Day 6: 1 Nephi 15-16

Happy Weekend Everyone!

PHEW!  It's been a very busy, but blessed, day!  My family was able to attend the baptism of the Sharp family.  We have become good friends and are so happy that they are now part of our church family.  The missionaries knocked on their door about 6 months ago and they have been learning about our church every since then. I am so grateful for their family.  What a joy they are to me already!  Tammie Sharp is also in our Book of Mormon Book Club and has left a few comments.   

Today, I got the privilege of welcoming Tammie officially into the Relief Society, which is the largest women's organization in the world.  I am the Relief Society President in my ward (congregation).  Tammie asked me to share my favorite scripture with everyone and I shared 2 Nephi 31:20.  For those of you I have sent a Book of Mormons to, I have it highlighted already in your copy.

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.  Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father:  Ye shall have eternal life."

What a sweet promise that is to all.

Here is a picture of the Sharp family with some of the missionaries who taught them along the way.  I believe they went through about 3 or 4 sets.  In our church our missionaries get to serve in different areas of the mission.  The boys serve for 2 years and the girls serve for 1 1/2 years.  Learn more about our missionaries HERE.

Here is a fun video showing some of the youth and missionaries in our church.  It shows the preparation that goes into serving a mission for the Lord.  You'll notice in the video how much praying, studying, etc. happens before their missions.



Okay, let's get on to today's reading!

1 Nephi 15

We start out in chapter 15 where Nephi has just had his own vision concerning the things which his father saw.  (1 Nephi 11-14).  He is troubled because of things he had seen, which also consisted of the destruction of his descendants, the Nephites.  His brethren , Laman and Lemuel, had been disputing still about their father's vision.  Nephi receives strength, and then goes to see his brothers.  Again, we see what a great example Nephi is.  He receives strength from the Lord first, before he faces his problems.  I love the following scriptures in chapter 15…

8 And I said unto them: Have ye ^ainquired of the Lord?

 9 And they said unto me: ^aWe have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.

 10 Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will ^aperish, because of the hardness of your hearts?

 11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ^aask me in ^bfaith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

Verse 8 pretty  much sums it up.  Have ye inquired of the Lord?  I feel that this is so true in my life.  We need to make sure that we ask our Heavenly Father and try to receive our own understanding in all things.  I am grateful for prayer and how I know that my Father in Heaven hears me and will answer me if I ask in faith, believing I will receive.

Laman and Lemuel then begin to ask Nephi what Lehi's dream meant.  I will share versus 23 & 24 because it talks about what the Iron Rod means.  I know that the scriptures are the word of God and that if we read them regularly and "hold fast" to them the Lord has promised that we will not perish.

24 And I said unto them that it was the ^aword of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would ^bhold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the ^ctemptations and the fiery ^ddarts of the ^eadversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

 25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give ^aheed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the ^bfaculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.

1 Nephi 16

In Chapter 16 Lehi finds the Liahona outside his tent.

Verse 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."

Here is what I found on www.lds.org about the Liahona…

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained the purpose of the Liahona and compared it to the Holy Spirit in our day:

“The Liahona was prepared by the Lord and given to Lehi and his family after they left Jerusalem and were traveling in the wilderness (see Alma 37:38; D&C 17:1). This compass or director pointed the way that Lehi and his caravan should go (see 1 Nephi 16:10), even ‘a straight course to the promised land’ (Alma 37:44). The pointers in the Liahona operated ‘according to the faith and diligence and heed’ (1 Nephi 16:28) of the travelers and failed to work when family members were contentious, rude, slothful, or forgetful (see 1 Nephi 18:12, 21; Alma 37:41, 43).

“The compass also provided a means whereby Lehi and his family could obtain greater ‘understanding concerning the ways of the Lord’ (1 Nephi 16:29). Thus, the primary purposes of the Liahona were to provide both direction and instruction during a long and demanding journey. The director was a physical instrument that served as an outward indicator of their inner spiritual standing before God. It worked according to the principles of faith and diligence.

As we each press forward along the pathway of life, we receive direction from the Holy Ghost just as Lehi was directed through the Liahona. ‘For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do’ (2 Nephi 32:5).

I love the end of verse 29 in chapter 16 which reads…
"And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things."

I know that this is true and have seen evidence of it in my life regularly.  


Love to you all!
Robyn

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