Day 1 - 1 Nephi 1-6, D&C 1-4, Moses 1-3

[pam]

This reading challenge will begin 1 July 2009

40-Day Scripture Reading Schedule

This is the complete schedule



Discussion:

[pam]

Oh my where to even begin. There were a few scriptures that I hi-lighted that stood out to me today in reading today's scriptures:

1 Nephi 1:14
14 And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those1 who come unto thee that they shall perish!

1 Nephi 2:20
20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

The Book of Mormon informs us that the whole of America, both north and South, is a choice land above all other lands, in other words—Zion.
Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:73; emphasis in original


1 Nephi 3:7

7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

1 Nephi 4:13
13 Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.

This is to get us started. So much to discuss here I didn't know where to begin.

[pam]

In reading Moses Chapter 1..he talks about worlds without number that He has created.

35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.

I've never felt that we on earth were alone. That we were the only world that Heavenly Father has created. It will be interesting to learn more about this in the next life.

[pam]

In D&C 1:33

33 And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.

There is a story that I have in my files concerning this scripture:

Sister Lorraine Karren related an interesting story which underscores this principle. In 1943, it was not uncommon for apostles to speak at the ward level upon invitation. Accordingly, Elder Richard R. Lyman, then an apostle, was invited to speak at a youth fireside in sister Karren’s ward. After his remarks, the youth and their leaders began asking him doctrinal questions, but Elder Lyman couldn’t answer their questions. He replied that they should request Elder Joseph Fielding Smith for their next fireside and that he would answer all of their questions.

The youth and their leaders were left in wonder and amazement that this apostle could not answer any questions. The next month Elder Joseph Fielding Smith spoke to the same youth group. When the group asked him the same questions, he answered them all without the least difficulty or hesitation.

It was only a few weeks later (Nov. 12, 1943), when it was announced that Elder Richard R. Lyman had been excommunicated for transgressing the law of chastity. Then it became clear why this apostle was not able to answer any gospel questions. His mind had become darkened. The light that had once filled his soul had been taken from him. The Spirit he had once enjoyed in abundance had left him in utter darkness—taking “even the light which he” had once received. (personal communication)

[KeithLBrown]

I have completed the reading for day 1 and I find that no matter how many times I read the Scriptures, I always come away refreshed with new insights and a better understanding of some things than I had before.

There is so much that we can take awy from today's reading, but I would like to focus on the Book of Mormon and 4 life lessons that we learn from Nephi:

First, he was devoted. He loved and respected his parents and did not take for granted those things which he had been taught and learned about the goodness of the Lord. In 1 Nephi 1:1-2 we read: "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents , therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days. Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.

Second, he was obedient. In 1 Nephi 3:7 we read, "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Third, he was committed. In 1 Nephi 3:15 we read, "But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us."

Fourth, he was faithful. In 1 Nephi 4:1-3 we read, "And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands? Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea. Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.

May it be said of all of us as we strive to live a life that is pleasing unto the Lord that we are devoted, obedient, commited, and faithful.

[ruthiechan]

This is what stood out to me in the Book of Mormon.

1 Nephi 2: 20, 24
20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.
(I believe that in our day land refers to geographic locations and the environment, including the people, and that it is somehow related to work or jobs.)

24 And if it so be that they (you) rebel against me . . . a scourge [will come upon thee and] thy seed, to stir them (you) up in the ways of remembrance.
(This is how the scripture popped out to me.

1 Nephi 3: 7, 15, 28-29
7 . . . the Lord given no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

15 But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.
(Do not return to Heavenly Father without doing what he has asked of you.)

28 Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod.
29 At it came to pass as they smote us with a rod behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them . . .
(Sam was there. Often we seem to omit Sam's presence in the attempts to get the plates, of which there were three. Also, the Lord intervened on their behalf because they were doing what God had asked of them.)

[ruthiechan]

From the Doctrine and Covenants

Explanatory Introduction

"The Doctrine and Covenants . . . is of modern origin and was given of God through his chosen prophets for the restoration of his holy work and the establishment of the kingdom of God on the earth in these days.
. . .
These ordinations were, in fact, a restoration of divine authority to man on the earth. On April 6, 1830, under heavenly direction, the Prophet Joseph Smith organized the Church, and thus the true Church of of Jesus Christ is once again operative as an institution among men, with authority to teach the gospel and administer the ordinances of salvation.
. . .
In the revelations the doctrines of the gospel are set forth with explanations about such fundamental matters as the nature of the Godhead, the origin of man, the reality of Satan, the purpose of mortality, the necessity for obedience, the need for repentance, the workings of the Holy Spirit, the ordinances and performances that pertain to salvation, the destiny of the earth, the future conditions of man after the resurrection and the judgment, the eternity of the marriage relationship, and the eternal nature of the family."

