Ether 11

Without quoting any scriptures, it is interesting how many times the Lord sent prophets to the Jaredites warning them of pending destruction for hundreds of years, and how many times they were persecuted or ignored.  The Lord is so patience and willing to forgive His people.

The Church has been restored less than 200 years and prophets continue to warn us. 

Ether 9

 We read in Nephi of the great and abominable church that they - 

"...shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves..."  (1 Nephi 22:13)

This seems to be the case of all those that fall into secret combinations for power and glory.  Moroni abridged of this among the Jaredites as -

"...Akish began to be jealous of his son, therefore he shut him up in prison, and kept him upon little or no food until he had suffered death.

8 And now the brother of him that suffered death...And it came to pass that Akish begat other sons, and they won the hearts of the people, notwithstanding they had sworn unto him to do all manner of iniquity according to that which he desired.

11 Now the people of Akish were desirous for gain, even as Akish was desirous for power; wherefore, the sons of Akish did offer them money, by which means they drew away the more part of the people after them.

12 And there began to be a war between the sons of Akish and Akish, which lasted for the space of many years, yea, unto the destruction of nearly all the people of the kingdom," (Ether 9:7–12)

Elder Dale G. Renlund - "This Is My Gospel" - "This Is My Church

 Elder Renlund gave a great distinction between the gospel of Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ, teaching - 

"...the combination of the gospel of Jesus Christ and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides powerful and transformative benefits for us. The gospel is perfect, but a divinely commissioned church is required to preach it, maintain its purity, and administer its sacred ordinances with the Savior’s power and authority.

Consider the combination of the Savior’s gospel and His Church as established by the Book of Mormon prophet Alma. The Church was responsible for preaching “nothing save it were repentance and faith on the Lord, who [would redeem] his people.” Using God’s authority, the Church was responsible for administering the ordinance of baptism “in the name of the Lord, as a witness [of entering] into a covenant with him [to] serve him and keep his commandments.” The people who were baptized took on themselves the name of Jesus Christ, joined His Church, and were promised great power through an outpouring of the Spirit."

"The Church is simply ordinary people, disciples of Jesus Christ, gathered and organized into a divinely appointed structure that helps the Lord accomplish His purposes. The Church is the instrument through which we learn the central role of Jesus Christ in Heavenly Father’s plan. The Church offers the authoritative way for individuals to participate in ordinances and make lasting covenants with God. Keeping those covenants draws us closer to God, gives us access to His power, and transforms us into who He intends us to become."

'The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints enables access to God’s power because it is authorized by Him both to teach the doctrine of Christ and to offer the gospel’s saving and exalting ordinances. The Savior yearns to forgive our sins, help us access His power, and transform us. He suffered for our sins and longs to pardon us from the punishment that we otherwise would deserve. He wants us to become holy and be perfected in Him.

Jesus Christ has the power to do this. He didn’t simply sympathize with our imperfections and lament our eternal condemnation in consequence of sin. No, He went beyond that, infinitely beyond that, and restored His Church to enable access to His power."

Ether 4

 After the record of the Brother of Jared concerning his revelations released after the coming of the Savior, Moroni tells us - 

"...the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord.

6 For the Lord said unto me: They shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord.

7 And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are."  (Ether 4:5–7)

This suggests that what is had in the Bible and The Book of Mormon in not complete and that we still have great need for much more. I've even wondered if temple ordinances and covenants are included in the sealed portion.

Ether 2

 Ether records that the Lord commanded Jared and his associates to - 

"Go to and gather together thy flocks, both male and female, of every kind; and also of the seed of the earth of every kind..."  (Ether 1:41)

and - 

"...they did also lay snares and catch fowls of the air; and they did also prepare a vessel, in which they did carry with them the fish of the waters.

3 And they did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee; and thus they did carry with them swarms of bees, and all manner of that which was upon the face of the land, seeds of every kind."  (Ether 2:2–3)

The thought came to me this morning that these things were not only for their continued subsistence, but also that these things at that time were not available in the promised land due to the great flood.

Mormon 9

 Moroni spoke of the resurrection writing - 

"...because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.

