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

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

The Book of Mormon, Alma 34:32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.



The Resurrected Jesus Christ Instructs the Faithful Nephite-Lamanites -by John Scott

 As promised, I will review soon that which the Lord told the Nephites (and all readers of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ) in the last linked scripture in post 33e, III Nephi, Chapter 14.

First, however let me say that the meaningful statement given in the THEME FOR THE DAY above would probably be said by many in our day: "Don't procrastinate your repentance!"

Which one helps you most? I like both, but I appreciate especially the words of the Book of Mormon prophet, Amulek, given in that scripture. It has more feeling to it and is a more specific definition. What's your preference? I suggest that if you want to voice your opinion, you make a comment at the end of this post where it says: COMMENTS. That word, turns from blue to red when you click on it in case these matters are new to you like they have fairly recently been to me. You are welcome to use that blog feature whenever you have anything to say about anything you have read in my posts. Or feel free to contact me more privately through my e-mail address which is found in the end section of each of my posts. If you do that I won't share your e-mail address with anyone. You can count on that! I live by the words of that thought for the day so you can count on me.

I read Chapter 14 of Third Nephi that you may have read and listened to when you read the previous post. I used especially my tip 2 from the previous post (33e). I'm sure you'll agree with me that were we to live by Jesus' guidance given then, which was given basically in the same words to those who heard Him teach in Palestine during His earthly ministry, that we would be at great peace with our God and ourselves. I'm quoting the last four verses.

24 Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock—

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand—

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

Now after I finished reading Chapter 14, I re-read and listened to chapter fifteen of Third Nephi. I have just the last few days read it more than once. I think I read it three times altogether. Then I read chapter sixteen several times. Then I kept going at this one sitting which I am still in and read and listened to each chapter from 17 through 30 which is the last chapter of Third Nephi. As I read all of them I was fully involved emotionally and spiritually. I will cover those chapters with you in later posts. They are very exceptional chapters and I believe you will marvel over what is written in them.
Those three tips I gave you in the previous post were really working for me. I was totally non-bored and very deeply touched by our Savior's words even though I have read them many times before.

My wife, Melva, and I have read continuously through the entire Book of Mormon for eighteen years, through easy and through difficult times. I know this book is the word of God, written by one of His holy prophets, Mormon, using the records of many other prophets who preceded him, and finished by his faithful son, Moroni who hid the golden plates, upon which the Book of Mormon was written, in New York State (U.S.A.) in a place where he led young Joseph Smith, Jr. to view them and then a few years later to take them out of their centuries long hiding place in order to translate them.

Moroni Delivers the Plates of Gold to Joseph Smith -by Kenneth Riley

As you have read, Moroni prepared Joseph to translate them. Joseph was successful in doing that and it was by the gift and power of God that he he was able to do so. I again refer you to the Daniel Peterson video which is available in posts four and eight in this blog. The evidence is clear that young Joseph Smith translated the words of the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God through the scriptures referred to by me in this blog, I'm sure you recognize that which was written, was true history and no young, uneducated man, could have ever made it up.

Dr. Daniel Peterson, of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute of BYU, in his video (mentioned above) demonstrates clearly that all the evidence shows that there were no other records available to Joseph Smith from which he could have taken his translation. This information comes from reliable witnesses who were often in and around the house where the translation took place.

There are very many factual accuracies in the Book of Mormon such as the accurate description given in III Nephi Chapter 8 of the seismic cataclysm that destroyed the more unrighteous portion of the Nephite Nation prior to our Redeemer's arrival there.

Please refer to my post 32b, page 4, fourth paragraph, to read what modern scientists had to say about the accuracy of the description of that disaster given us in that chapter of III Nephi, cited above. They are experts on such events because they, using modern instruments have studied similar relatively rare events in our day throughout the world.

I have to reflect back, right at this point, to the PBS video, "The Mormons" that was presented on Television in May of 2007. I referred to that in my first two posts which are still available to you, to the "so-called scholar", who actually said something to the effect, that every time he picks up the Book of Mormon and reads it, he knows he is reading the words made up by an unschooled farm boy who was basically very ignorant of scholarly things. You, having read much of the book of Mormon while reading my blog posts, know that his statement is false. That which is written in the Book of Mormon could never have been made up by an unschooled farm boy!

I have always questioned that this man had even ever read anything in the Book of Mormon. I agree with that "so-called" scholar, however, that Joseph Smith, particularly at the age when he translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God, in great measure, was basically ignorant of scholarly things.

