Asking for the Lord's Help

"Where do I find the ore?"

That’s Nephi’s question after he is given the commandment to build a boat. He needed ore to make tools. He knew what to do with the ore to make them, but he didn’t know where to find the ore, so the Lord showed him. It’s a great example of working with the Lord. He expects us to do what we can do, while He provides the missing elements (knowledge or whatever) which we can’t do.

Then he had to build the boat, but he first needed the tools to both cut and work the wood.

That’s such a great lesson!

Into the Wilderness

After more than a year of preparation, and after receiving the Liahona, Lehi's party headed out into the Arabian wilderness. Talk about a flight of faith into the unknown!

Lehi's flight into the desert is an allegory for our day. The import and example can be a source of great comfort for us as we look forward to an uncertain future. Consider how events played out: The Lord gave Lehi time to prepare and step by step, got him ready for the trip. Then when the time was right, He led them into the wilderness of Arabia.

Lehi spent a significant amount of time in the Valley of Lemuel before heading into the wilderness. There were a lot of preparations the Lord knew they needed to make.

1.    They needed a written, non-perishable record of scripture, the Brass Plates of Laban. This helped them and future generations to remember the covenants Israel had made with God. It became the touchstone of the Nephite cultural identity. It had to be metallic plates so they'd withstand the ravages of time.

2.    You need people to make a colony. Lehi's sons needed good Jewish girls for wives to preserve their culture in a distant land. There would be none where they were going, so Ishmael's family was as important to preserving the expedition's culture as the plates were.

3.    They would need food for the trip and for their final destination, hence the gathering of seeds. It's interesting that they gathered "fruit" seeds as well as grain seeds. 

4.    As city dwellers, they had to adjust and get familiar or comfortable with living in tents. Maybe Lehi was already familiar with doing so. Ishmael? We don't know, but there was probably some time needed to get used to the rhythm and patterns of living in a tent in the desert wilderness after living in a city.

Finally, after all the marriages were completed, the supplies and seeds gathered and their written history was assured, the Lord gave them the next key component of the trip: a "map" in the form of the Liahona.

And off they went.

They had prepared for the trip, but it was still a leap into the unknown. A leap which took great faith. All they "knew" is the Liahona would guide them to their eventual new home. Talk about an epic journey! They crossed a deadly desert and a great ocean before arriving at their new home.

When I think about today and what that means for me, I think of the scriptures which say, "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." I also think of Pres. Nelson's invitation to learn to live by revelation: to learn to live by our own personal Liahona's as it were.

It's as important today as it was for Lehi. For while the physical dangers aren't as significant today as then, the uncertainty of the future is just as unsettling. With our personal Liahonas (revelation) and a determined faith, we can navigate our time just as surely as Lehi did those wilderness deserts. After years of effort, they ended up in their Promised Land. We can too.

One Step at a Time

I was thinking this morning about what Heavenly Father did to lead Lehi to the promised land. He didn't tell him in that first dream where he saw the light that he was going to leave Jerusalem and travel around the world, in a boat no less, as one of Israel's scattered branches. He didn't tell him his descendants would devolve to multi-generational wars and that eventually one branch of his descendants would be wiped out in internecine wars. Nor did He tell him that His Son would personally appear to his distant descendants.

Instead he led him along, one step at a time:

Lehi, preach to the people of Jerusalem.

Lehi, you are to flee with your family into the wilderness. (Once they are in the wilderness, the Lord tells Nephi he will be led to a land of promise.)

Lehi, send your sons back for the plates of brass owned by Laban.

Lehi, send your sons back to convince Ishmael and his family to join you.

Lehi, here's a "Liahona" to help guide you through the wilderness you have to cross.

Lehi, I'm going to help your son Nephi build a boat, then you're all getting on it and setting off into the great ocean.

Every step along the way, aside from where He tells Nephi He is going to guide them to the promised land, He just tells Lehi what to do next. Every step was a test faith. Every step required not looking back but focusing on the future. Each involved considerable risk. Every step came by revelation and only after acting on what had already been given.

Since God is an unchangeable God, why should I be surprised that aside from the promise of getting to the Celestial Kingdom God doesn't say much about the intervening steps?

The Safe Way Forward

We live in a time of extraordinary civil unrest and turmoil. It’s unsettling. As responsible parents and individuals this uncertainty makes it hard to plan and live our lives. The questions on our minds are, “where do I find the honest answers to these questions?” “How can I know for sure what I should be doing in response to events of our day?”

