#Helaman 7-12

[mindfulldsliving]

Helaman 7-12: Remembering the Lord's Vital Message

The themes in these chapters focus on remembering the Lord and the vital role of prophets. Nephi's poignant admonitions not only highlight the urgency of repentance but also underscore the power that comes when we turn to divine guidance.

Exegetical Insights on Helaman 7-12:Remember the Lord In Helaman 7-12, we find a compelling call to “Remember the Lord,” delivered by the prophet Nephi at a time of great moral decline. This biblical narrative captures the struggle of a society teetering on the brink of self-destruction, reminding us how easily we can forget the divine amidst chaos. Nephi’s mission was clear—to awaken his people…

[bookoformon]

3 Nephi, Chapter 1. Part 1. "The Cycle of the Wolf."

THE THIRD BOOK OF NEPHI THE SON OF NEPHI, WHO WAS THE SON OF HELAMAN

And Helaman was the son of Helaman, who was the son of Alma, who was the son of Alma, being a descendant of Nephi who was the son of Lehi, who came out of Jerusalem in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah, the king of Judah.

"And the Dream of Light, son of the Dream of Light who was born of the National Spirit, who was the son of the National Spirit, being a descendant of the Angels, who was the so, n of the Jawbone, who came out of the Place that Teaches Peace, in the First Year of God's Justice, the King of His Glory."

The Value in Gematria is 13402, יגדאֶפֶסב, ‎yagdafesv, "God cuts through with understanding of the interpretations of the dreams."

This molecule, yagdafesv, is of tremendous importance to study of the Book of Mormon, which is heavily encrypted.

Anyone who would know the precise distribution of its contents across the 24 Jaredite Brass Plates, 12 containing temporal wisdom, 12 containing spiritual wisdom, some long, some short, and the Plates of Gold is dead. They were all killed just after President Lincoln was assassinated and the Mormons who were left went west with Brigham Young and became the butt ass dumb perverts we know today.

We know the Prophet used Gematria to write the Book, this he stated in an authentic letter stating a White Salamander was the source of the Lexicon, meaning the Hebrew Numbers, and that it was a "Father and Son" combination with the Torah. As for how to properly translate the entire Book and identify the plates, consider this forum a work in progress to that end.

Anyone who refutes this is a false prophet. There have been many since the founding of the Church and they have taken scads of money from the many congregants they claim to care for and they know not a whit about the religion. They should be arrested and put to death for this.

We are now making an important transition out of the Book of Helaman, the Dream of Light into Third Nephi, which is the Birth of Christ. Notice this does not in any way signal a return nor a default to a gracious aspect of human nature. Things get worse:

CHAPTER 1

Nephi, the son of Helaman, departs out of the land, and his son Nephi keeps the records—Though signs and wonders abound, the wicked plan to slay the righteous—The night of Christ’s birth arrives—The sign is given, and a new star arises—Lyings and deceivings increase, and the Gadianton robbers slaughter many. About A.D. 1–4, =358, gaah, "The Nation Comes into Being."

1 Now it came to pass that the ninety and first year had passed away and it was six hundred years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem; and it was in the year that Lachoneus was the chief judge and the governor over the land.

2 And Nephi, the son of Helaman, had departed out of the land of Zarahemla, giving charge unto his son Nephi, who was his eldest son, concerning the plates of brass, and all the records which had been kept, and all those things which had been kept sacred from the departure of Lehi out of Jerusalem.

3 Then he departed out of the land, and whither he went, no man knoweth; and his son Nephi did keep the records in his stead, yea, the record of this people.

4 And it came to pass that in the commencement of the ninety and second year, behold, the prophecies of the prophets began to be fulfilled more fully; for there began to be greater signs and greater miracles wrought among the people.

5 But there were some who began to say that the time was past for the words to be fulfilled, which were spoken by Samuel, the Lamanite.

6 And they began to rejoice over their brethren, saying: Behold the time is past, and the words of Samuel are not fulfilled; therefore, your joy and your faith concerning this thing hath been vain.

7 And it came to pass that they did make a great uproar throughout the land; and the people who believed began to be very sorrowful, lest by any means those things which had been spoken might not come to pass.

8 But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain.

Lachoneus is Hebrew for "to pardon, to be of clear mind."

Lachon means to pardon, the noun νους (nous) means mind, the conscious and reasonable faculty of a person. It's officially unclear where this noun comes from, also because it doesn't seem to occur in cognate languages.

This would mean that the Greeks had their own word for mind, which is not unthinkable, but also that they named the mind after something with which its kinship is so counterintuitive to us moderns that we are no longer able to retrace the ancient logic and arrive, with the ancient Greeks, at the source.

In a living language (particularly in a time when there were no dictionaries, standards and committees), words are formed according to the shared enthusiasm for that word by every user of that language.

Since the mind occupied a great portion of Greek thought, the word by which it was known must have seemed spot-on by everybody involved, and this ultimately demonstrates that we have no real idea what the ancient Greek were talking about when they used our noun νους (nous).

To share the wisdom and knowledge of faith from ancient times then wait for a sign the predictions are true is the objective of Messiah. There are signs this state of being has come to pass in perfection, is universally recognizable, and transcends all borders, races, boundaries, traditions, and politics.

Three Nephi begins by stating the arrival of the Messiah and all that has been promised regarding it is over due. At the time the Book of Mormon was written in the early 19th century, this meant it was time for slavery, genocide, and clear cutting to stop.

In ours it means World War Three must come to an abrupt and peaceful end without further loss of life or the testing or use of nuclear weapons. The corrupt governments responsible for it must be reorganized and made to follow the international laws that were put in place after World War 2 to prevent the one that is currently consuming all life on earth an inch at a time just as its predecessors did.

To pretend we are powerless to end WW3 is nonsense. We are in elegant control of our lives at all times. Governors who make climactic decisions to start wars are like the fat fux in Salt Lake City, they are false prophets, they read the signs they make as portents of good fortune for themselves and they must be punished and the world needs to see good and worthwhile persons even the score.

The rest can be explained using Gematria.

v1. The 91st Year.... the Value in Gematria is 1363-8, יגו‎גח "I will gog, I will sneer."

"I will have a discussion and berate you."

To gog means to explain onself using the complexities of language, to sneer, or baz, means to do so to cause despair.

v. 2 the Value in Gematria is 8813, חחאג‎‎, hahag, "to explain how things work, how they cycle."

v. 3 the Value in Gematria is 7032, זאֶפֶסגב‎, zefesgave, "The wolf festival gathers at the back to cause dismay."

v. 4. the 92nd Year, the Value in Gematria is 6711, ו‎זיא, and zia, "tremble in terror."

v. 5 the Value in Gematria is 10087, י‎אֶפֶסחז‎‎, Japheth, "rumors, gossip, heaps of bullshit." Like the Republicans.

"The main difference between Shem and Japheth is that although both acquire, Japheth is simply piling upon an ever growing heap, whereas Shem carefully adopts elements that he may incorporate into a previously conceived design. Japheth is simply making a bigger pile (gossip, rumors, fiction; anything goes)."

v. 6 the Value in Gematria is 10950, י‎טהאֶפֶס, yathapes, "remember the words in order to advance and open the eyes."

The beautiful root יתר (yatar) yields words with a general meaning of remaining or being a rest (a remainder).

ap= open the eyes

es= the tree (the one in Eden).

v. 7 the Value in Gematria is 11365, יאג‎וה‎, yagwa, "God's back" meaning He will not forgive.

v. 8 the Value in Gematria is 11439, יאדגט‎ ‎yadget, "the hand of God at the Winepress of Vision."

