Post 12 - Abinadi-Called of God!

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TODAY'S THEME

Abinadi Stands Before King Noah to be Tried for His Life -by Arnold Friberg

The Arnold Friberg painting you see here, shows us the court room of King Noah. He was the king of an offshoot nation of Nephites which actually began with Noah’s father, King Zeniff’, who with some followers had left the city, Zarahemla and discovered the Land of “Lehi-Nephi” after much difficult searching.

That was the land where the first Nephi, Lehi's son, had settled after Nephi and his followers left the land where they had been living near the Lamanites, led by his rebellious brothers, Laman and Lemuel.

What you will read in the scriptural link at the end of this paragraph may sound to you like something which took place often in ancient Israel as recorded in the Old Testament. This link describes the extent of the corruption of these leaders which caused the Lord to send His prophet, Abinadi, to set them straight. Abinadi is shown in the painting above addressing the court while in chains. Mosiah 11:1-15

It is easy to recognize King Noah sitting on his expensive throne, surrounded by his priests. As In ancient Israel, (The Nephites were originally immigrants from Israel as you have learned in previous posts), their government although being led by a king, was governed by leaders who were supposed to be spiritual men who served as priests who were supposed to teach righteousness.

Abinadi “had come from among them” two years earlier. Click here to read what Abinadi had told them then:

Mosiah 11:20-25

Two years later, at the time shown in the courtroom scene above took place. Abinadi came in disguise but soon was recognized. He had been sent by the Lord this time for a very special outcome which will be made clear at the end of this post.

It becomes obvious as you read this account in the Book of Mormon, that Abinadi knew what King Noah and his priests' response would be and that it would result in his own death. Despite that, having an assigned message, like many of the other ancient Israelite prophets, he did what the Lord wanted him to do despite his knowing that this would be the last thing he would do in mortality.
Somewhere among the king’s priests shown in the painting above, was a priest named Alma, who at some time became the father of Alma the Younger who was called to repentance years later, in a different land, by the Angel of the Lord. You learned about him and his traumatic experience in my Post 7.
This first Alma, at the time of the second coming of Abinadi, was living knee deep in wickedness. The Book of Mormon doesn’t go into details about the life this Alma was living, but describes all the priests’ general mode of life. It was included in the first of the last two scriptural verses. Please re-read these three verses which describe in particular detail How Noah's priests lived.Mosiah 11:5-7

Now let’s get right into the story of valiant and brave Abinadi who came into a rough situation to do what the Lord wanted him to do.

Scroll up to the court room picture again. Abinadi is the epitome of a prophet of the Lord. He’s doing what the Lord wanted him to do regardless of his own personal outcome. You can feel the spirit of Abinadi by just looking at him in this great painting. Now click on this next scriptural link and listen to what he told the king and his false priests at a previous time which probably didn't take place in the court room: 

Mosiah 12:2-8

After that message to all of the priests, including the First Alma, we are told that Abinadi was bound and brought before King Noah. Most likely the following interaction between Abinadi, the king and the priests took place in the court room pictured above. Now please click on this link to hear the discussion between Abinadi and the king and his priests:

Mosiah 12:18-37

Now, I want you to now remember what was said in Posts 1 and 2 of this blog where the “scholar” in the PBS video, “The Mormons” told us how every time he reads the Book of Mormon he sees the personality of the uneducated farm-boy, Joseph Smith, coming through in what is written.

As you can easily see this man must never have read this part of the Book of Mormon.(or any other part of it!) How could what you are now reading be anything but solid history written by prophets in their own language and then translated by the gift and power of God as Dr. Dan Peterson tells us in his video in Post 4 and repeated again in Post 8.
King Noah after hearing that passionate and true message of Abinadi, told his courtiers to kill Abinadi. Then this valiant, magnificent prophet told them that God would kill them if they took his life before he had delivered his full message. Click on this link for the reaction of the king and his court to those words of Abinadi:

Mosiah 13:5-11

I don’t have the space to quote all of the words of Abinadi or of the king and his priests. When you have time I would like you to consider reading all of Mosiah,

Chapters 9-17.

