . . . leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become prey to the worms of the flesh.And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land.’ Because ‘the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and Satan had full power over the hearts of the people; for they were given up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they might be destroyed,’ all the Jaredites ‘were drunken with anger, even as a man who is drunken with wine.’ The final bloodbath culminated when Coriantumr decapitated Shiz, leaving only Coriantumr and Ether alive.
When we read the bloody conclusion of Ether, the following statement by the Lord to the brother of Jared at the commencement of the record seems strange:‘There [in the promised land] will I bless thee and thy seed, and raise up unto me . . . a seed, upon all the face of the earth.’ We wonder why Moroni included all that wickedness if the Jaredites were such a “great nation” and whether the record contained on the gold plates was, as Moroni said,‘of great worth.’”
Frank Judd, Jr. https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/jaredite-zion-societies-hope-better-world
JAREDITE RECORD AND MOSIAH
“The Jaredite record had come into the hands of Mosiah and had been translated by the power of God. He couldn’t ignore its messages and applications to his own situation.This stunning record, like a message from heaven, likely caused him to rethink his plans. Because the Jaredite legacy offered strong warnings against the abuses of kingship and power, Mosiah was influenced not to give the throne to someone other than his heir apparent. Knowing how the Jaredites had turned away from God as their heavenly king also influenced Mosiah to stress the accountability of all people to answer equally and individually to God for their sins (Mosiah 29:38).”
“Seeing the historical grounding of this cautionary counsel makes Mosiah’s warning all the more potent as a forewarning to readers in the latter days. This was no idle threat, nor was it merely hyperbole in a war of competing ideologies. It was based on the outcome of real historical events Mosiah had become familiar with while translating the Jaredite record. As such, it stands as a witness and warning to modern readers, underscoring the importance of collectively making righteous choices as a society.”
WEAKNESS
“We might define weakness as the limitation on our wisdom, power, and holiness that comes with being human.As mortals we are born helpless and dependent, with various physical flaws and predispositions.We are raised and surrounded by other weak mortals, and their teachings, examples, and treatment of us are faulty and sometimes damaging. In our weak, mortal state we suffer physical and emotional illness, hunger, and fatigue.We experience human emotions like anger, grief, and fear.We lack wisdom, skill, stamina, and strength.And we are subject to temptations of many kinds.”
“There is another, even more powerful way that God makes weak things strong unto us.The Lord says to Moroni in Ether 12:37,“Because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.”
Here God is not offering to change Moroni’s weakness, but to change Moroni. By tackling the challenge of human weakness, Moroni—and we—can learn charity, compassion, meekness, patience, courage, long-suffering, wisdom, stamina, forgiveness, resilience, gratitude, creativity, and a host of other virtues that make us more like our Father in Heaven.These are the very qualities we came to earth to hone, the Christlike attributes that prepare us for the mansions above.
Nowhere is God’s love, wisdom, and redemptive power more evident than in His ability to turn our struggle with human weakness into the invaluable godly virtues and strengths that make us more like Him.”
Wendy Ulrich, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2015/04/it-isnt-a-sin-to-be-weak?lang=eng
A LATTER-DAY SAINT THEOLOGY OF SUFFERING
“We wanted life, however high the cost.We suffer because we were willing to pay the cost of being and of being here with others in their ignorance and inexperience as well as our own.We suffer because we are willing to pay the costs of living with laws of nature, which operate quite consistently whether or not we understand them or can manage them.We suffer because, like Christ in the desert, we apparently did not say we would come only if God would change all our stones to bread in time of hunger.We were willing to know hunger. Like Christ in the desert, we did not ask God to let us try falling or being bruised only on condition that he catch us before we touch ground and save us from real hurt. We were willing to know hurt. Like Christ, we did not agree to come only if God would make everyone bow to us and respect us, or admire us and understand us. Like Christ, we came to be ourselves, addressing and creating reality.We are finding out who we are and who we can become regardless of immediate environment or circumstances.
What is the point of that? What is the point of knowing reality and being ourselves, of suffering? Why did this matter so much?
One reason we were willing to pay the high costs of continuing to address reality and become ourselves is that God told us we can become more like himself.We can become more abundantly alive, with ultimate fulness of truth, joy, and love—fulness impossible for souls unable to take real part in creating it, souls ignorant of good or evil, pleasure or pain, souls afraid of the unknown.”
CHRIST AND THE WORK OF SUFFERING
“Christ worked mightily in the final hours of his life. He struggled quietly in the Garden of Gethsemane, heavy with the sicknesses of humankind, lonely and pressed down. He stood raw and wounded, enduring the banal cruelty of magistrate and mob. He bore his burden through Jerusalem’s crowded streets. Exposed, he called for water, but tasted vinegar.The weight of his body dragged on his nail-pierced hands and on his lungs, arresting his breath. He witnessed his mother’s torment and could do nothing for her. Alone, he cried out into the darkness, unable to hear God’s voice.Then finally his task was finished. Having experienced suffering, one develops power over it — not the power to stop it, or take it away from someone you love, but to know its sorrows fade. Having experienced suffering, one receives power from it — the power to share others’ burdens and be humble, to see one’s own burdens and be kind. On the other side of suffering is strength. It is a peculiar sort of confidence that derives from having had no confidence at all.Things that once seemed difficult are now no trouble, and things that seemed like trouble now reveal themselves as gifts. People who once seemed vexing, inexplicable, or foreign now strike me as familiar because they have known pain. People who once seemed broken and tainted with ruin while I imagined myself to be whole are now my sisters and brothers.Truly, now I know that I am nothing, which thing I never had supposed.”
Melissa Wei-Tsing Inouye, https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/christ-and-the-work-of-suffering/
Sunday, April 12, 2020
ZOOM Invitation for April 14
Following is the link to join class on Tuesday. Zoom updated their software and have discontinued the need for a password. Clicking on the link should take you directly to the meeting. See you Tuesday!
Topic: Ether 7-15
Time: Apr 14, 2020 09:30 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97054714231
Meeting ID: 970 5471 4231
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Meeting ID: 970 5471 4231
Topic: Ether 7-15
Time: Apr 14, 2020 09:30 AM Arizona
Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 970 5471 4231
To Join By Phone:
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Meeting ID: 970 5471 4231
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Ether 1-6
LINK FOR RECORDING OF APRIL 7
READING FOR NEXT WEEK
Ether 6-15
Following are the quotes from our class discussion. Thanks for being here today and adding to the discussion.
BROTHER OF JARED
“One of the greatest . . . prophets in the Book of Mormon—indeed, a very strong case could be made for calling him the greatest of the prophets in the Book of Mormon—goes unnamed in the record that documents Christ’s remarkable life.That prophet is identified to the modern reader only as “the brother of Jared.” Yet even in such near anonymity, the revelation that unfolded before this man’s eyes was so extraordinary that his life and legacy to us have become synonymous with bold, consummate, perfect faith.”
“In the dispersion required of them at the time of the Tower of Babel, the people of Jared arrived at “the great sea which divideth the lands” (Ether 2:13), where they pitched their tents, awaiting further revelation regarding the crossing of a mighty ocean. For four years they awaited divine direction, but apparently they waited too casually—without supplication and exertion.
. . . It is difficult to imagine what a three-hour rebuke from the Lord might be like, but the brother of Jared endured it.With immediate repentance and immediate prayer, this prophet once again sought guidance for the journey they had been assigned and for those who were to pursue it. God accepted his repentance and lovingly gave further direction for this crucial mission.”
Jeffery R. Holland, https://rsc.byu.edu/voice-my-servants/rending-veil-unbelief
BARGES
“For such an oceanic crossing, these families and their flocks needed seaworthy crafts similar to the barges they had constructed for earlier water travel—small, light, dish-shaped vessels identical in design above and beneath so that they were capable of staying afloat even when facing overwhelming waves or, worse yet, when they might be overturned by them. These “exceedingly tight” crafts (Ether 2:17) were obviously boats of unprecedented design and undiminished capability, made under the direction of Him who ruled the seas and the winds that rend them, to the end that the vessels might travel with the “lightness of a fowl upon the water” (Ether 2:16).”
Jeffery R. Holland, https://rsc.byu.edu/voice-my-servants/rending-veil-unbelief
BROTHER OF JARED
“Surely God, as well as the reader, feels something very striking in the childlike innocence and fervor of this man’s faith.‘Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this.’ Perhaps there is no more powerful single line of faith spoken by man in scripture. It is almost as if he is encouraging God, emboldening Him, reassuring Him. Not “Behold, O Lord, I am sure that thou canst do this.” Not “Behold, O Lord, thou hast done many greater things than this.” However uncertain the prophet is about his own ability, he has no uncertainty about God’s power.There is nothing here but a single, clear, bold, and assertive declaration with no hint or element of vacillation. It is encouragement to Him who needs no encouragement but who surely must have been touched by it.‘Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this.’”
“A final—and in terms of the faith of the brother of Jared (which is the issue at hand) surely the most
persuasive—explanation for me is that Christ is saying to the brother of Jared,‘Never have I showed myself unto man in this manner, without my volition, driven solely by the faith of the beholder.’ As a rule, prophets are invited into the presence of the Lord, are bidden to enter His presence by Him and only with His sanction.The brother of Jared, on the other hand, stands alone then (and we assume now) in having thrust himself through the veil, not as an unwelcome guest but perhaps technically an uninvited one. Says Jehovah,‘Never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. . . . Never has man believed in me as thou hast.’. Obviously the Lord Himself is linking unprecedented faith with this unprecedented vision. If the vision is not unique, then it has to be the faith— and how the vision is obtained—that is so remarkable.The only way this faith could be so remarkable would be in its ability to take this prophet, uninvited, where others had only been able to go by invitation.
Indeed it would appear that this is Moroni’s own understanding of the circumstance, for he later writes, ‘Because of the knowledge [which has come as a result of faith] of this man he could not be kept from beholding within the veil. . . .‘Wherefore, having this perfect knowledge of God, he could not be kept from within the veil; therefore he saw Jesus’”
“No, this may be an absolutely unprecedented case of a prophet’s will and faith and purity so closely approaching that of heaven’s that the man moves from understanding God to being actually like Him, with His same thrust of will and faith, at least in this one instance.What a remarkable doctrinal statement about the power of a mortal man’s faith! And not an ethereal, unreachable, select category of a man, either.This is one who once forgot to call upon the Lord, one whose best ideas focused on rocks, and one who doesn’t even have a traditional name in the book that has immortalized his remarkable feat of faith. Given such a man with such faith, it should not be surprising that the Lord would show this prophet much, show him visions that would be relevant to the mission of all the Book of Mormon prophets and to the events of the latter-day dispensation in which the book would be received.
After the prophet stepped through the veil to behold the Savior of the world, he was not limited in seeing the rest of what the eternal world revealed. Indeed, the Lord showed him ‘all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be; and he withheld them not from his sight, even unto the ends of the earth’ (Ether 3:25).The staying power for such an experience was once again the faith of the brother of Jared, for ‘the Lord could not withhold anything from him, for he knew that the Lord could show him all things’ (Ether 3:26).”
Jeffery R. Holland, https://rsc.byu.edu/voice-my-servants/rending-veil-unbelief
BROTHER OF JARED
“This interpretation helps reveal the stark contrast between the brother of Jared, the father of the noncovenant people to which Moroni would draw the attention of his gentile readers, and Abraham, the father of the covenant people on which the rest of the Book of Mormon focuses.Where Abraham is definitively the called one, the one who—unlike Adam before him— responded to God’s call with ‘Here am I!’ (see especially Genesis 22:1, 7, 11), the brother of Jared is the uncalled or unbidden but nonetheless faithful one. As a model for the similarly uncalled Gentiles, the brother of Jared displays a sort of non-Abrahamic faith that, if imitated by Gentiles generally, can result in ‘the unfolding [of] all [of God’s] revelations’ (Ether 4:7).”
BROTHER OF JARED
“The Book of Mormon is predicated on the willingness of men and women to ‘rend that veil of unbelief ’ in order to behold the revelations—and the Revelation—of God (Ether 4:15). It would seem that the humbling experience of the brother of Jared in his failure to pray and his consternation over the sixteen stones were included in this account to show just how mortal and just how normal he was—so very much like the men and women we know and at least in some ways so much like ourselves. His belief in himself and his view of himself may have been limited—much like our view of ourselves. But his belief in God was unprecedented. It was without doubt or limit: ‘I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger' (Ether 3:4). And from that command given to the Lord, for it does seem to be something of a command, the brother of Jared and the reader of the Book of Mormon would never be the same again. Ordinary individuals with ordinary challenges could rend the veil of unbelief and enter the realms of eternity. And Christ, who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem His people, would be standing at the edge of that veil to usher the believer through.”