In order to be of God and achieve salvation, one must follow the map and become intelligent, clear headed, completely free of rumors, gossip, falsehoods, politics, propaganda, completely willing to observe and participate in reality.

Failure to do so and engage in corruption as a band of Gadiantons, "those who cover and steal" is cause for damnation.

Those Apostles and General Seventies and the Republicans must be dealth with. They have lied, murdered, raped, assaulted, and embezelled enough of our time, money, peace and quiet, safety and security, and are not penitent in the least for it. Once they are all dead and the cycle ends as this first Chapter of 3 Nephi states, God will shine His face upon us.

[comefollowmeme]

"And behold, Lehi, his brother, was not a whit behind him as to things pertaining to righteousness." - Helaman 11:19

[justme1963]

does the dust know it is dust and feel it is of no worth yet God put it on the earth it’s reason and purpose known what would earth be without dust and dirt and yet it has no pretenses. be thou humble

ME

[nerdygaymormon]

How many women are named in the book of Mormon? All I'm remembering right now is Isabel

I’m sad to say that there’s only 6!

Biblical Women Named in the Book of Mormon

Eve gets mentioned twice. First she’s mentioned along with Adam (see 1 Ne. 5:10–11). Second in a passage about the forbidden fruit, being kicked out of Eden, which ends with the moral “Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy” (see 2 Ne. 2:18–25).

Mary is named twice as the mother of Christ (Mosiah 3:8; Alma 7:10.) Plus twice she is talked about but not by name  (1 Ne. 11:14–21,  Alma 19:13.)

Sarah, wife of Abraham, is mentioned once (2 Ne. 8:2.)

Non-Biblical Women Named in the Book of Mormon

Sariah is the first, she’s the wife of Lehi and mother of Nephi. It seems that Lehi wouldn’t be successful without her and that she had a job of trying to temper him  (1 Ne. 5:1–9)

Isabel, who you mentioned, is the first Lamanite woman to be discussed in the Book of Mormon. She’s described as a harlot (Alma 39:3–4, 11). 

And finally, Abish, who is a servant to a Lamanite queen and has a role in helping Ammon convert a large group of Lamanites. (by the way, the Faithful Feminist podcast joined the Beyond the Block podcast this past week for episode 60 titled Transgressive Heroes and they discuss Abish at the 37 minute mark and it’s really good)

Individual Women in the Book of Mormon without Name

The unnamed wife of Nephi, she is distraught and tries to save her husband’s life (1 Ne. 18:19) and she may have been the daughter of Ishmael who earlier had pleaded for Nephi’s life (1 Ne. 7:19 )

A maidservant of Morianton who was beat by him. She escaped and ran to Moroni’s camp with information that helped Moroni defeat Morianton’s plans (Alma 50:31–36)

Three different Lamanite queens get a spot. The first being the queen to King Lamoni and Abish was her servant (Alma 19:1–11; Alma 19:28–30)

The second queen is wife to Lamoni’s father (Alma 22:19–23)

The third is a widowed Lamanite queen whose husband was killed because Amalickiah, a Nephite, ordered him killed. Amalickiah tries to get her to marry him as a way to lend credibility to him as the new Lamanite king (See Alma 47:32–35). She was widowed again when the Teancum killed the sleeping Amalickiah. (Alma 51:34)

The only Jaredite woman identified is a daughter of Jared. To help her dad get to be king, she agrees to marry Akish if he kills her grandfather (Ether 8:8–12.) She was quite influential in that she got her father & her husband both to create secret combinations (Ether 8:16–18). Akish later has her father murdered and imprisons their son (Ether 9:4–7)

Groups of Women in the Book of Mormon

Nephi had sisters (2 Ne. 5:6)

The daughters of Ishmael

The 24 Lamanite young women kidnapped by the priests of King Noah, and who later married them (Mosiah 20:1–5; Mosiah 23:33–34)

The Ammonite mothers of Helaman’s 2,000 young warriors (Alma 56:47–48)

Women as part of the General Population

Beyond these specific groups, there are times when women are mentioned as part of a larger group of people. For example, 5,400 men, their wives and children migrated north from Zarahemla or Hagoth’s boats included women and children on board. 

[micahammon]

All the walls are crumbling because they were never real

I’m moving into belief. I’ve spent my whole life trying to understand the nature of life and identify the construction of right and wrong, truth and illusion. It’s a fascinating process and I know I’ll never be done with it, and that’s exciting and makes life interesting. But I feel like I’ve come to a point in my process of discovery something like scientists did when they discovered quantum physics. 

In Newtonian physics everything has a cause and effect. There exists a linear relationship between action and consequence. That is true and will continue to be so forever. But Newtonian physics cannot describe everything that happens in the material world. When the scale of matter becomes really small, on the level of atoms, Newtonian physics no longer succeeds as a theory. Atoms are governed by different laws, and quantum theory, as bizarre and unintuitive as it is, continues to be proven true.

Physical reality is made up of two theories which have yet to be reconciled. Although they appear to be incompatible, compatible they must be. The physical world and everything we see with the naked eye is built on the foundation of the irrational and the impossible. The particles which we are made of can move within and without time, be in two places at the same time, and seemingly violate the universal speed limit--the speed of light. Particles can be physical matter which take up space in the physical world, and at the same time, be a wave--like a radio wave if you will. Somehow reality is built upon this impossibility.

"Reality is far fetched. The truth is always a long shot."

As modern humans, we are in a precarious place. A detached place. Our roots are no longer in the soil of the earth which gives us life. We are living in the world of biological theory, political theory, economic theory, etc.--which all function very well and have allowed us to advance incredibly once understood and applied. What is the logical conclusion from this process?

We learn natural laws that we might better understand spiritual laws.

I remember in the first computer science class I took at university, my teacher drew a picture on the board, something like the following...

And then he asked the question, “What’s missing?”. He answered his own question by saying “antimatter”. Then he filled in the “antimatter” absent from view, something like this...

Note: I’m a bad artist but I tried to draw the inverse of what was originally visible. 

So what’s the logical conclusion of reality? Reality is a paradox. There’s always a catch.

Note: The teacher then went on to name laughter as an example of something behaving like antimatter. In this regard, we can theorize that antimatter comes in to play where we have inflection points. That’s useful to think about in the context of the choices we make, day by day.

Note 2: Antimatter, which cannot be seen, “refers to sub-atomic particles [that] have properties opposite those of normal matter.” It’s useful to note that this is in the quantum world, where perhaps, we could say that everything there is existing simultaneously.

I think the first paradox was in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. They were also commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The problem which may not be obvious depending on your brand of Christianity is that Adam and Eve apparently could not keep both commandments at the same time. They were in a state of innocence and could not procreate without first creating the fall through eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

I’ve heard it said that what may appear to be contradictory to us is not to God, and that somehow He can balance two conditions in perfect harmony which appear mutually exclusive. I don’t know how God could do it in the example of the Garden of Eden, but I do think we should learn to try it in other areas.

I am nothing. I am everything.

Helaman 12:7 O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth.

John 10:34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?

Through the course of a day we may need to remind ourselves of either of these quotes. What’s important is that we have to choose to put the concept into use in order to humble or inspire ourselves as needed. We have to draw up the belief then let it guide.

All truth is paradox.

