She is not yet twelve years old, but her talk in sacrament meeting stirred my soul. (A sacrament meeting is a bit like a Latter-day Saint version of Mass — in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members of the congregation give talks (or sermons or testimonies) every week).

She talked of her recent experience at Young Women camp, and it reminded me of my experiences as a youth, sitting around the campfire, wishing I could take the feeling home in a paper bag. I didn’t know then that I didn’t need to feel that swelling of warmth in my heart all the time.

I felt my heart fill again today as this young woman spoke.

And then, she reminded me of the story of how Brigham Young, the second prophet of The Church, finally decided to become a member of the Church. I smiled. Ah, yes, it’s the simple things! Like listening to a talk at church.

Brigham’s parents had already accepted The Book of Mormon as scripture, as had siblings and other relatives. But Brigham was skeptical of any and all religions, and he was skeptical of this book, and he remained unattached to “Mormonism.”

What was it that finally helped Brigham Young feel that he could believe the Book of Mormon? Following are his words:

“If all the talent, tact, wisdom, and refinement of the world had been sent to me with the Book of Mormon, and had declared, in the most exalted of earthly eloquence, the truth of it, undertaking to prove it by learning and worldly wisdom, they would have been to me like the smoke which arises only to vanish away. But when I saw a man without eloquence, or talents for public speaking, who could only say, ‘I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of the Lord,’ the Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me. I wasencircled by them, filled with them, and I knew for myself that the testimony of the man was true…. My own judgment, natural endowments, and education bowed to this simple, but mighty testimony. There sits the man who baptized me, (brother Eleazer Miller.) It filled my system with light, and my soul with joy. The world, with all its wisdom and power, and with all the glory and gilded show of its kings or potentates, sinks into perfect insignificance, compared with the simple, unadorned testimony of the servant of God.” (Journal of Discourses 1:91).

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I sometimes run across content online that wants to assert, without question, that The Book of Mormon is racist. Given all the focus on rooting out prejudice in our modern culture, it makes sense that some words or ideas in The Book of Mormon could hit sunburned spots in people’s minds and hearts. Not only is racism in the headlines, but we’ve been encouraged by latter-day prophets to be alert to and root out prejudice of any kind.

I recently rediscovered this article, written by a black convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: “How we misinterpret “black” and “curse” in the scriptures – Insights from an African American convert” https://www.ldsliving.com/how-we-misinterpret-black-and-curse-in-the-scriptures-insights-from-an-african-american-convert/s/88562

In the article, Marvin Perkins shares about the reality that racism exists in our culture (and unfortunately sometimes in the Church). He encountered some of this prejudice when he was learning about the Church back in the late 1980s (and we know it’s not gone). But his experiences with God and the Book of Mormon (and learning about the gospel of Jesus Christ) anchored him and helped him move forward with his decision to join the Church.

Since then, he’s done a lot of study about questions related to if racism exists in The Book of Mormon. In this article, he shares some of his insights. I also appreciated hearing his point of view about the different colors of skin we have and what that means to him.

There’s an old saying that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. I think we need to be careful about judging a book only by potential trigger points, especially a book that is considered scripture. If we are reading the Book of Mormon only with the lens of modern language or hot-button topics, there may be things we are missing. Words like “skin” and “curse” and “mark” and “white” and “dark” don’t necessarily mean what we think they might mean at first glance with our current cultural sensitivities. In my experience, considering synonyms to these words in sacred writ can also yield great insights. The more I engage the scriptures with questions and curiosity, the more I realize that there is so much they have to teach me that I’m not seeing. So much depends on the mindset and lens and questions I’m bringing to prayerful engagement with the text.

Of course, no writer of ancient scripture was perfect, and again, as latter-day prophets have taught, we need to be alert to prejudice of any kind. And yet prejudice, blind spots, biases — whatever words we may choose — can also reach backwards in time. Just as we are working collectively to leave behind racial bias that may have been passed down to us through false traditions of our forebears, we can seek to stay alert to our own 21st-century biases as well. We can learn to engage ancient texts on their own terms. With the Book of Mormon, we can also engage its promise, that we can know from God personally about the truthfulness of its message and purpose.