Jeffery R. Holland, https://rsc.byu.edu/voice-my-servants/rending-veil-unbelief
Sunday, April 5, 2020
ZOOM Invitation for April 7
Below is the link to join class on Tuesday, April 7.
PLEASE NOTE: ZOOM IS NOW REQUIRING A PASSWORD FOR ALL MEETINGS. YOU CAN FIND IT JUST BELOW THE LINK FOR THE MEETING. I HAVE HIGHLIGHTED IT IN RED.
We will be discussing Ether 1-6. See you then!
Join Zoom Meeting
Password: 344399
Meeting ID: 624 363 283
Dial by your location
+1 301 715 8592 US
+1 253 215 8782 US
Meeting ID: 624 363 283
Password: 344399
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Mormon 7-9
READING FOR NEXT WEEK
Ether 1-6
Below is the link to the recording of our class discussion. I once again forgot to start the recording even though I had reminders on notes in several places! I will do better next week--hopefully!
MEETING RECORDING
https://zoom.us/rec/share/68hUAOHr5kVLAYn87gbQaoR-RJrXaaa803QY-_FbzBqwIn0_BewfCJPqO8rek3CD
Ether 1-6
Below is the link to the recording of our class discussion. I once again forgot to start the recording even though I had reminders on notes in several places! I will do better next week--hopefully!
MEETING RECORDING
https://zoom.us/rec/share/68hUAOHr5kVLAYn87gbQaoR-RJrXaaa803QY-_FbzBqwIn0_BewfCJPqO8rek3CD
BELONGING
“Our need to belong is what drives us to seek out stable, long-lasting relationships with other people. It also motivates us to participate in social activities such as clubs, sports teams, religious groups, and community organizations.
By belonging to a group, we feel as if we are a part of something bigger and more important than ourselves.
The need to belong to a group also can lead to changes in behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes as people strive to conform to the standards and norms of the group”
FOLLOWING JESUS CHRIST
“I promise you that as you follow Jesus Christ, you will find sustained peace and true joy.As you keep your covenants with increasing precision, and as you defend the Church and kingdom of God on the earth today, the Lord will bless you with strength and wisdom to accomplish what only members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can accomplish.
We are to be builders of an individual faith in God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and faith in His Church.We are to build families and be sealed in holy temples.We are to build the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth (see Matthew 6:33).We are to prepare for our own divine destiny: glory, immortality, and eternal lives.”
President Russell M. Nelson, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2020/04/the-future-of-the-church-preparing-the- world-for-the-saviors-second-coming?lang=eng
“FACE THE FUTURE WITH FAITH”
“Meanwhile, here and now, we live in a time of turmoil. Earthquakes and tsunamis wreak devastation, governments collapse, economic stresses are severe, the family is under attack, and divorce rates are rising.We have great cause for concern. But we do not need to let our fears displace our faith.We can combat those fears by strengthening our faith.
Why do we need such resilient faith? Because 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.
You will have days when you will be discouraged. So pray for courage not to give up! Sadly, some who you thought were your friends will betray you. And some things will simply seem unfair.”
President Russell M. Nelson, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2020/04/the-future-of-the-church-preparing-the- world-for-the-saviors-second-coming?lang=eng
THE BOOK OF MORMON
“Then comes what I think is a really remarkable thing.The author tells us they all cried out,“Hosanna,” which I understand means save us now.That seems curious to me. Weren’t these people already saved? Apparently not. Apparently there was something about that experience that they had with the Lord that triggered that immediate reaction,“Save us now.” So I’m reading into that that there was a deficit in their prior experience that was now being filled with this immediacy of touching the wounds.
But then, then, they cry out,“Save us now,” and then it says they all fell to the ground and worshiped Him.That phrase isn’t in the description of the first time they fell to the ground. So from that, I try to make the idea, and I think it works, is that the worship of Christ, the adoration of the Savior comes most powerfully, most directly from the fact that they had physical contact with the emblems of His suffering.There was something about that experience that was transformative to this good group of people.”
Thomas Griffith, https://faithmatters.org/the-kings-good-servant-but-gods-first-terryl-givens-with-thomas- griffith/
THE BOOK OF MORMON
“How would my life be different if my knowledge gained from the the Book of Mormon were suddenly taken away?”
MIRACLES
“My limited knowledge cannot explain why sometimes there is divine intervention and
other times there is not. But perhaps we lack an understanding of what constitutes a
miracle.
Often we describe a miracle as being healed without a full explanation by medical
science or as avoiding catastrophic danger by heeding a clear prompting. However,
defining a miracle as ‘a beneficial event brought about through divine power that
mortals do not understand’ gives an expanded perspective into matters more eternal
in nature.This definition also allows us to contemplate the vital role of faith in the
receipt of a miracle.
Moroni taught,‘Neither at any time hath any wrought miracles until after their faith.’
Ammon proclaimed, ‘God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work
mighty miracles.’ The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith, ‘For I am God, ... and I will show
miracles ... unto all those who believe on my name.’”
“A critical question to ponder is “Where do we place our faith?” Is our faith focused on
simply wanting to be relieved of pain and suffering, or is it firmly centered on God the
Father and His holy plan and in Jesus the Christ and His Atonement? Faith in the Father
and the Son allows us to understand and accept Their will as we prepare for eternity.
Today I testify of miracles. Being a child of God is a miracle. Receiving a body in His image
and likeness is a miracle.The gift of a Savior is a miracle. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is
a miracle. The potential for eternal life is a miracle.
While it is good to pray for and work for physical protection and healing during our
mortal existence, our supreme focus should be on the spiritual miracles that are available
to all of God’s children. No matter our ethnicity, no matter our nationality, no matter what
we have done if we repent, no matter what may have been done to us—all of us have
equal access to these miracles.We are living a miracle, and further miracles lie ahead.”
Donald L. Hallstromhttps://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/10/has-the-day-of-miracles-ceased?lang=eng
HEAR HIM
“...Repeatedly, He has personally introduced His Beloved Son Jesus Christ,
with a specific charge to ‘Hear Him!’ Have you ever stopped to ask why? Why
is our Heavenly Father so insistent—and consistent—in his plea that we
should hear His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ?
...He pleads with us to listen to the voice of Jesus Christ who the Father
anointed and appointed as our Mediator, Savior, and Redeemer.
...I invite you to think deeply and often about this key question: How do you
hear him? I also invite you to take steps is hear Him better and more often.
...And strive with all you heart, might, mind and soul to hear Him!”
President Russell M. Nelson, February 2020
Sunday, March 29, 2020
ZOOM Invitation for March 31
We will be discussing Mormon 7-9 on Tuesday. Below is the link to join us. I'm looking forward to being together again to share our thoughts and experiences.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/339639526
Meeting ID: 339 639 526
Dial by your location
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
Meeting ID: 339 639 526
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ac1FMXrgne
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/339639526
Meeting ID: 339 639 526
Dial by your location
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
Meeting ID: 339 639 526
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ac1FMXrgne
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Mormon 1-6
READING FOR MARCH 31
Mormon 7-9
RECORDING OF CLASS ON MARCH 24
Following is the link for the recording of class for those of you who could not attend. I forgot to start recording at the beginning of class, so the playback begins a couple of minutes into our lesson. Sorry!
Thanks to those who were able to join our session! Thanks for your comments and insights. What a blessing it is to be together in this time of difficulty.
Meeting Recording:
https://zoom.us/rec/share/7-ktMeH1rUVJaNbysHPifKw6EtzfX6a82nNM8qEMxBoYji0GNilVf8_Lp5oKEPLV
MORMON
“In the midst of devastation and depravity, a loving and intimate portrait of a father and son is revealed in the books of Mormon and Moroni.The glaring contrast between the world in which Mormon and Moroni lived and their own lives and relationship with each other is a fitting end to the Book of Mormon. Of course, it was in the end a team effort that allowed the modern reader to have the sacred record at all.The pattern set by Lehi and Nephi at the beginning of the record is followed and repeated at the end of the book by a righteous son following his father. Mormon and Moroni’s love, respect and tenderness towards each other is made all the more poignant by the fact that they lived in such a brutal and wicked society.”
Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/mormon-man-and-message
THE TEN YEAR PEACE TREATY
“According Robin J. DeWitt Knauth, ‘The Year of Jubilee ... is the last layer in the extension of the Sabbath principle.’ Being the pinnacle of the sabbatical system, the jubilee year came every fifty years. It is easy to imagine that a people who saw significance in calendrical cycles of seven would surely have noticed that this jubilee year in the 350th year was not just any jubilee—it was the seventh jubilee since the birth of Christ (350 being 7 x 50).
Given the decadence and wickedness among both the Nephites and the Lamanites, it is hard to say if the symbolic importance of that year was widely recognized. Mormon, no doubt, was aware, and as the Chief Captain of the Nephite armies, he was probably instrumental in negotiating the terms and timing of the treaty.
Resting the land was central to both the jubilee law in general and to this treaty in particular.The jubilee was intended to be ‘a year of rest for the land.’ It was also a time when ‘land was to be restored to its original inherited line of ownership.’
It therefore seems significant that at a time when land was supposed to be restored to its proper owner, large portions of Nephite and Lamanite lands were reallocated under the terms of this ten- year treaty. Any Nephites who still celebrated the jubilee could not have missed the significance: in the Lord’s eyes, they were no longer the proper owners of any land south of the narrow neck.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-is-the-10-year-peace-treaty-important
HINGE POINT
“A hinge is a point in a lesson when you need to check if students are ready to move on, and if yes, in which direction; a hinge-point question is a diagnostic question that you ask your students when you reach the hinge, responses to which give you evidence about what you and your students need to do next.”
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/assessment-for-learning-stem/0/steps/7332
“The phrase has several applications in the technical language of engineering, construction, anatomy, even orthopedic reconstructive surgery. Generally, it’s the point where a mechanism pivots.
The evangelical minister was of course using the term metaphorically as a turning point or point at which a significant change takes place.”
https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/03/a-hinge-point-of-history.html
A HingePoint is the point where something literally pivots.It’s the turning point where you are going to see a significant change take place.
"WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WILL LATTER-DAY SAINTS BE IN A GLOBAL APOCALYPSE?"
“The apocalyptic genre is about revealing. But it’s not revealing the future — it’s not a crystal ball — it’s revealing something that is already true about us. It’s revealing things about our culture we don’t want to admit. The coronavirus is already shining a light into some dark places, both in the
U.S. and the world. This is an apocalypse. It will help to reveal who we are individually.And for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, how we respond to this moment will define our identity going forward."
“I’m not saying this move wasn’t inspired; I’m saying this is hardly the time to crow about it. If you’re a Latter-day Saint who thinks the decision was inspired because the Lord was interested in saving you and your family, full stop, you’ve entirely missed the point.
The point was to save everybody.The point is always to save everybody.”
“What is perhaps most poignant to me about this coronavirus is how naked and vulnerable we all stand in the face of it. All of us. No one appears to have immunity from prior exposure, and no one has been vaccinated. In terms of apocalypses that reveal who we really are, here’s a stark image:This particular apocalypse is revealing that we’re every bit as helpless as we were when we emerged from our mothers’ wombs.
Instead of allowing that to make me afraid, I want to allow it to break me open and help me become something more than I would otherwise be. I am a helpless infant, yes, but a helpless infant who is beloved of Heavenly Parents who desire the flourishing of all their children.”
Jana Riess:“What kind of people will Latter-day Saints be in a global apocalypse?"
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2020/03/20/jana-riess-what-kind/
Mormon 7-9
RECORDING OF CLASS ON MARCH 24
Following is the link for the recording of class for those of you who could not attend. I forgot to start recording at the beginning of class, so the playback begins a couple of minutes into our lesson. Sorry!
Thanks to those who were able to join our session! Thanks for your comments and insights. What a blessing it is to be together in this time of difficulty.
Meeting Recording:
https://zoom.us/rec/share/7-ktMeH1rUVJaNbysHPifKw6EtzfX6a82nNM8qEMxBoYji0GNilVf8_Lp5oKEPLV
MORMON
“In the midst of devastation and depravity, a loving and intimate portrait of a father and son is revealed in the books of Mormon and Moroni.The glaring contrast between the world in which Mormon and Moroni lived and their own lives and relationship with each other is a fitting end to the Book of Mormon. Of course, it was in the end a team effort that allowed the modern reader to have the sacred record at all.The pattern set by Lehi and Nephi at the beginning of the record is followed and repeated at the end of the book by a righteous son following his father. Mormon and Moroni’s love, respect and tenderness towards each other is made all the more poignant by the fact that they lived in such a brutal and wicked society.”
Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/mormon-man-and-message
THE TEN YEAR PEACE TREATY
“According Robin J. DeWitt Knauth, ‘The Year of Jubilee ... is the last layer in the extension of the Sabbath principle.’ Being the pinnacle of the sabbatical system, the jubilee year came every fifty years. It is easy to imagine that a people who saw significance in calendrical cycles of seven would surely have noticed that this jubilee year in the 350th year was not just any jubilee—it was the seventh jubilee since the birth of Christ (350 being 7 x 50).
Given the decadence and wickedness among both the Nephites and the Lamanites, it is hard to say if the symbolic importance of that year was widely recognized. Mormon, no doubt, was aware, and as the Chief Captain of the Nephite armies, he was probably instrumental in negotiating the terms and timing of the treaty.
Resting the land was central to both the jubilee law in general and to this treaty in particular.The jubilee was intended to be ‘a year of rest for the land.’ It was also a time when ‘land was to be restored to its original inherited line of ownership.’
It therefore seems significant that at a time when land was supposed to be restored to its proper owner, large portions of Nephite and Lamanite lands were reallocated under the terms of this ten- year treaty. Any Nephites who still celebrated the jubilee could not have missed the significance: in the Lord’s eyes, they were no longer the proper owners of any land south of the narrow neck.”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-is-the-10-year-peace-treaty-important
HINGE POINT
“A hinge is a point in a lesson when you need to check if students are ready to move on, and if yes, in which direction; a hinge-point question is a diagnostic question that you ask your students when you reach the hinge, responses to which give you evidence about what you and your students need to do next.”
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/assessment-for-learning-stem/0/steps/7332
“The phrase has several applications in the technical language of engineering, construction, anatomy, even orthopedic reconstructive surgery. Generally, it’s the point where a mechanism pivots.
The evangelical minister was of course using the term metaphorically as a turning point or point at which a significant change takes place.”
https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/03/a-hinge-point-of-history.html
A HingePoint is the point where something literally pivots.It’s the turning point where you are going to see a significant change take place.
"WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WILL LATTER-DAY SAINTS BE IN A GLOBAL APOCALYPSE?"
“The apocalyptic genre is about revealing. But it’s not revealing the future — it’s not a crystal ball — it’s revealing something that is already true about us. It’s revealing things about our culture we don’t want to admit. The coronavirus is already shining a light into some dark places, both in the
U.S. and the world. This is an apocalypse. It will help to reveal who we are individually.And for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, how we respond to this moment will define our identity going forward."
“I’m not saying this move wasn’t inspired; I’m saying this is hardly the time to crow about it. If you’re a Latter-day Saint who thinks the decision was inspired because the Lord was interested in saving you and your family, full stop, you’ve entirely missed the point.
The point was to save everybody.The point is always to save everybody.”
“What is perhaps most poignant to me about this coronavirus is how naked and vulnerable we all stand in the face of it. All of us. No one appears to have immunity from prior exposure, and no one has been vaccinated. In terms of apocalypses that reveal who we really are, here’s a stark image:This particular apocalypse is revealing that we’re every bit as helpless as we were when we emerged from our mothers’ wombs.
Instead of allowing that to make me afraid, I want to allow it to break me open and help me become something more than I would otherwise be. I am a helpless infant, yes, but a helpless infant who is beloved of Heavenly Parents who desire the flourishing of all their children.”
Jana Riess:“What kind of people will Latter-day Saints be in a global apocalypse?"
https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2020/03/20/jana-riess-what-kind/
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Invitation for Class on Tuesday
We will be discussing Mormon 1-6 on Tuesday. Below is the invitation for the ZOOM meeting. We will begin at 9:30. I will have the meeting open at about 9:20. You can join or leave at anytime. If you are having difficulty with the ZOOM application, please email me your phone number so I can help you. My email address is debratolman75@gmail.com. Hope to see you there!
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 595 607 599
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 301 715 8592 US
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 253 215 8782 US
Friday, March 20, 2020
Recording of 3 Nephi 27-4 Nephi
Not surprisingly, ZOOM is experiencing high-volume traffic. The recording of Tuesday's class finally finished processing just this morning! Following is the link to the recording. I'm sorry it has taken this long. Hopefully next week will be better. Thanks to all of you who attended and participated. I will post the invitation for Tuesday's class soon. Bless you. Stay safe. Stay well!
Meeting Recording:
https://zoom.us/rec/share/4vMkP6P79WFOfJXL6W72e5w4F4_DT6a8g3QZ-KALmUzCe87NOAs2jBqi7XNb7J0N
Meeting Recording:
https://zoom.us/rec/share/4vMkP6P79WFOfJXL6W72e5w4F4_DT6a8g3QZ-KALmUzCe87NOAs2jBqi7XNb7J0N
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
3 Nephi 27 - 4 Nephi
Below are the quotes from today's class. I recorded our ZOOM session, but it appears there might be something wrong. I will keep trying. I am new at this, so please be patient. If the recording becomes available I will post a link on the blog. Thank you for attending today. While it was different I am grateful to have been together this morning. Thank you for your comments. We will all get more skilled at this. Stay safe!
READING FOR MARCH 24
Mormon 1-6
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
THE NAME OF HIS CHURCH
“Thus, the name of the Church is not negotiable.When the Savior clearly states what the name of His Church should be and even precedes His declaration with,“Thus shall my church be called,” He is serious.And if we allow nicknames to be used or adopt or even sponsor those nicknames ourselves, He is offended.
To remove the Lord’s name from the Lord’s Church is a major victory for Satan.When we discard the Savior’s name, we are subtly disregarding all that Jesus Christ did for us—even His Atonement.”
President Russell M. Nelson, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/the-correct- name-of-the-church?lang=eng
HIS GOSPEL
“And nowhere else in scripture does he connect so directly and succinctly his Father’s will with the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Final Judgment, and link them to the universal salvation offered to humankind. In this passage Jesus ties together the relationship between true discipleship, adherence to the ordinances of salvation, and his offer to stand as everyone’s personal intercessor to the Father. He starkly states that the absolute purity required for entry into the kingdom of heaven is directly and unequivocally related to the visceral image of washing one’s garments in his blood. In addition, 3 Nephi 27:13–21 might be described as a succinct tutorial on the nature of justification and sanctification. It stands at the doctrinal apex of Jesus’ post- Resurrection visit to the New World. It is a discrete unit, beginning and ending with the phrase “my gospel.” It is the culminating discourse of his other New World teachings on the nature of the gospel.”
THE CROSS
“A.W. Tozer penned: “The cross is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men.
The cross of Roman times knew no compromise; it never made concessions. It won all its arguments by killing its opponent and silencing him for good. It spared not Christ, but slew Him the same as the rest. He was alive when they hung Him on that cross and completely dead when they took Him down six hours later.That was the cross the first time it appeared in Christian history. . . .
The cross effects its ends by destroying one established pattern, the victim’s, and creating another pattern, its own.Thus it always has its way. It wins by defeating its opponent and imposing its will upon him. It always dominates. It never compromises, never dickers nor confers, never surrenders a point for the sake of peace. It cares not for peace; it cares only to end its opposition as fast as possible.
With perfect knowledge of all this, Christ said,“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” So the cross not only brings Christ’s life to an end, it ends also the first life, the old life, of every one of His true followers. It destroys the old pattern, the Adam pattern, in the believer’s life, and brings it to an end.Then the God who raised Christ from the dead raises the believer and a new life begins.
This, and nothing less, is true Christianity. . . .
We must do something about the cross, and one of two things only we can do—flee it or die upon it.”
“DRAW MEN UNTO ME”
“In a moving comment, writer Richard Mouw gave this insight: ‘We admit we can’t understand the mysteries of God’s purposes. But we can go to the cross of Jesus Christ.We can see that, at the cross, God took upon Himself abandonment, abuse, forlornness, depth of suffering. Christ Himself cried out from the depths of His being, ‘My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ When we see what God did through Jesus Christ we can say,‘There is a safe place in the universe, in the shelter of the Almighty, in the shadow of the Most High.’ That place is Calvary.’
So in times of sorrow and suffering, the Atonement draws all serious truth- seekers to Jesus Christ.”
“Because he was lifted up, Christ is able to offer an escape from any permanent damage caused by a fallen world. It is a compelling offer. It draws us to him. It invites us, nay, entices us, to accept the terms and conditions of an offer so great that it results not only in a lighter burden for the moment, but also in ‘a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory’ (2 Corinthians 4:17).”
Andrew C. Skinner, https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-11-no-3-2010/my-gospel-jesus-discourse-3-nephi
THE THREE DISCIPLES
“The three disciples actual lineage may not be as important as recognizing how our implicit attitudes or biases influence the way we see others and even how we read scripture. Most of us equate righteousness with the Nephites and wickedness with the Lamanites.Yet all of us can think of periods in the Book of Mormon where the Lamanites were living the gospel and the Nephites were not. Assuming that a person is righteous or wicked based on a single characteristic prevents us from fully seeing others as the Savior does.
The distinction of “Mormon” and “Non-Mormon” is often our modern day equivalent of Nephite and Lamanite.We are truly separated by all “manner of –ites.” Mormon witnessed how racism and division destroyed his people. He identified himself as a “pure descendant of Lehi,” not as a Nephite or Lamanite (3 Nephi 5:20). If Mormon lived in our day, I do not believe that he would have identified himself as a “Mormon” either. He shares one of my favorite proclamations in all of scripture when he boldly declares, “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (3 Nephi 5:13).
The Savior looks beyond our superficial appearance. He knows our thoughts and the desires of our heart. His invitation to “come, follow me” is extended to everyone (Luke 18:22). Christ wants all of us to be His disciples. I stand with Mormon as I declare that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Recognizing the good in others, regardless of their church affiliation or other perceived differences, is crucial as we strive to live as true disciples of Christ.”
Cameron Staley, https://www.ldsliving.com/What-We-ve-Been-Getting-Wrong-About-the-3-Nephites/s/84318
THE THREE DISCIPLES
“Mormon called this change upon them a ‘transfiguration,’ and they did have a transfiguring experience. However, the more traditional understanding of the status of these three is that they were ‘translated’ beings.
A person who is transfigured is one who is temporarily take into a higher, heavenly experience, as were Peter, James and John, and then returned to a normal telestial status. As noted above, these [disciples], as part of their translation experience, were all transfigured, caught up into heaven, where they ‘saw and heard unspeakable things.’
These three [disciples] continue in their translated state today, just as when they went throughout the lands of Nephi.
They are yet ministering to Jew, Gentile, and the scattered tribes of Israel, even all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 306-307
THE PEACE OF FOURTH NEPHI
“Dr. King dreamed of a day when people would look beyond the narrow categories that often separate us from each other and instead focus on higher ends. He dreamed of a day when his children would be seen for who they are and who they are becoming—for their character.Through discrimination, racism, sexism, and other social ills, we will often impose false identities on others that keep them and us from progressing.
This can stop when we see all people as children of God.We consider every person divine in origin, nature, and potential. Each possesses seeds of divinity.And 'each is a beloved spirit [child] of heavenly parents.’
We have this in common with every person.We are all children of God.That makes us family—brothers and sisters bound by a common divine heritage.That one simple, unifying fact should override all else that we allow to cause separation and division among us.”
M. Russell Ballard, https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/m-russell-ballard/children-heavenly-father/
READING FOR MARCH 24
Mormon 1-6
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
THE NAME OF HIS CHURCH
“Thus, the name of the Church is not negotiable.When the Savior clearly states what the name of His Church should be and even precedes His declaration with,“Thus shall my church be called,” He is serious.And if we allow nicknames to be used or adopt or even sponsor those nicknames ourselves, He is offended.
To remove the Lord’s name from the Lord’s Church is a major victory for Satan.When we discard the Savior’s name, we are subtly disregarding all that Jesus Christ did for us—even His Atonement.”
President Russell M. Nelson, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/the-correct- name-of-the-church?lang=eng
HIS GOSPEL
“And nowhere else in scripture does he connect so directly and succinctly his Father’s will with the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Final Judgment, and link them to the universal salvation offered to humankind. In this passage Jesus ties together the relationship between true discipleship, adherence to the ordinances of salvation, and his offer to stand as everyone’s personal intercessor to the Father. He starkly states that the absolute purity required for entry into the kingdom of heaven is directly and unequivocally related to the visceral image of washing one’s garments in his blood. In addition, 3 Nephi 27:13–21 might be described as a succinct tutorial on the nature of justification and sanctification. It stands at the doctrinal apex of Jesus’ post- Resurrection visit to the New World. It is a discrete unit, beginning and ending with the phrase “my gospel.” It is the culminating discourse of his other New World teachings on the nature of the gospel.”