My brother once responded to the above statement by saying that the paradox of truth serves as the fuel for free agency. That is an extremely instructive comment, which makes me think of Einstein’s dissatisfaction with the then emerging theory of quantum physics. When Einstein analyzed and documented the workings of the universe, he did so from the perspective of trying to understand the mind of God. He disbelieved the theory of quantum mechanics presented by Niels Bohr; the same theory that today continues to be scientifically verifiable. What he objected to was that in this explanation of the universe, the natural world became a lot more random. It seemed to diminish the role of the Master Designer. Einstein’s famous quote was “God does not play dice (with the universe)”.

I sometimes think that quantum physics only appears mysterious and random to us because we cannot see the complete picture, we are only seeing the effects of things in the physical world and perhaps there are other counterparts like antimatter that we can’t see (but can detect) and even beyond that, other counterparts we can’t even detect with clever testing.

On the other hand, there is beauty in accepting the concept of an “uncreate Reality” that can represent the quantum state. We in the Newtonian state have become the created Reality which “shows forth in our beings the uncreate Reality.” That is to say, our physical world and our physical selves are manifestations of the uncreated reality. 

Alma 30:44 ...all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator...

What we see here in this world is a manifestation of God and the uncreate Reality beyond. Said in different words we have the following:

“For the Source of All Life created the worlds by dividing Its Unmanifest Unity into the manifesting Duality, and we that are created show forth in our beings the uncreate Reality. Each living soul has its roots in the Unmanifest and draws thence its life, and by going back to the Unmanifest we find fulness of life.“

The uncreated reality represents a primordial place from which the physical world is drawn into being from. This place we could liken to the quantum state. I make this comparison because when we can understand a concept in the real world, it helps us to have the faith or belief to put it into practice for our own benefit.

To address Einstein’s concerns, quantum mechanics may actually be evidence of God’s will to give us more free agency by providing an uncreate Reality with which we can interact. For one, It provides some “randomness” whereby everything that happens is not simply a predestined linear result of cause and effect--thereby, we cannot blame every thing that happens as a direct consequence of God’s original first act of creation (whereby He would have known the exact consequences of every single thing to ever happen, and the only intrigue in all of it would be our discovery of the result). Secondly, and more importantly, the interconnection of the quantum and Newtonian world can become for us a primordial wellspring from which we too can create. I am suggesting that it is belief and faith which allows us to materialize things in the physical world. Even as God himself does. 

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God...

Lastly, the context of reality, or truth being a paradox further bolsters free agency because it provides choice, even as it did for our first parents. The choices you choose to make are based on what you first choose to believe. In the paradox, you are able to believe whichever aspect you choose to focus on because it also has basis in reality.

I don’t speak of the choice between good and evil, but rather the choice between beliefs. Belief is a tool you can use to do good or harmful things.

I think it’s important to iterate that prerogative is a part of free agency and choice. 

Doctrine and Covenants 58:27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.

We know we should do many good things of our own free will and choice but those choices will naturally be more oriented to our own dispositions. The challenge is not to confuse limiting beliefs about ourselves with what is our true nature and disposition. In fact, what I am getting at is that we should use faith and belief to overcome our limitings habits, beliefs and worldview.

I reckon that beliefs become powerful as they connect to internal desire. Since that is the case, it is instructive to follow the path of our own personal orientation and if there are lessons to be learned, we will learn them much, much faster if we are making the choice for ourselves rather than merely trying to follow someone else’s instruction. That’s because belief is the thing that supercharges our experience.

With belief in play we can properly channel the “why” to our actions and attendant effects in the real world. If we err, the “why” will be there to make clear the error of our ways. Notwithstanding, in the middle of all of this is God’s intervention to steer us from unneeded error if we stray off course, and which can be greatly aided by our responsiveness to His Spirit. 

Let’s introduce something which is not a paradox but tends to be polemic.

Brigham Young said that “we live far beneath our privileges” because we fail to seek and receive the guidance the Lord wants to give us in our spiritual and temporal affairs.

This instruction is meant to help us lay claim to what might be ours but it can also paralyze us if we don’t engage with the belief that we will actually receive it. Successfully gaining access to guidance from the Lord is usually based on the belief and faith we put into it. The important thing is that we need to use belief to create the reality and then it follows that we will receive the guidance. However, we also have to put belief and faith into a great many other things of which we proceed with in lieu of guidance because...

Doctrine and Covenants 58:26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things...

We must build and develop our ability to seek and understand guidance from the Lord but most times His guidance works like a signpost as we navigate. It helps us stay on course but there are a million decisions we must make for ourselves along the way by “using [our] best judgement”. 

In my experience the contrast between God having a personal prerogative and objective in the management of choices and not having a prerogative is plainly evident in the line between church affairs and private affairs. When it comes to the administration of callings and duties within the Church I have witnessed an extremely high level of involvement from the Lord. If you pay attention you can see that He is almost constantly involved and directing. The Lord really, really cares about His work. 

As soon as you move away from the realm of the administration of His Church, guidance is much more sparse. It truly feels like our personal lives are meant to be a learning experience through trial and error--a sort of experimentation. It does help us develop our own capabilities bit by bit. When you think about it, that really makes more sense anyways. Perhaps it also allows us to make mistakes without the additional condemnation we might receive if we had access to more from beyond the veil. 

On the other hand, as I consider what will happen in the future as the world is thrown into turmoil and we all begin the work of building Zion I reckon that the line between church affairs and private affairs will become almost indecipherable--and I know that there will be an abundance of guidance as such in order to complete God’s work. There is something to be said for living like that already, here and now.

Gospel of Thomas 22: When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female...

The world is separating from a longstanding known reality. Social systems are being dismantled with an intention to reengineer them. Truth and science have become weaponized. We are dependent on technology more and more. Algorithms and big data will rule our lives. Breakages will occur. Power grids will be threatened. IT infrastructure will be compromised. Natural resources will become scarce. There will be natural disasters. Financial systems will collapse. Some of these things will be unplanned, others intentional.

I’ve always thought it so peculiar the human creature existing on this planet. All the animals on the earth have been endowed with instincts which directly provision their survival. Many young animals are taught survival skills during infancy, that is true, but even if they lose their mother, their instincts will guide them the rest of the way.

Humans on the other hand are nearly helpless without the knowledge passed on from generation to generation. At this point we’ve already lost our connection to mother earth. In our quest to master nature we have also sought to remove ourselves from nature--mother nature and also what we might call human nature.   

As the walls crumble around us and the very ground is swept from under our feet, our only choice is to evolve and learn to fly.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Faith and belief will enable many to do things which we previously knew to be impossible in the Newtonian world. To evolve means to move beyond the structures (spiritual and otherwise) we have upheld for sake of dogma. Those structures will be shaken. God’s work will not fail but we are to learn not to look beyond the mark. Ultimately, to evolve will result in having our natures changed into that resembling God as we learn to create/do through faith and belief. 

For those whose trust remains in the shifting sands of the world’s social, economic, political and even scientific structures--they will be left without root and branch to stand on. 

We’ll have to act for ourselves rather than be acted upon.  We have to use faith and belief to power those actions or else it will be hollow inside and our hearts will ultimately fail us.

Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth...

Let’s go back to the world of very small particles...

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed...

Matthew 17:19-20 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

I’ve always thought it so curious that basically the whole point of our existence on this earth is to learn to exercise faith and belief. Before we can really do anything, the important first step is starting with a real belief that we can do the thing we set out to do. When we supercharge our actions with belief, the universe responds. 

I posit that we on this earth are here to learn to become co-creators with God--creating through faith just as God does.

Sometimes we are able to energize belief through our belief in others, but it’s not always enough, as I believe was the case with the disciples of Jesus referenced in the example above and Oliver Cowdery desiring to participate in translating the Book of Mormon. 

