Episode 13

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Published on:

10th Feb 2024

Book of Mormon [2 NEPHI 3-5] Insights with Maria Eckersley

Book of Mormon [2 NEPHI 3-5] INSIGHTS VIDEO

“We Lived after the Manner of Happiness”

February 12 – February 19

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Insights Lesson Summary:

Chapters 3-5 of Second Nephi cover some incredible ground. We’ll study Lehi’s words to his youngest son, Joseph. He’ll inspire his son with prophecies of the ancestor, Joseph, that stretch 3500 years into the future. We’ll also study the Psalm of Nephi and find out how to live after the manner of happiness.

Questions to Consider from Week 7

Questions to Consider from Week 7

  • 2 Nephi 3:11 | How do you see Joseph’s life and teachings being a convincing evidence of the word?
  • 2 Nephi 3:16-17 | Sometimes we assume we’re supposed to use the gospel to overcome all weaknesses. Do you think some insecurities are not to be conquered in this life?
  • 3 Nephi 3:19-20 | What is the significance of dust?
  • There is no blessing for Nephi recorded | Why do you think Nephi’s blessing isn’t recorded? Or is it?
  • In chapter 5, Nephi builds the first Nephite temple | How did Nephi’s earlier work with the bow and the ship help train him for this grand building project?

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CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST DISCLAIMER: This podcast represents my own thoughts and opinions. It is not made, approved or endorsed by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Any content or creative interpretations, implied or included are solely those of Maria Eckersley ("MeckMom LLC"), and not those of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Great care has been made to ensure this podcast is in harmony with the overall mission of the Church. Click here to visit the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Transcript
Maria:

Welcome back, you guys.

Maria:

It's week seven of Our Mothers Knew It.

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And this week, we're gonna head a little deeper into 2 Nephi.

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We're gonna go three, four, and five this week.

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And it's a period of unrest.

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We have the end of Lehi's life, so you're going to hear the end of his guidance to

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his son, specifically to his son Joseph.

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You're going to see him pass away in that prophetic mantle,

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shift onto Nephi's shoulders.

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You see him try to bear that burden with dignity and struggle because

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of all that is in front of him.

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You also see Laman and Lemuel Divide off they break off and are cut off from

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this covenant connection to God and you see this Sweeping change happen in this

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people over the course of these three chapters 30 to 40 years past I mean this

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is a lot of time that goes by but most of it happens at the very end in that

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last chapter in five and I think What was fascinating to me to study throughout

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the chapters is to watch for instability.

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I was listening to a devotional recently from Sister Porter.

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President Porter has this incredible BYU devotional about feeling unstable.

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In fact, the analogy she brought up, it's in the notes as well, but she talked

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about, molecules, compounds, and how oftentimes they are unstable, meaning

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they need an electron in that outer shell.

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And so they're going to seek to find stability and connect with others and

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to get the electrons that they need in order to be a stable compound.

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And then she related that to her life.

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In fact, one of the reasons I don't tear up very often, but that talk.

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choked me up a little bit because she talks about her situation in Lowe's.

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If you haven't heard it, I'm not going to reiterate it just because it's so good.

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You need to hear it from her words, but she spoke about that period right after

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her husband's passing, where there was a like horrific thing to happen to her

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house and she had to go and handle it by being in Lowe's and How she felt unrest.

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She felt unstable.

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This was this moment of clearly there are electrons missing and I need help.

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And then she talks about how divine help came.

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And I think that's what you see throughout these chapters.

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You see Lehi, Nephi, the Laman and Lemuel, all of them are wrestling

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with some sort of disconnect.

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Some kind of discontent.

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Lehi's worried about his posterity.

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He knows they're not going to get the guidance they need from

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Laman and Lemuel, so He sees his grandchildren and he's worried for them.

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Nevi is going to struggle with discontent because he sees that he's

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supposed to lead this family and his brothers hate him and won't listen.

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So he's struggling with discontent.

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Laman and Lemuel are struggling because they have these ideas in their mind

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that Nevi wants to rule over them.

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And so he's seeking power and they feel discontent.

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But I think it's powerful is this week in these chapters, you get to

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see how all these different parties handle that feeling of instability.

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That those who turn to the Lord and ask Him to fill in the gaps, those

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who follow His promptings and do what He asks, find that stability.

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They find peace.

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Lehi finds peace by the end of his life.

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Nephi finds peace by taking his family and moving to a new land.

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And Laman and Lamuel and their posterity See the opposite of that.

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They just stagnate.

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There is a, they just stand still and then atrophy.

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And you get to see those choices laid out for you boldly.

