I spent the day yesterday serving with some people I haven’t seen in a long time. I was gratified when some of them who I don't know very well remembered my name (and when I remembered some of their names). Names are important. We like it when other people remember our names and when they... Continue Reading →
Songs of Everlasting Joy
Isaiah associated singing with joy. For example: "Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter to the end of the earth; say ye: The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob" (Isaiah 48:20, 1 Nephi 20:20)."Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth;...and break forth into singing, O mountains;... for the... Continue Reading →
Babylon
Don't get attached to temporary things. That's the message I hear when I read about the destruction of Babylon. A center of commerce and the capital of the powerful Babylonian Empire, the city of Babylon was formidable. The apostle John conveyed the enormity of the city's economy with the following list of things bought and... Continue Reading →
Pandemic Lessons
Behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.1 Nephi 20:10, Isaiah 48:10 Last April, President Russell M. Nelson invited us to make a list of lessons we have learned during the pandemic. "Adversity is a great teacher," he said. "What have you learned in the past two years that you... Continue Reading →
“I Have Not Spoken in Secret”
Isaiah emphasized to his people that the Lord had communicated very clearly what they needed to know. "I have not spoken in secret," he said; "from the beginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me" (Isaiah 48:16, 1 Nephi 20:16). Nephi added his own... Continue Reading →
The Sound of Rejoicing
A few years ago, I had the responsibility to recruit some volunteers to help a family move between Christmas and New Year's Day. Knowing that it was a time of year when people are spending time with their families, and being somewhat self-conscious about making this request on short notice, I emphasized the negative aspects... Continue Reading →
“Go Ye Forth of Babylon” – 1 Nephi 20:20
"The world is too much with us," wrote the poet William Wordsworth. He meant that our lives are influenced more than we realize by the society in which we live, leaving us unable to properly perceive "things as they really are" (Jacob 4:13). As Elder David R. Stone explained: Our culture tends to determine what... Continue Reading →
“With a Voice of Singing” – 1 Nephi 20:20
Earlier this week, I discussed Isaiah's admonition to acknowledge the hand of the Lord in our lives and share with others what we know. Near the end of the same chapter, Isaiah underscores the importance of this admonition by making a series of commands: "Go ye forth of Babylon" "Flee ye from the Chaldeans" "With... Continue Reading →
The Furnace of Affliction – 1 Nephi 20:10
After rebuking the children of Israel for hypocrisy and negligence, the Lord goes on to explain why He hasn't disowned them. "Behold, I have refined thee," He says, "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" (1 Nephi 20:10). (See also Isaiah 48:10.) Our trials can feel like a furnace. When we are experiencing... Continue Reading →
Will Ye Not Declare Them? – 1 Nephi 20:6
The very first passage from Isaiah which Nephi quotes opens with an indictment. The prophet addresses himself to the people who claim to be the covenant people of God but who aren't acting like it: Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth... Continue Reading →
Book of Mormon Study Notes 