Friday, April 30, 2010
repentance quote
"When we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we turn back toward God."The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to 're-turn' toward God (see Helaman 7:17)." Neil L. Andersen
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Abraham & Isaac
I LOVE MY LITERATURE AND THE BIBLE CLASS. Ok, with that said, let's discuss what I learned about today! Our class was on "reading between the lines of the Bible." He told us that 90% of the story is not in the written words but that we have to ask questions and really dig deep into the meanings, emotions, feelings, and implications that the stories have. Today we dissected the story of Abraham and Isaac (the sacrifice part). What a treat! Really, I always liked the story, but today I loved it. It sure makes a difference when you try and jump into the story.
Just some points we talked about today that could make for interesting discussion if you all have time one day:
* let's think about Sarah here... how did she feel?
*Abraham's neighbors were most likely still practicing human sacrifice (this was during the time that human sacrifice was really turning over to animal sacrifice, but human sacrifice, nonetheless, was still being practiced). Abraham likely had doubts about having to sacrifice his only son, his promised son, but maybe the thought came to him, "Do I love my God as much as my neighbors their heathen Gods?"
*Other possible thought from Abraham: What did I do wrong? Is this a punishment? What do I need to repent of? (sacrifice was a form of repentance)
*Burnt sacrifices were NOT a pretty thing. We discussed what Isaac and Abraham were likely thinking about as they climbed Mount Moriah... this is how our teacher described the burnt offerings of the time:
- cut the sacrifice's throat and let it drain into a basin
- with a reed (or something similar) you have to take the blood and shake it around... all over the altar, all over the sacrifice, all over the sacrificer. What a horrible thought for a loving father!
- quarter the sacrifice
- separate the entrails and burn some and let others stay out for the birds
ok, that's enough details about what is a sacrifice. Suffice it to say, it was not a pleasant experience and the thought of having to do that to his son was probably nearly unbearable.
*Isaac was likely around 35 years old... and Abraham 135 years old.
*Parallels to Christ's ultimate sacrifice: Isaac is really the main focal point here
- Isaac was the only son
- they went to the mountain on the 3rd day (symbolism with the #3)
- Isaac had to carry the wood that would be used as part of the sacrifice (Christ carried His cross)
- Isaac was looking for Abraham at one point and had to call out to him (left alone)
- Isaac was willing and trusting
- 2 servants were left at the bottom of the mountain... disciples were left outside of Gethsemane.
*Abraham was almost sacrificed as a child and an angel intervened. I think that he probably had hope that the same thing would happen. Being a prophet, however, I am sure that he saw the parallels between what he was asked to do and what would happen with Christ (he knew the prophecies). It is also interesting to consider that Christ is the God of the old testament and that he was very much involved in this, Abraham's (and Isaac's) test. But the difference between this test and the test that He endured was that He had to "drink the cup" and make the sacrifice.
*Why would God ask this of Abraham? They were friends! Abraham was God's main prophet on the earth and had given him so many promises! We came up with a lot of theories. Maybe Abraham needed to see the evidence of his own faith so that he would be stronger for it, maybe God wanted him to understand the sacrifice of Christ more fully. Maybe we understand the atonement better by reading about this struggle.
*It says that God "tempted" Abraham (although this is changed in the JS translation)... but we can find comfort in this because we know that we will "never be tempted above that which we are able." God knew Abraham could do it.
Well, that is all I'm going to write about tonight because it's BEDTIME. If you have any comments - feel free to share!
Oh, & side note: in Hebrew, "Adam" means "man" or "dirt"... we all come from the dirt. Interesting, eh?
Just some points we talked about today that could make for interesting discussion if you all have time one day:
* let's think about Sarah here... how did she feel?
*Abraham's neighbors were most likely still practicing human sacrifice (this was during the time that human sacrifice was really turning over to animal sacrifice, but human sacrifice, nonetheless, was still being practiced). Abraham likely had doubts about having to sacrifice his only son, his promised son, but maybe the thought came to him, "Do I love my God as much as my neighbors their heathen Gods?"
*Other possible thought from Abraham: What did I do wrong? Is this a punishment? What do I need to repent of? (sacrifice was a form of repentance)
*Burnt sacrifices were NOT a pretty thing. We discussed what Isaac and Abraham were likely thinking about as they climbed Mount Moriah... this is how our teacher described the burnt offerings of the time:
- cut the sacrifice's throat and let it drain into a basin
- with a reed (or something similar) you have to take the blood and shake it around... all over the altar, all over the sacrifice, all over the sacrificer. What a horrible thought for a loving father!
