Insight From the Scriptures

 On Sunday, July 2, I was reading and listening to the Book of Mormon.  I'm in Helaman; lots of war chapters in there.   The distinct feeling came over me, as it has in the past, there is NO WAY that Joseph Smith could have written this book.  It's so complicated; so many groups, so many places, so many people....he would have gotten confused.  I WAS SO CONFUSED. So, how could one man sitting at a desk telling another man across the table come up with the stories; hundreds of pages of them.  No writer's block, no hesitation to try to figure stuff out...because he wasn't make things up; he was literally translating!  Not making anything up. It was such a profound moment; and it has happened before, but I gained such a testimony of that MARVELOUS BOOK!   I'm so very grateful for Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and of course, the Saviour.

 WOW!  WOW!  WOW! What an incredible chapter; mainly it is on Faith, Hope, and Charity. It is so inspiring.  How do the prophets even write such amazing and inspiring words/ My new favorite chapter.

 From 3rd Nephi 21:17 thou shalt no more worship the works of thy hands; Oftentimes, I will look back at the cards I have made.  I will stare and ponder, and okay, admire these home-made cards. Oh, there are lots of times I am very critical of them, but often, I just ADMIRE them.  I hope I don't worship them, but it's a good reminder that I'm not so great at any thing. The really great Creator is the one whose works I should  continually admire.  Which I do.

 ...because I have insights on my way to the gym each morning as I listen to the Book of Mormon, but then I forget and don't write them down. But, one day I will write some things down.  And, I'll be glad I did.

 In this chapter, Alma has gone into hiding and is teaching some of the people about Abinidai's message.  It's a beautiful chapter and I'm so impressed and inspired that Alma could remember the words that Abinidi had spoken.  I can't even remember what the speaker said in church on Sunday. Alma wants to baptize the people and they say in verse 11:  And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts. They've been living under a very unrighteous king, but they are yearning for this goodness to find them. Also, Alma names  the  church and  organizes  it: And they were called the church of God, or the  a church  of Christ, from that time forward. And it came to pass that whosoever was baptized by the power and authority of God was added to his church. 18  And it came to pass that Alma, having  a authority  from God,  b ordained  priests; ev...

  (and I cannot write but a   a little   of my words, because of the   b difficulty   of engraving our words upon plates) and we know that the things which we write upon plates must remain I have often wondered about that; how the writers in the Book of Mormon could write such lengthy words because it would be so difficult to carve them in the plates.  But, the irony of this sentence is that after Jacob wrote this, he went on to write a rather lengthy section on the allegory of the olive tree.  Seems ironic that he would write so long just after telling how difficult it is, but before that allegory, he says this, which is so beautiful and profound: 2  But whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon  a plates  must perish and vanish away; but we can write a few words upon plates, which will give our children, and also our beloved brethren, a small degree of knowledge concerning us, or concerning their fathers— 3  Now in...

 ...is a challenge to read because there are so many wars, and then more wars.  Brother against brother and son against father; bad guys against good guys, and on an on. As I listened today, I just kept wondering... WHERE ARE THE WOMEBN IN ALL OF THIS?  WHY DON'T WE KNOW WHAT THE WOMN ARE SAYING AND THINKING?  WHY AREN'T THE WOMEN GIVEN A VOICE TO SAY... STOP! STOP! STOP! I just can't quite believe that women would allow their fathers, brothers, sons, grandsons to continue to wage wars when no one wins.  Everyone loses. I hope I remember to ask this question to St Peter when I get to the Pearly Gates.