What Does the Prophet Say?

The Book of Mosiah

Chapters 1-6
 

"King Benjamin teaches his sons the language and prophecies of their fathers—Their religion and civilization have been preserved because of the records kept on the various plates—Mosiah is chosen as king and is given custody of the records and other things. About 130–124 B.C."-Introduction to Mosiah Chapter 1

"King Benjamin addresses his people—He recounts the equity, fairness, and spirituality of his reign—He counsels them to serve their Heavenly King—Those who rebel against God will suffer anguish like unquenchable fire. About 124 B.C."-Introduction to Mosiah Chapter 2

"King Benjamin continues his address—The Lord Omnipotent will minister among men in a tabernacle of clay—Blood will come from every pore as He atones for the sins of the world—His is the only name whereby salvation comes—Men can put off the natural man and become Saints through the Atonement—The torment of the wicked will be as a lake of fire and brimstone. About 124 B.C."-Introduction to Mosiah Chapter 3

"King Benjamin continues his address—Salvation comes because of the Atonement—Believe in God to be saved—Retain a remission of your sins through faithfulness—Impart of your substance to the poor—Do all things in wisdom and order. About 124 B.C."-Introduction to Mosiah Chapter 4

"The Saints become the sons and daughters of Christ through faith—They are then called by the name of Christ—King Benjamin exhorts them to be steadfast and immovable in good works. About 124 B.C."-Introduction to Mosiah Chapter 5

"King Benjamin records the names of the people and appoints priests to teach them—Mosiah reigns as a righteous king. About 124–121 B.C."-Introduction to Mosiah Chapter 6

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice

The plates were passed down from father to son to brother over several decades, until the small plates of Nephi were filled.

This record was then given to King Benjamin, a righteous man. He was starting to grow old, and he was going to pass down his crown to one of his sons, Mosiah. He also has a desire to speak to his people, and Mosiah calls together all the people.

So many people came to the city that there were tents set up all around. The plan was to speak to the people inside the temple, but Benjamin knew that he needed a better way to speak to his people, and so he had a tower built.

King Benjamin speaking from his tower

Benjamin climbed his tower, and looked out over the sea of tents, with the doors open and facing him.  He was pleased with how many of his people had come to hear him speak, and he started into the words that the Lord had commanded him to share.  He went on for a while before his son Mosiah climbed the tower to speak with him.

"Not everyone can hear you, Father," he let him know. "The ones on the very edge did not even know you were speaking."

"Ah, well that is very easily remedied," King Benjamin replied with a smile, and he then commanded his words to be written down as he spoke so that everyone, not just those very near to him, or the ones that had come, but all of his people, would be able to read it.

He spoke to the people about serving others, about keeping the commandments. He testified of Jesus Christ and His mission. He told his people that they must cast off the natural man. The people felt the Spirit of God as he spoke, and they knew that what he was saying was true. They knew that they were saved by Christ's atonement. They desired to make covenants with God to become born again, and many people were baptized that day.

As he finished his words, he consecrated Mosiah to be the king over the people.  Mosiah reigned as king, and he strived to be a king as his father had been.

So What?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Kay, we have this story of this old king who wanted to talk to his people before he died.  Big whoop.  We don't have kings anymore.  Even so, we're not going to go camp out on the White House lawn in tents, waiting for the president to speak to us.  We have TV and internet and radio, and we don't even have to get out of our PJs to hear our leaders speak.

 

What in the world does this have to do with me?  We live in 2014.  So outdated, right?

 

Well, yeah, we're not going to be put in this position unless there's an apocalyptic disaster, and we decide to go back to a monarch style of government, but this scenario actually does apply to us in technologically advanced 2014.

 

So, not every country has a king, but there is one thing that we all do have.  We have a prophet.  And guess what's happening this weekend?  General Conference!  For those who don't know, General Conference is when the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints cancel church for a weekend, and for 4 two-hour sessions over Saturday and Sunday, they speak to the world about topics that they have been inspired to talk on.  Among these speakers are those leaders over the women, the children, the youth, the men, and the apostles and prophets. 