Now we are told something very significant, something which would bring much good eventually from this challenging piece of Nephite history. Please click on this link for these four significant verses:

Mosiah 17:1-4

The young first Alma, believed in Abinadi’s words. What a significant event! This wicked priest became a righteous prophet. Most significantly, this Alma recorded all the words that Abinadi had spoken to them. This event, in my opinion, is the very special purpose for the Lord having sent Abinadi to preach to Zeniff and his priests.

In my humble opinion, knowing that I am not a great scriptorian, this is perhaps one of the most significant positive turning points in all of Nephite history except for the appearance of the Resurrected Jesus Christ when he appeared to the Nephites and Lamanites who were spared from destruction by seismic forces that occurred sometime after the crucifixion, death and resurrection of our Savior in Jerusalem. And it was this one young priest, Alma the first, that began this great turn of events because he believed in Abinadi's inspired words.

Alma Baptizing at the Waters of Mormon -by Arnold Friberg

To me, the name Abinadi, is a most sacred name as is the name, Alma who allowed the Spirit of the Lord to penetrate his heart which caused him to become a very significant prophet-leader.

You are now viewing another painting done by Brother Arnold Friberg. You will see here Alma, the First, the converted priest of Noah, baptizing in a secret place, The Waters of Mormon, where they couldn’t be detected by King Noah's soldiers. This was a strong, new beginning of the Church of Christ in the ancient Americas which grew and prospered, with, at times, ups and downs, for a good long time leading up to the time of the appearance of Christ in America just after His resurrection.

In my next post, 13, I will begin with this second painting, the baptism at the waters of Mormon. You will find it well worth your time.

I now end this somewhat lengthy, but very significant review of Book of Mormon scriptures with the parting testimony of that precious prophet, Abinadi. Tears come to my eyes as I think of what he said and did. Please read this scripture. In it is recorded a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ by one of his holy prophets. You'll also want to listen to this one.  Mosiah 16 Now after your reading and feeling the testimony of Abinadi, please read what was done by the king and his priests to this great prophet despite the testimony he had born to them. Notice in verse 11 King Noah was just about to release Abinadi, but the priests caused him to change his mind. 

 Mosiah 17:5-20

We love you Abinadi and look forward to meeting you in the Spirit World after we leave this life. We know your place in the Celestial World is secure. We pray ours will be also!
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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 Pargraph, Please Scroll Back Up and Click on the Following: "Abinadi, Original Post . . . Post 12." 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 11 - Priesthood Revelation Commemorated!

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

I have placed a photograph of President Spencer W. Kimball at the head of this post as I join in with the rest of the membership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the Thirtieth Year Commemoration of the June 8, 1978 announcement of a revelation received through the Church's Prophet, who at that time was President Kimball.

That revelation allowed the holy priesthood to be bestowed upon all worthy male members of the Church regardless of race.

I was not surprised that it would have been Spencer W. Kimball who was the prophet who diligently sought the Lord's will on this crucial matter that would so fully impact a people who had been "oppressed and downtrodden." I must mention that the entire presidency of the Church and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles fully supported this revealed change in Church policy.

As a young married man, I began my career in Church employment as an Indian Seminary teacher with the assistance of Spencer W. Kimball, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve whom I had met as a young missionary in Finland in 1954. I later transferred into the Indian Placement Program of the Church, a program he was very instrumental in beginning. I became very aware of the love he had for the Lamanite people (of which American Indians are a part). They were "oppressed and downtrodden" but Elder Kimball knew they would have a bright future because of Book of Mormon prophecies.

In the Book of Mormon, Father Lehi made the following prophecy which directly applies to the large numbers of Africans who were brought to the Americas as slaves as well as to the Europeans who migrated here.

II Nephi 1:5. But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord.

6. Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord. (emphasis added)

I have been aware of this scripture for many years and knew within myself that in the "due time of the Lord" African Americans would be eligible to hold the Priesthood of God and enjoy the Temple blessings in their fullness. Over the years I met many members of this Church who believed that also.

