David Journal

Category: Scripture Notes

  • Go back and try again

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    by

    David
    in

    It seems to be a pattern that servants of the Lord are less than successful in declaring repentance on their first pass. Alma was cast out of Ammonihah and then told to return. Nephi prophesied the death of the city judge and then miraculously told the judges trying to condemn him how they would prove…

  • Mormon resting

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    David
    in

    Mormon takes a minute to editorialize and take a break from the work of going through the record of one of the darkest times in Nephite history when the people turned to wickedness despite the great respite they had received because of repentance. I’m sure that it was spiritually draining for him to read through…

  • Four years

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    David
    in

    This cadence of four years (or less) of peace after facing destruction seems both maddeningly short and unfortunately predictable. Maybe it is evidence of a social circadian rhythm that—outside of truly unique circumstances—societies undergo noticeable shifts in temperament within about that timeframe.

  • A cathartic pattern

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    David
    in

    I can imagine how cathartic it would be for the people to grieve over the destruction, pain, loss, and fear. That was only the first step. After they had time for that initial grief their attention was focused on the voice of Christ detailing the destruction and the reasons for it. Then they had hours…

  • Three days in utter darkness

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    David
    in

    I am imagining what it would be like to go for three days without any light. Frankly, the voice in the darkness would be something to cling to when the vapor of darkness is literally palpable.

  • A new door opens

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    David
    in

    Nephi saw the wickedness of his people and prayed for some way that they could be turned to righteousness. Perhaps he thought his prophecy about the chief judge would lead to that end. Little did he know that was more of a test for him before the Lord opened a door for him with the…

  • Is there anything we can say?

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    David
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    The five who ran did not believe Nephi but they were willing to believe if his words proved true. The sign was clear enough to them for their conversion. It makes me wonder if there is anything today that we can offer to people who are basically decent but still don’t believe in the danger…

  • Leading from behind

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    David
    in

    How often is it that wicked men try to lead from the safety of the back (or operate in the “safety” of darkness? The Gadianton judges who disliked the words of Nephi were unwilling to take him themselves so they tried to rile the people up against him instead and when a portion of the…

  • What kind of prayer?

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    by

    David
    in

    I read about people hearing Nephi pray and running to gather a multitude before he is finished and wonder what that prayer was like. Did he hear people gathering but just thought it was the regular traffic on the highway? How long did it take the people to gather?

  • More political parallelism

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    David
    in

    I see the way the Gadiantons were embraced by the Nephites and rejected by the Lamanites in a fairly short period of time and I see the takeover of the GOP. Rather than reject someone who went against everything they claimed to value the GOP went from having a loud minority of MAGA faithful to…