Trying to figure out what the facts are is difficult. It’s a given social media is agenda driven. If you want to listen to an echo chamber, you need look no further. But if you want a more informed source of information where do you turn?

It used to be people could turn to the news to get information about people and events. But not today. People on both sides of the issues have little confidence in new agencies. Democrats (Liberals and Progressives) consider Fox News, most of talk radio, and a few newspapers to be shills for the President.

Republicans (Conservatives and Libertarians) view the “MSM,” the “Main Stream Media,” most cable news outlets and most newspapers as little more than propaganda organs for the DNC. Their credibility is so stained, even the President mocks them with the moniker “fake news.” 

Regardless of your political leanings, the reality is news organizations today have overt agendas. Having one is nothing new: the “voice” of a news organization has always been either the owner or publisher. If the publisher wanted something said, the news organization would say it. But, years ago, reputable news agencies enforced a discernible boundary between news and opinion. Today's advocacy journalism has blurred that boundary to the point of nonexistence. Advertising and agendas, not truth, drive the news cycle. As evidence for this, I offer Andrew Sullivan’s blistering departure letter from the New York Magazine. It’s also the root cause of the enormous libel settlements several formerly reputable news organizations are paying Nicolas Sandmann. Click bait headlines is more evidence that this behavior is pervasive in the industry.

So, in the midst of this war of ideas where a tumult of opinions masquerade as news, where can you find the truth about events of our day? There is only one answer. It’s the same one people of all generations have had: personal revelation. President Nelson urged members to develop a greater ability to receive personal revelation from God. The seminal scripture which started the Restoration, James 1:5 doesn’t limit what a person may ask of God. It states: “if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.”

President Nelson also said, “good information leads to good revelation.” The Doctrine and Covenants, tells us to “study it out in your mind, then ask.” Moroni promises, “by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.” So the promise for an answer is there. But, you must ask in humility and with the understanding the Lord will tailor His answer, whatever it is, to your personal needs. 

Of the few instances where I’ve heard of people asking these very sort of questions, the answers were rarely, “this guy is right while that guy is wrong.” In one case, the answer was, “don’t worry about it. Let it go.” In another it was, “it’s not needful that you know.” For another, the answer was, “this is something you must be more involved in.” And another was insight into the concepts Heavenly Father thinks are relevant and correct for the situation, an insight incidentally which had little to do with the person’s original question.

The common theme through all the answers is the Lord saying: “have faith in Me. I will take care of you and deal with those things outside your sphere of influence.” The scriptures give clear examples of how different those answers can be. Alma the Younger’s answer was to preach the Gospel. For a time, both Mormon and Ether's was to stand as an idle witness: to do nothing. In contrast, Abinadi's was stand as a bold witness, even though it cost him his life doing so.

There will also be times your preconceptions and emotional state will obscure clear answers. Consider Lehi’s and Nephi’s understanding of the river of water in their respective visions of the Tree of Life. Lehi’s anxieties for his sons' welfare blinded him to the water’s filthiness which Nephi saw. 

The lesson of the perfecting of the Olive vineyard in Zenos’ vision in Jacob chapter five is also instructive. In that vision, the perfection of the vineyard was an iterative process. The Lord removed the most wicked first. As righteousness increased, He removed the worst remaining fruit. The Lord repeated this process  until He finished. Your answers will change over time too, depending on where you are on your personal path of discipleship.

So, ask the Lord to learn what you should do. But do so with humility for He may answer your question with “No,” or with an answer you are not expecting. The thing to remember is to ask in faith then hearken to the answer you get. That is the safe way through these days.

How to Get a Perfect Understanding of Events

I read 2 Nephi chapter 1 this morning as part of my daily study regimen. The contrast between 2 Nephi 1:30-31 and Alma 54:17, 23 about Nephi and Zoram’s relationship is instructive. From Nephi’s account of his experience, we read that he and Zoram ended up being good friends. It’s not hard to believe when you think that had not Nephi come along, Zoram would’ve spent the rest of his life as a servant to Laban. Instead, he and his descendants lived as free men as part of the Nephites in the New World.

