31c - Preparations For The Resurrected Jesus Christ's Visit To The Descendants of Lehi

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TODAY'S THEME



John the Baptist -Painting: Del Parson

John the Baptist, son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, had a very key role in preparing the way for Jesus Christ's ministry. His mother, Elizabeth was a close relative to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Now Jesus Was Ready to Take His Next Big Step Forward Into His Calling.

Mark 1: 2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judæa, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

6 And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

 9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

10 And straight- way coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

John Baptizing Jesus -by Harry Anderson

12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

Please read these verses for the account of Jesus' forty days of fasting in the wilderness. (Listening to this scripture would be a good option!)

Matt 4:1-11

Now please read and listen to this portion of King Benjamin's speech:

Mosiah 3:1-27

What you will read next is the very touching reaction of King Benjamin's people to that which he had just taught them which you have just read and listened to.

Mosiah 4:1-3

Before we return to the record given in III Nephi of the preparations of the Nephite-Lamanite Nation I am reviewing that which King Benjamin taught about the coming of Christ and his people's reaction to that. I do this because this is such a great example of how effectively the coming of Christ was taught by the inspired King Benjamin and how his message was received so wholeheartedly by his people.

Mosiah 4:1 AND now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of speaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them.

2 And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.

3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them. (emphasis added)

Now the record of this very touching historical experience of King Benjamin and his people in about 124 B.C. was surely passed, at least to some extent, on down through the generations of Nephites and I'm sure was still having some impact on their descendants who were living at the time when Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, would soon appear.

Now let's return to check up on those descendants of King Benjamin's people, the Nephite Nation. (The Lamanites had become a part of that nation and most likely  physically appeared to be Nephites.) Let's see what challenges they are involved in which will help prepare them for the visit of the Son of God that they, as a people had been looking forward to since Father Lehi left Jerusalem with his family and relatives to be led to their promised land which we know now as Central America.

Please read (and listen to if you so desire) to the words written by the Prophet Nephi.

III Nephi 4:1-33

I suggest you do the following. Compare the the last verse of what you just read (III Nephi 4:33, to Mosiah 4:3 which you read above in this post. Here they both are:

Here is what the Nephite-Lamanites felt after they had been saved from their enemies.

III Nephi 4:33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction. (emphasis added)

And here described is what their ancestors felt after hearing King Benjamin's inspired words:

Mosiah 4:3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.(emphasis added)

 You must agree with me that the Nephites who were living just before the coming of the resurrected Lord, had been brought, by their very difficult challenges, to a deep humility very similar to that of their ancestors who were King Benjamin's people. Shouldn't that be evidence that they were successfully preparing for the Lord's visit? Let's wait and see if they remain at that level of humility!

Oh, one further matter concerning the scripture you just read and listened to: In III Nephi 4:28-29 This description of Zemnariah's hanging may sound to us like a strange way to hang someone. The following explains it was a Jewish custom.

28 And their leader, Zemnarihah, was taken and hanged upon a tree, yea, even upon the top thereof until he was dead. And when they had hanged him until he was dead they did fell the tree to the earth, and did cry with a loud voice, saying:

29 May the Lord preserve his people in righteousness and in holiness of heart, that they may cause to be felled to the earth all who shall seek to slay them because of power and secret combinations, even as this man hath been felled to the earth.

Personnel of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship of the Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah have found in an ancient Jewish document instructions for doing just what the Nephites did in this case. The Nephites were of Jewish descent as the Book of Mormon tells us, and it would be natural for them to follow the customs of the people from which they were descended. Please consider this another solid outer evidence of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

This shows that Nephites did things in a Jewish sort of way. They did come originally from Jerusalem as Lehi told us. Nobody, including Joseph Smith, could have guessed at such a correct ancient Jewish procedure, especially when this particular procedure was not known in Joseph Smith's day and only in a very recent year was it incidentally found while using modern research methods in studying ancient Jewish documents.

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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 BlogPost You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on The Following: Preparations For The Resurrected Jesus Christ's Visit To Ancient America - Post 31c. 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 Legal /Statement.

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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. 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  

31b - Preparations For The Resurrected Jesus Christ's Visit To The Descendants of Lehi

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

Painting: Greg K. Olsen
BOTH THE HOLY BIBLE AND THE BOOK OF MORMON, TESTIFY OF JESUS CHRIST

Later in this post, we will begin examining the preparatory challenges faced by the descendants of Father Lehi. These challenges which, if handled well, would have a certain number of them sufficiently prepared for the visit to be made by Jesus Christ in their promised land (in the Americas) soon after his resurrection .