14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is filthy shall be filthy still; and he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still."  (Mormon 9:13–14)

Mormon 6

 As the Nephites approached their final battle, Mormon writes - 

"...behold I, Mormon, began to be old; and knowing it to be the last struggle of my people, and having been commanded of the Lord that I should not suffer the records which had been handed down by our fathers, which were sacred, to fall into the hands of the Lamanites, (for the Lamanites would destroy them) therefore I made this record out of the plates of Nephi, and hid up in the hill Cumorah all the records which had been entrusted to me by the hand of the Lord, save it were these few plates which I gave unto my son Moroni."  (Mormon 6:6)

Obviously, Mormon deposited all the records of the Nephites in the hill Cumorah.

Elder Neil L. Andersen - The Triumph of Hope

 Elder Neil L. Andersen taught - 

"On earth we experience joy and sorrow as we are tested and proven. Our victory comes through faith in Jesus Christ as we triumph over our sins, difficulties, temptations, unfairness, and the challenges of this mortal life.

As we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ, we see beyond our struggles to the blessings and promises of eternity. Like a light whose brilliance grows, hope brightens the darkened world, and we see our glorious future."

"The Apostle Paul taught, “The God of hope [will] fill you with … joy and peace … , that ye may abound in hope,” “rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation;” “through the power of the Holy Ghost.”"

"“What is it that ye shall hope for? … Ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal.”

My brothers and sisters, hope is a living gift, a gift that grows as we increase our faith in Jesus Christ. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” We build this substance—the evidence blocks of our faith—through prayer, temple covenants, keeping the commandments, continually feasting on the scriptures and the words of modern-day prophets, taking the sacrament, serving others, and worshipping weekly with our fellow Saints."

"To fortify our hope in a time of increasing wickedness, the Lord has directed His prophet to dot the earth with His temples.

As we enter the Lord’s house, we feel the Spirit of God, verifying our hope.

The temple testifies of the empty tomb and that life beyond the veil continues for all.

For those who do not have an eternal companion, the ordinances powerfully confirm that every righteous person will receive every promised blessing.

There is sublime hope as a young couple kneels across the altar to be sealed, not just for time but for eternity.

There is an immensity of hope for us in the promises made to our posterity, whatever their current circumstances.

There is no pain, no sickness, no injustice, no suffering, nothing that can darken our hope as we believe and hold tightly to our covenants with God in the house of the Lord. It is a house of light, a house of hope."

Mormon 4

 As things got worse, while faithfully recording the history of the Nephites on the large plates of Nephi  (and maybe his abridged record), he shares - 

"...I, Mormon, seeing that the Lamanites were about to overthrow the land, therefore I did go to the hill Shim, and did take up all the records which Ammaron had hid up unto the Lord."  (Mormon 4:23)

Which in my mind, suggests that all the records did not remain in the hill Shim.  How long he had all of them before they were deposited in the hill Cumorah, I have no idea.

4 Nephi

 We read that after the Savior's visit to the Americas, that -

"...they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift."  (4 Nephi 1:3)

In my mind, all things common does not suggest common ownership and any form of marxism.  It suggests to me that the if there was something common that all possessed, the people were so good that they would give of themselves that all would have.  I specifically not that the footnote suggests the law of consecration.

3 Nephi 29

 The Lord warns us today - 

"Wo unto him that spurneth at the doings of the Lord; yea, wo unto him that shall deny the Christ and his works!

6 Yea, wo unto him that shall deny the revelations of the Lord, and that shall say the Lord no longer worketh by revelation, or by prophecy, or by gifts, or by tongues, or by healings, or by the power of the Holy Ghost!

7 Yea, and wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get gain, that there can be no miracle wrought by Jesus Christ; for he that doeth this shall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy, according to the word of Christ!

8 Yea, and ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews, nor any of the remnant of the house of Israel; for behold, the Lord remembereth his covenant unto them, and he will do unto them according to that which he hath sworn."  (3 Nephi 29:5–8)

What seemed very relevant today were the words "ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews, nor any of the remnant of the house of Israel..."

3 Nephi 27

 The Savior is very clear as He states - 

"...this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.

21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel..."  (3 Nephi 27:20–21)

3 Nephi 24

I think it is ironic that Malachi received his words from Jehovah, and then in The Book of Mormon, the Mortal Messiah relays these same words to the Nephites.  I love these words - 

"Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say: What have we spoken against thee?

14 Ye have said: It is vain to serve God, and what doth it profit that we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?

15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard; and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.

