Latest / Scripture Central / 2 Nephi 26-30 | Book of Mormon Insights: Revisited

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2 Nephi 26-30 | Book of Mormon Insights: Revisited · Scripture Central

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Nephi is taking time to provide commentary on having just quoted
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a whole number of Isaiah chapters, and the focus here is
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all about Jesus and his covenants, and that's the
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important thing to know about Isaiah.
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When we read Isaiah, look for the covenants, look for Jesus.
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And what Nephi does for us in these chapters is gives
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explanation about what is the work of Jesus, what is the work
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of God, what can we expect God to do for us, and what does he
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expect of us? So let's just jump in.
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We have a lot to talk about today.
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Yes, we do. So in chapter 26 he he begins
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this discussion and it's kind of fascinating.
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If you look at verse, the first section of chapter 26, reading
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it through the lenses of Nephi doing what he's told us to do,
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which is liken all scriptures unto himself that it could be
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for his prophet and his people's learning, that's what he's
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doing. So some of these passages that
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you'll remember from the Isaiah block, you'll see him now taking
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them and applying them to his people.
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Not just his people in his current day, but his prophetic
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view of his people down to the coming of Christ.
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And then beyond that to the utter destruction of the Nephite
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nation at the end in verse one through 7.
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Just watch for that. You'll see that come out and.
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What I love is He begins with verse one.
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And after Christ shall have risen from the dead, he shall
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show himself unto you, my children and my beloved
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brethren. And the words which he shall
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speak unto you shall be the law, which ye shall do.
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And this is significant, because these are people of the House of
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Israel. They know the law of Moses.
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That is the law that God revealed at Sinai.
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It was his instructions to the people for how to love him, for
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how to find themselves back in the presence of God.
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And we all know that when Christ comes and delivers the higher
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law, that's what we should be living, right?
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We don't live the Law of Moses anymore, and Nephi is looking
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ahead and saying the covenant invites Christ to teach us again
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and to teach us a higher law, and he's letting his people know
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in advance. At some point, the law that God
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gave you will be updated with new instructions.
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In fact, in some ways, these chapters kind of give us a
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foreshadow of what that's going to be about, particularly
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chapters 31 through 33, which we'll be spending time with on
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the next video. There's a really a powerful
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cross reference that you might want to write next to chapter
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26, verse one, which takes you over to Alma Chapter 25, verse
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15 and 16. And if you take a moment and
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pause the video and and look at Alma 2515 through 16, you'll see
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this perspective of what the Nephites understood in that
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chapter of Jesus is going to be bringing this higher law.
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But until we get that, we still have to live this Law of Moses,
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because Nephi Nephi foreshadowed that.
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But they didn't. They didn't believe that the Law
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of Moses was going to save them. They recognized that the Law was
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simply pointing them forward to the coming of the Messiah.
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So it's kind of a fun little little connection there.
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If you look at 2nd Ephy chapter 26, beginning in verse 24, I
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don't know of any page of scripture that has more powerful
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words and phrases to describe the attribute of God that he is
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no respecter of persons than this page right here.
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I mean, look at the the, the number, the volume of these
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sentences and these phrases that talk about what God intends for
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all of his children, not just those in the House of Israel.
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Starting in verse 24 He doeth not anything, save it be for the
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benefit of the world. For he loveth the world, even
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that he layeth down his own life, that he may draw all men
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unto him. Notice that's 100%.
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Wherefore he commandeth none that they shall not partake of
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his salvation. So when you're going through
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page one O 3 in your study, just pay attention, if you, if you
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like marking your scriptures, mark all of those extreme words.
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Any all, none. They're all over the place here.
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Nephi is trying to make this very clear after having read all
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these Isaiah chapters, that it's not just about the House of
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Israel. It's about bringing everybody
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into that covenant through the House of Israel so that they too
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can connect with God. Because Abraham's promise was
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through your seed shall all nations, kindreds, tongues, and
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peoples, everyone in the world will be blessed.
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And that point is often missed in the ancient world,
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particularly among the people of the House of Israel.
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They forgot that the Abrahamic promises was meant for
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everybody. They saw themselves as chosen
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people and they thought, well, we're the only ones that get to
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feast at this amazing buffet of salvation.
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And God's like, actually, no, I'm asking you to be the
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vanguard of offering that salvation, of teaching people,
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of modeling for people how to love me, how to keep the
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commandments. And you guys aren't doing that.
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And so I'm going to have to kick you out and I'll go find other
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people. I'll bring the Gentiles in and
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maybe they'll do it. I love an analogy that that my
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colleague Brad Wilcox uses. He says, God puts us down on
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this earth like a big cruise ship, and there are all these
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people on this cruise ship. And he picks one family and
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says, OK, I want you to be the crew.
