Remember His Name (2 Nephi 25, part 2)

http://deseretbook.com/His-Holy-Name-Dallin-H-Oaks/i/5092088

The Name of Jesus Christ appears in 2 Nephi 25 about 80 times.  I actually didn't really count, but it's a lot. Way back when I did my post about 1 Nephi 11, I talked about Nephi seeing a vision of the Tree of Life.  When Nephi asked for the interpretation of the tree, he was shown a vision of the birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Then the angel put the question back to Nephi, "What meaneth the tree?"

This is my Tree of Life plate that a guy made for me while I was in Japan in 1994.  When he gave it to me, it wasn't upside down, but google blogger had a different idea.  Sorry, it won't fix.

 Nephi says, "It is the Love of God, which sheddeth Itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men."

Nephi loved The Savior, and understood as only a prophet can the depth of Christ's love for him, and the [insert fancy word here that means HUGE] importance of Christ's atonement. 

2 Nephi 25: 12-13

12.  ...and when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of The Father, yea, even The Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest Himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject Him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.

13.  Behold, they will crucify Him; and after He is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days He shall rise from the dead, with healing in His wings; and all those who shall believe on His Name shall be saved in the kingdom of God.  Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen His day, and my heart doth magnify His Holy Name. 

I've noticed over the years an interesting something or other about references to the saving power of Christ.  Some scriptures tell us that salvation will come to those who believe in Him, accept Him, worship Him, come unto Him, obey Him, etc.  Other scriptures tell us that it is the Name of Jesus Christ that offers salvation.  I feel like both of these are true, but find it interesting that the scriptures differentiate them.


2 Nephi 25: 19

19.  For according to the words of the prophets, The Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem; and according to the words of the prophets, and also the word of the angel of God, His name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

20.  ...Behold I say unto you, that as these things are true, and as The Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can  be saved.

What is it about the Name of Jesus Christ that offers salvation to the human family?  I looked up the name of Jesus on http://www.kabalarians.com/index.cfm to see if I could gain some insight.

It was very insightful (not).  Here's their "analysis":

• Your name of Jesus has given you the ability to handle people.  You are pleasant and diplomatic, and seem to sense how others feel.  For this reason, you could do well in public relations work.  (Definitely true so far)
• You appreciate the finer things of life, and like to have a good standard of living.  (Well, he was poor in the beginning, but is now quite well off, so that could be true)
• You feel that it is important to convey the impression that you are financially secure, and you place importance on your mode of dress, and on appearances generally.  (Um, well, He did say that the body is a temple, and that we should watch what we wear, so... maybe)
• While you could do well in certain positions of authority, you have a certain lack of initiative and a tendency to procrastinate.  (This one just cracks me up)
• Difficulty in coming to important decisions and a degree of passivity do not allow you the concentration and application required to attain positions of responsibility.  (Um, no)
• You prefer to choose the easiest way to accomplish your goals, and would probably readily admit that you dislike hard work.  (The easy way?  Um, no)
• However, your likeable personality sees you through most situations but when your emotional nature does not allow you to be strictly impersonal in your relationships, you could experience awkward, embarrassing entanglements. (Not real good at this, are they)
• Weaknesses in the health could affect the kidneys, or lower back.  (Um, well, they're kind of off the mark on that one too)

Here's my think...

A person's identity is much more than just their name, but in a way, their name represents all that they are.  Jesus Christ is perfectly kind, loving, just, merciful, powerful, giving, knowing, fair, humane, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...........  His name represents not only Who Jesus is, but also what He believes in, what His mission is, what His duty is, what He wants for us, what He offers us, what He did for us, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...........  To believe in the Name of Christ, is to believe in Christ Himself, and everything about Him.

When we partake of The Lord's Supper, or the Sacrament as we call it today, we covenant to take upon ourselves the Name of Jesus Christ, and always remember Him. 

2 things about that....

# One.  We covenant to take upon ourselves His Name:  In taking His Name upon us, we take upon us all that His Name represents, that is to say, His gospel, His mercy, His kindness, His everything, or at least to make an effort to come as close as we can to these things, we being so not perfect as He is and all that.  We also take upon us His sacrifice, or in other words, accept His sacrifice, His atonement, His forgiveness.

Number 2:  We covenant to always remember Him:  Please remember to not forget to remember His atoning sacrifice.  It's great to be obedient, but it's vital to remember Him, because we will always fall short.  Don't forget to remember all He has done for you, and seek His mercy again and again and again and again, as many times as it takes, even if it's 491 times.  He will never forget about you.  He has "graven you on the palms of His hands," another great Isaiah reference.