- quarter the sacrifice
- separate the entrails and burn some and let others stay out for the birds
ok, that's enough details about what is a sacrifice. Suffice it to say, it was not a pleasant experience and the thought of having to do that to his son was probably nearly unbearable.
*Isaac was likely around 35 years old... and Abraham 135 years old.
*Parallels to Christ's ultimate sacrifice: Isaac is really the main focal point here
- Isaac was the only son
- they went to the mountain on the 3rd day (symbolism with the #3)
- Isaac had to carry the wood that would be used as part of the sacrifice (Christ carried His cross)
- Isaac was looking for Abraham at one point and had to call out to him (left alone)
- Isaac was willing and trusting
- 2 servants were left at the bottom of the mountain... disciples were left outside of Gethsemane.
*Abraham was almost sacrificed as a child and an angel intervened. I think that he probably had hope that the same thing would happen. Being a prophet, however, I am sure that he saw the parallels between what he was asked to do and what would happen with Christ (he knew the prophecies). It is also interesting to consider that Christ is the God of the old testament and that he was very much involved in this, Abraham's (and Isaac's) test. But the difference between this test and the test that He endured was that He had to "drink the cup" and make the sacrifice.
*Why would God ask this of Abraham? They were friends! Abraham was God's main prophet on the earth and had given him so many promises! We came up with a lot of theories. Maybe Abraham needed to see the evidence of his own faith so that he would be stronger for it, maybe God wanted him to understand the sacrifice of Christ more fully. Maybe we understand the atonement better by reading about this struggle.
*It says that God "tempted" Abraham (although this is changed in the JS translation)... but we can find comfort in this because we know that we will "never be tempted above that which we are able." God knew Abraham could do it.
Well, that is all I'm going to write about tonight because it's BEDTIME. If you have any comments - feel free to share!
Oh, & side note: in Hebrew, "Adam" means "man" or "dirt"... we all come from the dirt. Interesting, eh?
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
just some thoughts
Today I studied about recognizing and following the spirit... because that's what I taught to the MTC teachers today! Just a couple thoughts...
We often wonder if it is OUR thoughts or the influence of the spirit when we have different desires. I love Moroni's words in Moroni 7. Well, actually he is talking about the teachings of his father and so we could arguably say that they could be Mormon's words... but that is besides the point. Anyway, he talks about how if something is good then it is of Christ. The spirit leads us to be more Christlike and to follow Him more perfectly... therefore, we can know that if we have a desire to do something good or Christlike, then we are following the spirit. I can remember back to when I was deciding to go on a mission. I didn't have a big "ah ha!" moment and I can remember feeling really frustrated about it... but reading from D&C 4 and thinking about my desire to be a missionary - I came to the conclusion that it was, in fact, a good desire. All good desires come from the spirit/from Christ and so I decided to go for it! I knew that Heavenly Father would stop me if I was heading in the wrong direction. Lo and behold - I am now a return missionary so we now know what He wanted me to do. I am so grateful for that.
How can we hang on to the spiritual impressions we receive? WRITE THEM DOWN. I need to start a personal revelation journal or something. The more we treasure up and use what we are given, the more we will receive!
Ok, that's enough rambling for one night. I'm going to bed early!
We often wonder if it is OUR thoughts or the influence of the spirit when we have different desires. I love Moroni's words in Moroni 7. Well, actually he is talking about the teachings of his father and so we could arguably say that they could be Mormon's words... but that is besides the point. Anyway, he talks about how if something is good then it is of Christ. The spirit leads us to be more Christlike and to follow Him more perfectly... therefore, we can know that if we have a desire to do something good or Christlike, then we are following the spirit. I can remember back to when I was deciding to go on a mission. I didn't have a big "ah ha!" moment and I can remember feeling really frustrated about it... but reading from D&C 4 and thinking about my desire to be a missionary - I came to the conclusion that it was, in fact, a good desire. All good desires come from the spirit/from Christ and so I decided to go for it! I knew that Heavenly Father would stop me if I was heading in the wrong direction. Lo and behold - I am now a return missionary so we now know what He wanted me to do. I am so grateful for that.
How can we hang on to the spiritual impressions we receive? WRITE THEM DOWN. I need to start a personal revelation journal or something. The more we treasure up and use what we are given, the more we will receive!
