"My Law to Govern My Church"

 Come, Follow Me: April 19-25 - Doctrine & Covenants 41-44

The phrase "my law to govern my church" comes from Doctrine and Covenants 42:59.  The church was being established in Kirtland, Ohio and numerous converts were flocking to the area.  In earlier revelations, the members had been told by the Lord that the law would be given in Ohio, and these sections are the fulfilment of that promise.

Doctrine and Covenants 41
"He that receiveth my law and doeth it, the same is my disciple.”

It's fairly simple - hear and receive the law, and then follow it. And if you choose not to follow it, verse 5 says you "shall be cast out".  Of course, there is always the 


Doctrine and Covenants 42
God’s laws govern His Church and can govern our lives.

Doctrine and the accompanying principles teach us the path to follow.  President Nelson has called it the Covenant Path and I think that is a good description of the idea that we are making a promise to follow and the guidance is given on where to go.  No one is forced to make the choice, and as you see in the world today you are free to leave the path at anytime.  But following that path will lead us to the "Tree of Life" and exaltation.

"The Principles of My Gospel" - Elder Bednar, April 2021

 

In the April 2021 General Conference, Elder Bednar gave a talk about "The Principles of My Gospel".  I taught an Elders Quorum lesson today based on that talk, and wanted to share a few things I learned.

The first thing I saw more clearly today was the distinction between Doctrine and Principles (as well as Applications). Elder Bednar describes doctrine as: "A truth of salvation revealed by a loving Heavenly Father." He then describes principles as: "A doctrinally based guideline for the righteous exercise of moral agency."

Focusing on learning about Doctrine led me to the Seminar section of the Church website, where I found the "Doctrinal Mastery Core Document".  This document lays out 9 different topics:

1. The Godhead
2. The plan of salvation
3. The Atonement of Jesus Christ
4. The Restoration
5. Prophets and revelation
6. Priesthood and priesthood keys
7. Ordinances and covenants
8. Marriage and family
9. Commandments

Each of these topics has a short description and scriptural references.  It's a great starting point for studying the doctrines of the gospel.

"To Turn Them Aside"

From Elder Oaks, in a talk entitled "Opposition in All Things":

God rarely infringes on the agency of any of His children by intervening against some for the relief of others. But He does ease the burdens of our afflictions and strengthen us to bear them, as He did for Alma’s people in the land of Helam (see Mosiah 24:13–15). He does not prevent all disasters, but He does answer our prayers to turn them aside, as He did with the uniquely powerful cyclone that threatened to prevent the dedication of the temple in Fiji; or He does blunt their effects, as He did with the terrorist bombing that took so many lives in the Brussels airport but only injured our four missionaries.

 

"I am called to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ"

 Come, Follow Me, April 5-11

We have all been called to preach the gospel, and we all have the opportunity to do our part and know that we will be led and guided by the Lord.

And your whole labor shall be in Zion, with all your soul, from henceforth; yea, you shall ever open your mouth in my cause, not fearing what man can do, for I am with you. (D&C 30:11)

It's nice to know that we are not alone when we are sharing something so personal with others.  There are many examples of those who have gone before us as well, and how we can be guided in the work that we do.  President Russell M. Nelson and Sister Wendy Nelson spoke at the Worldwide Devotional for Youth on June 3rd, 2018 in a talk called "Hope of Israel".  President Nelson shared the following:

I promise you that if you will sincerely and persistently do the spiritual work needed to develop the crucial, spiritual skill of learning how to hear the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, you will have all the direction you will ever need in your life. You will be given answers to your questions in the Lord’s own way and in His own time.

"Open your mouth to declare my gospel"

Come, Follow Me - April 5–11. Doctrine and Covenants 30–36

A great lesson on missionary work and the importance of sharing the gospel. The lesson shares the idea that, "If you know enough to to accept the restored gospel by baptism, you know enough to share it with others."  And it's true that once you have a testimony of the gospel and have decided to join the church through baptism, you can certainly share that with friends and family, and really with everyone around you  

Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your soul, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back, for the laborer is worthy of his hire.

Missionary work and sharing the gospel help us to do our part in establishing Zion and preparing the world for the second coming.  I am grateful for the opportunity I had to serve as a full time missionary in Sao Paulo, Brazil and I am grateful that I have the opportunity today to share my testimony with those around me   

April 2021 General Conference

This past weekend The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held it's annual General Conference.  The conference takes place over two days, with five separate 2 hour sessions.  The talks and music have all been posted on the church website, and I am exited to be able to review each of them!

I am also excited to listen and read conference in French!  I have been studying French this past 6 months, and look forward to being able to study and learn from the messages in a new language.  You can often get something new out of the same thing in two different languages due to slight variations in translation or meaning, or with certain ways that things might be expressed.   I served a mission in Sao Paulo, Brazil years ago, and have been able to maintain a pretty decent level of understanding of Portuguese, and hope to be able to get to a similar level in French.  

