Feb 15-21 : D&C 14-17

Summary of sections.

People close to Joseph started asking for revelations on their behalf.

I don't believe Joseph Smith had ever met the Whitmers, but Oliver Cowdery knew them and was corresponding with David about the developments of the translation. Joseph asked the Whitmers if they could reside with them to finish the translation work. Most of the translation happened in their home. They became familiar with it's teachings before anyone else. David, John & Peter were keen to tell the world about it. The church was organised in their home. Many of the Whitmers became witnesses of the Book of Mormon.

D&C 14: For David Whitmer. A great an marvellous work is about to come forth & the field is white and ready to harvest. Reap while the day lasts, that he may treasure up for his soul everlasting salvation. Pray & ask for the Holy Ghost, and you will receive it so that you may be a witness of this work & declare repentance to the people. If you do this you will be blessed.

D&C 15: For John Whitmer. The thing which will be of most worth to you will be to declare repentance to the people, that they may be saved and you can rest with them in the kingdom.

D&C 16: For Peter Whitmer Jr. Basically same text as section 15.

D&C 17: For Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer & Martin Harris. This is like a preparatory revelation. If you have faith you will see the plates & all the other artefacts, but once you see them you will testify of them.

There are a few prominent messages here.

1. These are missionary focused sections. They highlight why we teach and the impact it has on our lives. We tell the world about these things in order convince people of the error of their ways, turn them more fully towards the Saviour, which is done through repentance. Whenever we teach, the underlying message is, change your ways, re-align your will with the will of God and repent.

2. Also, the teaching of the word has the power to save not just those we teach, but is basically major brownie points for us when we get to the judgement bar.

3. The field is white and ready to harvest. Would have been a bit of a waste to bring this marvellous work forth when the field is not ready. Is the field still ready today? Yes. I think a lot of people don't realise how much they and the world need it. I think one of the hardest parts of this work is helping others see that.

Three things on interest to me, not just in the reading but in all the additional texts.

1. The Whitmer Miracles 

2. The importance of additional witnesses

3. The weight of responsibility of such a calling to be a witness

1. The Whitmer Miracles

Some stories of the witnesses are well known, but here is a little extract of one I learned this week. Joseph and Oliver were struggling to translate in Harmony where Joseph & Emma lived, near her parents. Presecution was intensifying. Oliver had previously met a man called David Whitmer and the maintained correspondence since and Oliver had written to David a few times while they were translating some of the early parts of the plates. Oliver wrote to David explaining that it was the lords will that David and the family host them to enable the translation to progress.

I get the impression David hadn't communicated much, if at all, with the rest of the family about his correspondence with Oliver and the happenings of the plates and translation work. So when David approached his father, his father, quite rightly pointed out before they entertain guests they needed to plough the fields and prepare the crops. David know this was days of work, so he prayed for a way in which he could help.

Soon after, one morning David came to the field to get to work when he & his father noticed that most of the ploughing had already been done. He never found out by who, but it had such an impact on the family that David was able to send for Joseph and Oliver right away. They became great supporters of the work. 

In the last letter, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery requested that Whitmer come to Harmony and help the two men move to the Whitmer home. “I had some 20 acres to plow,” Whitmer wrote, “so I concluded I would finish plowing and then go.” However, when he got up the next morning, he found that between five and seven acres of his land had been plowed during the night. When asked who plowed the fields, Whitmer answered, “I do not know, I cannot tell you, all I know is it was plowed. … It was a testimony to me that I did not have any business to put off going after Joseph. I hitched up my team and … started for Pennsylvania.”

In addition to the ploughing there were a couple of other miracles, like additional energy enabling David to complete seeding in a fraction of the time and 3 mysterious men coming to help fertilise the fields. But I never read about these through official church sources.

Later, it is unofficially recorded that babe Whitmer also beheld the plates.

2. The Importance of Additional Witnesses

Have you ever felt alone about an important truth, some people believe you, but most don't? Imagine how Joseph felt. This was one of the most important truths the world had known, but he was commanded to be the only witness until otherwise told.

Once the three witnesses had had the experience they had, in seeing the plates from the angel, among other things, how much relief must Joseph have felt. Now he was not alone.

I do wonder why the delay, but I also conclude, it's not particularly important. There are more important questions to consider for this Sunday school lesson.

One good question is, how many witnesses of the Book of Mormon are there? It's a trick question. Are you a witness of the Book of Mormon? Are you prepared to stand by it and declare it the word of God? Have you had a personal witness of the Book of Mormon?

3. Responsibility

We read in D&C 82:3 (which we will study in June) unto whom much is given, much is required. You might be grateful you have not been shown the plates by an angel, for if you have you would be expected to make it your life work to ensure you testify of such with all that you encounter. For Oliver, David & Martin, it is widely reported that each of them struggled with the responsibility/burden and they fell away from the church for a while. But none of them denied their witness.

It is interesting, because in the reading that I did, it effectively says each if them teased or pestered Joseph asking multiple times, it it me? While I'm sure they were sufficiently humble, to have been blessed with such a gift, there were effectively asking for this. Thus, the phrase, be careful what you wish for comes to mind again.

The difference between these men & Joseph's is that Joseph did not ask to be a witness, or a prophet, he just wanted to know the truth.

How does this apply to us?

