Category: Scripture Notes
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None left to catch up
When Christ left the people knew that he would return the next day and they gathered together as many people as possible to hear him that next day—many more than had been there the first day. Christ did not come first thing in the morning. He came late enough that the disciples had time to…
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New realizations
A few things came to me that I had not noticed previously (or some just came more impactfully). First, the way Jesus talks about the other sheep that he still needs to visit seems to digest that there was no guarantee of them leaving a record or otherwise being known. He told the neighbors about…
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The doctrine of Christ
The doctrine of Christ is not to stir the hearts of the children of men up to anger one against another but that such things should be done away and by their fruits ye shall know whether those who try to lead are in harmony with him—this who stoke division should be avoided.
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Targeted destruction
The fact that the destruction was greater in the north where the most wicked of the tribes had fled is no coincidence. Likewise it is not by chance that there is no report of bountiful getting destroyed where the righteous would be gathering later. I’m sure they gathered there because it had not been destroyed…
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Repentance vs Pride
We see the effect of the people repenting in the face of an existential threat—they drew closer together and closer to God as they weathered the threat and the established equitable laws in the aftermath. On the other hand, we see the effect of pride as people were lifted up in division due to disparities…
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Two thoughts
It occurs to me that one way to know that Samuel had succeeded in his leaving even if the people did not repent is the fact that the people were focused on the fulfilling of his prophecies. Before they were fulfilled the people liked for them and planned based on whether they would be fulfilled…
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The declarations
In reading the two official declarations I find that they each have a different feel. In the first the prophet was clearly responding to outside pressure (the law of the land) but doing so for the purpose of pursuing a larger good (keeping the church functioning and able to bring salvation for the living and…
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Foreshadowing Samuel
I never realized before how close Mormon comes to directly quoting the words of Samuel the Lamanite when he warns of what would happen if the prophets of the Lord should curse the treasure of the people for their wickedness.
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How unsteady
It continues to amaze me how quickly and repeatedly the people can go from treating Nephi like a pariah to hailing him as a prophet to rejecting his call to seeking his assistance and hailing him again to turning to their pride again.
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Weak conversion
Right after some people had declared that Nephi was a prophet and done even claimed he was a god he was rejected by everyone when he declared that they should repent. It is likely that there were some individuals who accepted his call to repent but also likely that there were those who had declared…