Flooding My Life with the Book of Mormon 2.0

1 Nephi 2:24 And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance. I sometimes wonder why God sent the stubborn and rebellious older brothers to Lehi's family. Laman and Lemuel were a constant trial for both Lehi and Nephi. Being omniscient, the Lord knew how troublesome these two scalawags would be to the peace of the family that was destined to establish a new nation in the promised land of the Western Hemisphere. Why didn't the Lord simply remove them from the picture during the journey through the desert? Why didn't He let Laban kill them, as he threatened to do when they tried to get the brass plates? Why didn't He let a wave wash them overboard during the great storm on the ocean crossing? Why? Because God had a purpose for these faithless and disobedient rascals. God can use anybody, even the most wicked. The descendants of Laman and Lemuel would become a scourge to the descendants of Nephi ...

1 Nephi 2:21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. Nephi struggled most of his life with his wayward and rebellious older brothers. They rebelled constantly against the commandments of God, which put them at odds with faithful Nephi. The Lord warned Nephi to warn his brothers that their continued disobedience would have dire consequences. In particular, God is warning the brothers about rebelling against His acknowledged prophet. Through Nephi's tireless obedience, God appointed him as the successor to his prophet-father Lehi. The Lord had already begun to speak through Nephi to call Laman and Lemuel to repentance. Therefore, their antipathy towards Nephi was tantamount to rebelling against God. When I ignore and defy God's anointed prophet, I put myself at odds with God Himself. The living prophet is ordained to reveal the will of the Lord to the world. My choosing to disregard the prophet's instructions...

1 Nephi 2:19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart. "Lowliness of heart" is a synonym for humility. God loves humility, and He responds readily to it. When we are humble, we are teachable, and God loves to teach. A humble person is malleable, and God is anxious to change us. One who is humble is willing to listen, and God has much to say to us. Humility opens the doors to all of God's blessings.

1 Nephi 2:16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers. The mysteries of God are anything God knows that I don't know yet. Much of what God knows is beyond my human comprehension, and so His knowledge remains mysterious to me for the time being. But God can dumb down some of His knowledge to a level that mortals can comprehend, and it is those mysteries that He is willing to share with me.  Such knowledge does not come easily, however. Nephi did not have a mere curiosity or a passing fancy to learn the mysteries of God. He had "great desires." Such desires are powerful motivators that drive my behaviors and take up much of my attention. When ...