2 Nephi 32
This chapter is very short, only 9 verses, but there is a lot of content in here, so I'm not exactly sure how this is going to go.
32:1-2 - I can understand how some people could think that baptism is the end all be all of salvation, that's what is taught by some other religions, and really, it's what the natural man wants to believe. This way we're saved, but we can also do whatever we want. There's not really too much effort required after that, so getting there and saying "ok, what do I do now?" makes sense. It's interesting to me though that Nephi's answer to "what do we do now" is "speak with the tongue of Angels." I thought, "what does that mean? I can speak with the tongue of angels? Like what? Speak another language that I have never learned?" Oh Nephi, how amazing you are, and how difficult you are for me to read. Concerning "speak with the tongue of angeles," the IM teaches that it "does not necessarily mean that a person would speak in another language," but that "the Holy Ghost inspires them with the ability and the vocabulary to 'speak with the tongue of angels' so that they might 'shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.'" The IM also quotes President Boyd K. Packer as teaching "Nephi explains that angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, and you can speak with the tongue of angels, which simply means that you can speak with the power of the Holy Ghost. It will be quiet. It will be invisible. There will not be a dove. There will not be cloven tongues or fire. But the power will be there." What? So, to be clear, get baptized, then speak by the power of the Holy Ghost? Hmmm... looks like we need to turn to the Citation Index. I found a talk called "The Tongue of Angels" by Elder Robert S. Wood from the October 1999 general conference. He starts off by saying "what we say and how we present ourselves not only betray our inner person but also mold that person, those around us, and finally our whole society... Our words and external expressions are not neutral, for the reflect both who we are and shape who we are becoming." So if what we say is not neutral, it means that anything and everything is either positive or negative, and we know that to be in keeping with the Holy Spirit, we must be in the positive, toward Godliness. I think I talked about this a couple of days ago, about focusing on what I say to be positive, and really trying to be aware of how I make people feel when I'm around them. It seems to me that this is the same principle. Interesting how the Lord was preparing me to learn this, must mean this is something I need to work on ASAP. The Lord teaches in Matthew "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man... Those things which proceed out of the mouth come... from the heart; and they defile the man." Wow, so what we say has a huge impact on who we are and who we become. I knew that it was important, but I didn't know that it was this big of deal. Elder Wood finally ends with "when we speak and act, we should ask whether our words and expressions are calculated to invite the powers of heaven into our lives and to invite all to come unto Christ." I've been aware that I need to change what I say and talk about for a while, but I guess like everything else, like Jesus said "those things which proceed out of the mouth come... from the heart." So if what you say is negative it only reflects a negative heart, so to speak positively, we must truly be positive in our hearts.
32:3 - "Feasting upon the Words of Christ." Interestingly enough, when describing this section the IM says it "compares our willingness to receive the words of Christ to eating a sumptuous meal. I was taken in by the "willingness to receive" statement. When I had heard "feasting," to me that seems like a very active word, and it was honestly a little overwhelming to me. I'm pretty infantile spiritually and so even though I'm giving 100% it's still very small, and so it doesn't take a lot for me to feel like I'm not doing enough, or that my enthusiasm should be higher. I used to have food issues and so when I think of a feast, I think of excitement, gorging and then regrets of course, so when it's time for me to read the scriptures and I'm not over the top excited, I feel like I'm not "feasting" on the scriptures. But here when it says "willingness to receive" I'm more than willing to receive, I'm anxiously seeking, it makes me feel like I'm on the right track and that I don't need to overwhelm myself with expectation, just enjoy the journey, do my best and that the Lord is pleased with my efforts. Elder Russell M. Nelson teaches "to feast means more than to taste. To feast means to savor. We savor the scriptures by studying them in a spirit of delightful discovery and faithful obedience... they become an integral part of our nature." Kind of like what we were talking about last night, the Holy Ghost comes in and working together you become a whole different person. For me, the scriptures hold a new place in my heart, they are so sacred and special to me, and that's new, but it's because of who I'm becoming. Elder Robert D. Hales teaches more about "feasting" as he says "if you and I are to feast upon the words of Christ, we must study the scriptures and absorb His words through pondering them and making them a part of every thought and action." It's interesting to me that he says "every thought and action" not study them every day, or once a week or something like that, they need to be a part of who we are, what we think about, what we say, what we do, 24/7, not just for a few minutes before bed. This must require a studying and pondering. Elder Hales also spoke upon "the scriptures as the means of hearing the voice of the Lord in our lives. "If we don't... cling to the word of God, we will wander off in strange paths and be lost... feast on them. Don't nibble. They are 'the power of God unto salvation." Here again we see that 24/7 effort must be made to read and grow in the scriptures for our own spiritual well being. Then interestingly enough he says "if the Savior were among us in the flesh today, He would teach us from the scriptures as He taught when He walked upon the earth." This was a unfamiliar concept for me. Even after listening to Jesus the Christ 3 times already, it still didn't occur to me that Jesus taught from the scriptures when he was alive