Contrast that with how Ammoron, and Amalikiah's explanation of that relationship, was used to win over the Lamanites. They claimed Zoram was “pressed and brought” out of Jerusalem. They tell the story as if he was forced against his will to become a victim of Nephi's ambitions. While it's true Nephi gave Zoram a “join us or die” ultimatum, it was to travel with them as an equal, not a slave. That’s the difference in the telling of the stories. 

Zoram was better off for joining Nephi. Since that reality didn’t fit Amalikiah’s agenda, that was never mentioned. Ammoron wanted the Lamanites to believe Zoram was a slave while the Nephites knew he was a friend. That way, the Lamanites would consider Ammoron as an equal and not as an oppressor.

We see the same today in the news. The Republicans will describe something in one way to suit their agenda. Democrats will describe the same thing differently to suit theirs. How do you tell who is telling the truth? As is the case with Zoram, there are going to be elements of truth in both versions, but discerning the whole truth of the story requires study. Most of us don’t take the time to study events so we have a clear understanding of an issue. The flood of soundbites in the 24/7 new cycle doesn’t contain enough substance to give understanding. So, what to do?

While more study is good, President Nelson’s counsel in April 2018 General Conference is best. He said: improve your ability to receive revelation from the Lord. Live righteously. Make the time to study things out because good information leads to good revelation. Ask the Lord to show you where to look. Act on His answer.

That is the path to a “perfect understanding” as Captain Moroni had, of the political turmoil of our day.

Alma - 5 - A PPI with the Savior

Alma Chapter Five is one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon. A friend once observed it is a type and shadow of the interview you’ll have with the Savior after this life. I’m inclined to agree. That said, there are books worth of material discussed in this chapter. (Have you noticed I say that a lot?) The Book of Mormon is doctrinally dense. It’s like the oriental game “Go” I watched old men playing in Korea: the rules are simple, but mastery takes a lifetime. It can be read in a day almost, but mastering it will take years, even decades.

That said, this time through a couple passages stood out to me. The first is verse seven where Alma tells how the Lord saved the people of Noah. As I pondered that, I realized we all are, to different degrees, in spiritual darkness. His saving them is a testament to us that no matter where we are, the Lord can reach us too.

I also was touched by verses 45-47 where Alma teaches that he knew the truth of all that he’d taught because he’d learned for himself they were true. By fasting and prayer, he’d come to know the truthfulness of what he taught. Here is a person who’d seen the Savior and Heavenly Father in an unforgettable vision which changed his life. Despite this, or more accurately, besides this, he’d devoted a lifetime to studying the scriptures, prayer and fasting. And through these actions, the Holy Spirit had taught him the truth of these things.

He paid the same price to know which we must pay today. The powerful lesson is that as Alma did it, so can we…

Jarom to the Words of Mormon - The end of the record

I hope some day to read what was in the lost 116 pages about this time. The record fast forwards through time covering five generations of writers and several hundred years. And yes, I realize there are six writers during this period, two of them are brothers, so for me they count as one generation. During this period the Nephites fall into apostasy. One writer confesses he is a wicked man. Another says he knows of no new prophecy among the people. It’s interesting to me that they also quit mentioning how much time has passed. The last that’s mentioned is by Amaron, Jarom’s grandson, when 320 years had passed.

The narrative resumes, a couple generations later, when Amaleki closes it out with the story of the Nephites fleeing from the Land of Nephi. Amaleki’s story is a poignant one. On the one hand, he has no children. At the same time, he mentions a brother who leaves with Zeniff to go back to the Land of Nephi. He had no one to give the plates to so he makes the choice to give them to King Benjamin. Benjamin is a prophet-warrior-king over the amalgamated nation of Nephites and Mulekites.

Perhaps it’s just because of the brevity of the record, but it’s here we read for the first time of dissensions away from the Nephites to the Lamanites. Reading between the lines, you realize joining the two people was difficult. It required a lot of effort by the king or government leaders to keep it going. This thread of discord runs throughout the rest of their history until Christ appears.

Just a reminder: this is the last part of the record Joseph Smith translated. When they sent the book to be printed, he put this account in front of the rest. The day dreamer in me thinks that had the 116 pages not been lost, it would’ve been at the end of the record, after Moroni. Like an appendix in a modern book. We start next in the Book of Mosiah. You’ll note, it doesn’t begin like any succeeding book with an introduction by Mormon: that was part of the 116 pages.

