4 Nephi

After contemplating - with a mix of wonder and longing - the peaceful existence of the people who had been witnesses to the Saviors' visit to the American continent, we moved to an investigation of the process which is described as the people “dwindl(ing) in unbelief
and wickedness, from year to year” (4 Nephi 1:34).

We started off by looking at 4 Nephi 1:20, which reads: 

"and there was still peace in the land, save it were a small part of the people who had revolted from the church and taken upon them the name of Lamanites; therefore there began to be Lamanites again in the land."

This verse describes some revolting within the church - a division has entered and unity is eroded, by dissension and individual apostasy. 

In the next phase, divisions grow.  Unity is eroded further by lack of sharing, class distinctions and divisions caused by wearing "costly apparel" (4 Nephi 1:24-26). Humility and Charity are beginning to be lost. 

In the next "dwindling", divisions grow deeper as kindness, reverence, faith and humility are lost to some:

"there was another church which denied the Christ; and they did persecute the true church of Christ, because of their humility and their belief in Christ; and they did despise them because of the many miracles which were wrought among 
them" 4 Nephi 1:29 (see 4 Nephi 1:27-29)

Then, reverence for life is lost as some "did seek to kill them, [the three Nephite Apostles] even as the Jews at Jerusalem sought to kill Jesus, according to his word."

4 Nephi 1:35 states "And now it came to pass in this year, yea, in the two hundred and thirty and first year, there was a great division among the people."  Commenting on this tendency to division, George A. Smith said:

Our weakness consists in division among ourselves, in not living up to our calling, in not abiding by the counsels which the Lord inspires His servants to impart unto us, and not abiding by the covenants which we make when we lift up our hands to Heaven and vote to sustain our President, or Prophet, as a seer and revelator unto us. This failure on our part weakens both his hands and ours.

As this great division deepens, In 4 Nephi 1:35-39 we see "that they who rejected the gospel were called Lamanites, and Lemuelites, and Ishmaelites; and they did not dwindle in unbelief, but they did wilfully rebel against the gospel of Christ; and they did teach their children that they should not believe, even as their fathers, from the beginning, did dwindle." People reject Christ and teach their children to do the same.

In the final phase, the wicked outnumber the righteous and we see secret combinations and secret oaths arising (4 Nephi 1:40-43).

It was thought-provoking to contemplate this slow decline, which seems a little like a Chinese whisper, slowly becoming twisted and corrupted as it transmits between generations.  Commenting on the applicability of this scripture to us, Elder Neal A Maxwell said:

Likewise, “true believers” will maintain faith in the latter-day Restoration with its empowering visitations, its prophets and apostles, and its “plain and precious” scriptures.  The gospel’s first principles surely fit the last days.

May we retain our faith and keep our eyes firmly fixed on Zion to come ... "The establishment of Zion should be the aim of every member of this Church. It can be safely said: As we seek with all our hearts to bring forth and establish Zion, the vexations of too little time will disappear. There are joys and blessings by enlisting in this noble cause. One’s personal life is transformed. The home is no longer a hotel but a place of peace, security, and love. Society itself changes. In Zion, contentions and disputations cease, class distinctions and hatreds disappear, no one is poor—spiritually or temporally, and all manner of wickedness is no more. As many have attested, “Surely there could not be a happier people among all the people … created by the hand of God.” (Keith B. McMullin)

3 Nephi 27-30

This week focused attention on 3 Nephi 27, and what it means to be a member Christs' Church - or as stated in D&C 115:4: “For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

This lesson was different in that, rather than focus on discipleship or Christianity, we looked particularly at the everyday impact of being members of the Church.

As we contemplated this issue, we looked to the member profiles on mormon.org to guide out thinking.  These profiles answer three main questions:
Firstly, About Me - which gives a brief summary about the individual;
Then, Why I am a Mormon - which answers that question!; and
How I Live my Faith - which describes how faith intersects with every day life.
The final section contains answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Church.

The challenge for this week is to contemplate these answers, and to set up your own profile at mormon.org ...

Resources
Ann M Dibb : I Know It, I live It. I Love It

3 Nephi 23-26

Our lesson this week considered how we might increase the depth and diligence of our personal scripture study ... 

"When Jesus Christ visited the people in the Americas, He taught the value and importance of the scriptures. He commanded the Nephites to diligently search the scriptures (see 3 Nephi 23:1–5). This command to search implies more than casual reading."

We first considered our motivation to study the scriptures.  We started by reviewing some quotations about scripture study.  President Thomas S. Monson has said:

"As we remember prayer and take time to turn to the scriptures, our lives will be infinitely more blessed and our burdens will be made lighter."

As we reviewed quotes, class members returned again and again to this quote by Elder Mervin B. Arnold:

The second facet which we focused on was about the "how" of studying the scriptures.  We concluded that we are accustomed to our annual blocks of study, be it a Sunday School course, a Relief Society or Priesthood curriculum, or an Institute course of study.  We spent some time discussing smaller blocks of study and how to make them more meaningful.

