Post 20 - Wouldn't Christ's True Church Help The Afflicted World-Wide?

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TODAY'S THEME

The First Alma Baptizing at the Waters of Mormon -by Arnold Friberg 

Now you will tell me that you have seen this Friberg painting before in this blog. Actually, you may have seen it four times before. The first time it was shown, was at the end of Post, 12 to prepare your minds and hearts for Post 13.

I'm showing it at the beginning of this blog post, (Post 20) in which you will have the opportunity of learning about the great ability The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has in our day in affecting the lives of people all over this world for good in times of adversity and tribulation.

I want you to know that the basic reason for this is that this present day church was also founded, under the direction of our Lord, Jesus Christ, upon the exact same principles as was the Church of Jesus Christ that began, under His direction, at the Waters of Mormon through the leadership of the newly converted prophet, the first Alma.

Actually both are the same church. Both had simple beginnings. Today's Church began in 1830 in the Western end of the State of New York with only six members, being led by a prophet, Joseph Smith, who also possesed the gifts of prophecy and revelation as did the prophet, Alma when he formed, under the Lord's direction, the Church of Jesus Christ at the Waters of Mormon in the ancient Americas.

These are only two of the good number of segments of the Church of Jesus Christ which were formed over many centuries by our Lord. There was the great segment of His Church which was formed by His apostles under His direction after His post-resurrection departure into Heaven. They lived by the same principles as did all others who followed and were directed by our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let me remind you what Alma taught the new members of the church in his day. Please read: Mosiah 18:8-11

In my lifetime as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have often heard Alma's words quoted, as recorded in the scripture you have just read, to prepare those who were to be baptized to become true Latter-day Saints of God. I have also, many times, heard that same scripture quoted to remind members of the Church of their promises at the time of baptism to love and serve others.

That which Presiding Bishop Burton reports below is good evidence that large numbers of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have been living in accordance with Alma's admonition . . .

(Mosiah 18:8-9). . . and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. . . (emphasis added)

The following talk was given in the Priesthood Session of the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April 2008 presided over by its present Prophet, Seer and Revelator: Thomas S. Monson.

And Who Is My Neighbor? Bishop H. David Burton-Presiding Bishop

We express our deep appreciation to the many individuals . . . who are the good Samaritans of today.

Good evening. Tonight the scripture passages "As ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:40) and "Remember in all things the poor and the needy" (D. and C. 52:40) take on special meaning as we review highlights of humanitarian endeavors during the past year.

A briefing on humanitarian assistance was recently given to the General Welfare Committee of the Church. The committee chair, then President Gordon B. Hinckley, expressed profound gratitude for the generosity of members and those not of our faith who have made this outreach possible. In behalf of the General Welfare Committee, we express our deep appreciation to the many individuals, families, quorums, and Relief Society and Young Women groups who are the good Samaritans of today.

In 2007 the Church responded to major earthquakes in 5 countries, massive fires in 6 countries, hunger and famine in 18 countries, and flooding and severe storms in 34 countries. In total the Church and its members responded to 170 major events---nearly one every two days for the entire year. It was a busy year with many opportunities to serve.

In addition to responding to natural disasters, we undertook thousands of public health initiatives during the year. Over 1 million people benefited from Church-sponsored clean water projects in 25 countries. More than 60,500 people received wheelchairs in 60 nations. Early this year Sister Burton and I, with the South America North Area Presidency, participated with the First Lady of Colombia in a wheelchair presentation. Tears came easily as receivers and their caregivers expressed their appreciation. In 11 countries, over 54,000 individuals now enjoy improved vision. Over 16,500 health-care professionals in 23 countries were trained in infant neonatal resuscitation; they, in turn, will train many others. In a quest to eliminate measles, 2.8 million children and youth in 10 countries received immunizations. The combined effects of these outreach endeavors directly touched nearly 4 million people in 85 countries.

In August a major 8.0 earthquake killed 520 people and destroyed more than 58,000 homes in southern Peru. In a marvelous display of love and concern, each of the 29 stakes in Lima, Peru, provided basic assistance to ward areas in the devastated region.

With the wonderful assistance of missionaries, a plan is under way to help individuals rebuild their homes and lives and replace several schools. As many as 400 homes may ultimately be built, with individuals, friends, and family doing much of the work. Supervision, coordination, and training are under the direction of Elder and Sister Alan Layton.

Late in the year a combination of dry weather and high winds fueled wildfires in southern California. These wildfires forced over one million people from their homes. At least 1,500 homes were destroyed. In response the Church provided cleaning kits, blankets, hygiene kits, and food. Over 5,000 Mormon Helping Hands along with missionaries cleaned, cooked, comforted, and cared for those affected.

One note of appreciation said: "Please forward a great big thank you to all the Latter-day Saints who have been working so hard in my neighborhood. The Mormons have been here constantly with meals, hugs, prayers, and helping to repair and clear property. They . . . uplift my community, heal hearts, and repair homes in the San Diego hills."

Reflecting on the experience, one stake president said: "One of our projects was to assist cleaning up around the local Baptist church. . . . We assigned 25 youth. . . . The Baptists said that they would have lots of donuts and coffee for us. We told them the coffee would go stale, but our youth could handle as many donuts as they could provide!"

Heavy rains triggered flooding across the Midwestern United States, Oregon, and Washington. Volunteers came with supplies from the bishops' storehouse to provide help to those in need.

When Church representatives in Findlay, Ohio, presented a donation to the local Red Cross chapter, a passerby spotted them in their yellow Mormon Helping Hands T-shirts. She walked in and held up her camera phone with a picture of four Helping Hands and exclaimed, "They just saved my home!" Then she hugged everyone in sight.

A shipment of food was delivered to a local food bank. When it arrived, the manager had a startled look on his face and said, "How did you know? I just gave out my last loaf of bread and planned to lock the doors. How did you know?"

Working with the World Health Organization to eliminate measles as a killer of almost a million children each year, over 54,000 Church members volunteered to help organize the effort. A Church member in Nigeria wrote: "I called our labor the 'rescue of the innocent.' We went house-to-house and village hall to village hall. A woman told us she had lost three children to measles. She told her story with such grace and passion that there was not a dry eye in the house, mine included." Our volunteer observed, "The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things that you do for others remain as your legacy."

