1:2 - "...I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe..."
Mormon gave a great example. We can take his example and be quick to observe and slow to act irrationally.
1:15 - "...and I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus..."
When Mormon was 15 years old he was visited by the Lord.
We definitely need to follow his example. If we do what it takes, the blessings come.
We need to follow the example of the Savior and His servants.
1:17 - "...But I did remain among them, but I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake..."
Here it shows some consequences of not having faith. We have great blessings removed from us, like the prophets. The land is also cursed. It makes sense to work for the blessings.
If we want the blessings, we need to keep the commandments that they are predicated upon.
verse 5 - "...And there were great and marvelous works wrought by the disciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did heal the sick, and raise the dead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear; and all manner of miracles did they work among the children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles save it were in the name of Jesus..."
Miracles do not come from us. We are the instruments in the hands of the Lord to accomplish them, but the power comes from Him. We are blessed to be instruments and chosen/asked to serve the Lord.
We need to be humble and grateful for that blessing that He has given us.
verse 15-18 - "...and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God..."
The people were faithful in keeping the commandments, and the Lord poured out His blessings upon them.
If we are faithful, we will receive these blessings as well. We can be happy now - we don't have to wait until after this life to be happy.
verse 20 - "...there was still peace in the land, save it were a small part of the people who had revolted from the church and taken upon them the name of Lamanites; therefore there began to be Lamanites again in the land..."
A group revolted and took upon them the name of Lamanites. It's more a matter of belief rather than lineage because a lot of these people could have been Nephites by lineage but decided to call themselves Lamanites.
If we do not keep the commandments, we could technically be classified as "Lamanite."
We need to keep the commandments so we do not become somebody we don't want to become (Alma 43:4).
30:1 - "...Hearken, O ye Gentiles, and hear the words of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, which he hath commanded me that I should speak concerning you..."
This is a great example of faith. Mormon, even though he knew it might be taken offensively, wrote this because he trusted and had faith in the Lord. Nobody likes being the bearer of bad news or of offense. If they do, they're weird. But we need to follow the direction of the Lord, even if sometimes we think it may be offensive to people.
30:1-2 - "...Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of Israel..."
If we don't repent, we will not be found with the Savior at that great and glorious day. In a coming day, we will stand before the Savior, and we will have a perfect remembrance of our works and guilt (Alma 11:42-44). It is up to us to not procrastinate the day of our repentance (Alma 34:32-34).
29:1-3 - "...And now behold, I say unto you that when the Lord shall see fit, in his wisdom, that these sayings shallacome unto the Gentiles according to his word, then ye may know that thebcovenant which the Father hath made with the children of Israel, concerning their restoration to the lands of their inheritance, is already beginning to be fulfilled. And ye may know that the words of the Lord, which have been spoken by the holy prophets, shall all be fulfilled; and ye need not say that the Lord delays his coming unto the children of Israel..."
When we see these signs, we need to not think that the Lord has delayed His coming, but remain true and firm to the commandments.
29:5 - "...Wo unto him that spurneth at the doings of the Lord; yea, wo unto him that shall deny the Christ and his works!"
We must have faith in the Lord! We need to trust Him and know that we may not understand all His doings, but that they are for our own good.
29:7 - "...wo unto him that shall say at that day, to get gain, that there can be no miracle wrought by Jesus Christ; for he that doeth this shall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy, according to the word of Christ!..."
We need to have faith that miracles can and do occur, and then justly attribute it to the Savior. He is the one that made it possible through the atonement.
28:1-3 - "...We desire that after we have lived unto the age of man, that our ministry, wherein thou hast called us, may have an end, that we may speedily come unto thee in thy kingdom..."
The thing they most desired was to return and live with Him.
That should give us an idea of where our priorities should be. Above all, we need to be living in the manner that will bring us home to live with the Lord and our family.
28:10 - "...ye have desired that ye might bring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand. And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father..."
Why would they have a fulness of joy? Because they would go forth, preaching the gospel. Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy (2 Nephi 2:25). So our purpose is to preach the gospel (Alma 29:9), which helps God in His purpose (Moses 1:39) - that's why we preach repentance - to bring others unto Christ and have a fulness of joy with them in His kingdom.