and that he would teach from them today if he were here. I just thought that if he would teach from them, then I should probably take them more seriously. It's like calling for technical support and they read you the instruction manual that came with your machine. I had an interesting insight last Sunday at church, when we first got there. We were in foyer for sacrament because the chapel was full for the primary program and I was talking to my son, and I asked him, what was his favorite story about Jesus? He said the one when he was 12 years old and in the temple. So I asked him who Jesus talking to in the temple? He said he didn't know, so I told him that he was talking to old men who had studied the scriptures their whole lives, but yet when talking to Jesus, they were asking him questions and he knew things that they didn't, and why was this, they had read the scriptures much longer than he had, so why did he know more. I told him that I thought that it was because he prayed and asked to be taught when he read the scriptures, and so Heavenly Father taught him and that if he asked too, he could be taught about the scriptures so that he would know a lot when he was 12 also. I also referenced the Citation Index to get a little bit more clarification, and what I came across was the Addiction Recovery Manual, Step 11. This Step is entitled "Personal Revelation" and one of the sections is "Feast on the words of Christ." After quoting 2 Nephi 32:3 the thought says "In this verse, Nephi taught that when you feast on the words of Christ, these words will guide you in all you need to know and do. Picture how it would be to have Jesus Christ walk and talk with you all day long." How amazing would that be? When we have the Holy Ghost in our hearts and the scriptures in our minds, we do have Jesus with us all day everyday. The Addiction Recovery Manual Step 11 quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks from the Ensign in Jan 1995 as teaching "the idea that scripture reading can lead to inspiration and revelation (teaches) that a scriptures is not limited to what it means when it was written but may also include what that scripture means today. Even more, scripture reading may also lead to current revelation on whatever else the Lord wishes to communicate to the read at that time. We do not overstate the point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim and Thummum to assist each of us to recieve personal revelation." On a separate note, it references Alma receiving revelation after much fasting and prayer, and the manual says that abstaining from your addiction is also a form of fasting. I had never considered that before, but I thought that it was quiet profound. I hope to talk more on this another time.
32:4-5 - I like this verse, it's very straight forward. Nephi tells the people, including us I guess, "now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark." This puts all the burden of growth and knowledge on us. If we are not growing or learning it's because we "ask not," this implies that all we need to do is ask. By asking we show humility and a willingness to acknowledge that we not only don't know everything, but we recognize God's omniscience and our dependance on him for growth. We read and ask, he answers in ways we need but sometimes don't expect. This is where the difference between the boy Jesus and the scholars at the temple plays in. Did Heavenly Father love Jesus more than them? Did he just shower Jesus with knowledge and understanding? For some reason, I don't think so, I feel that Jesus probably went and learned at Heavenly Father's feet, studying the scriptures prayerfully. From Sunday's lesson we learned the need to prayerfully consider our motives to keep ourselves humble, here we read the scriptures and learn only if prayerful. This is a lesson to me because even though I spend so much time and energy on this blog, reading, studying, writing, and pondering, sometimes I don't even pray for guidance or understanding. This might be playing into my lack of humility that I need to work on. But I have noticed that when I just say a small, quick prayer first that it goes smoother, I learn and retain more, which is the big part because I'm so scatterbrained. This leads into verse 5 that when we "receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto (us) all things what ye should do. In the IM Elder W. Rolfe Kerr teaches that the scriptures are our "personal liahona... showing the way." President Henry B. Eyring teaches "there is a promise of help from God... faithful study of the scriptures brings the Holy Ghost to us." And finally Elder Spencer J. Condie teaches that the Holy Ghost and the scriptures helps us "when we are faced with important decisions: 'you may be facing decisions about a mission, your future career, and, eventually marriage. As you read the scriptures and pray for direction, you may not actually see the answer in the form of printed words on a page, but as you read you will receive distinct impressions and promptings, and, as promised, the Holy Ghost 'will show unto you all things what ye should do.'" I have had this happen to me, reading the scriptures and having answers to my prayers appear. One significant memory I have of this was when I was praying about whether or not I should get divorced. I truly wanted to stay a family and be together forever, but that possibility was getting darker and darker, and I was praying to know if I should file for divorce or if I should wait and try longer. And as clear as I read a certain scripture it came to me that it was not time to get divorced yet. So I took that answer and ran with it, but only a few weeks later, the answer came that it was time. What happened in those few short weeks? I learned more information that gave me peace and closure and assurance. Had I not heeded that prompting at the time, I wouldn't have ever learned of that and I would have had doubts and regrets for the rest of my life. Looking back, the Lord had been preparing a way for me to escape that marriage fully intact for sometime, and I'm grateful for that. And I'm grateful that following his counsel meant that I have no regrets, I feel like I tried 100% and I have peace in my heart about my decision, though it was and still is heart breaking, I've moved on in a way that I don't believe I would have been able to other wise.
