Don't Forget To Pray (2 Nephi 32)

I uttered my first prayer when I was about 5 or 6 years old.  I didn't quite know how to pray, as I recall, but I knew some words that seemed to make me feel good.  Words like "Bible", "God", "Mary", "Joseph" and "Gospel".  I would say these words out loud to myself before I went to sleep. Sometimes memories from childhood can be a bit sketchy, but I really believe that saying those words aloud made me feel better.  They had a calming effect.  And I remember feeling less afraid of the dark.

Saying those words, Bible, Gospel, God, Mary and Joseph, may not have been the most eloquent prayer ever uttered, but God answers all sincere prayers, even if we don't know what to say to Him. Prayer brings light where there was darkness, and hope where there was fear.

2 Nephi 32: 8-9

Chapter 32 in 2nd Nephi is a shorty, but a goody.  It's really worth the read.  Verses 8 and 9 really stand out to me because they are yellow have helped me to pray many times, even when I didn't feel like it, or worse, didn't feel I like I was worthy enough to speak to Him.   According to Nephi's calculations, if you feel like not praying, or feel like you shouldn't pray, or feel like The Lord doesn't want to hear from you today, those dark thoughts aren't coming from a very reliable source.

Story Time!!!

This is actually a fairly long story, and I've most likely already used it in a previous post, so I'm going to brief-a-tize it.  While serving a mission for The Church in Oxford, Ohio in 19 & 88, mein kampf & I had tracted a road about 5 miles out of town.  It was a long road and it was a hot day, and it was dark by the time we got back to our apartment.  Upon discovering that we had lost our tracting record, and, therefore, had no way of knowing who had asked us to come back and who had thrown us out, we decided we'd better ride our bikes the 5 miles back to where we knew we last had it.  On the way out there were faint remnants of light on the horizon, but on the way back it was completely dark.

Imagine the picture above, but without the headlight on, that's what it looked like.  We rode our bikes in the center of the road with our eyes looking down.  We could barely make out the road directly beneath us, but nothing in front of us.  All the sudden both of us darted to the side of the road at the same time.  Just as we did so, a vehicle sped passed us with no lights on.  Didn't see it coming; didn't hear it coming.  We didn't know it was coming until it past us.  The only light on it was the license plate light.  Why we both darted to the right at the same time remains a mystery to us, but not to The Lord.

Then there was the dog

Riding by a farm, we were chased by a dog.  Imagine the photo above, but with all the lights turned out.  I could here the dog's feet hitting the road, and I could hear the dog's breathing growls, but couldn't see where he was.  Now, that freaked me out.  Was I scared?  You are speaking with someone who has laughed in the face of death -- sneered at doom and chuckled at catastrophe.  I was petrified.

Well, what did you do????

At that scary moment in the dark I prayed.  A song jumped into my head and I started to sing it to myself. Peace came to me.  The dark wasn't so dark anymore.  And, best of all, I was still alive and in possession of both of my pant legs.

The Song:  Ere You Left Your Room This Morning

LDS Hymn Book, pp 140

Please pray if you meet the following conditions:

• You are perfect
• You aren't perfect
• You are worthy to speak to Him
• You are not worthy to speak to Him
• You are repentant
• You are not repentant
• You feel like praying
• You don't feel like praying
• Everything is going wonderful
• Nothing is going right
• You are basking in the life-giving light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
• You are crying inside the darkest abyss with nowhere to turn
• Or anywhere in between.  

Prayer really does change the night to day.
Don't forget to pray.

Peace be with you...
jb

Testifying Out of the Dust (2 Nephi 27)

The Prophet Moroni buries the golden plates near Palmyra, NY about 450a.d.

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon was prophesied of in several places in the Bible, Old and New Testaments, but none so clear as the one in Isaiah Chapter 29.  Nephi throws this one last Isaiah chapter into the Plates of Nephi in 2 Nephi 27.  I bet it made old Nephi glad when he read this chapter and understood that Isaiah was talking about the very plates he was writing on, that his sore fingers weren't for nuttin'.

In 2 Nephi 27, Isaiah talks quite plainly about a book containing the "words of them who have slumbered in the dust" (dead people) coming forth in the last days, which will contain revelation from God (scripture).

