At Last We Meet Abinadi

In Mosiah 11 and 12 we meet Abinadi.  I like to picture him as younger, not like the pictures of him as an old man with a long gray beard.  It's obvious that he knows he's not going home again after this because he pulls out all stops in talking to the wicked priests and Noah.

They have brought him before them to question him, but he immediately takes over and proceeds to question them.  What starts him off is the question asked by one of the priests.  I'm convinced that this priest was Alma, who must have been studying the words of Isaiah and was ripe for conversion.  Alma asks him to explain a verse (Isaiah 52:7) concerning those who teach the Gospel, specifically the Savior, but also prophets, teachers, and missionaries.

Abinadi was prepared for this meeting.  I'm sure he had been fasting and praying, and now he takes over the meeting and teaches and admonishes and calls to repentance.  Although part of his purpose was to remove any excuse from the wicked priests, I think his main purpose was to teach Alma and prepare him to repent and become the great prophet he was destined to be.  So I approach the rest of Abinadi's teachings as directed mainly at Alma.

March Fourth

I gave the spiritual thought in our devotional at the FS center yesterday.  This is what I said:

I was actually excited to give a thought today because of the date.  Today's date is more of a commandment than a date:  March Fourth!  It says we need to proceed and move forward and progress.

The scripture in 2 Nephi 31:20 comes to mind.   Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

 Elder David A. Bednar gave a CES devotional on the University of Texas at Arlington campus.  He said:

"As individuals confront trials and tribulations they must not shrink, retreat or recoil.  Many of the lessons we are to learn in mortality can only be received through the things we experience and sometimes suffer.  And God expects and trusts us to face temporary mortal adversity with His help so we can learn what we need to learn and ultimately become what we are to become in eternity."

Elder Bednar shared an experience he had while president of BYU-Idaho, when he and his wife, Susan, hosted Elder Neal A. Maxwell and his wife as they visited the university's campus. Earlier in that same year, Elder Maxwell had gone through debilitating chemotherapy for leukemia, causing his physical strength and stamina to be limited during the visit.

"During the course of our conversations that day, I asked Elder Maxwell what lessons he had learned through his illness," Elder Bednar said. "I will remember always the precise and penetrating answer he gave. 'Dave,' he said, 'I have learned that not shrinking is more important than surviving.'"

It is often during difficult experiences — sometimes filled with pain and trial — that individuals are able to build character, purify their heart and expand their soul as they gain the education they came to earth to acquire.

"The Savior did not shrink in Gethsemane or Golgotha.  Elder Maxwell also did not shrink. This mighty apostle pressed forward steadfastly and was blessed with additional time in mortality to love, to serve, to teach and to testify. Those concluding years of his life were an emphatic exclamation point to his example of devoted discipleship — through both his words and his deeds."

Just as Elder Maxwell faced tribulations with an understanding of God's plan of happiness, grace and dignity, so can all valiant Latter-day Saints around the world, Elder Bednar said.
Elder Bednar shared a story of a young couple who, only three weeks after getting married, the husband was diagnosed with bone cancer. Through their experience they have learned spiritually vital lessons about not shrinking, and about allowing their individual will to be swallowed up in the will of the Father.

Elder Bednar told of an experience that happened as he visited them in the hospital where he was prompted to ask the young man if he had the faith not to be healed. Surprised by the questions he asked, Elder Bednar felt that as he counseled with the couple an understanding came and that if God's will were for the good of the young man to be healed, then that blessing could only be received if the valiant couple first had the faith not to be healed.

"In other words, [they] needed to overcome, through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, the 'natural man' tendency in all of us to demand impatiently and insist incessantly on the blessings we want and believe we deserve," he said. "We recognized a principle that applies to every devoted disciple: strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in our lives — even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted," he said.

It is through allowing faith in Jesus Christ and a complete submission to His will that individuals are able to find greater comfort and peace, he said. Righteousness and faith are instrumental in moving mountains — if moving mountains accomplishes God's purposes and is in accordance with His will.