The believing portion of the Nephite-Lamanite nation had been greatly encouraged by the appearance of the signs at the time of the birth of the Savior of the World which had been foretold by their prophets. They were very grateful to have been saved from being executed by the unbelievers for their having expressed their belief that the signs of His birth would soon be seen.

However, it seems that a larger portion of the believers than we'd like to think was the case, needed to face constant tribulation in order to keep progressing actively toward the needed level of preparation to be sufficiently ready for the visit of the resurrected Jesus Christ which had been foretold by all of their prophets.

In earlier posts when telling of preparations among Lehi's people for the First Christmas, I overlooked telling you of one short verse of scripture which, in my view, is very significant. It tells us what their leaders did to help their people to remain righteous.

Jarom, 1: 11 Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence; teaching the law of Moses, and the intent for which it was given; persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already was. And after this manner did they teach them. (emphasis added)

I will use in this post, verses from the Pearl of Great Price and the New Testament, along with paintings by two LDS artists, of Jesus Christ as a teenager, to demonstrate how the young Jesus of Nazareth, was being guided and prepared with the help of others under the over-all direction of His actual father, our Heavenly Father, for His eternal role as the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind.  Jesus was to be fully prepared to visit, after His resurrection, the Nephite-Lamanites and also the (so-called) lost tribes of Israel.

The scriptures make it clear that Jesus was successful in living without sinning. He was preparing, with our Heavenly Father's (His actual father) guidance to be fully qualified for His "ultimate eternal 'job' description" which I feel is marvelously described in the following scripture:

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

Jesus Teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem -by Grant Romney Clawson

Jesus knew who his actual father was and and it appears to me that He had been directed by Him to be teaching those "doctors" in the temple at that time.

Luke 2: 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.

44 But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.

45 And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

48 And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

49 And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?

50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.

51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. (emphasis added)

As was done in that land then, Jesus followed in the footsteps of His "step-father", Joseph, in learning a trade, in this case, the carpentry trade. I'm personally sure that if he accidentally hit his thumb with a hard hammer blow, He would have never used foul language. He was preparing for His destiny perfectly.


Jesus Working in Joseph's Carpenter Shop -Painting: Del Parson

In the copy below of this other painting of Jesus as he sat teaching and learning in the Temple He was twelve years of age. In that same year, the Nephite-Lamanites were having great difficulties and were not doing well in becoming prepared for Jesus Christ's visit just twenty-two years away.

Jesus' growth and development was coming along just as it was to be expected from the Son of God. Nonetheless His mother, Mary, was mortal and so then was He. He had much tribulation to go through then and throughout His life, but His calling and election was sure. He would visit the Nephites-Lamanites in His resurrected body, and be fully prepared.


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

When you read the scriptural reference I have given you below you will learn about the Nephite-Lamanite peoples' great tribulations and back-sliding. Don't give up on them! Some of them will be there ready for Him when He, the Savior comes. Listening will make your reading more interesting.

III Nephi 2: 1-19

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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 BlogPost You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on The Following: Preparations For The Resurrected Jesus Christ's Visit To Ancient America - Post 31b. 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 Legal /Statement.

_________

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. Please be advised that I also have another blog. It is in Spanish:  Its content is translated from the English in this blog.

Neil Birch

31a - Preparations For The Resurrected Jesus Christ's Visit To The Descendants of Lehi

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


(A child's pencil drawing of the new star that appeared at the birth of Jesus.)

Many Nephite and Lamanite believers in Christ were looking forward to seeing the signs that Samuel, the Lamanite prophet had fortold that they would soon see. This verse was included in the scriptural link near the end of my previous post.

III Nephi 1:9 Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet.

The prophet Nephi's day-long fervent prayer in which he plead for his people to be saved from the planned massacre, was answered in these words by Christ's spirit, which was very soon to be clothed with a mortal body:

III Nephi 1:13 Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets.

And then this happened:

III Nephi 1:19 And it came to pass that there was no darkness in all that night, but it was as light as though it was mid-day. And it came to pass that the sun did rise in the morning again, according to its proper order; and they knew that it was the day that the Lord should be born, because of the sign which had been given.