That doesn't concern me and millions upon millions of faithful Latter-day Saints, among the living and among the dead who have read the Book of Mormon many times in their lives and received guidance in living as Jesus Christ desires all of us to live in order to be prepared for Eternal life, His greatest of gifts for mankind.

Our Savior also re-established His church, through Joseph Smith, which He originally had established during His mortal ministry. This was needed because men had changed the church and its teachings which had been established by Jesus Christ during His mortal existence and then brought by his apostles to the near-Asian world of their day with much zeal and inspiration and with much success, particularly among the Gentiles.

After the time of the death of Jesus' apostles, including the great apostle Paul, the church was changed by men according to their whims and desires and therefore no longer was Christ's church. They had the Holy Bible and a form of godliness, but they denied the spiritual power of Christ's true church. That is why you never hear about the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation from any other church, except when they are reading about that from the scriptures, which includes the Book of Mormon. That Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation was such a crucial part of the original church. Many churches today teach that direct revelation from God is no longer needed.

That great Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation is an integral part of the church re-established through the Prophet Joseph Smith and led by subsequent LDS prophets to this day and will continue being so until the Lord comes at His Second Coming to meet His people who will be anxiously waiting for Him. I look forward to seeing many of you, my blog readers, among that number.

You may find the following scripture, Chapter 15 of Third Nephi to be particularly interesting. I would like you to read and listen to it (I will discuss this important chapter with you in the next post. III Nephi 15:1-24
____________

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

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. 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

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

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

***

TODAY'S THEME

HOW WE CAN MAKE SCRIPTURE READING NON-BORING.
(Reading through this post will lead you to my three special tips, Each highlighted in blue)

The Resurrected Lord Jesus Christ Descends to Meet with Faithful Nephites -by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

This picture is an unknown (to me) artist's depiction of Jesus as He descended from Heaven to meet with that portion of the Nephite people who lived sufficiently worthy lives to survive the devastating disaster that had killed a very large number of people in their land in ancient Central America.

After the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ had been with these very blessed Nephites for just a relatively short time. He had the divine love and patience to invite each one of the approximately 2,500 people there with Him to personally "thrust their hands into His side, and feel the prints of the nails in His hands and in His feet." (III Nephi 11:14-15)

Jesus then called twelve men to serve as his disciples or apostles, special witnesses of Jesus Christ in their part of the world. I just have to comment on what I just told you Jesus did.

He didn't ask to interview all of the potential disciple-apostles before choosing them. He didn't ask for a resume from any of them. He just knew, because of the divine gift of Prophecy and Revelation which emanates from Him, His Father and the Holy Ghost (the Holy Godhead) who He should call to that very important calling.

Jesus had been teaching the Nephites principles that he had taught during His mortal life in Palestine, such as in His "Sermon on the Mount" and in His "beatitudes." He also taught them that contention "is of the devil" and that they should be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost.

His teaching those same principles to the Nephites in the Americas which He had taught in Palestine, emphasizes the importance of those principles to us.

He is not a changing God, He is consistent. If He had met with us or if one of His authorized representatives had met with us, we would be told that we shouldn't dispute with with one another and should be baptized by those truly authorized by Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by men who are authorized by Him.

Because we are privileged to gain an insight into what God's only Begotten Son thinks mortals should hear, we should know that we should pay strict attention to what Jesus Christ is teaching these Nephites. But, you may be thinking, "I've read all of that before and to do so again would be boring!"

My First Special Tip: When reading the words of the Savior, try this, imagine what it would be like being right there, with the Nephites. You would see the glow in His features that comes from the love that he has for them and for us, love that led Him to suffer for the sins of all Humanity. 

Now, before reading Chapter 13 from III Nephi I've provided below, I suggest that you fold your arms, close your eyes and say a short prayer asking Heavenly Father to help you really feel Jesus' love as you read and hear His words to the Nephites. Try to imagine like I suggested in the previous paragraph the pure glow on His face. (Also I suggest that when the scripture is on your computer screen, scroll up and on the left click on the word, Listen. That will help you better focus on these important and sacred matters.) III Nephi 13:1-34

(Practice by focusing earnestly on this verse of scripture: Luke 22:44: "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.")

Hopefully when you practiced focusing on that verse you felt as if you were right there observing what Jesus suffered for each of us (for all mankind).

Before working hard in devising these three tips beginning Saturday, yesterday, (It's Sunday evening now) to help you make scripture reading non-boring, I read and listened, to III  Nephi Chapter 13 three times. I found that I had to struggle to really absorb what Jesus taught the Nephites. I've read those teachings so many times in my life, mostly from the New Testament, but also from the Book of Mormon, so I have to wonder why I didn't sense the strong impact I think that should have had on me right then. After having read this paragraph you might tell me to follow my own advice I gave you above in my first tip. - I'm sure You are Right on!