Our four-year effort to help those devastated by a tsunami in Indonesia and southern Asia also continued. Funding was provided to help build 902 homes, with 3 community centers, 24 village water systems, 15 schools, and 3 medical centers. A community leader said: "Community members feel happy and blessed to have the community center. . . . It is a place [where] we can pray . . . and teach the children. . . . Thank you to [the Church] for building this center for our people. . . . We will pray to God to give [the Church] blessings and success in the future. Thank you."

In Ethiopia, communities helped to access clean drinking water. The Church drilled wells and constructed storage tanks. Communities organized a water committee and dug the trenches needed to pipe the water from the storage tanks to each village. In some cases this was a distance of over 3 miles (5 km).

Some communities struggled to meet their commitments for trenching. The soil was hard, dry, and full of clay, making digging very difficult. In one community a school of 1,500 students suspended normal school activities for a period of time, and everyone participated in digging the remaining sections of the trench. As they worked, other members of the community joined in. At one point there was over a mile-long line of people digging.

Thank you for your compassion, your goodness, and your generosity. May we press forward to lighten the load of neighbors, encourage and assist the downtrodden, open our purses to assist the poor, and extend our helping hands. I bear witness of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel and pray that we may continue to enjoy the blessings of true discipleship as we quietly reach out to others. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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DISCLAIMER
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 To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: Humanitarian (LDS) Services By Which Many Were Assisted in the World -Post 20. When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, 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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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est. 2008 Neil Birch

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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

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.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

Post 19 - The Spirit of Prophecy & Revelation a Vital Part of Christ's Church

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TODAY'S THEME



Brother Joseph -by David Lindsley

In this next painting, (by Grant Romney Clawson), 12 year old Jesus is shown being about His Actual Father's business, by teaching wise men in the Temple in Jerusalem. Please read of this here: Luke 2:48-49

Twelve Year Old Jesus Teaching in the Temple -by Grant Romney Clawson

It was to somewhere in this same sacred temple at age eight days, that Jesus had been brought by Joseph and Mary for the ordinances required of them by their Jewish religion. To their surprise, two aged saints, Simeon and Anna, came to them there. They evidently didn't come together, but arrived at the same time.

Simeon and Anna view Baby Jesus -by Greg K. Olsen

We read regarding Simeon:  

Luke 2:26: And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple.

Simeon rejoiced in his having seen the long expected Messiah. Anna also expressed her gratitude for having seen him. Please read the full account: Luke 2:25-38.

Please take note that these were not prophets of ancient Israel, but relatively common folk. However, it is not surprising that they, by the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation identified the long expected Messiah.

Doing things by the spirit of prophecy and revelation was something that occurred often in righteous Israel over the centuries. Please note that Luke termed Anna, a prophetess. Women too can possess the spirit of prophecy and revelation! Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, both men and women, of all ages, can possess this gift, but must live worthily to use it.

In Revelations 19:10 the Apostle John wrote: "... for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."Because the Book of Mormon is another Testament of Jesus Christ we must expect much evidence of there being many instances of prophecy and revelation throughout this sacred record as well as in the Bible, which is a Testament of Jesus Christ, both in the Old and in the New Testaments.

In one of my recent blog posts there was the example of the prophet, Abinadi, who was raised up by the Lord to call the people of a kingdom where he lived in the ancient Americas, to repentance. He did what the Lord wanted him to do by the spirit of prophecy and revelation (or the testimony of Jesus). He was valiant in following the guidance of that marvelous gift even though he knew, by that same spirit, that he would lose his life as a result.

Although King Noah, and his supporters did not accept the words of that prophet, one of his priests, the First Alma, and a good number of people whom he taught Abinadi's words (which he had carefully and privately recorded), became members of the Church of Jesus Christ. This was done under the Lord's guidance.

The membership went through much adversity over a period of time, and having been strengthened by having gone valiantly through that adversity, the church which was founded for them eventually became the foundation church for the large nation of Zarahemla.

Some of the critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have charged that its leaders have dictatorial powers and require members to blindly follow them.

In actuality, in all the times in the history of this world where there has been a true church of Jesus Christ like the one mentioned above in ancient America, guidance of the church has been by the power and spirit of prophecy and revelation or "the testimony of Jesus."

In actual fact in Jesus's true church, no matter when in the world's history it was found, free agency or the right to choose, of all the members is a very important principle.

Yesterday, August 17, 2008, throughout the entire world wherever a branch or ward of this Church has been established (among the over 13 million members of this church) the assigned lesson for the Melchizedek Priesthood (for adult men) and the Relief Society (for adult women) was something we were invited to study previously and then were taught by an assigned teacher the following lesson: Revelation and the Living Prophet.

From Lesson 16, pages 195-196 of the text book used throughout the church, world-wide (translated into a very large number of different languages and dialects) I quote the following: (This is a quote from an address given by the Prophet, Joseph Smith in an LDS Church Conference Held on April 21, 1834 (from minutes of the conference recorded by Oliver Cowdery.)

President Joseph Smith, Jun., read the second chapter of Joel's prophecy, prayed, and addressed the conference as follows: ... "We are differently situated from any other people that ever existed upon this earth; consequently those former revelations cannot be suited to our conditions; they were given to other people, who were before us; but in the last days, God was to call a remnant, in which was to be deliverance, as well as in Jerusalem and Zion [see Joel 2:32]. Now if God should give no more revelations, where will we find Zion and this remnant? . . .'

   "The President then gave a relation of obtaining and translating the Book of Mormon, the revelation of the Priesthood of Aaron, the organization of the Church in 1830, the revelation of the High Priesthood, and the gift of the Holy Ghost poured out upon the Church, and said: "Take away the Book of Mormon and the revelations, and where is our religion? We have none.'"

“We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the
Kingdom of God.” Articles of Faith:

“We never can comprehend the things of God and of heaven, but by revelation. We may spiritualize and express opinions to all eternity; but that is no authority.”

“The doctrine of revelation far transcends the doctrine of no revelation; for one truth revealed from heaven is worth all the sectarian notions in existence."