2 Nephi 25: 23-26

23.  For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.

24.  And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.

25.  For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.

26.  And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look forward for a remission of their sins.

Nephi knew and understood that the laws given through Moses to the house of Israel were still in effect, but would be fulfilled at Christ's atonement, and would then be replaced by Christ's higher law.  This higher law is found, at least in part, in The Bible and the Book of Mormon, where Jesus Christ delivered His Sermon on the Mount.  And Nephi understood that it was not obedience to the law that would bring salvation, but the atonement of Christ.  Obedience to the commandments of God shows our commitment to and love for The Savior, and increases our faith in Him and our love for Him.  And it is that belief in, faith in, and love for The Savior that leads us to repent & take upon ourselves His Name, which brings about His amazing grace in our behalf, despite all we do, or all we can do. 

I know this blog post is getting long, but I want to say something about the ending phrase in vs. 23: "We know that we are saved by grace, after all we can do."

The part that says "after all we can do" has caused some to think that we have to measure up to some standard before we can have a hope for salvation.  I clearly remember being a member of this misguided group.  I spent more than 1/2 of my life thinking that I have too many flaws, fall far too short of "all I can do," whatever that means, and ain't never gonna be "worthy enough," whatever that means, to go to heaven.  And why not?  Because I need the Savior's love a little too much?  Sounds silly, doesn't it?  

There's a part later in the BOM that throws some light on the phrase "after all we can do."  It's in Alma 24: 10-11, and is spoken by the King of a people who came to know Christ, ask His forgiveness, and believe in His ability and willingness to save them.

10.  And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that He hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things. and also that He hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of His Son.

11.  And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that He would take away our stain.

Mosiah 4: 30

30.  ...And now, O man, remember, and perish not.

Peace be with you...

Israel, Israel, God is calling (1 Nephi 21)

1 Nephi 21 is Nephi's quotation of Isaiah 49, which is mostly about the scattering of Israel and the promises from The Lord that Israel will be remembered and gathered back into the fold of God.

I'll mention a few of things from this chapter, and may go over it again when I post about chapter 22, which is Nephi explaining what Isaiah meant.  We'll see...

1 Nephi 21: 1

1.  And again:  Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people; yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, who are of my people, O house of Israel.  Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken ye people from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

Who is Israel?

Abraham begat Isaac.  Isaac begat Esau and Jacob.  Esau and Jacob were twins, though Esau was the older of the two.  When it came time for Isaac to bestow his blessing and continue the patriarchal line, he was going to give it to his oldest, Esau, because he really liked how he cooked.  It makes pretty good reading in Genesis 25-27 where Jacob bought the birthright off of Esau for a bowl of soup, and then how Jacob and his mother, Rebekah, tricked Isaac (who was blind in his old age) into giving his blessing to Jacob instead of Esau by putting goat skins on Jacob's arms to simulate Esau's hairy skin and his unique smell.

Don't think too poorly of Jacob and Rebekah for this deception.  Rebekah was told in Genesis 25: 23 that "the eldest (Esau) shall serve the younger (Jacob)".

So, Jacob had bunches of kids, including 12 sons.  Before the birth of his last son, Benjamin, The Lord changed Jacob's name to Israel.  So, the 12 sons of Jacob are the 12 tribes of Israel, or the children of Israel.

Anywayz... 

• Lehi is a descendant of Joseph, through Manasseh.
• Moses is a descendant of Levi, the designated carriers of the Levitical (or Aaronic) Priesthood.  
• From Judah came Jesse, the father of King David.  Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, and Joseph, the "step-father" of Jesus, were both descendants of Jesse and King David.  Isaiah 53 talks about The Messiah being a "stem of Jesse".  In fact, if Israel would have continued to be ruled by Kings instead of being conquered and re-conquered, Jesus Christ would have been the King of the Jews.  
• Joseph Smith is a descendant of Ephraim, the son of Joseph.  My own patriarchal blessing places me in the lineage of Ephraim. 

Am I boring you again?  I think this stuff is interesting, but I'm sorry for the tangent.

So, Israel was warned that they would be scattered (they were, several times).  They were also assured, however, that they would not be forgotten by God, and promised that they would be gathered (that's going on right now).

In order for Missionaries to be allowed to proselyte in a foreign country, that country's government must give its permission and support.  Simple in some places, but not so much in others. 