Our ancient scriptural teachers had a mission, and that was to point us toward the One who can help us all see more clearly. God invites us to learn about Him through imperfect vessels and vehicles, and there is beauty in that. (So many of the writers acknowledged their imperfect outright, in fact, from Moses to Moroni.) If we engage the scriptures with open hearts and minds, seeking God’s Spirit to help us, we can see beyond any of the writers’ imperfections (and sometimes see more because of them) to learn about the most inclusive message in the world: That God loves all of His children and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us all.

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~by Michelle (and her dad)

My dad recently sent out some notes to our extended family from a lesson he gave on the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I responded to the group, asking if anyone wanted to share thoughts, feelings, or experiences with the Book of Mormon.

This story from my dad’s days as a missionary is one I treasure.

I grew up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, faithfully following its precepts, beliefs, and the example of other wonderful members. My testimony was always strong, but as I approached accepting a call to serve as a full-time missionary for two years at age 19, I found myself praying often for a very personal and strongly spiritual confirmation that Joseph Smith was indeed a prophet and the Book of Mormon is true.

Late one night, while at the Church’s Language Training Mission [now called the Missionary Training Center; the Language Training Mission link is from 1971], I got up and went to one of the classrooms and knelt in solemn prayer. The scriptures tell us that one of the ways to receive answers from God is through a “burning in the bosom.” That was my experience! The Spirit let me know that Joseph Smith, a prophet of the living God, did, in fact, translate The Book of Mormon, by the gift and power of God. It is ancient scripture, like the Bible, and is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Because of that answer to prayer, I knew then and know now, from very personal and sacred experience, that these things are true… and also that The Church of Jesus Christ, with Him at the head, has been restored and is on the earth today.

One of the wonderful things about the Book of Mormon, which truly carries a special spirit of its own, is a promise at the end that anyone can know of its truth. If you read, ponder and, “ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” That happened to me!

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There is a story in the Book of Mormon about a man named Alma. He his friends (sons of a prophet-king named Mosiah) went around trying to dissuade people from believing in God.

They were not unlike Saul in the New Testament, both in terms of what their life’s work was for quite a while (working against the work of God), and also in terms of external events that helped them turn their lives around.

But it wasn’t the heavenly visitation of the Lord or an angel that really helped Paul become a disciple of Christ, or helped Alma and the sons of Mosiah become ambassadors for God. It was a change of heart brought about because of the acceptance of the grace of Jesus Christ and choosing a changed life.

One way we know this is because there were plenty of people in the New Testament who interacted face-to-face with Jesus Himself and were not converted to Him. There are many in the Bible who professed to believe in God but did not follow His ways. Likewise, in the Book of Mormon, there is a story of an angel appearing and not making a difference in people’s lives (two other sons of a prophet, Laman and Lemuel, who never fully got their hearts into following God and ended up at war with those who did…a war that lasted for generations).

We don’t need heavenly messengers to invite us to change. We can invite Jesus into our lives and hearts. “Angels” extending such an invitation (or reminding us of the invitation we’ve already sought to accept) can be people in our lives, or words in scripture coming alive through God’s Spirit, or missionaries sharing the message of mercy available to us all through Jesus Christ, or music touching our heart, or a show like The Chosen giving us a live-action view of what it could have been like to walk with Jesus when He was on earth.

Here is an example of such a story of a simple invitation. The story was shared by a sister missionary serving in the southeast area of the United States. (The man in the story gave permission for the missionary to share his story, but here we will keep his name confidential.)

This missionary and her companion visited with a man who is awaiting trial for a crime. His mind was very weighed down with everything going on and he expressed a desire to make better decisions in his life.

One of the sister missionaries shared Alma’s story in Alma 36. This story helped him feel hope that because of Jesus Christ, he can change. (See also the words in vs. 19 not circled here.)

This story stood out to me all the more so because I recently had two young men about to start their missions (angels in my own life) invite me to read these same verses on a weekend when my mind was weighed down with worry and weariness. I was raised reading the Book of Mormon, but I still felt like God was reaching out to me through this invitation to re-read these verses.

