Mosiah 16 - And They Would Not

Abinadi is teaching Noah and his priests and is very much protected by the Lord to do so.  I stopped on a couple of verses.

Verse 1 – I wrote in my margin Isaiah 40:5.  This is the verse quoted in Jesus The Christ, where it declares that everyone will see the Lord and know.  Of course, I always wonder what that’s going to look like. 

Verse 3 – Where it talks of our first parents being beguiled by Satan.  It took me to Galatians 5:19 (16-26) where it talks about the fruits of the Spirit.  If we have the Spirit with us, Satan will not be able to beguile us.  Does that mean that even though Adam and Eve were very aware and occasionally talked with the Lord, that they were without the Spirit?  Well, we know the Holy Ghost is the Spirit and he hadn’t made his appearance on earth yet.  So, of course, Eve was without the Spirit at the time that Satan beguiled her.   And, we know she was in a state of innocence because she hadn’t yet partaken of the fruit.

Verse 4 – All mankind were in a lost and fallen state, and God (Jesus Christ) redeemed his people.  Why does this snag me this morning?  Because at one time or another, we will all be in a lost and fallen state just by the very nature of our birth.  We have to accept Christ as our Redeemer to progress. 

Verse 5 – cautions against those who persist in his own carnal nature.  Of course, this verse always makes me sad.  At that point we are an enemy to God.  It’s so hard to realize so many people I love are enemies to God. 

But then the chapter goes on to talk about Christ being the light and life of the world.  How blessed I am for this knowledge.  How blessed I am to realize life really is a process and we are each one here to learn and grow.  How blessed I am to know the “arms of mercy are extended towards” all of us if we will repent.  How I yearn for the day when all my children and their children will repent and allow the fruits of the Spirit to mold their lives.  This really is what happens.  Once we have the Spirit in our lives, the attributes of the Spirit that were lying dormant in us begin to come to life.  What a beautiful day that is!

Mosiah 9 – Awaken and Remember

Zeniff seems to be a good guy, albeit it a bit over-zealous by his own admission (v3).  In his over-zealousness, the people became slow to remember the Lord.  This creates an issue, but it doesn’t last. 

The Lamanites were kind enough to them as they were wandering around, looking for the land they could not find, and offered them an area to live in.  The Lamanite king had an evil plan.  He had his people move out of this land so Zeniff’s people could have it.  Zeniff’s people were industrious.  They built buildings, repaired walls, tilled the ground and began to prosper. 

During this time, the Lamanites were a very lazy people, idolatrous and began to “glut” themselves with the labor of Zeniff’s people.  They created contentions by killing and chasing their flocks while they were watering them and basically causing havoc.  Zeniff created and armed his people with weapons of all kinds.  And now I come to my point of pondering:  v17 “Yea, in the strength of the Lord did we go forth to battle against the Lamanites; for I and my people did cry mightily to the Lord that he would deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, for we were awakened to a rememberance of the deliverance of our fathers.”

Zeniff and his people weren’t evil.  They just weren’t on track.  What did it take for them to have a change of heart?  After all, it sounds like life was pretty good for them.  V9 says they “prospered in the land”.  What was the turning point?  They were being beaten and abused.  Their enemy was making life miserable – miserable enough that they woke up and remembered.  What did they remember?  They remembered the deliverance of their fathers.  Who were their fathers?  They were Nephites?  How many times was Nephi – aka the good guys – beaten?  Enough that there was probably no shortage of things they could remember.  Possibly the first one that comes to my mind was on the boat that brought them to America when Nephi was bound with cords and the ship was in peril and they were all headed for imminent death if something didn’t happen.  Nephi was released, prayed, the storm stopped, and the people were saved.  That’s just one.

So how does this apply to me today?  Maybe not to me personally, because I do remember.  Every day I remember the awfulness of being in bondage.  I had a miserable existence.  It wasn’t until I awakened, and remembered, that I was able to break from that bondage that my life changed.  The Lord was quick to hear my cries for help.  I did go forth and battled my enemies – not all of them were people.  God did hear my prayers and I went forth in his might against my demons – those things that held me bondage.  It was not an easy thing.  But I am here to testify the Lord hears our cries.  He knows what is happening in our lives and is involved in the details.  He is waiting for us to humble ourselves and wake up to our awful situation and remember the lessons we were taught in our youth.  Remember, remember, remember! 

I’m grateful for this time in my life, and the testimony I gained of the Savior’s love and care for each of us.  It is this experience that gives me great hope for anyone who has wandered off the path of righteousness and become numb to the things of the Spirit.  When it hurts bad enough – when the trials of life are more than they can bear – I pray with all my heart they will drop to their knees and remember and have the courage to make the changes to be brought from bondage. 

Mosiah 7 - Painful Bondage

King Limhi had his problems.  He was not a righteous man, but he remembered the promises made to his fathers that if they kept the commandments, they would be a free people.  He knew the reason his people were in bondage was because of the great sins which they had committed (especially his own).  We know reading further in this book that King Limhi had caused to be put to death many of his servants for their inability to keep his flocks alive.  So, we know he had blood on his hands. 