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And I think since all of us wrestle with discontent, I think knowing

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how to channel it towards the divine rather than towards the discouraging is

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powerful and instructive for all of us.

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This is a week you don't want to miss.

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Grab your scriptures.

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Grab your notes.

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It's time to get started.

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All right, you guys, just like we've done week after week, we're

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going to do a 7 5 3 approach.

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I say that just because there are new people coming to join us every week.

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It's been fun to see how those numbers have grown.

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Sam made me a cardboard YouTube play button plaque this week because we,

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we hit a big milestone and it was fun.

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So thank you for joining us and let me explain how we do things here.

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Basically, we're going to do a 7 5 3, which means I'm going

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to share seven key sparks.

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Things that just lit up for me as I was studying my scriptures that I'm

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hoping will intrigue you to get into your own and find your own sparks in the

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scriptures, or maybe even just to dig into mine and see what else you can learn.

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And then five good questions.

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I'm hoping that these questions help inspire you to have good conversations.

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Whether it just be in your family settings or in a classroom, I

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hope it helps get new ideas going and good conversations happening.

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And then we'll do a separate video of the object lessons.

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So that's my way of taking three core principles that we learned from the

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verses this week and finding ways to make them meaningful and memorable and

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simple so that you can pull them off with your families or with your classmates.

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So let's get started.

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Okay, spark number one, I'm calling joy in the wilderness because I found

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myself really delighted and intrigued by how Lehi begins these verses.

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He's talking to Joseph.

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So where last week we talked to the oldest son that was born in

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the wilderness, Jacob, now we're talking to the very youngest one.

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We know there are daughters that happen in the middle, maybe even other sons, but

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he's going to talk to his last born son in the wilderness, and that is Joseph.

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And he has some pretty remarkable things to say to Joseph.

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Because Lehi is such a diligent study, studier of the scriptures,

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he has read the prophecies.

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He has read about Joseph in Egypt and how he had prophecies

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of Lehi's day and beyond.

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So Joseph is going to get some special guidance from Lehi.

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To me, this is just sweet, right?

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I don't know how old Joseph is at this point in time.

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He's really young, I imagine.

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If you watch the Book of Mormon videos, he looks young, you

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know, like maybe eight or ten.

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We don't know exactly, but we do know that he was young enough that his mother need,

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needed to take care of him on the boat.

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And you hear Lehi talk about when he was born.

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So this is 2nd Nephi 3, 1 through 3.

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It says, And now I speak unto you, Joseph, my lastborn.

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Thou wast born in the wilderness of mine afflictions.

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Yea, in the days of my greatest sorrow did thy mother bear thee.

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And may the Lord consecrate also unto thee this land, which is the most

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precious land, for thine inheritance, and the inheritance of thy seed with

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thy brethren, for thy security forever, if it so be that ye shall keep the

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commandments of the Holy One of Israel.

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And now, Joseph, my lastborn, whom I have brought out of the wilderness

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of my afflictions, may the Lord bless thee forever, for thy seed

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shall not be utterly destroyed.

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And then Lehi teaches him about how his seed will make it.

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We actually studied this in the Doctrine and Covenants.

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Remember, I think it's in D& C 3.

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It's in the notes, but we learned that the gospel is going to come back to

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different tribes within this, those who survive the end of the Book of Mormon.

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And one of the tribes that's listed in the Doctrine and Covenants is the Josephites,

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which I just think is fascinating.

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So this is, some of his posterity are going to make it, and

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they're going to be reclaimed.

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They're going to be brought back to the truth.

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And so Lehi wants his son to know that.

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What I just thought was so interesting is the way Lehi described his

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feelings about when his son was born.

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He talks about it being the days of his greatest sorrow.

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And I found myself wondering, Why?

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I don't know, and nobody knows for sure, but I, I wondered what

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precipitated that statement.

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It's, it's possible to me, since we know that he was born, or was

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very young, on the boat, maybe his mom never bounced back.

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Remember how we talked about that with Lehi last week, that maybe that's why

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he's hitting the end of his life a little soon, is that he just Never bounced back.

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Maybe that time on the boat is a time of great sorrow for Lehi, because

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although I think Saria makes it to the Promised Land, I don't know how

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long she gets to live beyond it.

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And I wonder sometimes if that's a struggle for Joseph, you know, knowing

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that that is part of his history.

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And what I love that Lehi does in this moment is he says, You are the joy.

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You know, like, even though you came from a time of great

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sorrow for me, I delight in you.

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The Lord delights in you, and you were intended to be here.

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I just think it's fascinating that Lehi and Sariah choose to have

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children in the wilderness at all.

