Flooding My Life with the Book of Mormon 2.0

1 Nephi 11:1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot. Revelation from God feels new and exciting. It puts me on new ground and points me in a new direction. It feels intensely personal. It took Nephi to a place he had never been before, but a place that is obviously very familiar to the Lord.   I am often prepared for revelation by a change, be it temporal or spiritual. To shed my old knowledge and prejudice, I may need to shift to a new location, a new perspective, a new paradigm. I may need to get away from everyday life, as when I go to church or to the temple. Sometimes, I may need an even bigger shift, and the Lord may prepare me through challenges and problems that force m...

1 Nephi 10:21 Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever. Earthlife is my probationary period in which I am to prove myself. Probation is "the process or period of testing or observing the character or abilities of a person in a certain role." God is testing and observing my character in my roles as His child. He measures my progress on the path to becoming like Him.  Though we are all born as innocent infants, we do not all start from the same place, nor do we all have the same privileges or roadblocks. A million influences contribute to the people we become.  Thankfully, God is smart enough and wise enough to recognize and take into account all the variables when He makes His final judgment. He will be completely fair. But more importantly, because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, He will also be merciful...

1 Nephi 10:20 Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment. I will be justly judged for my doings. The good news of Christ's atonement is that the sins of which I repent will not be mine. Christ will own them for me. He wipes my slate clean of every wrong, every mistake, every failure, every commission and omission that hurt others, every thoughtless word and brainless thought, when I repent. He will leave nothing unresolved that I am willing to resolve with Him. Therefore, it is imperative that I recognize, confess, forsake, and repent of every sin. I cannot afford to ignore the dusty corners of my life. If Christ will take it all, I should not be afraid to give it all to Him. Now, that's a daunting task for a single day. So I have a lifetime to work on it. However long it takes, He will be patient with me, but He is impatient for me to begin. The sooner I start, the more time I will have to get it right. I should not hoard that which Chris...

1 Nephi 10:19 For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round. A friend of mine explained "one eternal round" like this:   "When I read this phrase, the song that comes to mind is 'Row Row Row Your Boat.' This song is a classic example of a round. So here is my take. A round is a piece of music where the next group comes in and repeats what the previous group has already done, while the first group continues to the next piece of the song. As new groups enter, the music becomes more harmonious and beautiful. So, in this context, I think 'one eternal round' fits well. The difference is, the Lord's song never ends, so we never go back to the beginning, and it never fades, but only becomes bigger, more harmonious, and wondrous. Tha...

1 Nephi 10:18 For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. God planned all things from the very beginning. He knew exactly how earthlife would play out for His family. He knew Adam and Eve would transgress His law and bring about the fall of mankind. In fact, He needed it to be so, so that mortality would have meaning.  We had to have choices, and so we needed opposition. At the same time, God planned for the way for us to return to Him. The atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ were planned as well. Jesus would be the way that we could follow to return to our Father in heaven. To paraphrase Elder Holland, Jesus was not Plan B or even Plan A, He was and is the ONLY Plan .

1 Nephi 10:14 And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer. Israel is the natural or true offspring of Jehovah. In other words, they naturally gravitate to the true gospel and the true God. They have been off track a lot, but they return. They want to return. They seek and yearn for truth.  They were scattered throughout the earth to leaven the whole, to spread the desire for truth among all people. Fragments of Israel are now everywhere in the world. Missionaries, like magnets, sift among the populations to attract and draw out the particles of Israel and gather them to the truth.  We are collecting those who respond to the message of truth like bees to honey. It is in their DNA, plant...