Doctrine and Covenants 9:11 Behold, it was expedient when you commenced; but you feared, and the time is past, and it is not expedient now;

Let it be noted that this was free agency in action, since it wasn’t in the original design of God that Oliver Cowdry participate in the translation, but it would have been permitted if he had faith enough.

Because God wanted Joseph to translate, He gave him extra strength to be able to do it.

Doctrine and Covenants 9:11 For, do you not behold that I have given unto my servant Joseph sufficient strength, whereby it is made up?

To aid with the translation of the Book of Mormon Joseph received special seer stones called the Urim and Thummim. What’s curious is that Joseph often used his own seer stone rather than strictly relying on the Urim and Thummim. Eventually Joseph had enough faith to do without seer stones altogether as he continued to receive revelations. I believe that the Urim and Thummim were there to build his belief and make up for his strength until he was able to fully energize belief in himself, his ability.

Believe that you have received it, and it will be yours

One thing that hurts belief is by having a narrow view based on the here and now. When we think of how things are supposed to happen in the Newtonian world we limit the power of the supernatural quantum, timeless uncreate Reality which is boundless. We have to allow for the uncreate Reality, unintuitive non-Newtonian world to intercede. We connect to this state though the particle of belief.

As long as I believe in myself I find I can do certain things. If I ceased to believe in myself, I think I should just crumble into dust, like an unwrapped mummy.

I have said all of this in order to say this, we need to use belief daily in order to shape our lives in the way that we truly wish them to be. Our lives have ended up the way they are precisely because of the beliefs we have engaged about ourselves, others and the nature of reality. If you say that you belief that life can be grand and beautiful but you spend your days dejected and depressed, then you aren’t engaging the grand and beautiful beliefs. Whether we like it or not, beliefs are constantly directing our lives. 

“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse.”

There are indeed blessings and curses in our lives but we cannot ascribe our current condition to merely a result of those two things. In addition, we need to enlarge the gratitude we feel for the blessings and overlook where possible the curses. Feeling gratitude will enlarge our beliefs and strengthen the conduit between us and the Divine.

When we engage in belief in order to shape and direct our lives we cannot merely state a belief and then forget about it. We have to return to the belief day after day.

I have been reading about 45 books a year for the last 5 years. I set a goal on a website which helps track my progress and keeps me motivated. The first year I started the reading challenge I set my goal as 100 books for the year. I didn’t have experience and I didn’t really know what that meant though. It was an idle, pie in the sky wish. I didn’t return to the goal frequently. I forgot about it most of the year and I finished with 33 books that year.

That reminds me of Oliver Cowdry’s wish to participate in the translation of the Book of Mormon. If he had more experience or at least consistent belief he could have succeeded. The same was true of me. Experience does help, in so far as it helps to reduce fear since we have better bearings on the task before us. Perhaps fear is like antimatter.

That’s the tricky thing with belief and faith. If we have enough faith we could actually move mountains. But most of us probably don’t have enough belief to make that happen. But we could and that promise is available for us, but perhaps we misunderstand something about belief. 

Mark 11:23-24 (NIV) Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

The NIV translation makes more clear something which has caught on with new age spirituality, like in books such as The Secret, and others which profess the power of manifesting in our lives by using the so-called law of attraction.

New age spirituality has brought us the power of meditation and living mindfully, which have slowly come into mainstream Christianity and that includes the LDS church. 

And indeed, meditation and mindfulness are key parts of nurturing belief as I am prescribing. The current problem we have with incubating belief is that, as mentioned above, we already have many beliefs which are like weeds choking out the good belief that we want to use to empower our lives. We live barely cognizant of the incessant, mind-numbing chatter going on about our heads. You can consider all the thoughts that jump into our minds as competing beliefs. It’s a battlefield for our minds and our empowering beliefs may fall casualty if we don’t learn to quiet the mind and focus. That enables us to act for ourselves rather than to be acted upon.

The first thing we need to do with the mind is wash it, clean it up, not only once or twice a day as we do for the body but in all our waking moments.

Similarly...

Doctrine & Covenants 121:45 let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly...

A way which helps me practice a chosen belief is to do an experiment of thought. What I mean is that on a given day I may tell myself that I am doing an experiment of thinking that day and that helps me to suspend disbelief as I am merely there to analyze and watch the results of what happens, rather than to prove veracity or to gauge the level of real belief. I did one experiment of imagining each person as I would my own self.

Mark 12:31 love thy neighbor as thyself

I really did feel something wonderful that day.

That’s one reason I say that...

life works best when undertaken as an experiment 

Sometimes if we put too much pressure on the act itself, we enlarge the importance of a thing beyond what it truly is. We have to maintain calm levity and not worry about the result; to laugh instead of get caught up in an act’s undue significance. In this way we can shake off a thousand mistakes of ego and bad humor which sabotage us.

the fatal flaw is that average men take themselves too seriously

The balance has been described this way...

Thus a man of knowledge endeavors, and sweats, and puffs, and if one looks at him he is just like any ordinary man, except that the folly of his life is under control. [He regards] nothing as being more important than anything else.  A man of knowledge [can thusly] choose any act, and act it out as if it matters to him. 

So to apply all of this in a practical way let me tell you my plans. I am making and setting goals, big lofty goals. I am aiming for 5 years to enter more fully into the vision I see for my life. I will meditate and pray each day and return again and again to the beliefs--multiple times each day in fact--which I think are necessary to empower me to achieve my goals. I don’t know exactly how things will happen, but I do believe in the scriptures referenced, including the very words of Jesus Christ. I consider it already done because I have picked up the rod, which at the far end connects to the result. The point of access where I grip the rod is belief.

Update Apr 22, 2021: This video supports my view of free will and quantum mechanics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMb00lz-IfE

[theeternalfamily]

Helaman 9: Comfronting the truth

Have you ever received an answer from the Spirit, but you wish it wasn’t true? It has happened to me, many times. But after years and vast experiences of neglecting the answers I’ve received, I can share my testimony that the Holy Spirit is real, that God loves us and He knows what is best for us, and that pride is when I think I know better than God.

I felt very related to several scriptures from this chapter that I detail below. But before I continue, please bear in mind that if this has happened to you, you are not alone and it is normal. However, let us not fall in the trap of of feeling comfortable in this situation. Instead, if we strive to accept the promptings of the Spirit, we will become stronger in our testimony, in our prayers to God, and in taking better decisions for our lives.

7 And behold the people did gather themselves together unto the place of the judgment-seat—and behold, to their astonishment they saw those five men who had fallen to the earth.

8 And now behold, the people knew nothing concerning the multitude who had gathered together at the garden of Nephi; therefore they said among themselves: These men are they who have murdered the judge, and God has smitten them that they could not flee from us.

I can’t help but sense a spark of irony in this scripture. These are people that are not following God’s commandments, who are more forcused on their wealth and personal gain, but decide to reacognize “God’s hand” when it is their convenience. Which, for the record, those five men they captured were innocent from the murder of the judge. Later in the chapter, when it turns out that God’s hand had instead intervened by allowing Nephi to prophesy, many considered it conveninent to not see it this way because it wasn’t of their convenience.

19 Nevertheless, they caused that Nephi should be taken and bound and brought before the multitude, and they began to question him in divers ways that they might cross him, that they might accuse him to death—

20 Saying unto him: Thou art confederate; who is this man that hath done this murder? Now tell us, and acknowledge thy fault; saying, Behold here is money; and also we will grant unto thee thy life if thou wilt tell us, and acknowledge the agreement which thou hast made with him.

