Blind Guides

Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides?
Who do we look to for help to get us through this life? Something to think about.....

Helaman 13

26 Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil.

27 But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth—and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a prophet.

28 Yea, ye will lift him up, and ye will give unto him of your substance; ye will give unto him of your gold, and of your silver, and ye will clothe him with costly apparel; and because he speaketh flattering words unto you, and he saith that all is well, then ye will not find fault with him.

29 O ye wicked and ye perverse generation; ye hardened and ye stiffnecked people, how long will ye suppose that the Lord will suffer you? Yea, how long will ye suffer yourselves to be led by foolish and blind guides? Yea, how long will ye choose darkness rather than light?

Return

As I was reading about Samuel the Lamanite in Helaman, I was reminded that he had been kicked out of Zarahemla and was returning to his own land, when the Spirit told him to return to Zarahemla and keep trying. I had forgotten this part of the story. Thinking about this story started me thinking about other times this same thing has happened. I want to use this post as a place to put all the instances where someone was leaving and then told by the Spirit to return and keep going.

It's a good lesson for us. When we think we have given enough, we need to keep going until the Spirit tells us we are through.

Samuel the Lamanite

Helaman 13:

2 And it came to pass that in this year there was one Samuel, a Lamanite, came into the land of Zarahemla, and began to preach unto the people. And it came to pass that he did preach, many days, repentance unto the people, and they did cast him out, and he was about to return to his own land.

3 But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart.

The sons of Mosiah

Alma 26:27

27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

Alma

Alma 8:15,16,18

15 Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you.

16 And behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will destroy them.

18 Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah.

Record-keepers, Timeline links, etc.

Here is a link to the order and timeline of the record-keepers in the Book of Mormon. I want to have this in a place I can find quickly, so I can look at it from time to time.

And while I am at it, here is a link to a chronological timeline of the Book of Mormon.

Here is a link that shows what all the different records were.

Who's who in the Book of Mormon.

Here is an interesting source online for reading/studying the Book of Mormon.

Pahoran

I have posted before about Alma 60 and 61. These are the letters between Moroni and Pahoran. Moroni, out of desperation, sends a scathing epistle to Pahoran and Pahoran sends back an epistle full of peace, encouragement and love back.

I have more to say about Pahoran. He read not just the words of Moroni, but he also read the heart of Moroni.

Here's my new take. Pahoran was humble, not prideful. He received a scathing letter where he was censured, but he read the letter and he says that it gave him great joy! It gave him great joy because he did not take offense at the letter. Instead, he thought about the contents and it helped him to make a decision about what to do. It doesn't come right out and say it, but I know, being the great man he was, he was praying about this situation. The Lord sent Pahoran the answer to his prayer through Moroni. Pahoran was humble enough to see it as an answer to prayer instead of what it appeared to be at first glance.

When you are praying about something, be watchful. You never know where the answer to that prayer will come from.

Because of Pahoran's actions, the relationship between the two of them was actually strengthened. When Moroni received his epistle back, it strengthened and encouraged him and they were able to work together to solve the problems they faced.

The more I think about Pahoran, the more he becomes one of my favorite Book of Mormon characters. There is so much that can be learned from his reaction to the epistle he received.

More on problem solving

I have mentioned in previous blog posts about gospel resources in solving problems. As I read Elder Scott's address this morning, I was impressed with what he had to say regarding scriptures as basically a handbook for solving problems.

I also want to include this post about Christ as the ultimate help for solving problems.

Throughout the ages, Father in Heaven has inspired select men and women to find, through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, solutions to life’s most perplexing problems. He has inspired those authorized servants to record those solutions as a type of handbook for those of His children who have faith in His plan of happiness and in His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. We have ready access to this guidance through the treasure we call the standard works—that is, the Old and New Testaments, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

Elder Richard C. Scott, "The Power of Scripture" October 2011 General Conference

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Alma 32/33 connection

I have never tuned in to the fact that right after Alma discusses comparing faith to a seed in Alma 32, the very next thing he talks to the people about is prayer. The people want to know what seed they should plant and how they should plant it. Prayer is the starting place. In fact, the answer is always, at least in part, prayer. He quotes a prophet we don't know too much about, Zenos. This is what Zenos has to say about prayer. It seems very poetic to me.

Thou art merciful, O God, for thou hast heard my prayer, even when I was in the wilderness; yea, thou wast merciful when I prayed concerning those who were mine enemies, and thou didst turn them to me.

5 Yea, O God, and thou wast merciful unto me when I did cry unto thee in my field; when I did cry unto thee in my prayer, and thou didst hear me.

6 And again, O God, when I did turn to my house thou didst hear me in my prayer.

7 And when I did turn unto my closet, O Lord, and prayed unto thee, thou didst hear me.

8 Yea, thou art merciful unto thy children when they cry unto thee, to be heard of thee and not of men, and thou wilt hear them.

9 Yea, O God, thou hast been merciful unto me, and heard my cries in the midst of thy congregations.

10 Yea, and thou hast also heard me when I have been cast out and have been despised by mine enemies; yea, thou didst hear my cries, and wast angry with mine enemies, and thou didst visit them in thine anger with speedy destruction.

11 And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments away from me, because of thy Son.

The last verse in Alma 33 says this:

23 And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will.

Feeding a pet / Feeding a testimony analogy

A couple weeks ago, Preston Weekes was speaking in Sacrament meeting and talking about testimony. This is the analogy he made.
When you get a pet, what do you need to do to take care of it?
You have to feed it and give it water everyday. It is helpful if you play with it, and give it exercise. Take it to the vet to get check-ups and shots and things it needs to be healthy. Make it a part of your life. If you don't feed it, it will eventually die.

When you get a testimony, what do you need to do to take care of it?
You have to feed it daily. You need to give it exercise and make it part of your life. If you aren't doing something for it everyday, it cannot grow and progress as it should. You should check on it frequently to make sure it is growing and progressing.

Because of Alma 32:26-43, I have frequently compared faith or testimony to a seed, but I hadn't really thought much about how similar it is to caring for a pet or a living thing. This helps to clarify for me, the need for daily nourishing of testimony.