Day 14: 2 Nephi 10-12

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Happy Sunday Everyone!

I had such a great day at church today.  I felt all of the talks and the lessons were just for me.  In Relief Society today we sang I Believe in Christ for the opening song.  I thought I would share it with you.  I've added the lyrics below the video.  As I was singing this song I was also pondering the words and I want to let you know that I also believe in Christ.  I know that He is my Savior and that I cannot get into Heaven without applying his Atonement to my life.  

Lyrics

1. 1. I believe in Christ; he is my King!
   With all my heart to him I'll sing;
   I'll raise my voice in praise and joy,
   In grand amens my tongue employ.
   I believe in Christ; he is God's Son.
   On earth to dwell his soul did come.
   He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
   Good works were his; his name be praised.
2. 2. I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!
   As Mary's Son he came to reign
   'Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
   To save them from the woes of sin.
   I believe in Christ, who marked the path,
   Who did gain all his Father hath,
   Who said to men: "Come, follow me,
   That ye, my friends, with God may be."
3. 3. I believe in Christ--my Lord, my God!
   My feet he plants on gospel sod.
   I'll worship him with all my might;
   He is the source of truth and light.
   I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
   From Satan's grasp he sets me free,
   And I shall live with joy and love
   In his eternal courts above.
4. 4. I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
   From him I'll gain my fondest dream;
   And while I strive through grief and pain,
   His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."
   I believe in Christ; so come what may,
   With him I'll stand in that great day
   When on this earth he comes again
   To rule among the sons of men.
5. Text: Bruce R. McConkie, 1915-1985. (c) 1972 IRI
   Music: John Longhurst, b. 1940. (c) 1985 IRI

I love songs that I can listen to on Sunday and all day long that lift me up and help me to focus on the good things in my life.  I just found this great resource on lds.org for music you can download for free.  Click HERE to listen and download a few you might like to add to your playlists.  

Tonight as I was about to start my blog post I saw that my sweet 11 year old was saying his personal prayers.  Thought I would share it.  What a great example he is to me!

Okay, let's get on to our daily reading of the Book of Mormon.  In Chapter 10, Jacob, one of Nephi's younger brothers, is speaking.  He talks about how the Jews shall crucify their God which an angel tells him will be called Christ.  

lds.org says...
The title Christ was revealed to Jacob by an angel. “Christ (a Greek word) and Messiah (a Hebrew word) mean ‘the anointed.’ Jesus Christ is the Firstborn of the Father in the spirit (Heb. 1:6; D&C 93:21). He is the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh (John 1:14; 3:16). He is Jehovah (D&C 110:3–4) and was foreordained to his great calling before the creation of the world. Under the direction of the Father, Jesus created the earth and everything on it.

My favorite scripture in chapter 10 is verse 23…

2 Nephi 10:23
"Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves -- to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life."

It is our choice!  We are all given our own agency to make our own choices.  How grateful I am for that.  Sometimes I make the wrong choice but I always learn from the choices I make.  

What Is Agency?

Agency is the ability and privilege God gives us to choose and to act for ourselves. Agency is essential in the plan of salvation. Without agency, we would not be able to learn or progress or follow the Savior. With it, we are “free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil” (2 Nephi 2:27)

Read more about what we believe about Agency and The Plan of Salvation by clicking HERE.  This explains it in simple terms.  I am so thankful for this plan and to know where I came from, my purpose on this earth, and where I am going after I die.  

I'd like to share a few scriptures in Chapter 11.  Verses 4-7.

4 Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.

 5 And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.

 6 And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish.

 7 For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God, and he is Christ, and he cometh in the fulness of his own time.

In Chapter 12 Nephi quotes Isaiah again.  I found this wonderful quote from one of our apostles.  

President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, wrote of the difficulty encountered by many readers of theBook of Mormon:

“Most [readers] readily understand the narrative of the Book of Mormon.

“Then, just as you settle in to move comfortably along, you will meet a barrier. … Interspersed in the narrative, are chapters reciting the prophecies of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. They loom as a barrier, like a roadblock or a checkpoint beyond which the casual reader, one with idle curiosity, generally will not go.

“You, too, may be tempted to stop there, but do not do it! Do not stop reading! Move forward through those difficult-to-understand chapters of Old Testament prophecy, even if you understand very little of it. Move on, if all you do is skim and merely glean an impression here and there. Move on, if all you do is look at the words”

I also add my encouragement to Elder Packers to just read it even if you do not understand it.  There is quite a lot of Isaiah quoted in 2 Nephi.  Sometimes as you are reading you will find something else that pops in your head.  This is called personal inspiration or revalation.  Write these thoughts down in your journal.  Just hang in there.  I have yet to meet anyone who understand the entire Book of Mormon or Holy Bible, for that matter.  

I want to close today with this video.  There are good things to come to all of those who seek and follow our Savior Jesus Christ.  

Love to you all!
Robyn