Flooding My Life with the Book of Mormon 2.0

2 Nephi 5:11 And the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly; for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in abundance. And we began to raise flocks, and herds, and animals of every kind. Nephi attributes his prosperity to God. God is the source of all good things.  Many wicked people also prosper, however. More devils are rich in this world than are saints. God sends sunshine and rain on all His children.  He is willing to prosper His saints, provided they know what to do with their prosperity. I don't think God worries much about what worldly people will do with riches. They will hoard them and use them for power. But He is very concerned about His saints, and how prosperity affects them.  For those who would do good with an abundance of riches, He gives them riches. For those, however, who would be corrupted by riches, He withholds them. He prospers such people with enough, but not more than enough, lest they forget God and turn against Him.  When I think ...

1 Nephi 22:15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned. Isaiah lumps together two groups in his warning of impending destruction: the proud and the wicked. The wicked are those who intentionally and deliberately disobey God's commandments. The proud, on the other hand, may not murder and steal, but they set themselves above God. If they do good, it is only to gratify their own pride rather than to do God's will. The proud leave many things undone, such as helping the poor and lifting the oppressed. They are so self-consumed with their own desires that they fail to see others' needs. Or if they see the need, they judge the needy as having created their own mess. God will have to destroy both the wicked and the proud to get their attention.

1 Nephi 19:7 For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words—they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels. To "set at naught" is to ignore and to consider of no worth. This is not ignorance but a deliberate defiance and disregard for God and His laws.  God has created the universe, the earth on which I live, and me. He has given laws and guidelines in the form of commandments that inform me of how best to thrive and be happy among His creations and with others. They are not arbitrary restrictions or punishments. He is telling me how He has set up the universe and designed mortal life to my best advantage.  What arrogance I portray if I take possession of the world He has created for me and then say to Him, "Thanks, but I don't ...

1 Nephi 15:21 And it came to pass that they did speak unto me again, saying: What meaneth this thing which our father saw in a dream? What meaneth the tree which he saw? Laman and Lemuel were smart enough to know that Lehi's dream was filled with symbols. I think they avoided asking Lehi the meaning of the symbols because they didn't want to look stupid in their father's eyes. When one is proud, to ask a question is to admit a lack of knowledge or understanding, which might mean weakness. But God wants us to be weak and humble.  Laman and Lemuel also did not ask God about the meaning of the symbols, probably because they didn't think they would get an answer. They assumed God spoke only to dreamers and visionary men like their father, not to practical and worldly men like themselves.  So, they asked Nephi. He was not as worldly and concrete as they were, but he had also not yet shown himself to be a visionary man like their father. They could admit their ignorance to Ne...

1 Nephi 13:9 And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity. Satan wants to be loved, adored, and worshipped. He taps into those same natural-man tendencies in me. Praise and approval at any cost is his watchword. He plays to my pride until I want nothing more than to be recognized and accoladed by my peers. The professional media and social media feed on this insatiable pride and make it appear essential to happiness. But pride and self-gratification are hard masters that can ultimately destroy me, much to Satan's delight.

1 Nephi 11:36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. At the very outset of the establishment of the Nephite people, the first prophet warned them of pride. In Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life, the faithful seekers of the precious fruit of eternal life were not captured unawares by the great and spacious building of pride. They sought it out. They dropped the fruit and went to the building of their own volition.  Lehi knew a thousand years before the fact that pride would be the downfall of his people. Warnings against pride would become a major theme of the Book of Mormon. Lehi prophesied of the effects of pride, and Mormon witnessed firsthand the fulfillment of Leh...