32:8-9 - The concept of "pray always" is amazing to me. It can seem a little overwhelming, but when we look at it in the light of the Holy Ghost burning in our hearts, it's easy to see that there is a constant communication there. I don't know about anyone else, but I have a dialogue going on in my head all day everyday, it honestly doesn't shut off. So I'm constantly thinking and talking to myself, does that make me crazy? Nephi says to pray always that "he will consecrate they performance" and when referencing the CI we find a talk by Neal A. Maxwell called "Consecrate Thy Performance" and in it he discusses spiritual submission, and that's really what I've been working on for the last several months, submitting spiritually to God. How interesting. Submitting is not in my nature, and so it's quite the transformation that I'm going through here. But Elder Maxwell comforts me by saying "spiritual submissiveness is not accomplished in an instant, but by the incremental improvements and by the successive use of stepping-stones. Stepping-stones are meant to be taken one at a time anyway." That is so comforting to me, I've made huge, drastic changes this year alone, and even though I'm not perfect yet, this makes me feel like the progress I'm making is good and acceptable. Praying about things is definitely a stepping stone to spiritual submission for me. I've always been a "I do it myself" kind of girl and that hasn't gotten me anywhere near where my minimal submission to the Lord has taken me in just these few short months. A quick prayer is amazing for me, and I can definitely see a difference in my day shortly there after. It's still kind of a novel concept for me and I don't fully understand it, but I'm getting there and I love it.
32:1-2 - I can understand how some people could think that baptism is the end all be all of salvation, that's what is taught by some other religions, and really, it's what the natural man wants to believe. This way we're saved, but we can also do whatever we want. There's not really too much effort required after that, so getting there and saying "ok, what do I do now?" makes sense. It's interesting to me though that Nephi's answer to "what do we do now" is "speak with the tongue of Angels." I thought, "what does that mean? I can speak with the tongue of angels? Like what? Speak another language that I have never learned?" Oh Nephi, how amazing you are, and how difficult you are for me to read. Concerning "speak with the tongue of angeles," the IM teaches that it "does not necessarily mean that a person would speak in another language," but that "the Holy Ghost inspires them with the ability and the vocabulary to 'speak with the tongue of angels' so that they might 'shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.'" The IM also quotes President Boyd K. Packer as teaching "Nephi explains that angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, and you can speak with the tongue of angels, which simply means that you can speak with the power of the Holy Ghost. It will be quiet. It will be invisible. There will not be a dove. There will not be cloven tongues or fire. But the power will be there." What? So, to be clear, get baptized, then speak by the power of the Holy Ghost? Hmmm... looks like we need to turn to the Citation Index. I found a talk called "The Tongue of Angels" by Elder Robert S. Wood from the October 1999 general conference. He starts off by saying "what we say and how we present ourselves not only betray our inner person but also mold that person, those around us, and finally our whole society... Our words and external expressions are not neutral, for the reflect both who we are and shape who we are becoming." So if what we say is not neutral, it means that anything and everything is either positive or negative, and we know that to be in keeping with the Holy Spirit, we must be in the positive, toward Godliness. I think I talked about this a couple of days ago, about focusing on what I say to be positive, and really trying to be aware of how I make people feel when I'm around them. It seems to me that this is the same principle. Interesting how the Lord was preparing me to learn this, must mean this is something I need to work on ASAP. The Lord teaches in Matthew "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man... Those things which proceed out of the mouth come... from the heart; and they defile the man." Wow, so what we say has a huge impact on who we are and who we become. I knew that it was important, but I didn't know that it was this big of deal. Elder Wood finally ends with "when we speak and act, we should ask whether our words and expressions are calculated to invite the powers of heaven into our lives and to invite all to come unto Christ." I've been aware that I need to change what I say and talk about for a while, but I guess like everything else, like Jesus said "those things which proceed out of the mouth come... from the heart." So if what you say is negative it only reflects a negative heart, so to speak positively, we must truly be positive in our hearts.