#bofm365 Day 9 - 1 Nephi 7:16 - 8:15

"...in spite of all they were taught, Laman, the archvillain, and his tag-along brother Lemuel emerge as fundamentally corrupt men. Their record was dismal: they were materialistic, faithless, disloyal, cowardly, complaining, cruel, lazy, untruthful, and, like Jacob's son Reuben, 'unstable as water' (Genesis 49:4)-humbling themselves one day and breathing out threats the next (1 Nephi 7:20; 16:5, 32, 39; 18:4, 15, 20). The only thing that really impressed them was power (1 Nephi 18:20). Above all, they were would-be murderers of their own father and brother. In the end, they polluted their posterity with their lies and brought a curse upon them that was not to be removed for more than a half a millennium.

"On the other hand, Nephi was a man of astonishing faith, profound humility, and consistent steadiness. In the latter, he was unequaled even by his parents...why the striking contrast between Nephi and his two brothers? Was one so good, and the others so bad? Is it a case of self-serving manipulation of the facts on Nephi's part? Hardly. If anything, Nephi has moderated his own virtues. I believe that Nephi and Laman symbolize that essential opposition between good and evil drawn so vividly in the Book of Mormon. They represent the two extremes found therein: life versus death, heaven versus hell, the kingdom of God versus the kingdom of the devil, the spiritually minded versus the carnally minded, the saved versus the lost-those sealed up to Christ and those sealed up to the devil (Alma 34:34-36; 40:23-26).

"Lehi knew that Laman and Lemuel...had seen an angel (1 Nephi 3:29; 4:3; 7:10; 17:45), had experienced the power of God (1 Nephi 7:18; 17:48, 52-55), and had heard the voice of the Lord and received of his Spirit (1 Nephi 16:39; 17:45). Yet they plotted Nephi's murder on at least four occasions (1 Nephi 7:16; 16:37; 17:48; 2 Nephi 5:2; compare 1:24), and their father's at least once (1 Nephi 16:37). Nephi accused Laman and Lemuel of being 'murderers in their hearts' (1 Nephi 17:44). They were prepared to shed innocent blood.

"These were not ignorant men; they stood self-condemned. When literally shocked by the Spirit, they testified: 'We know of a surety that the Lord is with thee, for we know that it is the power of the Lord that has shaken us' (1 Nephi 17:55; compare 2 Nephi 4:22)." (Rodney Turner, First Nephi: The Doctrinal Foundation, edited by Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr., pp. 82 - 83.)

#bofm365 Day 8 - 1 Nephi 7:1-15

"How is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him." - 1 Nephi 7:12

#bofm365 Day 7 - 1 Nephi 5:7 - 6:6

How has your life been blessed by searching the scriptures?

#bofm365 Day 6 - 1 Nephi 4:20 - 5:6

"And after they had given thanks unto the God of Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning." 1 Nephi 5:10

#bofm365 Day 5 - 1 Nephi 4:1-19

"Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?" - 1 Nephi 4:1

Heber J. Grant said:

"That is the kind of faith to have. Let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of God and then we know that we can win the battle, though we may be opposed by a man with his tens of thousands. The final result was that Nephi got the plates." (Conference Report, Oct. 1899, p. 129)

#bofm365 Day 4 - 1 Nephi 3:9-31

Today and tomorrow's readings cover the Brass Plates in 1 Nephi 3.  The LDS Church has produced a series of videos that animate scripture storybooks that have been put together to help children better understand the lessons of the scriptures.  I have added the video that covers the topic of the brass plates:

#bofm365 Day 3 - 1 Nephi 2:16 - 3:8

In Chapter 3, we see that Nephi does indeed follow the example of his father Lehi in his willingness to obey the commandments of the Lord:

7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

 If you'd prefer to hear the verse in a song:

#bofm365 Day 2 - 1 Nephi 1:16 - 2:15

Today's reading is 1 Nephi 1:16 - 2:1.

The stage is set for Lehi's departure from Jerusalem:

1 For behold, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream, and said unto him: Blessed art thou Lehi, because of the things which thou hast done; and because thou hast been faithful and declared unto this people the things which I commanded thee, behold, they seek to take away thy life. 

2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded my father, even in a dream, that he should take his family and depart into the wilderness. 

3 And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him.

All that follows is because of Lehi's obedience to the Lord, and we will see in a few more chapters that Nephi has the same dedication to following the commandments.

#bofm365 Day 1 - 1 Nephi 1:1-15

It's a new year and a new opportunity to read the Book of Mormon!  My plan is to share the daily reading that is necessary to complete the entire book over the course of a year.  Because there are 530 pages in the Book of Mormon, and 365 days in the year, it works out to about a page and a half each day, so the reading isn't too tough.

The first reading selection is 1 Nephi 1:1-15.

I also plan to share thoughts and insights and resources based on the day's reading.  My intent is mostly to help me stay focused for the year and gain a deeper understanding of the Book of Mormon, and hopefully there is something along the way that will benefit someone else.

The very first verse of the Book of Mormon sets the stage for Nephi's story - he shares his love and appreciation for his parents and bears his testimony:

I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. (1 Nephi 1:1)

One of the nice new helps that has been provided this year by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a series of videos portraying the events told in the book.  They were initially released starting September 2019 in a weekly format, telling the stories and actions in chronological order.  The first one covers 1 Nephi Chapters 1 and 2.