November 29, 2006 - Original Post
In light of September 11th’s events, this chapter has more meaning now than ever. Once again, the Lord’s words prove true.
Lehi was talking to his eldest sons, Laman and Lemuel. In verse 6 and 7 he tells them the curse and blessing of the land. No one will come to this land unless directed by the Lord. All the people of the Book of Mormon were directed by the Lord to come to this land. We also learn that the Pilgrims and other groups of people came from Europe to this land by the will of the Lord. In the next verse (7) he tells them that if the people who live in this land will serve God and keep His commandments, then they will always be a free people and they would never be brought into captivity. But if the people of the land rebel against God, then the land will become cursed. This means America will never be invaded and held captive. What I told my wife earlier is true – that if the terrorists wanted to hurt the United States, then the best thing they could have done was to leave us alone and we would have sinned ourselves to the cursing of the land.
Lehi recites the promise of the Promised Land twice in this chapter. Anyone who lives in the Promised Land must keep the commandments of God and they will prosper and be blessed. But if they do not keep the commandments of God, they will be “cut off” from the presence of God and the land will become cursed. I’ve often heard from other people (not just from the scriptures) that America will destroy itself. No one will ever invade America. Just as the Romans, the fall will come from within.
Lehi concludes his counsel to his sons with a plea – “arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity.” I’ve always liked this verse. This verse is a good reminder to stand tall and not to be a scrub which President Hinckley has said before.
We need to be united as Lehi said. Since the attack on America, we have united in such a manner as never before seen in the history of the United States. My wife's dad said that he has never seen the country so united and patriotic before. People have donated blood, food, money and time to help those victims of the attack. We are truly united at this time. Unity is a strong force.
January 7, 2012 - Addition
Desire; Anxiety
These two words struck me. Ever since I read Elder Maxwell's and Elder Oaks' talks on "Desire", I've been taking note of the context whenever I see the word (see "According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts" and "The Desires of Our Hearts" and "Desire")
Desire and anxiety seemed to be linked. All the things that you want (desire) are the same things that you worry about - they you think constantly of - that gnaw at you and drive you to do things.
For Lehi and just about any good parent, the desire of his heart was for his children to keep the commandments. Therefore, what kept him awake at night (anxiety) was Laman and Lemuel's murmuring and disobedience.
What are the true desires of your heart? What makes you do things? What drives you? Are those things aligned with the will of the Father?
Not only will be we judged of our works and thoughts, but we will also be judged of our desires.
Both Elder Maxwell's and Oaks' talks discuss ways to reconcile our desires with the will of the Father.
Another Word about the Promised Land Covenant
Verse 10 goes beyond that mere promise of obedience = prosperity, disobedience = cut off from the Lord ... it states that when the people reject Jesus Christ, then not only will they not prosper, but their land will be taken from them; they'll be "smitten" and "scattered" and blood will be shed.
The lesson: stay on the sunny side of life. Keep the commandments.
Showing posts with label Unity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Unity. Show all posts
Saturday, January 07, 2012
Saturday, September 08, 2007
3 Nephi 19
Christ Ministers
The chapter begins with the people preparing for the next arrival of Jesus. Christ ascended into heaven and left the people to ponder the things he had taught them. They prepared for his next arrival.
After the people had gathered, the Apostles prayed to God and then assembled the people into several groups and then taught them the same things that Jesus had taught them. The Nephite apostles did just as the modern day apostles do – they teach the same teachings of Christ.
After they ministered, they prayed for the Holy Ghost. After that, they all were baptized as Jesus had commanded them. After all the apostles were baptized, fire came down from heaven and angels ministered to them. Shortly after, Jesus himself came down and was with them. The rest of the chapter is about how Jesus and the multitude prayed. Mostly it was about how Jesus prayed for them.
They Prayed to Christ
A few key things to note – in 3 Nephi 19:22, we learn from Jesus that the people prayed to him rather than God because Christ was in their presence. As was noted earlier in the chapter, the people were praying to God as is normally the case. But we learn from this chapter that it is appropriate to pray to Christ when he is physically present.
Desire
In Christ's presence, the people prayed. As 3 Nephi 19:24 notes, "they did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire."
The Nephites knew what to pray for because they desired what God desired. So it is with us … we must train our desires so that they are aligned with God's desire. In other words, we must seek and do God's will.
Neal A. Maxwell gave a wonderful talk on desires (Neal A. Maxwell, “‘According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts’,” Ensign, Nov 1996, 21). There are a couple of quotes from this talk that I found insightful.
"The absence of any keen desire—merely being lukewarm—causes a terrible flattening (see Rev. 3:15). William R. May explained such sloth: 'The soul in this state is beyond mere sadness and melancholy. It has removed itself from the rise and fall of feelings; the very root of its feelings in desire is dead. … To be a man is to desire. The good man desires God and other things in God. The sinful man desires things in the place of God, but he is still recognizably human, inasmuch as he has known desire. The slothful man, however, is a dead man, an arid waste. … His desire itself has dried up' (“A Catalogue of Sins,” as quoted in Christian Century, 24 Apr. 1996, 457)."
So firstly, we must have desire … we must at least be active and we must at least be striving. If we are not, then we are apathetic and as the quote states, we are an 'arid waste.' If we are at least moving, then God can do something with us. Saul was active in his persecution of the saints. God was able to use Saul's desires and redirect them for good.
