1 Nephi 10-15
1 Nephi Chapter 10
v4 God sent the Messiah as the Savior of the world.
v5 All mankind would be lost and fallen without Jesus Christ.
v7-10 John the Baptist was called to prepare the way for Christ.
v9-10 The Savior is our example in all things. He was baptized not to be cleansed from sin, but because God commanded it and Christ was obedient.
v10 Christ took away the sins of the world.
v11 Christ conquered death and manifests himself through the Holy Ghost.
v17 Men can receive the power of the Holy Ghost if they have faith in the Son of God, the Messiah. Everyone who seeks it can receive the Holy Ghost.
v18 God is unchanging and has prepared the way for men. Repentance is essential.
v19 He who seeks shall find. That is a promise from God. That is the order of things. He will give us what we ask for in faith.
v20 Everything we do will be judged... If we seek wickedness then we will not be able to dwell with God.
v22 The Holy Ghost can give us inspiration to know what to say.
1 Nephi Chapter 11
Chapter 11-14 are Nephi's vision
v1-3 Desiring to know, believing you will receive answers, and pondering on truth invite the inspiration of the Spirit.
v6 The Lord, the most High God, is over all the earth and above all things.
v11 The Spirit can speak to us in many ways.
v16 Condescension: voluntary assumption of equality with a person regarded as inferior.
v17 I love how Nephi doesn't know everything, but he knows God lives His children and builds from there.
v21 Jesus Christ is the Son of the Eternal Father. They are two beings with one purpose.
Here we tie back to Lehi's dream!
v22 The tree in Lehi's dream is the love of God. It will bring a soul true joy. Just as people fell before the tree, we fall before the Lord and receive His love.
v25 The rod of iron leading to the tree is the word of God. The scriptures, the commandments... As we hold to them we will stay on the path to the Lord.
v27-34 Christ's life, ministry, and death... He was judged by the world.
v35-36 The building in Lehi's dream was the pride of the world. It is large and grand, but it is built on nothing and wil fall.
How will we approach the tree of life? How are you on your journey to the Lord?
1 Nephi Chapter 12
v6 Following His crucifixion, Christ rose again. He conquered death and made it so all mankind will live again.
v8-9 The twelve apostles of Christ will judge the twelve tribes of Israel. They are able to do so because they are ordained and chosen of God.
v10 The twelve are made clean and righteous through Christ, who is the source of all good.
v11 Men can become clean through faith.
v16-17 The river of water are the depths of hell and the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil.
v18 The building is the pride and vanity of the world. The justice of God keeps it separate from the things of the God.
v19 Great suffering comes through pride and listening to the temptations of the devil.
v22 When men choose disbelief the chose to live below their potential.
v Distancing one's self from God leads to sin and misery.
1 Nephi Chapter 13
v4-6 The devil is the founder of the church which kills the saints of God and wars against good.
v8 Where is your heart? What do you desire?
v12 Here it talks about how Christopher Columbus was led by the Lord to the americas.
v14-19 The colonizing of America was directed by God. The Spirit led men to do what God asked them to do.
v17-19 Revolutionary War
v20-29 The coming forth of the Bible... It was pure and complete but plain and precious truths were removed. Covenants of God were removed. The Lord speaks plainly, but because of the things which were taken away, many stumble and Satan has power over them,
v32 Without those plain and precious truths men were in a state of blindness. God did not intend for it to remain his way forever.
v34 Christ would restore his gospel in His power.
v35 Part of that restoration includes the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
v36 The Book of Mormon contains the gospel of Christ.
v37 Those who seek to build God's kingdom will be filled with the Spirit and will be lifter up at the last day, enjoying salvation after death.
v39 All scripture that comes forth comes through the power of Christ. We are reading the Doctrine and Covenants in seminary and everything is direct revelation from the Lord.
v40 The Book of Mormon and the Bible together will make known to the world that Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. All men must go to him or they cannot be saved.
v41 Men will come unto Christ according to His words which are found in the Book of Mormon and the Bible. They are one and testify of the one true God.
v42 Christ will manifest himself to all men in his time.
1 Nephi Chapter 14
v1-2 If we listen to the Lord then He will take away our stumbling blocks: whatever is getting in the way of our faith growing. We will prosper.
v3 Temptations of the devil are placed all around us with the purpose of destroying us. The devil and his children dig a pit for us, but they will be the ones who fill it.
v4 The captivity of the devil and the justice of God will both take place... Those who are wicked are bound in the chains which they have made according to the justice of God.
v7 The restoration of the gospel will lead to the convincing of souls to either peace and eternal life or spiritual captivity because of the hardness of their hearts.
v10 There is no middle ground. You belong to God or you are held captive by the devil. Covenants bind us to God.
v11 The devil's influence is everywhere.
v12 Though the restored church is few in number, it covers the world.
v13-14 The devil will gather up his followers and fight against the Lord and His church... But, armed with righteousness and the power of God, the covenant people will stand strong.
v15-16 The wrath of God leads to the destruction of the wicked.
v17 Everything God does is to fulfill His purposes.
v23-27 The Lord revealed to the apostle John what He revealed to Nephi... Others have seen and their records will come forth.
1 Nephi Chapter 15
v3 The things of God are hard for men to understand unless they ask Him.
v4-5 I have felt a portion of that pain. Watching someone you love make decisions that will lead to pain is heartbreaking.
v8 I love this question- "have ye inquired of the Lord?" I think we should ask ourselves that question regularly. v11 I love God's promises. If we will believe in Him. He can show us what we need to know.
v35-36 When men die, they dwell with God or they are cast out. Either they partake of the fruit or miss out on it.
Food for Thought
A strong theme I kept going back to in my mind was DESIRES. Any time I see that word in the scriptures it grabs my attention. What desires lead to what outcome? The scriptures make it pretty clear that we pretty much get what we want. By that I mean that if we desire to follow the enticings of the devil because they are attractive, then we can. And eventually we will be under His power. On the other hand, if we desire to follow Christ who has paid the ultimate price for us, who is above all things, then we can have eternal life in the world to come. The choice is ours. Eternal happiness or never ending sorrow. It shouldn't be hard to make this decision, should it? However, I think we need to constantly check ourselves and see where our choices are leading. Where are our desires taking us? We need to hold to the iron rod, the word of God, as we go along the path so that we can make it safely home.
Tomorrow's Reading: 1 Nephi 16-19
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