In May 1833, God taught Joseph Smith about several interrelated concepts: light, truth, spirit, and intelligence (Doctrine and Covenants 93:1-40). After explaining that everyone on earth has received the light of Christ (v. 2), that truth is knowledge of the way things really are (v. 24), that obedience to God's commandments invites truth and light... Continue Reading →
What Can We Learn from the Women in the Book of Mormon?
Today, I have been pondering the lessons I have learned from some of the women in the Book of Mormon. Here are a few of those lessons: "Now I know of a surety..." Sariah trusted the revelations received by her husband, Lehi. She, along with the rest of the family, abandoned her home in Jerusalem... Continue Reading →
What Should I Do When I Have Doubts?
To doubt is to vacillate, to be paralyzed by indecision. The word descends from the Latin word dubitare, which is related to duo ("two"). Together with the related words dubiosus ("doubtful"), and dubium ("doubt") it suggests an inability to decide between two incompatible alternatives (Online Etymology Dictionary, "doubt," "dubious"). In the Greek New Testament, one of... Continue Reading →
What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Obedience?
Some form of the word "obey" appears 31 times in the Book of Mormon: Book # Occurences 1 Nephi 4 2 Nephi 6 Jacob 5 Mosiah 7 Alma 9 TOTAL 31 "I must obey." Obedience is a very important topic for Nephi, and he frames most of his story in terms of the response of... Continue Reading →
What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Being an Effective Parent?
From the first phrase in the Book of Mormon, the importance of parents is emphasized (1 Nephi 1:1). What can we learn from the Book of Mormon about how to be a good parent? 1. "With all the feeling of a tender parent" Lehi and Sariah loved their children. Even though some of their children... Continue Reading →
How Can We Overcome Our Doubts?
To doubt something is to feel uncertain about it, to lack conviction. The word is also closely associated with fear. (See the definition of doubt in the Oxford Dictionary.) When new evidence calls an accepted fact into question, reasonable people will begin to doubt what they thought they knew before. This is wise, and is part... Continue Reading →
Firm and Undaunted – Alma 57:20
20 And as the remainder of our army were about to give way before the Lamanites, behold, those two thousand and sixty were firm and undaunted. (Alma 57:20) It is one thing to keep your composure in the midst of adversity and danger; it is another to do so when the people around you are... Continue Reading →
We Should Suppose Ourselves Unwise – Alma 57:1-4
1 And now it came to pass that I received an epistle from Ammoron, the king, stating that if I would deliver up those prisoners of war whom we had taken that he would deliver up the city of Antiparah unto us.2 But I sent an epistle unto the king, that we were sure our... Continue Reading →
With Exactness – Alma 57:21
21 Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.(Alma 57:21)Helaman led a group of remarkable young men into war,... Continue Reading →
With Exactness – Alma 57:21
21 Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.(Alma 57:21)The sons of Helaman provide us with a model of... Continue Reading →
Book of Mormon Study Notes 