In trying to answer why I wasn't reading with intensity and understanding, (this is leading us to Tip 2.)  I remembered that when I was about ten or eleven, living in Roseville, California when those teachings of the Savior to the Nephites might have meant much more to me at that time of my life than a few years later (despite my relatively young age of ten or eleven). It was in about early 1942.

World War II was the big news then and was of very great concern in this (U.S.A.) and in many other nations. I had lots of personal concerns. One of my serious concerns was that my father might be drafted to serve in the U.S. armed forces. My mother had mentioned this possibility to me and my two brothers, one who is two years younger than me and one who had been born in 1940.

Neither of my brothers, were really old enough to know much about what World War II could mean to them. With me being almost ten I had really began feeling strongly about what the war meant to us as a family.

I continued worrying about my father being "drafted" to serve in the military, but after awhile, my father was able to discuss that concern of mine with me, when he finally had the time to talk with me. (He worked so much overtime with there being so many troop trains and war supplies being shipped by railway in those days.)

My Dad helped me significantly lessen that concern by telling me that, as a Southern Pacific Railroad clerk in a very key railroad terminal in the American West, (it was the largest railway terminal in the U.S.A. west of the Mississippi River at that time and most likely still is) his skills were a vital part of the war effort and he wouldn't be "drafted." That brought peace to my mind on that worrisome subject.

Another matter, that was often talked about on the radio (there was no TV then), was that the Japanese might invade our state, California, which at that time was the most westerly of all the 48 states in the U.S.A. Our state was then the nearest to Japan with Hawaii not yet being a state.)

In my young mind I, at times, imagined Japanese troops sweeping into Roseville which is only about 110 miles from San Francisco. That big concern kept coming back to my mind, but finally went away. It was very sad to see newscasts at the local movie theater (no TV then) showing the deaths of soldiers of both Japan and the U.S. in the islands of the Pacific Ocean.

About that time there was a Sunday afternoon radio broadcast that I was drawn to. Hold on: I just now stopped typing and involuntarily cried silently for several minutes while thinking about what I was going to type next. I think what I have to tell you now may have value to each of you who have just read the Savior's teachings to the Nephites in that chapter I just asked you to read and listen to.

But first let's go back to my telling about that Sunday afternoon radio program.

(Tip 2): Please Put yourself mentally and emotionally, to the best of your ability, in the place of the people or individual about which you are reading in a scripture. In other words, pay attention to the details of what is going on.

Focus intensely on the details of the teachings or experience which is being presented in the scripture you are reading. Try to really understand it very well. (Suggestion: This tip may assist you to be non-bored as you read the scripture you will be reading after clicking on the scripture linked below.)

I was strongly drawn to a certain radio program for quite a few months after discovering it on a radio station when I was nine or ten years old. I'm not sure who was sponsoring it. The title of the program might have been: "Our Savior's Voice." Events from the New Testament were acted out over the radio. When the man who was to speak what the Savior had to say, which were exact quotes from the New Testament, we would hear a special sound effect to his voice which made listeners pay more attention to what He had said through the man playing His part. The ten year old me really paid close attention to every word that was read by the actor playing the part of our Savior. I had a good reason to pay close attention, because I was drawn emotionally and spiritually to the Savior.

It was during this time of my life when the World War seemed so very threatening to the ten year old me, that the teachings of our Savior, Jesus Christ which I heard on that Sunday program each week began to really cause me to "feel" (a key word which will help you utilize my "three tips" is the meaning of what I heard Jesus' "voice" telling me. I wish that feeling about what He had taught had stayed in me as strongly while going through my teen-age concerns, etc. My weeping today mentioned above came because I remembered the feelings I had when listening to that radio program. I realized I was strengthened when listening to someone taking the part of our Savior. The special sound effects, mentioned above, helped. He had become real to me. I attended church regularly with my family, but radio had a greater effect on me then than my Sunday school and primary teachers. My parents didn't really notice the radio program I was listening to.

Now those experiences early in my life is what helped me realize that the Nephites, listening to the resurrected Savior's voice, having just barely survived a great cataclysmic destruction that had killed huge numbers of their people, some of whom were close relatives to one another, helped me to become emotionally and spiritually prepared by what they had just been through for what He was to soon teach them.