You may ask, "How could the hand of the Lord be involved in the movement of African slaves to the Americas? I'm positive the Lord didn't condone the actions of the slave traders, but I know because of Father Lehi's prophecy you've just read, the Africans who were brought here, were supposed to come to these lands of freedom. The American Civil War was needed to give them more freedom. The Civil Rights Movement was needed for the same reason. Progress in applying liberty to all continues to be needed.

While writing this post I had a very special spiritual experience and was moved to tears as I thought about the ancestors of our African American brothers and sisters who were brought in slavery to this nation which is dedicated to freedom. Some of the words of one of their beautiful and meaningful spirituals which I have heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing over the years, came to my mind and heart as I was writing this.

DEEP RIVER

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Deep river, my home is over Jordan

Deep river,

Lord, I want to cross over into campground

Lord, I want to cross over into campground

Lord, I want to cross over into campground

Lord, I want to cross over into campground


Oh, chillun

Oh, don’t you want to go, to that gospel feast

That promised land, that land where all is

peace?

Walk into heaven, and take a seat

And cast my crown at Jesus feet


Lord, I want to cross over into campground

Lord, I want to cross over into campground

Lord, I want to cross over into campground

Lord, I want to cross over into campground

Here is a recording of that Spiritual. No names are given of the performers and it appears to be a home recording. I liked it!

Here is a recording of that same Spiritual. The famous American Soprano Marian Anderson performs this time (in about 1939). I liked this one too!


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Then I thought of George Washington Carver, a great scientist who raised himself up from slavery to accomplish so much good. I thrive on homemade peanut butter and I often remember the significant study he made of the nutritional value of peanuts. I would write much more about this great people but space is gone.

Just before being hired as an Indian Seminary teacher by the Church, I served as a Sacramento, CA County Juvenile Probation Officer. One day, one of my fellow probation officers, Peter Brown (of African-American descent), and I, were assigned to drive from Sacramento to San Jose on business. This gave us much time to talk. I really liked working with Peter. He was a very good probation officer and a all-round good man. Knowing, as everybody else in our department did, that I was LDS, Peter brought up the question as to why the LDS Church did not allow "Blacks" to hold the Priesthood.

At one point, Peter told me that an older African-American woman had told him once that the Mormons believe that members of their race have no souls. I let him know there was no truth to that allegation at all.

I told Peter that I was sure that the Priesthood of God would be available someday to all worthy males when the time was right. I just told him that the right time hadn't come yet. I told him that there was a time before the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the establishing of this Church that the time wasn't right for any man on the earth to have the Priesthood of God.

I even suggested that one possible determining factor as to when the Priesthood would be given to men of every race, was there being a sufficient numbers of those already holding that sacred Priesthood who were willing for it to be given to men of every race. In other words, members of this Church had to become the kind of accepting and loving people that I believe the Lord has always wanted His Church's members to be. I don't remember Peter's reaction to that.

I haven't seen Peter since 1962. I hope all is well with him. I hope he joined this church and that he and his family are enjoying temple blessings. If so, hopefully they have done temple work for many of their ancestors, and figuratively, you, Peter, your own family to whom you are sealed and those ancestors of yours for whom you did temple work, would have therefore, "crossed over into camp ground."

Peter, are you out there? Please comment at the end of this post so I can learn how you and your family are doing.

I will end this post by telling all of you how I learned about the Priesthood Revelation and how that affected me.

On June 8, 1978 while seated at my desk at LDS Social Services, Kansas City, Missouri Agency, I received a phone call from our headquarters in Salt Lake City. I was told about the revelation and that made me very happy.

One of the services I was helping to provide in Missouri and in surrounding states, was the adoption of babies of birth mothers who contacted us desiring to place their babies for adoption. Before this phone call I typically told African American birth mothers we couldn't assist them and then helped them find an agency who could. The reason for that explanation is that LDS couples at that time were very hesitant to adopt babies who wouldn't be eligible for temple blessings later in life because of the denial of the Priesthood to males of certain races.

