Psalm of Nephi

2 Nephi 4

Lehi finishes blessing his children and dies.  It wasn’t long and the brothers started making more grief for Nephi.  (Isn’t that just like life?  Things don’t stay comfortable for very long.)  It is this chapter where Nephi cries to the Lord for his own sins.  His sins?  Are you kidding?  The man was so very good.  He was a prophet.  But he sinned in his feelings towards his brothers at times.  A sister in RS once said this psalm is evidence of some depression as well.  This sister is a psychologist. 

Of course, I had my Carli filter on as I was reading today.  If she could only read this with the intent to have it help her.  Yesterday she was fired from her employment that she absolutely loved and lived for.  The path she is on is dangerously destructive and I fear for her like a mother does.  What verses screamed at me this morning?  Easy.  “. . . why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul?” v27

“Awake, my soul!  No longer droop in sin.  Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.”  V28  My advice to anyone is to define the enemy of your soul.  Of course, it is Satan, but he has minions who work for him – not the least of which are our own weaknesses.  Define those weaknesses.  Begin to conquer them with the help of your Savior.

Another verse:  “Yes, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh v35.”  For crying out loud, just ask!  He is there for you.  You are not the first one to feel as though you are in the depths of hell and you will not be the last.  Reach out for help.  The Lord loves you and will have someone there to help you.  You must make the first move though.  And maybe even the second, third or fourth move, but the Lord will send someone.  You will begin to see His hand in your life.  This was my experience.  I’ve heard others give similar testimony and I know it is the plan.  The Lord has a plan for each of us and it is not to wallow in despair at the the destructive mess we create from sinning.  He wants us to return to Him, and He has provided a way for that.  Our Savior, Jesus Christ, has paid for our sins.  We do not have to keep paying for them and stay planted in them.  We can move forward and I pray like I’ve never prayed before that you will have the courage to reach out. 

Hmmm.  I guess I made this a bit personal today, didn’t I?  To me, reading the scriptures is a very personal thing.

We are free!

2 Nephi 2

I love this chapter of the Book of Mormon.  We are told by Lehi that there is opposition in all things (v11),    Adam fell that men might be (v25), and that the only object of a righteous parent is for the welfare of the souls of his/her children.  The story of Adam and Eve is told as well. 

I for one am very grateful for the “fall” as described in this chapter.  We are given some very specific blessings because of this act. 

• Bring about God’s eternal purposes (v15)
• We are free to make our own choices (v16)
• We know good from evil (v18)
• We get to work (v19)
• We can have families (v20)
• Our days are longer (v21)
• We can repent when we mess up (v21)
• We know joy through our families (v23 

I highlighted these blessings in my scriptures some time ago, but I added one today in my reading:  We get to work.  What a blessing it is to have work to do – a purpose in getting up in the morning and a reason to feel good about oneself when we go to bed at night.  I for one have never seen the Garden of Eden as being a place where I would want to live for very long.  What would you do?  It really seemed to me to be boring.  I hope that isn’t irreverent of me to say.  I enjoy taking care of my family, cleaning my home and making meals.  I enjoy serving in the church, caring for my neighbors.  I even enjoyed my days getting up in the morning and going to the office to work.  If it weren’t for work, what would we do? 

I think without work, we would be most miserable.  If there is any doubt, just look at the life of a person without family and purpose, and see just how happy they are.  If a person’s focus in life is their own selfish desires, entertainment, and avoidance of work, they are most miserable.  I don’t think we have to look far to prove this theory.

Definition of a real man

2 Nephi 1

Lehi gives his final talk to his sons before he dies.  He tells them once more how blessed they are to be in this land (America).  He tells them Jerusalem has been destroyed.  He exhorts his sons to live righteously.

I love v13 “O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.” 

What are the chains that bind the children of men?  Poor habits.  Those things we do that remove us from God. 

Lehi tells us what men should be.  I love these few verses.  What is a real man?  The answer is in verses 21-26.

• United in all things with God
• Wear armor of righteousness
• Shake off the chains which bind men down (poor habits)
• Come out of obscurity  (darkness)
• Arise from the dust (something worthless)
• Rebel no more
• Be instrument in God’s hands
• Seek not for power nor authority
• Seek Glory of God
• Speak truth boldly
• Power of God is with him

Should these not be qualities our young sisters should be looking for in a future companion?  I would think so.  They translate well as far as the sisters of the church are concerned as well.  Should we not constantly be seeking to be an instrument in the Lord’s hand? 

Formula for destruction

1 Nephi 23

Israel will be scattered upon all the face of the earth.  It talks about the gathering of Israel and how it will be done in the latter days – our days.  However, as I read it, I was able to apply it to individuals in today’s world.