2 Nephi 27: 6-7

6.  And it shall come to pass that The Lord God shall bring forth unto you the words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered.

7.  And behold the book shall be sealed; and in the book shall be a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof.

It would be pretty cool to flip to the end of the Book of Mormon and see how the world ends.  Too bad that part of the plates was sealed off, and therefore not translated by Joseph Smith into the BOM we have today.

I hope I didn't miss it!

It's probably a good thing we don't have the "sealed portion" yet.  We will have it some day, and then we'll read it on top of our house.  I guess that's a good place to be alone.

Moroni delivers the plates

Moroni delivering the plates to Joseph Smith in1827

Having buried the plates in the ground on a hillside close to the future site of Palmyra, New York sometime around 450 A.D., the Angel Moroni, now a resurrected being, delivered the golden plates to 21-year old Joseph Smith on Sept 22, 1827.  The miraculous work of translation from the ancient text (written in what the BOM calls "reformed Egyptian") into English commenced, but because of persecution and multiple attempts by evil men to steal the plates, it took Brother Joseph 2 years to get the first edition to the printers.  The actual translation took a combined total of only about 90 days.  

 Professor Anthon

In this chapter, Isaiah prophesied that when this book comes forth, the unsealed portion will be delivered to a "learned man", who will reject it. 

During the early days of translating the BOM, Joseph Smith wrote down some of the hieroglyphic characters from the BOM plates and their translation, and his buddy Martin Harris took them to New York City to a Charles Anthon, a professor at Columbia University, and who was known for his "literary attainments".  Anthon studied the characters, and wrote a certificate, certifying both the authenticity of the characters, saying that they were true characters from the Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac and Arabic languages, and the accuracy of the translation.  Anthon asked to see the entire set of golden plates.  He doesn't say anything about greed being his motive, but the BOM says so. 

2 Nephi 27: 15-18

15.  But behold, it shall come to pass that The Lord God shall say unto him to whom He shall deliver the book [Joseph Smith]:  Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he [Martin Harris] may show them unto the learned [Professor Anthon], saying:  Read this, I pray thee.  And the learned [Professor Anthon] shall say:  Bring hither the book, and I will read them.

16.  And now, because of the glory of the world and to get gain will they say this, and not for the glory of God.

17.  And the man [Martin Harris] shall say:  I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed.

18.  Then shall the learned [Professor Anthon] say:  I cannot read it.

When Martin Harris said, "I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed," to the professor, Anthon replied, "I cannot read a sealed book."  He then tore up the certificate that he'd written, and said that angels do not appear to man in our day. 

But of course he now denies it; you'd expect that of a con.  But he couldn't run forever, not even Charles Anthon.

Joseph Smith

Isaiah then says that the book will be delivered to an "unlearned man", who will do the marvelous and wondrous work of God.

2 Nephi 27: 19-21

19.  Wherefore it shall come to pass, that The Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned [Joseph Smith]; and the man that is not learned shall say:  I am not learned.

20.  Then shall The Lord God say unto him:  The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.

21.  Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work.  

With only 3 or so years of formal education, Joseph Smith was an "unlearned man".  One of the criticisms against Joseph in his day was that he was an uneducated farmer, and yet professed to be a prophet of God.  Goodness knows, The Lord should never, would never, could never use a poor commoner to share His words...

Oh, except for David the shepherd

Oh, and Peter, James, John and Andrew; they were fishermen

Oh, and except for Jesus Christ; He was a carpenter

Twelve Witnesses

A certain number of people were given the chance to be witnesses of the plates of Nephi, which was talked about in this chapter as well.

2 Nephi 27: 12-13

12.  Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein.

13.  And there is none others which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for The Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead.

The Three

The 3 witnesses testified to the world that they had seen the angel Moroni and the golden plates.  You can read their account in the first few pages of the BOM.  These 3 men all eventually left The Church, but none of them ever denied this witness.

Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris both returned to The Church eventually.  David Whitmer did not return to The Church, but gave a strong testimony on his deathbed, swearing to the truth of his vision of the angel Moroni and the golden plates.