We too must channel our desires towards God's will. If we but have a desire to change - to repent, God will take that desire and help it to grow. The challenge for us, therefore, is to decide to desire righteousness.
The second quote from Neal A. Maxwell says, "It is up to us. Therein lies life’s greatest and most persistent challenge. Thus when people are described as “having lost their desire for sin,” it is they, and they only, who deliberately decided to lose those wrong desires by being willing to “give away all [their] sins” in order to know God (Alma 22:18)."
One With Christ and God
Another thing that is interesting to me, is that Jesus prayed to the father that the people might be one with him (Jesus) as he is one with God. To me, this presents a concrete image of the “chain of command” if you will. If we are to become like God, as he has intended us to be, then we must follow Christ and his example. For Christ knew God and did nothing but the will of the Father. In a very literal sense, his purpose was one and the same with God. And so our lesson from this chapter is that our purpose should be one and the same of Christ’s purpose. How do we accomplish this? We live the teachings of Christ. We do his will. We keep his commandments. As we do his will, in essence we are doing the will of the Father.
The entire chapter is a great example of how a people, in just a few days, came to a oneness with Christ. Christ came into their midst and taught them his teachings. The people loved him and desired to be more like him. After he left, they prayed for the Holy Ghost to guide them and to teach them the will of Christ. When he returned, he continued to teach them through words and example. He showed them how to pray to God and to obtain a knowledge of the will of God. By the end of the chapter, the people had become (perfectly?) one with Christ that they understood what Christ was praying for, yet they could not utter it with words. They understood with their hearts.
The chapter begins with the people preparing for the next arrival of Jesus. Christ ascended into heaven and left the people to ponder the things he had taught them. They prepared for his next arrival.
After the people had gathered, the Apostles prayed to God and then assembled the people into several groups and then taught them the same things that Jesus had taught them. The Nephite apostles did just as the modern day apostles do – they teach the same teachings of Christ.
After they ministered, they prayed for the Holy Ghost. After that, they all were baptized as Jesus had commanded them. After all the apostles were baptized, fire came down from heaven and angels ministered to them. Shortly after, Jesus himself came down and was with them. The rest of the chapter is about how Jesus and the multitude prayed. Mostly it was about how Jesus prayed for them.
They Prayed to Christ
A few key things to note – in 3 Nephi 19:22, we learn from Jesus that the people prayed to him rather than God because Christ was in their presence. As was noted earlier in the chapter, the people were praying to God as is normally the case. But we learn from this chapter that it is appropriate to pray to Christ when he is physically present.
Desire
In Christ's presence, the people prayed. As 3 Nephi 19:24 notes, "they did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire."
The Nephites knew what to pray for because they desired what God desired. So it is with us … we must train our desires so that they are aligned with God's desire. In other words, we must seek and do God's will.
Neal A. Maxwell gave a wonderful talk on desires (Neal A. Maxwell, “‘According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts’,” Ensign, Nov 1996, 21). There are a couple of quotes from this talk that I found insightful.
"The absence of any keen desire—merely being lukewarm—causes a terrible flattening (see Rev. 3:15). William R. May explained such sloth: 'The soul in this state is beyond mere sadness and melancholy. It has removed itself from the rise and fall of feelings; the very root of its feelings in desire is dead. … To be a man is to desire. The good man desires God and other things in God. The sinful man desires things in the place of God, but he is still recognizably human, inasmuch as he has known desire. The slothful man, however, is a dead man, an arid waste. … His desire itself has dried up' (“A Catalogue of Sins,” as quoted in Christian Century, 24 Apr. 1996, 457)."
So firstly, we must have desire … we must at least be active and we must at least be striving. If we are not, then we are apathetic and as the quote states, we are an 'arid waste.' If we are at least moving, then God can do something with us. Saul was active in his persecution of the saints. God was able to use Saul's desires and redirect them for good.
We too must channel our desires towards God's will. If we but have a desire to change - to repent, God will take that desire and help it to grow. The challenge for us, therefore, is to decide to desire righteousness.
The second quote from Neal A. Maxwell says, "It is up to us. Therein lies life’s greatest and most persistent challenge. Thus when people are described as “having lost their desire for sin,” it is they, and they only, who deliberately decided to lose those wrong desires by being willing to “give away all [their] sins” in order to know God (Alma 22:18)."
One With Christ and God
Another thing that is interesting to me, is that Jesus prayed to the father that the people might be one with him (Jesus) as he is one with God. To me, this presents a concrete image of the “chain of command” if you will. If we are to become like God, as he has intended us to be, then we must follow Christ and his example. For Christ knew God and did nothing but the will of the Father. In a very literal sense, his purpose was one and the same with God. And so our lesson from this chapter is that our purpose should be one and the same of Christ’s purpose. How do we accomplish this? We live the teachings of Christ. We do his will. We keep his commandments. As we do his will, in essence we are doing the will of the Father.
The entire chapter is a great example of how a people, in just a few days, came to a oneness with Christ. Christ came into their midst and taught them his teachings. The people loved him and desired to be more like him. After he left, they prayed for the Holy Ghost to guide them and to teach them the will of Christ. When he returned, he continued to teach them through words and example. He showed them how to pray to God and to obtain a knowledge of the will of God. By the end of the chapter, the people had become (perfectly?) one with Christ that they understood what Christ was praying for, yet they could not utter it with words. They understood with their hearts.
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