20 And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets.

21 And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word.

With the appearance of those signs, Nephi and his people were snatched from an imminent massacre at the hands of the unbelievers, many of whom appeared to have gone into a state of shock.:

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.

With that rescue could we expect all to become easy for the believing descendants of Lehi, of the Nephite-Lamanite nation?

We should expect that for them to be fully prepared for the visit of their Redeemer and Savior Jesus Christ in 34 years, much more preparation was necessary. How does the Lord prepare His people? Looking back on the history of this people it appears that challenges and tribulations are the way the Lord had prepared them in the past. Here is an example:

Alma Baptizing at the Waters of Mormon -by Arnold Friberg

Mosiah 18:30 And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the 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.

32 But behold, it came to pass that the king, having discovered a movement among the people, sent his servants to watch them. Therefore on the day that they were assembling themselves together to hear the word of the Lord they were discovered unto the king.

33 And now the king said that Alma was stirring up the people to rebellion against him; therefore he sent his army to destroy them.

34 And it came to pass that Alma and the people of the Lord were apprised of the coming of the king's army; therefore they took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness.

35 And they were in number about four hundred and fifty souls.

You may want to ask yourselves: "Have I been prepared for spiritual advancement by difficulties in my life?" It could be! Its happened to me.

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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 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: Preparations For The Resurrected Jesus Christ's Visit To Ancient America -Post 31a. 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 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. 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

30i - Did Lehi And His Descendants Look Forward To The First Christmas?

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

LDS Temples viewed above: from the left to the right, top to bottom: Caracas, Venezuela Temple; Tokyo, Japan Temple; Madrid, Spain Temple; Littleton, Colorado Temple (seen behind the couple); and the Manila, Phillipines Temple.

MARRIAGE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN IS ORDAINED OF GOD. WITHOUT THE BIRTH OF BABY JESUS THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO LDS TEMPLES AND NO SEALINGS OF FAMILIES FOR ETERNITY.

This LDS couple posing in front of the Littleton, Colorado Temple represents what our Savior, Jesus Christ, has in mind for each of His Church members, the making of sacred covenants with an eternal marital companion of the opposite sex. This is done with the approval of, and under the direction of Him, their God.

Inasmuch as married couples are physically capable of bearing children, or if they are not, and are willing to adopt children, if possible for them, they are forming an eternal family unit that fits what the Lord has in mind for each of us. When sealed together in one of His holy temples they become part of a family tree which extends back to our first parents, Adam and Eve. As long as they each remain worthy of their temple covenants, and the plan Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ, have in mind for them, they remain a vital part of the very extensive family to which they belong.

This union does not end at death. If they keep the covenants they make with each other and with Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ, they will continue their relationship with one another and their worthy children, for all eternity.

All of you who may be reading this blog post have seen examples of happy marriages. Such marriages can be such a great source of true joy.

This scripture was shown in the previous blog post. D. and C. 110: 14-16

14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—

15 To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—

16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.

As LDS Church members form their own families, they have the great responsibility of researching their family lines and ensuring that each of their ancestors, as far back as can be researched, have had their temple work done vicariously. This is something LDS Church members cannot neglect. While remaining worthy of a temple recommend, they have the responsibility of attending the temple regularly and doing ordinances for the dead there, even if they are not in their family line. Husbands and wives doing this together, as regularly as possible, will not only bless those on the other side of the veil, whose temple work they are doing, it will actually strengthen their marital relationship.

Now let's turn again to the writings of Lehi's descendants who were anxiously looking forward to the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Book of Mormon prophets knew, by the spirit of prophecy and revelation, that Jesus would be born at the promised time: about 600 years after their father, Lehi, left Jerusalem. Lehi left Jerusalem in about 600 B.C.

In our pre-mortal existence as spirit children of our Heavenly father, all of us mortals chose to follow Jesus, our elder brother and not to follow Satan. This is evidenced by our having been allowed to gain a mortal body. The fact is, as each of us should know, Satan works on us now to get us to be disobedient to God. Satan, and those spirits who chose to follow him were denied the privilege of gaining a mortal body.

I would like you to now read the scripture below to see how Satan was trying to cause the Nephites and Lamanites to disbelieve in the coming of Christ. You will read there about the very challenging experiences of another Nephi, a descendant of Nephi, the son of Lehi. This Nephi was the son of Helaman and would become one of Jesus's Nephite apostles.

