A conversation with a Friend about Book of Mormon personages Laman, Lemuel and Nephi

I had a good conversation with a friend recently about the difference between the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi, and his rebellious brothers Laman and Lemuel. I was about to shoot off this email about our conversation when I realized this would make a very nice blog post. I have removed the friend's name to protect his identity. Enjoy!

Hello [friend],

I was looking at my notes from our conversation the other morning. At a regional conference (a meeting of multiple stakes) recently, one might say that Elder Jeffery R. Holland laid into us as church members for coming to conferences or church meetings, and going home and doing nothing about what we heard. He admonished us to become, "doers of the word and not hearers only" (see James 1:22). I've been trying to be better about doing that. I was impressed as I read over my notes of our conversation of how much of it I forgot already!

Here's a brief summary:

Bryce: "What do you think made the difference between Laman and Lemuel and Nephi (see the book of 1 Nephi  in the Book of Mormon)?"

[friend]: "The way they turned out?"

Bryce: "Yeah."

. . .

I read starting in 1 Ne. 15:7: Nephi's brethren are arguing about what the things their father taught mean. They couldn't understand the analogy mentioned in verse 7. In verse 8, Nephi asks, "Have ye inquired of the Lord?" Their response, "We have not, for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us." Nephi's response, "How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord?"

I didn't realize it, but my recounting of our conversation is not that dissimilar to Nephi's recounting of his conversation with his brethren!

Is Nephi saying that if we are not asking God questions that we are not keeping the commandments? (see v. 9-10) 

Bryce: "Basically, it looks like he's saying if you: (Verse 11): a) don't harden your heart, b) ask in faith, c) believe you will receive, d) and diligently keep the commandments,  d) God will answer our questions and teach us--he will speak to us and communicate with us."

[friend]: "Sounds easy enough."

Bryce: chuckles. "Sounds easy enough."

Bryce: "So, it looks like prayer and keeping the commandments made the difference [between Nephi and his brethren]. 

Why does prayer and keeping the commandments make the difference? Prayer attunes our hearts to God. Our obedience allows God's spirit to work on us and in lives. [My thought this morning as I reviewed this: God is very respectful of our agency. He will not meddle in our lives uninvited. Prayer and obedient striving are how we invite God into our lives. Through prayer, we can explicitly ask God to help us. I, and I think you, know that God is intimately aware of us. The scriptures say that his arms are stretched out to us. Prayer is how we reach out to him and take his hand. God's greatest desire is for us to take his hand and become like him. But, God will not intrude upon our agency. If we do not ask, he cannot assist. If he violated our agency, he would cease to be God. So, in short, God's greatest desire is to help us. His arm is stretched out still. But for him to tamper with the agency we fought for in the war in heaven would be contrary to to his eternal plan. God longs to help us, but eternal law requires that we ask. Does that make sense?]

I think I'll leave off there for now. I would like to report that my prayers have changed since our conversation. I have been blessed to take time to pray and my prayers have been sincere. I know that God knows everything. He knows my struggles in all aspects of my life. He knows and loves me and my family. I know that if I will seek him in prayer, he will guide me in the best ways to overcome and face the challenges I have in my life. I want to be increasingly grateful for God's attentive care. But, as I've stated above, it takes effort to reach through the veil and take God's hand. I pray that you and I can be faithful. I pray that we can and will seek God in prayer. God's promise is that if we seek him diligently, we will find him. I invite you to join me in seeking God in prayer (also see this talk, "Draw Near unto Me," from a General Conference of days gone by).

Bryce

A few thoughts on Alma 36:1, Book of Mormon

Thursday 12 April 2012 12:43
Alma 36:1
“I swear unto you, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land.” A prophet of God is swearing that if we keep his commandments, we will prosper in the land. If we want to be happy, we should keep the commandments. Satan, the god of this world, and the philosophies of men, will teach us to follow fame, fortune and lust. Christ teaches us laws that will bring us happiness now and in eternity. Life is a test. We should expect, even anticipate bumps in the road. Trials are the stuff that tempers our faith. In the heat of trial, we learn what we are at the core. The Lord has said that he will purify his people by fire, and that he sits as a purifier of silver. He watches over and pays careful attention. Let us take comfort in the fact that the trial will never be too great, the temptation never too strong, and the challenge never too much, if we will seek his face (see Doctrine and Covenants of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 93:1) 


Christ is our ever-attentive master. God’s holy purpose in our existence is that we can gain physical bodies and prove ourselves. What a marvelous opportunity to develop faith! Truly, we say with the prophet, o how great is the glory of our God (see 2 Nephi 9:10)! He truly wants us to succeed in life. But the success he wants for us in not success by the definitions of the world. In my mind, real success is this: righteousness, faith, and peace. I think that is it. I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that Peter, James and John, the ancient apostles of Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, laid their hands upon them, and conveyed the eternal priesthood authority of Jesus Christ to men on earth. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet and mouthpiece of God today. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true.

The "Mormon Moment" part 2

Time after time, I find that the Book of Mormon, a text that was written about 1600 years ago, is amazing relevant for our day. In fact, time after time, it is very clear to me that, as President Ezra Taft Benson stated in 1986, this book was written for our day! (see, "The Book of Mormon--Keystone of our Religion," from the Ensign magazine, November 1986) Here's a relevant example of what I mean that deals with how Mormons react to people with opposing viewpoints.

