Wednesday, January 21, 2009

33l - The Resurrected Jesus Christ's Ministry in Ancient America

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TODAY'S THEME

III Nephi 20: 2 And he commanded them that they should arise and stand up upon their feet. And they arose up and stood upon their feet.
3 And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat.
4 And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude.
5 And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude.
6 Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude;
The Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ -by Harry Anderson
Again, the Nephite's (and all mankind's) Savior was having them partake of His holy Sacrament which is in remembrance of His atoning sacrifice. If it were so important that His followers participate in that ordinance then, it stands to reason that He would want us to do the same in our day. I have discussed that in a previous post (33j). This time the Savior performed a miracle inasmuch as there was bread and wine available even though no one had brought either one. This reminds us of the miracle of the "Loaves and the Fishes" as recorded in the New Testament (Mark 8: 1-9).

At this point I would like you to read the scripture which helps us learn something significant that is going on among the Nephites who are being visited by Their (and our) Redeemer, Jesus ChristIII Nephi 20:1-46


You have just learned from reading Chapter 20 that the remnant of Jacob (these Nephite's descendants, shall come to the knowledge of the Lord their God and shall inherit (in the latter-days) the Americas—Jesus is the prophet like unto Moses, and the Nephites are children of the prophets—Others of the Lord’s people shall be gathered to Jerusalem. [A.D. 34]


I have been feeling for sometime now that I would like to remind you why I named my blog, "Have You Really Read The Book of Mormon?" Let me remind you that back in posts, numbers 1 and 2 I mentioned that in a PBS video production in May of 2007 entitled, The Mormons, a man who was introduced as a scholar, told us (to the effect) that everytime he reads something in the Book of Mormon he sees the personality of that young farm boy, Joseph Smith, coming through the words that are written in it.

Joseph Smith -by Alvin Gittins
 Those of you who have read even several of these posts of mine and have read the Book of Mormon scriptures I've provided for you, such as the one you have just read and listened to, don't you have to question whether that "scholar" has ever really read the Book of Mormon?

I placed quote marks around the word scholar, showing that I'm questioning the complete scholarship of an individual who would imply that the young, not very well educated, Joseph Smith could have ever made-up this complex book which matches events like the feeding of the multitude as recorded in Luke and the providing of the sacramental bread and wine among the Nephites about which you have just read. These events had similarities but the exact circumstances were quite different.

Another recent circumstance I've drawn your attention to, is how our Savior Jesus Christ praised these Nephites He was visiting in Ancient America, for their great faith, telling them their faith exceeded that of the Jewish people He taught during His lifetime ministry.


Perhaps some might guess that it was just "guess-work" on the part of young Joseph Smith as he "made up the words of the Book of Mormon." But then when you read my reasoning why these tried and true Nephites had become stronger in faith than the Savior's followers in Palestine, because they had been preceeded by ancestors who believed in Christ's future coming to their descendants and had passed on that great and true prophecy to them, these Nephites, their posterity, through a period of many centuries.


Then there were the many various evidences that Dr. Dan Peterson of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at Brigham Young University mentions in his video I have included in Posts 4 and 8. I have shown you similar evidences in many of my posts. For instance in post 17 I listed non-biblical names that are used in the Book of Mormon. Here is about one-eighth of that list:


Abinadi, Abinadom, Abish, Ablom, Agosh, Ahah, Ahaz, Aiath, Akish, Amaleki, Amalikiah, Amaron, Amgid, Aminadab, Aminadi, Amlici, Ammaron, Ammon, Ammonihah, Ammoron, Amna, Amnigaddah, Amnah, Amnihu, Amnor, Amoron, Amulek, Amulon, Anahoth, Antiomno, Antion, Antionah, Antionum, Antiparah, Antipus, Antum, Arpad, Carchemish, Cezoram, Chemish, Cohor, Com, Comnor, Corianton, Coriantor,


(When I first put this list on my computer screen when writing post 17, the device at the top of the screen which I use to make the choice of alphabets of other languages to use than English, such as Finnish and Spanish, in my case; all of a sudden, by itself, the device added the word, Hebrew. As you have may learned, Google's language detector is very intuitive and perceives quickly various languages.)


Then in Post 18, I told about an LDS scholar and lawyer, John Welch, as a young LDS missionary in Germany, having discovered that a language device called Chiasmus besides being used in the Holy Bible, is also used extensively in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Besides that, the Chiasmus concept was not known about in America during Joseph Smith's days and most likely not known very well, if at all, even in Germany then. In those days upstate New Yorkers (especially a Western New York State farm boy like Joseph Smith and his family and friends), didn't know much about scholarly matters in far off (at that time before advanced communications systems had come about), Germany.


If you didn't read those posts of mine as you got to each of the links I gave you while you were reading this post, please feel free to go back to them and read them when you have the time. I have mentioned other evidences too, but at the Neal Maxwell Institute at BYU in Provo, Utah, they have a list of other evidences that is very extensive.

In the next post I will have you read chapter 21 of III Nephi in the Book of Mormon. I suggest you read it (and listen to it) now to prepare yourself. It is an important chapter. 

III Nephi 21: 1-29

I'll be with you again in about three or four days.

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This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.






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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX, To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other Blog Post You May Desire To Access), After Reading All of This Paragraph Please Click on the Following: (The Resurrected) Jesus Christ's Ministry in Ancient America -Post 33j. When You See the Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use The Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed.)


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If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.


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Neil Birch