Some of these guys are real knuckleheads

In each country, someone of influence must make a decision of Eternal Significance in order for missionaries to be allowed to enter.  In my early days the thought of The Gospel message being brought to places like the USSR, China, Vietnam, India, East Germany, Cambodia, Cuba, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland or the Middle East (to name several) was a seemingly very far away goal. 

Did I tell you my nephew Josh is serving a mission in Cambodia?  Vietnam is in his mission, and missionaries are now stationed in Saigon.

1 Nephi 21: 22-23

22.  Thus saith The Lord God:  Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23.  And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am The Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlin, and part of the Iron Curtain, which separated Communist Eastern Europe from the free world.

I used to sleep better knowing that the world had to last at least until the gospel was taken into the Soviet Union and the Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern Europe. 

Then all the sudden...

November 9, 1989 (my birthday) the wall came down, and we listened to "The Winds of Change" by The Scorpions

Verse 23 makes more sense now...

And that led to an LDS Temple in...

Kiev, Ukraine.  Wow!
 
I'll close by re-emphasizing this wonderful truth:  The Lord would not, could not, will not forget His people.  The gospel will roll forth, as the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and fill the earth.  Here's verse 7 of How Firm a Foundation:

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

1 Nephi 21: 15-16 (one of my most favoritests, ever)

15.  For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

16.  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

There's no better note to close on than that.

Peace be with you...

Peppermints and Hungry Elephints (1 Nephi 16, part 2)

Me at Hueston Woods State Park in Ohio, about 100 years ago.

When I lived in Oxford, Ohio I used to like to ride my bike out to Hueston Woods.  Hueston Woods was my go to place whenever I felt down or blue, or troubled by some foolish game, it always seemed to make me change my mind.  I had a lot of spiritual experiences there, and one scary experience with a demonic beaver I'll have to tell you about sometime.

From my apartment in Oxford out to Heuston Woods was 5 miles.  The loop road that went around the park was 10 miles around.  So the whole round trip was..., let's see... yeah, 50 miles or something.  Only when I felt real ambitious did I do the whole thing.  One time I was about 3/4 around the loop road when I had an attack of the starving to deaths.  I have a touch of hypoglycemia, ya see, and sometimes it can really wipe me out.  When it hit on this occasion I was alone and had..., let's see, 3/4's around a 10-mile loop plus 5 miles back to Oxford, yeah, about 50 miles to go, I was in trouble.  My brain gets all foggy (or foggier), I start to sweat and shake and stuff.  I lose the connection between my head and my legs.  I was in need of sustenance, fast.  It was a real Paul Blart moment.  I prayed for help.

Voila!!  I was still trying to ride, facing down instead of looking where I was going, a common pose in that condition, when I saw my tire run over an already smashed peppermint candy. I circled around and stopped to pick it up.  It was just peppermint powder in a plastic wrapper.  I poured it down my throat.  Fog clears, eyes open, legs feeling fit, I biked the 62 miles back to Oxford.  A miracle?  Well, prayer is definitely cool, and can come in quite handy when you're drooling.

Being hungry can produce some awful grouchiness.  In 1 Nephi chapter 16, Lehi and the fam are very hungry, and they are getting quite vocal about it.  Laman and his minions are up to their old murmuring ways of course, no surprise there, but Lehi, the prophet of God, joins in this time.  But, I totally get it.  He's an old man.  He's been walking all day. He's starving. 

1 Nephi 16: 18-20

18.  And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.

19.  And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food.

20.  And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against The Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against The Lord.

Nephi's broken bow

It must have been very hard on Lehi to see his wife hungry.  The life of leisure they left behind them in Jerusalem probably added to their orneriness.  It is surprising that Lehi joins in with the murmuring.  He has a solid testimony of The Savior, and that he can count on Him no matter what.  How could he not know The Lord would provide for them?

Oh no, do I have to apply this to myself?  Rats!!

This ever happened to you:  You pay your tithing like a good boy or girl, then BAM!! your car needs a new car?  When things like this happen, is "The Lord will provide" the first thing that comes to your mind, or is it more often a word that rhymes with BAM!!?  Well, good for you if you never murmur, but I ain't always so quick to remember my faith in such moments. 

A Sorrowful Juxtaposition

First:
1 Nephi 16: 20

20.  ...and also my father began to murmur against The Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against The Lord.

Second:

1 Nephi 16: 23-25

23.  And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?

24.  And it came to pass that he did inquire of The Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul.

25.  And it came to pass that the voice of The Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against The Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.