28:17,36-40 - "...But behold, since I wrote, I have inquired of the Lord..."
The Three Nephites were changed, but not resurrected - but at first Mormon didn't know what change that it was. What is impressive about this story is that Mormon knew that to find out if they had been transfigured, he could ask God. And he did get an answer - it reminds me of 1 Nephi 15:8 where Nephi asks his brethren if they had inquired of the Lord.
This is exactly what we should do! If we want to learn or grow, asking of the Lord will help us learn.
28:34-35 - "...for whoso receiveth not the words of Jesus and the words of those whom he hath sent receiveth not him; and therefore he will not receive them at the last day; And it would be better for them if they had not been born..."
This also describes those who offend little children - a strong statement to those who reject faith!
We must not reject the words of Jesus and we need to follow in faith.
27:3-8 - "...And they said unto him: Lord, we will that thou wouldst tell us the name whereby we shall call this church..."
This is important, because we do not worship Joseph Smith, Mormon, Moses, Luther, or anybody else except God and His Son..
It's important that we do not call the church after someone else.
27:5-7 - "... Have they not read the scriptures, which say ye must take upon you the name of Christ, which is my name? For by this name shall ye be called at the last day; And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day..."
Whatever we do, we must do it as if the Savior were in our place. This is how we should take upon us His name. We need to be examples at all times, in all things, and in all places.
27:10-12 - "...And if it so be that the church is built upon my gospel then will the Father show forth his own works in it..."
We are an example of the Believers (1 Timothy 4:10). Others look at us and judge the church after what we do. Though they may not completely justified in that, they do have a point. I wouldn't want to join a church that wouldn't be able to help me be saved. What would be the point?
We need to be good examples and build upon the gospel.
27:13-22 - "...Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me..."
Elder Daniel K. Judd talked about the quality of teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the November 2007 Ensign, Pg. 93-95.
"Just as I learned as a young man that grain was more appealing to our horses than a dirt-filled bucket...as teachers and leaders, it is vital that we nourish those we teach and lead by focusing on the fundamental doctrines, principles, and applications emphasized in the scriptures and the words of our latter-day prophets instead of spending precious time on subjects and sources of lesser importance."
When we focus on the doctrine, it makes all the difference, and helps us to improve behavior quicker than the study of behavior improves behavior.
27:29 - "...Therefore, ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened..."
This recurring theme keeps coming back in the scriptures. If we want to receive answers to our prayers and questions, we must act and ask in faith. When we do, in all sincerity, the Lord will answer. We must be ready to receive.
26:2-3 - "...These scriptures, which ye had not with you, the Father commanded that I should give unto you; for it was wisdom in him that they should be given unto future generations. And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory..."
The Father found it wise to give them the scriptures - then He found it wise to expound all things, even from the beginning until the Second Coming.
I find that interesting - because that's pretty much the same vision that Nephi, Jacob, King Benjamin, Noah, Elder Haight, and many others saw: the sweeping tapestry of the Earth, start to end.
Mormon was about to write it down (verse 11), but the Lord commanded him not to write it, to try our faith. I imagine that it was pretty clear on the Second Coming and that we need to have our faith tried more at this time than having everything revealed to us.
26:9 - "...And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them..."
There are times that we want to know 'greater things,' but we need to have faith to accept the 'lesser things' first!
If we cannot accept the 'lesser things,' there is no way that we can progress and accept more. If we hear it, it is highly likely that we would not accept it either.
26:13 - "...Therefore, I would that ye should behold that the Lord truly did teach the people, for the space of three days; and after that he did show himself unto them oft, and did break bread oft, and bless it, and give it unto them..."
This is a great testimony of the resurrected Lord given by the multitude - that they saw the Lord, and that He WAS resurrected with a body of flesh. We know that He was resurrected, and their testimony reinforces our own.
26:14 - "...And it came to pass that he did teach and minister unto the children of the multitude of whom hath been spoken, and he did loose their tongues, and they did speak unto their fathers great and marvelous things, even greater than he had revealed unto the people; and he loosed their tongues that they could utter..."
This is amazing - and it also shows how we should be as little children - meek and humble and full of righteousness so we open ourselves to receiving revelation and having our tongues loosed.