Ok, that's enough rambling for one night. I'm going to bed early!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
more on the title page....
As I continue my study of the title page, I find myself thinking a lot about the last couple of authors... Mormon and his son Moroni. They had extremely hard lives and spent a good part of it writing and protecting this record. While perusing Pres. D's notes, I came across a part that talked about the author of the title page. Apparently there has been some discussion about who wrote the title page - we know that it wasn't Joseph Smith because it is part of the translation (the title page was actually found on the last leaf of the plates) but we aren't quite sure if Moroni wrote the title page by himself or whether there were also parts from his dad. The main reason that people question this is because the first paragraph is a bit repetitive
"Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed--To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof--Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile--The interpretation thereof by the gift of God."
The conclusion was that it was all written by Moroni but he repeated himself only to "further illuminate the divine destiny of this ancient record." Mormon had previously stated his "purpose statement" for the Book of Mormon - "For behold, this [the Book of Mormon] is written for the intent that ye may believe that [the Bible]; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them. And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; . . . and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, . . . following the example of our Savior, . . . it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. (Mormon 7:9–10; see 5:14–15)"
"Perhaps the most compelling evidence for Moroni's authorship of the entire title page comes from a study of two unusual words or word combinations that appear infrequently in the Book of Mormon. The word interpretation appears 7 times in the Book of Mormon text, written once by Nephi and 6 times in the writings of Moroni (Mormon 9:7, 34; Ether 2:3; 4:5; 15:8; Moroni 10:16). The words seal(ed) up occur only 14 times in the Book of Mormon, 5 times by Nephi and 9 times in Moroni's writings (Ether 3:22–23, 27–28; 4:5; 5:1; Moroni 10:2). Those expressions do not appear anywhere in Mormon's translated writings, yet they do occur in the very portions of the title page that some scholars have attributed to both Mormon and Moroni. The distribution of those expressions weighs heavily in favor of Moroni as the sole author."
Anyway, maybe that's not that important - but I thought it was interesting! I hadn't even thought about it before :)
Well... that's it for my study notes right now because I need to prepare my lesson for the MTC interview tomorrow! YIKES!
"Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed--To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof--Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile--The interpretation thereof by the gift of God."
The conclusion was that it was all written by Moroni but he repeated himself only to "further illuminate the divine destiny of this ancient record." Mormon had previously stated his "purpose statement" for the Book of Mormon - "For behold, this [the Book of Mormon] is written for the intent that ye may believe that [the Bible]; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them. And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; . . . and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, . . . following the example of our Savior, . . . it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. (Mormon 7:9–10; see 5:14–15)"
"Perhaps the most compelling evidence for Moroni's authorship of the entire title page comes from a study of two unusual words or word combinations that appear infrequently in the Book of Mormon. The word interpretation appears 7 times in the Book of Mormon text, written once by Nephi and 6 times in the writings of Moroni (Mormon 9:7, 34; Ether 2:3; 4:5; 15:8; Moroni 10:16). The words seal(ed) up occur only 14 times in the Book of Mormon, 5 times by Nephi and 9 times in Moroni's writings (Ether 3:22–23, 27–28; 4:5; 5:1; Moroni 10:2). Those expressions do not appear anywhere in Mormon's translated writings, yet they do occur in the very portions of the title page that some scholars have attributed to both Mormon and Moroni. The distribution of those expressions weighs heavily in favor of Moroni as the sole author."
Anyway, maybe that's not that important - but I thought it was interesting! I hadn't even thought about it before :)
Well... that's it for my study notes right now because I need to prepare my lesson for the MTC interview tomorrow! YIKES!
Monday, April 26, 2010
title page
Just starting from the beginning of the Book of Mormon. The very title page is intriguing - THE BOOK OF MORMON Another Testament of Jesus Christ. What is the purpose of the book then? To testify of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is not just a collection of good stories (although I LOVE the war stories :) ) or good advice... it is an actual tool to help us get to know the most important person in our lives - Christ! He is referenced once every 1.7 verses (or roughly every 2 sentences).
OK - I am pretty sure that I have heard this list in the past and I've thought about it sometimes - but I was so excited to find this list in Pres D's notes... this is a list of what YOU would have to do if you wanted to produce something of the same caliber as the Book of Mormon. If somebody can accomplish THIS without the help/inspiration of God... then maybe, just maybe they can have a good argument against the validity of this amazing book.... ENJOY!