"Even with strong faith, many mountains will not be moved," he said. "And not all of the sick and infirmed will be healed. If all opposition were curtailed, if all maladies were removed, then the primary purposes of the Father's plan would be frustrated."

I didn't actually use all of that, but decided to paste it here because it's so good.  But I concluded with the idea that just as Elder Bednar taught, we need to move forward in faith.  We all have trials and adversity and we must not shrink but press forward, press on, march forth.

I Will Not Succor My People in the Day of Their Transgression

 Mosiah 7:29 For behold, the Lord hath said: I will not ^asuccor my people in the day of their transgression; but I will hedge up their ways that they prosper not; and their doings shall be as a ^bstumbling block before them.

The people of Limhi had gone through a lot of trials, which they brought upon themselves through transgression.  Sometimes people think they can break the commandments and the Lord is supposed to still grant their every wish and help them along. People think God is some kind of good fairy who only wants them to be happy.  Well, He does want us to be happy, but not like spoiled children who get so much candy they get a tummy-ache.  He wants us to be happy because we're being obedient and growing to be responsible adults.

The people of Limhi had been very wicked under King Noah's reign and when they tried to throw off the yoke of the Lamanites the Lord was slow to hear their cries.  They had to repent and truly humble themselves and prove their obedience before he came to their assistance.

However, I've observed that even when people are really in the depths of sin that the Lord sends promptings and nudges to their minds and hearts to tell them that they need to change.  He never gives up on us or abandons us.  There is always a way back.

 

Looking Back at King Benjamin's Great Sermon

I'm a little sad to be finished studying King Benjamin's speech.  There are so many life-changing teachings there.  I've tried to visualize what it was like to be there, and really can't imagine it.  But we do know that the people truly repented and were born again; that they fell to the earth because they were so overcome by the Spirit; that they entered into a covenant to take Christ's name upon them.

We also know that when an exploration party returned to the land of Nephi to find the Nephites who had returned to that land, one of the first things Ammon did as he greeted King Limhi and addressed the people was to tell them about the teachings of Benjamin.

 Mosiah 8:3 And he also rehearsed unto them the last words which king Benjamin had ^ataught them, and explained them to the people of king Limhi, so that they might understand all the words which he spake.

That tells me two things.  First, the sermon was one of the major events in the time the groups were separated.  Second, Ammon had studied and pondered the sermon enough that he could rehearse and explain it to the people.  If someone asked me what our President Monson said in our last conference, I might be able to discuss it for a couple of minutes and give a few highlights, but not rehearse and explain the whole sermon.  It surely changed those people.

One more piece of evidence of the impact of the sermon.  Chapter 26 of Mosiah tells us this:

1 Now it came to pass that there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the ^awords of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did ^bnot believe the tradition of their fathers.

2 They did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe concerning the coming of Christ.

 3 And now because of their ^aunbelief they could not ^bunderstand the word of God; and their hearts were hardened.

So these of the rising generation did not believe and their hearts were hardened because they were too small at the time of the sermon to understand his words.  This tells me that for almost an entire generation, all of the people DID believe and it changed their entire lives.  That was the impact of Benjamin's great sermon.  

The Name Can Be Blotted Out Through Transgression

Mosiah 5:11 And I would that ye should remember also, that this is the ^aname that I said I should give unto you that never should be blotted out, except it be through transgression; therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts.

Benjamin wanted to teach his people to be born again in Christ, and he used a lot of symbolism that we find in the temple.  The name that he gave them is an example of that.  He promises that it would never be blotted out, except through transgression.

We've all seen it.  Someone whose light shines brightly, who radiates the Gospel in their lives.  And then something happens.  Benjamin says it's sin.  Perhaps they take offense at something someone says.  Perhaps they start missing church.  I don't know what causes it.  Maybe they start criticizing their leaders.  But the light goes out and they find fault with the church and lose their way.

