verse 7: Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
When you listen to the Lord and are doing what you know you should do, you should not be concerned with what the world may think of you or what others may say.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
2 Nephi, chapter 5
At the beginning of the chapter, Nephi writes about a few of the things that his brothers are saying as they murmur against him. Then in verse 4, he says:
"Now I do not write upon these plates all the words which they murmured against me..."
When someone murmurs against us or does us wrong, don't we usually want to tell every single word and every little thing they did? We want to prove to everyone we tell just how badly we have been treated. We treasure up the wrongs against us. We hold them close and nurse our grievances.
Instead, we need to take Nephi's example. He summed it all up succinctly (again in verse 4):
"But it sufficeth me to say, that they did seek to take away my life."
And that's enough for him. He then takes the Lord's advice to take his family and go. And then he moves on with his life. He doesn't spend his time dwelling on all the things his brothers did. e doesn't spent his time feeling hurt and abused and telling his story to everyone to get them on his side. He doesn't plot revenge against them for their bad treatment. He just moves on.
"Now I do not write upon these plates all the words which they murmured against me..."
When someone murmurs against us or does us wrong, don't we usually want to tell every single word and every little thing they did? We want to prove to everyone we tell just how badly we have been treated. We treasure up the wrongs against us. We hold them close and nurse our grievances.
Instead, we need to take Nephi's example. He summed it all up succinctly (again in verse 4):
"But it sufficeth me to say, that they did seek to take away my life."
And that's enough for him. He then takes the Lord's advice to take his family and go. And then he moves on with his life. He doesn't spend his time dwelling on all the things his brothers did. e doesn't spent his time feeling hurt and abused and telling his story to everyone to get them on his side. He doesn't plot revenge against them for their bad treatment. He just moves on.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
2 Nephi, chapter 3-4
In chapter 4, Nephi talks about how he feels unworthy and weak at times. If even a great prophet like Nephi can have these troubles and doubts, no wonder I have troubles! I just need to follow Nephi's example and trust in the Lord.
verse 34: O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever.
I had a seminary teacher in high school who wrote a song based on this chapter. He called it Nephi's Psalm. It's beautiful. And always brings me warm memories of listening to Brother Kunz sing to us in seminary.
If you want to hear the song: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2346697/nephis_psalm/
verse 34: O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever.
I had a seminary teacher in high school who wrote a song based on this chapter. He called it Nephi's Psalm. It's beautiful. And always brings me warm memories of listening to Brother Kunz sing to us in seminary.
If you want to hear the song: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2346697/nephis_psalm/
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
2 Nephi, chapter 2
Two verses stood out to me in this chapter.
verse 11: "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, ... righteousness could not be brought to pass"
It reminds me that there is a purpose to all the roadblocks that we encounter in life. We have to encounter the roadblocks and overcome them in order to progress and become better and more righteous.
verse 25: Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
Men are that they might have joy... what a great thing! We are here to learn and progress and to be happy! We may be working to overcome roadblocks in our life, we may be trying to constantly get better, but we should also be trying to be happy. Men are that they might have joy... we are meant to be happy!
verse 11: "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, ... righteousness could not be brought to pass"
It reminds me that there is a purpose to all the roadblocks that we encounter in life. We have to encounter the roadblocks and overcome them in order to progress and become better and more righteous.
verse 25: Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
Men are that they might have joy... what a great thing! We are here to learn and progress and to be happy! We may be working to overcome roadblocks in our life, we may be trying to constantly get better, but we should also be trying to be happy. Men are that they might have joy... we are meant to be happy!
Monday, September 21, 2009
2 Nephi, chapter 1
verse 15: But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.
In the arms of His love. What a wonderful thought.
This phrase is repeated several times in various scriptures, and every time I read it, I have such a warm and wonderful feeling. In times of trouble, I re-read the scriptures that refer to the arms of His love and I can almost feel the warm hug comforting me.
Rather than one favorite scripture, I have this phrase from the scriptures that is my favorite. I just love the feelings I get when I picture myself encircled in the arms of His love.
In the arms of His love. What a wonderful thought.
This phrase is repeated several times in various scriptures, and every time I read it, I have such a warm and wonderful feeling. In times of trouble, I re-read the scriptures that refer to the arms of His love and I can almost feel the warm hug comforting me.
Rather than one favorite scripture, I have this phrase from the scriptures that is my favorite. I just love the feelings I get when I picture myself encircled in the arms of His love.
Friday, September 18, 2009
1 Nephi, Chapter 22
Verse 31: "...Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen."
A beautiful promise. If we are doing our best to obey the commandments and endure to the end, we will be saved. And because the promise comes from God, we can know that He will keep His end of the bargain no matter what. It's up to us to keep our end of the deal.