1. Write a history of ancient Tibet covering a period from 600 B.C. to 450 A.D. Why ancient Tibet? Because you know no more about Tibet than Joseph Smith (or anyone else) knew about ancient America.
2. You are 23 years of age.
3. You have had no more than three years of formal school education, and have spent your life in backwoods farming communities.
4. Your history must be written on the basis of what you now know. There was no library that held information for Joseph Smith. You must use none. There is to be no research of any kind.
5. Your history must be 531 pages and over 300,000 words in length.
6. Other than a few grammatical corrections, you must have no changes in the text. The first edition as you dictate it to your secretary must stand forever.
7. This record is to contain the history of two distinct and separate nations, along with histories of different contemporary nations or groups of people.
8. You must describe their religious, economic, political, and social cultures and institutions. Cover every phase of their society, including the names of their coins.
9. Change your style of writing many times. Many ancient authors contributed to the Book of Mormon, each with his own style.
10. Weave into your history the religion of Jesus Christ and the pattern of Christian living.
11. You must claim that your smooth narrative is not fiction with moral value, but true and sacred history.
12. You must include in you book fifty-four chapters dealing with wars, twenty-one historical chapters, fifty-five chapters on visions and prophecies. Remember, when you begin to write visions and prophecies, you must have your record agree meticulously with the Bible. You must write seventy-one chapters on doctrine and exhortation, and you must check every statement with the scriptures or you will be proven a fraud. You must write twenty-one chapters on the ministry of Christ, and every thing you claim he said and every testimony you write in your book about Him must agree absolutely with the New Testament.
13. Many of the facts, claims, ideas, and statements given as absolute truth in your writing must be entirely inconsistent with the prevailing beliefs of the world. Some of these worldly beliefs must be the direct opposite of your claims.
14. Included in your narrations will be authentic modes of travel; whether or not those ancient people used fire; description of their clothing, crops, mourning customs, and types of government. You must invent about 280 new names that will stand up under scrutiny through the years as to their proper application and derivation.
15. You will have to properly use figures of speech, similes, metaphors, narrations, exposition, descriptions, oratory, epic lyric, and parables.
16. You must invite the ablest scholars and experts to examine the text with care, and you must strive diligently to see that your book gets into the hands of those eager to prove it a forgery, and who are most competent to expose every flaw in it.
17. Thorough investigation, scientific and historical evidence, and archeological discovery for the next 125 years must verify its claims and prove detail after detail to be true, for many of the details you put in your history are still buried beneath the soil of Tibet.
18. You must publish it to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people declaring it to be the word of God and another witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
19. The book must not contain any absurd, impossible, or contradictory statements. Your history must not contain any statement that will contradict any other statement elsewhere in the volume.
20. Many theories and ideas as to its origin must arise, and after discovering and examining the facts, they must fail. You have claimed that your knowledge had come from divine origin, and this claim continues to stand as the only possible explanation. The strength of this explanation must not decrease as time passes, but actually increases to the point where it becomes the only logical explanation.
21. Your record is to fulfill many Bible prophecies, even in the exact manner in which it shall come forth, to whom delivered, its purposes, and its accomplishments.
22. Call down an angel from heaven in the middle of the day and have him bear testimony to four honest, dignified citizens of your community that the record is the word of God. These witnesses must bear the angel's testimony to the world, not for profit or gain, but under great sacrifice and severe persecution, even to their death beds. You must put that testimony to the test by becoming an enemy to these men.
23. Thousands of great men, intellectual giants, national and international personalities, and scholars for 165 years must accept your history and its teachings even to the point of laying down their life rather than deny their testimony of it. 24. You must include with within the record this promise: "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost."
25. Missionaries must bear record to the world for the next 165 years that they know the record to be true because they put the promise to the test and found it to be true. The truth of it was manifested to them by the power of the Holy Ghost.
26. Over 52,900 plus competent salesman must be so sold on your book that they gladly give up two or more years of their lives to take it to all parts of the world for distribution. They not only pay their own way during these years, but return bearing testimony that the time spent will remain as one of the highlights of their lives. They receive nothing in return for their efforts but the joy of having shared your book with others.