 

There is a prophet of God speaking this weekend! 

 

President Thomas S. Monson
The Prophet

 

Now would you camp out in a tent in the prophet's back yard to hear him speak?  Please don't.  That's creepy, and he'll probably call the police. 

 

But he will love for you to come to General Conference in Salt Lake City Utah!  It is an incredible experience!  Except, there's only seating for 21,000 people in the Conference Center.  And I don't know how close you are to Utah.  And airplane tickets are pretty pricey. 

 

So, there's the same situation we've got with King Benjamin.  We've got a ton of people to come hear him talk, and there's just not enough room.

 

We're in the technological age, though!  So, the prophet doesn't climb up on a tower.  The conference is video taped and recorded and then broadcast to TVs, radios, church buildings all over the world, and the internet!  And you don't even have to watch it live, you can watch it after the fact online, and you can watch conferences from years and years ago! 

 

Well, what about everyone else that doesn't have a TV or a radio or a computer?  The conference is written down, and it is distributed in the November and May issues of the church magazines, the Ensign and the Liahona.

 

There is no reason for you to miss getting to know what the prophet and apostles have said. 

 

The Conference Center in Salt Lake City

So, if God came down and wanted to talk to you, just to you, what would He say?  I don't know, but I do know that if you wanted to know, you would listen to the modern day prophet, because God answers prayers, and you will receive an answer through your prayers by listening to General Conference. 

 

 

 

 

 

To read the actual scriptural account, you can find them here: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6.

 

To watch/read/listen to conference, you can go to LDS.org

(extra laugh from quotes from last general conference ;) )

 

Stop it ask the missionaries meme

Enos of the Lineage of Prophets

The Book of Enos

 

"Enos prays mightily and gains a remission of his sins—The voice of the Lord comes into his mind, promising salvation for the Lamanites in a future day—The Nephites sought to reclaim the Lamanites—Enos rejoices in his Redeemer. About 420 B.C.."-Introduction to Enos

As is prone to time, things change.
Nephi and his family reached the promised land, but it was not suddenly happy and content within the family. Lehi, the father, died and was buried. Laman and Lemuel and those who agreed with them separated themselves from Nephi and his family. They became Lamanites, and those who followed Nephi and had him as their leader were called Nephites. The Lamanites became wild and ferocious and feral, continuously seeking to destroy the Nephites. Time passed, and Nephi died, and the plates were passed to his brother Jacob, who was also a prophet. He wrote a bit about what became of the people after Nephi died, and after he had written all that the Lord saw fit, he passed the records to his son, Enos.

Now, Enos was a hunter, and he was in the wilderness often. As he was hunting one day, all the words that he had heard his father speak sank deep into his heart, and he stopped where he was in the secluded woods, and he fell to his knees, and he prayed. He spoke to God, crying mightily as he says. All was pushed from his mind, and all he wanted was to have a remission of his sins, to have that guilt and weight from everything he had done to be washed away. He prayed to God for hours. He knelt in the woods, undisturbed by the sun traveling through the sky, and when the sun set, he didn't stop praying. He wrote how his soul hungered, how there was an emptiness in his soul that he had to fill. He couldn't just stop praying now. He needed to be whole, and he desired it more than anything. He prayed aloud, and his voice echoed through the forest, and rose through the trees.

A voice sounded and said "Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed."

Enos knew that it was God who had spoken, and he knew that He couldn't lie. He felt all of the guilt and shame lifted from him, and he felt himself be filled with the Spirit. He then continued in his prayers, and he asked, " Lord, how is it done?"

His Heavenly Father answered, "Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the
flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole."

As Enos was comforted and made whole, he had a desire to share this blessing with all those that were close to him, the Nephites, and his family and friends. He even wanted these blessings for the Lamanites. The Nephites and the Lamanites were at constant war with each other, and these two groups came from a close knit family. Enos knew that these people were his kindred, and he wanted their salvation as well. He told the Lord about what was going on, and again, he received an answer.