“Salvation cannot come without revelation; it is in vain for anyone to minister without it. … No man can be a minister of Jesus Christ except he has the testimony of Jesus; and this is the spirit of prophecy . Whenever salvation has been administered, it has been by testimony. (See Revelation 19:10) Whenever salvation has been administered, it is by testimony. Men of the present time testify of heaven and hell, and have never seen either; and I will say that no man knows these things without this.”

“Jesus in His teachings says, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ What rock? Revelation.”

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded upon direct revelation, as the true Church of God has ever been, according to the Scriptures (Please click on each of these, one at a time): Amos 3:7 Acts 1:2 and through the will and blessings of God, I have been an instrument in His hands, thus far, to move forward the cause of Zion.” Joseph Smith

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Now that you have read the Prophet Joseph Smith's words about the importance and place of revelation in the Restored Church of Jesus Christ, you can read from this same lesson material something he said about the role of prophecy and revelation in the work of leadership of the presidency of the Church and in the lives of all other worthy members.

. . .“The Presidents or [First] Presidency are over the Church; and revelations of the mind and will of God to the Church, are to come through the Presidency. This is the order of heaven, and the power and privilege of [the Melchizedek] Priesthood. It is also the privilege of any officer in this Church to obtain revelations, so far as relates to his particular calling and duty in the Church.”

“We do not consider ourselves bound to receive any revelation from any one man or woman without his being legally constituted and ordained to that authority, and giving sufficient proof of it."

". . . It is contrary to the economy of God for any member of the Church, or any one, to receive instructions for those in authority, higher than themselves; therefore you will see the impropriety of giving heed to them; but if any person have a vision or a visitation from a heavenly messenger, it must be for his own benefit and instruction; for the fundamental principles, government, and doctrine of the Church are vested in the keys of the kingdom.”


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DISCLAIMER
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.

____________


TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This BlogPost, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other BlogPost You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: (The) Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation; -Post 19; When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, 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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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est. 2008 Neil Birch

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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.
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.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I have an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

An Addendum:

"I, J. Neil Birch, have been a member of this church since I was baptized at age eight in 1940 in the Salt Lake Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I have always known and trusted that this church is led by our Savior Jesus Christ through the spirit of prophecy and revelation through a living prophet whom He has chosen. I believe that now, after all these years, with all my heart.

I have also been blessed in the church callings given to me with the spirit of prophecy and revelation and also in my personal life. I know by that spirit that the words of Joseph Smith are true and that the Lord guides His church through direct revelation on all levels of this organization and also in our personal lives.

Neil Birch

Post 18 - Chiasmus - Evidence of The Book of Mormon's Truthfulness

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TODAY'S THEME



An Angel Chastizes Alma and the Four Sons of Mosiah -by Gary L. Kapp

 This painting is of the unannounced appearance of the angel of the Lord, who after having totally startled and shocked all five of the young men shown here, he then called Alma, the son of the First Alma to repentance.

Later we find that what the other four witnessed and heard, brought them to total repentance and brought each of them to a total commitment to serve the Lord in bringing back His lost sheep instead of scattering His flock as they did before.

The Angel's message caused young Alma to see the evil of his ways and to feel strongly their impact on him. This caused him to go into a state of despair and then into a comatose state for several days.

With his father and others praying constantly for his welfare, young Alma eventually, through much agony of soul, appealed with all his heart and soul to the mercies of Jesus Christ, about about whom he remembered from hearing his father teach the people of the church founded at the Waters of Mormon.

The Lord immediately rewarded the young Alma's appeal for mercy with great peace and the sure knowledge that he was totally forgiven because he had in fact totally changed.

Alma, he who we have called the First Alma, the father of this younger Alma, realized that which had happened to his son was an answer to his constant prayers regarding him, who had been, along with the sons of the king, causing much havoc in the Church which the Lord had established through him and who were brought through great adversity to eventually be led by the Lord back to the kingdom of Zarahemla where Mosiah was king.

I promised in Post 17, that in Post 18 I would provide further evidence that the Book of Mormon was not thought up and authored by Joseph Smith as biased critics insist. I said I would instead show that the Book of Mormon is a record Joseph translated through the gifts and power of God.

I state now that the Book of Mormon was originally written by prophets of God on the ancient American Continent, including many direct writings by the young Alma who had become, through this traumatic yet blessed experience, a prophet like his father, Alma.

Abinadi, here is another set of rebels who became believers in Jesus Christ through your self-sacrificing facing up to the crooked King Noah which helped the First Alma to see the truth and support it valiantly. We will always love you!

Several Sundays ago in the Murray 3rd Ward of the Murray Utah Stake, our regular teacher was unable to be with us and a former member of our ward bishopric substituted for her.

He taught us about chiasmus, which is an ancient poetic form of writing that is very unique in its form. I'm going to show you what he showed us on the blackboard and on a piece of paper we each were given. I have seen presentations like this before under the auspices of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute at BYU, but this was a very effective presentation too.

First, some background: An American LDS missionary serving in Germany back, I think, in the 1960s, by the name of John Welch, was invited along with his companion to attend a lecture given by a notable German authority on the scriptures. I believe he was a minister of perhaps a Lutheran Church.

The two Mormon missionaries attended the lecture in which this scriptural expert discussed the phenomenon of chiasmus a form of Hebrew poetic (or particularly clarifying) form of writing found often in the Bible.

After returning to their apartment Elder Welch found himself obsessed with what they had learned at that lecture. He knew that Book of Mormon prophets were from a Jewish background and that they had the plates of brass filled with scriptures, many of which are found in our Old Testament.

For this reason, while his companion had gone to bed, this intrigued missionary began reading through the Book of Mosiah (a sub-book of the Book of Mormon) searching for evidence of the use of chiasmus by King Benjamin.

His search had lasted for several hours and it was way past bedtime. He was, after all, looking for something he had first learned about just that evening. He almost gave up.

John Welch has written that instead of giving up his search, he knelt in prayer pleading for the Lord to help him find chiasmus in the Book of Mormon.

Not long after that prayer, his guidance by the Spirit in his searching, resulted in his finding chiasmus in the writings of King Benjamin. He was elated and grateful.

John Welch pursued this kind of research after having earned a law degree and becoming a law instructor at BYU. He helped found that which became the Maxwell Institute at BYU.

I have reproduced below an example of chiasmus in diagram form of Alma 36: 1-30 some of which we have delved into above, but first I'll give you the opportunity of reading (and listening if you so choose) again for yourself this striking scripture. Alma 36: 1-30

Now, please examine closely the structure of the chiasmus diagram below.

