I've Finished My Course

Blogger's Note:

This piece is different for everyone.  I will be finished with my 18 month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints next Tuesday, and so, this is my final post as a missionary.  It's a more personal piece, and it uses my favorite primary song.  I will be continuing this blog, but after this post, I will no longer be posting as a missionary, I will only be posting as a follower of Jesus Christ.  I can't promise any regularity with future posts, but I do know I will be taking a break from posting for a few weeks.  I still would love to hear from you, and I will love to do any scripture stories that you would like to have me do, Bible, Book of Mormon, something else. I'm willing to take any requests.  Feel free to comment. I do want to continue this blog, and if there is anybody that you would like to read any of the posts, feel free to recommend them.

   

"We'll Bring the World His Truth: The Army of Helaman"

I've been in this church my whole life.  I don't remember liking church at all, except for the Primary songs, the songs for the children.  I loved to sing those.  I don't remember liking any other part of church, except for the songs.

My favorite song was "The Army of Helaman."  I don't know why, but it was my absolute favorite. 

We have been born, as Nephi of old,

To goodly parents who love the Lord.

I was. My parents loved God, and they taught me to love Him, too.

We have been taught, and we understand,

That we must do as the Lord commands.

I have been taught my entire life the will of the Lord and His commandments. I have seen the blessings. I know why He has given us commandments.

We are as the army of Helaman.

I am a part of that great army.

We have been taught in our youth.

Even before I could talk.

And we will be the Lord's missionaries

To bring the world his truth.

Yeah whatever. I'm not going to be a missionary. That's silly. Only boys go on missions. That's not for me.

We have been saved for these latter days
To build the kingdom in righteous ways.

Heck yah I have! I'm special!

We hear the words our prophet declares:

Then, just about two years ago, in the October 2012 General Conference, the prophet got up and spoke to us.

"Let each who's worthy go forth and share."

"Today I am pleased to announce that able, worthy young women who have the desire to serve may be recommended for missionary service beginning at age 19, instead of age 21."

The Age Change!  The Flood! 

We are as the army of Helaman.

We have been taught in our youth.

And we will be the Lord's missionaries

To bring the world his truth.

I'm going on a mission!

We know his plan, and we will prepare, 

Increase our knowledge through study and prayer.

Daily we'll learn until we are called

To take the gospel to all the world.

I had six months between the announcement and when I left on my mission.  I could have decided not to go, but I knew that this was God's plan for me. 

We are as the army of Helaman.

We have been taught in our youth.

And we are now the Lord's missionaries

To bring the world his truth.

I was in the army of Helaman.
I had been taught in my youth.
And I was one of the Lord's missionaries
To bring the world his truth.

These past 18 months have been the experience of a lifetime.  I've met so many different people that I've come to love so much.  I've come closer to God than I've ever been before.  I've learned more than I thought I'd learn.  It was way harder than I thought it would be. I am so grateful for all of the amazing things that I've been able to do and see.  I am so grateful to befriend those who have followed Christ's example, and I'm so grateful to meet so many people in real life and online.  I am so grateful that I was sent to one of the thirty test missions for mobile devices and social media.  I am so grateful that I was able to start this blog.  I am so grateful for all of you.  Thank you so much. 

I want to share my testimony with you.  I know that God is our Heavenly Father and that He loves each and every one of us.  I know that Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son and that He died for all of us and our sins and that He lived again.  I know that there are prophets of God and that there is a living one on earth today.  I know that God answers prayers.  I know that the Holy Ghost will guide you.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it works with the Bible to testify of Jesus Christ and His divinity.  I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's church on the Earth today.  I know that we are loved.  I leave this testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.




Welcome to Conference

By President Thomas S. Monson

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/welcome-to-conference?lang=eng

 

We'll Bring the World His Truth: Army of Helaman
http://www.lds.org/manual/childrens-songbook-of-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints/well-bring-the-world-his-truth-army-of-helaman?lang=eng

Words and music: Janice Kapp Perry, b. 1938© 1983 by Janice Kapp Perry. This song may be copied for incidental, noncommercial church or home use.

Look! A prophet- oh now he's dead.

The Book of Mosiah

Chapters 11-17

 

So Zeniff died and gave the kingdom to his son Noah. Well Noah was downright wicked. He put really high taxes on the people. He had wives and lesser wives called concubines. He released the judges that his father had called and called new ones that would let him do what he wanted. They all had wives and concubines, and none of them worked at all, relying on the high taxes that had been put on the people.  Pretty much, everything had turned to crap, but they couldn't see it, and they thought everything was fine.


The Lamanites that they lived by went to attack  them, and they were able to drive them back, and their pride grew and grew.

