A few years ago, I was asked to speak in one of the sessions of our Stake Conference.1 As I was sitting on the stand before the meeting started I was watching the people as they entered the chapel and took their seats. It was then that I received what I believe was a very special gift from the Lord. For just a few minutes, I was given to see each of the people in the chapel as the Lord sees them (to some small degree only I’m sure). Many of them I didn’t know at all; others, I knew as acquaintances or even friends, but didn’t know of their personal struggles, their doubts, their particular trials.
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Awakening
If you’re a believer in the Book of Mormon, then you’ve probably read the opening chapters of 1 Nephi seeing the young man Nephi as the example we are to follow. As we read the scriptures – any scriptures – we tend to put ourselves in the shoes of the ‘hero’. After all, we’re to pattern ourselves after the lives of righteous men and women of the past, right? Abraham and Sarah, Enoch, Noah, Deborah, Esther; in the Book of Mormon: Nephi, Alma and Helaman. Of course, Christ is our great exemplar, but many of these ancient prophets show us patterns to follow in our quest to become like Him.
While that is true, I believe there are also other characters and people we are supposed to consider ourselves as – not in terms off what we should be doing, but perhaps given by prophets as something of a ‘reality check’ of where we actually are in our lives. A few years ago as I began another read of the Book of Mormon, the realisation came to me that Laman and Lemuel serve exactly that purpose; and at the very beginning of 1 Nephi, the Jews at Jerusalem do, too.
Latter-day Saints like to talk about how wicked Laman and Lemuel were. We would never be like them, right? Except … maybe we are.
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Rebirth
Last year I returned home for first time in over 40 years. You see, home for me is Australia. It’s where I was born and raised for the first 12 years of my life. While I’m now well into my 50’s and sound like a proper pom, my heart has always remained down under.
That visit home was very special in so many ways, not least because I was able to spend loads of time with my older brother Tony and his very special family. He and I are like chalk and cheese. We really are polar opposites in almost every way – we don’t even look anything alike. In fact, a common question we were asked was, ‘Are you really brothers?’
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Greater Things
I’ve just finished reading 3 Nephi on my latest read-through of the Book of Mormon. I’m always amazed at how much more I gain from this magnificent book of scripture each time I read it, and marvel at how much more there must be to learn, if I could only have eyes to see.
Christ begins speaking to the people in the land from chapter 9 of 3 Nephi, then appears to them in chapter 11. The last words we have from Christ to the Nephites are in chapter 28, so it makes about 20 chapters in total containing the direct teachings of Jesus.
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In the Space of Not Many Years
In the last General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder David A Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a prophetic warning. He reminded us that the Book of Mormon was given specifically for the days in which we live, and that its prophets had seen our day. They therefore knew what would be of most value to us.
It was in this context in which Elder Bednar quoted from the book of Helaman, discussing the tremendous wickedness that came upon the Nephites, ‘… in the space of not many years.’ (Helaman 6:32) Interestingly, this phrase is repeated in the book of Helaman another two times (see Helaman 7:6, 11:26).
This pattern is repeated in 3 Nephi, when the Nephites had ‘continual peace’ across their nation in their 28th year (3 Nephi 6:9), only for their entire government to collapse within only two years. (See 3 Nephi 7:1-2). This happened shortly before the apocalyptic destructions that occurred among them prior to the resurrected Christ visiting them.
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The Gospel of Repentance
There are so many things I love about the gospel of Jesus Christ. One of these is how so many principles overlap, complement and enhance each other; and how things that we might have heard many times before can suddenly take on new meanings, or sometimes just become so much more important than they once were.
I was struck a few months ago by something someone said. I don’t remember where I came across it – it might have been a blog post, or a Youtube video, or a General Conference talk or something else entirely – so I apologise of the lack of attribution. I don’t even remember the actual quote, but I remember the reference and the impact.
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Of Second Chances and Forgiveness
The story of Joseph, son of Jacob (Israel) is one of the better-known ones from the Old Testament. Eldest son of his father’s beloved Rachel, Joseph was consequently apparently doted on, which led to resentment from his older brothers, which in turn led to his being sold into slavery and ending up in Egypt.
Joseph must have been an incredibly talented man, for everywhere he went he ended up being placed in positions of authority. Continue reading
Heart, Might, Mind and Strength (2 of 5)
This is the second post in a series about how, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we gain power within each part of our beings: our Heart, Might, Mind, and Strength. The first post, found here, is an overview and explains how I understand these principles.
This second post considers in more detail how the Atonement helps us overcome the shortcomings of our Heart, or – as I understand this – our spitritual selves. (The next post will look at our Might, or emotional selves).
Our spiritual wellbeing is usually damaged
All Things Witness 