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We're paying you. I'm giving you things to be able
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to make this a good experience for everybody else, for those
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wages. Now it's expected that you go
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and work and bless everybody, help everybody have the best
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experience they can. It's just a fun way to look at
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that. Yeah, that's an interesting
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analogy. What if the crew actually spends
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all the time eating all the food, not sharing?
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That's Eventually God might throw them overboard and get a
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different crew. Yeah, that that happened a few
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times, didn't it? Just in closing, for that
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concept, look at verse 33. Honestly, I don't know of any
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verse in scripture that sets a more clear standard for God's
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attribute of no respecter of persons that we should be trying
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to emulate both individually as well as collectively.
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Verse 33. For none of these iniquities
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come of the Lord. For he doeth that which is good
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among the children of men, and he doeth nothing, save it be
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plain unto the children of men. And he inviteth them notice all
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to come unto him, and partake of his goodness.
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Now notice this phrase. And he denieth Here it is again
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none that come unto him, black and white, bond, and free, male
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and female. And he remembers the heathen,
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and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.
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So you get these couplets coming through here that Nephi's
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sharing, but the the bar is all or alike unto God.
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And until we collectively and individually can look at each
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other black, white, bond, free, male, female, Jew, gentile until
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we can see through those heavenly lenses, then we still
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have some work to do. So we're going to move on to
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Chapter 27, and Nephi packs in so many incredible things.
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He's trying to help us understand the covenant path,
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God's purpose and plan, the plan of salvation, God's covenants,
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what God is going to do for us, what he expects of us.
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And one of the things I love about these next chapters is the
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revelation about the Book of Mormon as a witness of God's
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covenants, of his love for us and how he offers us salvation.
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So we're not going to go through all the verses here.
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Think you guys know the routine. We'll give some highlights and
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some kind of overview, key concepts you can look for as you
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get deeper into your searching of scriptures and trying to
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liken them to yourselves. If you want to to have a little
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fun and dig, dig kind of deeper into your study and and take
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some extra time, this would be a fun exercise for you to go
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through. Open up in your Bible sometime,
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Isaiah chapter 29 and open up second ephi 27 because that's
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what's going on here. This is another Isaiah chapter.
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Of all the chapters in the entire Book of Mormon that are
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quotations from Isaiah, this is the one by far.
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It's like off the charts by far that has more changes, more
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edits, more differences between the two accounts, more textual
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variants if you will, than any other Isaiah chapter in the
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entire Book of Mormon. And it's fascinating that that
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would be the case in the chapter that talks about the coming 4th
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of the Book of Mormon. So a couple of things, couple of
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possibilities here. Either the brass plates that
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Nephi has being the oldest version 600 BC of the the
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writings of Isaiah that we would that we would know of.
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Either that 600 BC text that he gets on the brass plates is
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significantly different than the later texts that now help us
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produce our Bible we have today. Or another possibility is that
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Nephi is taking some prophetic license to take what is written
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by Isaiah if Isaiah on the brass plates is more similar to our
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current Bible. But Nephi is seen in vision a
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whole bunch of things about the latter days in the coming 4th of
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Book of Mormon, and a prophet has that ability to edit text
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and to clarify and to reveal and shine light to.
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Provide prophetic interpretation.
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There you go. That is our Quorum of the 12 and
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the First presence today. That's their role.
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Part of their job is not only to reveal the word of God, but also
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provide prophetic interpretation.
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Nephi could be doing the same thing.
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It could be that, and it could be a combination of both of
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those and maybe other things as well.
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I don't know. I just know there are a lot of
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differences here. Which are significant.
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Which are majorly significant because it's so specific about
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some of the events surrounding the coming 4th of the Book of
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Mormon. It's just beautiful.
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Involving people like Martin Harris and Joseph Smith,
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involving Charles Anthon and Samuel Latham Mitchell, some
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experts in linguistics and antiquities in New York at the
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time of Joseph. We're not going to walk you
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through all of chapter 27. You're going to get to to
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discover this and and read it for yourself and study it.
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All we're going to say is pay close attention to two things
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when you're doing it because Nephi, in quoting this Isaiah
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chapter, he's going to stay 100% consistent in his usage of the
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phrase, the book and the second phrase, the words of the book.
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So if you look at it this way, you have the plates that are
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delivered to a farm boy from upstate New York.
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He is not an Egyptologist. He is not a scholar.
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He hardly speaks English, let alone read and write in in
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Egyptian or Reformed Egyptian or understand Hebrew texts and
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Semitic languages. So he's given a book, but he has
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to grow into this understanding of how to bring forth the words
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of the book, and he wants the learned to take care of that.