With the announcement of the "revelation," I eagerly began to anticipate being helpful to African-American birth mothers who called for help. That did begin to happen and has continued with LDS Family Services.

I have enjoyed reading in the paper and listening to reports on TV about the official Commemoration Program held recently by the Church in the Conference Center.

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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 Click on the Following: Priesthood Revelation Commemoration . . . -Post 11. When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Pease 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

____________

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 10 - The Lord Promised Enos That the Book of Mormon Would Help Restore His People (the Lamanite-Nephites) To Righteousness in The Latter-Days!

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

The Lord Jesus Christ -by Harry Anderson

Enos Prayed All Day -by Robert T. Barrett

The upper painting, by is a depiction of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We pray to our Heavenly Father in His sacred name! This post will help you learn through Enos' prayer, and the answers given him by the Lord, and much about the promise of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in our day. Enos is depicted in the attitude of prayer just above.

Enos was raised by righteous parents, but as is the case with many of us, perhaps the cares of this world, such as Enos' need to spend more and more time hunting to support his family, had eroded his spirituality and allowed sin to creep into his life. Please meditate for a few minutes while viewing this scene. Think about what Enos might be praying for knowing that he has a need to come closer to His God. What would you pray for if you were in his place? You will be told in this chapter that Enos prayed all day and into the night.

My desire is that each of you viewers of this blog learn not only the power of sincere, intense prayer but also the important information about the coming forth in our day of the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Christ, contained in this important, yet brief, one chapter book.

To assist you in really learning this important information, I am going to lead you through the reading of this chapter. Let's start with your reading (one tip, it would be quite difficult to coordinate the listen function given you, it might be best to read each section, one at a time. Enos 1:1-5. Now that you have read the first five verses, what was the first answer to Enos' prayer? After thinking through what you have just read , read on the following to see if your answer was correct. Enos 1:5-7

In verse 7 you read that Enos asked, "How is it done?" Enos asked that because of the blessing the Lord bestowed on him in verse 5. Here is the Lord's answer to Enos' question, "How is it done?" It is short and sweet (to the point) and very meaningful. Each of us needs to have this same specific faith Enos had. Enos 1:8

We will also read the Lord's answer to an important request Enos makes of him.

 Enos 1:9-10

In checking the next two verses you'll learn that Enos' faith had become "unshaken in the Lord" causing him to request an additional blessing from the Lord.What did the Lord promise Enos after he had demonstrated his faith by his prayer?

Enos 1:11-13

That is some powerful faith Enos had come up with. How would you personally feel if the Lord promised you what you desired? I'm sure that when we are in tune with the Lord's will like Enos had become on that day of prayer, we would desire that which is only right. I'd take that. Wouldn't you?

Now lets see what this man, Enos, who had been forgiven of all his sins and been granted that which he had been inspired to request, specifically now requests from the Lord.

Enos 1:13-18

Wow!, did you catch that? Enos wanted something that his fathers' had actually wanted and been promised. That was, that if his people, the Nephites were destroyed because of their wickedness, that the plates upon which were recorded the writings of their prophets would be preserved. The purpose of this would be that in our day and time in history the descendants of the Lamanites ( and other people - us!) would have the witness of God which had been engraven upon the metal plates by prophets. That record, my friends, would be: The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Now the rest of Enos' writings tell what Enos did as a prophet of the Lord and of all the challenges he and his people faced. Much is said about the Lamanites and their problems. I'd like you to read this right now in:

Enos 1:19-26

Now there is just one more verse in the Book of Enos. I want you to read it now. Enos rejoices in his sure knowledge of his eternal salvation. His words are great! When you and I are ready to depart from this life hopefully we will feel the same sure feelings about our Eternal status as does Enos. We can if we live as Enos lived after repenting and being forgiven of his sins.