While you may not have seen the plates, and you may be grateful of that, you have still had a witness to some degree or another and thus a responsibility, to some degree or another, to add your name to the millions of others throughout the world that the book is true.

I'll finish with with this interesting thought.

If we are all witnesses of the book of mormon, wouldn't it be interesting if we had a live, maybe online, additional title page that we could all sign. An online declaration that you could add your name to. I googled it, I wondered if anyone had set anything up. I didn't find specifically what I was looking for, but I did find a lot of social media where people are testifying all over the world on a daily basis adding their witnesses. When was the last time you did such?

Anyhow, there is something better pretty much all of us have done, than sign a witness statement or post on social media. It is the reason the missionaries since before it was published use the Book of Mormon to teach. If you gain a witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, what does it mean?

Book of Mormon is True = Joseph Smith had the Gift of God to Translate it & the church that he established must also be True = It is the only true & living church on the Earth = If you are going to join a church, it needs to be this one.

We have been baptised into His church, we are numbered among those of our our fellow saints. We invite others to be part of this work, which brings us back to sections 14, 15 & 16 which are about Missionary work, crying repentance and inviting all to join His church. This is the thing which will be of most worth to you.

https://youtu.be/IZHsYATJNFA

Jan 11 -17 : JSH 27-65, Section 2

 JSH 27-65 & Section 2

Generally we are studying the events after the 1st vision, the visitation of Moroni, finding the plates, obtaining the plates (which came later), persecution, beginning of the translation, Martin Harris.

Let's just clarify one thing, in case there is any confusion. Who was Moroni? Last author of the Book of Mormon, the one who hid the plates. Not captain Moroni. This is the Moroni who we see where? On the tops of the temples.

What did you learn from these verses this week?

Technically this is a bit of last weeks lesson but I did have this thought this week. I have conducted a few temple recommend interviews over the last couple of weeks. The temple recommend questions generally revolve our integrity before God. The final question is if we consider ourselves worthy to enter the Temple. Sometimes it is tempting to consider ourselves unworthy because we know there are things we could do better. For example none of the recommend questions ask us if we pray day & night or if we read our scriptures daily. I thought about this when I considered Joseph's experience. It is clear his heart was drawn to God, but he does say it was his 1st attempt to pray vocally. It was upon his 1st vocal prayer that he had the experience of the 1st vision. Then we open this week with something similar, where Joseph asks for forgiveness, and is blessed with another divine manifestation. What this tells me is 1) God forgives & 2) We do not need to be perfect to be lead & guided by God.

There are a few other things I thought were particularly interesting.

v23 It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter persecution and reviling.

Joseph identified, that despite his merger worldly situation & low prospects of amounting to anything, people of all parts of society considered him a great threat and treated him coarsely. I suppose we are lead to conclude a spirit of opposition was working extra hard which if noticed can in turn lead one to also ponder how important for good these claims of Joseph's were.

v28 Even though we can have amazing experiences in our lives, where we feel particularly close to heaven, it does not make us immune from temptations and straying. We can even feel lost and unsure of where we stand before God.

v26 Joseph declares that God gives wisdom to those who ask for it, so in v29 we again learn about Joseph asking a question and getting an answer.

I suppose he may have been thinking, God did say he had a work for me to do, but He's not told me what it is yet. Given my behaviour, does he still want me?

v33 Interesting that the 1st things Moroni says is the same as his previous vision. They call him by name.

So what do we know Moroni told Joseph?

-Moroni was sent from God.
-God has a job Joseph.
-People from all over will love & hate him for what he is going to do.
-He was told about the book made of gold plates.
-It was a history of an ancient people.

This would have been the hook for Joseph, after searching for the truth and being told you cannot find it among all the churches of the earth.

-The book contains the 'the fullness of the gospel'.

I wonder what might have been more impressive to you if you were told these things? What a treasure find?! Not just gold plates, but a preserved history of a people with a worldly value to free your family from financial difficulty or aside from all that, the fullness of the gospel, not to mention as delivered by the Saviour.

But wait, there's more.

-Stones in silver Bows on a breastplate prepared by the God for translating.
-Quoted passages of scripture.
-Many more things not recorded in JSH.

As I was reading the Historical Background I was quite captivated by what I was reading. We have JSH (Joseph Smith History) in the scriptures. But this is just a fraction of the history of the church at the time. What I was reading, did not contradict the JSH account, but was new information to me. Bits I had heard over the years as I have grown up in the church, but never really knew where that info had come from.

Take Joseph's leg for example. Many of us know the story, we don't tend to question it, but it is not found in JSH but other church history sources.

The promise of Elijah about hearts of children turning to fathers and fathers to children, is apparently in all 4 book of scripture. Pride points for anyone who can identify each reference.

Martin Harris

I read a lot about Martin Harris. A man of wealth who was keen to help 'if it was the lords work'. His motivations are often portrayed as grey with one account of him giving Joseph $50 publicly, rather than privately. To me this could have been an effort to seek glory, but likewise, it could have been an effort to raise awareness that others too could help with the effort.

Many of us will be familiar with the account of Martin Harris travelling to New York to seek verification of some characters authenticity. The trip to New York in and of itself would have been of an appreciable cost to Martin. There are technicalities around this that are not highlighted in JSH, such as potentially going to Ancient American Scholars, rather than Egyptian scholars due to the fact that it was not until later into the translation process that Joseph learned that the main language he was translating was a for of Egyptian rather than ancient American. For the world, the evidence Martin returned home with would seem pretty inconclusive. However, for Martin it was sufficient for him to get stuck in and invest in the Lords work.