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And it's fascinating that in this chapter the Lord tells him
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in verse 19, Wherefore it shall come to pass.
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The Lord will again deliver the book and the words thereof to
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him. That is not learned.
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Joseph and the man that is not learned shall say I'm not
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learned. Joseph's fully aware of the fact
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that he's not an Egyptologist. Check out verse 20.
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If you ever feel inadequate, if you ever get a church calling or
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an assignment or a family trial that's placed on your shoulders
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and you feel like I I can't do. I've never done this before.
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Well, that's exactly how Nephi or how Joseph Smith feels at
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this point. Look at verse 20.
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Then shall Lord God say unto him, The learned shall not read
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them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do my
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known work. Wherefore thou shalt read the
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words which I shall give unto thee, Joseph, you're not going
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to be the one to be the the expert here.
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You're going to read words that I'm going to give to you.
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I can do my own work. I'm capable of bringing forth
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this incredible instrument whereby we're going to gather
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the House of Israel. I can do that through a farm
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boy. It's pretty powerful.
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And then he says in verse 21, by the way, touching out the things
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which are sealed for I will bring them forth in mine own due
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time. For I will show unto the
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children of men that I am able to do mine own work.
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Brothers and sisters, I think in our own life, as we liken these
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scriptures now to us, I think if we trust in God more and say I
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want you to be my God, I'll be thy people and we put more more
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of our trust in him. Two times, in two verses, I am
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able to do my own work. I think he could say the same
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thing to us today. I I got this.
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I can. I can do my own work through you
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today. I have spent a lot of time in my
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life. When I was younger, I had
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grandiose plans for who I would be and what I would do, and
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sometimes my plans didn't work out.
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When I was feeling a little bit angry at God, like God, I had
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this really amazing plan. And could you just make it work
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for me? And you know, I I thought I knew
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the gospel, but I heard God whispering to me.
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Taylor, there is a plan in place.
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It's not your plan. And if you actually pay
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attention to my plan, things will work out.
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But I wanted to do things on my own terms.
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And God's like, I will work things out.
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I will make it work. And I want to add one more
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comment. The Urim thumb.
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It's interesting what Tyler has pointed out here is the book
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refers to plates. The words of the book refers to.
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Translation. The, the, the translation, the
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truth that we find here. And you'll notice that God never
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said to Joseph read the book. Joseph couldn't really read the
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book. I mean, he could look at it, but
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he didn't know ancient languages.
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What he asked Joseph Smith to do was to read the words of the
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book. And what's interesting is the
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word Urim and Thummim. And these are the instruments
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that God gave to Joseph Smith, and he actually used them with
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other ancient prophets in order to read the words.
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And it's interesting is that Joseph Smith is actually looking
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our best evidence suggests that he's looking at the stone and
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the stones are shining words of light, the words of truth that
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were the Book of Mormon. And Joseph Smith read those
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words all Rick Cowdy wrote them down, read them back to Joseph
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Smith, who's looking at the stone and he's hearing all Rick
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Cowdy read back the words and confirming, yes, that is
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correct. And then that line would go away
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and they'd read another line. That seems to be our best
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understanding of what was going on in the translation process.
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We're not exactly sure. But what's interesting is the
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word Urim and Thummim in Hebrew literally means lights, plural
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and perfections or truth. And in some ways, this word
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actually describes how the seer stones function that they reveal
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in light words of truth. And God asked Joseph, I want you
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to read the words, and that may the Euroma thumb may help us
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understand how that happened. One other just a little insight
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on that. A lot of people say that's
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that's weird that that you guys as members of your church could
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actually believe that that Joseph could look at stones like
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clear stones or the chocolate colored Sears stone and by some
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accounts put into a hat and that it would shine.
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And that's weird that you could believe that there could be such
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a thing as stones that shine forth in the darkness and that
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the writing would appear from time to time.
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How how can you. And if it's if it's really light
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outside or if there's too much light and you need to be able to
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see it more clearly. You put in a darker place so
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that it doesn't strain your eyes and it's just easier to read
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that that that's really weird that you would believe that.
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Sorry for being facetious, but if man can even figure out how
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to do that kind of thing, I think God would say yeah, I'm
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I'm able to do mine own work, even if it's through a stone, or
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if it was through a wall or through any means.
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It doesn't matter. God can use anything to bring
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forth these words and we don't know fully how much Joseph was
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able to put his own volition, his own thinking into this
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process, or how much it was just straight reading or anything in
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between. We don't know fully, but we know
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that the the witnesses of this process said Joseph isn't
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pouring over the plates, he's looking at the stones, which
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implies more reading words that God is giving to him.