There is a comment about, each of the thirty verses of this chapter in this diagram. You'll notice at the end of each line a verse number, which is a verse of chapter 36, i.e. (2), (3), etc., up to 30. You will also notice that that each line is headed by a letter in the alphabet, from (a) to (q), then it repeats backwards, going down, from (q') to (a'). You will have noticed that the last half's letters have a ' indicating they are in the last half.

Now you will also have noticed that some instructions for his son and the impacts on Alma of his experience with the Angel are listed in the top half (a to q) and the positive outcomes of his conversion experience are listed in the second half (q' to a').

Each letter of the alphabet and it's message corresponds to the same letter of the alphabet in both half's.


A CHIASMUS DIAGRAM: Alma Chapter 36 of the Book of Mormon

(a)My son, give ear to my words (1)
(b) Keep the commandments of God
and ye shall prosper in the land (2)
(c) Do as I have done (2)
(d) in remembering the captivity of our fathers (2);
(e) for they were in bondage (2)
(f) he surely did deliver them (2)
(g) trust in God (3)
(h) supported in their trials, troubles, and afflictions (3)
(i) shall be lifted up at the last day (3)
(j) I know this not of myself but of God (4)
(k) born of God (5)
(l) I sought to destroy the church of God (6-9)
(m) my limbs were paralyzed (10)
(n) Fear of being in the presence of God (14-15)
(o) pains of a damned soul (16)
(p) harrowed up by the memory of sins (17)
(q) I remembered Jesus Christ, Son of God (17)
(q') I cried, Jesus, Son of God (18)
(p') Harrowed up by the memory of sins no more (19)
(o') Joy as exceeding as was the pain (20)
(n') Long to be in the presence of God (22)
(m') My limbs received their strength again (23)
(l') I labored to bring souls to repentance (24)
(k') Born of God (26)
(j') Therefore my knowledge is of God (26)
(i') and raise me up at the last day (28)
(h') supported under trials, troubles, and afflictions (27)
(g') Trust in him (27)
(f)') He will deliver me (27)
(e') As God brought our fathers out of bondage and captivity (28-29)
(d') Retain in remembrance their captivity (28-29)
(c') Know as I do know (30)
(b') Keep the commandments and ye shall prosper in the land (30)
(a') This is according to his word (30).

Now that you have been shown the technical aspects of this chiasmus, go through the diagram, reading all of Alma's comments, beginning with (a) then dropping down to (a') and then from b to b', etc. The message of each letter is related to its corresponding letter in the other half of the diagram. You will begin to feel the power of that which Alma had experienced and learned.

Alma, in chiasmus form has given his son (and eventually each of us) a very dynamic view of the impact of the Angel's appearance to him. Chiasmus appears to me to be a very effective way of telling such a dynamic experience. Don't you think so?

We are not familiar with this writing form. Again, chiasmus was a part of Alma's culture, being a basically Hebrew culture literary form.

It definitely is not a part of our literary culture today. It is my understanding that it wasn't even known by Americans or even the British in Joseph Smith's day.

Again, chiasmus is used extensively in the Bible as the minister of another church taught Elder John Welch and his companion, many years ago. It is very logical that it should be found in the Book of Mormon and it is found there in a good number of places.

Now you have come to an understanding of the chiasmus diagram our Sunday school teacher gave us. Please recognize that this was an exceedingly important account that young Alma (son of the First Alma) gave his son. I'm positive that is why Alma reverted to the use of chiasmus, something he had learned from his culture, an effective way of telling an extremely important event of his life that he felt his son needed to feel strong about too!

Now good readers, this is just one more remarkable piece of evidence that the Book of Mormon is a history of very complex matters that could never have been imagined by a young citizen of the State of New York in the 1820s. Not many in the world at that time were capable of figuring out chiasmus then. It is part of the very important writings contained in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

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DISCLAIMER
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.

____________

TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Open), When You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: An Evidence of the Truth of the Book of Mormon: Chiasmus - Post 18 .When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).

____________



"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est. 2008 Neil Birch

_____________

I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

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.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I have an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

Post 17 - More Evidences of The Book of Mormon's Truth.

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

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TODAY'S THEME

In recent blog posts I have pointed out how the Lord is willing to help each of us overcome our weaknesses and that He often gives us special challenges to help us do that.

I have indicated recently that being united with other members of Jesus Christ's true and authorized church whether it was anciently in the Americas like in the case of the First Alma and those others who believed in the words of the martyred prophet, Abinadi, or in our day, that membership becomes a solid pillar of support to us.

Thinking of the great support my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been to me throughout my 76 years of life, an important symbol comes to mind. That symbol is the Church's Salt Lake Temple. Everytime I see it or a picture or painting of it, I'm reminded of the strength my church membership has given me.

As I told you in Post 14, I lived just across North Temple Street in Salt Lake City, UT in the Church's Primary Children's Hospital from the Salt Lake Temple for 14 months when it was located there years ago. I saw that temple up close every day during that relatively long time. I learned some things about the importance of that sacred building from what I was told at the ages of six and seven while living there.

Of course, now there are, as of August 2008, 126 operating temples world-wide that this church has erected and dedicated, but that building, which took 40 years for our pioneer ancestors to build, to me, is a very special symbol of what my membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints means to me. That is why I chose to insert a picture of it at the beginning of this blog post.

As I began planning to put together this blogpost, I thought back to Posts 1 and 2 in which I referred to a scholar who appeared in the PBS production, "The Mormons" in May 2007.

In those two posts I referred to a man who was introduced by the host of the show as a scholar. I remember his saying, in effect in that video, "Everytime I read the words in the Book of Mormon, I see the farmboy, Joseph Smith in them." It was clear that he was intimating that Joseph Smith had authored the Book of Mormon instead of being the inspired translator of it.

Based on what that scholar said, I indicated then and now again indicate that this scholar must never have read the Book of Mormon.

In an older copy of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, in a pronounciation guide in it (which is not in the Book of Mormon I usually use) I found a list of nouns, most of them being first names that are original nouns in the Book of Mormon which I couldn't find in my Bible Dictionary. I left out the guides to pronounciation in this list because I don't have all the symbols on my laptop keyboard I'd need for them and I didn't think that you'd want to know how to pronounce them.