27. Your book must not only raise the standards of millions of people but do it in such a way that they become one of the great moral, ethical, and dynamic marvels of the day. They must become world renowned for this. 28. For the next 20 years you must watch those that follow and you, your family, and the dearest of your loved ones persecuted, driven time after time from their homes, beaten, tortured, starved, frozen and killed. Tens of thousands must undergo the most extreme hardships in your presence just because they believe your claims concerning the origin and content of what you have written on ancient Tibet.
29. You must gain no wealth from your work, but many times lose all that you have. Like those that believe you, you must submit yourself to the most vile persecution. And finally after 20 years of this, give your own life in a very savage and brutal manner, for your testimony concerning your history book. This must be done willingly on your part.
30. Start right now and produce this record which covers 1,000 years of history, doing it, not in the peaceful atmosphere of your community, but under the most trying of circumstances which include being driven from your home several times, and receiving constant threats upon your life. Please have your book completed, talk a friend into mortgaging his farm to raise money to have it printed - all in 60 days. There is only one answer: The Book of Mormon is a divine record. If not, its origin must be stated and its claims must be explained by the critic. It isn't enough to merely discard it as false and forget about it!
Just a few more tidbits/quotes from Pres. Donaldson's notes (emphasis added by me):
"No member of this Church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon" (Joseph Fielding Smith in Conference Report, Oct. 1961, 18)
"It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called "the words of life" (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance." - Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1986, pp 4-7
"The Book of Mormon is not just a book that helps us feel good; it is a heavenly document that helps us be good. It is not only an invitation to come unto Christ; it is a pattern for accomplishing that consummate privilege. It is not just a book about religion. It is religion." - Robert L. Millet, "So Glorious a Record", Ensign, December 1992
OK - I am pretty sure that I have heard this list in the past and I've thought about it sometimes - but I was so excited to find this list in Pres D's notes... this is a list of what YOU would have to do if you wanted to produce something of the same caliber as the Book of Mormon. If somebody can accomplish THIS without the help/inspiration of God... then maybe, just maybe they can have a good argument against the validity of this amazing book.... ENJOY!
1. Write a history of ancient Tibet covering a period from 600 B.C. to 450 A.D. Why ancient Tibet? Because you know no more about Tibet than Joseph Smith (or anyone else) knew about ancient America.
2. You are 23 years of age.
3. You have had no more than three years of formal school education, and have spent your life in backwoods farming communities.
4. Your history must be written on the basis of what you now know. There was no library that held information for Joseph Smith. You must use none. There is to be no research of any kind.
5. Your history must be 531 pages and over 300,000 words in length.
6. Other than a few grammatical corrections, you must have no changes in the text. The first edition as you dictate it to your secretary must stand forever.
7. This record is to contain the history of two distinct and separate nations, along with histories of different contemporary nations or groups of people.
8. You must describe their religious, economic, political, and social cultures and institutions. Cover every phase of their society, including the names of their coins.
9. Change your style of writing many times. Many ancient authors contributed to the Book of Mormon, each with his own style.
10. Weave into your history the religion of Jesus Christ and the pattern of Christian living.
11. You must claim that your smooth narrative is not fiction with moral value, but true and sacred history.
12. You must include in you book fifty-four chapters dealing with wars, twenty-one historical chapters, fifty-five chapters on visions and prophecies. Remember, when you begin to write visions and prophecies, you must have your record agree meticulously with the Bible. You must write seventy-one chapters on doctrine and exhortation, and you must check every statement with the scriptures or you will be proven a fraud. You must write twenty-one chapters on the ministry of Christ, and every thing you claim he said and every testimony you write in your book about Him must agree absolutely with the New Testament.
13. Many of the facts, claims, ideas, and statements given as absolute truth in your writing must be entirely inconsistent with the prevailing beliefs of the world. Some of these worldly beliefs must be the direct opposite of your claims.
14. Included in your narrations will be authentic modes of travel; whether or not those ancient people used fire; description of their clothing, crops, mourning customs, and types of government. You must invent about 280 new names that will stand up under scrutiny through the years as to their proper application and derivation.
15. You will have to properly use figures of speech, similes, metaphors, narrations, exposition, descriptions, oratory, epic lyric, and parables.
16. You must invite the ablest scholars and experts to examine the text with care, and you must strive diligently to see that your book gets into the hands of those eager to prove it a forgery, and who are most competent to expose every flaw in it.
17. Thorough investigation, scientific and historical evidence, and archeological discovery for the next 125 years must verify its claims and prove detail after detail to be true, for many of the details you put in your history are still buried beneath the soil of Tibet.