Is there a difference in the 2 uses of the word sorrow?  Yup. #1 is worldly sorrow (I'm sorry that I'm so BAM!! hungry) and #2 is Godly sorrow (I'm sorry I was of little faith, and was so quick to complain).  This sorrow thing deserves more time and space than it will get here.  I'll get back to it, if not in 2nd Nephi 4 or Alma 36, then definitely in Ether 8.

Ishmael Died

His kids were pretty upset.

1 Nephi 16: 34-35, 37

34.  And it came to pass that Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom.

35.  And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did mourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their afflictions in the wilderness; and they did murmur against my father because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger.

Laman & Lemeul, who were in a humble and thankful state just a few verses back, have once again forgot to remember not to forget.

37.  And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our ruler and our teacher, who are his elder brethren.

This time The Lord yells at Laman and Lemeul:

1 Nephi 16: 39

39.  And it came to pass that The Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of The Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of The Lord they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that The Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.

Man, that's good news!  Laman and Lemeul are all humble and repentant now, and will no more bother Nephi... until chapter 17.

Closing Arguments

• Have Faith in God.  He knows you need food for goodness sakes.
• Accept chastisement from Him with Humility and Obedience.
• Don't forget to remember not to forget how He blessed you when you were in that other fix.
• Pay your Tithing, even if an elephant sits on your car.
• Sometimes your ability to support your family can break, even when it's made of steel.  If this happens, go to the words of the Prophets, go to The Lord in Prayer, He will show you what to do.
• Don't tell people you biked 62 miles when you only biked 20, unless it's funny.
• Road kill peppermint candy can save your life.
• Add yours here.

Peace be with you...

Don't forget to remember not to forget...(1st Nephi 6-7)

Sorry, forgot your sodas...

I have always been the forgetful sort, and it's only getting worse as my Dad's genes continue to turn my hair prematurely gray.  I'll forget to turn here, or not turn there.  I'll drive home from work looking very forward to quenching my addiction thirst by stopping at the gas station up the street from my house for a soda, only to forget 2 minutes later, and find myself pulling into my driveway empty soda holdered.  I have cursed my brain many times.  But usually, I only forget the small stuff:

• Replacing the trash bag in the kitchen after I take out the garbage, then Em throws gross stuff in there & has to dig it back out.
• Closing the window in the bathroom & going to bed with the thermostat set on 68, showering the bedroom with heat as the furnace tries to keep the hallway warm.
• What day it is.

Those kinds of things.  One time I put oil in my car before driving a 1/2-hour to work to find that I'd forgotten to replace the oil cap.  The engine was covered with oil while hardly a drop remained where it needed to be.  Luckily, I didn't ruin my car.  Before going home after work I borrowed 5 quarts of oil to replace what I'd lost for my drive home.  When I got home I discovered that I'd left the oil cap off again and all 5 quarts were gone.  This makes me appreciate my Mom, who long ago begged me never to get my pilot's license.  My wife gets mad when I call myself an idiot, so I won't do that.

Ruining my car may not have turned out to be a small thing compared to the trash bag thing, but it is when compared to not forgetting my Heavenly Father and the love He has heaped upon me all of my life.  I have never forgotten the time I prayed to see whether the BOM was true, and whether Joseph Smith had received a visitation from The Father and The Son.  The answer I received then, along with other spiritual experiences I've not forgotten, remains the foundation of everything I am and believe.  I know God lives.  I know Jesus is His Son.  I know God answers prayers.  I know the BOM is the word of God.  I know the Bible is the word of God.  I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true gospel, restored to the earth after centuries of apostasy, and is God's Kingdom on earth.  I know my Heavenly Father loves me.  I know He loves you.  I know Jesus Christ suffered willingly and gave His life willingly to offer us salvation and Eternal Life.  I know all that because of the answer to that one prayer I uttered back on January 24th, 1987. 


Joseph Smith translating the BOM

Don't forget to remember all that remembering and forgetting stuff as we read chapters 6 and 7 of 1st Nephi.


Remember, Lehi is a prophet, and the patriarch of this family.  He is keeping a record at this time also, called the Book of Lehi.  The Book of Lehi doesn't appear in our BOM due to a major event that happened with Joseph Smith and Martin Harris during the translation of the plates in 1828 (see Doctrine and Covenants section 3) where the first 116 pages were lost.  We'll talk more about that later, but knowing that gives the following a little more "wow" to me...

1st Nephi 6: 1-2

1.  And now I, Nephi, do not give the genealogy of my fathers in this part of my record;  neither at any time shall I give it after upon these plates which I am writing; for it is given in the record which has been kept by my father; wherefore, I do not write it in this work.
2.  For it sufficeth me to say that we are descendants of Joseph.