The Eight

The Eight Witnesses testified that they saw the golden plates.  These 8 did not see the angel Moroni, but they saw and "hefted" the plates.  The testimony of the eight witnesses is found at the beginning of the BOM.

The 8 witnesses were:  Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr, John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith Sr, Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith.

But, Three + Eight = Eleven

The 12th witness to whom I referred when I says there'd be 12 witnesses is yours truly.  I saw no plates, nor angels, but I know that there were angels in the room on January 24, 1987, when I had the light and warmth and love and gratefulness of the Holy Ghost drill a hole into my heart and deposit there, underneath untold layers of fat and cholesterol, a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and the marvelous and wonderful story of its coming about.  Tears sprung from my face like a shook up Sprite, and in that unforgettable and most important moment I received the following treasures:

• God lives
• God is my Father in Heaven
• Heavenly Father loves me
• I am worth Heavenly Father's time to answer
• Jesus Christ lives
• Jesus Christ loves me
• Joseph Smith was visited by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
• The angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith and delivered the golden plates to him
• Joseph Smith translated the golden plates into the BOM
• The Book of Mormon is the Word of God
• The Priesthood that was given to me by Richard Barney, and to him by Mike Barney, and to him by Dale Pelo, and to him by Alvin R. Dyer, and to him by Joseph Fielding Smith, and to him by Joseph F. Smith, and to him by Brigham Young, and to him by the 3 Witnesses, and to them by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and to them by Peter, James and John, and to them by Jesus Christ is real
• I'm glad I went on a mission

JB at the MTC, Jan 1987

And I'll here repeat what was and has remained the most important one to me on this list....

• I am worth Heavenly Father's time to answer!

Peace be with you...

Farewell to Babylon (2 Nephi 23)

The preamble of 2 Nephi 23 (compare Isaiah 13) says that the destruction of Babylon is a type of the destruction that will happen at The Lord's 2nd Coming.  Therefore, today I will talk about
Last of the Mohicans...

Doesn't look like Babylon lasted very long.  I guess Isaiah was right about them...

2 Nephi 23: 19

19.  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

20.  It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

Here's Babylon today

What was so awful about Babylon?  There were lots of places around the world whose people weren't models of obedience to The Lord.  Why pick on the Babylonians as the standard in wicked behavior, always to be referred to in a negative context?

Me & Gerry Lindley in Vincennes, Indiana; circa 1988

Pictured up yonder is me as a missionary and my mission companion, Gerry Lindley.  It may seem like we're rocking out, but actually we're singing along with Bring the World His Truth, and are on the "Weeeee are as the Army of Helaman, we have been born in our youth" part of the song.

In my mission, the rules restricted our listening pleasure to Mormon Tabernacle Choir songs and Church Hymns.  Though this song is in the LDS Primary songbook, the version we listened to was technically against our rules.  Anything we missionaries had which was outside the rules was called Babylon.  This song was Babylon, and so was the stereo I was playing it on, much as I tried to justify myself by listening to our Gospel Study tapes on it.  I finally ended up bringing my stereo thing into the Mission Office and leaving it until I finished my mission and went home.

Most of the tribes of Israel were already scattered and lost.  The Babylonians conquered what was left, The tribe of Judah, and carried them away captive to Babylon, where they remained for about 70 years, long enough for God's people to pick up some bad habits.  When Judah returned from Babylon, they brought much of its influence with them, and this caused some major apostasy.  In order to cleave unto God and the covenants they had made with Him, the people of Judah were commanded to leave Babylon behind, not just physically, but spiritually too, even more so.  Those who were able to leave Babylon behind were able to remain steadfast in their faith.  If they kept some souvenirs, they had a much harder time, and many were lost.

How does this connect to me? 

The reason missionaries attached the name Babylon to stuff against the rules is because the same principle applies to them.  Those who are able to let go of the world (in our case it was TV, good music, going to movies, dating, etc.) could become missionaries of great faith and influence, wielding the sword of the spirit like the Army of Helaman.  Those who hold on to the world (my stereo), are much less effective.  And in some cases, this has led to apostasy as well.