THE CROSS
“A.W. Tozer penned: “The cross is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men.
The cross of Roman times knew no compromise; it never made concessions. It won all its arguments by killing its opponent and silencing him for good. It spared not Christ, but slew Him the same as the rest. He was alive when they hung Him on that cross and completely dead when they took Him down six hours later.That was the cross the first time it appeared in Christian history. . . .
The cross effects its ends by destroying one established pattern, the victim’s, and creating another pattern, its own.Thus it always has its way. It wins by defeating its opponent and imposing its will upon him. It always dominates. It never compromises, never dickers nor confers, never surrenders a point for the sake of peace. It cares not for peace; it cares only to end its opposition as fast as possible.
With perfect knowledge of all this, Christ said,“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” So the cross not only brings Christ’s life to an end, it ends also the first life, the old life, of every one of His true followers. It destroys the old pattern, the Adam pattern, in the believer’s life, and brings it to an end.Then the God who raised Christ from the dead raises the believer and a new life begins.
This, and nothing less, is true Christianity. . . .
We must do something about the cross, and one of two things only we can do—flee it or die upon it.”
“DRAW MEN UNTO ME”
“In a moving comment, writer Richard Mouw gave this insight: ‘We admit we can’t understand the mysteries of God’s purposes. But we can go to the cross of Jesus Christ.We can see that, at the cross, God took upon Himself abandonment, abuse, forlornness, depth of suffering. Christ Himself cried out from the depths of His being, ‘My God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ When we see what God did through Jesus Christ we can say,‘There is a safe place in the universe, in the shelter of the Almighty, in the shadow of the Most High.’ That place is Calvary.’
So in times of sorrow and suffering, the Atonement draws all serious truth- seekers to Jesus Christ.”
“Because he was lifted up, Christ is able to offer an escape from any permanent damage caused by a fallen world. It is a compelling offer. It draws us to him. It invites us, nay, entices us, to accept the terms and conditions of an offer so great that it results not only in a lighter burden for the moment, but also in ‘a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory’ (2 Corinthians 4:17).”
Andrew C. Skinner, https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-11-no-3-2010/my-gospel-jesus-discourse-3-nephi
THE THREE DISCIPLES
“The three disciples actual lineage may not be as important as recognizing how our implicit attitudes or biases influence the way we see others and even how we read scripture. Most of us equate righteousness with the Nephites and wickedness with the Lamanites.Yet all of us can think of periods in the Book of Mormon where the Lamanites were living the gospel and the Nephites were not. Assuming that a person is righteous or wicked based on a single characteristic prevents us from fully seeing others as the Savior does.
The distinction of “Mormon” and “Non-Mormon” is often our modern day equivalent of Nephite and Lamanite.We are truly separated by all “manner of –ites.” Mormon witnessed how racism and division destroyed his people. He identified himself as a “pure descendant of Lehi,” not as a Nephite or Lamanite (3 Nephi 5:20). If Mormon lived in our day, I do not believe that he would have identified himself as a “Mormon” either. He shares one of my favorite proclamations in all of scripture when he boldly declares, “I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (3 Nephi 5:13).
The Savior looks beyond our superficial appearance. He knows our thoughts and the desires of our heart. His invitation to “come, follow me” is extended to everyone (Luke 18:22). Christ wants all of us to be His disciples. I stand with Mormon as I declare that I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Recognizing the good in others, regardless of their church affiliation or other perceived differences, is crucial as we strive to live as true disciples of Christ.”
Cameron Staley, https://www.ldsliving.com/What-We-ve-Been-Getting-Wrong-About-the-3-Nephites/s/84318
THE THREE DISCIPLES
“Mormon called this change upon them a ‘transfiguration,’ and they did have a transfiguring experience. However, the more traditional understanding of the status of these three is that they were ‘translated’ beings.
A person who is transfigured is one who is temporarily take into a higher, heavenly experience, as were Peter, James and John, and then returned to a normal telestial status. As noted above, these [disciples], as part of their translation experience, were all transfigured, caught up into heaven, where they ‘saw and heard unspeakable things.’
These three [disciples] continue in their translated state today, just as when they went throughout the lands of Nephi.
They are yet ministering to Jew, Gentile, and the scattered tribes of Israel, even all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 306-307
THE PEACE OF FOURTH NEPHI
“Dr. King dreamed of a day when people would look beyond the narrow categories that often separate us from each other and instead focus on higher ends. He dreamed of a day when his children would be seen for who they are and who they are becoming—for their character.Through discrimination, racism, sexism, and other social ills, we will often impose false identities on others that keep them and us from progressing.
This can stop when we see all people as children of God.We consider every person divine in origin, nature, and potential. Each possesses seeds of divinity.And 'each is a beloved spirit [child] of heavenly parents.’
We have this in common with every person.We are all children of God.That makes us family—brothers and sisters bound by a common divine heritage.That one simple, unifying fact should override all else that we allow to cause separation and division among us.”
M. Russell Ballard, https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/m-russell-ballard/children-heavenly-father/
Sunday, March 15, 2020
ZOOM Ivitation
Following is the invitation to join our class on Tuesday morning. We will start at 9:30 a.m. You can join a few minutes before or anytime during the class. You may also exit the class at anytime.
Remember you must have the ZOOM mobile app or desktop application in order to participate by video. Click the link below and you will be taken to the meeting. No password is required to join. Make sure you click on the audio request.
I have not used the phone option, but it appears you can join by dialing one of the numbers listed below. Make sure you have the meeting ID, so you can enter it when prompted.
I know this is a challenging and confusing time. The blessing of technology will allow us to "gather" and gain strength from the gospel and each other. As always, looking forward to learning together.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/8602053565
Meeting ID: 860 205 3565
One tap mobile
+16699009128,,8602053565# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,8602053565# US (Houston)
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 860 205 3565
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ac1FMXrgne
Remember you must have the ZOOM mobile app or desktop application in order to participate by video. Click the link below and you will be taken to the meeting. No password is required to join. Make sure you click on the audio request.
I have not used the phone option, but it appears you can join by dialing one of the numbers listed below. Make sure you have the meeting ID, so you can enter it when prompted.
I know this is a challenging and confusing time. The blessing of technology will allow us to "gather" and gain strength from the gospel and each other. As always, looking forward to learning together.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/8602053565
Meeting ID: 860 205 3565
One tap mobile
+16699009128,,8602053565# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,8602053565# US (Houston)
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 253 215 8782 US
+1 301 715 8592 US
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 860 205 3565
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ac1FMXrgne
Friday, March 13, 2020
Future Classes
Hi All,
Since the Church has temporally suspended all meetings including Stake activities, we will not be meeting together on Tuesday mornings for a while. In an effort to continue our study together, we will meet online through the application ZOOM. It is a meeting space that can be accessed on a computer, phone or other devices like an iPad. In order to participate you must download the free app for mobile devices or the desktop application. I will post a link to the blog by Monday so you can join the meeting at the scheduled time. We will "meet" at our regularly scheduled day and time, Tuesday at 9:30. We will plan for an hour.
This will be a new experience for all of us. Some patience will be required, but I anticipate we will have great success! Learning something new is good for all of us. I'm sure there are many you know who have used Zoom who can help you with the download and setup.
You may contact me at debratolman75@gmail.com. If you would like to talk by phone please email me a number where I can reach you.
Here's to a new adventure! I'm grateful for each of you and will miss being together!
Since the Church has temporally suspended all meetings including Stake activities, we will not be meeting together on Tuesday mornings for a while. In an effort to continue our study together, we will meet online through the application ZOOM. It is a meeting space that can be accessed on a computer, phone or other devices like an iPad. In order to participate you must download the free app for mobile devices or the desktop application. I will post a link to the blog by Monday so you can join the meeting at the scheduled time. We will "meet" at our regularly scheduled day and time, Tuesday at 9:30. We will plan for an hour.
This will be a new experience for all of us. Some patience will be required, but I anticipate we will have great success! Learning something new is good for all of us. I'm sure there are many you know who have used Zoom who can help you with the download and setup.
You may contact me at debratolman75@gmail.com. If you would like to talk by phone please email me a number where I can reach you.
Here's to a new adventure! I'm grateful for each of you and will miss being together!
Tuesday, March 3, 2020
3 Nephi 22-26
NO CLASS NEXT WEEK—SPRING BREAK
READING FOR MARCH 17
3 Nephi 27-4 Nephi
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
BLESSINGS OF THE COVENANT
“Rewards for obedience to the commandments are almost beyond mortal comprehension. Here, the children of the covenant become a strain of sin-resistant souls.”
Russell M. Nelson, April Conference 1995
THE LORD’S COVENANT OF KINDNESS
“Chapter 22 of 3 Nephi is a blessing of comfort from the Lord to his covenant people. In many ways it reads like a love letter from a husband to his wife, a billet-doux with covenant blessings and promises encoded into every verse.The verses of the text also resemble a wedding song or poem that celebrates the joy of a bride and her groom.The language sings with poetic figures, scriptural allusions, and multilayered metaphors. All of these language features emphasize the kindness that the Lord feels for his people, making the Lord's love seem impossible to fully express.”
“The Hebrew word for kindness is hesed, which has connotations of mercy, courtship, favors, loyalty, cherishing, marital duty, and constant attention (see 3 Nephi 22:8, 10, parallel to Isaiah 54:8, 10).7 In 3 Nephi 22, the Lord discusses his everlasting covenant of kindness by comparing latter-day Zion to a barren woman.Throughout the chapter and in related scriptures, the barren woman is symbolically associated with the destiny of (1) Zion and the church, (2) the earth and all creation, and (3) the Lord's servants and the Latter-day Saints. Each verse of 3 Nephi 22 weaves various combinations of these elements together into a beautiful song of loving-kindness.”
“In keeping with the plan of salvation, the faith and the faithfulness of the woman must be tried; she experiences a temporary separation from her husband and promised children.The woman lives alone as if she has been widowed or as if she has never been married. She has never been able to bear the children that she was promised in the covenant.The woman feels abandoned and fearful because she does not have a com- panion; she feels sad and desolate because she has no children to care for; she feels ashamed and vulnerable because in her culture singleness is a stigma and barrenness is a curse. Other women in her society have the blessings of family life, while she is ‘afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted!’ (3 Nephi 22:11, parallel to Isaiah 54:11).”
“When explaining the marriage metaphor, many scholars interpret all references to the woman as references to people who break their covenants.They read the Lord's kind words as an offer of forgiveness to a wayward but eventually repentant people. We should not equate the faithful barren wife with the adulterous wife.Although ‘all we like sheep have gone astray’ (Isaiah 53:6), the language of 3 Nephi 22 suggests that the Lord is addressing a woman who has tried to remain faithful to her covenants, not a woman who has been rejected because of infidelity.”
“Enlarge the place of thy tent literally means 'make the place where you set up your tent larger’ and figuratively means ‘make room in your life for promised blessings’ (see Genesis 9:27). Let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations means ‘let the birth of children cause you to enlarge your home.’ The desolate woman must have a great deal of faith to enlarge her tent to prepare for the blessing of children.”
“The single woman need not fear that her blessings will never come; the childless woman need not fear being ostracized; the woman alone should not be afraid of those who mock her efforts to rejoice in spite of rejection or loneliness.”
“In Jewish culture, a husband is not permitted to see his wife going through the travail of childbirth, but he does not abandon her. He sits in the corner of the room with his back turned so that she will not feel embarrassed or immodest in her hour of agony. She recites psalms as she goes through contractions.When the woman can no longer sing because of the pain, her husband takes over, reciting the psalms for her.”
“Though we cannot see the Lord, when we weep, he weeps with us; when we sing, he rejoices with us. He understands our pain because he ‘hid not [his] face from shame and spitting’ (Isaiah 50:6, parallel to 2 Nephi 7:6), even though sometimes ‘we [hide] as it were our faces from him’ (Isaiah 53:3, parallel to Mosiah 14:3).
‘My kindness’ is parallel to the 'covenant of my peace,’ implying that the main characteristic of the Lord's covenant is kindness, a charity that is characterized by peace.”
“The promise of children is the greatest blessing a barren woman can hope for, even if she must wait in faith. For the promise of this blessing, Christ was willing to be called as a man rejected, like a barren woman who is willing to suffer in order to be eventually blessed with children. Christ wanted us to be his children spiritually. The only barrenness we need ever fear is a lack of kindness; the only desolation we need ever dread is the loss of charity.”