18. You must publish it to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people declaring it to be the word of God and another witness for the Lord Jesus Christ.
19. The book must not contain any absurd, impossible, or contradictory statements. Your history must not contain any statement that will contradict any other statement elsewhere in the volume.
20. Many theories and ideas as to its origin must arise, and after discovering and examining the facts, they must fail. You have claimed that your knowledge had come from divine origin, and this claim continues to stand as the only possible explanation. The strength of this explanation must not decrease as time passes, but actually increases to the point where it becomes the only logical explanation.
21. Your record is to fulfill many Bible prophecies, even in the exact manner in which it shall come forth, to whom delivered, its purposes, and its accomplishments.
22. Call down an angel from heaven in the middle of the day and have him bear testimony to four honest, dignified citizens of your community that the record is the word of God. These witnesses must bear the angel's testimony to the world, not for profit or gain, but under great sacrifice and severe persecution, even to their death beds. You must put that testimony to the test by becoming an enemy to these men.
23. Thousands of great men, intellectual giants, national and international personalities, and scholars for 165 years must accept your history and its teachings even to the point of laying down their life rather than deny their testimony of it. 24. You must include with within the record this promise: "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost."
25. Missionaries must bear record to the world for the next 165 years that they know the record to be true because they put the promise to the test and found it to be true. The truth of it was manifested to them by the power of the Holy Ghost.
26. Over 52,900 plus competent salesman must be so sold on your book that they gladly give up two or more years of their lives to take it to all parts of the world for distribution. They not only pay their own way during these years, but return bearing testimony that the time spent will remain as one of the highlights of their lives. They receive nothing in return for their efforts but the joy of having shared your book with others.
27. Your book must not only raise the standards of millions of people but do it in such a way that they become one of the great moral, ethical, and dynamic marvels of the day. They must become world renowned for this. 28. For the next 20 years you must watch those that follow and you, your family, and the dearest of your loved ones persecuted, driven time after time from their homes, beaten, tortured, starved, frozen and killed. Tens of thousands must undergo the most extreme hardships in your presence just because they believe your claims concerning the origin and content of what you have written on ancient Tibet.
29. You must gain no wealth from your work, but many times lose all that you have. Like those that believe you, you must submit yourself to the most vile persecution. And finally after 20 years of this, give your own life in a very savage and brutal manner, for your testimony concerning your history book. This must be done willingly on your part.
30. Start right now and produce this record which covers 1,000 years of history, doing it, not in the peaceful atmosphere of your community, but under the most trying of circumstances which include being driven from your home several times, and receiving constant threats upon your life. Please have your book completed, talk a friend into mortgaging his farm to raise money to have it printed - all in 60 days. There is only one answer: The Book of Mormon is a divine record. If not, its origin must be stated and its claims must be explained by the critic. It isn't enough to merely discard it as false and forget about it!
Just a few more tidbits/quotes from Pres. Donaldson's notes (emphasis added by me):
"No member of this Church can stand approved in the presence of God who has not seriously and carefully read the Book of Mormon" (Joseph Fielding Smith in Conference Report, Oct. 1961, 18)
"It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path. The scriptures are called "the words of life" (D&C 84:85), and nowhere is that more true than it is of the Book of Mormon. When you begin to hunger and thirst after those words, you will find life in greater and greater abundance." - Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Nov. 1986, pp 4-7
"The Book of Mormon is not just a book that helps us feel good; it is a heavenly document that helps us be good. It is not only an invitation to come unto Christ; it is a pattern for accomplishing that consummate privilege. It is not just a book about religion. It is religion." - Robert L. Millet, "So Glorious a Record", Ensign, December 1992
BoM
I have decided to started a blog of my scripture study thoughts... not only will it help ME be more motivated to have deep studies, but maybe it can help someone else as well :D. I'm going to start from the beginning of the Book of Mormon and study it along side the scripture notes that my mission president, President Donaldson, gave me at the end of my mission a few months ago. He worked in church education for 26 years... and so I'm thinking that I'm going to learn a lot of really AWESOME things! I know that the scriptures are a gift from God to help us grow closer to Him. They are FULL of information that we need to progress and grow. I am so grateful that through the scriptures I can be closer to Jesus Christ, learn more about Him, His life, and His purpose, and become a better person myself. I am excited to start the BoM over again! Yay!
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