Blog Restructure

I have decided that my Blog is simply not efficient enough for me.  In all reality I started writing this Blog over three years ago, (my how time flies, doesn’t it?) and have written quite a few of my personal thoughts down about insights I have learned through my studies of the scriptures.  Over the years I have tried to post thoughts that corresponded with what I was studying for my Institute class.  As a result I have a lot of "commentary" type of posts relating to specific chapters or sections, whatever the case may be, from the Standard Works.   

Long story short… even I can’t find them with ease!  I have decided to include what scriptures I am discussing in the titles of my posts.  This will help me as I try and compare things I have already discovered through the spirit with things I am discovering still.  

In case you haven’t noticed, I am  currently studying The Book of Mormon.  This Blog has become my personal journal of sorts, containing spiritual insights that I have observed.  If anyone is reading this, please always ponder and pray about what you read, so that you can know for yourself if they are true.  

I guess this Blog is really my personal spiritual journey which I hope to share with my posterity someday.  When they are ready to know, they will seek.  

Cheers, and thanks for listening to my babbling!

Taking The Book of Mormon Too Lightly Section 84

I have been so involved in studying and learning great things in the Book of Mormon that I have neglected to write down what I have learned. I need to repent, so today I, once again, will proceed to share some of the cool things I have learned.

Just to get you up to speed… in first Nephi we can learn all kinds of deep doctrinal things that perhaps are not seen unless a serious study of the book, with the help of the spirit, takes place. In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord pronounced a condemnation upon the Church for taking The Book of Mormon too lightly.

Doctrine and Covenants 84: 54 And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received—

55 Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.

56 And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.

57 And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which I have written—

In 1986, President Ezra Taft Benson gave a landmark talk titled, The Book of Mormon-Keystone of Our Religion. In that talk he stated:

Brethren and sisters, I implore you with all my heart that you consider with great solemnity the importance of the Book of Mormon to you personally and to the Church collectively.

Over ten years ago I made the following statement regarding the Book of Mormon:

“Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book? Yes, either to our blessing or our condemnation.

“Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life. There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of that iron rod, and one who is not” (Ensign, May 1975, p. 65).

I reaffirm those words to you this day. Let us not remain under condemnation, with its scourge and judgment, by treating lightly this great and marvelous gift the Lord has given to us. Rather, let us win the promises associated with treasuring it up in our hearts.

I confess, I have been guilty of “taking the Book of Mormon too lightly” and have been under the same condemnation as the rest of the Church for that. As of late, I have come to realize a different aspect, or additional meaning, that can be applied to the warning given of “taking The Book of Mormon too lightly” other than not studying from it each day. I believe that part of taking The Book of Mormon too lightly rests in the way we perceive the doctrine that is being taught in the book itself. I believe that we are not looking for the deeper doctrinal concepts that both Nephi and Mormon tried to convey to us. These concepts, if seen and followed, will lead us back to the presence of the Father, both symbolically and literally. As far as I know, the condemnation has still not been lifted from the Church as a whole. I believe that the condemnation will be lifted as individuals come to understand the heavy, which is the opposite of light, doctrines that are contained within the pages of that great book. That condemnation will be taken away individually.

The first way to see deeper meaning within the pages of the Book of Mormon is to understand the priesthood perspective from which it was written. Lehi, who was the patriarch of his family, operates under the Patriarchal Priesthood. As a Church today we function under a lesser priesthood, one that might be termed “Apostolic Priesthood”, therefore we tend to perceive the Book of Mormon as written from that level. I believe it is written from an even greater perspective than we are used to seeing. We simply view it too lightly.

President Boyd K. Packer alluded to this very thing when he addressed us in Conference with a talk called, The Power of the Priesthood. He stated that, “The priesthood does not have the strength that it should have and will not have until the power of the priesthood is firmly fixed in the families.” Lehi had that power in the priesthood that we are lacking today. Lehi held the Patriarchal Priesthood. If we were more seriously engaged in seeking the face of the Savior, we too would operate under the same authority as Lehi and Nephi. In the Book of Mormon both of these great men show us the way to make this happen.

We simply cannot afford to take this council lightly any more.

Have you started a serious study of The Book of Mormon?

Brain Sweat

In the Doctrine and Covenants, section 100 we read:

5 Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;

6 For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I love the comfort that this scripture gives to me when I am prompted to share my testimony of certain principles of the gospel with others. But, as comforting as it is, I believe at times this scripture may be used by some as a way to excuse their lack of study of the scriptures themselves.

Elder B. H. Roberts, who was one of the seven presidents of the seventy during his life time, who also wrote the Comprehensive History of the Church, and was known as the “war horse” for the church, shared his thoughts on this scripture in this way.