Section 1: 10, 14-16, 24-28, 33, 35-36, 38
10 Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man.
(Our judgment is two fold. Our works, deeds, and how we judge others.)

14 And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people;
15 For they have strayed from mine ordinances, and have broken mine everlasting covenant;
16 They seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth fold and shall perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall.
(How often do we hear the world saying "be your own person, do your own thing, it's your life, do it your way? How often does, "do something for yourself, treat yourself once in a while" become more than once in a while or how often does needing time to relax become a desire for idleness in the name of fun? I want to say my way is the Lord's way, but do my actions always reflect that?)

24 Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding.
25 And inasmuch as they erred it might be made known;
26 And inasmuch as they sought wisdom they might be instructed;
27 And inasmuch as they sinned they might be chastened, that they might repent;
28 And inasmuch as they were humble they might be made strong, and blessed from on high, and receive knowledge from time to time..
(I feel that these verses apply all of us who desire to be servants of God. That's what came to mind when I read these.)

33 And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.

35 For I am no respecter of persons, and will that all men shall know that the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion.
36 And also the Lord shall have power over his saints, and shall creign in their midst, and shall come down in judgment upon Idumea, or the world.
(Here I see the two sides, polar opposites, battling for the souls of man.)

38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.
(I was struck by the Lord saying "and I excuse not myself". It seems to me that he is saying that he is bound by the law as well, that he is not above the laws decreed in heaven.)

Section 2
2 And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
3 If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.
(I'm not sure why this was "bolded". The last verse was especially. . . "bold".)

Section 3
header 5-15 Joseph Smith must repent or lose the gift to translate.
(This goes right back to Section 1: 33. And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.)

Section 3: 20
. . . rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ . . .
(I thought it interesting that the word merit was chosen. I looked it up in the dictionary.
a praiseworthy quality : virtue : character or conduct deserving reward, honor, or esteem ; also : achievement
2: spiritual credit held to be earned by performance of righteous acts and to ensure future benefits)

Section 4
2 . . . O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;
(I love this. If you want it, you've got it, in terms of righteous desires and working to build up the kingdom of God, which I believe also includes temple work)

5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.
6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
(I love this list. If you have what's listed in verse five, even with all your faults, you are qualified to do the work of God. I love the list of remember, since those are the traits that allow us to move behind petty things and selfishness and be better able to accomplish righteous and good things. And the last verse, not only do you have to ask, but you have to knock - action! - and the blessings of heaven will be upon you.)

I have to go to bed now, so I'll post what I read in Moses tomorrow instead of tonight.
I was confused about who was talking in these sections. I am not sure if it's Jesus Christ or God the Father, but I think it might be God the Father because Jesus doesn't talk about himself in the third person does he? (see section 3 verse 20)

[pam]

Originally Posted by ruthiechan

This is what stood out to me in the Book of Mormon.

1 Nephi 2: 20, 24
20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.
(I believe that in our day land refers to geographic locations and the environment, including the people, and that it is somehow related to work or jobs.)

24 And if it so be that they (you) rebel against me . . . a scourge [will come upon thee and] thy seed, to stir them (you) up in the ways of remembrance.
(This is how the scripture popped out to me.

1 Nephi 3: 7, 15, 28-29
7 . . . the Lord given no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

15 But behold I said unto them that: As the Lord liveth and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have accomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.
(Do not return to Heavenly Father without doing what he has asked of you.)

28 Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod.
29 At it came to pass as they smote us with a rod behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them . . .
(Sam was there. Often we seem to omit Sam's presence in the attempts to get the plates, of which there were three. Also, the Lord intervened on their behalf because they were doing what God had asked of them.)

I think every one of those scriptures you brought up, I hilighted as well. They stood out to me as well.

[pam]

I was confused about who was talking in these sections. I am not sure if it's Jesus Christ or God the Father, but I think it might be God the Father because Jesus doesn't talk about himself in the third person does he? (see section 3 verse 20)

I took it to be God the Father speaking.

Night Ruthie..we'll continue tomorrow.

