Can you believe we are on Day 88 already? Only a couple more days to go and then we are finished reading the Book of Mormon! I hope you have enjoyed reading along with me.
Today was a pretty good Sunday. Great talks, great people, and great food for dinner. I made a meatloaf, my 13 year old made Cream Puffs, and a few of us played Settlers of Catan for the first time. It was kind of hard to understand the game but once we started it was really fun.
On Saturday I went with my girls to a church activity called Young Women in Excellence. The girls in our church ages 12-18 are in Young Women and get to work on what's called Personal Progress for those 6 years. It is a way that they can learn, grow, and achieve personal accomplishments in their lives. This was an event to recognize those girls who have worked on specific areas through the past year.
We are finishing up the Book of Ether today and we can see how, through iniquity, an entire civilization can be destroyed. If only they would have repented and returned to the Lord!
- •Coriantumr and Shiz allowed all of their followers to be killed without ending the conflict. We cannot fully comprehend the horror of the final Jaredite battle in which even women and children were armed and sent to war (see Ether 15:15). This does, however, provide a graphic picture of what people become when the Spirit of the Lord withdraws and no longer strives with them
Ether 14–15. The Final Jaredite Battle
Now we are in the final book in the Book of Mormon called Moroni. Moroni was Mormon's son and Mormon it the person who compiled the Book of Mormon. That is where it gets its name from. :) I have a lot of favorite parts and verses in the Book of Moroni.
Moroni 1:3
"And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life."
Introduction
After Moroni ended his abridgment of the Jaredite history (see Ether 13:1;15:34), he presumed that he would not survive to write any additional records (see Moroni 1). However, he lived an additional 36 years after the final battle between the Lamanites and the Nephites (see Mormon 6:5;Moroni 10:1). During this time Moroni recorded additional sacred truths valuable to latter-day readers. These chapters are especially helpful for us because they contain guidelines concerning the proper administration of ordinances—especially the sacrament—and the place of the Holy Ghost in the daily administration of the Church. Moroni also highlighted the need for Church members to watch over and nourish new members who join the Church.
In Moroni 4 & 5 we read the proper way for the Sacrament to be administered. These are the words I hear every Sunday in my church as I partake of the Sacrament. It is the same prayer given in every LDS church around the world.
The ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church. It should focus our attention on the Atonement and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I sense that some in the rising generation and even some adults have not yet come to understand the significance of this meeting and the importance of individual reverence and worship in it.
I begin with how members of the Church should prepare themselves to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “We commemorate His Atonement
in a very personal way. We bring a broken heart and a contrite spirit to our sacrament meeting” (“Worshiping at Sacrament Meeting,” Liahona, Aug. 2004, 12; Ensign, Aug. 2004, 26).
We are seated well before the meeting begins. “This is not a time for conversation or transmission of messages but a period of prayerful meditation as . . . members prepare spiritually for the sacrament” (Liahona, Aug. 2004, 13; Ensign, Aug. 2004, 27).
How we dress is an important indicator of our attitude and preparation for any activity in which we will engage. If we are going swimming or hiking or playing on the beach, our clothing, including our footwear, will indicate this. The same should be true of how we dress when we are to participate in the ordinance of the sacrament. It is like going to the temple.
During sacrament meeting—and especially during the sacrament service—we should concentrate on worship and refrain from all other activities, especially from behavior that could interfere with the worship of others. Sacrament meeting is not a time for reading books or magazines. Young people, it is not a time for whispered conversations on cell phones or for texting.
The music of sacrament meeting is a vital part of our worship. How wonderful when every person in attendance joins in the worship of singing.
During sacrament meeting we should concentrate on worship and refrain from all other activities.
President Joseph Fielding Smith taught:
“This is an occasion when the gospel should be presented, when we should be called upon to exercise faith, and to reflect on the mission of our Redeemer, and to spend time in the consideration of the saving principles of the gospel, and not for other purposes” (Doctrines of Salvation, 2:342).
When we do this, we are qualified for the companionship and revelation of the Spirit. This is the way we get direction for our lives and peace along the way.
I hope you all have a wonderful Monday tomorrow! I'm looking forward to finishing the Book of Mormon with you!
Hugs,
Robyn
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