By Study and By Faith: March 2014

Monday, March 31, 2014

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Day 89 - Jarom 1:1-15

Jarom 1:1-15

"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"

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Day 88 - Enos 1:11-27

Enos

"My faith began to be unshaken in the Lord.... Wherefore my soul did rest."

Friday, March 28, 2014

Day 87 - Jacob 7:21 - Enos 1:10

Jacob

Enos

4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker,and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins areforgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Monday, March 24, 2014

Jacob 5:

"Spare it a little longer." The wise advice from the servant eventually leads to the master putting forth a final effort to reclaim the vineyard. He requests that more help be called in, "that we may labor diligently with our might in the vineyard, that we may prepare the way." It is the same today - we are called to labor in the vineyard to prepare the way. Had the master destroyed the corrupted trees there would be no chance to repair them.

Had Adam and Eve not been spared "a little longer" there would be no chance at redemption. And if we do not give people "a little longer" to change, then we are no better than the master.

I don't know if I have ever thought about this segment in this way before - but it really hits me that there is a window for redemption, and we must take advantage of the opportunity. We should also give others the opportunity, and help them along the way. The other interesting thing is that the master had thought he had done all he could, when in reality there was another way to help that he only discovered later on.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Jacob 5 - The Olive Tree

Video presentation of the allegory of the olive tree from Jacob 5 in The Book of Mormon:

Day 82 - Jacob 5:35-48

Jacob 5:47-48:

47 But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?

48 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard—have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?

It's interesting at this point that the servant points out what he sees as the possible problem and the master seems to miss it. The planting and maintenance of the roots wasn't necessarily the problem - it was the growth of the branches. The "fruits" needed to be maintained in a way that the roots could sustain them.