17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

18 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."  (3 Nephi 24:13–18)

3 Nephi 20

 The Savior spoke of the Abrahamic covenant saying - 

"...behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.

26 The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant—

27 And after that ye were blessed then fulfilleth the Father the covenant which he made with Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed—unto the pouring out of the Holy Ghost through me upon the Gentiles, which blessing upon the Gentiles shall make them mighty above all, unto the scattering of my people, O house of Israel.

28 And they shall be a scourge unto the people of this land. Nevertheless, when they shall have received the fulness of my gospel, then if they shall harden their hearts against me I will return their iniquities upon their own heads, saith the Father.

29 And I will remember the covenant which I have made with my people; and I have covenanted with them that I would gather them together in mine own due time, that I would give unto them again the land of their fathers for their inheritance, which is the land of Jerusalem, which is the promised land unto them forever, saith the Father."  (3 Nephi 20:25–29)

3 Nephi 19

 We read that as the Savior visited the Americas, His disciples -

"...began to pray; and they did pray unto Jesus..."  (3 Nephi 19:18)

and that as they prayed -

"...Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him..."  (3 Nephi 19:25)

Some might find it disturbing as man is commanded to pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.

I believe it is the use of the word "pray".

As Peter began to sink as he was walking to Jesus - 

"...he cried, saying, Lord, save me."  (Matthew 14:30)

Why?  Because Jesus was there.  He was with Peter. He didn't pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ.

The Savior explained why His disciples prayed to Him - 

"...they pray unto me because I am with them."  (3 Nephi 19:22)

3 Nephi 14

 For those that believe that grace alone are we saved, the Savior taught - 

"Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go in thereat;

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits... "  (3 Nephi 14:13–16)

In my mind, it is clear that there are conditions and that each of us also has obligations.

3 Nephi 12

 Though we have heard these words many times, they still impressed me this morning - 

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I give unto you to be the light of this people. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.

15 Behold, do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? Nay, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house;

16 Therefore let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  (3 Nephi 12:14–16) 

I there any question on how we should live around others.

3 Nephi 10

 At the time of the crucifixion, with all the death and destruction in the Americas, the Lord said - 

 "...it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared—"  (3 Nephi 10:12)

I'm sure it will be the same at the second coming.

3 Nephi 8

 I find it interesting that as the Savior died, for three days - 

"...there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness;

21 And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

22 And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.

23 And it came to pass that it did last for the space of three days that there was no light seen; and there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness and the great destruction which had come upon them."  (3 Nephi 8:20–23)

The Savior declared - 

"...I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."  (John 8:12)

Very symbolic

3 Nephi 4

 After the Nephites and Lamanites were preserved from the Gladiaton robbers, -

"...they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection.

31 And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.

32 Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.

33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction."  (3 Nephi 4:30–33)

Why did they eventually turn from this testimony?

3 Nephi 2

 Again, we see that - 

"...people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen—

2 Imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil, to lead away and deceive the hearts of the people; and thus did Satan get possession of the hearts of the people again, insomuch that he did blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a vain thing.

3 And it came to pass that the people began to wax strong in wickedness and abominations; and they did not believe that there should be any more signs or wonders given; and Satan did go about, leading away the hearts of the people, tempting them and causing them that they should do great wickedness in the land."  (3 Nephi 2:1–3)

Again, it seems so relevant in our day!

Helaman 9

 I think it is interesting how the corrupt responded to the sign given by Nephi - 

 "Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken and bound and brought before the multitude, and they began to question him in divers ways that they might cross him, that they might accuse him to death—

20 Saying unto him: Thou art confederate; who is this man that hath done this murder? Now tell us, and acknowledge thy fault; saying, Behold here is money; and also we will grant unto thee thy life if thou wilt tell us, and acknowledge the agreement which thou hast made with him."  (Helaman 9:19–20)

The wicked never sense accountability

Helamn 7

 A Nephi warns the people of Nephi in the quick turn to iniquity, he says - 

O, how could you have forgotten your God in the very day that he has delivered you?

21 But behold, it is to get gain, to be praised of men, yea, and that ye might get gold and silver. And ye have set your hearts upon the riches and the vain things of this world, for the which ye do murder, and plunder, and steal, and bear false witness against your neighbor, and do all manner of iniquity.

