Provocation

In The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, reference is made to "the days of provocation in the wilderness." I sometimes had wondered what this meant. Last semester in PathwayConnect, an article we read enlightened me significantly on this question (see "The Provocation in the Wilderness and the Rejection of Grace," M. Catherine Thomas).

God swore in his wrath that the Israelites would not enter into the promised land. What was the nature of their offense? After witnessing the plagues sent upon Pharoah, The Passover and slaying of the Egyptians' firstborn, being delivered from Egypt and from the Egyptian armies, passing through the Red Sea on dry ground, and being fed in the wilderness with manna and quail, the children of Israel still did not comprehend the nature of God! After so many benevolent acts of saving, these delivered captives did not comprehend. The straw that broke the camels back was their unbelief at Massah and Meribah.

Words of Jesus

Recently, I was deeply impressed by these words of Jesus:

16 ¶ Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to ^afast. Verily I say unto you, They ^bhave their reward.

(--sincerity. We should do things with God in mind, not men!)

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not unto men to ^afast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall ^breward thee openly.

19 ¶ Lay not up for yourselves ^atreasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves ^bbreak through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves ^atreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor ^bsteal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine ^aeye be ^bsingle, thy whole body shall be full of ^clight.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that ^adarkness!

24 ¶ ^aNo man can ^bserve two ^cmasters: for either he will ^dhate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and ^emammon. (Either we are serving God, or we are serving the god of this world.)

25 ^aTherefore I say unto you, Take no ^bthought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? ^aConsider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, ^ashall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little ^bfaith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father ^aknoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 ^aBut ^bseek ye first the ^ckingdom of God, and his ^drighteousness; and all these ^ethings shall be ^fadded unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take ^athought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

(From Matthew 6, The Holy Bible)

To My Children: Letter 1, Jesus Christ, The Center of Heavenly Father's Plan

 Dear Children,

Jesus is the Christ. He is the Living Son of the Living God. He created all things from the beginning.

Jesus is the Son of our Heavenly Father. We lived with them in heaven before we were born on earth. 

Heavenly Father wanted us to become like Him. He has a body of flesh and bones like we do. (Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 130:22). And, He has knowledge. But in that state with Him, we did not yet have physical bodies! Our spirit bodies gave us the opportunity to choose. Our mortal bodies would give us an even greater opportunity to choose. By obtaining a mortal body, we could become like our Father and Mother in Heaven! We would choose what we would become!

In the Father's plan, all of His children were to come to earth. A veil of forgetfulness gives us the full opportunity to exercise our agency--our freedom to choose. We come to this earth not knowing anything! This was the state of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They were the first two people whom God placed on the earth. They are our first parents and the ancestors of the entire human race!

One of Heavenly Father's sons opposed the plan. He did not believe in Jesus Christ, the central figure in God's plan. Jesus would come to redeem the world from sin (willful violation of God's law) and death (the natural consequence of choosing to become mortal). Adam and Eve willingly chose mortality. This they did so that all of us could also receive bodies and come to earth.

Satan, or Lucifer, fought against God's plan! There was a war in heaven. It was a war of words. Lucifer and his followers fought for their plan--that all would come to earth and all would be saved. We would have no choices! We fought for freedom because we knew that only through choices would we find knowledge and become more like our Heavenly Parents. When all had made their choice and chosen whom he or she would follow, Lucifer and his followers were cast down to the earth. You and I fought valiantly. We overcame Lucifer, the dragon, by the word of our testimonies of Jesus Christ! 

To help us decide what we want and whom we want to follow, Heavenly Father allows Satan and his followers to tempt us on earth. We do not see them, typically, but they are here, striving to lead us astray! Every person who is capable of knowing right and wrong is sometimes if not often tempted by Satan and his followers. 

How is it that we have The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ?

How is it that we have The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ? 

1. God commanded a prophet named Nephi to make a record.

2. Nephi obeyed! He obeyed God's voice!

3. Other subsequent prophets obeyed God's voice! They learned to hear Him and obey! These prophets obediently kept and compiled their records (Mormon is one of these ancient prophets; he testified of Jesus!).

4. Joseph Smith obediently did what God asked! God showed Joseph where the ancient record was. In time, God entrusted that record to Joseph who then learned to translate, depending on God's power alone!

5. Joseph's friend, Martin Harris sacrificed his money and means. Oliver Cowdery and many other friends willingly sacrificed to help Joseph have the means to translate and do God's work.

6. Voila! The Book of Mormon was published in 1830! This book testifies of Jesus Christ.

Dear Mr. Olson

 I am going to start writing hypothetical letters to my high school English teacher, Mr. Olson. 

Dear Mr. Olson,

Do you remember years ago (1997) when we read and discussed some of The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ together? I remember one thing that you remarked as we read and discussed the first book in the volume, 1 Nephi. It seemed far-fetched to you Laman and Lemuel saw and angel but still almost immediately doubted the power of God and what they were about. 

I admit that it seems strange. Nephi and his three older brothers are sent on a difficult journey on what, to some may have seemed and impossible quest: to obtain a precious book of scripture from a powerful military leader in Jerusalem. 

Let's start out with this. Laman and Lemuel did not think they had a problem. They, like the people at Jerusalem, did not think that the way they were living was wrong. However, God had sent prophets among the people to warn them of the other end of the stick they were holding--to put it down immediately. God knows the end from the beginning. However, even many years later, Laman and Lemuel argued that the people of Jerusalem were a righteous people. 

My conclusion, after long years of study, is that Laman and Lemuel were not interested in knowing who God was! They seemed more interested in the finer things of life.

 Hundreds of years before Jesus' mortal birth, a prophet in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, testified of Jesus Christ, The Messiah, "who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit," (2 Nephi 2:8, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ). 

Jesus Christ will come again. He will rule as King of kings and reign as Lord of lords. Let us prepare.

 In these times of uncertainty and rampant rumor, this counsel from Dallin H. Oaks becomes increasingly important.

We live in a time of greatly expanded and disseminated information. But not all of this information is true. We need to be cautious as we seek truth and choose sources for that search. We should not consider secular prominence or authority as qualified sources of truth. We should be cautious about relying on information or advice offered by entertainment stars, prominent athletes, or anonymous internet sources. Expertise in one field should not be taken as expertise on truth in other subjects.

We should also be cautious about the motivation of the one who provides information. That is why the scriptures warn us against priestcraft (see 2 Nephi 26:29). If the source is anonymous or unknown, the information may also be suspect.

Our personal decisions should be based on information from sources that are qualified on the subject and free from selfish motivations. (From 

<https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/truth-and-the-plan?lang=eng>, accessed on 20 August 2020.)