We don’t even know if it was originally named Mosiah by Mormon. Given the seminal event of Mosiah I fleeing into the wilderness it could be named after him. It may have been named Benjamin for the work he did in uniting the two people. It may even have been part of the Book of Lehi. Whatever the case, I’m certain Mormon did not name it after Benjamin’s son Mosiah II.

Jacob 5-7 - Wrapping up Jacob

Reading through my notes on Jacob 5, I was reminded of a couple of observations. One is that verse 40 is Nephi’s day. This is when Lehi’s party was brought to the New World. Verse 61 is the start of our day, when the Gospel is restored and taught the last time.

The pruning and replacing of the evil fruit occurs in our day.

Chapter six, verse one is where Jacob gives his commentary and prophecy about what he’s just written. I think it’s instructive to note that speaking as prophet, his prophecy consisted of saying simply, “Everything I told you is the truth.”

So it can be for us today. A prophet is still speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost and prophesying when he says no more than, “this is all true.”

For those dealing with critics of the Church and its teachings, Jacob gives us the story of Sherem. Sherem’s arguments are persuasive. They seem to make sense. It’s clear that what he says is effective because many people, Jacob says followed after him.

He gives the antidotes to the Sherems of our day in verse five. He speaks of the many revelations he’d been given, even seeing angels and hearing the Lord’s voice. While this may sound extraordinary, keep in mind, Laman and Lemuel both had seen angels and God’s power in personal ways. It didn’t help because they were tone-deaf to the Spirit.

Jacob wasn’t. And that’s the key. If you’ve had experiences with the Spirit and you keep them fresh through regular study of the scriptures, you will be inoculated to the Sherems of our day. This may seem an audacious thing to say, but it is what I’ve experienced. With all that I’ve experienced of the Spirit and all that I continue to feel, the Sherem arguments that get thrown at me just bounce off. As long as I read the scriptures, go to the temple and attend church on Sundays, in other words as long as I make the Savior the rock on which I stand, none of this will destroy me. I love Helaman 5:12 for that reason.

Jacob 4 - You get what you ask for

Jacob’s insights into revelation and God's relationship with Man is  thought provoking. It shows more than anything else God respects man’s will. He knows what is best for us, but He respects our right to choose and do less beneficial things.

The testimony of His great wisdom is in verse 10: “Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.”

When you contrast this, with what the Jews did, it should give us pause. We ought to consider what it is we are asking of God when we pray to Him. See verse 14: “But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness ... and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore ... God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may stumble.”

In verse 13, Jacob testifies God speaks the truth of things as they are and will be. He doesn’t lie. It takes humility to accept this truth and to follow His counsel. As I think about this, I realize, I need to be more humble and follow the counsel to in D&C 50:30, where the Lord promises it shall be given to us what we shall ask. I used to think that meant if we asked for something God would give it to us, which is true. But a former mission president made this observation that has forever stuck with me. It also means God will give you, or tell you, what you should ask for.

Isn’t that interesting?

Ether 3 - The Lord Speaks to the Brother of Jared

Heavenly Father used the need for light as a way to prepare Jared's brother to see the pre-mortal Savior. As I commented in the previous posting, God knew exactly what He was doing when He pushed the question back on him.

One take away from this is God doesn’t always telegraph His intentions. So our best attitude when interacting with Him is one of gratitude, faith, patience, and trust.

Another take away is when you ask for anything from God, you just never know what it is you’re going to get in reply. In this case Jared’s brother, not only saw the Lord’s finger, he saw His entire spirit body and then the whole history of man on the Earth. He’s then told to write it down but to tell no one what he saw. As a result, the Jaredites never knew of this remarkable encounter.

My guess is only trusted prophets, who kept the records knew, if anyone did, of what they contained. I say that because Ether had to know what was in them to include them in the twenty-four plates which Limhi’s party found. Not to mention, Alma warned Helaman about their contents and that it should not go to the people. Then again, there’s nothing to state the 24 plates were all the same nor that they were made at the same time. The only known transposing of the record is when Moroni wrote the account into the Book of Mormon. We do know in 3 Nephi, Mormon says he’s told not to write all that he knows because our faith needs to be tested. Surely some of what he withheld is the rest of this revelation.

Who's to say the history of mankind upon the earth is what’s in the sealed part? I think it is, but we’re not in a position nor frame of mind to deal with it. As I’ve said before, mercy is the motivation behind us not knowing as much as anything. So, we move forward in faith, grateful for what we’ve been shown and looking to the day when we no longer see through the glass darkly.