In that pronouncing guide from which I copied all those nouns, I eliminated a number of nouns that I discovered by checking the Bible dictionary and finding them there. I may have missed a few of them, but I feel that is OK because the people of the Book of Mormon came, for the most part, from Jerusalem. It makes sense that they brought many nouns with them to Ancient America, not only in their personal vocabularies, but also in their Brass Plates which, as I mentioned early on in writing these posts, contain many of the scriptures that are found in our Old Testament.

Please just quickly scan over this list of original Book of Mormon names and ask yourself this question: "How could a State of New York farm boy like Joseph Smith in 1829, who hardly had any schooling at all, make up such a list of original nouns!"

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, Coriantum, Coriantumr, Corihor, Corom, Cumeni, Cumenihah, Cumen, Cumorah, Curelom, Enos, Ephah, Esrom, Ethem, Ether, Ezias, Ezrom, Gad, Gadiandi, Gadianton, Gadiomnah, Gallim, Gazelem, Geba, Gebim, Gibeah, Gid, Giddonah, Giddianhi, Gidgiddonah, Gidgiddoni, Gilead, Gilgah, Gilgal, Gimgimno, Gomorah, Hagoth, Hamath, Hearthom, Helam, Helaman, Helem, Helorum, Hem, Hermounts, Heshlon, Heth, Himni, Horeb, Irreantum, Jacobugath, Jacom, Jarom, Hashon, Jeberechiah, Jeneum, Jothan, Kib, Kim, Kimnor, Kish, Kishkumen, Korihor, Kumen, Kumenonhi, Laban, Lachoneus, Laish, Lamah, Laman, Lamoni, Lehi, Lehonti, Liahona, Lib, Limhah, Limher, Limhi, Limnah, Luram, Madmenah, Mahah, Mahonri, Mani, Mathoni, Mathonihah, Melek, Michmash, Middoni, Midian, Migron, Minon, Mocum, Moriancumer, Morianton, Moriantum, Mormon, Moron, Moroni, Moronihah, Mosiah, Mulek, Muloki, Nahom, Neas, Nehor, Nephi, Nephihah, Neum, Nimrah, Ogath, Omer, Omner, Omni, Onidah, Onihah, Onti, Opher, Oreb, Orihah, Paanchi, Pachus, Pacumeni, Pagag, Pahoran, Pathros, Pekah, Rabbanah, Rahab, Ramah, Ramath, Rameumptom, Remaliah, Rezin, Riplah, Riplakish, Ripliancum, Sariah, Seantum, Sebus, Seezoram, Senine, Senum, Seraphim, Shared, Shazer, Shearjashub, Shelem, Shem, Shemlon, Shemnon, Sherem, Sherrizah, Aheum, Shez, Shiblom, Shiblon, Shiblum, Shiloah, Shilom, Shim, Shimnilon, Shinar, Shiz, Shule, Shum, Shurr, Sidom, Sidon, Sinim, Siron, Teancum, Teomner, Tubaloth, Uriah, Uzziah, Zerahemla, Zebulon, Zeezrom, Zemnarihah, Zenephi, Zeniff, Zenoch, Zenos, Zerahemnah, Zeram, Zerin, Ziff, Zoram.

Wow, some farmboy Joseph Smith must have been to come up with all of those! He didn't. He received each of them, including their spelling through revelation as the Lord guided him in the translation of that sacred book, The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ which book I have emphasized so much in this blog.

I now refer back to Posts 8 and 4 in which I inserted identical links to a presentation made by BYU Scholar, Dr. Daniel C. Peterson of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute For Religious Scholarship in which he so effectively was able to prove that there was no possible way Joseph Smith was copying information he might have received from others as he quoted the words of translation to his scribe.

That list of words above that you just skimmed through is solid evidence that the Book of Mormon is what Joseph Smith and many others from his day, and from our day also, testify is a sacred record delivered to Joseph Smith by an angel of God, Moroni (THERE IS ONE OF THOSE ORIGINAL BOOK OF MORMON NOUNS, MORONI) because the Lord Jesus Christ wanted the whole world in our day to have a companion scripture to the Holy Bible (which bible people of our day unfortunately don't pay enough attention to).

I'm now going to tell you about additional evidences that I personally have noticed as I have read the Book of Mormon that make it very clear that Joseph Smith did not write this sacred book.

Actually, at the BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute For Religious Scholarship, there are great scholars who have done much research to help us see that same truth I wrote in the previous paragraph. I have worked some of Dr. Dan C. Peterson's excellent research into this post, but most of that which you will now read in this post are things that I have discovered from my reading.

For almost 18 years my wife, and I, have read one chapter, most evenings, just before bed time, from the Book of Mormon.

Several weeks ago we were reading from one of the early chapters in the Book of Mormon (one of the sub-books of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ). It was written by the prophet Mormon who was assigned by the Lord Jesus Christ to write an abridgement of all of the records of his people since they first arrived in the Americas from Jerusalem. In this particular book Mormon dwells much on the events of his day.

Mormon, besides being a prophet and abridger of sacred records, was also a general in his people's army and in these specific verses I have chosen for you to read, he tells us the names of specific cities that were on the verge of being destroyed by their enemies, the Lamanites (relatives, but nonetheless, enemies.) Please read Mormon 4:7-8

One of these cities was Teancum. Yep, that name is on that list that I copied for you at the beginning of this post.

How is this an evidence of the truthfulness of this great scripture, the Book of Mormon? Well it makes sense history-wise that nations could name cities after significant people.

Well, Mormon lived until approximately 380 AD, but back in about 60 B.C. we are told in the Book of Alma about one of their national heroes who lost his life while bravely killing an enemy general in the night time. Please read about that: Alma 62:35-37.

In this scripture, written by Mormon, the abridger himself, it is shown that Teancum was a true national hero, worthy of having had a city named after himself.

Could young Joseph Smith have made up this complex historical matter? Of course not.