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Which, by the way, in antiquity the High Priest, when he would
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have a major question to be answered, he would wear the his
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high priestly breastplate breastplate, and it has the 12
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Stones on it which. Represent the 12 tribes 12.
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Tribes of Israel. And he'd have six and six on 2
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stones on his shoulders. So he's got the House of Israel
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on his shoulders and on his chest.
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And inside behind those stones it's a little pocket.
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And inside it's believed that there were the stones Urim and
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Thummim. And when he had a real question,
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he would go in, stand before the Holy of Holies and raise his
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hands up with the person asking the question.
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He would gaze down, and the description is of those stones
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would light up inside of that darker pocket and they would
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shine into his eyes and he would be able to read words on the
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stone. So this this tradition goes way,
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way, way back. This didn't originate with
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Joseph Smith. But back to the fact that God
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can do his work. He could have done it a
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different way. People didn't spend a lot of
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time debating Why did he do it this way?
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Well, he did it the way that he did it.
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And so instead of trying to counsel God and tell him, you
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should have done it another way because it would have made me
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feel a lot better. Let's just spend time
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understanding God's work and he can do his work.
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And don't be like I was when I was younger, like God, I have a
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plan. Why don't you do it my way?
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He has a plan. So some people make a big deal
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about Joseph using a chocolate colored search stone.
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The reality is, is God's going to work with you according to
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the things that you're most familiar with.
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He'll stretch you, of course, in the process, but that just
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doesn't bother me at all that God chose that particular means.
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In fact, that's why we call it a marvelous work and a wonder.
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It's because we marvel at it. How did he do that?
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And it's a wonder we wonder, how is that even possible with God?
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All things are possible. On to chapter 28.
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This chapter is loaded with Nephi's vision of the latter
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days where he sees many false churches set up.
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Now we instantly read the word church and we assume that he's
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talking about just religions. But as you get into chapter 28,
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know that Nephi is probably seeing a lot more than just
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churches here. He's probably seeing all kinds
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of organizations and collective groups and movements and and any
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philosophies that that come up that would be anything geared
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away from leading you to becoming more like God.
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So in chapter 28, verse three, he talks about these churches,
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their build up, but not unto the Lord, their build up to
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themselves. Look at the contrast as you go
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down through verse 4. They're going to contend their
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priests are going to contend one with another and those priests
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can be a variety of of people in different organizations and
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settings. Verse five, they deny the power
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of the Holy Ghost. They say don't.
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There is no God today. Just trust us.
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We're really smart. We know our stuff.
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Verse 6. Behold, hearken you to our
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precept. There's no miracle today.
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God's already done his work, and in fact, some will then go on to
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the famous eat, drink, and be merry.
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It doesn't matter. You can do whatever you want.
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So there's no consequence for for any of those behaviors.
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Or verse 8. Low consequence.
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Yeah, he might beat you with a few stripes, but in the end
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you're going to be saved. And he just goes through.
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They're they're prideful. These teachers are teaching
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false doctrines. So I wrote this up.
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Sorry, it's been a while since I've done Greek.
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I misspelled it at first, but the word church in Greek is
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ecclesia. Literally means literally means
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to call out into a group. And what Tyler's talking about
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here is that there are groups everywhere in the world.
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Doesn't have to be like an official religious group, it
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could be some secular group. And God is not against people
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getting together in groups. And what he worries about is
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when groups get together and start doing their own work and
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not his work. What we're learning here in
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these chapters is that we have to be aware that we should be
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aligning ourselves with groups that actually do the work of
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God, of revealing his covenants, inviting people back into the
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presence of God through Jesus. And so this Word Church probably
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is more of a generic term of those who are called out to
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gather into a group. And again, are you doing the
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work of God in that group, or are you doing the work of man?
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So look at verse 15. You look at that third to the
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last line and you'll notice that there are three woes.
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Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's a unique thing that
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happens in Scripture only three times, ironically, and it it
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becomes a superlative. This is the the, the ultimate
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cursing woe, woe, woe. In case if you missed it, that's
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as woe as you can go. It doesn't get any lower than
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that, right? This is superb.
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It only happens two other times in scriptures.
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A little challenge for you. Go and find those other two
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places and and look at all three of the the triple woes and the
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groups of people that receive the triple woe from the Lord.
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In this case, verse 15. The wise, the learned and the
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rich that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts.
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And they preach false doctrines, And all those who commit
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whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, Woe, woe, woe
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unto them. It's those groups that actually
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cause so much of the division later in Nephi history where
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they actually create secret combinations.
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It's all these different gradations of society, those who
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have money, those who have wealth, those who have all this
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education. And it's funny because we work
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at a university and we're trying to help people learn.