In Sri Lanka we were introduced to a man who used to be a Catholic priest.  He told us the story of how he found the Gospel and was converted.  Then, of course, he had to leave the Catholic church and find a new job.  It was a very difficult time, but he did it because he knew the Gospel was true.  But somehow, he lost his grip on that truth.  At the time we met him, he was almost totally inactive.  He still seemed to hold on to his testimony, because as he related his story, he was still very moved, but it was not enough to keep him attending church.  

It was so sad to think that he had given up everything in his life for the Church because he found that pearl of great price.  But then he let go of the pearl.

I guess the parable of the sower is a good description of what happens.  Some seeds fall onto stony places and bloom for a while, and then cares of the world come and choke them out and the plants wither and die.

It grieves my heart to think of these people!  I guess we just need to keep loving them and praying for them and hope that they will come back in the Lord's time.

Faith is a Gift and a Commandment

Mosiah 5:4 And it is the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy.

The people had faith on the teachings of King Benjamin and because of that faith, they were blessed with great knowledge which gave them exceedingly great joy.

We know that faith is the first principle of the Gospel, according to the 4th Article of Faith.  Ponder on this statement from the Church website:  In order for faith to lead to salvation, it must be centered in the Lord Jesus Christ (see Acts 4:10-12; Mosiah 3:17; Moroni 7:24-26; Articles of Faith 1:4). We can exercise faith in Christ when we have an assurance that He exists, a correct idea of His character, and a knowledge that we are striving to live according to His will. 

Many books have been written about faith, but I'm not sure I really comprehend it.  I believe faith is a gift that God gives to us when we seek Him and are obedient.  It starts as a small seedling, as Alma described in Alma 32, but it is our responsibility to nurture it and feed it and exercise it.  We do those things as we study His Gospel and ponder on His teachings and continue to be obedient.  We must be "anxiously engaged" in many good works.

Exercising faith doesn't sound like a spectator sport.  We can't be lazy and complacent to exercise our faith.  We must be proactive in doing good things.  But it doesn't take much faith to travel along a smooth road.  It's when the road gets bumpy and hilly that things get hard.

Boyd K. Packer gave a talk called Candle of the Lord.  He's talking here about how to gain a testimony.  "Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that “leap of faith,” as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two. “The spirit of man,” as the scripture says, indeed “is the candle of the Lord.” (Prov. 20:27.)"

I believe this applies to exercising our faith.  We must sometimes "step into the darkness"  in our obedience in order for our faith to grow.  Then the Lord will bless us with more faith, and the cycle will continue.

According to Their Wants

We have a problem with service.  We want to give what is convenient and easy for us to give.  We want to give a meal or a dollar, but find it hard to give time or anything that really inconveniences us.

Don't get me wrong.  Sacrificing our money or our time to make a meal for someone else is noble and admirable.  But what if the person needs help in training for a job, or a ride to the doctor?  Somehow we need to learn to find out from the person and from inspiration from the Lord what they need and want.

I remember reading about some immigrants from an Asian country who arrived with practically nothing but the clothes on their backs.   The ward welcomed them and stocked their pantry with food.. But the newcomers were only used to fish and rice and didn't know how to prepare the American food.  They needed friends who spoke their language who could teach and guide them and who would find out what they WANTED.

We can only know these things through inspiration.  Sometimes even the people themselves don't know what they need.  What they think they want may be different than what they really need.  Only the Lord knows that.

I was thinking this morning about Christ's Atonement.  If you were writing a fiction story about a god who had to save a world, you would imagine that an immortal and all-powerful being could save a world by waving his hand or writing a proclamation or something easy.  Maybe call down his minions or something.   You wouldn't imagine that an all-powerful being would have to SUFFER for the world he was saving.  Or that He would be WILLING to suffer for those lowly people in His world.  But He was willing, and He did suffer for us.  Because He loves us.  And He wants us to be like Him and to sacrifice, maybe even suffer a little, for those around us.  Because we love them as He loves us.