But here's the thing. What about the story of the ark of the covenant being carried through the Jordan river? To my recollection the priests carrying the Ark had to step into the water before the river stopped. Joshua 3:13-17.

I'm sure Martin Prayed to the Lord for confirmation. But would it have been better for him just to believe and help in whatever way he could? Was he seeking for some kind of evidence that was not there?

If you had wealth and had heard about a young lad with a gift to translate and a job to publish new scripture, would you simply rely on impressions from the lord, or would you do some research before donating your hard earned assets to the cause? Martin was prepared to donate his farm to see the writing be published. Noble.

To me, while Joseph smith expresses weaknesses that many of us can relate to in v28, the one I may be able to relate to more is Martin Harris.

In the Doctrine & Covenants we will learn of many individuals, some were excellent examples, while others had plenty of potential but also the odd weakness. This did not make them bad people & I don't think they should be seen as such. We would do well to make them heros by learning from them.

We will learn more about mistakes Martin Harris made. But, the did forgive him, and you find his name in the beginnings of the Book of Mormon as one of the 3 witnesses who were shown the plates by Moroni.

Dec 28 - Jan 3 : D&C 1

Doctrine & Covenants - General

Before we get into D&C 1 lets review what D&C is.

-Scripture, Words of the Lord given through His servants, the prophets. In this case, predominantly, Joseph Smith the prophet of the restoration. After many many years of the windows of heaven been closed and truths being distorted, there was a lot to correct.

-Topics on Church Website States (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/doctrine-and-covenants?lang=eng)

A collection of latter-day divine revelations and inspired declarations. The Lord gave these to Joseph Smith and several of his successors for the establishment and regulation of the kingdom of God on the earth in the last days. The Doctrine and Covenants is one of the standard works of scripture in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the Pearl of Great Price. The Doctrine and Covenants is unique, however, because it is not a translation of ancient documents; the Lord gave these revelations to His chosen prophets in this modern day in order to restore His kingdom. In the revelations one hears the tender but firm voice of the Lord Jesus Christ (D&C 18:35–36).

Joseph Smith’s history says that the Doctrine and Covenants is the foundation of the Church in the last days and a benefit to the world (D&C 70 heading). The revelations in it initiate the work of preparing the way for the Lord’s Second Coming, in fulfillment of all the words spoken by the prophets since the world began.

-Can't remember where I was reading this (I think it was the link Matt put on the what's app group) but it talked about the saints being young, in church years, were keen to understand how to run the church and what the doctrine was. We may take this for granted as we have always had this compilation of revelations, but for the early saint's it may have been confusing. Possibly comparable to the confusion caused by the governments efforts to rapidly manage the entire nation in response to a global pandemic!

-Topics Book of Commandments https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/topics/book-of-commandments

In the first few years of the Church, the only access most members had to the Lord’s revelations to Joseph Smith was through handwritten copies on loose sheets that circulated among the Latter-day Saints. Church leaders and missionaries relied on these copies for direction and inspiration. Near the end of 1831, Joseph convened a conference to determine whether and how to publish these revelations. He and other Church leaders wanted to ensure that accurate copies were widely available to Church members.

Today we have a really good system. Helped with technology. We have 'The Scriptures', hard copies & online copies & pocket/mobile copies. We have the Liahona, general conference (widely available to watch live, rewatch immediately & text within days). We have live versions of the handbook generally for leaders but for all members. We also have 'Official Communications' depending on your calling in the church, you will receive notifications and can log on to read about various updates. These include info about updates to the handbook, temple ordinance updates, general conference dates etc. We are very blessed. Back then the church was running off of scraps of paper & 'here say'. Kinda miraculous really!

-D&C 1 also defines what the compilation is, which we will get into in just a min.

Anyone else want to add anything?

What about this question, after all that has been discussed so for, Why do we need it, we have a bible. We have another bible, The Book of Mormon, do we need more bible? To ref 2 Nephi 29

Did anyone see the video by Elder Bednar? I want to show it. He says The Book of Mormon is the Keystone and invites us to come into Christ. The Doctrine & Covenants is the capstone and invites us the come to Christ’s church.

Doctrine & Covenants 1

Summary

1,4: Words Like Harken & Warning

8: These words shall go forth to all the earth. What does tiding mean? We sing about it at Christmas. News, information.

I really like this, from historical references https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/history/doctrine-and-covenants-historical-resources/01

Given the responsibility to preach, and given that the October 30 revelation stated that the gospel would “roll forth unto the ends of the earth,” it was imperative that the revelations Joseph had already received should be published.

12: Pick a couple of words from the last general conference, you would probably use the word Prepare. Prepare, for the Lord is coming.

17: Possibly my favourite Question in the manual.

Note the calamities that the Lord warned about (see, for example, verses 13–16, 35). What other calamities do you notice in today’s world—or in your own life? Verses 17–30 describe what the Lord has done for you in anticipation of these calamities.

We should be pretty acquainted with calamities by now. Though I suspect this is just a taster of what is to come. The scriptures are full of prophecies with depictions of a world in greater disarray than it is now. Or maybe I can’t see how bad it really is. Discuss.