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There's lots of ways of learning.
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It doesn't happen to have to happen only at a university, but
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we have to always be careful. Is our learning meant to benefit
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only us, or is it meant to serve and bless the lives of others?
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And the question is, are we using the resources God has
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given us? If it's wealth, if it's wisdom
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isn't learning, is it to build His Kingdom?
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Or is it to build our own kingdoms?
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Once Nephi finishes talking through the different attributes
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of these latter day churches that he sees in vision and you
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can, you can go through and look for those and and make sense of
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them and see how prophetic Nephi was by looking at our world
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around us. Then he shifts gears starting in
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verse 20 to talk about some of the tactics that the devil uses
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against us in the latter days. In verse 20, you'll notice that
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he says that Satan is going to rage in the hearts of of some
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people against that which the prophets are are preaching and
23:54
he just makes them angry, filled with rage.
23:58
Most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
24:00
Saints today aren't being filled with rage every time they hear
24:05
the prophet speak, but that does happen.
24:07
There are people who that is the effective key that the devil
24:11
keeps hitting with them, and it works.
24:13
The one that is probably more applicable to to the the masses
24:18
in our particular congregations today is verse 21.
24:23
I learned this connection years ago from from a wonderful
24:26
teacher, Curtis Jacobs, up at the Logan Institute.
24:31
Others will he pacify, lull them away into carnal security, and
24:35
they will say all is well in Zion.
24:37
Yeah, Zion prosperous. Here's the insight Satan is
24:41
simply doing what parents figured out a long time ago is
24:45
effective with human beings. You give them a fake.
24:50
You give them something that will help them feel like they're
24:56
doing what they need to do to survive and grow and develop.
25:00
But there's nothing that they're going to get out of that energy
25:03
that they're putting into sucking on that pacifier that's
25:07
going to help them grow in any way, shape or form.
25:09
It just it lulls them, it pacifies them so you can think
25:15
through your own life. It's not our role to point a
25:18
finger of judgement or scorn at anybody, but this is a great
25:22
opportunity to pause and say, wait a minute, what are, what
25:24
are the pacifiers that Satan is offering us collectively and me
25:29
individually where it's filling my time, I'm spending money, I'm
25:35
spending energy, I'm spending thought effort, I'm devoting
25:39
some part of me to this, but at the end of the day, I'm not
25:43
getting anything out of it. It's not getting me closer to
25:46
God. It's not improving me.
25:49
That's a really powerful thing to consider on.
25:53
The covenant path is what is the baggage that maybe is slowing me
25:58
down and holding me back and it feels, it feels good, I'm, I'm,
26:05
I'm, I'm enjoying my time with it, but it's not benefiting me
26:09
at all. Well, your thought here makes me
26:11
think about the king of the Lamanites, where he says I will
26:16
give away all of my sins to know God.
26:20
And I remember as a missionary reading that thinking, well,
26:23
that's kind of a cheap, like trade.
26:25
Like wouldn't we all want to like just have our sins given
26:27
away? And I miss the point that we, as
26:30
fallen humans can get very secure in certain fallen nature
26:35
activities that make us feel comfortable but actually don't
26:38
allow us back into the presence of God.
26:41
And that Lamanite king had it right.
26:43
My role here is to let go, to not be secure in all the
26:48
entrapments of the world or the entrapments of my habits, but to
26:52
be secure only in God. And I love that now I'm like,
26:56
yeah. And actually it's very hard
26:58
work. See, I thought it was kind of an
27:00
easy thing. Oh, you say?
27:01
Give your sin's a way to know God.
27:03
It's actually we have to be uncomfortable.
27:06
You don't feel lulled into carnal security.
27:09
And that's what's going on here, is that we have to break out of
27:12
our fallen natures, and we do that through Jesus Christ.
27:14
And then the the last tactic or the next tactic in verse 22 he
27:20
says others will he flat. He flattereth, so he will tell
27:26
them there is no devil, there is no hell, And thus he cheated
27:31
their souls and grasped them with those awful chains.
27:36
Satan knows us very well, and he knows what's going to work.
27:40
And so the Nephi reveals the devil's playbook so that we're
27:45
not caught off guard by it. But we can pause as we read the
27:49
Book of Mormon and recognize, oh, this might be what he's
27:52
doing with me today, or predominantly this might be what
27:55
he does with me occasionally. That, and it just helps us to be
27:59
able to not be a victim of what Satan's efforts are, but to
28:02
recognize them and and combat them.
28:05
In grad school I was doing a class on Christian theology and
28:11
the teacher really shocked me one day and said any of you guys
28:15
who believe in the devil and hell, that's just ridiculous.