Now, in the LDS Church (using another nickname for the Church) almost every girl and boy who is active in church attendance or participates in family reading of the Book of Mormon, can quote this following scripture by heart: Please read this one verse: I Nephi 3:7

Well, the words of that verse are a great guideline for both young and old. But when coupled with this next scripture which was also written by the prophet Nephi himself and was not a part of Mormon's abridgement work, it becomes significant evidence of the complexity of this book. In this case Nephi speaks from the frame of reference of the earlier words he had said to his father, Lehi.

These words were said and written about eight years (and 30 pages) later on their (he and other members of Father Lehi's family and their relative, Ishmael's family) long, and difficult eastward journey across the Arabian Peninsula.  I Nephi 17:3

If young Joseph Smith were writing a piece of fiction instead of translating an actual history that he did translate, it would take great writing ability to string together those two parallel thoughts thirty pages later.

Remember, BYU's Dr. Dan Peterson reminds us of the brief time that was used in the translation of this great Book. If I remember correctly, i took about 65 days total. That being the case, how could Joseph have made up all of that intricate history?

Again, Dr. Peterson proves well that there is no evidence at all that Joseph had other documents to copy from while doing his translating, and gives significant evidence that his translation came about because God was involved in the process.

Dr. Peterson also gave significant evidence that Joseph found that he always had to be spiritually in-tune to accomplish the translating the Lord required of him.

There is more to come on this same general subject in the next Blog Post, Part 18, of Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon? I'll try to make it very interesting and helpful.

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DISCLAIMER
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.

____________


TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Decide To Open), When You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: (More) Evidences of The Book of Mormon's Truth -Post 17.When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est. 2008 Neil Birch

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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

If you have any questions about what you have read 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.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

Post 16 - Joseph Smith - Was Being Prepared for His Calling as a Prophet Since Childhood

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

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TODAY'S THEME

As with my personal adversity at a young age which I described in Post 14, and perhaps in the adversities you may have personally faced sometime in your lives, seven year old Joseph Smith had a very adverse circumstance come into his life. Here is a painting of him made after the Lord called him as a prophet.




I believe that the Lord often allows His children here on earth to suffer adversity to allow them to grow in character. I believe such was the case with Joseph Smith, Jr.

Being exposed to a Typhus fever epidemic which raged throughout that part of New Hampshire where his parents' family was living when Joseph, Jr. was seven, Joseph suffered a severe case of osteomylites.

The usual procedure for that medical problem at that time in New England where he and his family were living, was amputation.

Had it not been for the fact that one of the early medical geniuses of this country was located at Dartmouth University, a relatively short horseback ride to Joseph Smith's parents' home, surely Joseph Smith, Jr. would have become an amputee.

It is very doubtful that Joseph Smith, Jr., with one leg amputated, could have ever met the heavy demands that were to be made on him during his lifetime as a prophet of the Lord, or could even have knelt in the grove of trees located not far from their future home in the State of New York where he would seek to ask the Lord which church was true.

It is well documented history that Dr. Nathan Smith, who often extended himself to help those in need of his medical expertise, rode to the Joseph Smith, Sr. home to treat Joseph Smith, Jr. with ten medical students coming along to learn from and to assist the respected doctor and medical school instructor.

At that time Dr. N. Smith was the only doctor in the United States or perhaps anywhere in the world who had developed a procedure for Joseph's kind of case, which could eliminate the need for an amputation.

Dr. Smith's procedure consisted of breaking off the most infected pieces of a patient's infected limb, which in Joseph's case was his left leg, which action allowed replacement growth.

Joseph Smith, Jr., in his history, mentioned that his left leg was weaker than his right leg, but he actually was quite athletic thanks to the remarkable coincidence of the doctor who invented this technique, being located nearby and being willing to help.

I shouldn't have called that a coincidence, I must call it divine intervention. The Lord allows adversity to come into our lives, including the lives of His faithful saints that lived in ancient America and ancient Israel as recorded in the Book of Mormon and in the Holy Bible. When His intervention is needed, as it was in the case of His future prophet, The Lord does amply provide.

It was not only from Joseph's history but also from his mother, Lucy Mack Smith's very accurate history that we have such a detailed record of what happened to young Joseph through the involvement of Dr. Nathan Smith.

It is my personal opinion, perhaps based on my own experience with my TB of the left knee (as explained in my Post 14, that such adversity can actually strengthen a person's will to accomplish challenging things despite adversity or tribulation.

Even in the case of his eventual successful surgery at the hands of the great Dr. Nathan Smith, young Joseph faced very challenging conditions during that surgery which surely was a character strengthening factor he needed. Without Joseph realizing it then, perhaps this experience helped him to begin preparing himself to face the exceedingly great challenges he would face in serving as the Lord's true and authorized representative in restoring His true Gospel to the earth.

I will now briefly describe the great challenge seven year old Joseph had to endure during that surgery. In that day there were no anaesthetics. Perhaps it was Dr. Smith, who suggested that Joseph use alcohol to lessen the effects of the pain, but young Joseph refused. He only wanted his dear father to hold him to prevent him from twisting violently in the extreme agony he was to experience while Dr. Smith chipped pieces of infected bone from his leg.

Thank God for the great Doctor Nathan Smith who not only had rare skills but also cared much for the welfare of his patients.

I want each of you readers of this blog post to know that by the gift of the Holy Ghost which I have received as a baptized, worthy member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I came to know beyond any shadow of a doubt that Joseph Smith became the Lord's prophet through whom He restored His true Church and that it is the only church that our Savior, Jesus Christ acknowledges as His.

I also know that the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, is a true book. I promise you that your Heavenly Father will tell you personally of the truthfulness of all that which I just told you that He told me, if you will ask Him in faith.

Credit is given to the Larry H. Miller Organization for the information regarding the medical assistance given young Joseph Smith Jr. This was provided on the radio program: The Joseph Smith Papers, Sunday evenings beginning at 8:00 p.m. during July 2008 on KJZZ Television, Channel 14 in Salt Lake City, UT.

Now in this post you will have the opportunity of learning how Joseph Smith was led by the Lord to become the prophet of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how he was prepared to translate, by the gift of God, the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

You will also learn that Joseph was led by the Lord to organize the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 6, 1830. Please click on the arrow at the bottom left side of the image box you see below this paragraph. You can adjust loudness as needed. It might help to view this in a well lighted room because of the relatively small image.