Alma went from a harrowed-up mind to a mind filled with joy. What was the difference? Turning his mind and heart to Jesus Christ. Remembering what his father Alma had taught about Jesus Christ. Allowing the love of Jesus Christ to enter into his mind and heart.

And once he had tasted of this joy, Alma “labored without ceasing” to share that joy in Jesus with others.

24 Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto ^arepentance; that I might bring them to ^btaste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be ^cborn of God, and be ^dfilled with the Holy Ghost.

There are myriad stories like this in the scriptures. The woman at the well from John 4 in the New Testament is another that comes to mind. She sat with Jesus while He told her about the sins in her life. As He did, she opened her mind and heart to the reality that He was the long-awaited Messiah. And then she left her pot and went to share the glad news with those in her circles.

I’ve been raised on the teachings of Jesus, but I need reminders to keep turning my mind and heart to Him. My mind is all-too-easily weighed down.

Writing is one way I seek to remember.

Pondering all of this also reminds me of a video that was made a few years ago for Easter. It talks about second chances, clean slates, new beginnings. Here’s the link to that video, or it is embedded below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGCbMEmpY4g

There’s a saying that the past is a good predictor of the future. But when a person involves Jesus Christ in his or her or their life, this little saying goes out the window. Those who understand how humans can change (practicing a different focus on the present as a way to be released from the bondage of the past) understand this principle, even when they don’t fully understand (or at least don’t openly teach) that Jesus Christ is the One who makes such change possible. (I’m thinking, for example, of a saying from Eckhardt Tolle written on my mirror: “The past cannot prevail against the power of the now.” (from his book, The Power of Now.) The truth that change is possible is everywhere, in leadership trainings and spiritual movements.

The reason it is possible is because of what Jesus Christ did for us and because of the divinity within us as children of God.

Here’s to new beginnings each day because of the reality of God and Jesus Christ.

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Times are tough the world over. COVID-19 is still wreaking havoc in the lives of individuals, families, and countries. Many people are suffering economic or other hardships. Many countries suffer from unrest or war. It can be difficult to stay centered when news headlines remind us of all that is unsettled in our world.

But there are things we can do to invite God into our lives to find more peace. Seeking peace isn’t just a benefit for ourselves; those who are at peace within themselves are more able to help others as well.

One way to do this is to read the word of God in scripture, such as the Bible. Reading from the Old and New Testaments with a desire to have God speak to us can open up insights about His love and nature. Reading the stories of people who went through hard things in scripture and found God’s help and strength can help us find hope for our own lives. Knowing that since the beginning of time, humans have gone through hard things and have been able to learn and grow from them can give us courage to carry on through our own hard times.

There is another book of scripture, called Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This book, the Book of Mormon, spans 1000 years of history, from about 600 B.C. to 400 A.D. It’s a record of a branch of the House of Israel that was guided from the Old World to the New (around the time of Jeremiah). It includes a record of Jesus Christ visiting the descendants of those so guided. He appeared after His resurrection and let the people feel the scars of the nails in His hands and feet — much like He allowed His apostles to do in the New Testament when He appeared to them. This account in the Book of Mormon shows that He allowed 2500 people to do the same! He didn’t reserve this special experience of witnessing His resurrection one by one to only a select few.

Even as I write that, I feel a sense of wonder and peace. Jesus wants us all to have experiences with Him. As we seek to learn about Him in scripture, we can “Come and See” more of who He is, and come to know through the witness of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) that He is real. He lives.

And students of the Bible know that He will come again. The more we can learn about Him and find Him now in our hard and good times, the more we’ll be ready to receive Him when He comes again.

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It’s a wonderful thing to talk about the scriptures with other people, because often others see things I’ve never seen before, or help me see a scripture in a whole new way.

Recently, I was in a small group discussion about the plan of salvation (God’s plan for our happiness and help in this life and life with Him in the next). We were talking about Jesus Christ’s central role in that plan, and considering scriptures from the Book of Mormon that help teach about the Savior.