And then there's this...

1st Nephi 1: 17

16.  And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in visions and in dreams; and he also hath written many things which he prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account.
17.  But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days.  Behold I make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life.

Everything that Nephi chooses to record in the first part of the BOM is a smaller retelling of the same things his father Lehi is also writing about.  In my next post I'll talk about Lehi's Dream in chapter 8.  Lehi must have written about it in his record.  Why does Nephi take the trouble to rewrite it?  The fact that we have Lehi's Dream in chapter 8 of Nephi's record is a testament to the wonderful love and omniscience of our Heavenly Father. 

After all, Nephi continues in chapter 6 to say he has very little room to write on his plates, and plans to reserve that space to only write the things of God, and to command his children to do the same, for the sole and complete purpose of bringing souls to Jesus Christ.

Before you forget what we were talking about earlier, about remembering to not forget, lets go to...

Chapter 7

My wife Emilie's ring

Lehi received instructions from The Lord to send the boys back to Jerusalem to get a guy named Ishmael and his wife, 2 sons and their families, and 5 unmarried daughters.  It's never good to be alone.  Oddly enough, there's no murmuring complaints from Laman and Lemuel about going back for women. 

After convincing Ishmael and his family of the truth of their mission, they agree to follow Lehi's family into the wilderness.  Things get a little out of hand on the way back to Lehi's camp at the Red Sea, however.

1st Nephi 7: 5-7

5.  And it came to pass that The Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household, insomuch that they took their journey with us down into the wilderness to the tent of our father.
6.  And it came to pass that as we journeyed in the wilderness, behold Laman and Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael, and the two sons of Ishmael and their families, did rebel against us; yea against me, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters.
7.  And it came to pass in the which rebellion, they were desirous to return to Jerusalem.

I italicised "his household" to show that all of Ishmael's family had received a spiritual confirmation of His will concerning them.  I italicised "his 3 other daughters" to point out how cool the numbers turned out to be.  2 of Ishmael's daughters rebelled (lovely wives for Laman and Lemuel), while 3 of Ishmael's daughters were true to the faith (let's see, who would they be a good match for?  Hmm...Nephi, Sam, and... hmm.., Oh Yeah!  Zoram.)  The Lord didn't forget about Zoram.  I just think that's cool. The Lord doesn't forget any of us.  Whether we remember Him, well, that's another thing.

It's time for Nephi to give a lecture again. 

1st Nephi 7: 9-13

9.  How is it that ye have not hearkened unto the word of The Lord?
10.  How is it that ye have forgotten that ye have seen an angel of The Lord?
11.  Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things The Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record (brass plates)?
12.  Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that The Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him?  Wherefore, let us be faithful to Him.
13.  And if it so be that we are faithful to him, we shall obtain the land of promise...

First, verse 13:  Remember when I talked about principles?  This is a principle.  If we are faithful to The Lord, we shall obtain the land of promise, the land of promise being Eternal Life.

Second, remembering not to forget:  Have you ever had some issue in your life that Heavenly Father helped you with, and then have had another issue in your life and wondered if Heavenly Father would help you with that one?  Have you ever been lifted into the rafters by the Spirit of God, crying with joy, and then 5 years later wondered if you wanted to continue going to church, or even pray?  Have you ever received a sure answer to a prayer, and then a short time goes by and you find yourself wondering if that's really the answer? 

One time while reading the BOM through I decided to start highlighting all the places where it says "remember", or some variation of it.  Turns out, there are few chapters in the BOM without the word "remember" in it somewheres. 

Like Helaman 5: 6, nearly 600 years later

6.  Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words.  Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how it is said, and also written, that they were good. 

I don't remember now, but there's about 250 times the word "remember" is used in the BOM (out of 531 pages) in some form or another.  I should have written it down so I wouldn't forget.  Anywayz, I think it's important.  I'm going to mention this again and again in later blogs, if I don't forget.  But, if I do forget to bring it up again, please remember this one thing:

Helaman 5: 9

9.  O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world.

And Helaman 5: 14

14.  And they did remember his words;  and therefore they went forth, keeping the commandments of God...

Oh, we've got teachings, right here in the BOM, with a capital T, and that rhymes with P, and that stands for principle:  If you remember the words of the prophets, it is easier to follow the commandments.

And Helaman 5: 12

12.  And now, my sons, remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation.

I guess we're out of time.  Tune in next time as people point and laugh at you while you eat.

Peace be with you...