Based on: Psalm 100 Core message: The gospel can bring pure joy into our lives if we will just get out of our own way and let it happen. Related Book of Mormon passages: 1 Nephi 1:15, 2 Nephi 9:3, 2 Nephi 11:8
“In the Mouth of Three Witnesses” – Ether 5:4
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.Deuteronomy 19:15 (See also Deuteronomy 17:6.) One of the features of this mortal life is dealing... Continue Reading →
Just and Merciful
God is both just and merciful. Multiple Book of Mormon prophets testify of this, including Lehi (2 Nephi 2:12), Nephi (2 Nephi 11:5), Jacob (Jacob 4:10), King Benjamin (Mosiah 5:15), Alma (Alma 42:15), and Mormon (3 Nephi 26:5, Mormon 6:22). We ought to be just and merciful as well: See that you are merciful unto... Continue Reading →
Justice and Mercy
Today I've been pondering the relationship between two of God's attributes: justice and mercy. Multiple Book of Mormon prophets teach us that God is both just and merciful, including Lehi (2 Nephi 2:12), Nephi (2 Nephi 11:5), Jacob (Jacob 4:10), King Benjamin (Mosiah 5:15), Alma (Alma 42:15), and Mormon (3 Nephi 26:5, Mormon 6:22). It's... Continue Reading →
How Can the Words of Isaiah Bring Us Joy?
Nephi explained why he quoted so much from Isaiah: "My soul delighteth in his words." He introduced thirteen consecutive chapters of Isaiah by saying that he hoped the words would make us "lift up [our] hearts and rejoice for all men" (2 Nephi 11:2, 8). Immediately after, we begin to read, and we find phrases like... Continue Reading →
What Do We Need to Do to Be Saved by Grace?
grace - the free and unmerited favour of God, as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings (Oxford English Dictionary) Are we not all beggars? (Mosiah 4:19) After quoting a sermon by his brother Jacob, followed by thirteen chapters from the Book of Isaiah, all of which were intended to prove... Continue Reading →
What Is the Plan of Redemption?
The word "plan" doesn't appear in the King James Version of the Bible. But it appears 51 times in the Book of Mormon. Book of Mormon prophets, particularly Jacob and Alma, teach clearly that God created a plan for us, and that by following His plan, we can overcome every challenge we face and achieve... Continue Reading →
How Does Isaiah Point Us Toward Christ?
Nephi tells us that he read to his brothers from 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 19:23). Just before quoting thirteen chapters in a row by Isaiah,... Continue Reading →
Who Were the Three Witnesses of the Book of Mormon?
While Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon, he was not allowed to show anyone else the metal plates containing the original record (Joseph Smith--History 1:42). His scribes sat near him, recording the words he spoke, but Joseph kept the plates hidden from their view. But near the end of the translation process, in... Continue Reading →
What Does It Mean for Jesus to Be Our “Redeemer?”
The Hebrew word "go'el" is sometimes translated "redeemer" and sometimes "near kinsman." When we enter a covenant relationship with Jesus, He becomes the "near kinsman" who will deliver us from bondage, even bondage of our own making.