A beautiful promise. If we are doing our best to obey the commandments and endure to the end, we will be saved. And because the promise comes from God, we can know that He will keep His end of the bargain no matter what. It's up to us to keep our end of the deal.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
1 Nephi, Chapter 21
I have always liked verse 13, just because I find the language beautiful:
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established; and break forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
And on a somewhat unrelated note... today I'm feeling very glad that I started my scripture-reading blog. Keeping up with my scripture study has always been something I struggle with. I have so much going on that this is something that always seems to fall by the wayside with me. I will make a committment to myself that I'm going to do better and I will read, but then other things in life seem to take over and before I know it, I've fallen way behind. Then I end up just giving up on it. But with the blog, I feel like I have some accountability. I can't just stop, because I have this record of what I'm reading. If I stop, it will be in the record that I just gave up. So even when life takes over and I miss some days, I have incentive to get back and start again. Hooray for blogging for helping me stay on track!
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established; and break forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
And on a somewhat unrelated note... today I'm feeling very glad that I started my scripture-reading blog. Keeping up with my scripture study has always been something I struggle with. I have so much going on that this is something that always seems to fall by the wayside with me. I will make a committment to myself that I'm going to do better and I will read, but then other things in life seem to take over and before I know it, I've fallen way behind. Then I end up just giving up on it. But with the blog, I feel like I have some accountability. I can't just stop, because I have this record of what I'm reading. If I stop, it will be in the record that I just gave up. So even when life takes over and I miss some days, I have incentive to get back and start again. Hooray for blogging for helping me stay on track!
Friday, September 11, 2009
1 Nephi, Chapter 20
If you look at the chapter heading for chapter 20, you'll see that it instructs you to compare Isaiah 48. After reading both of those chapters I was really struck by the fact that they are so similar. A lot of the wording is almost exactly the same - and I imagine some of the differences are because of translation from the original language.
So here are these two chapters - revelations given to two different prophets, in two different parts of the world, hundreds of years apart (Isaiah is thought to have been written somewhere in the 800s B.C. and this part of 1 Nephi was around 570 - 590 B.C.). And yet they are almost identical.
To me, this illustrates the unchanging nature of God. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. All other things may change and pass away, but God will remain.
So here are these two chapters - revelations given to two different prophets, in two different parts of the world, hundreds of years apart (Isaiah is thought to have been written somewhere in the 800s B.C. and this part of 1 Nephi was around 570 - 590 B.C.). And yet they are almost identical.
To me, this illustrates the unchanging nature of God. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. All other things may change and pass away, but God will remain.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
1 Nephi, Chapter 19
This is the chapter that inspired my blog title. :)
In verse 23, Nephi instructs us to "liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning." That is what I attempt to do each do I blog by finding something with a personal meaning for me in what I have read. When I do this, I get so much more out of my scripture reading. Without this goal, I tend to skim through the chapter just for the sake of having read it. I don't always get a lot out of it because I'm not TRYING to get something out of it.
When I have the goal of finding something that relates to me personally in what I've read, I have to pay more attention to what I'm reading. I have to think about what I've read. So far, this blog is helping me meet my goal of getting more out of my scripture reading.
In verse 23, Nephi instructs us to "liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning." That is what I attempt to do each do I blog by finding something with a personal meaning for me in what I have read. When I do this, I get so much more out of my scripture reading. Without this goal, I tend to skim through the chapter just for the sake of having read it. I don't always get a lot out of it because I'm not TRYING to get something out of it.
When I have the goal of finding something that relates to me personally in what I've read, I have to pay more attention to what I'm reading. I have to think about what I've read. So far, this blog is helping me meet my goal of getting more out of my scripture reading.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
1 Nephi, Chapter 18
Well, with all that went on with my family in the last week and a half, I really fell down on my scripture reading. But back on track this week...
The thing I noticed today is really not a great scriptural insight, just something that I like to notice as I read the Book of Mormon. In chapter 18, I think it's the first time that you see the little asterisk that directs you to the bottom of the page where they give you the year. In this case about 589 B.C.
When I read the Book of Mormon, I always enjoy watching those dates and seeing them count down as it gets closer to the birth of Christ. It's just always a little exciting to me to read about the events of that time and see what's going on as His birth comes closer and closer.
The thing I noticed today is really not a great scriptural insight, just something that I like to notice as I read the Book of Mormon. In chapter 18, I think it's the first time that you see the little asterisk that directs you to the bottom of the page where they give you the year. In this case about 589 B.C.
When I read the Book of Mormon, I always enjoy watching those dates and seeing them count down as it gets closer to the birth of Christ. It's just always a little exciting to me to read about the events of that time and see what's going on as His birth comes closer and closer.
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