28:18
It doesn't make any theological sense and kind of berated the
28:21
class. And I remember thinking, oh,
28:25
that's certainly happening here in this classroom.
28:28
I might have seen our day. Now let's go to chapter 29 as
28:31
you jump into chapter 29, if we're not careful, we just stay
28:37
in reading black words on a white page mode.
28:40
In other words, we just keep reading, And then, OK, so here's
28:43
Nephi giving us still some conclusions from his reading of
28:47
Isaiah, or giving other random thoughts.
28:50
At this point. When in reality, look closely at
28:52
verse one. Whose voice are you hearing?
28:55
But behold, there shall be many at that day when I shall proceed
29:00
to do a marvelous work among them.
29:02
Whose voice? This isn't Nephi, who's going to
29:05
do a marvelous work among us at that day that I may remember my
29:09
covenants, which I have made unto the children of men, set my
29:12
hand again the second time. Look at verse two.
29:13
And also that I may remember the promises which I have made unto
29:16
thee. Nephi, What is Nephi doing?
29:19
Apparently he's got the plates open, he's got Stylus in hand,
29:25
and he's listening to the Lord Jesus Christ and he's scribing
29:30
for him. These are the words of Jesus.
29:32
Now if we understand that, that'll change the way you look
29:35
at chapter 29, rather than just random words that sound
29:39
heavenly. It's no this is the voice of
29:41
Christ coming to Nephi and he's scribing.
29:45
Now pick it up in verse 3. And because my words shall hiss
29:49
forth, many of the Gentiles shall say a Bible.
29:54
A Bible. We've already got a Bible and
29:57
there cannot be any more Bible. That verse has been widely
30:02
quoted, and many of you have probably heard people say that
30:06
or similar things to that about the Book of Mormon can't be true
30:10
because we already have a Bible, the word Bible in English.
30:15
If you look it up in the Oxford English Dictionary and then
30:19
click on the etymology or the roots of the word, you'll find
30:23
that English stole it from French bibliotheque.
30:26
But the French get it from all the way clear back into the
30:30
Greek. And biblos is book in Greek
30:36
Biblia books, plural. But what we have here, if you
30:41
dig down and look at it, is the diminutive form of those words.
30:45
Meaning it's it's the small, the diminutive form, the smaller
30:49
form of the word. So one way to look at this
30:52
English word that we now commonly used to refer to that
30:55
big book that everybody loves. Yeah, we have a copy back here
30:58
somewhere. Is a little library.
31:06
So the Bible is simply a collection of 66 books all put
31:12
together into a little library. We love calling it a book, but
31:15
the reality is, is it's it's a little library. 39 books in the
31:19
Old Testament. 27 books in the New, 66 total.
31:23
We're good. We've got our little library.
31:25
Now let me translate that back into second E 529.
31:30
A little library, a little library.
31:32
We've already got a little library, and there can't be any
31:35
more little libraries, brothers and sisters.
31:39
That that sounds really ridiculous from a heavenly
31:42
perspective, because what we now have is people, men and women on
31:47
this earth who are saying to God what any good librarian would
31:51
say, Don't talk. You've said enough.
31:56
We've got your words right here. We've already got a little
31:58
library. We've already got 66 books.
32:01
We've got a big padlock on our circulation door on the back.
32:04
Nothing gets in, nothing goes out.
32:06
You've already spoken. We're done.
32:08
And they muzzle. God.
32:10
They don't want any more books to be revealed.
32:14
They don't want any more little libraries to be discovered.
32:17
Teaching us more truths about God is basically what they're
32:19
saying. Can you see why the Lord might
32:22
use some pretty strong language in 2nd Eph I-29?
32:25
In referring to this closed Canon mentality, God doesn't
32:30
want people telling Him when He can and can't talk to his people
32:35
on the earth and command them to write it and command them to
32:37
bring forth His words, especially when it comes to the
32:42
means whereby He is trying to or not trying.
32:45
He is re establishing his covenant with all the nation's
32:48
kindred sons and peoples on the earth by having this book come
32:52
forth to help us supplement and understand and complement the
32:56
Bible's account that Jesus is the Christ and He is doing his
33:01
work one more time in this vineyard of ours.
33:03
It's pretty frustrating when people say, no, you've spoken
33:08
enough and we don't want you talking anymore.
33:11
The analogy I like to use is what would we do if whenever the
33:15
day comes, who knows when we know the sealed portion is going
33:19
to come forth eventually. But when it does come forth, can
33:22
you picture people sitting around saying, what, A Book of
33:25
Mormon, A Book of Mormon? We've already got a Book of
33:27
Mormon. There can't be any more Book of
33:28
Mormon. No.
33:30
I think most of us will say where do I go to get it?