Virus, attack on family, attack on eternal characteristic of gender, natural disasters.

19: In 1831 nobody had been a member more than 18 months. Everybody, including sr leadership was young in the church, but from these humble beginnings the church was restored.

And this is where we start to be introduced to the purpose of this book of scripture.

20: To help leaders speak in the name of the Lord.

21: That faith may increase, people will come unto Christ (Moroni 10:32).

22: So that covenants may be established. 

23: To help proclaim the gospel. There are a lot of sections dedicated to missionary work.

...

30: Going back to a point made in v8 about enabling the church to grow. The lord says he is pleased with the church and where it is 18 months into it's re-organisation. Now 190 years later, I would hope he is still pleased. It is individuals like each of us, that help to make it what it is. Through our service, tithing contributions or other input. Anybody been invited to participate in a church survey? I'd encourage you to dedicate some time to honestly complete that. The church wants to know how it can help.

32: Forgiven (contrast to 1, 4 & 33).

35: Nigh at hand.

37: Instruction to search these commandments.

38: Question from the manual. When have you heard the Lord’s voice in the voice of His servants? Like any passage of scripture that has ever been written.

Dec 14 -20 : Moroni 10

Moroni 10

Where are we? Moroni is alone, hiding. Moroni's people, the believers and his family are not with him. Gone. Perished.

Moroni is finishing his fathers work of compiling one record from 1,000 years of history.

V3

What’s Moroni asking us to do in this verse?

3 things. Read, Remember, Ponder.

What’s another way of saying ponder? Study it out in your mind?

Remember the grace of God. How good he has been to you? Why would he ask us to do this?

What does the grace of God look like? What sort of things might we be remembering when he asks us to do this?

Examples of mercy from the BOM, other people’s lives, our own lives.

-Mercy is generally associated with repentance and the atonement. So we are remembering how patient & forgiving he is with us.

-But I think it is more than that. I think it is also about how indebted to him we are. Mosiah 2:21, 4:6, 19-21. I think these verses tie in perfectly with what I believe Moroni is asking us to remember about God. He has given us all we have. More than we deserve. If we pray for something that is good he will grant it to us.

V4

What’s Moroni asking us to do in this verse?

Ask God if it is true or not.

Before I open up a bit more for Sharing I had a thought I wanted to share about answers to prayers. It started last week with the questions Sarah asked. I couldn’t find the specific question, but I think it was the collection of questions that got me thinking.

Often we pray for answers to prayers. A few weeks ago we looked at ways in which God answered the brother of Jared’s prayers and reminded ourselves that these are ways he answers our prayers. But while we often pray for very specific things, how often do we pray for our prayers to be answered in a specific way?

Indeed we probably don’t ask because we figure it would be impolite or too prideful to ask as we may think we know know better than God how He should respond.

So don’t be surprised when our prayers are not answered in a way you didn’t expect because

1) You probably didn’t ask how that blessing was to be delivered (like when we select standard delivery or express delivery at checkout).

2) You don’t know what is planned for you.

3) If God is trying to answer our prayer through another, they may not be responding, like the line is engaged, and He & I are having to be patient until Mr A N Other finally responds.

Okay, so here’s the question we’ll probably finish on.

How has the Holy Ghost manifested the truth of the Book of Mormon to [you]?

Matt

Myself

V30

What’s Moroni asking us to do in this verse?

Come unto Christ.

How?

Lay hold upon every good gift.

V31

What’s Moroni asking us to do in this verse?

Once you have received your answer as per V29, missionary work, Gather Israel, Build the church as part of the restoration. Bring others to Christ through covenants.

V32

What’s Moroni asking us to do in this verse?

Come unto Christ (again). Avoid uncleanliness (again). Love God. Echoes of Mosiah 2:17

V33

What’s Moroni promising us in this verse?

Then you will be perfected, sanctified, made holy, because of, or rather THANKS TO Christ.

Here are some of the questions from the manual.

What examples of the Lords Mercy come to mind as you review the last years study of the book of mormon?

How has the promise in The Book of Mormon changed you life (assuming it has)?

What experiences have you had with this?

How has the Holy Ghost manifested the truth of the Book of Mormon to me?

How can you help someone else seek their own witness?

I didn't wan't this all to be about me, which is why I put a request out there. I did receive a witness. Before I go on to it though I wanted to develop a point from last weeks lesson that part of Sarah's lesson placed in my mind. Moroni 10-4-5 are verses about praying and receiving answers.

Sarah asked the following question.

It got me thinking about how so often we ask for things, but rarely do we ask for our prayers to be answered in a certain way. So don't be surprised by how God answers your prayers.

And so it was for me when I prayed about The Book of Mormon. I may have shared this story with the ward once before in my 18 years here in Stretford!!!!!! 18 years. Does anyone know when I stated praying about The Book of Mormon. Like REALLY started praying to know if it was true?

Next year we are going into Doctrine & Covenants. No doubt there will be a lot of church history. But where does all that start? The same place Moroni finishes. The hill Cumorah.

Oct 12 - 18 : 3 Nephi 20-26

Initial thoughts, Oh no! Old testament chapters & language. Time to get the chocolates.....and the cinnamon swirls..... and the giant bag of crisps.

