Day 9 - All the Small Books + Mosiah 1 and 2

My name is T.J., and I found out about this challenge through my sister-in-law, who is a friend of Cortney's. I am thankful for the opportunity to share some of the thoughts I've had as I have been reading through The Book of Mormon. As I have been reading through the Book of Mormon, I have focused on a specific theme which I would like to write about in a follow up post (I'll need to ask Cortney before taking that liberty). But for today, I wanted to talk about a few of the other places that stood out to me as I read through Enos, Jarom, Omni, The Words of Mormon, and Mosiah 1 and 2. These books are full of simple testimonies of the Savior and are also key to understanding the story lines in the Book of Mormon.

First, the Book of Mormon truly is a testimony of Christ, and the plan of salvation is real. I loved this plea by Amaleki to come unto Christ.It's what the gospel is all about. We need the Savior.

Omni 1:26
And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should ^acome unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and ^boffer your whole souls as an ^coffering unto him, and continue in ^dfasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.

Even in saying that he had little to write, Jarom testified of the transcendent, simple truth that is contained in the plan of salvation. In his humility, I found a simple testimony that by knowing of the plan of salvation and having a testimony of the saving power of Jesus Christ, we are blessed beyond measure.

Jarom 1:2
And as ^athese plates are ^bsmall, and as these things are ^cwritten for the intent of the benefit of our brethren the ^dLamanites, wherefore, it must needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have not they revealed the plan of salvation? I say unto you, Yea; and this sufficeth me.

Second, these chapters testify of the importance of knowing and studying the scriptures. I am impressed by the sacredness with which the writers in these sections treated the limited remaining space on the plates. If they had something which furthered the testimony of Christ, then it was included. Otherwise, they took care of the plates and preserved the genealogy of the people.

In relation to the theme upon which I've focused during my study of The Book of Mormon, I wondered during my reading what the record in the small plates might have looked like if it were written from the perspective of Laman and his descendants instead of Nephi and his descendants. As I read in Omni, I realized that if it had been left to them, we may not have had a record.

Omni 1:17
And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become exceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their ^alanguage had become corrupted; and they had brought no ^brecords with them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them.

The people of Zarahemla did not think that bringing records with them was important, and because of this they denied Christ and their language became corrupted. In contrast, King Benjamin taught his children to revere and respect the scriptures, for the purpose that they could know the mysteries of God.

Mosiah 1:2-3, 5
And it came to pass that he had three ^asons; and he called their names Mosiah, and Helorum, and Helaman. And he caused that they should be ^btaught in all the ^clanguage of his fathers, that thereby they might become men of understanding; and that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their fathers, which were delivered them by the hand of the Lord. And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the ^aplates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for these ^bplates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ^cignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God. . . . I say unto you, my sons, ^awere it not for these things, which have been kept and ^bpreserved by the hand of God, that we might ^cread and understand of his ^dmysteries, and have his ^ecommandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the ^ftraditions of their fathers, which are not correct.

He also asked his sons to "remember to search [the scriptures] diligently, that [they] may profit thereby" (Mosiah 1:7). What a great example of righteous parenting!

I have truly been blessed with a greater measure of the Spirit in my life as I have taken the opportunity to "search the scriptures" each day during this challenge that I might "profit thereby." I know that the Book of Mormon is true and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of us all. It is only through taking upon us his name, as King Benjamin directs, that we may be saved.

Day 7: 2 Nephi 25 - 33

"Gentle Healer" by Greg Olsen

This morning I woke up early to do the reading before the day's activities would require my attention. However, it wasn't quite early enough--not when I had to have everyone dressed and fed and ready to go out the door by 8:00 AM. Needless to say, once the day began, it never slowed down. Until now... at 9:00 pm, and I'm finally writing. Sorry to those of you who have told me you like to read the blog and then sit down with your scriptures--I hate to throw things off for you! I'll try again tomorrow...

I LOVED this section of scriptures. There were so many times when I thought to myself--I know that is what I believe, and now I know where it is in the scriptures! I hope I'm not the only one who is that way; I know the doctrine, but I don't know where to find it. I guess that is one reason we're doing this right? Now I just need to learn how to commit those references to memory (Dad, if you're reading this, just remember you were never my seminary teacher--just all of your other children's!).

As I went back and reviewed what I had circled and underlined and noted, a few things seemed to stick out to me--but the most important one was that Jesus Christ is our Savior. There is no doubt that Nephi knew it, he wanted his people to know it, and we too, can know it.

There were so many times while reading this that I wondered how anyone could think we are not Christians. No one could ever read the Book of Mormon without recognizing that we believe in Christ, we follow Christ, we look to Him for our salvation. There can be no doubt, absolutely no doubt about that.

"In His Light" by Greg Olsen

Nephi writes many times about the plainness of his words. You can't say it more clearly than:

2 Nephi 25:26
And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophesies, that our children may know to what source we may look for a  remission of their sins.

and
2 Nephi 31:20
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 shal press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

I shared a quote early on in this challenge from President Gordon B. Hinckley, but I left out part of it. Let me share it again, in it's entirety:

President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “I would like to urge every man and woman . . . and every boy and girl who is old enough to read to again read the Book of Mormon during this coming year. This was written for the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. There is nothing we could do of greater importance than to have fortified in our individual lives an unshakable conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of the living God. That is the purpose of the coming forth of this remarkable and wonderful book. May I suggest that you read it again and take a pencil, a red one if you have one, and put a little check mark every time there is a reference to Jesus Christ in that book. And there will come to you a very real conviction as you do so that this is in very deed another witness for the Lord Jesus Christ” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 44).

I am sorry that I did not include President Hinckley's full suggestion at the beginning of this challenge, because I have done it and now realize how wonderfully true it is. There are little check-marks all over my scriptures and the impact it has made on me has been surprising. If you can--do what President Hinckley suggested. I didn't do it in red, but somehow those little pencil check-marks have opened my eyes and given me that "very real conviction" that first and foremost, the Book of Mormon testifies of Christ.

Thoughts for your day...

I have been thinking about all of you--you who are joining me in this challenge. And I have been thinking about those who are still undecided. And I have been thinking about what my motivations are for doing this. I have high hopes for what great blessings will come from reading the Book of Mormon. So I thought I would share a few of my favorite quotes about the Book of Mormon, to prepare for what is to come. It's going to be AMAZING!

President Ezra Taft Benson said:
“There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called ‘the words of life’ ( D&C 84:85 ), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 6; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 7 ).

President GordonB. Hinckley said:
“I would like to urge every man and woman ... and every boy and girl who is old enough to read to again read the Book of Mormon during this coming year. This was written for the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ. There is nothing we could do of greater importance than to have fortified in our individual lives an unshakable conviction that Jesus is the Christ, the living Son of the living God. That is the purpose of the coming forth of this remarkable and wonderful book.  ( Teachings of GordonB. Hinckley [1997], 44). 

President Marion G. Romney said:
“I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity— the pure love of Christ—will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1980, 90; or Ensign, May 1980, 67).

I hope these help solidify your resolution to accomplish this challenge. Find your favorite quote (it doesn't have to be one of these), print it out, and stick it on the fridge or your bathroom mirror and read it every day.

Tomorrow I will post a few more ideas for making a plan for success. I remember my mom teaching me, "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail." So in the two days we have before we begin, take some time to plan for success!

Have a great memorial day! The thought came to me today that while we remember those who have died in the name of freedom, our thoughts might also include the many prophets and people of the Book of Mormon who also gave their lives for the most precious freedoms that we enjoy. We have much to be grateful for.