Flooding My Life with the Book of Mormon 2.0

1 Nephi 2:7 And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God. When we are truly grateful to God, we should be willing to offer Him something of value. Ancient offerings of animals symbolized the expected gift of Christ's atonement. When Jesus came, He commanded us to give an even greater gift than an animal sacrifice, namely, our broken heart and contrite spirit. What God wants most from me is myself, my heart and mind, my agency and will. Those are hard things for the mortal me to give up, and He knows it, so He blesses me richly in the hopes that my gratitude will be sufficient to motivate me to offer Him my greatest offering in righteousness.

  1 Nephi 1:20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him [Lehi]; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. God's tender mercies are the blessings He grants us from His tender, loving heart as our Father. Tender mercies are not earned, they are gifts. Sometimes we don't even ask for them. He gives them simply out of the goodness of His magnificent heart. They are kindnesses He showers blessings upon us because He loves us. Tender mercies are not everyday, run-of-the-mill, ordinary blessings, but are special gifts, added bonuses.  He grants His tender mercies to those whom He has chosen. And why are certain people chosen? Because they have faith, and they are try...

  1 Nephi 1:3 And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge. The small plates of Nephi are not a journal. They are Nephi's mature reflections on his life. He wrote from the perspective of experience over many years. He was being truthful "according to his knowledge," but that knowledge had been tempered, sifted, analyzed, pondered, and put into perspective. He was specifically providing the best information in the best light, so we would have the best view of his faith. He surely had many things to repent of as a youth and a young man. Remember, he was a "wretched man" (see 2 Nephi 4:17 ) like the rest of us. But he did not need to parade his sins before us. He had repented, and the atonement had worked, and that was enough. We should consider our own lives in the same way.

1 Nephi 1:1 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. This verse is the original source of my testimony of the Book of Mormon. In a very dark time just prior to my mission in 1972, I was in desperate need of spiritual reassurance. I turned to the Book of Mormon for an answer. If the Book of Mormon was true, I could move forward. If it was not true, I would drop the church and change my life.  I opened the book, read the first verse, and knew instantly that Nephi was a real person. He lived a real life. I felt in that moment that I knew him. If he had walked into my room and introduced himself, I could not have been any more sure of his existence. Because he ...