Ok, it is very easy to connect this to those around us that do not agree on our believes and want to convince us otherwise. However, I want to connect this verse to how we question ourselves instead, whether we do it on purpose or not. In Psychology, there is a term called cognitive dissonance. Since Google does a pretty good job defining it, I’ll copy paste its meaning:

“Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving conflicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling of mental discomfort leading to an alteration in one of the attitudes, beliefs or behaviors to reduce the discomfort and restore balance. (McLeod, 2018.)“

Cognitive dissonance is VERY NORMAL for everyone. But it is dangerous when we are not aware of it. In verse 20 we read that Nephi was offered money and saving his life in reward of lying. Sometimes life offers us things that we, consciously or subcinscously, think that we need. And many times, we really do need it. Because of this, we start questioning our “attitudes, beliefs or behaviours” to calm that need that we feel.

Although I’m not vulnerable enough to share the most personal experiences of my life, here are some examples of when I’ve faced these situations in different stages of my life:

-Girls in my school don’t accept me... it’s ok to curse, you’ll have more friends and you’re not offending anyone. (Middle school).

-I don’t like the answer that I received to my prayer...so I start believing that God hasn’t answered my prayers. (High school)

-I feel prompted to not trust my boyfriend because he is being manipulative and seeing someone else... I love him and don’t want to end things with him, so I better believe it’s not the holy spirit, but it’s just me being jealous and insecure. (University)

21 But Nephi said unto them: O ye fools, ye uncircumcised of heart, ye blind, and ye stiffnecked people, do ye know how long the Lord your God will suffer you that ye shall go on in this your way of sin?

If our hearts are hard, we will have much difficulty to learn from above. But if we try to recognize our imperfect human state, and that he have much to learn, we can receive council from God, who knows it all. I have learned a phrase that helps me understand this scripture while trying to be a disciple of Christ:

“When you are living righteously and are acting with trust, God will not let you proceed too far without a warning impression if you have made the wrong decision. (Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Using the Supernal Gift of Prayer,” Ensign, May 2007, 10.)”

It turns our that even though I cursed in school, I didn’t make new friends because of it. Yes, more girls were cheering and talking to me, but turns out they were still badmouthing about me. I remember that on a Sunday, a temple trip was announced and it hit me “If I want to enter the temple, I shouldn’t be cursing as much as I am”.

I called my best friend soon after that and told her that I wasn’t going to curse anymore and that I might need her support to stop. She said “I honestly don’t know why cursing should be a problem, but if this is important to you then I’ll support you 100%”. That’s when I understood that I already had precious friends, I didn’t need to be popular among the others, and that I could be myself and still have this treasure in my life. 

I know this is a very simple example, and that cursing doesn’t make you a bad person... but this simple example taught the 12 year old me that I didn’t have to change my belief about how a disciple of Christ speaks to be happier. Instead, trying to speak as a discilple of Christ helped me realize the precious gift of true friendship. And the accumulation of very simple examples like this one, helped me realize more about how the truth won’t change simply because I change. But that when I try to live up to the truth, I’ll understand it better.

When I decided to change my beliefs because I had dissonance, I was “blind”, and “stiffnecked“, and of course I wouldn’t want to recognize it until I figurately hit a wall and couldn’t deny that I was wrong. But I feel very blessed, because no matter how many times I’ve been blind, stubborn, and specially prideful, I have recognized God’s divine intervention to help me see the light.

I testifiy that there is only one truth. And although I don’t know the truth of all things, and I’m definitely far from knowing it all, there is one absolute truth that helps me stand firm even in times of doubt and trouble:

God lives, He knows and loves us perfectly. And we can also know and love Him more.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matthew 22:37–39)

Living the commandments due to our love for God, will lead us to the path of light. And the more we love God, we will have the power to love others, and this also leads us to more light. Truth is light. Jesus Christ is the source of all light and, therefore, of all truth. I testifiy that the scriptures bring us closer to Jesus Chris, and The Book of Mormon is another Testament of Jesus Christ, which brings us close to our Savior, and therefore, to more truth and light.

Disclaimer: These notes are thoughts that come to my mind while studying the scriptures. I share them with the hope that they might help someone, but I don’t claim them to be perfect. These are based on my experience and I respect other viewpoints and beliefs, and I hope you can respect mine if they differ from yours. Thank you for reading.

Additional resources:

Move forward in faith

Keep my commandments

Two Great Commandments

[brrepsquad-blog]

Hey @taylorswift look what you made us do! Salute to us, we’re your Brazilian Queens&Kings! We’re group of friends, flying all the way from Brazil, just to see you live at the #reptourMiami! Love made us crazy, but don’t blame us, our love for you is endless! We’re doing better than we ever were, and we can’t wait to see you soon @taylornation ✨🐍

Find us at:

Otavio: Sec A5 Row 20 Seat 6

Gabriela: Sec B2 Row 13 Seat 6-7

Natália: Sec 133 Row 11 Seat 1

Alex: Snake PIT L

Helaman: Sec A3 Row 9 Seat 15

Arthur: Sec 117 Row 4 Seat 3

Jéssica: Sec 242 Row 4 Seat 18

Renata: Sec 133 Row 11 Seat 2

Paula: Sec 118 Row 3 Seat 18-19

Dayanne: Snake PIT C

Letícia: Sec 139 Row 11 Seat 9

Breno: Sec A5 Row 3 Seat 17

Eric: Snake PIT L

Juliana L: Sec 119 Row 20 Seat 7

Vinicius: Sec A2 Row 11 Seat 10

Manuel: Sec A2 Row 11 Seat 30

Bruno: Sec 118 Row 10 Seat 15

Suelen: Sec 334 Row 12 Seat 1-4

Juliana G: Sec B3 Row 14 Seat 8 - 11

Carol: Sec 320 Row 21 Seat 13

Iza (TAMPA): Sec M Row 1 Seat 12

Ana Luiza: Sec A2 Row 5 Seat 3

Maria Fernanda: Sec A2 Row 5 Seat 4

&

João: Sec A6 Row 9 Seat 5

Beatriz: Sec B1 Row 3 Seat 5-6

[sisterquizon]

JULY 19, 2022

Another temple sesh. I went to temple and had a 10am sesh. Another sesh that I felt Heavenly Father talked to me. After I went to Celestial room, I prayed hard for Heavenly Father’s guidance and that I’m still having a hard time to accept what’s happening right now. 

Just like what I usually do when I go to the temple, I’ll pray to Heavenly Father then read the scripture. I randomly opened that scripture and it led me to Alma 38:

1 My son, give ear to my words, for I say unto you, even as I said unto Helaman, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence.

2 And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your steadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that endureth to the end.

3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites.

4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.

5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

6 Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself, but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which maketh these things known unto me; for if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things.

7 But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his angel to declare unto me that I must stop the work of destruction among his people; yea, and I have seen an angel face to face, and he spake with me, and his voice was as thunder, and it shook the whole earth.

8 And it came to pass that I was three days and three nights in the most bitter pain and anguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a remission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.

9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.

10 And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things.

11 See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.

12 Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness.

13 Do not pray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom.

14 Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy—yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times.

15 And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day into his kingdom, to sit down in peace. Now go, my son, and teach the word unto this people. Be sober. My son, farewell.