Enos 1:27. And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. 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 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: Enos Was Told Through Revelation that . . . Post 10. 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

_______________


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 9 - Once God's Enemies, Now His Valiant Servants

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



Ammon Defends King Lamoni's Sheep from Robbers -by Arnold Friberg



Faithful Lamanite Families Await Death For They Have Covenanted to No Longer Kill Others -by Del Parson

At the top, you are viewing a painting by LDS artist, Arnold Friberg, which depicts Ammon, one of the four sons of Mosiah, as he defends the Lamanite King's sheep from Lamanite robbers.

After their conversions, these four sons of Mosiah worked long and hard to gain their father's permission to serve as missionaries to the Lamanites who were for the most part bitter enemies of their Nephite people.

The next painting, by LDS painter, Del Parson, depicts Lamanites, converted to the Lord Jesus Christ through the efforts of the four sons of Mosiah and their companions, preparing to bury their weapons of war in the earth as an army of hostile Lamanites advances to kill them. You will learn why this was happening later in a future post in this blog.

It is recorded in the Book of Mormon that Ammon, his three brothers and some of the others they had chosen as missionary companions, worked hard to prepare themselves spiritually for this exceedingly difficult mission. It is in Alma 17, that we are told of the incident, depicted at the top of this post,in which Ammon protected the Lamanite King's sheep with his sword, strengthened by his special spiritual preparations.

Ammon was doing that which would achieve acceptance from the potentially hostile Lamanite king. This is told in Alma 17: 1-39

By reading this scripture, you will have gained the insight that because of the great results he had, the Lord was with Ammon in all he did among the Lamanites.

Now if you were to read chapters 18-23 of Alma you would read of the great success that all of the other sons of Mosiah, along with their missionary companions, had in turning the hearts and souls of a great number of Lamanites to God. You will also read of the great tribulations they each went through in accomplishing this. I will provide each of these chapters here for you. Remember to click on "Listen" on each, as suggested  above. These are action filled chapters!

Alma 18: 1-43  Alma 19: 1-36 Alma 20: 1-30  Alma 21: 1-23  Alma 22: 1-35 Alma 23:1-18

Next I have provided a link to Alma, Chapter 24 which will explain the meaning of the picture painted by LDS artist Del Parsons, inserted at the beginning of this post just after the painting of Ammon wielding a sword to defend the King's sheep,

Alma 24:1-30

From this great account we learn more about the power that comes to people after true conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That power could come to you too!

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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 BlogPost You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: (King) Mosiah's Four Sons Were Converted . . . - Post 9. 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).
___________

"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 8 - Way Before Computers, The Lord Provided Something Better!

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

Lehi and Family (and others) Examine The Liahona -by Arnold Friberg

The first painting shown here was done by LDS artist, Arnold Friberg, of an event that occurred in about 600 BC in the Northern part of the Arabian peninsula. This event is described in The Book of Mormon.

The second painting is by LDS artist, Del Parson. It is a partly symbolic depiction of the translation process of the Book of Mormon as the golden plates were not accessed directly during the translation process. The subject of the Book of Mormon translation process will be addressed in the second half of this blog post (in the video).


Please read the scripture found at the end of this paragraph to read about the device (Liahona) which was found by Father Lehi in front of his tent on the morning they were to begin their arduous trip across a forbidding deseret and later a large ocean to the Americas. (Lehi didn't know where they were to go. He needed the guidance of the Liahona to get there.

1 Nephi 16: 9 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that on the morrow he should take his journey into the wilderness.

10 And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.

This next verse will help you learn how the Lord, through the Liahona made sure that Father Lehi and all of his group had enough to eat in this very difficult, threatening wilderness.

1 Nephi 16:16 And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness.

As you sit in front of your computer reading this which I typed using my lap-top, can't both of us justifiably wonder at the amazing advances in communication tools that have been made in our lifetimes? And they just keep coming. I saw my first computer a few weeks after graduating from high shcool in 1950. It filled half a room, but it really sped up the job it was assigned to do. A few months later, I saw my first television show. It was in black and white, but it was much better than radio.