Like me and my concerns about how World War II might be effecting me and my family, those Nephites, the Savior was teaching, had deep emotions that had come to the surface in their lives. In other words, the Savior came to them at a very teachable point in their lives. As we read these coming words of the Savior, our lives are probably proceeding rather normally so perhaps we won't find it easy to pay attention mentally and emotionally to these hugely significant words of His. But those Nephites paid attention. We too can pay better attention by drawing on those deep feelings that are surely somewhere perhaps deeply within ourselves!

As we continue reading through the written record in III Nephi, we will learn that our resurrected Savior's visit had a tremendously positive effect on the lives of these Nephites and on the lives of their posterity for about two hundred years. Think of that: For Two Hundred Years! You'll read more of that later.

Hopefully, my tips applied fastidiously to what I have just written has prepared you to read this next scripture with more feeling and intensity than when you read the previous scripture. I hope so. I have already read and listened to this next one two or three times late yesterday after remembering my concerns about how World War II was making me as a youngster worry, and that really helped me feel more intensely about what I was reading. (Please consider clicking on the word, Listen located in the upper left hand side of your screen after you have clicked on the next scripture below:

Are you and I at a very teachable point in our lives? A good question to answer.

Recalling times during which you were very emotionally and perhaps actually spiritually involved, could help you become more actively involved (instead of being bored) as you read scriptures, especially those involving our Savior and His prophets and followers. It does require effort on your part!

Tip 3 Seek the Lord in sincere and earnest prayer asking Him to guide your thoughts and your feelings by His Spirit so as to help you understand and apply in your own life the principles taught in the scripture you are reading. I have listed this last, but surely it ought to be #1 on my list of tips.

I have listed my three closely related tips here as a summary of what you have just read in this post: I have listed them here in order of importance in my opinion!

SUMMARY LIST OF TIPS:

1. Pray for Heavenly Father to help you feel the spirit while reading a particular scripture.

2. Put yourself in place of the story--imagine that you are there.

3. Focus intently on the details of the teaching.


(Suggestion: Try applying my 3 tips to the best of your ability after reading this scripture! III Nephi 14:1-27 Perhaps I will review some of that with you in the next post.

I trust that your spiritual and emotional involvement in reading that chapter was at a significantly higher level by having applied those tips of mine. Hopefully they are now, each of them, a regular part of your scripture reading skills! I think they are each now functioning more fully as a part of my scripture reading skills.

____________


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 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 (A Twenty Post Series) -Post 33e. 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.)

____________


"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 Legal /Statement.
_____________

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

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. 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

33d - The Resurrected Jesus Christ's Ministry in Ancient America. - Some Background Information!

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

Father Lehi Prophesying in 600 B.C. -by Del Parson

In this recent series of blog posts we have been learning from the words of the prophet, Mormon, who, on instructions from the Lord, Jesus Christ, compiled the Book of Mormon using records others had written beginning about one thousand years before his time.

You have been learning that our Savior, Jesus Christ follows a divinely wise plan in guiding all His willing followers to salvation and Eternal Life. You are seeing that He is successful. He does His part perfectly and then we are called upon to do our part to the very best of our ability in keeping His commandments and being guided by His Holy Spirit, thus showing our profound gratitude for the grace He grants us through His atonement and the promise of our resurrection.

Between 588 and 570 B.C., Lehi prophesied regarding a part of our Savior's plan which directly deals with the eternal destiny of many of his own posterity and the rest of us who live in our day and time. After reading (and listening to) this following scripture I will provide you with a summary of key items from Lehi's prophecy, II Nephi 3:1-25

1. Lehi and his family are descendants of Joseph who was sold into Egypt.

2. The Lord promised that Joseph that He, the Lord, would appear to his descendants in their promised land (in the Western Hemisphere) after His death and resurrection.

3. The Lord promised to raise up a choice seer to help Lehi's descendants in the latter-days.

4. That seer would only do the work the Lord gave him to do.

5. That seer would, like Moses, deliver his people, Israel, from bondage.

6. That seer would bring forth the Lord's word, (the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ) which will confirm the truth of a first book of scriptures, (the Holy Bible.)

7. Lehi told his youngest son, Joseph, that religious confusion would be stopped among their descendants in the last days, when those two scriptures are used together.

8. The Lord told the ancient prophet, Joseph, (who had been sold into Egypt) that the efforts of others to destroy that seer of the latter-days would be prevented until that seer had finished the work assigned him by the Lord.

9. This promised seer would also be named Joseph as would his father.

10. The work done by this promised seer will bring salvation to this ancient Joseph's descendants as prophesied, and bring about the gathering of righteous Israel.