33:34
To get my hands on more of the word of God.
33:37
So having an open cannon is one of the sweetest, in my opinion,
33:43
one of the sweetest blessings we have in this dispensation of the
33:47
fullness of times. Yeah, and this is about not
33:50
being lulled into carnal security.
33:52
It takes work to read, but we work at a university.
33:56
And sad to say, I sometimes get complaints from students about
33:59
reading assignments and how much they've been asked to read.
34:02
And I often reflect, like do I ever feel that way myself about
34:05
what God's asked me to do about engaging with this word?
34:09
And am I willing to receive more and to do more with it?
34:14
And it's not just about the reading, obviously.
34:15
It's about are we willing to actually let these words be
34:18
written on our hearts? And we have modern day prophets,
34:22
right? We have the Book of Mormon,
34:23
which is a witness of God's covenants.
34:24
It's a witness of Jesus. But we have living day prophets
34:27
who continue to reveal God's will and His word, and in some
34:32
ways it's like the library is expanding every general
34:34
conference. The library is getting getting
34:36
bigger. This is God's work is to make us
34:41
like Him, and we cannot be saved in ignorance.
34:43
So we should gladly receive what He has to offer.
34:46
And just as a side note, because some people may wonder because
34:50
the the most common thing that gets used against the Book of
34:54
Mormon seems to be that verse there at the end of the Book of
34:58
Revelation where John the Revelator says if any man add to
35:03
or take away from the words of this book then the the plagues
35:06
of this book shall be added unto him that notion.
35:09
And many, many Christians over the, the, the ages have looked
35:13
at that and said, see, he's saying you can't add to or take
35:17
away from the things that are written in this book.
35:19
And they're referring to the Bible, not understanding that
35:23
John wasn't writing book #66 in a complete collection.
35:28
And he's sealing it up with its last chapter.
35:31
He's writing the book called Revelation that now becomes a
35:33
part of a little library much later on, canonized as part of
35:37
that library. And he's not referring to the
35:39
previous books. He's referring to his Book of
35:42
Revelation. And if you're going to take that
35:44
angle, then technically you have to go back to the book of
35:47
Deuteronomy, where a very similar phrase is used by Moses,
35:51
and say, OK, well, I guess everything after the first five
35:53
books of the Bible are now null and void.
35:55
Point being, God knows what he's doing.
36:00
He knows what he's doing, not just collectively with
36:02
Scripture, but he knows what he's doing individually with
36:06
you. And sometimes we fall into the
36:09
trap of holding God hostage to only those things He's given us
36:14
in the past and not willing to unlock the door of revelation,
36:19
that circulation door for us individually to where we allow
36:23
him to give us more light and more knowledge so that it's
36:27
truly a line upon line, ever expanding personal library.
36:32
Not just referring to Scripture, but now referring to moving
36:35
forward on that covenant path. When things are clear, brothers
36:39
and sisters, there's nothing wrong with struggling and even
36:43
messing up and falling down along the way as we learn from
36:47
it and get up, press forward with a steadfast faith in
36:51
Christ. Then we experience the the
36:55
essence of this open Canon of revelation for ourselves, of Him
36:58
teaching us line upon line, precept on precept, as we draw
37:03
nearer and nearer to Him. I'm glad you brought up that
37:07
statement. It's been so misunderstood over
37:08
the years. It's very interesting.
37:10
It says no man should add. So let's actually take a little
37:14
quick metaphor. If you go get a bank loan and
37:16
the bank says, here's the agreement for how you're going
37:18
to pay this back, no one should change that agreement except the
37:22
bank, right? And if I go home and I actually
37:24
update the agreement and I add to it or I take away, I'm going
37:28
to be in serious trouble, right? I'm going to, I'm breaking the
37:30
law. And what is happening is the
37:33
scriptures are covenantal instructions that God has
37:35
revealed. And he's saying you guys
37:37
shouldn't be changing this covenantal agreement I revealed
37:39
to you. Now he can, right?
37:42
He's God. He's the one who made the
37:43
agreement, he. Can send new prophets and say,
37:45
here's an update to the covenantal instructions, but it
37:48
is not your duty to change the covenantal instructions.
37:52
It is your duty to receive them and to live them.
37:54
And that's why we have these kinds of statements and
37:56
scriptures Don't change God's covenantal instructions.
38:00
God will do it, and He will send His prophets as we're taught it
38:03
was. Wonderful insight.
38:05
We thank the O God for a prophet.
38:07
That's that's the beauty of having a living prophet today.
38:11
So as God needs to make those updates and those changes, those
38:15
agreements, those covenantal connections, that's the proper
38:18
means whereby that can come collectively for us now the.
