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

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

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




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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Seeking Wisdom From the Bible

  


The Sacred Grove



Joseph's Prayer Was Answered

  


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




The Angel Moroni Appears to Joseph Smith





The Hill Cumorah





The Golden Plates



Joseph Smith Receives the Golden Plates from Moroni

   
____________


TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), When You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: Joseph Smith Was Being Prepared For His Calling. . . Post 16. After The Picture of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next to a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
____________


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


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

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

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

Neil Birch

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

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mosiah 18:8-9

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mosiah 24:1-25

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

____________


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


_____________


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

____________


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

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

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

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

Post 14 - Could Adversity Ever Be A Blessing?

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

(I will refer to this photo later.)

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

Mosiah 18:31-35

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mosiah 19:1-29

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

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

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


____________


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


____________



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

_________________


"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 an additional blog. It is in Spanish:  Its contents have been translated from this English blog.

Neil Birch

Post 13 - Abinadi Testifies of Christ

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

Alma Baptizing in the Waters of Mormon -by Arnold Friberg

Mormon Abridging the Plates -by Tom Lovell 

The miracle wrought by God through His prophet, Abinadi, is what you are viewing in this Arnold Friberg painting. It is the larger of the two paintings.

It is of a baptism taking place at the Waters of Mormon. You viewed it at the end of the last post because the event pictured was a direct result of the successful mission the Lord led the Prophet Abinadi to accomplish.

Let me divert your attention momentarily so I can help you gain the proper perspective as to where all of this Nephite history information came from which should remind us that this isn't a story made up by a young farmboy, Joseph Smith, like some people have been known to do.

Mormon, in a painting above lived at about 400 AD. He was the main editor and writer of what is known as the Book of Mormon (which is named after him). Having been commanded of the Lord, Mormon abridged, or summarized, a portion of the Nephite records. That is what he is shown doing in the painting. His abridgment does not contain even a "hundredth part" of his people's history, but it does contain important teachings about Jesus Christ and His gospel. Besides this abridgment,which forms the main part of the Book of Mormon, Mormon and later his son, Moroni, were inspired to include other writings. The resulting book of scripture stands alongside the Bible as another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Please read the summary the prophet Mormon wrote about these events at the Waters of Mormon involving Alma the First and others who believed in the prophet Abinadi's teachings. I will then help you review this information so you will understand and remember well what happened at that place. I suggest that you listen to this while reading it.
 Mosiah 18:1-35

You learned from your reading those 35 verses, that Alma the First, after having repented of his sins and iniquities, began, privately, so as not come to the attention of King Noah and his army, to teach the words of Abinadi about such important things as:

1. The resurrection of the dead and the redemption of believing people which would be brought about through the power, and sufferings and death of Christ, and his eventual resurrection and ascension into heaven.

These evidences of the atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ are very frequent in the Book of Mormon. That is why it is Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

The prophet Abinadi bore a strong witness of the Savior which you had the opportunity of reading in Post 12. I appreciate Abinadi's familarity with the Book of Isaiah. Because it is so poignant, I want you to read Mosiah Chapter 14 next where Isaiah is quoted (obtained from the plates of brass which Nephit obtained from Laban's treasury in Jerusalem) and look forward to actively feeling the power of the great prophet, Isaiah's prophecies regarding Jesus Christ who wasn't born until many years after Isaiah's death. (He like Abinadi became a Christian martyr.)

Mosiah 14:1-12

Of course, this quote from Isaiah was available to Abinadi in his own set of scriptures which had eventually come from the Brass Plates which Nephi and his three brothers were able to get from Laban's library in Jerusalem before they immigrated to the Americas.

2. While at the Waters of Mormon, where Alma and his followers were able to hide from the King, Alma introduced the subject of baptism. He cited the following reasons for their being prepared for the holy ordinance of baptism. Really focus on these.

 Mosiah 18:8-9

I had you read those verses because although you read them already I want to emphasize what this inspired prophet, Alma, said about that which each person who is baptized is to do and feel to make their baptism into the fold of Christ what it should be. Maybe, if you have not yet been baptized into the true fold of Christ, that privilege may someday be yours.

3. Then we are told about the baptisms, beginning with Alma baptizing Helam and himself at the same time. Alma had said to all of them:

Mosiah 18:10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

 About four hundred and fifty souls baptized that day. The summary recorded by Mormon further tells us: ". . .yea, and they were baptized in the waters of Mormon, and were filled with the grace of God."(Mosiah 18:16)

4."Having authority from God" Alma had established the Church of God or the Church of Christ. With that authority Alma ordained priests; even one priest to every fifty of their number, "to teach them concerning the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." Alma also taught the priests he ordained that they should teach nothing save it were the things which he had taught, and which had been spoken by the mouth of the holy prophets (from their scriptures which they had thanks to the Brass Plates of Laban.

5. Mosiah 18:20 tells us: "Yea, even he commanded them that they should preach nothing save it were repentance and faith on the lord, who had redeemed his people.

We are told: 21 And he commanded them that there should be no contention one with another, but that they should all look forward with one eye, having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another.

22: And thus he commanded them to preach. And thus they became the children of God.

23: And he commanded them that they should observe the sabbath day, and keep it holy, and also every day they should give thanks to the Lord their God.

24 And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained should labor with their own hands for their support. (How important)

25 And there was one day in every week that was set apart that they should gather themselves together to teach the people, and to worship the Lord their God, and also, as often as it was in their power, to assemble themselves together."

26 And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support; but for their labor they were to receive the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority from God.

27 And again Alma commanded that the people of the church should impart of their substance, every one according to that which he had; if he have more abundantly he should impart more abundantly; and of him that had but little, but little should be required; and to him that had not should be given."

28 And thus they should impart of their substance of their own free will and good desires towards God, and to those priests that stood in need, yea, and to every needy, naked soul.

29 And this he said unto them, having been commanded of God; and they did walk uprightly before God, imparting to one another both emporally and spiritually according to their needs and their wants."

30 And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, the by waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon: yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever.

31 And these things were done in the borders of the land, that they might not come to the knowledge of the king.

in the last four verses we are told that Alma and his people had to move into the wilderness to excape King Noah and his armies as they had found out that they were at the Waters of Mormon.

As I was typing the above beautiful verses the realization came to me for the first time after all the times I have read the Book of Mormon, that a special meaning must have come into Mormon's mind and heart as he wrote about these special things that were taught and set up in places with the name "Mormon", his name. I'm sure the Waters of Mormon had special meaning to Mormon because of what happened there in establishing the Lord Jesus Christ's church in that land. I think also he dwelt so positively on what happened at the Waters of Mormon because in his own time (about 400 AD) The Lamanites were on the verge of wiping out all of his people (including Mormon). Notice in the painting the cave-like appearance of the room in which he was abridging records. The Lamanites would have destroyed his records if they could. No wonder that Mormon paid so much attention to what happened at the Waters of Mormon. The Church of Christ was very important to him. The Church was destroyed in the Americas at the end of Mormon's life!

Again, all of us should be grateful for the Prophet Abinadi. Without Abinadi none of the good that happened at the Waters of Mormon would have ever happened. But foremost, if our Lord, Jesus Christ had not atoned for our sins and brought about the resurrection for us life would be impossible.

In Post 14, we will learn about the challenges and faithfulness of this brave group of followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, with a prophet, Alma the First, who lead them by the Spirit.
___________


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


____________


TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read The Full Index Item Which Refers to This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access): After You Have Read All Of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up and Click on the Following: "Abinadi, Testifies of Christ. -Post 13." When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please, Scroll Down To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
___________

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


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

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

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

Neil Birch