11. The Lord promised the ancient Joseph that his posterity would last forever.

12. The ancient Joseph's descendants' words shall "cry from the dust" to be heard by his posterity in the latter-days. The golden plates containing the Book of Mormon have and will continue doing that.

I am beginning this post on Christmas Day 2008, after all the visiting children and grandchildren have left. Its been a very good day. Family is special!

Joseph Smith Sees the Father and His Son Jesus Christ -by Del Parson

Two days ago there was a birthday for the latter-day prophet mentioned in Father Lehi's prophecy above. Joseph Smith, Jr.'s 203'rd birthday was December 23, of this year, 2008.

Joseph Smith, Jr. is such an important and crucial link in the development of our Savior, Jesus Christ's work plan to bring about "the immortality and eternal life of men" in our day, through the gifts of the spirit given him, beginning with his special assignment in translating The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

The Painting above is an LDS artist's conception of Joseph Smith's First Vision which occurred when he was almost fifteen years old. Later in this post you will have the opportunity of reading of that sublime experience and about that which came from it.

We have been celebrating our Savior's birth in these blog posts for at least this past month and clearly showing how He continues to lead His great work personally through prophets whom He has called and continues to guide in our day and time.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrate with the rest of the Christian World, December 25th of each year, as the Savior's birthday. However, through the Spirit of Prophecy, the testimony of Jesus, (Revelation 19:10), He has informed us through His first latter-day prophet, Joseph Smith, that His birthday was actually April 6th.

That juggling of the date of Christmas occurred years after all of Jesus' apostles from Palestine were either killed or died, after which His Holy Church and teachings on the Eastern Continent were changed by men. This was true too regarding His Church in the Western Hemisphere among the Nephites, but His Church was eventually re-established in 1830 by the Savior, through His modern day prophet, Joseph, to whom He gave great responsibility.

Please read this Latter-day scripture. This is longer than usual. As usual, using the Listen function will make your reading more enjoyable. If you decide to read it in portions you will not be able to used the Listen function because the reading voice always begins at the first verse of the chapter. I will add pictures of various connected events and circumstances to make your reading and listening more interesting.

 js h/1/1-75

Joseph Smith Sought to Find True Religion by Searching the Bible -by Dale Kilbourn 

The Angel Moroni Appears to Joseph Smith -by Tom Lovell

Joseph Smith Receives the Golden Plates from Moroni -by Kenneth Riley

Joseph Smith Translating the Book of Mormon -by Del Parson



Emma Smith, Joseph's Wife -by Lee Greene Richards



Joseph Smith the Prophet -by Alvin Gittins

___________



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 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 33d. 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.)

____________


"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 Legal /Statement.

_____________

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

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. 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

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

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

The Resurrected Jesus -by Harry Anderson

In this, the third post in a series in which we are learning about the Savior's Ministry among the descendants of Father Lehi, the Nephites of ancient Central America; I will make an effort to help us understand just what our Resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ's plan was during this extended visit to this group of people who lived in the Western Hemisphere of this earth. Actually, it was a series of visits in a relatively short span of time.

I will quote a scripture I have used before in several other blog posts to describe what our Savior's sacred "job description" is.

Moses 1:39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

When our Savior, undertakes to save those who are of His sheep fold, it is sure that He sets a plan that will bring about their being saved if they, His followers, continue to live worthy of being saved. The scriptures emphasize the free agency of mankind.

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Those of His sheep who were in Palestine, chose to follow Him faithfully and were witnesses of His atonement and resurrection. The Lord was successful in teaching and preparing them, and then left the work in their hands of preaching the gospel to others of the House of Israel and afterwards, to the Gentiles too. The Savior then went on to the Western Hemisphere to gather his "other sheep" about which He had told them (John 10:16).

However, His apostles and other followers in Palestine did not understand Him. We understand Him because in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, He told the Nephites to whom He came, this:

III Nephi 15: 21 And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

22 And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles; for they understood not that the Gentiles should be converted through their preaching.

23 And they understood me not that I said they shall hear my voice; and they understood me not that the Gentiles should not at any time hear my voice—that I should not manifest myself unto them save it were by the Holy Ghost.

24 But behold, ye have both heard my voice, and seen me; and ye are my sheep, and ye are numbered among those whom the Father hath given me.

The Nephites had been helped since the days of Father Lehi and His fourth son Nephi, and fifth son, Jacob, to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ to visit their descendants in their promised land located in the Western Hemisphere, and most likely, in what we now call Central America. This preparation was helped by all of the many prophets among them over the 634 years from when they left Jerusalem to when the Savior appeared to them shortly after His resurrection.