"I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads. I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith."



http://ldsengine.com/heroposters/

Enos felt his Heavenly Father's love, and He knew that what He was saying was true, and that he would receive blessings according to his faith. He knew he had faith enough, and he asked for another blessing. "Will you preserve our records? Will you preserve them so that the Lamanites will be converted through them? They want to destroy the records, and there is so much in our records that testifies of Christ and that will bless us."

He was answered again. "Thy fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine."

Enos knew that God would uphold His promises, and he was comforted.

After this experience, which he had called his "wrestle with God," he changed. He went throughout his people, and he taught them about Christ and the gospel. He did all that he could to bring to people to God, but though he knew that God would keep His promises and would bless the people, he did not see that blessing in his lifetime.

To read the actual scriptural account, go to Enos.

So What?

So, we have this kid who's the child of a prophet who feels like he needs to be forgiven for so many things, and so he has this really cool experience where he knew that his prayers were answered, and why do we care?

Well, besides the promise that the record which would become the Book of Mormon would be preserved, there's a lot of things that we can see in our own lives.

Prayer is the biggest one.  Sometimes, it just seems like our prayers go completely unanswered, and then we look at these prophets in the scriptures, and they get these miraculous answers that we know we will probably never experience.  It's just a little depressing!  So we are having this really hard time because we're not seeing answers to our prayers.  What are we supposed to do?  Are we supposed to stop praying?  Are we supposed to continue and hope that a beam of light appears in our bedroom or a thunderous voice from Heaven speaks to us?  How do we know that it's an answer to a prayer or if it's just coincidence?  How do we even know if God's even listening to us?

Enos didn't have it easy.  He was the son of a prophet, and his uncle was a prophet, and his grandfather was a prophet, and his uncles saw angels, and I'm sure that he just never felt good enough.  He knew that prayers could be answered, but after hearing these stories from others in his family, he probably just didn't feel good enough to be anything like them.  So he prayed.  Not just a few minutes of pleading, but all day and all night of exhausting prayers and pouring his soul out to God.  He had to really come to God before his prayers were answered. 

Then, after his faith had been tried and strengthened, his faith was enough that all his prayers were answered. 

Each of our experiences are different about prayer, but there are always answers.  We just have to work for them, by praying, wait for them, and look for them.

What experiences have you had with prayer?

Where Were You? Part 5

Blogger's Note:
This is a speculative perspective on doctrine, and it should not be taken as official doctrine, whether of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or of any other church.  It is based on doctrine of the LDS church, but it is the musings of a single person put into a fictional situation, and so, we can not be sure how accurate this will be as to how these situations will actually happen. 
For more information, read the scriptures, such as The Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, and refer to published books from the LDS church, such as Gospel Principles, Preach My Gospel, and the Ensigns, and you can find more information at Mormon.org
Pretty much, this is my personal fictionalized take on it, and I am not an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and use some common sense as to this being a fictionalized piece of literature.



And We Come to the End of Our Knowledge...

You have lived your life, died, and then lived again. You have your body, and you will never be separated from it again. It is so much nicer than when you first had it, no more scrapes, bruises, scars, aches, pains, or illnesses, and you are in your prime.

Christ has come, and you have seen the fulfillments of scripture. The Millennium comes, and for a thousand years, it is the most amazing time of peace.

Yet, it passes in the blink of an eye, and it is now time for judgement day. It is done with incredible order that you recognize as your Heavenly Father's work. His house is a house of order. When it comes to be your turn, you are surprised when the person you come before is Jesus Christ, your brother. You were sure it would have been Heavenly Father, and you ask Him why that is.

His voice is kind and endearing as he tells you, "I have paid for you already. I have fulfilled the demands of justice, so I and my Father may give you mercy. You are mine."

You feel His love emanating around you, and you discuss your life with Him. He knows all about you--he already went through everything you went through--but He listens to you sincerely. As the interview comes to a close, He tells you about the many mansions of His father's kingdom, and He talks about who will be in each one.