So, there was all this wickedness going on, and one of their people named Abinadi (pronounced ah-bin-ah-die) started to prophecy to them, and he started to tell them that God was angry with them and wanted them to repent.  Well, long story short, nobody is happy that Abinadi is calling them out, and he gets arrested, and King Noah talks to him, Abinadi teaches the Ten Commandments, and Evil King Noah's angry as all get out, and Abinadi dies by fire.

But something very special happens.  One man, one of Wicked King Noah's judges listens as Abinadi taught and called them to repentance, and he believes his words.  This man was named Alma, and he will be a very important person over the next long while. 

So What?



ldsengine.com/heroposters

So there's now a wicked king that killed a prophet. Big whoop.  You hear this sort of stuff on the news all the time. 

Hey, guess what?  This happened around 150 BC, one hundred and fifty years before Christ came.  This happened amongst an ancient civilization.  Guess what else?  This has happened innumerable times before and after this.  The prophets and servants of God have been persecuted and killed since the beginning of recorded history. 

Basically, history repeats itself.
Also, what you say and do matters, and other people see that, as shown in that one person who listened, named Alma.

From Scout to King

The Book of Mosiah

Chapter 9
 

"The Record of Zeniff—An account of his people, from the time they left the land of Zarahemla until the time that they were delivered out of the hands of the Lamanites.
Zeniff leads a group from Zarahemla to possess the land of Lehi-Nephi—The Lamanite king permits them to inherit the land—There is war between the Lamanites and Zeniff’s people. About 200–187 B.C."-Introduction to Mosiah Chapter 9

Chapter 10
 

"King Laman dies—His people are wild and ferocious and believe in false traditions—Zeniff and his people prevail against them. About 187–160 B.C."-Introduction to Mosiah Chapter 10



The people that Ammon had found had a record of how they had come to be in this situation, where they were generally slaves to the Lamanites, and they were able to translate the record so it could be read.

The Record of Zeniff

I, Zeniff, being taught in the knowledge of ours fathers, was sent out to spy on the Lamanites and their forces so that we could fight them and destroy them. I had my mission, and as I spied on them, I saw so many good things, them as people, their material possessions, their knowledge. How could we destroy that?

I talked to my commander, hoping that we could make a treaty with them, but he was austere and blood-thirsty, and he commanded that I would be killed for rebellion. I was saved though as some in my company fought against the others, brother against brother. There was so much blood lost, but I was saved.

Zeniff is the guy in the red.

I took a few of the men, and we went to the king to barter for the land of our fathers, Lehi-Nephi. He gave us a portion of land called Shilom, and we set to work building buildings and repairing the walls, but we were naïve. King Laman freely gave us this land to take us into bondage and make us their slaves.

For thirteen years, we lived in false security, and I reigned over this people until the Lamanites came and started to steal our flocks and kill our men. We rose up to battle against them, and we slew three thousand of their men, and buried them. But we suffered a sore loss of two hundred and seventy-nine of our own.

After that, I had many weapons made, and guards put up around our borders, and we were able to keep peace, and we prospered.

King Laman, the king who had wished to bring us into slavery, died, and his son reigned in his stead. This new king started to cause his people to be angry against us, and they started to battle with us again. I had to protect my people, and I sent out spies.

"I shall lead you into battle!
The Lamanites Shall Not Pass!"

The Lamanites were wicked and terrifying. They had shaved their heads and painted their bodies, and they only wore a cloth around their loins.

This was going to be a dangerous and bloody battle, and so I commanded all of the women and children to go hide in the wilderness, and I commanded that all of the men that were able to pick up weapons and to go into battle. There were old men, and there were young men who had never picked up a sword before, and there was even me, who was very old at this point.

We went to battle against the Lamanites. They were strong and mighty, even though they didn't know anything about God or His gospel. They had been lied to all their lives. They believed that they had been repeatedly wronged by their brethren, in the land of their inheritance, in crossing the sea, in the land here. The hate was taught from generation to generation, from father to child, and there was so much hate from the Lamanites towards us.

We prayed before we went into battle against them, and with the Lord on our side, we were able to drive them out of our land, and we were able to maintain peace. We were safe from the Lamanites.

I then conferred the kingdom onto one of my sons because I was just plain out too old. I was too old to be going into battle. I am too old to be running a country. Amen.

To read the actual scriptural account, go to Mosiah 9 and Mosiah 10.

So What?

So, we've got this guy who seems to be kind of a greedy idiot in the beginning causing all sorts of trouble that gets his own kingdom, and then fights a lot.  What in the world are we supposed to learn from all this?  Why in the world did this get saved for thousands of years for us to read today?