600 BC was a long long time ago, yet the device Lehi found in front of his tent that became a vital guide in their journey on the edge of one of the world's harshest deserts, appears to me to be technically much beyond what we presently can do with computers and other electronic gadgets we may have. (It didn't come with replaceable batteries and they had no electricity to plug it into!) That relatively small brass (or more accurately, bronze) ball amazingly, not only directed them to all the more fertile places around that harsh desert area so they could survive, but also printed messages in their Hebrew language (using possibly Egyptian characters like writers of the Book of Mormon said they did) and taught them to "understand the ways of the Lord."

Through this amazing device the Lord chastened them for not doing as they should and I'm sure He gave them much encouragement when they deserved and needed it. They were being led by the Lord with the help of this Liahona to travel on to the distant ocean, to build a ship and then travel, sometimes dangerously, to ancient America to where they were being led by the Lord, through the help of His device. Without this Liahona, which means, "compass" in Lehi's language, they would never have made it to what we know now as Central America.

Lehi and his family, soon after finding the Liahona, learned that the pointers within it worked "according to their faith, work, and obedience." (What! no computer manual!)

In my just previous post you learned about Alma the Younger, who was converted to righteousness by the appearance of an angel of the Lord to him and his four friends. Please read here to learn what the converted Alma tells us about the Liahona.

1 Nephi 16:28 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

Alma 37: 38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it Liahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.

39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.

40 And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of their transgressions.

43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a shadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.

This brings me back to matters discussed in previous posts of this blog. In Posts 1 and 2 of this series we are told about a "so-called scholar" who appeared on a PBS program (May 2007) in which he told the viewers that everytime he reads the Book of Mormon he sees the farmboy background of Joseph Smith coming through. In other words, this man insists that the Book of Mormon was thought up and written by Joseph, who had very little education in a time in America where schools weren't very advanced anyway.Now you tell me: If this man's hypothesis is correct, how did 24 year old, uneducated farm boy Joseph Smith, come up with the idea of a Liahona, an instrument that far surpasses the electronic gadgetry we have today, in many way?

Perhaps some of you may say that Joseph Smith merely copied what some educated man had thought up and wrote, perhaps, what he intended to be a novel. This argument used to be made, but no longer do we hear it because all of the theories regarding that have been proven to be invalid.

In Post 4 of this series I wrote about the lecture I attended which was presented by Daniel C.Peterson of BYU's Neal A. Maxwell Institute of Religious Scholarship.

In that lecture (April 10, 2008)he discusses details of the translation process of the Book of Mormon by Joseph Smith. At the beginning of his translation, Joseph Smith actually used another ancient device, the "Urim and Thummin" that the Lord provided him, which, like the Liahona, goes far beyond our modern electronic devices. It was expressly devised by the Lord to allow a seer (a type of prophet) to translate unknown languages.

Now I have used "Google Translate" on this lap-top to help me translate from English to Finnish and Spanish. Although Finnish is difficult to learn, it is not in any way as difficult to learn as an unknown language like the Hebrew-Egyptian amalgamated language which was used by Lehi and his descendants. By listening to Dr. Peterson's lecture, I want you to hear what he said about how all the evidence clearly shows that Joseph Smith never had any documents with him when tranlating the Book of Mormon, from which he could have copied. He also shows how it would have been impossible for Joseph to have memorized that which he was dictating to his scribe.

Other convincing evidence is also given verifying that Joseph Smith was guided by Divine guidance in his translation of the Book of Mormon. You will be listening to Pt. 2. of Dr. Peterson's video. (Part 1 was to be viewed in my Post 4.) Part 2 lasts 10 minutes and 24 seconds. I recommend you listen to all of it. It will be very much worth your while to hear this. There are five parts to this lecture which lasted about an hour and a half altogether. You can access the other four parts of his lecture, if you so desire. Dr. Peterson tells us a number of convincing facts.

However, no matter how convincing these facts may be to the human mind, they cannot take the place of the conviction that will come to your soul when you do as the ancient prophet Moroni advises you to do. I have brought this scripture to your attention in previous blog posts, but I repeat it in case you have not yet humbly and sincerely sought the answer which Moroni promises you.

Moroni 10: 3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.

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



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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.

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Neil Birch