Screenshot of Babylon from "Age of Empires" computer game

In my 30's I was quite the gamer.  As a lonely bachelor, I found computer games to be a welcome distraction from my otherwise dull life.  I used to say stuff like, "My life sucks anyway, might as well buy this $2000 computer."  Now, computer and video games ain't a bad thing.  It ain't a sin to play Age of Empires or whatever.  That is, until it distracts you from what is really important.  Sometimes I'd play for hours, late into the night.  This usually exhausted me for the next day's activities, be they work or family or church, or just productive living.  Then I'd be back at it that night, and so on.

She finally found me in 2008

Whether it was because marrying Emilie filled the emptiness in me that caused me to lose interest in my computer games or the fact that we are so broke that I can't even afford a decent computer, let alone the 50-buck games I'd want to play, either way I'm grateful.

I heard a scary statistic the other day.  An LDS Bishop in Orem, Utah stated that over 60% of the divorces in his area were related to video/ computer gaming. 

What a jerk.  C'mon man, it's her turn.

So that's my speech about Babylon.  People have different things which, to them, is a 'hanging on to Babylon' issue.  My advice is to bid farewell to Babylon, whatever that may be to you, and remember who you are, where you're headed, and what is important.

It's actually quite a battle to keep your head in the game of life these days.  There are zillions of distractions around us all the time, and the effects of The Fall of man are such that our "natural man" wants to be distracted.  To do battle against our "natural" desire for Babylon, The Lord has blest us with power from on High, if we only ask for it, reach for it.  If you personally are able to live a life that balances spiritual joys and temporal fun, that's groovy.  Nothing wrong with playing a game, watching a movie, hangin' with friends, etc.  Ain't nobody said we need to read the BOM all day long.  It's when the distractions take a more weighted role in our lives than the important stuff that could cause us trouble.

As Colonel Munro said in Last of the Mohicans,

"There's a terrible feature of war here in the Americas, Major Heyward; best we keep our eye fixed on our duty:  To defeat France (or Babylon)."

Here's Ye Elders of Israel if you'd care to listen to a verse or two 
(at least listen to 1:05 to 1:22)...

So, this is my spiel for today:

• Recognize if you are hanging on to any part of Babylon
• If it's a problem, and you'll know if it's a problem, make a decision to leave your Babylon behind, whatever it is
• If you find it difficult to defeat Babylon or France, call upon your good buddy Hawkeye to help you...

He will "let Killdeer take part in the conversation; for at this distance, he will touch the life 2 out of 3 times."

Great Spirit and Maker of all life

A warrior comes to you straight and true as an arrow shot into the sun

Welcome him, and make a place for him at the council fire of my people

He is Uncas, my son

Teach him to be patient, as he has death for speed

For they are all there, but one:  I, Chingachgook, Last of the Mohicans

Good luck, and

Peace be with you...

Five Brides for Four Brothers (1 Nephi 16, part one)

Chapter 16's got some stuff in it.  You got your "wicked take the truth to be hard" thing, a big wedding that gave a friend of mine his testimony of the BOM, the Liahona, Nephi breaking his bow, murmuring by the prophet of God, and Laman's bipolar disorder comes back.  This will probably take 2 posts at least. 

A friend of mine mentioned Cognitive Dissonance in his blog recently.  I learned that term in college and it really resonated with me, which is another word I learned in college: resonated.

The definitions and examples they taught us in class, I could take 'em or leave 'em, but this scripture coming to my mind while the prof was talking about it pretty much stuck with me, and I constantly overuse it to explain to myself why people fight against the truth:

1 Nephi 16: 1-3

1.  And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.

2.  And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.

3.  And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.

Cognitive Dissonance, in other words, is:  What I believe my behavior should be is not matching up to what my behavior actually is, and this is making me feel bad.  To rid myself of this discomfort, I will either change my behavior or change my belief.

Example 1:  

• I believe I should keep God's commandments
• I don't keep God's commandments
• I will repent and keep God's commandments

Example 2:

• I believe I should keep God's commandments
• I don't keep God's commandments
• I don't believe God's commandments are that important
• I don't like these people who hammer these commandments on my head
• I don't like The Church
• I need other people to not like The Church too so that I can be sure I'm right

I know I'm oversimplifying a complex issue, and I'm generalizing (and I hate it when I get generalized), but it is true in many a case.  Step number 3 in Example 1 may cause some to say, "Well, it ain't that easy, man."  Ha, tell me about it.  How many times have I had to wash, rinse, repeat; wash, rinse, repeat?  Have you heard this saying:  If at first you don't succeed, join the club?  The Nephies of us will keep trying as long as it takes, applying Faith and a belief in Christ's saving and enabling atonement.  The Lamans among us will give up on Example 1 because it's too hard, and join Example 2, even though, in reality, it's a much more difficult road.