---

I made some words bold that I felt Heavenly Father is telling me, to emphasize His message to me. I felt that Heavenly Father is happy for me that I’m finally making the decision to go on a mission. He’s happy that I’m doing my best to remain faithful and obedient. It felt like Heavenly Father is acknowledging my efforts. I also love this verse where he said:

5 And now my son, Shiblon (changed this to my name), I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

Heavenly Father is telling me to trust Him and he will deliver me out of trials troubles, and afflictions. This just mean that Heavenly Father is just saving me from “trouble” if ever I forced myself to marry or not do His will. Heavenly Father is telling me trust Him. just trust Him. Just trust whatever is happening right now, even if it is painful, even if I don’t understand why it had to happen, but just trust it. 

Now Heavenly Father giving me some “tips” before I go on a mission. From verse 10-12. 

ye would be diligent 

be temperate in all things.

See that ye are not lifted up unto pride

see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.

Use boldness, but not overbearance;

see that ye bridle all your passions.

see that ye refrain from idleness.

Be sober.

 “Use boldness, but not overbearance;” this part is telling me to find a balance between two extremes in his communications with other people.

If a person lacks boldness, he or she may fail to speak the truth even when it is the right thing to do because they fear the reactions of their listeners.  

On the other hand, an overbearing person shows a lack of respect for others and tries to force them to do things his or her way.

Today I will follow Heavenly Father’s counsel to me. I will be bold and not shy away from difficult conversations. I will not be overbearing, but will respect others’ ideas, even when I disagree with them.

I know, I know that I’m heading to the right direction. I know that I’m finally making a right decision. I know and I feel that it is right. I don’t have any doubts, I don’t have any weird feeling that it is not what I’m supposed to do. I just feel right and at peace. Though, I won’t deny that I’m still hurt and in pain but I’m putting my full trust to Heavenly Father. I’m happy that I received these revelation.

[bookofmormonmemes]

scripture chase!!

visit each of these references and keep track of the specific words to unlock a super special secret!!!

Helaman 1:15, 12th word

Ether 8:19, 7th word 

Moroni 10:7, 7th word

3rd Nephi 9:18, 1st&2nd words

Alma 19:17, 9th word

Mosiah 27:10, 11th word

Jacob 6:10, 3rd word

2nd Nephi 3:7, 42nd word

Alma 5:53, 9th word

4th Nephi 1:9, 13th word

Alma 28:2, 14th word

Alma 56:31, 15th&16th words

3rd Nephi 12:16, 2nd word

Enos 1:2, 5th word

Words of Mormon 1:3, 24th word

have fun!!! and remember not to spoil the secret,so everyone can find it for themselves!!!!! :) :) :)

[bookoformon]

Helaman Chapter 16, Part 1. "The Inspector."

The Nephites who believe Samuel are baptized by Nephi—Samuel cannot be slain with the arrows and stones of the unrepentant Nephites—Some harden their hearts, and others see angels—The unbelievers say it is not reasonable to believe in Christ and His coming in Jerusalem. About 6–1 B.C. The Value in Gematria is 358, which know is the Howling, but if we evaluate 1 BC, we get a 5, he, ה‎ "God."

1 And now, it came to pass that there were many who heard the words of Samuel, the Lamanite, which he spake upon the walls of the city. And as many as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi; and when they had come forth and found him they confessed unto him their sins and denied not, desiring that they might be baptized unto the Lord.

2 But as many as there were who did not believe in the words of Samuel were angry with him; and they cast stones at him upon the wall, and also many shot arrows at him as he stood upon the wall; but the Spirit of the Lord was with him, insomuch that they could not hit him with their stones neither with their arrows.

3 Now when they saw that they could not hit him, there were many more who did believe on his words, insomuch that they went away unto Nephi to be baptized.

4 For behold, Nephi was baptizing, and prophesying, and preaching, crying repentance unto the people, showing signs and wonders, working miracles among the people, that they might know that the Christ must shortly come—

5 Telling them of things which must shortly come, that they might know and remember at the time of their coming that they had been made known unto them beforehand, to the intent that they might believe; therefore as many as believed on the words of Samuel went forth unto him to be baptized, for they came repenting and confessing their sins.

6 But the more part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel; therefore when they saw that they could not hit him with their stones and their arrows, they cried unto their captains, saying: Take this fellow and bind him, for behold he hath a devil; and because of the power of the devil which is in him we cannot hit him with our stones and our arrows; therefore take him and bind him, and away with him.

7 And as they went forth to lay their hands on him, behold, he did cast himself down from the wall, and did flee out of their lands, yea, even unto his own country, and began to preach and to prophesy among his own people.

8 And behold, he was never heard of more among the Nephites; and thus were the affairs of the people.

9 And thus ended the eighty and sixth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

10 And thus ended also the eighty and seventh year of the reign of the judges, the more part of the people remaining in their pride and wickedness, and the lesser part walking more circumspectly before God.

11 And these were the conditions also, in the eighty and eighth year of the reign of the judges.

12 And there was but little alteration in the affairs of the people, save it were the people began to be more hardened in iniquity, and do more and more of that which was contrary to the commandments of God, in the eighty and ninth year of the reign of the judges.

13 But it came to pass in the ninetieth year of the reign of the judges, there were great signs given unto the people, and wonders; and the words of the prophets began to be fulfilled.

The section begins with a comment as to whether or not Christianity is reasonable or not. Is it? Why do some people act like dipshits around this religion and others really, really try to make the world a better place after exposure to it? History has not figured it out.

This final chapter of Helaman, the Dream of Light tries to explain, however. There are two approaches: Remember Me, and keep reading and reciting the scripture so you don't forget.

No matter the situation or its cause, one can still work on the side of the angels and incite Peace on Earth, Goodwill Towards Men from within and then in society and show one's Grace. This is always the right thing to do. If everyone does it the problem of "little alteration in the affairs of the people" will shift.

The Values in Gematria for the above verses are:

v. 1: Walls are unbelief. They exist either because one does not yet know what is behind the wall or one is resisting the need to understand. Human decency, for example is a wall on this world. We do not completely understand its importance and resort to attitude problems instead of Grace to break down the wall.

The Value is 14455, ידדהה‎‎, yeddah, "The power of dah," to understand.

v. 2-3: When arrows bounce off it is an implication of an apostate trying to do battle with a learned man.

the Value in Gematria is 15494, י״הדטד‎ jhadtad, "let there be unity in love."

The verb יחד (yahad) means to be united or join. It occurs only three times in the Bible:

In Genesis 49:6, Jacob laments the cruelty of his sons Simeon and Levi, and says, "Let not my glory be united with their assembly".

The prophet Isaiah says of the king of Babylon, "You will not be united with [the kings of the nations] in burial" (Isaiah 14:20).

And David entreats the Lord to unite his heart (probably expressing a desire either to be able to concentrate, or else to be dedicated — see Jeremiah 21:39).

v. 6: Captains are conscriptions that are followed because God said. It is true some people think God does not want people to have abortions or be gay but that is a sign of deliberate naitvete of the Higher Law which says it is perfectly allowable for people to have abortions and be gay.

Captains are aspects of ways we manage our faculties that enforce the "bond of unity in love" mentioned above. You may not like following the Bond of Unity, the UN Declaration of Human Rights but you will do it. Then it will seem like we are all in love because we are all getting along fabulously whether we are or not.

The Value in Gematria is 13025, יג‎אֶפֶסבה, igapesbe, "An inspector of the state of being."