Comparison with Isaiah 54 & Malachi 3 & 4, but His teaching didn't just come from OT prophets, in other chapters have been comparable to NT teachings.

I'm fine with admitting old testament stuff is not my forte. In fact, I'd call it a weakness. But I have put in the effort, I have personally received many great insights. I doubt I'll share them all with you, but hopefully I have some main content that will not only be interesting for you, but maybe delicious to you.

I do like to start off by summarising the content of the chapters we have read and then historically I would ask the class if they had any insights they would like to share which may steer the lesson in a particular direction.

Summary of the reading

20:1-9 He feeds the people bread & wine (the sacrament) the people were filled with he spirit. It is proposed the bread & wine were provided miraculously by the saviour. Generally he provides miraculously.

13 scattered shall be gathered

Those who do not repent shall be cut off and the sword of justice shall hang over them

Shall establish a new Jerusalem

Christ reminds the house of Israel (of which we all are) that he has made covenants

21:1-10 A sign of the gathering, 

21:11+ Don't repent and be cut off.

21:29 Ahead & at the rear, Moses & exodus reference, you/we are not alone.

22 is the Isaiah 54 chapter. Zion, the new Jerusalem, shall be established, imagery of enlarging stakes, no weapon formed against thee shall prosper, no unhallowed hand shall stop the work from progressing.

23:1-5 Commandment to search the scriptures & Isaiah.

23:6-14 The importance of record keeping. Cannot prove prophecies are fulfilled unless the prophecy is recorded & the fulfilling of the prophecy is recorded.

24:2 Refiners Fire reference.

24:7-12 tithing verses

25: Elijah shall return.

26:1-10 Jesus teaches the people all things from the beginning. 

26:11 Mormon interjects for a few verses to say he only included in the BOM the things he was commanded.

26:13 Sacrament, teaching children, healing of sick & raised a man from the dead. The disciples taught & baptised.

26:16+ sounds a lot like Acts of the New Testament. Jesus is now gone, the disciples now go out preaching.

Personal Insights

General

• Who is speaking in these chapters?
• Doesn't that make it worth investing in trying to understand?

Chapter 20

• He generally provides miraculously. Link to Malachi, prove me now herewith (3 Nephi 24:10)
• The new Jerusalem, or gathering not necessarily a geographical place.
• The Lord is gathering those who are willing to let God prevail in their lives.
• https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/10/46nelson
• AOF #10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.

Chapter 21

• v1-10 The gathering commences when these words are spread. When was that? Publication of the Book of Mormon?
• Interpretation, of Israel. Let God prevail. According to a couple of Hebrew Scholars. Let God help you. Are you going to let God help you? Refinement, growth, all that stuff is uncomfortable.
• What does the gathering of Israel look like. Ref pres Nelsons talk. Helping someone make & keep their covenants. Either side of the veil. “When we speak of gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, we are referring, of course, to missionary, temple, and family history work. We are also referring to building faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve. Anytime we do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.”
• https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/10/46nelson
• What part are you playing in this process? Are you watching others do the gathering or are you helping? During this current climate, should we stop gathering? Reminds me of a talk by President Uchtdorf, Are you sleeping through the restoration. The title of the talk says it all.
• President Nelson, "we have been charged to assist the Lord with this pivotal work".
• What is another word we use regularly that describes the gathering? The restoration. Today we use the term restoration because on the timeline & context of things that makes more sense. But for pre-apostasy saints, the restoration won't mean much, but the idea of an ultimate gathering after a scattering means more to them.
• 21:10 Blew me away. What does marred mean in this context? Martyrdom. Even if Joseph smith was a fraud, he prophesied his own death!

Chapter22

• Chapter 21 & 22, what's the difference between WILL & SHALL. Old paper copy, chapter heading says SHALL. Gospel library app (& presumably latest edition) says WILL.
• v17 No weapon formed against thee shall prosper, sounds a lot like, no unhallowed hand shall stop the work from progressing. In a strange twist, which could be described as miraculous & potentially prophecy fulfilling, during the world wide pandemic, which is causing significant damage directly and indirectly to individuals, families, communities, nations & governments, it has been reported that while missionary work may not be what it used to be, it has not slowed down but has accelerated.

Chapter 23

• Conversation to Nephi about Samuel. Did you write the prophecies of Samuel, because you know they came true?
• It is kind of a funny story & unfortunate for Nephi, but what can we learn about the importance of record keeping?
• If these can come true, so can all these major promises.

Chapter 24

• v2 refers to the Refiners Fire. I feel like this was a theme of General Conference. Elder Holland talked about it when he kinda quoted Elder Maxwell when he suggested sometimes we pray to be perfected but ask that we experience no difficulties along the way. Does anyone feel refined?
• What impurities do you have? What do you need to do to remove them?
• Is refinement different to purification? I don’t think this is talking about repentance (possibly the atonement). Repentance is overcoming sin, this refinement is enduring & overcoming challenges either well or just at all.
• v2-4 Through Him, we are refined, and become even more good (better) and are able to offer up good gifts.
• Matt 7:11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? 
• Plug for self reliance. Emotional Resilience course states "All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable"
• We are refined, for what purpose? To learn how give. Charity is the pure love of Christ. The 1st two commandments are to love God & our neighbour. How do we love? We serve

Chapter 25

• After learning from President Nelsons talk, about the gathering happening on both sides of the veil, you can understand why the saviour would mention Elijah or rather, why Mormon would include it in the final draft.
• Consider asking the class…Why would a reference to Elijah be relevant intermingled with chapters relating to the gathering?