A lesson from the Book of Mormon about how disciples of Christ should handle religious contention (Book of Mormon, Alma chapter 1: 19-25, highlighting added and comments in brackets [like this] added):

 19 But it came to pass that whosoever did not belong to the church of God began to persecute those that did belong to the church of God, and had taken upon them the name of Christ.

 20 Yea, they did persecute them, and afflict them with all manner of words. . . .

[so, the believers in Christ were persecuted by those who believed differently than they did.] 

 21 Now there was a strict law among the people of the church, that there should ^anot any man, belonging to the church, arise and persecute those that did not belong to the church, and that there should be no persecution among themselves.

[So, the law of the Church was that the members should never persecute those who were not members!]

 22 Nevertheless, there were many among them who began to be proud, and began to contend warmly with their adversaries, even unto blows; yea, they would smite one another with their ^afists.

[Evidently, Church members' tempers flared to the point of physical violence!]

 23 Now this was in the second year of the reign of Alma, and it was a cause of much affliction to the church; yea, it was the cause of much trial with the church.

 24 For the hearts of many were hardened, and their names were^ablotted out, that they were remembered no more among the people of God. And also many ^bwithdrew themselves from among them.

[sounds like people getting angry with detractors and reacting was a bad thing for the Church. And, interestingly, for some Church members, how they reacted to detractors ultimately led to their excommunication or voluntary withdrawal from the Church! To me that says, "take very good care how you react to detractors!"]

 25 Now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith; nevertheless, they were ^asteadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they bore with ^bpatiencethe persecution which was heaped upon them.

[to me, this verse implies that if we want to follow Christ, we need to roll with the punches, regardless of how detractors and fellow members interact.] 

The "Mormon Moment"

16 January 2012

I read this article from the Washington Post the other day by Mormon Kathryn Skaggs. As often happens, within a few days comments both pro- and anti-Mormon began to cascade below the article. I weighed in with a few simple statements and suggestions. I'm new in the internet world, but what happened here looks to be a common phenomenon, at least when dealing with Mormonism.

The article touched off something of a firestorm of comments and counter-comments. I want to comment on how Mormons react to criticism.

Typically, faithful Mormons come to the defense of their religion, either in response to an article's content, or in response to another reader's comment.

What I find disappointing is that as often as not, Mormons respond to criticism in a tone that is less than civil. I think that is less that what Christ expects of us (see Matthew 5:43-47, for example). I think, if Mormons were kinder in their responses, much of the contention in these post-article discussions would dissipate. It takes two to tango. If we were content to civilly and respectfully defend our faith and then lay down our "weapons of war," I think we would find, like the anti-Nephi-Lehies of the Book of Mormon that some of those who are stirred up against us would be inclined to wonder what motivates us to be kind.

What's it like to live as a Non-Mormon in Utah?

I grew up in a small city in Utah County, Utah, USA (about 20,000 people). From the time I was young, Almost everyone I knew and interacted with was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called Mormons). After my freshman year at BYU, I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ in Germany. Up until that time, I had resided in Utah County. The fact is, even now, I simply haven't had a lot of interaction with people who are not Mormons!

As an active Mormon, much of my social interaction is stems from the Church. Active Mormons attend church each Sunday--for three hours! about 2/3 of that time is fairly interactive. Also, as a Mormon man, I participate in the congregation as a lay priest--a priesthood holder. Essentially, my duties in the Church require me to interact with other church members (like visiting the homes of families in the congregation to teach, encourage, and offer care). So, typically somewhere around four hours of my week are spent either at Church, or interacting with members of the church by virtue of my lay priesthood responsibilities.

Currently, I live in Bountiful, Utah. Something that troubles me is this: when people outside the LDS (Latter-day Saint) faith land in a community that is predominantly Mormon, in many cases, they are terribly excluded. It's a negative situation, but I can understand how this happens. If most of the members of the community are engaged in the Mormon "lifestyle" as I'll call it, people who are not engaged in the lifestyle are excluded. People in the Mormon "zone," so to speak, I think are often oblivious to those who aren't in the circle.

As members of the majority community, we should reach out more often and more naturally. It is true we are a missionary church, but our interactions with friends of other faith should not end with an invitation to meet the missionaries! I, and many other Mormons in communities where Mormons represent the majority, could and should make a concerted effort to be kind and inclusive to all, not just Mormons. How can we do that? Our recent Utah windstorm has taught us some good lessons and brought some things to my awareness.

In the aftermath of the windstorm, there was a lot of clean-up. I was glad to see some of my Mormon neighbors help a friend of another faith who lost three large pines in the storm. But, in the ensuing days, when the Church mobilized to clean up debris before a second possible storm, I realized too late that our friend of another faith was left out of the loop and not invited to join the clean-up party!

It a simple matter. We just need to become cognizant of the fact that not everyone is a Mormon!

My pledge is to consider all of my neighbors, not just the Mormons.

[Bryce is a professional genealogist living Bountiful, Utah. You can also follow him at episodesfromthelifeofbryce.blogspot.com and www.briggsrogersfamilyhistory.com]