Cynthia L. Hallen, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/sites/default/files/archive-files/pdf/hallen/ 2016-02-05/12_cynthia_l._hallen_the_lords_covenant_1998.pdf
THE LORD’S COVENANT OF KINDNESS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulL7Z7B2S_0
MALACHI’S PROPHECIES
“After Jesus had described the last days and the blessings that would be given to the faithful, the question remained: ‘who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth?’ (3 Nephi 24:2; Malachi 3:2). Malachi 3–4 (3 Nephi 24–25) provides answers to this question.These chapters indicate that it will not be:
3 Nephi 24:18 (cf. Malachi 3:18) reveals the positive answer: Those who ‘discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.’ As Kent P. Jackson observed,‘Malachi’s revelation drew a stark contrast between those who are humble and receptive to the Lord’s will and those who are not.’”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-did-jesus-give-the-nephites-malachis-prophecies
READING FOR MARCH 17
3 Nephi 27-4 Nephi
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
BLESSINGS OF THE COVENANT
“Rewards for obedience to the commandments are almost beyond mortal comprehension. Here, the children of the covenant become a strain of sin-resistant souls.”
Russell M. Nelson, April Conference 1995
THE LORD’S COVENANT OF KINDNESS
“Chapter 22 of 3 Nephi is a blessing of comfort from the Lord to his covenant people. In many ways it reads like a love letter from a husband to his wife, a billet-doux with covenant blessings and promises encoded into every verse.The verses of the text also resemble a wedding song or poem that celebrates the joy of a bride and her groom.The language sings with poetic figures, scriptural allusions, and multilayered metaphors. All of these language features emphasize the kindness that the Lord feels for his people, making the Lord's love seem impossible to fully express.”
“The Hebrew word for kindness is hesed, which has connotations of mercy, courtship, favors, loyalty, cherishing, marital duty, and constant attention (see 3 Nephi 22:8, 10, parallel to Isaiah 54:8, 10).7 In 3 Nephi 22, the Lord discusses his everlasting covenant of kindness by comparing latter-day Zion to a barren woman.Throughout the chapter and in related scriptures, the barren woman is symbolically associated with the destiny of (1) Zion and the church, (2) the earth and all creation, and (3) the Lord's servants and the Latter-day Saints. Each verse of 3 Nephi 22 weaves various combinations of these elements together into a beautiful song of loving-kindness.”
“In keeping with the plan of salvation, the faith and the faithfulness of the woman must be tried; she experiences a temporary separation from her husband and promised children.The woman lives alone as if she has been widowed or as if she has never been married. She has never been able to bear the children that she was promised in the covenant.The woman feels abandoned and fearful because she does not have a com- panion; she feels sad and desolate because she has no children to care for; she feels ashamed and vulnerable because in her culture singleness is a stigma and barrenness is a curse. Other women in her society have the blessings of family life, while she is ‘afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted!’ (3 Nephi 22:11, parallel to Isaiah 54:11).”
“When explaining the marriage metaphor, many scholars interpret all references to the woman as references to people who break their covenants.They read the Lord's kind words as an offer of forgiveness to a wayward but eventually repentant people. We should not equate the faithful barren wife with the adulterous wife.Although ‘all we like sheep have gone astray’ (Isaiah 53:6), the language of 3 Nephi 22 suggests that the Lord is addressing a woman who has tried to remain faithful to her covenants, not a woman who has been rejected because of infidelity.”
“Enlarge the place of thy tent literally means 'make the place where you set up your tent larger’ and figuratively means ‘make room in your life for promised blessings’ (see Genesis 9:27). Let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations means ‘let the birth of children cause you to enlarge your home.’ The desolate woman must have a great deal of faith to enlarge her tent to prepare for the blessing of children.”
“The single woman need not fear that her blessings will never come; the childless woman need not fear being ostracized; the woman alone should not be afraid of those who mock her efforts to rejoice in spite of rejection or loneliness.”
“In Jewish culture, a husband is not permitted to see his wife going through the travail of childbirth, but he does not abandon her. He sits in the corner of the room with his back turned so that she will not feel embarrassed or immodest in her hour of agony. She recites psalms as she goes through contractions.When the woman can no longer sing because of the pain, her husband takes over, reciting the psalms for her.”
“Though we cannot see the Lord, when we weep, he weeps with us; when we sing, he rejoices with us. He understands our pain because he ‘hid not [his] face from shame and spitting’ (Isaiah 50:6, parallel to 2 Nephi 7:6), even though sometimes ‘we [hide] as it were our faces from him’ (Isaiah 53:3, parallel to Mosiah 14:3).
‘My kindness’ is parallel to the 'covenant of my peace,’ implying that the main characteristic of the Lord's covenant is kindness, a charity that is characterized by peace.”
“The promise of children is the greatest blessing a barren woman can hope for, even if she must wait in faith. For the promise of this blessing, Christ was willing to be called as a man rejected, like a barren woman who is willing to suffer in order to be eventually blessed with children. Christ wanted us to be his children spiritually. The only barrenness we need ever fear is a lack of kindness; the only desolation we need ever dread is the loss of charity.”
Cynthia L. Hallen, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/sites/default/files/archive-files/pdf/hallen/ 2016-02-05/12_cynthia_l._hallen_the_lords_covenant_1998.pdf
THE LORD’S COVENANT OF KINDNESS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulL7Z7B2S_0
MALACHI’S PROPHECIES
“After Jesus had described the last days and the blessings that would be given to the faithful, the question remained: ‘who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth?’ (3 Nephi 24:2; Malachi 3:2). Malachi 3–4 (3 Nephi 24–25) provides answers to this question.These chapters indicate that it will not be:
- those who are ‘sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers,’ ‘those that oppress the hireling in his wages,’ that oppress ‘the widow’ and orphans, or ‘turn aside the stranger,’ or those who fear not the Lord (3 Nephi 24:5)
- those who have ‘gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them’ (v. 7) those who have robbed God (in ‘tithes and offerings') (vv. 8–9)
- those who have ‘spoken against’ God (v. 13)
3 Nephi 24:18 (cf. Malachi 3:18) reveals the positive answer: Those who ‘discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.’ As Kent P. Jackson observed,‘Malachi’s revelation drew a stark contrast between those who are humble and receptive to the Lord’s will and those who are not.’”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/why-did-jesus-give-the-nephites-malachis-prophecies
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
3 Nephi 16, 21-22
READING FOR MARCH 3
3 Nephi 22-26
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
JESUS INSTITUTES THE SACRAMENT
“We are left to ponder where the bread and wine came from.Was it a New World variation of the five barley loaves and two small fishes that expanded to feed the five thousand in the Old World? Was there some kind of divine intervention, as when Jesus was seized in Nazareth to be thrown from the brow of a hill,‘but he passing through the midst of them went his way?’ Whatever the answer, the writer presumed that future readers would understand that such things happen, and how they happen probably cannot be written, but in every case these are manifestations of divine involvement and assistance in the work of the Lord’s church.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 283
“In the context of the covenant traditions of Israel, it seems a natural thing to suppose that this was a covenant meal after the pattern of the one recorded in Exodus 24 where Moses,Aaron, Nadab,Abihu, and the seventy princes or elders of Israel went up on the side of Sinai (symbolically the holy place) and there saw God and “did eat and drink” (Exodus 24:11).This text is almost universally understood as referring to the eating of a covenant meal by the representatives of Israel in the presence of God on the holy mountain. One commentary notes:‘By means of the meal,Yahweh takes the whole community, represented by the clan elders, into his family.The meal is the assurance and support given by the superior, Yahweh, to the inferior, Israel.’ The idea of two parties eating and drinking together to formally ratify a covenant is common to both the Bible and the customs of the ancient Near East. To eat together was to be bound together by mutual obligation.The meal was a seal of the alliance whereby “the weaker is taken into the family of the stronger,” who provides the meal.
The Old Testament and the Book of Mormon occasions have obvious similarities.The place of the meal in both cases is the temple or the holy mount, which represents the temple. Both meals are in the presence of the God of Israel.The occasion in both instances is the introduction of a new gospel dispensation. Symbolically, both represent a ratifying seal of the covenant the people have made.
After the three-day ministry in the Americas, it appears that the more traditional sacrament observance became the order of the day. Indeed, we read that Christ continued to appear to His disciples on many occasions to break bread and bless it for them (see 3 Nephi 26:13).”
Joseph Fielding McConkie, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/doctrine-covenant-people-0
“One of the invitations in the sacramental ordinance is that it be a truly spiritual experience, a holy communion, a renewal for the soul.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 283
THE HOLY SPIRIT/THE HOLY GHOST
“During the Middle Ages, Christian translators created a way to make the English Bible reflect their belief that the Holy Ghost was not the Holy Spirit.
These theologians coined the phrase ‘Holy Ghost’ to designate the Third Person of the Trinity. In contrast, they used ‘Holy Spirit’ to refer to the Spirit of God or Spirit of the LORD encountered by the Hebrews and Jews in the Old Testament.
Then, in the 16th century, Bible printers reinforced this distinction by introducing capital and small letters. In the OT they used ‘spirit' and ‘holy spirit.’ In the NT they printed ‘Spirit' and ‘Holy Ghost,’ but with subtle distinctions.
These translation and printing differences do not exist in the Bible itself, in either Hebrew or Greek.
They are invented theological biases imported into the (English) Bible.They provided both verbal and visual validation for the already existing conviction that Christianity must be separated from its Hebraic/Jewish foundations.”
http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/spirit/spirit-to-ghost.html
THE COVENANT OF THE FATHER
“Christ acknowledged that these people of Lehi were emphatically of the house of Israel and that they were to be favored twice by God in a special way. In the meridian of time they were the first of scattered Israel to receive the resurrected Christ after his ascension into heaven, and in the last days they would be the first of the Israelites to receive Christ when he restored his gospel in the dispensation of the fulness of times.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 285
“It is most comforting to note that one of the principal benefits stemming from our promises made to God is that in a world of affliction, pain and trouble, the Father sends the Son ‘to bless [us],’ to turn every one of us and posterity away from iniquity—and this simply, lovingly, because ‘[we] are the children of the covenant.’”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 285
“These familiar passages, written first by Isaiah but spoken of and inspired by Jehovah himself, are often applied to anyone—especially missionaries—who bring the good tidings of the gospel and publish peace to the souls of men.There is nothing inappropriate about such an application, but it is important to realize—as the prophet Abinadi did—that in its purest form and original sense, the psalm of appreciation applies specifically to Christ. It is he and only he who ultimately brings the good tidings of salvation. Only through him is true, lasting peace published.To Zion, in the old and new Jerusalems, it is Christ who declares,‘Thy God reigneth!’ It is his feet upon the mountain of redemption that are beautiful.
At the time of recognition, all will be astonished that Christ’s ‘visage [is] so marred, more than any man and his form more than the sons of men,’ referring undoubtedly to the physical impact of the suffering and the scarring of the flesh that accompanied Christ’s atoning sacrifice.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 286-7
ANOTHER TESTAMENT BY MARK MABRY
https://youtu.be/PT9_0DdhJnk
3 Nephi 22-26
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
JESUS INSTITUTES THE SACRAMENT
“We are left to ponder where the bread and wine came from.Was it a New World variation of the five barley loaves and two small fishes that expanded to feed the five thousand in the Old World? Was there some kind of divine intervention, as when Jesus was seized in Nazareth to be thrown from the brow of a hill,‘but he passing through the midst of them went his way?’ Whatever the answer, the writer presumed that future readers would understand that such things happen, and how they happen probably cannot be written, but in every case these are manifestations of divine involvement and assistance in the work of the Lord’s church.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 283
“In the context of the covenant traditions of Israel, it seems a natural thing to suppose that this was a covenant meal after the pattern of the one recorded in Exodus 24 where Moses,Aaron, Nadab,Abihu, and the seventy princes or elders of Israel went up on the side of Sinai (symbolically the holy place) and there saw God and “did eat and drink” (Exodus 24:11).This text is almost universally understood as referring to the eating of a covenant meal by the representatives of Israel in the presence of God on the holy mountain. One commentary notes:‘By means of the meal,Yahweh takes the whole community, represented by the clan elders, into his family.The meal is the assurance and support given by the superior, Yahweh, to the inferior, Israel.’ The idea of two parties eating and drinking together to formally ratify a covenant is common to both the Bible and the customs of the ancient Near East. To eat together was to be bound together by mutual obligation.The meal was a seal of the alliance whereby “the weaker is taken into the family of the stronger,” who provides the meal.
The Old Testament and the Book of Mormon occasions have obvious similarities.The place of the meal in both cases is the temple or the holy mount, which represents the temple. Both meals are in the presence of the God of Israel.The occasion in both instances is the introduction of a new gospel dispensation. Symbolically, both represent a ratifying seal of the covenant the people have made.
After the three-day ministry in the Americas, it appears that the more traditional sacrament observance became the order of the day. Indeed, we read that Christ continued to appear to His disciples on many occasions to break bread and bless it for them (see 3 Nephi 26:13).”