Please read this scripture: (Because it starts at verse 1 you might enjoy listening to it as well as reading it.  III Nephi 1:1-30

Painting: Del Parson
As you have just read, the new star in the heavens was seen by the Nephite-Lamanite Nation in Central America as well as by the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem, about which, we learned from the Bible. The shepherds heard the angels singing and were told by an angel where they should go to find the baby in a Bethlehem manger. The three wisemen from the East were guided by that same star as they traveled to bring gifts to the baby who was born "king of the Jews."
(Painting by: Hans Memling 1479)
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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.


____________


TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: (The First Christmas, Did Lehi and His Descendant, Enos, Look Forward To that? -Post 30a. . . 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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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. 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

30h - Did Lehi and his Descendants Look Forward to the First Christmas? Christmas Has Always Been a Very Important Family Event!

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

FAMILIES ARE SO IMPORTANT!


I intimated in my previous blog post that in the eternal view of life which our Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born as the Babe in the Manger of Bethlehem, has brought about for us, that we can come to realize that our family relationships extend back to Adam and Eve and are extended forward to the time of the Second Coming to Earth of Jesus Christ and beyond.

In this post I am emphasizing those things that our Savior, Jesus Christ has brought about for our family members, both living and dead. Regarding the dead, remember the words of Alma from the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, you read in the previous post:

Alma 40:11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

Therefore, we can be assured that our deceased loved ones, in actual truth, are still living, although in a different state of living. I now will help you know that our Savior, Jesus Christ, through His latter-day Church, and specifically through revelations by the spirit of prophecy and revelation through his prophets in our day and time have given us the opportunity of uniting all of our family, with us, our ancestors and also our descendants.

You may ask what has this to do with the First Christmas? Without Jesus having been born and then doing all that He came into this world to do, this reuniting of families would not have been possible.

As has been usual in this "First Christmas" blog series, I will quote from the Book of Mormon, words recorded by one of Father Lehi's descendants. As in the previous blog, this will be Mormon, who, again, recorded the eyewitness account of Nephi, one of our Savior's American apostles who was called to that sacred calling soon after Jesus' resurrection in Jerusalem, on His visit to Central America.

No modern air travel is needed by a resurrected body, which Jesus was the first to have of all who have lived on earth. Each one of us will have a resurrected body in the own due time of the Lord! However, we each still have much to do in this life as I'll be showing below, in bringing family members, both living and dead, together as a united family.

At one of the resurrected Jesus' visits with the Nephite-Lamanite Nation in Central America which took place, significantly, near the temple they had built earlier, He told them along with many other important things He wanted them to know the following:

(He told them he was sharing with them these words of His prophet, Malachi, who had led his Israelitish people before His birth.): The Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 25: 5 - 6 (Also recorded in the Old Testament, Malachi 4:5-6)

Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Now, please let that promise of the Lord's through His prophet Malachi as recorded by his American prophets Nephi and Mormon, sink into your minds and hearts. What I've been telling you about the reuniting of families is just what our Savior Jesus Christ has made available for all of us through His successful life's mission.

Elijah, in fulfillment of Malachi's prophesy, did appear to Joseph Smith, the Lord's latter-day prophet and Oliver Cowdery on April 3, 1836 in the Kirtland Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here is Joseph Smith's report about this event.

D and C 110: 13 After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:

14 Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—

15 To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—

16 Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors. (emphasis added)

Wow! I had to say that word (wow) because that record shows that which you've been told regarding the uniting of families. This has already actually already been taking place since soon after that recorded visit from Elijah. The power from Jesus Christ was given to His Church in our day to seal by the power of the Spirit of the Lord, family members one to another!

This sealing doesn't just automatically happen. Worthy family members who have been baptized as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, must attend to this business in one of the more than 130 temples that have already been built by this Church world-wide, with even more having been already scheduled to be built. After the ordinances and sealings are done for these living members, they can then, vicariously, do these same ordinances for their ancestors whose records they have diligently and carefully researched.

I will end this post by showing you pictures of six of these very beautiful temples along with two typical temple baptismal fonts where family members, can be baptized vicariously for their loved deceased ancestors, back as far as you can find their records.

These pictures, from top to bottom, are as follows: Mexico City Temple, San Diego, California Temple, Hong Kong, China Temple, a baptismal font of an unidentified LDS Temple, Santiago, Chile Temple, Baptismal font of the Salt Lake City Temple, Washington D.C. Temple, and the Helsinki, Finland Temple.