The verb פקד (paqad) means to review, assess, inspect and so on, with a slight slant toward finding an incompleteness or things missing. The object of this verb is necessarily a superior of some kind and the subject of this verb is usually a collective: sheep (Jeremiah 23:2), priests, brethren (1 Samuel 17:18), a place of business like a vineyard (Isaiah 27:3), and so on. It often describes a superior visiting, mustering and inspecting his troops, which includes counting them and their equipment, ascertaining their qualities and readiness, and organizing them in battle array (Numbers 31:14, 2 Kings 11:15).

v. 8-9: Year 86 concludes, the Value in Gematria is 9845, ט‎חדה‎, "the grind". This means the discussion about whether or not the way of life prescribed by Jesus continued rather than resolved. The discussion on the wall was not sufficient to convince the people to abandon their wickedness and behave like sweet sweet angels.

v. 10-11: Years 87-88 conclude. The Value in Gematria is 9874, טחז‎‎ד, tazhad, "A wandering whore with a tongue as sharp as a sword." We know who he is now, don't we?

v. 13: Year 90 concludes. The Value in Gematria is 9891, טחטא‎, tahata, "the Balancer." This is called A Tatha or Tathagata "beach dweller" in Sanskrit, which means "friend to those who are overdrawn, the rescuer of those who are going under."

It can be illustrated as one who stands on the shore and extends a hand but a Tahata is one who dives in and pushes from underneath.

Pictured: Personal Lifeguard Blond Jesus.

[comefollowmeme]

Helaman 12

[wordsmith0823]

OUR TITLE DEEDS

 I really feel the need to emphasize today the importance of recognizing that the Scriptures are our title deeds. What manifests in the spirit realm will manifest in the mortal realm. Just read Genesis. God said... and it was. We are covenant people and Gods in embryo so we can't afford to forget that and allow the adversary to rob of of our rightful inheritance as joint heirs with The Anointed Jesus. In April of 2016 I was diagnosed with two forms of stage four cancer and told I had less than eighteen months to live. What rose in my mind is "I shalll live and not die and declare the works of the LORD!" From that moment on I stood on the healing Scriptures. 2Peter 2:24, Alma 7:11, 3Nephi 17:6-9, and so on. All day I declared, "According to Dueteronomy 28:61 this sickness is a curse of the law, but according to Galatians 3:15 Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law. My body is the temple of the Holy Ghost and greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world. Cancer is illegally tespassing in my body. Ministering spirits do your job according to Hebrews 1:14." When I took chemo I prayed Mark 16 over it, claiming by faith that no poison could harm me. I give much credit to the wonderful, nurturing people at Scarborough General Hospital. They did what they could in the natural but it was ultimately up to me since God had already done his part. Healing is IN the atonement. Once you know the title deeds Heavenly Father has given you through the Atonement you have no excuse. No matter what satan throws at you, you can fight him. Picture yourself storming over to him with those title deeds in your hand and just smacking him around the head. ( I know the sucker doesn't have a body, but pretend.) SO when satan puts sickness on you, stand on 3Nephi 17:6-9. Declare 2 peter 2:24. Declare all of Psalm 91. When satan and his band of miserable minions try to put poverty and lack on you delare Phillipians 4:19.. Make Helaman 5:12 your foundation Scipture! Best of all, when that good-for-nothing tries to tell you you're a victim of circumstance, take 2 Nephi 2:26 and cram it down his throat! That's probably one of the most imortant Scriptures you can have when you recognize it as the title deed it is, which enables you to act and not be acted upon, the title deed that allows you to be an actor in the world and not a reactor to the world. It's tempting to say "It doesn't get better than this," but the truth is, life as God wants it toi be for us is so amazing, so joy-filled, that it takes eternity to comprehend it all. This is my testimony in the Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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[medic-hoss-blog]

Come Unto Christ; Ten Principles

I have been working on an assignment to put together 10 principles that I have learned from studying The Book of Mormon the past couple of months.  As I pondered this assignment, I realized how hard it was to just pick 10. I tried to focus on the ones that have helped me come closer to my Savior Jesus Christ. 

Principle #1 There is only one way to get back to our Father in Heaven. Alma 38: 9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness. Principle #2 We must meet as a church and people often to be  strengthened.  And invite all to come unto Christ. 3 Nephi 18: 22 And behold, ye shall meet together oft; and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer them that they may come unto you and forbid them not;                                    Principle #3 We must make and keep covenants, as we are a covenant people.                                                                                                                  3 Nephi 20: 25 And behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. 26 The Father having raised me up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant—

Principle #4 Search the scriptures and follow the teachings and testimonies of the prophets. 3 Nephi 23: 5 And whosoever will hearken unto my words and repenteth and is baptized, the same shall be saved. Search the prophets, for many there be that testify of these things. Principle #5 We must pray always so that we can be protected from temptations. 3 Nephi 18: 15 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.

Principle #6 We must be strong in our Temple and Family History so that we can have our families together forever at the last days and not be lost. 3 Nephi 25: 1 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. The Lord said He would send Elijah before the Second Coming to restore priesthood keys that would allow families to be complete—both roots and branches. In 1836 the sealing power was restored, and it provides the way for families to be eternally linked (see D&C 110:14–16; 128:18). However, the proud and the wicked will be burned up and left without either root (ancestors) or branch (posterity), leaving them cut off from their family and the sealing blessings. (Book of Mormon Study Manual) Principle #7 We can be happy, despite our circumstances, as long as we are keeping the commandments and living the laws of God.   Alma 50: 23 But behold there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi, since the days of Nephi, than in the days of Moroni, yea, even at this time, in the twenty and first year of the reign of the judges. This was even during times when they were having great wars and loss of property and life.

Principle #8 A sincere testimony born of the knowledge of something gained by faith, and born in honesty, can be more powerful than anything else. Alma 30: 39 Now Alma said unto him: Will ye deny again that there is a God, and also deny the Christ? For behold, I say unto you, I know there is a God, and also that Christ shall come.

Principle #9 Samuel, the Lamanite, taught us by example that, if we build upon the Rock of our Redeemer, and have a sure foundation, “we cannot fall”. I also see this in today’s society as our prophet and members stand against the world, we have stones and arrows cast at us as words, but nevertheless, they are angry to be called to judgment.  If we continue to build our testimonies, and be converted unto the Lord, building a strong foundation upon the rock of Christ, we will be strong and not fall. Helaman 5:12 and Helaman 16:1 Principle #10 Our Lord Jesus Christ set up his church on multiple continents during his time here on earth. Then he restored that gospel today.  This was taught us not only in 3 Nephi, but also in the Gospels of the New Testament.  Even today we learn from our modern day prophets and apostles. Elder Dale G Renlund shared today, March 14, 2019 “Why did God direct His prophet, President Russell M Nelson, to assemble all of the ordained Apostles (the First Presidency and the Twelve) to the Rome Italy Temple dedication? Many answers have been given.