Joseph Fielding McConkie, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/doctrine-covenant-people-0
“One of the invitations in the sacramental ordinance is that it be a truly spiritual experience, a holy communion, a renewal for the soul.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 283
THE HOLY SPIRIT/THE HOLY GHOST
“During the Middle Ages, Christian translators created a way to make the English Bible reflect their belief that the Holy Ghost was not the Holy Spirit.
These theologians coined the phrase ‘Holy Ghost’ to designate the Third Person of the Trinity. In contrast, they used ‘Holy Spirit’ to refer to the Spirit of God or Spirit of the LORD encountered by the Hebrews and Jews in the Old Testament.
Then, in the 16th century, Bible printers reinforced this distinction by introducing capital and small letters. In the OT they used ‘spirit' and ‘holy spirit.’ In the NT they printed ‘Spirit' and ‘Holy Ghost,’ but with subtle distinctions.
These translation and printing differences do not exist in the Bible itself, in either Hebrew or Greek.
They are invented theological biases imported into the (English) Bible.They provided both verbal and visual validation for the already existing conviction that Christianity must be separated from its Hebraic/Jewish foundations.”
http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/spirit/spirit-to-ghost.html
THE COVENANT OF THE FATHER
“Christ acknowledged that these people of Lehi were emphatically of the house of Israel and that they were to be favored twice by God in a special way. In the meridian of time they were the first of scattered Israel to receive the resurrected Christ after his ascension into heaven, and in the last days they would be the first of the Israelites to receive Christ when he restored his gospel in the dispensation of the fulness of times.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 285
“It is most comforting to note that one of the principal benefits stemming from our promises made to God is that in a world of affliction, pain and trouble, the Father sends the Son ‘to bless [us],’ to turn every one of us and posterity away from iniquity—and this simply, lovingly, because ‘[we] are the children of the covenant.’”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 285
“These familiar passages, written first by Isaiah but spoken of and inspired by Jehovah himself, are often applied to anyone—especially missionaries—who bring the good tidings of the gospel and publish peace to the souls of men.There is nothing inappropriate about such an application, but it is important to realize—as the prophet Abinadi did—that in its purest form and original sense, the psalm of appreciation applies specifically to Christ. It is he and only he who ultimately brings the good tidings of salvation. Only through him is true, lasting peace published.To Zion, in the old and new Jerusalems, it is Christ who declares,‘Thy God reigneth!’ It is his feet upon the mountain of redemption that are beautiful.
At the time of recognition, all will be astonished that Christ’s ‘visage [is] so marred, more than any man and his form more than the sons of men,’ referring undoubtedly to the physical impact of the suffering and the scarring of the flesh that accompanied Christ’s atoning sacrifice.”
Jeffery R. Holland, Christ and The New Covenant, 286-7
ANOTHER TESTAMENT BY MARK MABRY
https://youtu.be/PT9_0DdhJnk
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
3 Nephi 17-19
READING FOR FEBRUARY 18
3 Nephi 16, 20-21
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
REVELATION/SCRIPTURE
“These differences between the texts themselves and examples from modern scripture undermine a simplistic equation of scripture with divinely revealed facts.They strongly suggest that revelation, ancient or modern, cannot be simplistically equated with ‘factual correctness.’ Rather, we should understand revelation, even canonized modern revelation, as a process, a progression along a spectrum of correctness. Revelation is not static nor even a straight line of upwards progress, but a mediated human-divine dialectic process which sometimes becomes frozen as scripture.Think of scripture as an artifact or snapshot in time of the progress that is being made through revelation at a certain time, place, and context. Scripture thus contains human elements and understandings common to the time.And this can account for differences between inspired texts, which according to common assumptions should be identical.The textual differences in the Pearl of Great Price and the temple are best explained by conceptualizing revelation as a mediated human-divine composite process that incorporates human knowledge and assumptions of a particular time period and culture and time and place.”
“Rather, we should understand revelation, even canonized modern revelation, as a process, a progression along a spectrum of correctness. Revelation is not static nor even a straight line of upwards progress, but a mediated human-divine dialectic process...”
Ben Spackman, https://www.fairmormon.org/conference/august-2019/a-paradoxical-preservation-of-faith
JOURNEY OF FAITH
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=UOWg9W9F_vo&feature=youtu.be
THE SAVIOR’S MINISTRY TO THE NEPHITES
“The Book of Mormon account of Jesus’ ministry among the Nephites sharpens our understanding of the principle of service by showing how true disciples should minister to others.That account is clearer and more precise than the New Testament account on many points relating to the Gospel. It focuses not only on the words of Jesus (doctrine) but also on His actions (application of the doctrines).”
Richard Holzapfel, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/one-one-fifth-gospels-model-service-0
MINISTERING
“Scientists have long known that loneliness is emotionally painful and can lead to psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and even hallucinatory delirium. But only recently have they recognized how destructive it is to the body. In 2015, researchers at UCLA discovered that social isolation triggers cellular changes that result in chronic inflammation, predisposing the lonely to serious physical conditions like heart disease, stroke, metastatic cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. One 2015 analysis, which pooled data from 70 studies following 3.4 million people over seven years, found that lonely individuals had a 26% higher risk of dying.This figure rose to 32% if they lived alone.”
“Loneliness is still something that greatly troubles Millennials:According to the 2016 VICELAND UK Census, loneliness is the number one fear of young people today—ranking ahead of losing a home or a job. Fully 42% of Millennial women are more afraid of loneliness than a cancer diagnosis, by far the highest share of any generation.This fear has been ingrained into the very lexicon of Millennials, immortalized in acronyms like “FOMO” and its many companion terms.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2019/05/03/millennials-and-the-loneliness-epidemic/#40df0bdf7676
CHILDREN AND ANGELS
“With these sweet children gathered around him, something of their innocence, beauty and future brought to the Savior a painful acknowledgement of what damage a sinful world would bring them. Apparently thinking of the evil from which they must be protected Christ knelt and offered one of the most remarkable prayers ever uttered.”
Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 269
PRAYER
“Prayer is the goal of an individual to place him or herself in spiritual harmony with God the Father and Creator of all. According to latter-day prophets and apostles, prayer consists of much more than directing ‘mere words’ or thoughts towards deity, but represents ‘the pulsation of a yearning, loving heart in tune with the Infinite.’ Prayer is ‘a message of the soul sent directly to a loving Father. . . [it is] spirit vibration’ (McKay 308). Prayer is having ‘a consciousness that there is something within us which is divine, which is part of the Infinite, which is the offspring of God, and until we can feel that harmony with that Infinite, we have not sensed the power of
prayer’ (302). Prayer, accompanied by works, ‘is the invisible switch to tune us with the
infinite’ (Kimball 62), it is placing ourselves ‘in harmony with divine forces’ (Widtsoe,The Articles of Faith 288), it is attuning ourselves ‘with the spirit or light which ‘proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space’ (D&C 88:12). In that light is to be found sure answers to all our needs’ (Romney, Prayer and Revelation 50). Further,‘prayer is the passport to spiritual power’ (Kimball 115).To ‘live without prayer is to live a mere animal existence. It is to leave the best part of our natures in a starving condition; for without prayer the spirit is starved, and men dwindle in their feelings and die in their faith’ (Cannon 2:170)."
Donald W. Parry, https://rsc.byu.edu/book-mormon-3-nephi-9-30-my-gospel/pray-always-learning-pray-jesus-prayed
3 Nephi 16, 20-21
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
REVELATION/SCRIPTURE
“These differences between the texts themselves and examples from modern scripture undermine a simplistic equation of scripture with divinely revealed facts.They strongly suggest that revelation, ancient or modern, cannot be simplistically equated with ‘factual correctness.’ Rather, we should understand revelation, even canonized modern revelation, as a process, a progression along a spectrum of correctness. Revelation is not static nor even a straight line of upwards progress, but a mediated human-divine dialectic process which sometimes becomes frozen as scripture.Think of scripture as an artifact or snapshot in time of the progress that is being made through revelation at a certain time, place, and context. Scripture thus contains human elements and understandings common to the time.And this can account for differences between inspired texts, which according to common assumptions should be identical.The textual differences in the Pearl of Great Price and the temple are best explained by conceptualizing revelation as a mediated human-divine composite process that incorporates human knowledge and assumptions of a particular time period and culture and time and place.”
“Rather, we should understand revelation, even canonized modern revelation, as a process, a progression along a spectrum of correctness. Revelation is not static nor even a straight line of upwards progress, but a mediated human-divine dialectic process...”
Ben Spackman, https://www.fairmormon.org/conference/august-2019/a-paradoxical-preservation-of-faith
JOURNEY OF FAITH
https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=UOWg9W9F_vo&feature=youtu.be
THE SAVIOR’S MINISTRY TO THE NEPHITES
“The Book of Mormon account of Jesus’ ministry among the Nephites sharpens our understanding of the principle of service by showing how true disciples should minister to others.That account is clearer and more precise than the New Testament account on many points relating to the Gospel. It focuses not only on the words of Jesus (doctrine) but also on His actions (application of the doctrines).”
Richard Holzapfel, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/one-one-fifth-gospels-model-service-0
MINISTERING
“Scientists have long known that loneliness is emotionally painful and can lead to psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and even hallucinatory delirium. But only recently have they recognized how destructive it is to the body. In 2015, researchers at UCLA discovered that social isolation triggers cellular changes that result in chronic inflammation, predisposing the lonely to serious physical conditions like heart disease, stroke, metastatic cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. One 2015 analysis, which pooled data from 70 studies following 3.4 million people over seven years, found that lonely individuals had a 26% higher risk of dying.This figure rose to 32% if they lived alone.”
“Loneliness is still something that greatly troubles Millennials:According to the 2016 VICELAND UK Census, loneliness is the number one fear of young people today—ranking ahead of losing a home or a job. Fully 42% of Millennial women are more afraid of loneliness than a cancer diagnosis, by far the highest share of any generation.This fear has been ingrained into the very lexicon of Millennials, immortalized in acronyms like “FOMO” and its many companion terms.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2019/05/03/millennials-and-the-loneliness-epidemic/#40df0bdf7676
CHILDREN AND ANGELS
“With these sweet children gathered around him, something of their innocence, beauty and future brought to the Savior a painful acknowledgement of what damage a sinful world would bring them. Apparently thinking of the evil from which they must be protected Christ knelt and offered one of the most remarkable prayers ever uttered.”
Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 269
PRAYER
“Prayer is the goal of an individual to place him or herself in spiritual harmony with God the Father and Creator of all. According to latter-day prophets and apostles, prayer consists of much more than directing ‘mere words’ or thoughts towards deity, but represents ‘the pulsation of a yearning, loving heart in tune with the Infinite.’ Prayer is ‘a message of the soul sent directly to a loving Father. . . [it is] spirit vibration’ (McKay 308). Prayer is having ‘a consciousness that there is something within us which is divine, which is part of the Infinite, which is the offspring of God, and until we can feel that harmony with that Infinite, we have not sensed the power of
prayer’ (302). Prayer, accompanied by works, ‘is the invisible switch to tune us with the
infinite’ (Kimball 62), it is placing ourselves ‘in harmony with divine forces’ (Widtsoe,The Articles of Faith 288), it is attuning ourselves ‘with the spirit or light which ‘proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space’ (D&C 88:12). In that light is to be found sure answers to all our needs’ (Romney, Prayer and Revelation 50). Further,‘prayer is the passport to spiritual power’ (Kimball 115).To ‘live without prayer is to live a mere animal existence. It is to leave the best part of our natures in a starving condition; for without prayer the spirit is starved, and men dwindle in their feelings and die in their faith’ (Cannon 2:170)."
Donald W. Parry, https://rsc.byu.edu/book-mormon-3-nephi-9-30-my-gospel/pray-always-learning-pray-jesus-prayed
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
3 Nephi 12-15
READING FOR FEBRUARY 18
3 Nephi 16-19
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
THE SERMON AT THE TEMPLE
“The prelude to the Sermon at the Temple reports (1) the brilliant appearance of the risen Christ,“the light and life of the world,” (2) the commencement of a new era, [the doctrine of Christ], (3) the fulfillment of the law of blood sacrifice, (4) evidence of Jesus’ atoning suffering and goodness, and (5) the ordination of disciples as servant-ministers.Thus, at the outset, the Sermon at the Temple states explicitly these and other similar background elements that only can be presumed to stand behind the Matthean text.”