I’m amazed a person can know they’re doing so wrong and continue to do it.  Limhi is happy to see Ammon and his brothers and treats them royally.  Why does he do this?  He still has some faith.  He knows they have come to save them.  He also knows the conditions whereby they may be saved.  In the last two verses he tells his people that “. . . if they sow filthiness, they shall reap the east wind, which bringeth destruction.”  I have a note in my scripture from Millett Commentary that says the east wind is the most destructive wind there is. 

In the last verse (33) he tells his people that if they will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put [their] trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, they will be delivered from bondage.  He knows!  What’s that all about? 

Well, in my own life, I know I have two sweet daughters who know this very thing, yet continue their lives without the blessings of the gospel.  Is it pride?  Is it laziness?  Is it because of the bondage of sin they have committed?  I know substance abuse is a bondage like no other.  So what is the answer?  At what point does this bondage become too much and they turn (aka repent) their lives over to the Lord.  This is the real question that only the Lord can answer.  At some point, the pain will be so great they will.  Of this, I have no doubt.  I pray with all my heart it is in this life and that they can salvage part of the their lives to enjoy the blessings the Lord has in store for them.  It’s a beautiful thing when this happens.  I look forward to that day with great anticipation.

Mosiah 4 – A World Without Forgiveness!

As I read Mosiah 4 this morning, I could not help but think on the situation of a dear friend who has confided that his wife has not trusted him since before their marriage because of something he did even before they married!  What?  How can that be?  How can you raise a righteous family who are raising righteous families of their own, and not believe in the principle of forgiveness?  How can you withhold that sacred gift from someone you are sealed to for eternity?  How can you not believe Christ enough to know that the forgiveness you seek for your own sins is not something you are required to give to others – especially those you love?  (And we are told to love everyone.) 

King Benjamin makes it clear that we are all beggars. (v19)  Even more than that aspect of forgiveness is the peace and joy that come from truly forgiving.  The first thing the people did when they heard the words of King Benjamin was to fall to the earth and view themselves as unworthy.  Then they cried that the Lord would have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that they would receive forgiveness of their sins so that they would be purified.  They BELIEVED in Jesus Christ!  Then they were filled with joy because their sins were remitted.  This is a tangible thing, folks.  If you don’t believe it, you haven’t experienced it. 

Then King Benjamin goes on to tell them that they must not withhold this same type of forgiveness from others.  Maybe not in so many words, but in content.  If you do these things, you will “. . . retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you. . .”  This is the clincher to me: v13 “. . .ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.”  Maybe this is a stretch, but I believe not.  Isn’t a husband who is deprived of the love, adoration and affection from his wife being deprived?  Is she not “withholding”?  Is this a lack of faith in the Atonement?  I believe it is. 

And now I will step down from my soapbox.  I know the Atonement is real.  I know forgiveness is a gift Heavenly Father gives to us when we truly repent.  I also know that carrying anger, resentment, disappointment, and hurt over unfulfilled promises is a burden that weighs the spirit down and you become numb to the things of God.  This is a frightening and dangerous place to be.  I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had throughout my life to forgive.  I have an ex-husband whom I’ve been able to forgive and even become friends with.  I still don’t seek his company, but I have no evil intent toward him and wish him well in his life.  Forgiving a relative guilty of abusing one of my children was a sacred experience.  It was real; it was tangible.  I still wonder how I was able to do that, yet the only answer I have when I think on it is that it was the power of the Atonement.  It is that same gift and power that allows my marriage to be so rich.  Neither of us is perfect – far from it, in fact.  But when we slip up and do something hurtful, forgiveness comes in a sweet way, and our marriage becomes even more precious to us and we continue moving forward.  This is a GIFT of the Atonement, I have no doubt.

I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I don’t know how it is done.  It is one of the mysteries of heaven, and I’m okay with that. 

Mosiah 5 – Born Again – "Yup, That's my Kid!"

Let’s see if I can articulate this well enough to share it.

I read Mosiah 5 this morning and saw something in a light I have not seen it before – as a parent!  Whenever our children do something that thrills us to the core, why are we so pleased?  Usually, at the least because it is a really good thing.  Also, sometimes we see ourselves as having done a similar thing.  Or is it because that’s what they were taught to do as a child and we see them picking up that torch and our own passion, and embracing it as their own?  What do we jokingly and with just a little pride say?  How about, “Yup, that’s my kid!”  I’m guilty of that more than a few times.  When I’m busting buttons, it’s because they’ve done something well that we’ve taught them when they lived in our home.

Well, in Mosiah 5:15, King Benjamin says, “Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works (Acts 10:38 says Christ went about doing good),  that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, (Yup, that’s my kid!), that you may be brought to heaven, (He’ll want to have us around Him because we'll be like Him.), that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all (our Father).  Amen."

And we mustn’t forget Mosiah 5:7, “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made (we covenant to do good things), ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; (Yup, that’s my kid!) for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.” 

In Mosiah 27:25-26, we are told that all men (v25)  “. . . must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; (v26) And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.”

As a parent, I see why this is necessary.  It is very difficult indeed to be around those of our children who have embraced a lifestyle that is conflicting to our beliefs.  It hurts to watch them live beneath their privileges and potential and be content with the lesser portion.  It is especially hurtful to see their children be raised without the knowledge of their Savior or even given the choice to know Him.  Although we do love being around them and choose the pain over having them elsewhere, the Lord has made it quite clear that it’s not an option for Him.