Chapter 26

• v11 This verse implies there are words that could be written that prove the existence of God, but God does not want us to read them, but would rather try our faith. The Nephites had them because they saw the saviour & witnessed all the miracles he did while he visited with them, they no longer had faith but knowledge.

What are the covenants?

20:13. 29 gather them, give them Jerusalem, the promised land.

Therefore what? What are you doing or going to do to be part of the gathering of Israel, building of Zion, part of the restoration? How will you help others make & keep covenants?

Sept 14 -20 : 3 Nephi 8-11

Did anyone watch The Testaments Video?

Chapter 8: Signs of his death, great destruction.

Chapter 9: Voice heard in the darkness.

Chapter 10: The voice continues. Explaining the destruction that has taken place. A reminder that He continues to gather his chicks.

Chapter 11: The saviour Appears & invites all to repent & be baptised.

Did anyone have any insights into this weeks reading they are willing to discuss?

Here are a few things that caught my attention.

And there began to be great doubtings and disputations among the people, notwithstanding so many signs had been given. (3 Nephi 8:4)

Another verse we can liken to ourselves. Is this anything like it is today? Or is today different?

I don't know if we are days or years away from the second coming, but signs ha e been given. I'd like to think if the sun set & it did not go dark many people would consider it a sign, but I suspect it would be explained away by science or/and hardheartedness.

Another example of the forgiving nature of the saviour. Though at this point he did just destroy 1,000's so a little mercy might be expected!

How often I have gathered you. 10:5-6

Ho often has the saviour gathered you back?

How often we should be prepared to do the same & forgive others? It's hard, especially with repeat offenders. It's easier with your children, but I've not been a parent of a teenager yet. Relative to the Saviour, do we behave like little children or do we behave like teenagers?

What might happen if a chick chose not to gather when called?

For everyone in this zoom call now, we have all strayed many times over our life, but the fact that you are here, joining in, implies you are returning, repentant, and looking for salvation.

Have any of you sinned, repented, been gathered again like a chick, then after time sinned again? In these verses I don’t think the saviour is necessarily only referring to the pride cycle which can manifest itself over months or years but is also referring to our own internal struggles.

There are many questions in the manual. Many are easy to answer like ‘What brings light?’. But you will get more out of your study if you answer the harder ones like ‘How has Jesus Christ been a light in your life?’.

Troy & I saying a prayer amidst the chaos of his latest significant accident then reporting back to me later the Jesus did help him.

When I am in the sorrows of sin, I’m not perfect, none of us are, I do often look to Christ, like Peter sinking/drowning in the water. I know the steps of repentance have the power to save.

Most instances of the light of Christ have been in the numerous church meetings I have been in or in the quiet moments reflecting on questions like this. They tend not to be busts of sunshine but twinkles of the stars.

Something I just noticed is the word ‘reflection’. You cannot have a reflection without some light source. You can't reflect in darkness.

Finally. The most significant chapter in the Book of Mormon.

Many studies around these verses tend to focus on the voice in chapter 11. How does the message in chapters 9 & 10 differ from the voice in chapter 11?

The prophets have been testifying of this moment for 100's of years. And now those prophecies had been fulfilled. All the signs leading up to this point had also been fulfilled but even back then there would have been 'wise' men who explained away the night without darkness etc.

This one, will have been undeniable. A voice everyone heard and a man descending out of heaven.

The voice says "Behold my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name - hear ye him".

Interesting choice of words. "Why not just behold my son, hear him?"

Verse 10: I am Jesus Christ. The prophets were right, here I am.

Verse 11: I I have done everything my father & your father has asked me to do, including taking upon myself the sins of the world.

Verse 14: Come and touch me so you may know I am real & that these marks are further proof the prophets were right, I was killed.

Verses 21-28: Calls for Nephi and gives him authority to baptise. Then gave the authority to others. Then taught the conditions for baptism & how to Baptise.

Verses 29-30: Be one, don't be contentious.

Verses 31-33: Repent & believe & be saved & inherit the kingdom of

Verse 34: Don't believe & be dammed.

Verses 35-36: Repeating that the godhead are one.

Verses 37-38: Repetition

Verse 40: Do not alter what I have told you.

Verse 41: Go tell everyone what I have said.

Of all the things he could have said 1st, why do you think he taught what he did?

According to the 4th article of faith what are the 1st principles & ordinances of the Gospel?

Faith v14: Come forth...that ye may know

Repentance v23, v38: Repent

Baptism v23, v33, v38: 

Gift of the Holy Ghost: v35, 

Next weeks study is 12-16

Incidentally, I think you will find many similarities between these next chapters and those recorded in the Bible of Jesus Ministry. Why would he teach the people in America any different?

May 25 - 31

Mosiah 29 - Alma 4

Underline the questions from the manual?

Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing

What was the state of Gods people in Zarahamla before Alma came 'back' from the land of Nephi?

You can tell Mosiah had given the matter of the Kingdom much thought.