There are a lot of scriptures from the Book of Mormon that come to mind for me, but I was so moved to hear what scripture a friend chose to focus on.

It’s found in 1 Nephi 21:16.

But first, some context for the verse.

In this part of the Book of Mormon, Nephi, an ancient prophet-historian whose father, Lehi, had been guided by God to leave Jerusalem with his family (around 600 B.C.) and come to the American continent. They were brought out of Jerusalem to protect them from the destruction that came when Babylon invaded Israel. They also were guided to create a record of prophecies of Jesus Christ and His dealings with a branch of the house of Israel people who came to the New World.

Nephi was teaching his people about Christ — and writing for people in the future as well, especially the house of Israel — quoting or summarizing the teachings of various prophets from the Old World.

But he focused a lot of his attention on the writings of Isaiah, which writings they had with them.

“And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer. Wherefore, I speak unto all the house of Israel, if it so be that they should obtain these things…

“Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old. And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah….”

(1 Nephi 19:18-19, 22-23)

My friend shared one of the beautiful, short verses from Isaiah that Nephi quotes.

Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. (See also Isaiah 49:16)

Many scholars (and others) interpret the walls in this verse to mean the walls of Jerusalem or Zion, and that is always what comes to mind when I hear or read this verse. Historically, this interpretation makes sense. Isaiah was always writing for both the present and the future.

But my friend shared the verse in a personal way to illustrate Jesus’ love for us, and he said something to this effect: “Jesus knows about the walls in your life. He knows what barriers are troubling you, what things feel like they are in the way as you move along in your journey.”

I believe this, and I was grateful for my friend’s insights into this short but power-packed verse about the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. I recommend the entire chapter for more about God’s love for us, His children, and His commitment to help and care for us.

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As your new year has started, how are you feeling? 2020 was quite a year, and 2021 has already presented some real challenges.

We are grateful to know that Jesus Christ is real and knows what is happening in our lives — individually and collectively — and can help us find peace (individually and collectively!).

If you are searching for peace, we invite you to learn more about Jesus Christ. Or if you already know about Him, we hope you continue to find ways to bring Him into your life each day. We need Him more than ever!

For me, that can look like reading scriptures (like The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ), taking a deep and long breath with Him on my mind, savoring a sunset, practicing gratitude, praying for help, asking someone to share a spiritual thought, connecting with others who are seeking to know Him better, sharing the love and hope I have felt from Him with someone else.

How do you bring Jesus and peace into your life?

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I had a precious conversation with my youngest child (a freshman in college) last night. We both, in our own worlds (too far apart from each other right now, even though we still live so relatively close), were feeling the hard of COVID and all the unknowns that feel so much more present, even though they are always there.

We’ve been working together to notice the good in each day (an idea that came as we talked about Elder Soares’ talk, “Seeking Christ in Every Thought“). We want to be witnesses to each other that even we things feel hard, God is aware of us. And that good things are always happening, even when we can’t always see them (Or maybe we can if we look a little more for His hand.)

Last night, she had an amazing miracle story to share, one of those WOW moments where you just KNOW God is saying, ““I am here, and I know where you are. Just do your best, for I will take care of the rest.” (Reference in comments.)

And as the conversation continued, more awareness of more tender mercies just kept pouring into our conversation. We were kind of both left speechless.

I was grateful to see a post from Ann Voskamp, a devoted Christian woman who understands the power of looking for the good. It was another reminder to choose to look for the good, even — or especially – when things feel hard. She talks of how she used to be someone who was waiting for joy to come, waiting for good things to happen. And then she did an experiment about writing down daily tender mercies. Her goal was to reach 1000 (and she did).

And this is what she discovered:

on any old day, even this one, it is never too late, all she had to do was write down these smallest slivers of grace in her everyday because:

Gratefulness isn’t hard.

Forgetting to be grateful is what makes life hard.

See AnnVoskamp.com

Ann, a woman seeking Christ, issues an invitation to finish the year 2020 with God and grace in our hearts through the exercise of gratitude. “Keep your eyes open to the gifts all around you — that you get to open if you just pay attention.”

