Over and over again

I read 1 Nephi chapter 16 today.  Here's what I learned.

There is a lot of murmuring and repenting going on in this chapter.  It starts out with Laman and Lemuel complaining that Nephi is being too hard on them (v 1).  Nephi knows this, but it's because they are self-conscious because of their own guilt, and they should be more diligent in keeping the commandments (v 3-4).  In verse 5, they repent.

This is a cycle seen in earlier chapters, and it is repeated here a few more times.  Well, the families all marry each other and get blessed exceedingly and honeymoon in fertile parts of the wilderness.  They get the Liahona and all goes well for a few days, and then Nephi's bow breaks.

So, more murmuring (v 20) because they get hungry.  Lehi joins in complaining against the Lord also.  Nephi again calls them to repentance (v 22), and then goes and makes a new bow and gets everyone some dinner.  The family appreciates this, and humbly repent again (v 24 and 32).

Doesn't last long, though, because Ishmael dies, and people murmur anew, this time going so far to plot the murder of their father and brother (v 36-37).  But, the Lord calls them to repentance again (v 38), and they repent again (v 39).

But was it really repentance?  This chapter makes it pretty clear that they aren't forsaking their sins, even if they confess and are called out for them.  The Lord probably sees this pattern, knows that they are likely to murmur again, and will surely just brush this hard-time repentance off as so much background noise.

Nope.  The Lord blessed them again (v 39).

That's what the Lord does.  My Stake President says that Jesus's favorite thing to do is forgive people.  And Laman and Lemuel and their followers aren't much different from us, in that they sin all the time.  And that their sins are often manifestations of the same weaknesses that they've exhibited before.

Yet, the Lord frankly forgives them, even though their pattern is obvious, and their repentance is caused by chastisement from others.

That's what we experience in our lives as well.  No wonder Jesus loves us so much.  We give him the opportunity to do his favorite thing over and over.

Stumbling Blocks

And it shall come to pass, that if the ^aGentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in ^bpower, in very deed, unto the^ctaking away of their ^dstumbling blocks.

That's 1 Ne 14:1. This verse is spoken by the Angel that shows Nephi the vision of the Tree of Life, the Savior, and the future of his posterity.  What are stumbling blocks?  I looked up the footnote.

Isa. 57:14; Ezek. 7:19; 1 Cor. 1:23; 1 Ne. 13:34 (29, 34); 2 Ne. 26:20.


Ezekiel 7:19 expands a bit and calls them the "stumblingblock of their iniquity."  1 Cor 1:23 is about how the lack of faith being a stumbling block, whether one replaces his own wisdom ahead of faith (Greeks) or insists on a sign in order to believe (Jews).  The Book of Mormon references are about how the fallen church creates stumbling blocks for people by removing the "plain and precious" truths from the Bible.


But in reading 1 Ne 14:1, I thought of stumbling blocks as temptation, because I'm likening the scriptures to me and those I know.  And I like that interpretation best.  That if I do a better job of listening to and following the Lord, and I will have His word and power more, to the point that temptation is less of and eventually an overcome block that no longer causes me to stumble.


Wouldn't that be awesome?

Promptings or random thoughts

I hadn't realized it has been so long since I've posted.  It's because of baseball.  I announce for a minor league team, and since their season started a few weeks ago I've been working most Sundays with them and many other nights.  That and a social life has kept me away during my regular writing times.

Also, I've been reading the books of Chronicles in the Old Testament, which is a lot of repeated information from the books of Samuel and Kings, and hasn't struck me with things that I've felt to write, except for what I wrote the first time I read them, in the previous books.

So, today I'm thinking about prayers and promptings.  I've spent a lot of time praying for understanding and knowledge about what to do and say in several situations, including work, romance, missionary efforts, and family.

I'm trying to take the advice of my wonderful Stake President.  When I asked him how he could always feel so confident that the Spirit was prompting him what to say, he replied, "I try to live so that I have the companionship of the Spirit, and then I assume every thought I have the Spirit put there."

Further, he says sometimes he's wrong, but when that happens the Spirit stops him pretty strongly. So, that's where I'm going, just assuming that there's no need to try and differentiate between my own thoughts and spiritual promptings.  Just assume they are all guidance and I'll get stopped if I'm wrong.

Desire and capacity

There may be more, but I found two references in the Book of Mormon referencing the incredible change that took place as people became converted to Christ:

Mosiah 5, when King Benjamin completed his sermon (emphasis added)
1 And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had thus spoken to his people, he sent among them, desiring to know of his people if they believed the words which he had spoken unto them.

2 And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.

Alma 19, when Ammon's service and boldness had converted the people of Lamoni (emphasis added)
33 And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil.

Wouldn't that be nice?  To have no more disposition or desire to do evil?  I used to pray for that, that the Lord would take away any desire I had to ever sin again.  Not realistic in this life.

This life is designed to have us learn.  We learn by making mistakes.  Temptation will never be removed from us on Earth, because that's the primary way we make mistakes and learn from them.  I'm sure that Nephi also had no disposition to do evil, yet he was "easily beset" by temptations (2 Ne 4:18).  Paul certainly had a mighty change on the way to Damascus, and he still did the evil that he didn't want to do (Romans 7:19).  And though it's not specifically listed in the scriptures, I'm certain that every one of the people of King Benjamin and every citizen of Lamoni's kingdom sinned again at some point.
The Savior's sacrifice saves us from our sins, if that's what we desire.  The Atonement's power can overcome any and all of our sins, but not our agency, if what we desire is not Eternal Life.

The Mighty Change that we can experience in this life really can change our desires, but cannot, while on Earth, remove the sinful nature of the world we live in, nor of our need to learn to do good by sometimes doing evil.

We can want to do good continually, but we will always lack the capacity to do so. It gets frustrating, doesn't it?  To be able to want something and not have the ability to achieve it.  The Atonement gives us that ability, or rather, makes up for the fact that we lack it.

Repentance is the key.  In the end we'll be judged on our works and our desires.  And we'll probably have works that make it look like our desires weren't good.  By repenting daily for "the evil that I do" (Rom 7:19) I demonstrate that my desire is to do good, even if my actions don't always show it.

Alma 41 (emphasis added)3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.
4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other—
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.