Mosiah 29:31, 38 With a king some of the responsibility for your sins lands on the king. With an elected government, the people are more accountable. The people chose this. Very similar to the two options from the pre-mortal existence.

One line that is almost invisible. Alma 1:24. There were those that had their names blotted out. Presumably for apostasy. But it says there were also many that withdrew themselves from among [the church of God]. Many people just slipped away. This is most common these days.

One of the reasons I don't like the book of Alma is because it is full of war and contention.

Alma 4:3-4 I just can't imagine people thinking like this today. I'm afflicted, therefore it my be the judgement of God upon me and I must repent. People today are more likely to curse God if they experience afflictions and turn away.

Alma 4:9 The believers began to persecute those that did not, and the pride of those the belonged to the church exceeded that of those that did not!!!

What is priestcraft? Men preaching and setting themselves up for a light to the world that they may get gain and praise of the world;

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/priestcraft?lang=eng

Questions from the manual this week.

Have you noticed religious rights being threatened in your nation or community? What do you learn from the way the Nephites responded to this threat?

How can you, like the Nephites, make sure that your voice is included in “the voice of the people”?

are there other ways you can be a positive influence in your community?

Why might people have found Nehor’s teachings enticing?

How can you be more like the people of God? Do you notice any “priestcraft” in your own service?

how would you describe the attitude that “humble followers of God” have toward riches and prosperity? What do you feel inspired to change about your own attitude?

What impresses you about his approach to helping his people? 

Lesson Plan

I was going to start this lesson by explaining that there has been something about this study of the book of mormon that has been different to all other years I have studied it. At 1st I couldn't figure out what it was, but after a bit of thought I figured it out. It's all the study aids I've been using to compliment the Come Follow Me material. The Book of Mormon videos produced by the church, the podcasts and you tube videos. They have all helped to put additional context around what's going on in each chapter. Podcasts & you tube have been around for over a decade now, but I don't think they have been used to help do as much good as they are today.

What I thought I'd do is a quick two min summary of the movements of the last 500 years of the Nephites from the time they arrived in the promised land.

It wasn't long after they arrived that Lehi died. Nephi's brothers were angry with Nephi, again, so he took his side of the family and left to establish a new nation. This became known as the land of Nephi. But then, many years and generations later the Lamanites, again, attacked the Nephites and invaded the land of Nephi, so the people of Nephi fled (Omni 1:12) and wondered looking for somewhere new to settle.

This is where it gets interesting, because in their search they discovered the land of Zarahemla (Omni 1:14). Their descendants too had come from Jerusalem (Omni 1:15), but they had  no records to remind them of their creator (Omni 1:17). The Nephites joined the people of Zarahemla (Omni 1:19).

After a while a man called Zeniff (200-187 BC) lead a group to a the land of their inheritance, the Land of Nephi, now inhabited by Lamanites (Mosiah 9). The Laminate King granted them the land, with a plan to let them prosper, fix up the city, then put them in captivity. Zeniff's son was king Noah, that didn't go well. Noah's son was Limhi. It was Limhi that was met by the scout Ammon who had left Zarahemla to look for Zeniff's people, the people Limhi was now king over.

Ammon helps Limhi and his people return to Zarahemla (Mosiah 22).

While Noah was king, Alma started a following and they left the land of Nephi, established the city of Helam, before long they are persecuted by the laminates too and then managed to escape bondage and make it to the land of Zarahemla (Mosiah 24).

By the time they got to Zarahemla king Benjamin had passed away and Mosiah II was their king.

Last week we learned about Alma (the son of Alma the high priest) & the sons of King Mosiah and how after their 'conversion' Mosiah's sons went on missions to preach to the laminates.

And this is where we start this weeks reading.

Mosiah, getting old now has a problem. He can't give the kingdom to his sons as they are away serving missions and he can't give it to anyone else for fear of causing contention. We don't have time to read all of Chapter 29 but as I read it it became clear King Mosiah had given a lot of thought and prayer with regards to what to do. Basically he concludes Monarch's are not as good as elected leadership. Mosiah 29:39 describes the ability to take more responsibility as liberty.

[Read] Mosiah 29:31, 38 & 39.

[Question] Do these ideas remind you of anything? The war in heaven? The opportunity to grow.

Out of interest I googled how many nations have elected leaders. It was hard to work out but clear the vast majority do. So this is clearly a popular way of governing people.

Peter to share some thoughts on King Mosiah II (King Benjamin's son).

So the People elect Alma, the younger, to be the chief Judge. The chief Judge being like the Prime Minister. Elected leader of the nation. Rather than a Monarch born or battled into the role. Note; Alma was already the High Priest, like the president of the church, so he was already a busy man (Mosiah 29:42).

About a year later King Mosiah passed away and Alma, Alma's dad, also passed away. Leaving Alma, the younger in charge of the church and the governance of the people (Mosiah 29:45-46).

It didn't take long before more contentions came. A man named Nehor starts threatening the church & teaching falsehoods (Alma 1:2-6). He is challenged by a man named Gideon. (Anyone remember what Gideon did? Almost killed King Noah but spared his life to se to the approaching Lamanites & helped King Limhi and the people escape the land of Nephi.) Nehor slays Gideon (Alma 1:7-9), so Gideon must have been considered quite a thereat. But the people take him and he is judged and sentenced to death (Alma 1:10-14).