As if that wasn’t enough of a clear nudge from heaven to keep practicing looking for the good, later last night, I read about Orihah. He was a king in the Book of Mormon who “did remember how great things that Lord had done” and “taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their fathers.” (Ether 6:30)

Reading that verse then called to mind Moroni 10:3-5. We as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often call these verses “Moroni’s promise.” Moroni was the last ancient prophet to finish writing on the plates that Joseph Smith was later given…by Moroni himself, then a resurrected being. The invitation in these verses is specifically about reading the record contained in what now call the Book of Mormon, and praying about it to ask God if it is a true record.

But the secret to preparing to receive insight from and connection to God is also found in these verses.

…remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/moro/10?lang=eng

This is a pattern that shows up elsewhere in the Book of Mormon as well. It’s connected to the covenants Latter-day Saints make every week as we partake of the sacrament. Remember.

When we look for the good, God will help us find it. Those who are seeking Jesus, like Ann Voskamp, and so many others, show how true this concept is.

In truth, the power of gratitude is understood to be a key to peaceful living in a variety belief traditions. Gratitude helps us experience life in a more awake, present, peaceful, radically accepting way. This is not the stuff of pretended positivity, but rather an earnest openness to the good that is always around us, and that becomes more visible when we commit to the practice of looking.

I’m grateful my daughter is willing to help me remember to practice gratitude each day. Would you like to join us in this practice?

What good can you see from your day today? Regardless of faith traditions or political affiliations or countries of origin, we can all find a way to practice looking for the good. It makes a difference for me when I do. And I wonder if we all practiced together if we might discover a bit more individual and collective peace distilling into our lives.

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Sometimes life can present what feels like impossible situations that we don’t know how to face. The scriptures can give us insight into how we can trust in the Lord in such times.

Here, Rachel, a Latter-day Saint college student, writes some insights from chapters 21-23 in Mosiah (in The Book of Mormon) about relying on God in times of trial.

In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 21 talks about the people who were living under King Noah until captured by the Lamanites. This bondage was prophesied by Abinadi when he was speaking to King Noah and his priests (Mosiah 12:2). The promises the Lord makes in the following verses describe this bondage, stating they will be smitten (verses 3-7). These promises are “shall” and “will” statements, completely unconditional. However, in verse 8, there is one conditional statement. The Lord (through Abinadi) states that the people will be completely destroyed EXCEPT they repent.

In Mosiah 21, we see the fulfillment (a lot of the same wording from Mosiah 12:2-7 is in Mosiah 21:3). In verse 5 it states, “there was no way that they could deliver themselves out of [the Lamanites’] hands.” Yet verses 7, 11, and 12 tell of three attempts by the people to deliver themselves.

To put this in the context of our lives, how many times do we try to save ourselves from “bondage”? Our sins, sadness, fear, anxiety, etc. can only be taken away through help of Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement. These people in chapter 21 suffered major losses because they tried to save themselves, but were not destroyed because, as it says in verse 13-14, “they did humble themselves… and they did cry mightily to God.” God slowly helped their situation, softening the hearts of the Lamanites (verse 15) and helping them “prosper by degrees” (verse 16). Ammon later comes and frees them from bondage. 

In contrast, Mosiah 23 tells of the bondage of the rest of King Noah’s people. Even though Alma and the righteous people who followed him had escaped King Noah’s guards and started their own lives, the prophesy of bondage still applied. The Lord followed through, but their reaction was different. Before the Lamanites even arrived at the land of Helam, the people ran to Alma, the prophet, and he calmed the people, and told them to rely on God (verse 27). They were in the same situation as the people of Limhi; verse 23 says that “none could deliver them but the Lord.” But because they chose to rely on His strength, instead of their own, in Mosiah 24:15, the Lord makes their burdens light. Because of their faith, the Lord helped them escape bondage the next day. 

If we choose to rely on God, and his strength and power, before, during, and after the bondage comes, our burdens will be made light.

Both of these groups of people eventually arrived in the Land of Zarahemla. One just took a longer and harder road. Burdens and trials will come, so we might as well make it easier for ourselves by relying on God.

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