22 And for this cause wo shall come unto you except ye shall repent. For if ye will not repent, behold, this great city, and also all those great cities which are round about, which are in the land of our possession, shall be taken away that ye shall have no place in them; for behold, the Lord will not grant unto you strength, as he has hitherto done, to withstand against your enemies."  (Helaman 7:20–22)

Again, a great warning to us in our day.

Helaman 5

 Again, we see relevance and warning to us today as Mormon explains - 

"For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted."  (Helaman 5:2)

Helaman 3

 As he continues to abridge the records, Mormon comments - 

"Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.

28 Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.

29 Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—

30 And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out."  Helaman 3:27–30)

Helaman 1

 We see political upheaval even in the days of the Nephites where - 

"...Paanchi, and that part of the people that were desirous that he should be their governor, was exceedingly wroth; therefore, he was about to flatter away those people to rise up in rebellion against their brethren.

8 And it came to pass as he was about to do this, behold, he was taken, and was tried according to the voice of the people, and condemned unto death; for he had raised up in rebellion and sought to destroy the liberty of the people.

9 Now when those people who were desirous that he should be their governor saw that he was condemned unto death, therefore they were angry, and behold, they sent forth one Kishkumen, even to the judgment-seat of Pahoran, and murdered Pahoran as he sat upon the judgment-seat.

10 And he was pursued by the servants of Pahoran; but behold, so speedy was the flight of Kishkumen that no man could overtake him.

11 And he went unto those that sent him, and they all entered into a covenant, yea, swearing by their everlasting Maker, that they would tell no man that Kishkumen had murdered Pahoran.

12 Therefore, Kishkumen was not known among the people of Nephi, for he was in disguise at the time that he murdered Pahoran. And Kishkumen and his band, who had covenanted with him, did mingle themselves among the people, in a manner that they all could not be found; but as many as were found were condemned unto death."  (Helaman 1:7–12)

Obviously, this could even happen in our day with secret combinations and desires for power.

Alma 60

In the Nephite political climate, Moroni taught - 

"...Now I would that ye should remember that God has said that the inward vessel shall be cleansed first, and then shall the outer vessel be cleansed also."  (Alma 60:23)

And adding - 

"...I seek not for power, but to pull it down. I seek not for honor of the world, but for the glory of my God, and the freedom and welfare of my country..."  (Alma 60:36)

I believe these principles are relevant today.

Alma 57

Helaman responds to the loss of those that had been slain in war - 

"...I trust that the souls of them who have been slain have entered into the rest of their God."  (Alma 57:36)

That is a very faithful statement.

Alma 55

 You can tell one of the righteous characteristics of Moroni was he did not seek revenge for - 

"...had they awakened the Lamanites, behold they were drunken and the Nephites could have slain them.

19 But behold, this was not the desire of Moroni; he did not delight in murder or bloodshed, but he delighted in the saving of his people from destruction; and for this cause he might not bring upon him injustice, he would not fall upon the Lamanites and destroy them in their drunkenness."  (Alma 55:18–19)

Alma 53

 You can sense wisdom as Moroni, - 

"...after the Lamanites had finished burying their dead and also the dead of the Nephites, they were marched back into the land Bountiful; and Teancum, by the orders of Moroni, caused that they should commence laboring in digging a ditch round about the land, or the city, Bountiful.

4 And he caused that they should build a breastwork of timbers upon the inner bank of the ditch; and they cast up dirt out of the ditch against the breastwork of timbers; and thus they did cause the Lamanites to labor until they had encircled the city of Bountiful round about with a strong wall of timbers and earth, to an exceeding height.

5 And this city became an exceeding stronghold ever after; and in this city they did guard the prisoners of the Lamanites; yea, even within a wall which they had caused them to build with their own hands. Now Moroni was compelled to cause the Lamanites to labor, because it was easy to guard them while at their labor; and he desired all his forces when he should make an attack upon the Lamanites."  (Alma 53:3–5)

Alma 51

 We read that as the Nephites were enjoying their liberty that -

"...there were a part of the people who desired that a few particular points of the law should be altered."  (Alma 51:2)

They - 

"...were called king-men, for they were desirous that the law should be altered in a manner to overthrow the free government and to establish a king over the land."  (Alma 51:5)

For they - 

"...who were in favor of kings were those of high birth, and they sought to be kings; and they were supported by those who sought power and authority over the people."  (Alma 51:8)

Sound relevant to our day.