The Dories among us will just keep swimming.

The Wedding

When I went on my mission for The Church, my first companion was a fellow named Peterman.  Elder Peterman had been out for 20 months of his 2 years.  A month prior to my arrival, Elder Peterman had had his first convert baptism.  This was a shock to me, for I had high hopes of the whole state of Kentucky joining The Church.  Anywayz, to the point.  Peterman shared this story with me:  He came out on his mission without a testimony of The Church.  He was obedient and worked hard his whole mission, and prayed consistently to know if the Book of Mormon was true and if, by association, The Church was true.  For 18 months he struggled, then his prayers were answered.  He was reading in the BOM one day, 1 Nephi 16, and came across this verse:

1 Nephi 16: 7

7.  And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also, my brethren took of the daughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife.

Seems pretty simple and lacks extraordinariness, doesn't it?  In Elder Peterman's mind came a thought:  The Lord even remembered to provide a wife for Zoram.  When reading the scriptures, a person can have a thought come to them, and it may be inspiration or not.  There are thoughts, there are impressions, and there are revelations.  This was a revelation for Peterman from Heavenly Father, in answer to many prayers.  After having this thought about Zoram, Elder Peterman felt the Spirit so strongly that tears poured down his face.  He knew absolutely that the Book of Mormon was The Word of God, and that The Church was true.

Me & Peterman in our apt. -Feb 1987.

A month later he baptized his first family, then he trained me for 2 months, then he finished his mission as our Lexington Zone Leader.  He was quite a guy.

South, Southeast Direction

X = Lehi's camp.  Big blue things:  1= Red Sea; 2= Persian Gulf; 3= Indian Ocean, generally speaking.  Big brown thing:  4= Saudi Arabia.  Arrow = Direction of travel. 

So, it's time to go.  When setting out on a journey in this part of the world, it's best to travel with a GPS, a map, some water, and maybe some dehydrated food or MREs (meals ready to eat).  It would be nice to, at least, know where you are going.  

Lehi finds the Liahona. 

1 Nephi 16: 10, 13-14, & 16

10.  And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass.  And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.

13.  And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south
-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place Shazer.

14.  ...And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea.

16.  And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.

28.  And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

29.  And there was also written upon [it] a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of The Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it.  And thus we see that by small means The Lord can bring about great things.

So, this cool Liahona thing is pretty neato.  It's not only a compass that shows them how to get to their destination, but helps them stay in the more fertile parts of the land (a big plus in Saudi Arabia), and The Lord writes on it from time to time, giving them knowledge and understanding.  Sign me up, man.  I wish I had one of those.

Ah oh, I do have one of those.  It's called the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The gospel shows me where to go, the best way to get there, how to stay healthy on the way, and teaches me the mysteries of heaven, just like Lehi's liahona. 

Oh, man!!!  You mean to tell me I've been making fun of how stupid Laman and Lemuel are because they had this miraculous liahona right in front of them and didn't follow it, and I'm just like them (sometimes)?  Man, I hate being a Laman.  As my wife says, "Shootest Begootest!"

We'll talk more about this when we reach Alma 37: 38-47 (in about 19 months, maybe).

Closing Arguments

You could say that Elder Peterman's mission experience was like a wilderness for him.  He lacked the knowledge he needed to be successful, and needed direction from The Lord.  Teaching people that The Church is true and that they would do well to be baptized must have been difficult when he wasn't sure whether it was true himself.  This became a moment of Cognitive Dissonance for him.  Through faith, obedience and diligence in following the gospel of Jesus Christ, Peterman was able to find his Liahona, the Book of Mormon.  And Heavenly Father wrote something on it for him to find in the morning:  The Lord even provided a wife for Zoram.

Through small means, The Lord can bring about great things.

Peace be with you...