"The Telestial," He starts, "is a place of glory and there will be some of your siblings there. They are just like the people you knew on Earth, and it will be more glorious than Earth, with a brightness of the stars in the night sky. Those who will go there will feel comfortable with each other. They lived the same sort of lives, though they were not as valiant nor as righteous as they should have been," he gives a smile. "Do you feel worthy to go to that kingdom? To have a mansion there?"

Your eyes widen. "A place of glory?" You think for a moment. "I wasn't as good as I should have been. Yes, I feel like I should be there."

"What about the Terrestrial?" He asks. "It is even more glorious than the Telestial, as bright as a full moon in the sky.  You can even see it in the light of day. Many good people will be there, and they will enjoy their lives with those they knew from Earth and their dear friends they knew from before. They are good people, but they were not valiant in their testimonies or in following My example. Do you feel worthy to go to the Terrestrial kingdom?"

"I think I'm a good person," you say, "and I tried to have a testimony."

He chuckles. "There is the Highest kingdom, where our Father lives. Did you love me and keep my commandments?"

"I tried, but I fell short a lot. I'm not perfect."

"You did enough," He says, pulling you into an embrace. "I make up the difference. You are worthy of the Celestial Kingdom. You will be with your family forever. You will be with our Father and I. Your children, your parents, your dear spouse, they are worthy as well. Your family is eternal. Well done, my faithful servant."

He shows you to a glorious place, brighter, whiter, more peaceful, and more joyful than you could have even imagined.  You see your family there, people you didn't think you would see ever again after your life on Earth.  You and your family rejoice at fulfilling Heavenly Father's plan, and you go with them to meet with your Heavenly Father, to honor and worship and hug your Father that you hadn't even known you had missed, but now, you couldn't imagine your life without. 

You notice that there are people missing, and you search for them, and then you learned that they chose lower mansions.  You go and visit, and as you speak with them, you learn of how they were so sad in Heavenly Father's presence, and how they just felt as if they did not belong there with the way they lived their lives, how they felt awful and dirty, but Heavenly Father knew that, and after they had come to Him, He directed them to their own glorious homes, their amazing rewards. 

You visited the Terrestrial kingdom on occasion, and even though it took a moment to adjust from the brightness of being in Heavenly Father's presence, you were so in awe of its beauty.  You were so happy for your friends having a place where they would be content.

You only visited the Telestial Kingdom once, and you didn't like it.  It was like going from a bright afternoon to inside a house with all the shades pulled.  It wasn't bad at all, but you noticed that Heavenly Father wasn't there.  It was a magnificent place.  You tried to compare it back to what your favorite places on Earth were, but your times on Earth was so much less fulfilling than what this level of Heaven offered.  This place was beyond the words you knew when you were on Earth.  You wouldn't have been able to describe it to yourself when you were a mortal human being. 

As you surveyed what occurred throughout your journey, back home in the Celestial with your family, you were filled with the love of Heavenly Father, reassuring you that you are His child, and that all of the plan was for you.  You were amazed at how big the problems of life were to you then as you rejoiced in glory now.  You now know why so many things had to happen, why others had to go through such awful things. 

Echoes of words you heard in mortality come back to you.  "Salvation is not a cheap experience."  Christ paid the price for you.  You went through those difficult challenges to rub off the rough spots and to strengthen the weak things. 

You smile at the thought of yourself back in mortality, and you whisper, "You just wait.  You just wait."

Where Were You? Part 4

Blogger's Note:
From this point on, this is a speculative perspective on doctrine, and it should not be taken as official doctrine, whether of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or of any other church.  It is based on doctrine of the LDS church, but it is the musings of a single person put into a fictional situation, and so, we can not be sure how accurate this will be as to how these situations will actually happen. For more information, read the scriptures and refer to published books from the LDS church, such as Gospel Principles, Preach My Gospel, and the Ensigns, and you can find more information at Mormon.org
Pretty much, this is my personal fictionalized take on it, and I am not an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and use some common sense.



But Wait! There's More!

You are now dead. D-E-D dead. Your spirit and your body are separated. It is so weird without your body. You're still you, but you don't have the same feelings or abilities as you had when you were in your body.