You can order a free copy of a DVD on which is the same video you have just viewed, however it has a larger and therefore, a clearer image. Click here to order the DVD.
I have added these photos and paintings below to allow you to see some of the things referred to in the video you have just seen. You can print each of them by right clicking on the picture. Click on print after having your printer turned on.



Seeking Wisdom From the Bible

  


The Sacred Grove



Joseph's Prayer Was Answered

  


The Smith's Family's Log House in Palmyra, New York




The Angel Moroni Appears to Joseph Smith





The Hill Cumorah





The Golden Plates



Joseph Smith Receives the Golden Plates from Moroni

   
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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 To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), When You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: Joseph Smith Was Being Prepared For His Calling. . . Post 16. After The Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est. 2008 Neil Birch
________________


I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.

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.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

Post 15 - In Christ's True Church True Love is Shown

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fourth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

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TODAY'S THEME

We see once again this painting by Arnold Friberg in which we view the happy occasion at the Waters of Mormon where believers in Jesus Christ, because of the teachings of the martyred prophet, Abinadi, through baptism, became members of Christ's Church in ancient America.

In my just previous post, I mentioned how the adversities we go through can often turn out to be blessings in the long run.

In that same post (Post 14) we learned that after having at first being able to be undetected by King Noah and his army, Alma and the People of the Lord were finally discovered by them. This caused them to hastily flee into the wilderness. We also learned that because his army had been reduced in size a little later, King Noah was unable to effectively pursue the People of the Lord's Church.

Furthermore, we learned that King Noah was facing opposition from his own people and particularly from the brave Gideon who wanted King Noah to be killed. Surely Gideon remembered that the prophet Abinadi had prophesied that King Noah would be burned to death as he, Abinadi had been, under King Noah's orders.

We also learned that the Lamanites had battled the people of King Noah who had been replaced by a righteous son, Limhi.

Now, soon in this post we will learn about how the Lord gave Alma and his people the special ability to endure a particularly difficult adversity.

We will lead into this special historical experience they had by reminding you the principles that Alma the First taught the People of Christ as they prepared to be baptized. Please read these verses:

Mosiah 18:8-9

As you attend a sacrament meeting of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in our day, wherever in this world you happen to live, you will find the kind of love being shown by church members for one another as these ancient American Saints were encouraged to show one another in their day. I promise you that you will also feel that same love and willingness to accept you that was shown in that ancient church in America and in the church set up by the Lord's apostles in the Near East where they taught anciently after the Lord's Resurrection and ascent back into Heaven.

There is a little background you need to know about in order to understand this special occasion when the People of the Lord under Alma's guidance showed that they were true saints.

Without going into much detail or even guiding you to scriptures, I feel you need to know that most of the priests of King Noah abandoned their wives and children to save their own lives during a vicious battle with the Lamanites who lived nearby. Much later, while in hiding they happened to find daughters of the Lamanites who were enjoying bathing together on the edge of their kingdom. They captured them and they became their wives. A number of years later those priests came into favor with the King of the Lamanites.

Meanwhile, Alma and his people had found peace and security in a place they called, Helam. The people wanted Alma to be their king but he refused this. He continued to be their spiritual leader.

After awhile Alma and his people were discovered by the Lamanites who assigned Amulon, one of the priests of Noah who had, along with his comrade priests, stolen the daughters of the Lamanites who had become their wives, to supervise Alma and his people of the Lord.

Amulon knew Alma well when they were both priests of King Noah. He also knew that Alma had believed the words of the prophet, Abinadi while he, Amulon, wanted Abinadi killed. He was not concerned for the welfare of Alma and his followers.

I now suggest that you read about a special demonstration of faith in God and in patience during a time of great tribulation for Alma's ( The Lord's people) as Amulon and the other priests of Noah sought to abuse them. This passage of scripture covers one entire chapter therefore it will be convenient to read and listen at the same time.

Mosiah 24:1-25

There, you learned how true saints of God behaved under their inspired leader and prophet, Alma the First, who refused to be their king, but instead remained as their inspired leader and prophet. You learned how the physical burdens they were forced to carry by the evil Amulon, were actually made lighter by the Lord and how they prayed in their hearts instead of vocally to avoid being killed by Amulon and his fellow priests of Noah.

The greatest blessing these good people received was being led by the Lord back to the land of Zarahemla (from where their families had originally come from under the leadership of King Limhi's father-Zeniff) where the king there, Mosiah, warmly welcomed them.

Mormon, the compiler of the records that make up most of the total Book of Mormon, tells us later that Mosiah commissioned Alma the First to set up Jesus Christ's church among his people by baptizing all those who were willing.

These were true saints. I hope each of you will someday have the opportunity of being taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints if you are not yet members. I hope you too will someday, perhaps sooner than later, become a part of the Lord's Latter-day Church which is beginning to fill the earth with the Lord Jesus Christ's loving people.

There are over 13 million members of this church presently. There are more of those members now outside of the United States of America than in the United States of America. I promise when you do become baptized into this church that you will feel more love from fellow members than you have ever felt from others before.

I also promise that you will love your own families more than ever before.

In my post 14 I mentioned the role that adversity or tribulation plays in our lives. I showed that in my younger years I had experienced adversity and that because I had grown in my desire to help others who had suffered adversity.

I asked you to e-mail me telling me how that adversity you may have suffered has helped you to grow and develop and find your place as a very worthwhile person. I haven't heard from any of you yet and invite you to e-mail right away telling me of that in your life. Here is my e-mail address again. Please write it down somewhere so you can tell me of your special experience with adversity and of the results that came from that. jneilmelva@gmail.com/

I will keep any of the information you send me, private, unless you give me permission to include it in one of my future blog posts.

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DISCLAIMER
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 To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), When You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: Alma the Elder Was Guided by the Lord to Establish His Church . . . Post 15. After The Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).

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"Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est. 2008 Neil Birch
____________

 I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.Neil Birch  

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.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Post 14 - Could Adversity Ever Be A Blessing?

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fourth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

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TODAY'S THEME

(I will refer to this photo later.)

In this post we will first check on Alma the First and those who had been baptized as members of the Church of Jesus Christ at the Waters of Mormon to learn what they did soon after being baptized and had founded Christ's church.