But, as we posed in front of the Christus statue, with statues of the Apostles Christ called and commissioned during His mortal ministry, I recalled these words of Joseph Smith: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”

This was the testimony of Apostles in Christ’s day; this is the testimony of Apostles in these latter days. We testify of the Living Christ and the Risen Lord, that resurrection is not metaphorical, that salvation is possible through Christ. The Savior directs the affairs of His living Church. As living Apostles stated in the year 2000, “God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”

They testify now as they did then. God has not stopped giving guidance to his children on earth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6G1CtoJqQU&feature=youtu.be

[snsmissionaries]

2/11/19 -- Sister Katie Buntin, Guatemala, Guatemala City Mission

earthquakes are fun when they dont last 12 seconds

Hey yall! hows everyone doing?!?! This week sure was pretty cool with all the earthquakes but boy oh boy i hate how the earth is so rude and thinks its okay to wake me up with earthquakes or to make them 12 seconds long, anyways hahaha all the earthquakes from mexico are hitting us pretty good its pretty cool sometimes cause this stuff doesnt happen in arizona sometimes i feel like dorothy and just want to say, toto now i know were not in kansas anymore! haha! 

 this week we went to the temple with Tatiana and it was sooo awesome! she loves sharing her testimony with us of how the church is true and how God whispered to her heart saying so! this is waht makes the long days worth it! knowing that someone else has been touched by the spirit! 

 tatiana will have her baptism interview tonight and we are soooo excited!!! to celebrate i made an oreo cheesecake!!! woot woot!!!! yall im serious whos gonna help me publish a missionary cook book cause im sooooooo ready!!! 

 i am very much enjoying my time here with my compita chula Sister Speirs shes pretty cool and supports my cooking addiction plus shes pretty sarcastic which is awesome! also shes teaching me starwars stuff that i still dont understand but i promised her id watch it when i go home haha!!! also someone please let me know if its true they made a new transformers movie? was it good? i must know!!! 

 this week i just want to share this short message from general conference with you guys! My message today is especially to those who are keeping the commandments of God, keeping their promises to God, and, like the Norbys and many other men, women, and children in this worldwide audience, are confronted with trials and challenges that are unexpected and painful.

Our wounds may come from a natural disaster or an unfortunate accident. They may come from an unfaithful husband or wife, turning life upside down for a righteous spouse and children. The wounds may come from the darkness and gloom of depression, from an unanticipated illness, from the suffering or premature death of someone we love, from the sadness of a family member dismissing his or her faith, from the loneliness when circumstances do not bring an eternal companion, or from a hundred other heart-wrenching, painful “[sorrows] that the eye can’t see.”6

We each understand that difficulties are part of life, but when they come to us personally, they can take our breath away. Without being alarmed, we need to be ready. The Apostle Peter said, “Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you.”7 Along with the bright colors of happiness and joy, the darker-colored threads of trial and tragedy are woven deeply into the fabric of our Father’s plan. These struggles, although difficult, often become our greatest teachers.8

When telling the miraculous story of Helaman’s 2,060 young soldiers, we love this scripture: “According to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish.”

But the sentence continues: “And neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.”9 Each one of the 2,060 received many wounds, and each one of us will be wounded in the battle of life, whether physically, spiritually, or both.

 I KNOW the church is true and i KNOW the only way to TRUE HAPPINESS is through jesus christ our savior and redeemer! he can give us peace and he can also help our families be together FOREVER through his holy temple! please LET HIM HELP YOU! 

  2/6/19

 Hermana Buntin

October 18 2017-April 16 2019

also if anyone could tell me what happened to the fun sayings on the taco bell sauce i will be forever grateful 

Hermana Buntin

October 18 2017-April 16 2019

[lds-talk]

Hey. So. I'm an inactive member. When I first prayed about the BoM, the answer came in a very specific and powerful way. So I thought at the time anyway. For a long time after that I couldn't get anything like that (or anything discernible at all really) as a response to prayers. A while ago I returned to the place I offered that first prayer and asked a question, and asked that the answer came in the same way it came the first time. It did, but the answer was wrong. Thoughts?

Hey there! thanks for stopping in. first, i want to discuss a little bit the answers between these two very specific occasions and all the times you feel like it was hard to discern answers. It is extremely hard once you’ve had wonderful and powerful experiences with the spirit to fine tune yourself to the little more subtle feelings of the spirit. They are so small and quiet .. almost unnoticeable. This is the most common way the spirit communicates with us, and it takes a long time to learn how the spirit is communicating with us. Sometimes... the answer that The Lord is giving us, is no answer.  I was studying this recently and will touch on explaining this again later.  I know from personal experience that sometimes once we have a strong experience we feel like that is how we will get most answers when that is unlikely. when I first seriously studied and prayed about the Book of Mormon   I didn’t feel like I had an answer for months, I was expecting a Moroni 10:3-5 answer... Just like other people I know had experienced. I wondered what I was doing wrong, I didn’t doubt the book.. I just felt ignored and was waiting for that confirmation. I remember kneeling down and probably quite rudely expressing to Father how ignored I felt, asking why He wouldn’t confirm the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon to me...  as i prayed these words came clearly into my head... more clear than anything  “ you already know it is true so why do you keep asking me” This was exactly what I needed. Because I did already know... that knowledge came through reading and studying (I am also an extremely candid person, i don't do sugar coating things) It made me rethink why I kept asking for something I already knew... But is was 100% not what I expected. We need to be prepared for that. On the subject of praying again and receiving answers that may be wrong or different... remember the gift of discernment. we are not restricted from other influences... remember the first vision?  Joseph smith was overcome by a demon... a very being and follower of Satan.. trying to stop Him from doing the very thing that would bring to pass The restoration of Christ’s Gospel enabling us to walk back to our Father in Heaven... He didn’t want it. so He tried to stop it. I cannot say anything specific on that because I am not you.. I do not know your question or the answer you were given. On the subject of the Spirit.. and sometimes our answers not being what we expect.. or sometimes no answer.  there is an institute lesson on this and many conference talks.  if you would like some let me know and i can post links. but here are some quotes out of that lesson :“We do not always receive inspiration or revelation when we request it. Sometimes we are delayed in receiving revelation, and sometimes we are left to our own judgment and understanding based on study and reason. We cannot force spiritual things. It must be so. Our life’s purpose to obtain experience and to develop faith would be frustrated if our Heavenly Father enlightened us immediately on every question or directed us in every act. We must reach conclusions and make decisions and experience the consequences in order to develop self-reliance and faith.”   - Elder Dallin H. Oaks “He is our perfect Father. He loves us beyond our capacity to understand. He knows what is best for us. He sees the end from the beginning. He wants us to act to gain needed experience.“When He answers yes, it is to give us confidence.“When He answers no, it is to prevent error.“When He withholds an answer, it is to have us grow through faith in Him, obedience to His commandments, and a willingness to act on truth. We are expected to assume accountability by acting on a decision that is consistent with His teachings without prior confirmation. We are not to sit passively waiting or to murmur because the Lord has not spoken. We are to act.“Most often what we have chosen to do is right. He will confirm the correctness of our choices His way. That confirmation generally comes through packets of help found along the way. We discover them by being spiritually sensitive. They are like notes from a loving Father as evidence of His approval.If, in trust, we begin something which is not right, He will let us know before we have gone too far. We sense that help by recognizing troubled or uneasy feelings.”  Honestly this reply is probably going to get too long. All I can invite you to do is to read the book of Mormon (and the Bible) to pay attention to those thoughts and feelings that come into your heart and mind as you read. Watch the latest general conference if you haven’t already. I promise you .. you will find answers as you listen and read!  Talk to you Father in Heaven, ask to recognize your answers. Be patient with yourself...  I dont know if you’d feel comfortable at church... or even feel like you can attend. But I know sacrament meeting is a wonderful place to feel the spirit and find answers ... when you feel ready. Some scriptures to read: Doctrine & covenants 6: 14-15, 22-23 Galations 5: 22-26 1 Nephi 4-6 Doctrine & covenants 9: 8-9 Moroni 7:16 2 Nephi 32:8-9 3 Nephi 11: 3 Helaman 5: 30 1 kings 19: 12 The Book of Mormon introduction Moroni 10:3-5 I hope This was somehow able to help you. I wish you all the luck in the world finding your answers.i’ll be praying for you. if you want anymore rescourse for reading.. or some help.. please come flick us a message - Kita xx