The key prophet who worked very hard to prepare them from not long before our Savior's birth was also named Nephi, as was his father. He was a direct descendant of Nephi, the son of Lehi. Now, the bigger picture of what was happening among the Nephites of which our Lord and Savior had full knowledge was that while those who were being prepared through the prophecies and teachings of faithful Nephi, there were many Nephites who were scorning the words of the prophet Nephi. Here is one example of Nephi's righteous priesthood power:

III Nephi 7:18 And it came to pass that they were angry with him, even because he had greater power than they, for it were not possible that they could disbelieve his words, for so great was his faith on the Lord Jesus Christ that angels did minister unto him daily.

19 And in the name of Jesus did he cast out devils and unclean spirits; and even his brother did he raise from the dead, after he had been stoned and suffered death by the people.

You may remember that they had been foiled in their plot to execute all the believers in the prophecies of Samuel the Lamanite prophet if the signs he had prophesied of showing the coming of the Lord did not come before a certain day.

You have read before in these posts, that after praying all day long this prophet Nephi was told by the voice of the Lord that he would be born the following day and that the signs would all be shown as Samuel had prophesied. When these signs that had been prophesied of appeared, the planned executions were foiled and it was those who had chosen not to follow the prophets who were distraught:

III Nephi 1:16 And there were many, who had not believed the words of the prophets, who fell to the earth and became as if they were dead, for they knew that the great plan of destruction which they had laid for those who believed in the words of the prophets had been frustrated; for the sign which had been given was already at hand.

The holy scriptures, both of the Old World, the Bible, and the Book of Mormon in the New World are filled with examples of natural disasters such as the great flood of Noah's day that eliminated all human life except for Noah and his family. God, Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ allowed that because most all living souls had rejected His way of life and instead had fully endorsed Satan's plans for their lives.

Mortal life is something which Satan and his followers wouldn't have because they had rejected their (and our)Heavenly Father's plan which had been endorsed by and defended by Jesus Christ at the time we were all (including Satan and his followers) in the spirit world where we all had spirit bodies because this earth had not yet be formed.

Noah and his family lived righteously for a time and then the pattern of apostasy which has been repeated often in this world's often sad history, raised its ugly head once again.

Well, we find that pattern of apostasy in great measure had taken place in the Western Hemisphere. The unbelievers who lived according to their lusts and unrighteous desires suffered the consequences of their choices. I'd like you to read and listen to Chapter 8 of III Nephi from the Book of Mormon again so you can remember more clearly what their choices of living styles brought them. Its not a very pretty picture:

III Nephi 8: 1-25

Now, after having read that many times in my life, reading and listening to it again made me shudder and grieve for those who died in the destruction they had, in effect, brought upon themselves as was the case of the many millions of lives lost in the great flood of Noah's day.

Now would be the best time for you and me to read and listen to the next chapter in which we learn that the people who remained alive after the cataclysmic seismic event had taken the lives of so many, heard the voice of Jesus Christ speaking to them. You may have listened to and read this chapter in connection with an earlier post of mine. Please listen again! After really absorbing this next scripture you will much better understand why the Nephites to whom the resurrected Jesus appeared, were so teachable and willing to obey Him.

We will continue learning more about the Savior's words and actions and the reactions of the Nephite people.

For sure the Savior had a plan and it would surely result in eternal blessings to this people whom He was visiting and to their posterity. Wait and see! You can't even begin to imagine the great results that would come from His visits with them!

III Nephi 9:1-22

I realize that you may have read and listened to both of these chapters in an earlier post. However, I wanted you to read them both again to understand that the events described in them really tell us much about the divine plan our Savior, Jesus Christ had for this people that would result in over two hundred years of righteous living and eternal salvation for millions of Nephites!


____________




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 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 33c. 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.)

___________


"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 Legal /Statement.
____________

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

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. 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

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

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

Jesus Christ Visits in the Americas -by John Scott

You now have the special opportunity of reading more of the initial teachings Jesus gave the Nephite people in His visit with them in their homeland in the Western Hemisphere not long after His resurrection in Jerusalem.

You will first read of Jesus' call to twelve men to be His disciples (apostles) who were to serve the people there.

Being that you are most likely acquainted with the four Gospels of the New Testament, you may recognize right away that the teachings you will now read, are teachings that He gave to the people in Palestine when He was still in mortality. It only makes sense that the Savior of the World would teach the same things to this branch of the House of Israel (some of the other sheep of his fold - John 10:16) as He had taught His flock in Palestine during His mortality.

This demonstrates that He is the same person as before, with the exception being, that He is now resurrected and glorified for all eternity.

