Flooding My Life with the Book of Mormon 2.0

1 Nephi 10:4 Yea, even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord God raise up among the Jews—even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world. The primary mission of every prophet is to prophesy about Christ. In fact, the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (see Revelation 19:10 ). The prophets of the Old Testament and those among the Nephites prior to Jesus's birth prophesied of the coming of the Messiah, His life, atonement, death, and resurrection. The prophets of the New Testament, in the Book of Mormon after Christ's appearance, and in modern times, prophesy of Christ's Second Coming to destroy the wicked and usher in the Millennium of peace and righteousness. If any prophet in our records has not spoken of the Messiah or Christ, it is most likely because we do not have a full record of all he taught. The immediate role of every prophet is to bring the people of his day to Christ. Secondarily, he may leave...

1 Nephi 10:3 That after they should be destroyed, even that great city Jerusalem, and many be carried away captive into Babylon, according to the own due time of the Lord, they should return again, yea, even be brought back out of captivity; and after they should be brought back out of captivity they should possess again the land of their inheritance. Here is the plan of salvation played out symbolically in the history of Israel. They apostatize, rebel against God, their capital is destroyed, they are taken captive and led away, and then when they repent and turn to God, he rescues them and brings them back to their eternal home.  Our mortal lives follow the same pattern. When we sin and rebel, Satan gets hold of us and takes us captive into his kingdom. But when we come to ourselves, turn to God, and repent, He redeems us, rescues us from Satan's grasp, and brings us into the kingdom of God, where we can dwell with Him forever.  Today, we draw hope from the promise of Israel'...

1 Nephi 9:6 But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen. As God's children, we should take great comfort in knowing of his omniscience and omnipotence. He has made a way for us to accomplish whatever He asks of us, and He has the power to bring His will to pass. We may have to struggle with our challenges and trials, but we need not fear defeat. God will never be defeated, and if we are on His side, neither shall we be defeated. Nephi can testify of these things because he has experienced God's knowledge and power in his own life. It is so plain to him that he sums up his expression of faith in four words of fact: "and thus it is."

1 Nephi 9:3 Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people. God could have made the plates and handed them to Nephi, just as He made and handed the Liahona to Lehi. But He knew that Nephi could figure out how to manufacture the plates on his own.  Further, God could have engraved the writings He wanted on the plates, just as He wrote words of admonition and instruction on the surface of the Liahona. But Nephi needed the intellectual and spiritual exercise of writing the narrative, so that he could remember and process his experiences and learn to receive revelation about what to write.  In other words, God could have created the Book of Mormon and handed it to us in perfect English, but the making and writing of the book, and the finding and translating of the plates were vital experiences for some of the Lord's greatest prophets to train them...

1 Nephi 8:32 And it came to pass that many were drowned in the depths of the fountain; and many were lost from his view, wandering in strange roads. The opposite of righteously pressing forward is wandering. Many are simply lost, not striving to reach the tree of life and not headed for the great and spacious building, simply wandering about, going wherever the road takes them. They are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. They saunter along strange, unfamiliar roads, enticed by whatever is new and intriguing, looking for something they cannot make or describe, hoping to stumble onto something good with no real goal in mind. They are not only lost from Lehi's view, but even from their own view. They can be the hardest to reach. 

1 Nephi 8:28 And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost. Peer pressure can be totally destructive to our spiritual health. Satan knows how our pride works, and he uses others to wound our pride. It is not easy to remain steadfast in the face of criticism and mocking. Humility and meekness are the antidotes to the poison of pride and humiliation. We must fear God more than we fear man. 

1 Nephi 8:27 And [the great and spacious building] was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit. A ploy of Satan is to make me feel foolish and to doubt myself and my judgment when I choose righteously. If he can get me to doubt and wonder if I am doing the right thing, I will pause, and in that moment, he will pounce. He will play on my FOMO and tempt me to wonder if I am missing something pleasant or important. He wants me to compare the value of God's blessings with the luxuries of the world. He is banking on the natural man overcoming the child of Christ just long enough to distract me, turn my head, and eventually turn my heart from God. He is very seductive and clever. He doesn't need me to jump into his lap; he just needs to catch my attention.