32:3 - "Feasting upon the Words of Christ." Interestingly enough, when describing this section the IM says it "compares our willingness to receive the words of Christ to eating a sumptuous meal. I was taken in by the "willingness to receive" statement. When I had heard "feasting," to me that seems like a very active word, and it was honestly a little overwhelming to me. I'm pretty infantile spiritually and so even though I'm giving 100% it's still very small, and so it doesn't take a lot for me to feel like I'm not doing enough, or that my enthusiasm should be higher. I used to have food issues and so when I think of a feast, I think of excitement, gorging and then regrets of course, so when it's time for me to read the scriptures and I'm not over the top excited, I feel like I'm not "feasting" on the scriptures. But here when it says "willingness to receive" I'm more than willing to receive, I'm anxiously seeking, it makes me feel like I'm on the right track and that I don't need to overwhelm myself with expectation, just enjoy the journey, do my best and that the Lord is pleased with my efforts. Elder Russell M. Nelson teaches "to feast means more than to taste. To feast means to savor. We savor the scriptures by studying them in a spirit of delightful discovery and faithful obedience... they become an integral part of our nature." Kind of like what we were talking about last night, the Holy Ghost comes in and working together you become a whole different person. For me, the scriptures hold a new place in my heart, they are so sacred and special to me, and that's new, but it's because of who I'm becoming. Elder Robert D. Hales teaches more about "feasting" as he says "if you and I are to feast upon the words of Christ, we must study the scriptures and absorb His words through pondering them and making them a part of every thought and action." It's interesting to me that he says "every thought and action" not study them every day, or once a week or something like that, they need to be a part of who we are, what we think about, what we say, what we do, 24/7, not just for a few minutes before bed. This must require a studying and pondering. Elder Hales also spoke upon "the scriptures as the means of hearing the voice of the Lord in our lives. "If we don't... cling to the word of God, we will wander off in strange paths and be lost... feast on them. Don't nibble. They are 'the power of God unto salvation." Here again we see that 24/7 effort must be made to read and grow in the scriptures for our own spiritual well being. Then interestingly enough he says "if the Savior were among us in the flesh today, He would teach us from the scriptures as He taught when He walked upon the earth." This was a unfamiliar concept for me. Even after listening to Jesus the Christ 3 times already, it still didn't occur to me that Jesus taught from the scriptures when he was alive and that he would teach from them today if he were here. I just thought that if he would teach from them, then I should probably take them more seriously. It's like calling for technical support and they read you the instruction manual that came with your machine. I had an interesting insight last Sunday at church, when we first got there. We were in foyer for sacrament because the chapel was full for the primary program and I was talking to my son, and I asked him, what was his favorite story about Jesus? He said the one when he was 12 years old and in the temple. So I asked him who Jesus talking to in the temple? He said he didn't know, so I told him that he was talking to old men who had studied the scriptures their whole lives, but yet when talking to Jesus, they were asking him questions and he knew things that they didn't, and why was this, they had read the scriptures much longer than he had, so why did he know more. I told him that I thought that it was because he prayed and asked to be taught when he read the scriptures, and so Heavenly Father taught him and that if he asked too, he could be taught about the scriptures so that he would know a lot when he was 12 also. I also referenced the Citation Index to get a little bit more clarification, and what I came across was the Addiction Recovery Manual, Step 11. This Step is entitled "Personal Revelation" and one of the sections is "Feast on the words of Christ." After quoting 2 Nephi 32:3 the thought says "In this verse, Nephi taught that when you feast on the words of Christ, these words will guide you in all you need to know and do. Picture how it would be to have Jesus Christ walk and talk with you all day long." How amazing would that be? When we have the Holy Ghost in our hearts and the scriptures in our minds, we do have Jesus with us all day everyday. The Addiction Recovery Manual Step 11 quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks from the Ensign in Jan 1995 as teaching "the idea that scripture reading can lead to inspiration and revelation (teaches) that a scriptures is not limited to what it means when it was written but may also include what that scripture means today. Even more, scripture reading may also lead to current revelation on whatever else the Lord wishes to communicate to the read at that time. We do not overstate the point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim and Thummum to assist each of us to recieve personal revelation." On a separate note, it references Alma receiving revelation after much fasting and prayer, and the manual says that abstaining from your addiction is also a form of fasting. I had never considered that before, but I thought that it was quiet profound. I hope to talk more on this another time.
