Flooding My Life with the Book of Mormon 2.0

1 Nephi 19:9 And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men. To be kind is to be sympathetic, helpful, gentle, and loving. So Jesus's loving kindness is His innate nature to be kind because He loves everyone. He is sympathetic to His persecutors because He sees from their perspective. Given what they know and believe and the circumstances in which they live, He understands why they are cruel, vicious, and hateful.  This loving kindness is born out of His atonement. Having suffered all things in the flesh, having lifted every person's burden, having experienced every pain, anguish, affliction, and illness, He knows me personally, intimately, directly, and perfectly. And that knowledge inspires sympathy, not anger; kindness, not r...

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 19:6 Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself. To be sacred is to be connected to God and used for religious purposes. Nephi therefore wrote about what he thought was related to God, and he intended his words to help us worship God. Thus, he filtered everything he wrote through this lens of sacredness, and we should read his writing through the same lens.  We should ask what is sacred about everything we read in the books of Nephi. Even the verse we often take lightly--"And my father dwelt in a tent" ( 1 Nephi 2:15 )--had sacred significance to Nephi. The tent represented the sacrifice that his father Lehi was willing to make to be obedient to God. Lehi had left his home and all his possessions to travel through a wilderness and live ...

1 Nephi 19:5 And an account of my making these plates shall be given hereafter; and then, behold, I proceed according to that which I have spoken; and this I do that the more sacred things may be kept for the knowledge of my people. God reveals sacred knowledge to the prophets and then commands them to write and preserve their words so that we may benefit from what the Lord has revealed. This is the purpose of scripture: to give us knowledge. Thus, we do not all have to be prophets to have the knowledge of prophets.  In God's economy, it is more efficient for Him to reveal a truth once and then spread it by the written word among all people than to reveal the same truth a million times to a million individuals, each of whom may receive, interpret, and apply the truth slightly differently. In this way, God doesn't have to start over fresh with each person, but we can build on the learning of others.

1 Nephi 18:11 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness; nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked. Nephi was no stranger to persecution. Sadly, the persecutors were his own brothers. God knew Laman and Lemuel would be troublesome to both Lehi and Nephi. Why did He send such rebellious boys to Lehi and Sariah? Didn't the Lord know how much harder the family's escape from Jerusalem and voyage across the ocean would be because of these two recalcitrants? Of course, He did. That's exactly why He placed them in the family. The righteous needed opposition to strengthen their righteousness. We see over and over that God permits bad things to happen to good people for a variety of reasons. I doubt that Nephi knew in the moment he was being lashed to the mast what good thing the Lord had in store for h...

1 Nephi 18:3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things. Line upon line and precept upon precept--I do not expect God's revelations to be one and done. There is no end to His words. Once I learn the process to open the channel of communication, He constantly reveals knowledge to me. The mount to which Nephi went to communicate with the Lord was his temple. The mount is almost always a synonym for the temple in the scriptures. Just as Nephi went often to the mountains to ask God questions and receive instructions, I should likewise go often to the temple to ask my questions and receive direction directly from God. President Nelson has repeatedly taught that God will teach us directly and personally in the temple, and that we can learn things no man can teach us.

1 Nephi 17:51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship? God is not stingy with His power. He is willing to use it constantly on my behalf. He has performed miracles for others, and He performs miracles for me. He is not partial or capricious. When I exercise faith, humble myself, trust in Christ, and seek diligently, I receive manifestations of God's power in my life.  God works by power. Whenever people see His power or action, they call it a miracle. Miracles are acts that defy limited human reason, but they do not defy God's reason. He can empower me to do anything He wants done. His power can remove the constraints by which I normally operate in the world. If I am willing to accept it, and set aside my personal fears and doubts, God can do many wonderful things for me and through me.