“He constantly reminded the Brethren that the Spirit would not draw on an empty well. The divine promise, which he took literally, ‘it shall be given you in the very hour’ what you shall say, had an absolute precondition: ‘Treasure up in your minds continually the words of life.’ He stressed the ‘continually.’ ‘Mormonism is for thinkers!’ he often said. He loved the statement of the Prophet on the things of God: ‘Time and experience and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out.’ To him that meant ‘brain sweat.’ ‘Eternal, restless thought that keeps out from the frontiers of discovery is as much a weariness to the slothful, as it is a joy to the alert and active and noble minded.’ (As taken from the book Defender of the Faith, The BH Roberts Story by Truman G. Madsen)

From one who hates to sweat from physical exertion, “brain sweat” seems like a great form of exercise to me.

Six Tips For More Effective Scripture Study

I have the blessing and privilege of being a Young Adult Institute instructor in my Stake. What that means is that I have a wonderful opportunity to "rub shoulders" with some of the greatest people I know on this earth. I believe that one of my Young Adult friends summed up the character of these “Children of the Promise”, or this generation, best when he observed:

“Our generation will do things different from generations past. We are strong enough to do it. We were prepared that way in the preexistence. We have more scripture and examples to learn from. It's prophesied that we will come through, so we have that positive mindset. Nevertheless, it will still take great faith. When others have fallen in the past we will rise up because of our faith. We are still reliant on the Lord. We need to serve him in faith, love and humility. We will realize more fully than past generations and the Lord will lift us up.” Zeb Shockley

I believe that because of their desire to know, and willingness to study, they will be blessed with that strong foundation that is needed to combat the evils in the world coming at them with equal force and frequency as the good.

In the most recent BYU Devotional Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy spoke to the BYU students in attendance and emphasized to them the importance of building their testimonies on the rock Helaman spoke of.

Helaman 5:12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Elder Jensen gave six tips that he promised would help any student of the scriptures gain more insights from their studies when used. They are as follows:

First was to pray. He told of a time when he was waiting for his airplane to take off — he thumbed through the in-flight magazine and then began to flip through his scriptures. As he did so, he felt the Spirit tell him that he should pray before studying the scriptures instead of treating God’s word as he did a common magazine.

Second, pay the right price. It’s important to search, ponder, analyze and compare instead of merely reading.

“Going through the scriptures regularly is good,” he said, “but to have the scriptures go through you and have them change you comes with a price.”

Third, look for patterns, using whatever study aides necessary.

Fourth, have a pencil and notebook ready to write down impressions. He said we have the 138th section of the Doctrine and Covenants because President Joseph F. Smith wrote down the inspiration he received while studying the scriptures.

Fifth, mark, annotate and write in the margins. Jensen is on his fourth set of scriptures since serving as a mission president in Colombia. He said well-marked scriptures serve as a “portable revelatory filing system.”

Sixth, teach what you learn. He said he does not consider a principle mastered until he can articulate it to someone else. He said it is our responsibility to teach others.

We are long past the days of reading simply out of habit or obedience, and have moved into a time where it is imperative to read for direction in our lives. These Young Adults have been taught better than any other generation how to do this. Where much is given, much is expected.

What are some techniques you find helpful when you study the scriptures?

Prayer and Scripture Study, Your Personal Liahona

On October 2, 2004 Elder David A. Bednar was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Because Elder Bednar was the scheduled general authority to attend our Stake Conference we, the Murrieta Stake, were privileged to have been the first conference Elder Bednar presided over as a newly called Apostle. This experience, though nearly five years ago, still stays fresh on my mind. Perhaps Elder Bednar will always have a place in my heart simply because of that experience.

In the Saturday evening adult session of conference we were honored to be instructed by Elder Bednar on the importance of prayer and scripture study. He compared the act of prayer to the Liahona that Lehi and his family used for guidance as they journeyed through the wilderness. The Book of Mormon prophet Alma also used the example of the Liahona as he was teaching his son of the importance of following the words of Christ.

Alma 37: 43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a shadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.

44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

45 And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.

46 O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.

Elder Bednar compared the first spindle on the Liahona to the act of prayer, and he compared the second one to the scriptures, or doctrine of Christ. These two actions done with faith can be the directors we need in our everyday lives.

When we want to speak to the Lord we pray, when we want to get an answer we read. The scriptures allow us to actually hear the voice of the Lord.

D&C 18:34 These words are not of men nor of man, but of me; wherefore, you shall testify they are of me and not of man;

35 For it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are given by my Spirit unto you, and by my power you can read them one to another; and save it were by my power you could not have them;

36 Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words.

Elder Bednar still testifies of the power of prayer today. Enjoy this video!