We started with "nourishing snacks" - ways of using a 10 or 15 minute scripture-study block to do something more than a reading exercise.  Some ways we noted were:

• Substitute your name - find a scripture that gives you encouragement or hope or speaks to a need you have now.  Write the scripture out, substituting your name into the scripture.
• Memorisation - find a scripture mastery verse, or a meaningful scripture, and memorise it.
• Music - spend the time listening to and pondering the words of a meaningful hymn.
• Be Still and Know (that I am God) - Light a candle and sit next to it for 5 minutes, reflecting on being still and listening to the voice of God.
• Choose a topic - select a topic from the Bible Dictionary and read and ponder some scriptures from the topic. How about one scripture from each volume of scripture?
• Meditating - spending some time pondering a specific verse of scripture
• Create an inspirational nuggets journal - keep mini-journalling cards and write out short scriptures on a theme - such as "gratitude".
• Map it out! - find a map and see where a scriptural event took place.  For example, the story of Johan in the Old testament (Jonah 1 - 3) gains depth when we know that the city of Nineveh was located close to modern-day Iraq and that Tarshish might have been located in modern-day Spain!

We expanded our discussion to "short intensives" - intensive scripture study blocks that can take from a fortnight to a quarter (three months). Some ideas to consider here included:

• Read a Book (of scripture) - plan to spend several weeks studying one book of scripture intensely.  Read and re-read the book.  Then divide it into sections that make sense together (these may or may not correspond with chapters!). Study these sections by observation (what is their message?) understanding (looking up meanings of words, find similar passages in the scriptures, etc), interpretation (what does this mean?) and application (what does this mean to me?)
• Study a Word - Spend time studying a word, like faith, in the scriptures, in modern revelation, in the writings of prophets and apostles.
• Biographical Study - study one person throughout the scriptures (i.e. everywhere they're mentioned).  Ponder why this person is important, what God says about this person and this this persons' choices can inform your life.
• Use a Guided Journal - there are some guided journals which don't interpret scriptures but which simply highlight scriptures for reflection - try one!

Finally, we addressed ourselves and the scriptures.  Using some of the many photographs which show individuals studying the scriptures, class members posed for their own unique "scriptures and me" photographs. 

As you ponder this lesson, start by finding a quote that motivates you to study scriptures, or which gives meaning to

the practise of scripture study.  Then, write down ways you can enjoy nourishing snacks on days when your scripture study routine is upside-down.  And finally, put yourself into the picture of scripture study by either taking a self-portrait of you and your scriptures, or having someone photography you with your scriptures!

Resources:

D Todd Christofferson : The Blessing Of Scripture
Richard G. Scott : The Power of Scripture
Elder Michael John U. Teh : The Power of the Word of God

3 Nephi 20-22

The overarching theme to the Saviours' teachings in the Americas on his first days' visit can be defined as "the first principles and ordinances of the gospel", moving through faith, repentance, baptism (and the sacrament) and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  After the sermon at the temple, and his subsequent visits, we find this section which is quite visionary in nature, with the Saviour speaking to his audience about things that are to come in future. 

This reading contains much about the future of the House of Israel.  I thought that a useful reference to enlighten our views on this doctrine could be a talk given by Elder Bednar at BYU Idaho, which speaks about "Gathering" as a topic.

We started off contemplating "scattering" and "gathering" as principles that the Lord uses in directing His people. Throughout history there has been scattering when people have not accepted the Lord, or been disobedient.  Gathering has followed acceptance and obedience. Seen in this light, there have been historical periods of scattering and gathering - sometimes simultaneously if we consider events such as the Tower of Babel where a gathering of the faithful (the Jaredites) occurred in the midst of scattering of the wicked.

So, to what end (purpose) are people gathered? Elder Bednar outlines four purposes:
To worship (Mosiah 18:25)
To build the church (D&C 101:63-64)
For a defence (D&C 115: 6); and 
To receive counsel and instruction (Mosiah 18:7) ...
It is instructive to consider these purposes in light of specific meetings we attend ... and to note that sometimes more than one purpose could be accomplished in a meeting.  Take some time to ponder church meetings you have recently attended.  What purpose, related to the spirit of Gathering, was achieved in each of them?

Image by jarvie digital

Elder Bednar outlines some insightful gathering places:-
Into the Lords' Restored Church (D&C 101:64-65);
Into the Temple (see TPJS, pp. 307-308, 314);
Into Stakes of Zion (D&C 109:59);
Into Families (Mosiah 2:5).
Once again, insightful places to ponder ... how are we gathered into these places?  Are we gathered to them in different ways at different times?  How open are we to being gathered into these places?  Do we see some of these spaces as having precedence over others?  Do we see some of these spaces as mutually exclusive places of gathering?  

Finally, Elder Bednar speaks about three blessings of gathering ...
Edification (Ephesians 4:12-13);
Preservation (Moses 7:61); and
Strength (D&C 82:14).
Ponder how these blessings are present in your life ... and then journal about how you see the principles and spirit of Gathering present in your life ...

Resources
Russell M. Nelson : The Gathering of Scattered Israel

Elder David A. Bednar : The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering 
Victor Ludlow : The Scattering and Gathering of Israel : Gods Covenant with Abraham Remembered through the Ages
Religious Educator Vol 11/2010: Gathering of Israel 

Encyclopedia of Mormonism : Israel