When you first came into the spirit world, you were greeted by family and friends and people you knew on Earth. They explained things to you, how life was now that you're dead, things you'd have to know. They show you around the Spirit World.

The place you're in is beautiful and wonderful, and you ask if it's Heaven.

"Yes," a dear friend answers. "This is paradise, Heaven, limbo, whatever you would like to call it. But this isn't it, this isn't all there is. This is just a waiting place and a resting place."

As the tour continues, you and your guides come to bridges that go from the wonderful lit world into a dark sad place.

"Hell?" You ask.

"Yes and no." The cryptic answer comes.

"These are the bridges Jesus Christ made when He died and came here," a grandparent told you. "These lead to Spirit Prison, where those who don't know about Christ and the gospel, or those who were disobedient in life go. It is a sad place, but our job is to go to those in spirit prison and teach them."

A friend who died many years before you gave a toothy grin. "I've been back and forth teaching a lot. I've helped many people come across the bridges. You must see the light in their eyes when they recognize that what we're teaching is true and start to act on it."

You remember in life when you were first taught the gospel and when you first realized it was true. You ask if you can help teach. There were laughs around, and they said of course.

You enjoy your life after death, teaching and resting and enjoying paradise.

You continue this life as the events on Earth hasten to Christ's Second Coming. You check in once in a while, surveying life on Earth, and you recognize things you had read in the scriptures that had never made sense before.

Christ's coming is glorious, and you are there in a chorus of angels.

You are resurrected with those that were righteous, and you wonder at your now perfected immortal body. You are so grateful to have it back, especially without its creaks and groans and pains.

It's not all over yet. The Millennium has just begun.

Where Were You? Part 3

Blogger's Note:
This piece is different for everyone, but I tried to make it as generic as possible.  I've been pondering a lot on how our lives end up, and our lives are so different from each others.  I've been having a few experiences recently that really played a big part in this piece, and I've found a video that has pulled at my heartstrings that has deeply colored this part. You should definitely check it out: It's called 'The Hope of God's Light.'  I know that God has a plan for our lives here on Earth.  I know that He knows what He is doing.  Everything in our lives has been put here to help us to learn and to grow and to become the best versions of ourselves that we can be.  To read the earlier parts, Part 1 and Part 2.


My Life Isn't Quite What I Thought It Would Be

It came your turn to receive a body. Just as you had seen happen to your brothers and sisters, a veil of forgetfulness was drawn over your memory. You had no memory of your family, no memory of your Heavenly Father, no memory of the plan.

You were sent to a good family, a mother and a father, and you learned and grew. You would sometimes feel as if there was something greater, but you didn't know what and so you would continue on in your life, school, work, friends, and then you are married, starting a family of your own.

Religion was not a big part of your life, but you knew there was something out there.

A friend invited your family to a church party, a holiday BBQ, and you agree. There, two young men in white shirts, ties, and name badges introduce themselves as Elder and Elder and you wonder if the name tags were a joke because they had the same first name. Your friend invites you over to his home to talk with Elder and Elder, and you don't see the harm in it.

You chuckle when you learn that they weren't really named Elder, and that this was just a title for the church's missionaries, you listen politely to their message, and then they share the story of a young boy named Joseph Smith. Something changes in the room, and you feel something different. You continue to learn from the missionaries, and they help you realize what this feeling is.

You learn that you can live with your family forever, and you share that with your spouse, and the next time the elders come over, you both are there asking questions and listening to what they have to say.  They ask you to read a book and pray, and you do that, and you learn for yourself that there is a God and that He loves you and your family.  The strangest thing is that this feeling is familiar.  You make the decision to follow Christ.

Throughout the next several years, your family makes leaps and bounds working to follow Christ, feeling happier day by day.  The hardships aren't gone, but you feel as if they are more manageable.  You feel as if you have more hope and the tools to succeed in your life.  You and your family are sealed together for time and all eternity, and as you look at your family that day, you know that this is what was meant for your family, and you will have your family with you forever. 

As everyone does, you die, but you're not afraid.  You know what is coming next.  You know your Heavenly Father is excited to see you.