Mosiah 15

Day 129: March 29, 2012

Mosiah 15

Verses 1-9

Abinadi prophecies of the coming of Christ here on the earth. He teaches that he will descend from his throne above to come be subject to the flesh so that he might go through every human feeling and temptation in order to understand perfectly what we are going through in our lives and in order to be able to stand before our Heavenly Father and plead our case, as long as we have done our part by repenting and having the desire to be clean. Abinadi also talked about how he would be lead to the slaughter like a lamb and wouldn't complain about it. After being killed he would break the bands of death and be resurrecting thus making it possible for every human being who has or will live upon the earth to be resurrected. I am very grateful for my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ and all that he did for me. I know that he is my perfect friend and advocate with my Heavenly Father. He understands me so perfectly and is willing to lift my burden as I come to him and apply his atonement in my life. What an amazing blessing.

Verse 14-18

How beautiful up on the mountain are the feet of those individuals who will go forth and proclaim the message of the Savior and Redeemer to the world. Each of us as members of the church have this opportunity each and every day. We can share our testimony of the Savior by living our lives as he would live. We can bare our testimony by our actions and examples and also by our word. As we do so we are spreading forth the wonderful message and glad tidings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so blessed to have been born into a home and family that has always had the truth and to have parents so willing to teach me of this truth. It is my turn to spread it forth. I had the opportunity to do this as I served my mission in Texas and I loved the joy and peace that came into the lives of those whom I had opportunity to teach. Not only did spreading the gospel bless their lives but it also filled mine. I need to be more diligent in my efforts to share the gospel around me.

Verse 29

We are blessed to have a watchman looking out for us. Our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson and his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are the watchmen in our day. What a blessing I have at this time in my life to live in Utah and be so close to these wonderful men. In my job as a custodian for the Church I have occasion to see these wonderful men and be close to them. I am so excited for this weekend to hear their powerful words in General Conference. What a great gift from our Heavenly Father to have these men looking over us and warning us of dangers that might come and teaching us how we can truly be happy and have joy and eternal life.

Mosiah 14

Day 128: March 20, 2012

Mosiah 14

This chapter is one of my favorites. It has the words of Isiah talking about the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. How grateful I am that he was willing to come to this earth and undergo all manner of pain and hardship so that we might receive eternal life and have comfort in our journey. Yesterday I had the assignment of teaching a talk about Waiting on the Lord by Elder Hales. He talks about how the Savior was the ultimate example of this. He suffered all manner of affliction and yet never complained. In his hour of ultimate suffering he asked if there was any other way, but that he was willing to do the Lord's will. I am so grateful that he did. Because of his sacrifice I have someone who understands perfectly who I am and what I am going through each day. I have someone who can comfort me and truly be able to feel what I am feeling. I am so grateful for my elder brother and all that he does for me. I have learned a lot about how the atonement applies personally to me lately and know that my Heavenly Father loves me so much that he was willing to send his son to this earth for me.

Mosiah 13

Day 127: March 19, 2012

Mosiah 13

Abinadi amazes me. Noah wants him bound and killed and as they are about to lay hands on him he tells the people he hasn't finished his message yet and they need to let him finish. He knows that things will probably not end well but he trusts in the Lord enough to keep going and finish what had been asked of him. Would I be that strong? I would hope so but I don't know if I would. I want to develop more faith, like Abinadi.

Mosiah 12

Day 126: March 18, 2012

Mosiah 12

Abinadi is amazing. He just stands in front of wicked King Noah and all his wicked priest and he is able to confound them and call them to repentance. He trust in the Lord and knew that he would be able to speak the words which He wanted spoken. As I read this chapter I was amazed and how far gone this wicked people were. As they listened to Abinadi telling them of all their wickedness they were so far gone that they were completely astonished that he would accuse them of being so wicked. They had learned to justify their sins and to live according to their worldly wants and not towards the will of God. I hope I am never so past feeling that I can't even see the wickedness that I may have entered. Satan sure had these people in his grasp and he was confusing them like none other. He is a cunning devil.

Mosiah 11

Day 125: March 16, 2012

Mosiah 11

It is so sad to see how quickly the people went from being righteous and walking in the ways of the Lord to being wicked, and idolatrous and greedy. The change from King Zeniff to King Noah is a tragedy. Slowly the things of the world became far more important than preparing to defend themselves and because of this the Lamanites were able to enter and have some success in the land. This is how Satan works in our lives. Little by little we stop doing the things that we are supposed to be doing in exchange for things of the world and things that will bring us instant happiness. As we lower our standards Satan can attack us and we will be unable to stop his attacks and will succumb to more sins and transgressions. It is important to always keep our armor on and to put it on each day.

I think Abinadi is one brave man. Noah and his people are so wicked and yet he stands up and cries repentance unto them. It would take such great faith in the Lord to know that he would be protected according to his will. I want to have more faith so that I could stand up against wickedness more if needed to help my brothers and sisters come to know the will of the Lord.

Mosiah 10

Day 124: March 15, 2012

Mosiah 10

Verse 1-10: Zeniff and his people make preparations to protect themselves against the Lamanites. They know that they Lord will help them as long as they do all that they can for themselves. Our Heavenly Father offers us the same help against Satan but we need to make preparations to protect ourselves from his cunning ways. We need to study the scriptures and say our prayers. We need to attend our church meetings and the temple regularly. We need to keep ourselves worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost so we will know how to best defend against the fiery darts of the adversary.