38:21
Scriptures are amazing. They are so.
38:23
Much fun to talk about this. And we could go on and on.
38:26
Chapter 30. No, spare them.
38:31
Chapter 30 is is where we're going to end with this
38:35
particular week's block of scriptures.
38:38
Notice how Nephi now is is looking down the quarter of
38:41
time. Look at verse one.
38:44
Now, behold, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto
38:46
you. For I, Nephi, would not suffer
38:47
that ye should suppose that ye are more righteous than the
38:51
Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep
38:54
the commandments of God, ye shall all likewise perish
38:57
because of the words which have been spoken.
38:59
You need not suppose that the Gentiles are utterly destroyed.
39:02
Once again, back to Brother Wilcox's cruise ship analogy,
39:05
just because you're on the crew doesn't mean that you're the
39:08
only one who's going to make it to this destination.
39:10
The idea is to make this journey as wonderful and pleasant and as
39:14
enriching as possible for everybody on the ship.
39:17
And if you can't abide the law, you go overboard.
39:21
You're not going to make it. Even if you're part of the crew
39:23
or if you're part of the House of Israel, that doesn't
39:26
guarantee you that you're going to be saved.
39:28
John the Baptist talks to the Pharisees about that God's able
39:31
to raise up these stones to be sons and and daughters of
39:35
Abraham. They were super unhappy about
39:36
that. Didn't like that.
39:37
They thought we're the we're we're the crew, we run the boat.
39:40
We don't want anybody else involved doing this.
39:42
Yeah, look at verse two and three in this context of God
39:48
being no respecter of persons in him trying to bless all nations,
39:51
kindred's tongues and people. Behold, I say unto you, that as
39:54
many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people
39:57
of the Lord, and as many of the Jews as will not repent.
40:01
Shall be cast off. Like in Jacob 5 where he chopped
40:04
some. Branches, And some of them get
40:06
burned. Verse 3.
40:08
Now I would prophecy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the
40:10
Gentiles. For after the book of which I've
40:12
spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and
40:15
sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall
40:19
believe the words which are written, and they shall carry
40:22
them forth unto the remnant of our seed.
40:25
I don't know about you, but that's it's kind of neat for me
40:28
to read that and understand that Nephi is this image is starting
40:32
to come clear that wow, the words that are being written are
40:36
going to be formed into this book, come forth from the
40:38
Gentiles back towards the House of Israel.
40:42
So here we are carrying this book, Mormon, and he says and
40:46
many shall believe the words which are written and they're
40:49
going to carry them forth. What are we doing right here,
40:52
right now? What are you doing with your
40:53
family and friends as you're engaging in scriptures?
40:56
You're fulfilling this very verse.
40:58
It's a great insight you shared with me earlier today that as we
41:01
do this, as we share our testimonies, as we share these
41:04
words, as we engage and come follow me, we're helping to
41:07
fulfill what Nephi said here in second Nephi 30, verse three.
41:11
And I want to go back just one verse with this powerful phrase
41:14
that we kind of skipped over the Lord Covenanteth with none save
41:19
it, be with them that repent and believe in His Son who's a holy
41:23
one of Israel. It's the whole point of the Book
41:24
of Mormon. That's why we're doing all this
41:26
stuff as you engage in the scriptures and seek to
41:29
understand God's will and you share it with other people,
41:32
you're that covenant group and God's covenant with you that you
41:36
are showing that you believe in His Son, the Holy One of Israel,
41:39
and you'll get all the fullness of the promises that He offered
41:41
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As you go through 30, keep those
41:45
lenses on looking at what God is trying to do to bless all the
41:50
world's with His words, especially as they come forth
41:52
out of the Book of Mormon. And let's end with verse 18.
41:56
Or for all things which have been revealed unto the children
41:59
of men shall at that day be revealed, and Satan shall have
42:02
power over the hearts of the children of men no more for a
42:06
long time. And now, my beloved brethren, I
42:10
make an end of my sayings. And then he's going to open up
42:13
his final discourse in next week's material that we're going
42:17
to cover. The point being, all things are
42:20
going to be revealed and I love the fact that Nephi is willing
42:23
to continually grow and keep his mind turned upward and his heart
42:28
soft and open. Saying, Lord, what would thou
42:31
have me do rather than to harden his heart into Nope, this is the
42:35
way I am and this is what's going to define me and I'm going
42:37
to hold my present self hostage to my tenure back self.
42:42
I love the fact that we just keep watching Nephi grow and
42:45
demonstrating the very things that he's teaching us here.
42:48
The Poker Mormon is beautiful, and we just really are so
42:52
grateful you're taking the time to immerse yourself in the word
42:55
of God.