Something you may want to know: The twelve oxen holding up each of all our temple baptismal fonts, represent the twelve tribes of Israel.

You and I and everybody can be very grateful for the birth of our Savior at Bethlehem so that this great reuniting with loved ones could take place!

____________

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: Family Members Are Each Important To Us, Both the Living and the Dead. Our Savior Promised To Turn the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children and The Hearts of the Children To Their Fathers - Post 30h. 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 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. 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

30g - Did Lehi and his Descendants Look Forward to the First Christmas?

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

FAMILIES ARE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT
TO US AT CHRISTMAS TIME! AND SO
ANCESTORS OUGHT TO BE REMEMBERED THEN ALSO!

Before we delve further into the writings of Lehi's descendants regarding their knowledge of the First Christmas and it's ultimate purpose, I am suggesting, to perhaps some of you to whom some of the concepts presented here are new, that you allow your view of your life's role to be broadened and to more fully include your relationships not only with your immediate family, your spouse and children, and with your children's children and so on, but also with all those family members who came before you, and may have already left this present state of life.

I say present state of life because Book of Mormon prophets such as Alma the Younger make it very clear to us that life continues after death. That dearly loved close relative you knew well who died is actually still in existence, but in another state of life. They actually are looking forward to seeing you when you leave this present life.

Alma 40:11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

Now let me broaden your view some more. The words in the next paragraph are those of Jesus Christ which were revealed to His latter-day Prophet, Joseph Smith. They clarify in a grand way the great purpose of our living, along with all our living loved ones and our ancestors going all the way back to Adam and Eve.

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

These truths can now be directly applied to the great purpose of the Son of God having been born as a mortal. He was born as The Babe In the Manger of Bethlehem so that in His mortal life he was much like the rest of us except for our Eternal (or Heavenly) Father being the father of His mortal body while Mary, was a mortal as were our mothers from our generation way back to Mother, Eve. The great purpose of Jesus's birth was to put him in the position where he could do that which only He could do in, "bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

He did His part by living the example of a perfect life and teaching us during His life how to do our part and then doing that which only He could do, atone for our sins and bring about the resurrection. Those of you to whom these truths are new and perhaps a little startling may desire to relax a little and let your feelings and mind settle down some and read these past several paragraphs over again. You may need to pray about all of this. Please do. Take your time!

As I said above, these concepts will help us more fully appreciate what a great blessing the First Christmas is to each and everyone of us, not just at Christmas time but all year round for the rest of our lives and into our time in post-mortality and forever.


Again, I will rely on the writings of another of Father Lehi's descendants to help us see the full meaning of what the birth and then life, atonement and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ means to all of us including our families, our descendants and our ancestors.

The words linked below were originally recorded first-hand by Nephi, who was called by the recently resurrected Jesus when he appeared to the Nephites in Central America, to serve as one of his apostles there. Mormon then added these words to the Book of 3 Nephi, one of the sub-books of the Book of Mormon.



The Resurrected Jesus Christ in A.D. 34 Teaches the Nephites in Central America -by John Scott



Please read this scripture:  III Nephi 27: 13-19

____________


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 First) Christmas, Did Lehi and His Descendant Nephi (of 34 A.D.) Look Forward to That? - Post 30g 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 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. 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

30f - Did Lehi and his Descendants Look Forward to the First Christmas?

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

Mary, Baby Jesus and Joseph -by Ted Henninger

In this series we have read scriptures regarding the coming birth of Jesus the Christ written by the following Book of Mormon prophets:

Nephi (between 600 and 592 B.C.),


Enos (between 544 and 421 B.C.,


Omni (between 279 and 130 B.C.)


Abinadi (148 B.C.)


Benjamin (about 124 B.C.)

Each of these scriptures helped us to see very clearly that these Book of Mormon prophets knew very clearly about the coming birth of Jesus the Christ many years before He was born. They were very grateful for what His birth and life's mission would do for them, and for their descendants, and all of the House of Israel, and each of us you and me, and all mankind.

Each of those scriptures are sure evidence of the truthfulness of the theme of our Christmas series of posts.