As I read, I was snagged by verse 5, and could not help but apply it through my “filter” that I’m currently unable to shake.  “And since they have been led away (my daughter has been led away from righteousness), these things have been prophesied concerning them, and also concerning all those who shall hereafter be scattered and be confounded, because of the Holy One of Israel; for against him will they harden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be scattered among all nations and shall be hated of all men (v5).”

I feel my daughter has been confounded.  Don’t bother her with the truth; she cannot understand it.  You cannot understand anything she “believes” or says she believes.  Her logic is nonsense to even the youngest.  What is it that will confound someone who at one time knew so much?  It is the hardening of the heart against the Savior – the Holy One of Israel.  Somehow in her trials, she has decided it is a story she’s been given to keep her doing good that is similar to Santa Claus or the Easter bunny.  In the process, her heart has become so hard.  I don’t believe she has been scattered necessarily, though I feel the day she leaves Utah is closer.  Is that the same as scattered?  However, she has made it so it is hard to want to be in her presence.  Nobody hates her, but she is not a pleasant person to be around.  I see a formula here:

Turn against Savior = confusion; being confounded = inability to reason which makes one socially unacceptable.   Do I dare post something like this?  Yikes!   

Effectual Prayer

1 Nephi 18

“The effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much” James 5:16

Nephi and his family are commanded by the Lord (through Lehi) to go down into the ship and set sail.  I find it interesting that at this point the Lord is giving direction to both Nephi and Lehi. 

The family is on the ship for many days and the brothers and sons of Ishmael and their wives started to “make themselves merry” (9).  They were rude.  The dictionary defines rudeness as uncouth, offensive and vulgar.  Interesting to me that when a group of people are together for any length of time, and they do not have righteous spiritual moorings, this is the direction they go.  I know what it looks like.  I think of it as becoming too familiar with each other.  When you’re living in close proximity to each other, that is what happens. 

They tie Nephi up.  The Lord allows this to happen.  This is a hard time for Nephi, his family and his parents especially.  As soon as they do, the Liahona ceases to work and the ship is in the middle of a fierce storm.  They are on the brink of perishing in the sea before the brothers put the pieces together.  What are the pieces?  The Lord is not happy with their behavior.  Duh!  I have a note in my margin that is something worth thinking about.  It wasn’t until the fourth day that they realized they were going down if they didn’t release Nephi.  Nephi was the key to their existence at this point.  The answer to “what to do” didn’t come until the fourth watch, aka the fourth day.   We need to remember this when things get tough.  The answers don’t always come immediately – and not as soon as we pray even.  The Lord is constantly teaching us to be patient.  Our trials will work to our eventual good if we will remember to be prayerful and acknowledge His hand in our trials. 

Interesting to note the first thing Nephi did when he was released was to “. . praise him (God) all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions” (v16).  It is attitude.  Two people can experience the same trial.  One will praise the Lord and the other with shake his fist at the Lord.  How things turn out will depend on that attitude. 

What does this mean to me today?  Realize the Lord is working His miracles in my own life as well as the lives of my children and trust in His wisdom.  I pray with all my heart that my prayers are “effectual” and will “availeth much”.

To me it's so simple.

1 Nephi 17

Through much tribulation, Lehi's family has arrived to the land Bountiful and the edge of the sea.  The area has what they need to exist comfortably.  In this Nephi is drawn up to the mountain and the Lord gives him further instructions.  Nephi is commanded to build a ship.  His brothers mock him and withhold their labors.  He is allowed to show his power to them and then they believe – for a time, that he is someone worth worshipping.  Nephi says worship God.

The dynamics of this family is so very interesting.  What is it that makes it so hard for some people to believe while others get it so easily?  I’m especially drawn to verses 13&14.  There is a formula here that I have proven for myself and I’m able to see it in the lives of others.  

• Keep the commandments
• When we keep the commandments, we are led.
• When we are led, we will know it is the Lord leading us.
• We will see we were led from destruction.

Is this not simple enough?  If I want to be led away from destruction, wouldn’t it be simple enough to at least try this formula?  In my own experience, I just wanted out of a miserable marriage that was rapidly taking me into a darker, and darker world.  It was a simple and child-like prayer that was the first move.  After that prayer, people came to my rescue.  Oh, I had committed to letting this happen.  I’m not naturally one to reach out to others.  But when they reached out to me, I accepted their help.  The more that happened, the more I could see that the Lord really was leading me out of this dark world I had wandered into.  When I saw that happening, I became more committed to keeping the commandments because I truly did enjoy the blessings coming my way.  I was led from destruction and have found great joy in the blessings that have come.  Have they come without trials?  Of course not!  But I’ve been able to see that even the trials have been my blessings.

So what do I do today about this information?  This is nothing new to me.  I share it with my reader and pray it will touch your heart that you will experiment and use this formula.  And of course, I pray that reader would be my daughter who is lost in a deep, dark mist.  It’s pretty simple.