Tag: 4 Nephi

The people had a lifetime of unity with no -ites of any kind but then as they grouped into factions they took the same names as had started eight hundred years earlier—not just the major nations, Nephites and Lamanites, but also the subgroups Jacobites, Josephites, Zoramites, Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites.

There was no reason for anyone among the children of Lehi to dwindle in unbelief after the coming it Christ because they had the true doctrine and even if people might misunderstand they had at least 3 disciples of Christ along them who knew the true doctrine and were known of the people. It was…

The key to this communal ownership was that it was not impressed upon the people. They were free to not have things in common but because of their love for Christ and their brethren they choose to shall all things. That is vastly different than when we use government to mandate that people cannot own…

It seems to me that when the people began to split apart—not having things in common and forming new churches—that anyone who desired to follow Christ would have easily been able to see where the immortal disciples of Christ were connected and this which was the correct church. Until the disciples withdrew the people had…

I got a sense of how people privately practicing wickedness in a society that is at least outwardly righteous would feel constrained and unfairly limited. That would naturally lead them to chafe and seek to change the social norms around them.

After 160 years of peace and prosperity – with very little dissention of any kind – the people descended into major wickedness and division within 30 years. The cast majority of the people had lived through the enduring prosperity and yet they chose wickedness and pride.

It took less than 3 years to have everyone converted to the church of Christ and then there were at least 74 years if complete peace, no servants or slaves, no poverty or strife among them. Somewhere in the next 84 years (likely the latter part) there began to be a small division but as…

What would a society look like after twenty years of continuous righteousness (and it’s attendant prosperity)? Some people might answer that with thoughts of technological advancement. While technological advancement would certainly be possible (even likely) prosperity is separate from technological progress. Prosperity fosters progress but doesn’t demand it. After twenty years I would expect to…

I feel that this pattern of building up churches not into Christ and breaking of from the true church of Christ will be repeated. The thing I wonder is if it will mainly be building up churches that did not originate with the restored church (which already happens) or if the time will come when…