Now we have come to the time of about 6 B.C. There are the words of a number of other Nephite prophets I could quote, but I choose to quote Samuel, the Lamanite. The Lord commanded him to travel to the City of Zarahemla to tell the people there of the coming birth of Jesus Christ and of the signs that would appear confirming that. The Nephites Samuel tried to teach at first were hard-hearted and they chased him away from their city. However, the Lord commanded his faithful servant, Samuel to return sometime later.

Below several other pictures is a picture of Samuel preaching from the wall of the City of Zarhemla. The Lord protected him as Samuel was on the Lord's errand. The arrows could not harm Samuel. They each missed.

Here are pictures of some children and several adults whom you can pretend are happily anticipating Christmas and could be listening to these scriptural testimonies as they are being read to them by a loving teacher.

Painting by Arnold Friberg

Samuel was commanded by the Lord to tell this unbelieving people of signs that should be shown from the heavens in their land (ancient Central America) just before the Savior of the World was to be born.

You now, along with the children and the adults pictured above can read of the great prophesies Samuel made, by the power of the Holy Ghost (by the Spirit of prophecy and revelation.)

Please read this scripture. (You can also listen to  this one because you will be reading from the first verse.) Helaman 14: 1-31

You may want to make notes of what you thought and felt as you read this scripture and viewed the picture of Samuel the Lamanite preaching from the wall of the City of Zarahemla. In my next post I'll briefly review what important things Samuel prophesied of the coming of Christ.

Check back in two or three days for my next blog post.

_____________


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

____________


TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Decide To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: (The First) Christmas, Did Lehi and His Descendants Look Forward To That? -Post 30f. 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/s 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 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. 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

30e - Did Lehi and his Descendants Look Forward to the First Christmas?

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

****

TODAY'S THEME

Christmas, a Joyful Time!

What makes Christmas a joyful time? Is it just because Baby Jesus was born then? And because we receive presents then?


Or is it really because of what that baby was to do for all of us after He had grown up!



Jesus, although having lived perfectly, and having gone through very extreme persecution by even His nation's leaders, and then having shown many marvelous miracles though His divine power, and then being betrayed by one of His chosen apostles, and then by going through His suffering in Gethsemane to atone for our sins, and then by dieing on the cross, and then bringing about the Forgiveness of Sins (Atonement) for those who repent! and then eventual resurrection for all of us, even for those who had lived wicked lives without repenting during their mortal lives?

Painting by Arnold Friberg

One of my favorite Book of Mormon Prophets is Abinadi who bravely faced one very wicked Nephite king, Noah, and his wicked priests, and taught them the truth about Jesus Christ who was to born as a baby so as to become the Redeemer of the World.

We aren't told anything about Abinadi's background in the Book of Mosiah, one of the individual books in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Christ. What we learned about what he did in the land of Nephi-Lehi must have been written by Alma or Mosiah and perhaps edited by Mormon, the great compiler of the Book of Mormon. These events occurred about 148 years before Baby Jesus was born.

I have written much about Abinadi in a previous blog (Post 12). He was sent to call King Noah and his priests to repentance, but he knew beforehand that they would not believe his true words. Abinadi actually knew that they would kill him, nonetheless he told them exactly what God wanted him to tell them.

I state very surely that Abinadi's words and actions were a great future Christmas gift for us. What he tells us in what I will ask you to read below really tells us why Christmas is such a wonderful event. This is just a small portion of what Abinadi taught King Noah and his people, including one of his wicked priests, Alma, who was brought to repentance, and did much good as a result, including writing all of Abinadi's words and under authority from God founded Jesus' Church.I suggest you prayerfully read Abinadi's words which will help you understand more fully why Christmas should be such a joyful time. Before you read Abinadi's words. This  painting really tells us a lot about what was going on there in the king's court room.

Before reading the scripture below, please say a silent or vocal prayer asking Heavenly Father to help you really understand Abinadi's inspired words and by them understand the greatest of all earthly missions, that of Jesus Christ who was born in a lowly Bethlehem manger.

Please ask the Lord to help you know how all of this applies to you personally.

You can now read that scripture. Listening may help you to better remember what you read! That option will be given you when the scripture is on your screen: Mosiah 14: 1-12



MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES! (On behalf of the Ancient Prophet, Abinadi) Please read and listen to this scripture again to really understand and appreciate Abinadi's words.

____________



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


__________


TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Decide To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Click on the Following: (The First) Christmas, Did Lehi and His Descendants Look Forward To That? - Post 30e. 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/s 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 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. 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