I invite you now to read the following scripture: (Using the Listen function should help you.) III Nephi 12: 1-48

I remind you, that which is written in each chapter in the greater portion of the Book of Mormon is a summary by the prophet Mormon. In this sub-book, III Nephi, Mormon has made it clear that his record is taken from the writings of this prophet, Nephi who was chosen by our Savior as one of his twelve disciples in that land.

In this particular chapter which you have just read and listened to, in my opinion each principle the Lord Jesus Christ taught the Nephites, applies equally to you and me. Do you agree? When we live by each of these principles in the spirit by which He taught them, we can be sure of rich spiritual blessings and then and in time, be promised eternal life by Him.

That which I shall now highlight for you is something that may not directly apply in our lives, but perhaps you can see some application as you contemplate that which Jesus spoke to the Nephites:

III Nephi 12: 46 Therefore those things which were of old time, which were under the law, in me are all fulfilled.

47 Old things are done away, and all things have become new.

48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.

I imagine that none of you, as is the case with me, have ever lived under the Law of Moses. Therefore we can't imagine very easily the perhaps difficult transition these Nephites were being asked to make. However, reading some of the Apostle Paul's words regarding the difficulty the people he was teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, had, in giving up living by the Law of Moses, should help us understand the necessity of Jesus saying what He did in verses 46 and 47 above to these Israelites who had also been living the Law of Moses before and since their ancestor, Lehi had left Jerusalem.

New Testament: Galatians 3: 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Perhaps our Savior's words, "Old things are done away, and all things have become new," are very applicable to us. Don't we understand these principles more clearly, or like new, after we have really focused on what He said to the Nephites?

I suppose there is much which you have read in this blog post today that should have helped you and me more fully realize that these people, the Nephites, truly existed, and were another part of Jesus' flock which He chose, at that time, to visit and teach. Hopefully, we have learned that we must learn and live more fully the same principles He taught them.

I have a special love for the Nephite-Lamanite people and their descendants. I worked for a good number of years for the Indian Placement Service of the LDS (Mormon) Church, where LDS American Indian children were helped to improve the quality of their education by living with a volunteer LDS foster family during the school year, and then returning home to their own families on the "Indian Reservations" (where the schools, at that time, were generally not of very high quality) for the summer vacation.

Also at that time LDS branches and wards on or near the Indian Reservations often had difficulty functioning because of the lack of experienced leadership.

I have at times, wondered who the other lost sheep were who were also of our Savior's flock that He refers to in John 10:16. Early in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ in His pre-mortal life, said the following to Nephi, the fourth son of Lehi that doesn't answer my question but does promise an answer in the future:

II Nephi 29:13 And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.

I remind you of the inspiring and uplifting Christmas Video I embedded at the end of my just previous blog post (#33a). In case you haven't seen that, I suggest you scroll down through this post to that post. You'll find it near its end. I promise you that it will be a very worthwhile experience.

____________



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 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 33b. 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.)

___________


"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 Legal /Statement.

____________

I deeply appreciate your readership and very much hope you you will find that which was presented to you in these, my blog posts, very beneficial.

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. 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

33a - The Resurrected Jesus Christ's Ministry in Ancient America Begins!

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

Note: At the Bottom of this post you will find a special musical video which will help me and you feel the true spirit of Christmas. Be sure to read and view this post which is about our Savior, Jesus Christ, either before or after viewing the video.

The Resurrected Jesus Christ Descends from the Sky in Central America A.D. 34 -by Arnold Friberg

Please read the scripture I have listed just below the Harry Anderson painting of Jesus Christ, showing Him just after He had descended from the sky to visit with the more righteous Nephites. That scripture will allow you to read and listen to what the Nephite people experienced near the temple in their Land, Bountiful, somewhere in what we now call Central America.

The scene depicted just above shows the Lord Jesus Christ just before descending from the sky to begin His ministry among them. (That scene shows that resurrected bodies are capable of doing things that mortal bodies are incapable of. - We all will eventually be resurrected: I Corinthians 6:14; I Corinthians 15:21-26)

The Lord Jesus Christ -by Harry Anderson

Please read this scripture. It will be convenient to Listen to it also. III Nephi 11:1-41

Once again the Nephite people saw sure evidence of the truthfulness of prophecies made through- out their lives. Now, they would witness the fulfillment of prophecies concerning important events that would change and greatly improve their lives and give them an appreciation of the privilege of their each having become actual witnesses of their Resurrected Lord and Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

They were to know and become dedicated followers of Him who had very recently become the first person ever to experience resurrection from the dead; Jesus Christ, who had atoned for all men's sins as their Nephite prophets had prophesied for centuries in that general area of the world we know as the Central American area.