32:4-5 - I like this verse, it's very straight forward. Nephi tells the people, including us I guess, "now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark." This puts all the burden of growth and knowledge on us. If we are not growing or learning it's because we "ask not," this implies that all we need to do is ask. By asking we show humility and a willingness to acknowledge that we not only don't know everything, but we recognize God's omniscience and our dependance on him for growth. We read and ask, he answers in ways we need but sometimes don't expect. This is where the difference between the boy Jesus and the scholars at the temple plays in. Did Heavenly Father love Jesus more than them? Did he just shower Jesus with knowledge and understanding? For some reason, I don't think so, I feel that Jesus probably went and learned at Heavenly Father's feet, studying the scriptures prayerfully. From Sunday's lesson we learned the need to prayerfully consider our motives to keep ourselves humble, here we read the scriptures and learn only if prayerful. This is a lesson to me because even though I spend so much time and energy on this blog, reading, studying, writing, and pondering, sometimes I don't even pray for guidance or understanding. This might be playing into my lack of humility that I need to work on. But I have noticed that when I just say a small, quick prayer first that it goes smoother, I learn and retain more, which is the big part because I'm so scatterbrained. This leads into verse 5 that when we "receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto (us) all things what ye should do. In the IM Elder W. Rolfe Kerr teaches that the scriptures are our "personal liahona... showing the way." President Henry B. Eyring teaches "there is a promise of help from God... faithful study of the scriptures brings the Holy Ghost to us." And finally Elder Spencer J. Condie teaches that the Holy Ghost and the scriptures helps us "when we are faced with important decisions: 'you may be facing decisions about a mission, your future career, and, eventually marriage. As you read the scriptures and pray for direction, you may not actually see the answer in the form of printed words on a page, but as you read you will receive distinct impressions and promptings, and, as promised, the Holy Ghost 'will show unto you all things what ye should do.'" I have had this happen to me, reading the scriptures and having answers to my prayers appear. One significant memory I have of this was when I was praying about whether or not I should get divorced. I truly wanted to stay a family and be together forever, but that possibility was getting darker and darker, and I was praying to know if I should file for divorce or if I should wait and try longer. And as clear as I read a certain scripture it came to me that it was not time to get divorced yet. So I took that answer and ran with it, but only a few weeks later, the answer came that it was time. What happened in those few short weeks? I learned more information that gave me peace and closure and assurance. Had I not heeded that prompting at the time, I wouldn't have ever learned of that and I would have had doubts and regrets for the rest of my life. Looking back, the Lord had been preparing a way for me to escape that marriage fully intact for sometime, and I'm grateful for that. And I'm grateful that following his counsel meant that I have no regrets, I feel like I tried 100% and I have peace in my heart about my decision, though it was and still is heart breaking, I've moved on in a way that I don't believe I would have been able to other wise.
32:8-9 - The concept of "pray always" is amazing to me. It can seem a little overwhelming, but when we look at it in the light of the Holy Ghost burning in our hearts, it's easy to see that there is a constant communication there. I don't know about anyone else, but I have a dialogue going on in my head all day everyday, it honestly doesn't shut off. So I'm constantly thinking and talking to myself, does that make me crazy? Nephi says to pray always that "he will consecrate they performance" and when referencing the CI we find a talk by Neal A. Maxwell called "Consecrate Thy Performance" and in it he discusses spiritual submission, and that's really what I've been working on for the last several months, submitting spiritually to God. How interesting. Submitting is not in my nature, and so it's quite the transformation that I'm going through here. But Elder Maxwell comforts me by saying "spiritual submissiveness is not accomplished in an instant, but by the incremental improvements and by the successive use of stepping-stones. Stepping-stones are meant to be taken one at a time anyway." That is so comforting to me, I've made huge, drastic changes this year alone, and even though I'm not perfect yet, this makes me feel like the progress I'm making is good and acceptable. Praying about things is definitely a stepping stone to spiritual submission for me. I've always been a "I do it myself" kind of girl and that hasn't gotten me anywhere near where my minimal submission to the Lord has taken me in just these few short months. A quick prayer is amazing for me, and I can definitely see a difference in my day shortly there after. It's still kind of a novel concept for me and I don't fully understand it, but I'm getting there and I love it.
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