[Seanette]

Well, I'm on the slightly altered schedule, but here's what I posted yesterday over on Watchmen on the Tower (not terribly profound, but it's what registered on me as I read):

Yeah, this is going to be intense, especially for the overkill types like me who insist on using Institute manuals along with the Scriptural text. At least it's a productive use of that time (vs. fiddling around online, doing sudokus, etc. (smile)).

Overall note: while doing today's reading, I was strongly impressed by the richness of our latter-day Scriptures and all the wonderful truths we've been given back by modern prophets. I've experienced Bible-only Christianity, and without intending to bash, I feel a great deal of sorrow for those who reject all this Word of God because of the false doctrine they've been taught, that the Bible is all of God's Word we have.

Intro to the Book of Mormon: Greg's wonderful YouTube video on the witness testimonies sums it up nicely. Of eleven men, generally held in high regard in their communities, quite a few of whom left the Church, not one denied his testimony of the Book of Mormon. With eleven witnesses for and no proof against, how do you not believe that testimony, unless you're too proud to listen to God?
I also noted that the Prophet spent years being trained and prepared to do the work he'd been called to (that never really registered before).

1 Nephi 1-5: it never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I read these chapters, just how stubborn and proud Laman and Lemuel (hereafter L&L) are. These men saw angels, but still rebelled, since their pride and their material riches mattered more to them than the commands of the Lord. It's this same pride and love of worldly things, I think, that causes rejection of prophets throughout history. If you're not willing to admit to the existence of a Being wiser and more intelligent than mortal man, you're certainly not going to listen to His spokesmen. (For some reason, every time I read this part of the Book of Mormon, I keep hoping L&L will clue in and do what they should.)
Nephi is confident the Lord will make it possible to obey Him. Possible, yes. Easy, no, as Nephi finds out when told to kill Laban. I can sympathize with his shock at this and his uncertainty as to just where this command is coming from. We see here what the Prophet found out just before the First Vision, that if we ask God for the wisdom (and knowledge) we need, He will give generously without rebuking us for asking. I think it pleases the Lord when we humble ourselves enough to admit that we need His help, and that He will reward us for that humility.
Pride isn't the only thing that can lead to rebellion against God: Sariah's fear for her sons shows that. Fearing the cost of obedience will prompt "Do I really have to do this? Does God really know what He's doing?" Again, we need to seek wisdom from the Lord to confirm His control of events and His plan.

D&C: It's worth noting that this is the only one of our Standard Works to have a preface given by the Lord Himself.
Section 1 covers the apostasy and restoration, and describes the restored Church as the only true and living church on the Earth. Yes, we need to treat other churches with respect for the good they have, but that doesn't mean compromising on our position as the true Church of Jesus Christ, even if it does offend the proud who do not wish to admit that a Restoration was needed to begin with. In this section, we're also reminded that God's word is the same whether given directly or via prophets, and that we need to repent of sins, which the Lord cannot tolerate. He promises us forgiveness if we repent, and wants all His children on Earth to come to Him and heed His eternal truths.
Section 2: the message of this section appears in all the Standard Works. If the Lord repeats Himself this many times, it must be very important information.
Section 3: even those possessing the greatest natural or spiritual gifts need to repent of sin and heed God's commands over man's opinions and persuasions. We also learn in this section, which deals with the 116 lost pages, that we must be careful about giving sacred things to those who do not have the capacity to hold them sacred, and that God's work will go on, regardless of the failings of the humans involved.
Section 4: command to seek after things of God and serve Him with total commitment

Pearl of Great Price: here we have mostly material restored in connection with the Prophet's inspired translation of the Bible. On a personal note, I dearly love the JST for its clarity and richness as material is restored and errors corrected. One thing that should be remembered in Scriptures in the Old Testament time period is that Jehovah is the premortal Jesus. Since the Fall banished mankind from being able to be in the presence of the Father, it's the Son who deals with us in this time period.
Moses 1: Moses learns that he is a son of our Heavenly Father, and is taught of Jesus. Satan tries to take God's place, demanding that Moses worship him, but the prophet can clearly see that he's dealing with an impostor and banishes Satan by God's power (a lesson for us all in learning to see Satan's ploys and fight him). There is mention of information in this record not had among men due to wickedness, and Moses is shown other worlds created by God. He's told that God's work is to bring His children eternal life.
Moses 2: we see the six days of Creation. Note that a "day" here does not necessarily mean 24 hours in current Earth time.