“The Sermon at the Temple is a temple text. By ‘temple text’ I mean one that contains allusions to the most sacred teachings and ordinance of the plan of salvation, things that are not to be shared indiscriminately. In addition, temple texts are often presented in or near a temple.They ordain or otherwise convey divine powers through symbolic or ceremonial means, presented together with commandments that are or will be received by sacred oaths that allow the recipient to stand ritually in the presence of God.”
“The metaphorical explanation of how a person must build upon this rock, instead of upon a sandy foundation, brackets the words of the Sermon that appear in 3 Nephi 12-14.The rock is the doctrine repentance, baptism, and becoming God’s child by spiritual rebirth. So we see that obedience to the commandments given in 3 Nephi 12-14 is not merely advisory or ethically desirable. Obedience to these stipulations is to be understood in connection with the making of a covenant through being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and becoming a child of God fully blessed to inherit the Father’s kingdom.”
John W.Welch, Illuminating the Sermon at the Temople and Sermon on the Mount
THE LAW FULFILLED
“It is vital to note that in the teaching of Jesus, the Law was not revoked nor repealed but fulfilled. Under the gospel of Christ, murder, adultery, and dishonesty are still prohibited, and the formal requirements of the Law are still essentially in place; but the demand of the Law of Moses has been expanded, has been filled to its fullest extent.Where there is no hatred or greed, there can be no murder; where there is no lust, there can be no adultery.With the coming of Christ, the ethical portion of the Law had not been abolished; it had been caught up by, included in, and expanded to a broader application its intention, its potential as an ethical standard, had been fulfilled.
The ceremonial portions of the Law, however, were fulfilled in a different way.These were not moral or ethical rules which could be transformed into broader principles, but were what Abinadi and Alma called “performances”—rituals that symbolically prefigured coming historical events. For example, animal sacrifice prefigured the future sacrifice of the Savior, the Lamb of God. But when the events prefigured actually occurred, they could no longer be anticipated; they could only be remembered.
After the atonement of Christ, the anticipation of the event found in the Law was replaced by the remembrance of the event which is part of the gospel.Thus those parts of the Law which anticipated the atonement of Christ were fulfilled in the events of the atonement and had an end, just as a prophecy is said to be fulfilled when the event prophesied takes place. In this way, neither the moral nor the ceremonial portions of the Law of Moses were undone or abolished. Both were fulfilled, the former by being included in the broader principles of the gospel which replaced them, and the latter by finding realization in the events which they had prefigured.”
Stephen E. Robinson, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1983/09/the-law-after-christ?lang=eng
MARRIAGE
“In the Old World, carnal and fallen men had begun to take advantage of the divorce laws in their culture.Though marriage had been established in the beginning as a religious institution, a rite intended to bind the participants forever, yet in the days of Moses divorce had been permitted ‘because of the hardness’ of the hearts of the people. By the time of Christ, the situation had degenerated markedly. [Historians note that what constituted grounds for divorce were split between a conservative view and a liberal view.The conservative view dictated the only grounds acceptable were a wife’s infidelity.The liberal view was anything goes—‘even if she burned his soup.’] Given his understanding of life among the Palestinian Jews in the meridian of time, one can appreciate why the Savior would desire the reform of a system that allowed men to slip capriciously in and out of marriage. His was a call to a higher righteousness, an invitation to consider carefully the sacred nature of marriage and the importance of fidelity and commitment between married partners.”
Doctrinal Commentary on The Book of Mormon, 74
NEPHITE WOMEN
“It also seems important that when Nephi reports on his vision of the last days, he worries explicitly that latter-day readers might not regard ‘male and female’ as ‘alike unto God.’ It may be that the Book of Mormon implicitly asks readers to reflect on how certain cultures might claim to model righteousness before God while embracing social practices that produce ‘sorrow’ and ‘mourning’ among their more vulnerable members. It seems that one of the reasons for the people’s fall concerns the failure on the part of their men to repent, while those among them who survive do so because they do not forget God’s equal regard for women and men.”
Joseph Spencer,“Women and Nephite Men, Lessons from the Book of Alma”
3 Nephi 16-19
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
THE SERMON AT THE TEMPLE
“The prelude to the Sermon at the Temple reports (1) the brilliant appearance of the risen Christ,“the light and life of the world,” (2) the commencement of a new era, [the doctrine of Christ], (3) the fulfillment of the law of blood sacrifice, (4) evidence of Jesus’ atoning suffering and goodness, and (5) the ordination of disciples as servant-ministers.Thus, at the outset, the Sermon at the Temple states explicitly these and other similar background elements that only can be presumed to stand behind the Matthean text.”
“The Sermon at the Temple is a temple text. By ‘temple text’ I mean one that contains allusions to the most sacred teachings and ordinance of the plan of salvation, things that are not to be shared indiscriminately. In addition, temple texts are often presented in or near a temple.They ordain or otherwise convey divine powers through symbolic or ceremonial means, presented together with commandments that are or will be received by sacred oaths that allow the recipient to stand ritually in the presence of God.”
“The metaphorical explanation of how a person must build upon this rock, instead of upon a sandy foundation, brackets the words of the Sermon that appear in 3 Nephi 12-14.The rock is the doctrine repentance, baptism, and becoming God’s child by spiritual rebirth. So we see that obedience to the commandments given in 3 Nephi 12-14 is not merely advisory or ethically desirable. Obedience to these stipulations is to be understood in connection with the making of a covenant through being baptized, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and becoming a child of God fully blessed to inherit the Father’s kingdom.”
John W.Welch, Illuminating the Sermon at the Temople and Sermon on the Mount
THE LAW FULFILLED
“It is vital to note that in the teaching of Jesus, the Law was not revoked nor repealed but fulfilled. Under the gospel of Christ, murder, adultery, and dishonesty are still prohibited, and the formal requirements of the Law are still essentially in place; but the demand of the Law of Moses has been expanded, has been filled to its fullest extent.Where there is no hatred or greed, there can be no murder; where there is no lust, there can be no adultery.With the coming of Christ, the ethical portion of the Law had not been abolished; it had been caught up by, included in, and expanded to a broader application its intention, its potential as an ethical standard, had been fulfilled.
The ceremonial portions of the Law, however, were fulfilled in a different way.These were not moral or ethical rules which could be transformed into broader principles, but were what Abinadi and Alma called “performances”—rituals that symbolically prefigured coming historical events. For example, animal sacrifice prefigured the future sacrifice of the Savior, the Lamb of God. But when the events prefigured actually occurred, they could no longer be anticipated; they could only be remembered.
After the atonement of Christ, the anticipation of the event found in the Law was replaced by the remembrance of the event which is part of the gospel.Thus those parts of the Law which anticipated the atonement of Christ were fulfilled in the events of the atonement and had an end, just as a prophecy is said to be fulfilled when the event prophesied takes place. In this way, neither the moral nor the ceremonial portions of the Law of Moses were undone or abolished. Both were fulfilled, the former by being included in the broader principles of the gospel which replaced them, and the latter by finding realization in the events which they had prefigured.”
Stephen E. Robinson, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1983/09/the-law-after-christ?lang=eng
MARRIAGE
“In the Old World, carnal and fallen men had begun to take advantage of the divorce laws in their culture.Though marriage had been established in the beginning as a religious institution, a rite intended to bind the participants forever, yet in the days of Moses divorce had been permitted ‘because of the hardness’ of the hearts of the people. By the time of Christ, the situation had degenerated markedly. [Historians note that what constituted grounds for divorce were split between a conservative view and a liberal view.The conservative view dictated the only grounds acceptable were a wife’s infidelity.The liberal view was anything goes—‘even if she burned his soup.’] Given his understanding of life among the Palestinian Jews in the meridian of time, one can appreciate why the Savior would desire the reform of a system that allowed men to slip capriciously in and out of marriage. His was a call to a higher righteousness, an invitation to consider carefully the sacred nature of marriage and the importance of fidelity and commitment between married partners.”
Doctrinal Commentary on The Book of Mormon, 74
NEPHITE WOMEN
“It also seems important that when Nephi reports on his vision of the last days, he worries explicitly that latter-day readers might not regard ‘male and female’ as ‘alike unto God.’ It may be that the Book of Mormon implicitly asks readers to reflect on how certain cultures might claim to model righteousness before God while embracing social practices that produce ‘sorrow’ and ‘mourning’ among their more vulnerable members. It seems that one of the reasons for the people’s fall concerns the failure on the part of their men to repent, while those among them who survive do so because they do not forget God’s equal regard for women and men.”
Joseph Spencer,“Women and Nephite Men, Lessons from the Book of Alma”
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
3 Nephi 8-11
READING FOR FEBRUARY 11
3 Nephi 12-15
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
EVENTS IN THE NEW WORLD
“As with all prophecies of the Lord, fulfillment of the Nephite prophecies came with total and unerring certainty.When the Master—hanging on the cross just outside Jerusalem—gave up his life, the American continent experienced great calamities. Speaking about the events recorded in 3 Nephi 8–10, Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated: ‘No single historical event in the whole Book of Mormon account is recorded in so great detail or such extended length as the fulfillment of the signs signifying that Jesus had been lifted up upon the cross and had voluntarily laid down his life for the world.’”
“The geological upheaval and physical changes described in 3 Nephi 8–10, which destroyed much of the Nephite nation, could easily have been caused by a gigantic earthquake with attendant storms, volcanic activity, and aftershocks of incredible proportions.The similarities in the descriptions of other documented catastrophes, such as the Mount St. Helen’s disaster in 1980, to the geological upheaval and darkness recorded in 3 Nephi are striking. Most aspects of the geological changes in 3 Nephi can be accommodated by modern earthquake models through the theory of plate tectonics, and the very nature of earthquake and volcanic activity typical of the South and Central America is consistent with the whole set of phenomena recorded in 3 Nephi. Modern geophysical and geological theories support the 3 Nephi events as realities and not—as some critics report— fabricated myths.”
Alvin K. Benson, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/geological-upheaval-and- darkness-3-nephi-8-10
THE NUMBER THREE
The number three indicates divine wholeness, completeness, perfection. It is used as a divine stamp of fulfillment.
EVENTS IN THE NEW WORLD
“A close doctrinal analysis of divine violence stemming from 3 Nephi (but extending into other passages in LDS scripture) can push us in discomforting ways. However, based on the grief and lament that accompanies such divine violence, these occurrences likewise were also disturbing and discomforting to Jesus Christ and, by extension, our Heavenly Parents. Likewise, the grief and lamenting that Jesus declares over the destruction that he claims responsibility for pushes back against the adoption of traditional Christian notions of an omnipotent, inscrutable, and impassable God. Rather, these sections force us to recognize a relational quality inherent in the nature of God and Christ, as passable, emotional, and ultimately invested beings in the relationships they have built with mortals and the natural world.Yet, they are at the same time committed to specific lines of righteousness and may act violently in response to extreme human violence which steps beyond the ethical or moral stipulations of their commandments.As portrayed in 3 Nephi, our Lord may do so reluctantly and with pain and tears, but he will do so.”
“In the 3 Nephi account, Mormon presents the manifestations of Jesus to the Nephites with inherent differences in qualities: the destruction is accomplished by impersonal, natural, and agential or intermediate forces, while the mercy and love of God are presented personally, intimately, and directly.This contrast between delegated justice and personalized mercy brings to the fore that God would rather give the latter. In terms of literary structure, the fact that all of the three manifestations stress his mercy bespeaks the notion that God prefers merciful interaction. But the first manifestation —the destruction—is a means of emphasizing that God is willing to enact violence if necessitated by justice and the blood of the righteous crying out to him to put a stop to further human violence.”
“God’s use of violence, inevitable in a violent world, is intended to subvert human violence in order to bring the creation along to a point where violence is no more. In other words, whenever God acts violently, he does so to not only stop or punish human violence, but also does so in a way that promotes, teaches, or ensures a move of humankind generally away from such violence.”
“The image of the hen is definitely a deliberate symbolic choice to present the motherly and feminine love or charity that God exhibits and the protection he desires for his children.However, Jesus could have chosen from a nearly infinite array of animal examples or other imagery to get such a point across. By choosing a hen explicitly (and not some other potentially violent motherly image—e.g. a bear or lion), the lament may also be seen as an implicit declaration that he greatly regrets or has sincere pain because of the violence he has had to enact.The imagery highlights how he would vastly prefer to protect and deliver his children non-violently, if they would but hearken and accept such.Thus, it is not just a statement that God will protect his children, but also a statement about how he prefers to manifest that protection.“How oft have I . . . how oft would I . . . how oft will I gather you [nonviolently],” he can be seen declaring.”