To see the resurrected Lord descend from the sky and then stand before them must have reassured these Nephites immensely and helped each of them know that things were going the way they were supposed to despite there having been such horrendous destruction caused in their land by the seismic experience that had resulted in the death of so many, who were the more unrighteous part of their people (as described in chapters eight and nine of III Nephi).

Any fears they might have had as they first heard a voice speaking to them from the sky, were now certainly gone. Ask yourself how you would have felt if you had been there with them. This was a real event although much different than which they, with the exception of their prophet, Nephi, had ever before experienced.

Let's focus some on what was written which we read and listened to in the scripture above:

III Nephi 11: 6 And behold, the third time they did understand the voice which they heard; and it said unto them:

7 Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him.

8 And it came to pass, as they understood they cast their eyes up again towards heaven; and behold, they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and he was clothed in a white robe; and he came down and stood in the midst of them; and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them.

In verse seven above we learn that it was their (and our) Heavenly Father who was speaking to them and introducing His "Beloved Son (Jesus Christ) in whom He was well pleased."

When they saw Jesus descending "out of heaven" (from the sky), they thought they saw an angel. Again, a prophecy they had heard often was being fulfilled before their eyes, the Resurrected Son of God, Jesus Christ, was coming down to meet with them after being introduced by their (and our) Heavenly Father.

In III Nephi 11: 9-12 Jesus reminded them that His coming to them was prophesied of by their prophets (which would include their present prophet, Nephi who no doubt was right there among them). Jesus tells them of the very important fact that He had atoned for the sins of all mankind which was what His father had commanded Him to do.

Here Jesus stresses that which is so crucially important to all of us. Because He atoned for all mankind's sins, we each can receive forgiveness of our sins. I'm sure this truth really began to sink into these Nephites' hearts who were witnesses to all of this, as it does into your and into my own heart, as a blessing greater than we could ever imagine having, because it would allow us, depending on our continuing worthiness, to be able to eventually be resurrected return to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus, after our deaths.

It must have brought joy and peace to the hearts of those Nephites who witnessed and heard all of this to know that their sins had been atoned for. We can be sure that which Jesus told them would prepare each of them to want to learn from Him what it was He expected of each of them (and of each of us who are reading this).
Our reading this gives us the opportunity to vicariously feel what our Nephite brethren and sisters felt. We can share in their witness by reading and believing what was written for us and for all mankind.

III Nephi 11: 9 And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:

10 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.

11 And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

12 And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth; for they remembered that it had been prophesied among them that Christ should show himself unto them after his ascension into heaven.

The following verses from that same chapter describe their experiences.

13 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:

14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.

15 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.

16 And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying:

17 Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him.

I recommend that we personally very surely allow ourselves to identify with this group of Nephites who became witnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we continue on with them, learning of their experiences with our Lord and Savior, let's each of us desire to do what each of them did as they were taught by Him. Let's each of us desire with all our hearts to believe in and keep His commandments just as we will learn that this blessed group of Nephites did.

We can use that word, Hosanna (in verse 17) which they used. The LDS Scriptural dictionary tells us:

Hosanna = save now. The word is taken from Ps.
118:25, one of the Psalms of the Hallel. The chanting of this psalm was connected at the Feast of Tabernacles with the waving of palm branches; hence the use of the word by the multitudes at our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:9, 15; Mark 11:9, 10; John 12:13).

I suggest you read again the scripture I asked you to read earlier in this post:  III Nephi 11:1-41. but I suggest you not start at verse 1 but instead begin with verse 18 and read through the last verse in the chapter, verse 41. (You would find it awkward to try using the Listen function allowed you.)

In summary, Jesus gave their prophet-leader, Nephi, the power to baptize. Remember that it was Nephi who was told thirty five years earlier that He, Jesus, was to be born "the following day." Therefore, through the Spirit of Prophecy and Revelation they had already met, on at least the occasion, described below, in the sense that they had communicated on at least, that one time just before He was born to Mary.

Please review all the Savior taught the Nephites in verses 18 though 41 of Chapter 11 of III Nephi. There is more to come. Check back on my next blog post in about three days.

Before you log off I am giving you the opportunity to view a special Christmas Video produced by the BYU Fine Arts Department. I feel this really gives us a true view of what Christmas is all about.

 You will enjoy this video Christmas Card!



____________





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 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 33a. . . 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.)


_____________


"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 Legal /Statement.

_____________


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