Well, I don't particularly like Zeniff.  Seriously though, he's in this military scouting group whose mission is to kill off all the Lamanites, and he's a scout and goes and spies on the Lamanites, and then he goes "I like all this stuff the Lamanites have, we shouldn't kill them like we were commanded to do, but we should try to make friends with them and have a treaty with them."  So he tells the leader, and there's this civil war in this little army where they wipe out everyone who was against Zeniff, and then he becomes king over this band of people, and he walks right into a trap by the Lamanites, and I just think he's an idiot, but I've got to give him props. 

He was an idiot in the beginning.
He got better.

Why I give him props is that he didn't stay this idiot forever.  He started out getting everyone in trouble, but the thing that I really admire is that he changed and took responsibility for his actions.  There were times where he didn't remember God, and those were times where the Lamanites came and attacked.  He could have very easily just gone and had the land and then when the Lamanites came to try to enslave them, he was responsible and was the good leader that this people needed.  He had them prepare an army for protection.  He had them grow crops and make clothes, and they had and industrious community that were independent of the Lamanites, and they were a threat to the Lamanites.  Every time the Lamanites tried to fight them, they lost.  They lost thousands of men, they lost more than the Nephites could number, and this little city only lost a few hundred and lost no land and no women and no children, and they were able to have peace. 

So this greedy little idiot that we first met in Mosiah 9 became a leader, a king who cared about his people and was able to protect them. 

That is the best!  This is change!  This is what the gospel is all about!  We aren't meant to stay the same forever.  We're not meant to suffer for our wrong choices forever.  There are ways to repent and move on and progress and become better!  Though I don't like Zeniff very much, he became somebody that others could rely on and somebody that was truly dedicated to God and knew what power that held.  I know that this is true, and I know that Christ's Atonement is there for each and every one of us to help us become the great person that we were meant to be.

We're Going on an Adventure!!!

The Book of Mosiah

Chapters 7
 

"Ammon finds the land of Lehi-Nephi, where Limhi is king—Limhi’s people are in bondage to the Lamanites—Limhi recounts their history—A prophet (Abinadi) had testified that Christ is the God and Father of all things—Those who sow filthiness reap the whirlwind, and those who put their trust in the Lord will be delivered. About 121 B.C."-Introduction to Mosiah Chapter 7


As Mosiah reigned as king, there was peace, and he started to wonder about a group of people that had left years ago to try to claim the lands where Lehi and Nephi first dwelt. He called 16 strong men to go search for the people in Lehi-Nephi, and Ammon was their leader.

They started on their journey into the wilderness, but they didn't know exactly where Lehi-Nephi was, so they wandered in a general 'this is probably the way to Lehi-Nephi' direction.

They did this for forty days, and they were at a hill north of an area named Shilom, and they were tired of all of them not being able to find Lehi-Nephi, so they set up their tents on this hill, and Ammon took three of his men, Amaleki, Helem, and Hem, and they took off to scout if they could find some trace of the city.

They come upon a man, and as they approach him, they recognize him as a king, but before they could take another step, they were surrounded by soldiers!  They were bound and dragged into the city and thrown into prison. 

They were terrified for their lives.  They were only a few men, tied up, in prison, and the rest of the men they had traveled with were not far away, camped peacefully on a hill. 

They were left, waiting, dreading, worrying for a day, and then another day.

Then, the guards came and brought them before the king, bound tightly.  The four of them were tense, waiting for what the king was going to do.  When they entered the throne room, the king commanded the guards to loosen the bounds, and then he commanded them to answer all of his questions.

He came and stood in front of them, and then he introduced himself, "Behold, I am Limhi, the son of Noah, who was the son of Zeniff, who came up out of the land of Zarahemla to inherit this land, which was the land of their fathers, who was made a king by the voice of the people."  He stared them down for a moment, and then continued, "Why did you come here where I was outside the city walls with my guards?  If I wasn't so curious, you'd have been put to death already.  You are now permitted to speak."

Ammon then bowed with as much respect as he could show, "O king, I am very thankful before God this day that I am yet alive, and am permitted to speak; and I will endeavor to speak with boldness; For I am assured that if ye had known me ye would not have suffered that I should have worn these bands. For I am Ammon, and am a descendant of Zarahemla, and have come up out of the land of Zarahemla to inquire concerning our brethren, whom Zeniff brought up out of that land."

At that, King Limhi laughed and told them about he was glad that they had come and how he would have all his people rejoice too.

He then told the four of how they traveled into the land, and how they had difficulties with the Lamanites and then they fell into bondage and paid high taxes to the Lamanites, and how their arrival had given them hope that they will be freed from their slavery to their enemies.(All of this will be gone into more drama in later chapters, yay!)

King Limhi called his people together and introduced the four men to them and told them about how if they kept the commandments of God, they would be freed from slavery and from the oppression of the Lamanites.

The next several chapters are going to be really exciting!!!  To read this chapter go to Mosiah 7

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?