Mosiah 18:31-35

Why didn't the Lord set up things so that this faithful group of 450 saints would not have to speedily travel away from the Waters of Mormon into the wilderness to escape King Noah's army? What about the strong words of prophecy that Abinadi uttered about the downfall of King Noah and his priests and the people who continued to follow them? Why could King Noah still be able to continue in his evil ways of preventing true believers from worshipping as they wish? Does the Lord have a purpose in allowing adversity to come upon his people? If so, why?

Examine your own life. Has any adversity you may have faced actually turned out to have had a beneficial effect on you? While you are trying to answer my question let me tell you about some adversity in my life.

Last Friday afternoon while doing my thirty-five minute elliptical exercise(six days a week routine)(keeping my heart rate under 140 beats a minute as my doctor told me 76 year-olds should do, and using two medically implanted new knees - one on December 13, 2002 and the other on February 6, 2008), I saw and heard a good sized group of boys on the basketball court just behind me down on the first floor making all kinds of happy noises while working out in a basketball camp. They were really yelling for joy, the joy of using their bodies to develop skills needed in playing basketball.

I remembered right then, that at that age I would have never been "yelling for joy" like those boys were doing because my doctor, Lucas W. Empey, had on purpose made my left knee stiff. At age five I had contracted Tuberculosis of the left knee because of raw milk that turned out to be infected with TB bacteria we had been buying from a dairy near Roseville, California where I grew up.

To achieve my having a stiff left knee, Doctor Empey put me in traction for most of the rest of my fifth year by attaching pulleys to the outside end of my crib with weights on the ends of ropes that ran over the pulleys and stretched my left knee straight during much of the daytime hours for at least a half a year. This was done because the medical opinion was that only by so doing my leg would be able to grow normally in length. And it did, but it remained stiff for 65 years until the new knee was implanted.

During part of my sixth and seventh years I had a caste on my left knee and spent 14 months away from my family as a patient at the LDS Primary Children's' Hospital which was then located across North Temple Street from Temple Square in Salt Lake City. The photo at the beginning of this post was taken by my mother in the front yard of that hospital.

My parents felt that was the only thing they could do to have my knee treated by specialists and for me to be able to begin attending the first grade (which was taught right there in the hospital).

My Mother and Father and my brother who was two years younger than me lived 700 miles to the West from me. Whenever my mother would kiss me goodbye after visiting me for several days at the Children's' Hospital most every month, I cried, at times, almost uncontrollably.

Here is a second photograph of me as a seven year old here. It was taken by a Deseret News photographer for an article in their March 18, 1939 issue. The cake was given to the children at the Primary Children's' Hospital to eat. This cake memorialized the Salt Lake Exchange Club's sixteenth anniversary. I'm the second boy from the right. My mother drew an arrow above me. I guess I was supposed to have a happy look on my face, but I don't think that is the kind of look I'm showing. Being away from home for fourteen months was tough.
I did very well in the first grade that was held at the hospital and there were many loving, caring nurses and I developed some good relationships with other children. Church meetings including Primary were held regularly. I learned to love our Savior, Jesus Christ, while there.

The adversity I went through during that time and to some extent all the time I was growing up because of that stiff knee, was actually something that shaped my life in a positive direction.

In the Church of Jesus Christ there is a worthy man in every stake of the church whose responsibility it is to give patriarchal blessings from the Lord to individuals in the Church who desire to receive one. I received such a blessing when I was ten years old.
Let me quote a small portion of that blessing:

"...these things which have come unto you (my stiff knee and the challenges that came with that) will be for your good. For you shall develop patience and shall have a kindly spirit towards your fellow man, and love for your fellow man in his affliction shall be great in your heart." (I added that which is parenthesized.)

I shed some tears as I typed those words just now. That Patriarchal Blessing was a true prophecy!

I'm adding this paragraph later. Yesterday at a family reunion two female cousins of mine reminded me of a song my mother had sung to each of them as they were growing up, telling them each that it was what she would sing to me when I was down emotionally. This is it:

HAPPINESS (By Mr. and Mrs. N.W. Cristiansen) I am happy today for the sunshine, for the skys of gray or blue. For within my heart is a song of life. I'll live, I'll work, I'll do.

No cloud can cast a shadow over courage such as mine. For I'll sing this song as I go along. I'll live, I'll work, I'll do.

Now back to my goal of reporting on the outcome of the adversity that came to the people of the Lord who were led by the prophet, Alma, the First. Also, you will want to know about the fulfilling of the prophecies regarding the downfall of King Noah and his priests. Please read this scriptural reference to learn some answers to those questions. You may want to Listen to this chapter also.

Mosiah 19:1-29

Now we've just learned that the prophecies against King Noah had begun to be fulfilled. His army was reduced in size and therefore can't continue pursuing Alma the First and The People of the Lord. Also, serious trouble with the Lamanites is reported. King Limhi, Noah's more righteous son along with a strong advisor, Gideon, negotiates a peace with the Lamanite King. The Lamanites demand and receive a huge tribute of 50% of everything King Limhi's people earn. King Noah is killed by fire as prophesied by Abinadi. He was cowardly in commanding the men to leave their wives and children in the hands of the Lamanites and escaping into the wilderness. The Lord's prophecy through Abinadi is really coming through now!

I find it time to close this post. I eagerly look forward in Post 15 to continuing to help us learn about how the Lord helped His people who are led by his prophet, Alma the First, through their adversities. I particularly want us to learn how these adversities helped them to grow and develop spiritually. Bright futures are often the result of having gone through tribulation.By the way, what was the answer you gave to the question I asked you above, "Has any adversity you may have faced actually turned out to have had a beneficial effect on you?" If you would like you could e-mail your answer to me at: jneilmelva@gmail.com/ I will keep your answer confidential and not share it on my blog unless you ask me to do so.

I look forward to writing Post 15 as soon as possible. The Book of Mormon, this book of books, teaches great lessons the Lord Jesus Christ wants each of us to learn. Thank you Mormon, and thank you, Lord. I hope you blog readers recognize as we go through these writings of Mormon, how similar in style and in culture the accounts are to those in the Old Testament. After all the Nephites and Lamanites culture derived from the culture of ancient Israel.


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DISCLAIMER
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 To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), When You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: Could Adversity Ever Be a Blessing? -Post 14; After The Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).

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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.


If you have any questions about what you have read 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.I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its contents have been translated from this English blog.

Neil Birch