But it isn't long before a man called Amlici started teaching similar to what Nehor was teaching. Except he was keen to reestablish kings and like any man full of pride, he was suggesting that would be himself (Alma 2:2).

[Read] Alma 2:5-7

[Question] What did the people do? Voted for good. They could see Amlici was trouble.

Here are tree questions from the manual.

[Question] Have you noticed religious rights being threatened in your nation or community?

What about going to church? Hopefully most people understand that this is for our own safety. But, we do have ways to continue to meet. We've not been told we cannot practice our religion, we just can't physically meet.

I think we are very lucky here. We, the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, can worship without restrictions.

[Question] How can you, like the Nephites, make sure that your voice is included in “the voice of the people”?

Vote.
Write.
Teach/Preach.
Support/Promote.

[Question] Are there other ways you can be a positive influence in your community?

Depends on how you define community. Youth group, class room, office, neighbourhood, Sports/Running Club, Women's Institute, religious group, home!, local FB group, ward what's app group, 

Be a good example, always.
Create a Podcast.
Clap on Thursday's, keep to the rules/guidelines.
Lots of people have been helping make PPE for the NHS and other services.
Donate

Church at Home (Week 11)

May 24th

We watched the churches latest you tube video and discussed forgiveness. Fortunately daddy had something to say sorry for giving them an opportunity for them to forgive me!

https://youtu.be/6aBU-wSjuPQ

Church at Home (Week 10)

May 17th

Hymn: 104 

Prayer: Erica

Announcements: Troy’s Birthday

Sacrament Hymn: 

The Sacrament:

Mosiah 18-24

Video: 

Video: Alma baptising the people who followed him:

Picture: Discuss what baptism is and colour picture.

Closing Hymn:

Starting to get complacent with my record keeping.

Also trying to keep the Sunday lessons real simple. I'm not great at teaching kids. Much prefer teaching Adults. I've been loosing their attention. Also, the ward has started a weekly Primary singing time a and a ward service on Zoom. So to do a 2 hours home service followed by two more sessions at various points in the day is a bit much for the young ones.

Church at Home (Week 9)

May 10th

Hymn: 

Prayer:

Announcements: 

Sacrament Hymn: 

The Sacrament:

Mosiah 11-17

Video

-Abinadi was a prophet sent to teach a wicked king he was bad & try to convince him to change.

-The king didn’t like being told he was bad & that he wasn’t keeping the commandments, so he put Abninadi in prison.

-He gave Abinadi one last chance to take back what he said about the king, that he was bad, or else he will be punished.

-Abinadi knew the king was bad and could not take back what he said. To suggest the king was good would be a lie.

-Abinadi shocked many of the guards of king Noah. One man listened very carefully, his name was Alma.

Alma wanted to save Abinadi, but king Noah got his guards to chase after Alma.

Do you know what a commandment is?

Do you know any commandments?

Do you keep the commandments?

Can you think of an example of a commandment you know?

Church at Home (Week 8)

May 3rd

Hymn: 

Prayer:

Announcements: 

Sacrament Hymn: 

The Sacrament:

Mosiah 7-10

Chapter 7: Ammon looks for & finds some people that left the land that he was concerned about. The find Limhi, son of Noah, son of Zenniff. Ammon teaches Limhi and reminds him of God and Limhi get hope that him & his people will escape bondage.

Chapter 8: Ammon continues to teach Limhi and teaches him about Prophets & Seers.

Chapter 9: Record of Zenniff. The 1st guy to leave Zahahemla. Limhi was one of his descendants. Zenniff wants to go back to the land the Nephites fled many years before. Possibly believing he could beat the Lamanites in battle to obtain it. They obtain the land unaware the Lamanites would plan of benefiting from them, but not before being eaten themselves.

Chapter 10: More examples of the people of Zenniff slowly forgetting God.

https://youtu.be/BxUaPxXESYI

Talk about how we can do difficult things with Gods help.

Sometimes in life we need to do something we think we can’t do or we find ourselves in a situation that is really hard to cope with.

King Limhi’s people were in trouble, so he shared a story to help them have faith.

God has helped his children throughout history. Some of these examples are in the scriptures.

The story Limhi shared was of Moses. But there are others. Have we learned about anyone in the scriptures that needed Gods help?

Moses paring the Red Sea.

https://youtu.be/rzcYLCYItuc

https://youtu.be/q88TGKPDTvs

https://youtu.be/3MyUo87l5TE

Nephi

https://youtu.be/3vGOW_6uX6c

Samuel the Lamanite.m

https://youtu.be/5DgMBvEsqzs

https://youtu.be/wSzXi6J1CZI

David & Goliath

Church at Home (Week 7)

April 26th

Hymn: love one another 

Prayer:

Announcements: 

Sacrament Hymn:

The Sacrament:

https://youtu.be/48c9so61MAA

Mosiah 4:9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

Mosiah 4:19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?

God has given us everything we have. Can you name something God has given us.

Mosiah 5:15 I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his

Possible Activity

Draw a small heart on the board. Invite the children to share ways they can be kind to others. Each time they share, erase the heart and draw a bigger one. Testify that our love for others grows as we are kind to them. Give the children paper hearts, and invite them to draw on the hearts ways they can show love and be kind.

No 5 year olds

Learn a little about king banjamin,

Sing Along Video: Book of Mormon stories

Close