Verse 11: It says here that the Lamanites were a very strong group of people but they didn't know God. So the strength that they had was their own strength and not the strength of the Lord. We are taught that we should trust in the arm of the Lord and not the arm of man. I find it very sad that this people didn't know who their Father in Heaven was. I want to be strong because I am strengthened by my Father in Heaven.

Mosiah 9

Day 123: March 14, 2012

Mosiah 9

Verse 17-18

I love how quickly the Lord answered the prayers of his suffering children. They cried unto him with all of their hearts and he heard their cries and gave them the strength needed to overcome. Sometimes he allows us to remain in a hard situation but he doesn't leave us alone and he sends us comfort in those times so that we can endure that which we are asked to pass through. I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who does hear his children and comes to them. Last Sunday I saw a Child's prayer in sacrament meeting and it is a song that reminds me that he does hear and answer our prayers. And it is through our prayers that we can feel him close around us.

Mosiah 8

Day 122: March 13, 2012

Mosiah 8

King Limhi wants the records he has to be translated so that they can know what they mean. Ammon tells him that there is a man, a seer, who can translate the plates so that the words could be understood and learned by the people. I am so grateful for prophets. I am grateful for the records which we have and can understand because of the power to interpret them by our Heavenly Father. The scriptures are a great blessing.

Mosiah 7

Day 121: March 12, 2012

Mosiah 7

Verse 17: I love when the people are gathered to the temple. I just see the temple as a symbol of righteousness. I am grateful for the opportunity and blessing I have to be near so many of these Holy buildings. I want to be worthy to always enter their doors and to perform the work the Lord needs me to do.

Verse 19: Lift up your head and rejoice and trust in God. I feel the desire to join in and do this. I am so grateful for my Father in Heaven and the love he has for me. He guides me and leads me down paths I wouldn't have ventured, but that are helping me grow and learn.

Verse 33: This verse offers such hope. If we turn to the Lord and trust in him we will be delivered from bondage. He will lead us down paths of happiness and growth.

Mosiah 6

Day 120: March 6, 2012

Mosiah 6

King Benjamin and his people took upon themselves the name of Christ as they covenanted with the Lord. They were obedient to the commandments and served each other and thus served the Lord. I too have covenanted with my Heavenly Father and taken upon myself the name of Christ. I have promised to follow the commandments and live my life in a way that will be in service to those around me and to my Father in Heaven. I am grateful for this covenant and the blessings that are mine as I am faithful to it.

Mosiah 5

Day 119: March 1, 2012

Moisah 5

Verse 2: The people of King Benjamin had recived a mighty change of heart and no longer had dispossition to do evil. I love how when we choose to make good choices and have a real desire to do good, we no longer want to to wrong. It can be a very long process to get to that point but it is amazing how you can truly change with the help of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. When you have the opportunity to really go through the repentance process you come out with a new sense of purpose and direction. I love that I am at that point in my life right now. I am so far from perfect and still am not completely at the point where I have zero desire for the natural man, but I am getting there bit by bit, day by day and I am grateful for the motivation it gives me to keep going.

Verse 3: As we come to have this change and see the goodness of God, we are able to receive more personal revelation. In my Teachings of the Living Prophets class yesterday we talked about how the prophets receive revelation and we were talking about Spencer W. Kimball in partictular. A man had asked him how he could receive revelation. President Kimball told him that when he was building his relationship with the Lord he would keep a journal of every impression or prompting he would receive starting with the very small promptings and then to those that were bigger. He began to recognize what it felt like to receive promptings and to know where those promptings were coming from. We know that as a prophet he was blessed with the opportunity to receive the revelation that all worthy man, regardless of their race or skin color, could have the blessing of receiving the priesthood. If he hadn't started by recognizing the little promptings in his life, he wouldnt have been able to recieve this revelation. We discussed how we can learn to receive revelation as we act on the small and simple. When David was asked to go up agains Golieth he was able to trust in the Lord because he had already fought a lion and a bear. The Lord had helped in the "small" in preperation for the "giant". I thought that was a great analogy for how we can learn to receive personal revelation.

Verse 5: Because of the faith that the people had in the words of their King, they were willing to enter a covanent with Heavenly Father. I am grateful for the covenants that I have made in my life. I need to work hard are making sure that I am fully keeping my end of the covenant because Heavenly Father always holds up his end of the deal. In discussion with my bishop recently he pointed something out about the Sacrament prayers that I hadn't really thought of before. The prayer says, "and witness unto thee...that they are WILLING to take upon them the name of thy son and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he has given them." It doesn't say that they witness that they will be completely perfect and always keep every commandment and do everything they are asked perfectly. It says that they are WILLING. Heavenly Father knows the intent of our hearts. He knows our desires and our willingness to do his will. That being said, we need to do our best. We can't be willing to do these things and then live our lives completely contrary to the things we know to be true and right. Having this pointed out to me has really helped as I am working on improving and strengthening my covenants. I am willing and I am making my best effort to be worthy and obedient and that is what the Lord asks of me.

Verse 15: We are asked to be steadfast and immovable always abounding in good works. I need to make sure my foundation is set firmly on the Savior so that I can be steadfast and not be tossed with the storms of life.