Andrew C. Smith, https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-19-no-2-2018/dealing-difficulty-scripture-divine-violence-book-mormon
BROKEN HEART AND CONTRITE SPIRIT
“The Lord seems to really be saying: Beginning today you will no longer offer animal or any other sacrifice at an altar, because the saving act they symbolized has been accomplished by me.Therefore, I will no longer accept them as legitimate expressions of your faith and symbols of salvation (9:19).You will continue to live the law of sacrifice and will demonstrate this as you voluntarily offer to me your broken heart. Only with such an offering (as was also true before my redeeming mission) can you be sanctified (9:20).
Thus, the first sentence in 3 Nephi 9:20 is understood to mean ‘and ye shall [continue to] offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit,’ not ‘and ye shall [begin to] offer for a [new] sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Thus, with the elimination of the strong, visual, external evidence of commitment to God provided by an animal offering, the Lord gave extra and renewed emphasis in 3 Nephi 9:20 to the offering of a broken heart as another gospel dispensation was beginning.”
Dana M. Pike,“3 Nephi 9: 19–20:The Offering of a Broken Heart,” in Third Nephi:An Incomparable Scripture, eds. Gaye Strathearn and Andrew C. Skinner (Salt Lake City; Provo, UT: Deseret Book and Maxwell Institute, 2012).
BROKEN HEART AND CONTRITE SPIRIT
“The word in the Greek text of the Old Testament (Ps. 51:17) suntribo, meaning ‘broken,’ as in the term ‘broken heart,’ means to be shattered, smashed, or ground into pieces, signifying that the will of the natural man yields to the Lord’s reshaping as he becomes a new creature in Christ. ‘Contrite’ shares similar meanings and connotes remorse for sin.Thus the term ‘broken heart and contrite spirit’ suggests a repentant state of malleability, a sensitivity to one’s fallen and dependent condition, and a willingness to submit to the Lord’s purposes.
The broken heart precedes rending the veil of unbelief and increased spiritual knowledge.The Savior was anointed to ‘bind up the brokenhearted.’ ”
M Catherine Thomas, Book of Mormon Reference Companion
THE SAVIOR’S WORDS TO HIS PEOPLE
“Before speaking a word, the Savior ‘stretched forth his hand’ (3 Nephi 11:9) a gesture that often comes before a person speaks important words in the Book of Mormon.The people were confused before this gesture (3 Nephi 11:8), but after making this gesture and introducing Himself, the people ‘fell to the earth’ and ‘remembered’ (3 Nephi 11:12).Among some early Christians, the raising of the hand(s) was known as Christ’s ‘sign.’”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/what-can-we-learn-from-the-saviors-first-words-at-bountiful#footnote2_zo1lbb5
THE SAVIOR’S WORDS TO HIS PEOPLE
“Of all the messages that could come from the scroll of eternity, what was the declaration? ... Fifty-six words.The essence of his earthly mission. Obedience and loyalty to the will of the Father, however bitter the cup or painful the price.That is a lesson he would teach the Nephites again and again during the three days he would be with them. By obedience and sacrifice, by humility and purity, by unflagging determination to glorify the Father, Christ was himself glorified. In complete devotion to the Father’s will, Christ had become the light and the life of the world.”
Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 251
JESUS’ MINISTRY AMONG THE NEPHITES
“The faithful in the Book of Mormon looked forward to the day when Christ would offer himself as sacrifice in their behalf. However, having no point of reference with regard to crucifixion in their own history, they may not have had a clear understanding of what such a death entailed. Nephi explained that the Lord speaks to us “according to our language, unto our understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3). Correspondingly, cultural context directly impacts the way people interpret manifestations of the divine. Thus, when Christ appeared to the Nephites, he may have been communicating with them according to their cultural language when he invited them to come and feel for themselves the wounds in his flesh. He bade them first to thrust their hands into his side, and secondarily to feel the prints in his hands and feet (3 Nephi 11:14). This contrasts with his appearance to his apostles in Jerusalem after his resurrection. Among them, he invited them to touch solely his hands and feet (Luke 24:39–40).24 Why the difference? To a people steeped in Mesoamerican culture, the sign that a person had been ritually sacrificed would have been an incision on their side — suggesting they had had their hearts removed — whereas for the people of Jerusalem in the first century, the wounds that would indicate someone had been sacrificed would have been in the hands and the feet — the marks of crucifixion.”
Mark Allen Wright, https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/axes-mundi-ritual-complexes-in-mesoamerica-and- the-book-of-mormon/
3 Nephi 12-15
LAST CLASS OF THE YEAR WILL BE APRIL 28
EVENTS IN THE NEW WORLD
“As with all prophecies of the Lord, fulfillment of the Nephite prophecies came with total and unerring certainty.When the Master—hanging on the cross just outside Jerusalem—gave up his life, the American continent experienced great calamities. Speaking about the events recorded in 3 Nephi 8–10, Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated: ‘No single historical event in the whole Book of Mormon account is recorded in so great detail or such extended length as the fulfillment of the signs signifying that Jesus had been lifted up upon the cross and had voluntarily laid down his life for the world.’”
“The geological upheaval and physical changes described in 3 Nephi 8–10, which destroyed much of the Nephite nation, could easily have been caused by a gigantic earthquake with attendant storms, volcanic activity, and aftershocks of incredible proportions.The similarities in the descriptions of other documented catastrophes, such as the Mount St. Helen’s disaster in 1980, to the geological upheaval and darkness recorded in 3 Nephi are striking. Most aspects of the geological changes in 3 Nephi can be accommodated by modern earthquake models through the theory of plate tectonics, and the very nature of earthquake and volcanic activity typical of the South and Central America is consistent with the whole set of phenomena recorded in 3 Nephi. Modern geophysical and geological theories support the 3 Nephi events as realities and not—as some critics report— fabricated myths.”
Alvin K. Benson, https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/geological-upheaval-and- darkness-3-nephi-8-10
THE NUMBER THREE
The number three indicates divine wholeness, completeness, perfection. It is used as a divine stamp of fulfillment.
EVENTS IN THE NEW WORLD
“A close doctrinal analysis of divine violence stemming from 3 Nephi (but extending into other passages in LDS scripture) can push us in discomforting ways. However, based on the grief and lament that accompanies such divine violence, these occurrences likewise were also disturbing and discomforting to Jesus Christ and, by extension, our Heavenly Parents. Likewise, the grief and lamenting that Jesus declares over the destruction that he claims responsibility for pushes back against the adoption of traditional Christian notions of an omnipotent, inscrutable, and impassable God. Rather, these sections force us to recognize a relational quality inherent in the nature of God and Christ, as passable, emotional, and ultimately invested beings in the relationships they have built with mortals and the natural world.Yet, they are at the same time committed to specific lines of righteousness and may act violently in response to extreme human violence which steps beyond the ethical or moral stipulations of their commandments.As portrayed in 3 Nephi, our Lord may do so reluctantly and with pain and tears, but he will do so.”
“In the 3 Nephi account, Mormon presents the manifestations of Jesus to the Nephites with inherent differences in qualities: the destruction is accomplished by impersonal, natural, and agential or intermediate forces, while the mercy and love of God are presented personally, intimately, and directly.This contrast between delegated justice and personalized mercy brings to the fore that God would rather give the latter. In terms of literary structure, the fact that all of the three manifestations stress his mercy bespeaks the notion that God prefers merciful interaction. But the first manifestation —the destruction—is a means of emphasizing that God is willing to enact violence if necessitated by justice and the blood of the righteous crying out to him to put a stop to further human violence.”
“God’s use of violence, inevitable in a violent world, is intended to subvert human violence in order to bring the creation along to a point where violence is no more. In other words, whenever God acts violently, he does so to not only stop or punish human violence, but also does so in a way that promotes, teaches, or ensures a move of humankind generally away from such violence.”
“The image of the hen is definitely a deliberate symbolic choice to present the motherly and feminine love or charity that God exhibits and the protection he desires for his children.However, Jesus could have chosen from a nearly infinite array of animal examples or other imagery to get such a point across. By choosing a hen explicitly (and not some other potentially violent motherly image—e.g. a bear or lion), the lament may also be seen as an implicit declaration that he greatly regrets or has sincere pain because of the violence he has had to enact.The imagery highlights how he would vastly prefer to protect and deliver his children non-violently, if they would but hearken and accept such.Thus, it is not just a statement that God will protect his children, but also a statement about how he prefers to manifest that protection.“How oft have I . . . how oft would I . . . how oft will I gather you [nonviolently],” he can be seen declaring.”
Andrew C. Smith, https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-19-no-2-2018/dealing-difficulty-scripture-divine-violence-book-mormon
BROKEN HEART AND CONTRITE SPIRIT
“The Lord seems to really be saying: Beginning today you will no longer offer animal or any other sacrifice at an altar, because the saving act they symbolized has been accomplished by me.Therefore, I will no longer accept them as legitimate expressions of your faith and symbols of salvation (9:19).You will continue to live the law of sacrifice and will demonstrate this as you voluntarily offer to me your broken heart. Only with such an offering (as was also true before my redeeming mission) can you be sanctified (9:20).
Thus, the first sentence in 3 Nephi 9:20 is understood to mean ‘and ye shall [continue to] offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit,’ not ‘and ye shall [begin to] offer for a [new] sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
Thus, with the elimination of the strong, visual, external evidence of commitment to God provided by an animal offering, the Lord gave extra and renewed emphasis in 3 Nephi 9:20 to the offering of a broken heart as another gospel dispensation was beginning.”
Dana M. Pike,“3 Nephi 9: 19–20:The Offering of a Broken Heart,” in Third Nephi:An Incomparable Scripture, eds. Gaye Strathearn and Andrew C. Skinner (Salt Lake City; Provo, UT: Deseret Book and Maxwell Institute, 2012).
BROKEN HEART AND CONTRITE SPIRIT
“The word in the Greek text of the Old Testament (Ps. 51:17) suntribo, meaning ‘broken,’ as in the term ‘broken heart,’ means to be shattered, smashed, or ground into pieces, signifying that the will of the natural man yields to the Lord’s reshaping as he becomes a new creature in Christ. ‘Contrite’ shares similar meanings and connotes remorse for sin.Thus the term ‘broken heart and contrite spirit’ suggests a repentant state of malleability, a sensitivity to one’s fallen and dependent condition, and a willingness to submit to the Lord’s purposes.
The broken heart precedes rending the veil of unbelief and increased spiritual knowledge.The Savior was anointed to ‘bind up the brokenhearted.’ ”
M Catherine Thomas, Book of Mormon Reference Companion
THE SAVIOR’S WORDS TO HIS PEOPLE
“Before speaking a word, the Savior ‘stretched forth his hand’ (3 Nephi 11:9) a gesture that often comes before a person speaks important words in the Book of Mormon.The people were confused before this gesture (3 Nephi 11:8), but after making this gesture and introducing Himself, the people ‘fell to the earth’ and ‘remembered’ (3 Nephi 11:12).Among some early Christians, the raising of the hand(s) was known as Christ’s ‘sign.’”
https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/what-can-we-learn-from-the-saviors-first-words-at-bountiful#footnote2_zo1lbb5
THE SAVIOR’S WORDS TO HIS PEOPLE
“Of all the messages that could come from the scroll of eternity, what was the declaration? ... Fifty-six words.The essence of his earthly mission. Obedience and loyalty to the will of the Father, however bitter the cup or painful the price.That is a lesson he would teach the Nephites again and again during the three days he would be with them. By obedience and sacrifice, by humility and purity, by unflagging determination to glorify the Father, Christ was himself glorified. In complete devotion to the Father’s will, Christ had become the light and the life of the world.”
Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 251
JESUS’ MINISTRY AMONG THE NEPHITES
“The faithful in the Book of Mormon looked forward to the day when Christ would offer himself as sacrifice in their behalf. However, having no point of reference with regard to crucifixion in their own history, they may not have had a clear understanding of what such a death entailed. Nephi explained that the Lord speaks to us “according to our language, unto our understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3). Correspondingly, cultural context directly impacts the way people interpret manifestations of the divine. Thus, when Christ appeared to the Nephites, he may have been communicating with them according to their cultural language when he invited them to come and feel for themselves the wounds in his flesh. He bade them first to thrust their hands into his side, and secondarily to feel the prints in his hands and feet (3 Nephi 11:14). This contrasts with his appearance to his apostles in Jerusalem after his resurrection. Among them, he invited them to touch solely his hands and feet (Luke 24:39–40).24 Why the difference? To a people steeped in Mesoamerican culture, the sign that a person had been ritually sacrificed would have been an incision on their side — suggesting they had had their hearts removed — whereas for the people of Jerusalem in the first century, the wounds that would indicate someone had been sacrificed would have been in the hands and the feet — the marks of crucifixion.”
Mark Allen Wright, https://journal.interpreterfoundation.org/axes-mundi-ritual-complexes-in-mesoamerica-and- the-book-of-mormon/
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