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You know, I understand how they had children in Jerusalem when they

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had a house, and they had maybe, maybe even servants, and at least

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some wealth from what we learned about with the brass plate scenario.

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So I just think the very fact that they choose to continue to

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have children in the wilderness.

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says something to me.

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For me, I just think it would have been easy for them to say, if the

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Lord wants us to have kids, we'll wait until we get to the promised land.

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It would have made their travels easier.

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It would have made things smoother.

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It would have made Soraya's efforts much lighter, supposedly, right?

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And I found myself just wondering, like, why?

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Why does the Lord ask them to have children in the wilderness?

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And I don't know the exact answer.

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I just know the answer from my own life.

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That I think We got that question a lot when we were young.

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Um, since I'm making these videos for my posterity, I thought it would

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be good to point out that like we, we had that, we had three kids.

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Our first, oldest three, we had our, we have a gap between

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our two sets of three kids.

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And our oldest three came really fast when we were really young and still in

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school and struggling and had no money and I would get that question all the time.

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Especially because we didn't live.

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around other members of the church.

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Very often we, we were out in, in the margins, and it was something that people

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were kind of astounded and confused by.

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And I remember feeling like They just didn't get it, you know, like

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they would say things like, Oh, it's going to be so much harder

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for your husband to finish school.

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Or it's going to be so much more expensive.

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We go into so much more debt.

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And all that was probably true.

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But I think what meant the most to me is when he came home from taking a test

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or when, when we had hard days, he came home to a house full of kids who like.

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Rushed him, you know, like they like couldn't wait to pile up on him.

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I just think that's what, maybe that's the purpose of having

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children in the wilderness.

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Because God knows that they are a light, you know, that they can be

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a light to carry in the wilderness.

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They bring joy and peace and we felt the same kind of thing.

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We had A miscarriage that was hard in the middle between our two sets of three.

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And it was honestly hard for me to want to begin again.

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I just wasn't sure my heart could take it.

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And we really felt pulled that we were supposed to have more.

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And so we did.

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And honestly, you guys, I can't imagine life without my little three.

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They're not that little anymore.

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You know, Will's going to be a junior next year.

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But like, I can't imagine my life without those.

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I can't imagine us going through.

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The last seven years of cancer without Violet, without Will and Sam to

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entertain us, like, Violet was two when Jason was diagnosed, and she

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was not a burden, she was a light.

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And I think that's what prophets are trying to help us understand today,

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that this gift of family is a gift, no matter how hard your circumstances

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are, how impractical it seems.

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That, I love, there's this great talk from Elder Anderson back

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in twenty I think it's 2011.

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I didn't write down the year.

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Somewhere around there.

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And he talks about the value of children.

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He was quoting this other woman who was writing a blog.

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It says, many voices in the world today marginalize the importance of

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having children, or suggest delaying or limiting children and family.

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My daughter's recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother,

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not of our faith, with five children.

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She commented, Growing up in this culture is very hard to get a

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biblical perspective on motherhood.

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Children rank way below college, below world travel for sure, below the ability

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to go out at night at your leisure, below honing your body at the gym, below

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any job you have or may hope to get.

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Then she adds, Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling.

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You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps.

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It is not something for you to do if you can squeeze the time in.

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It is what God gave you time for.

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Isn't that just a beautiful stance on parenting?

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I think that's what Lehi and Zariah understood.

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I think that's why they choose to have children in the wilderness.

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And I think it, it is a delight.

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The very way that he interacts with his sons, Jacob and Joseph, tells

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you that he delights to have them.

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And I just think it's a sweet reminder that you find right in

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this first chapter and called the second spark understanding Moses.

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Because one of my favorite things that I learned this week had

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nothing to do with Book of Mormon.

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And well, I mean, I guess it, it's tangentially connected, but I,

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what I loved is the understanding that I gained about Moses.

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There is this sweet prophecy.

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So like I mentioned, Joseph is being guided by Lehi and he's telling him

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about prophecies that he read, I assume in the brass plates, or maybe he

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received them from other understandings.

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But we do know that when Joseph Smith does a inspired translation of the Bible.

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This is something he records, that Joseph in Egypt had these beautiful prophecies.

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In fact, there's some kind of deathbed prophecies that

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Joseph offers to his posterity.

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And Joseph Smith gives us those in the Joseph Smith translation.

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And now we get to see Lehi Reading, it sounds like those same passages,

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because what he's trying to help his son Joseph understand is that he is part

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of this giant covenant connection, and that there is a bigger work at play.

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What's intriguing to me is the time difference.

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I mean, if you think about Joseph in Egypt, so he is someone who, his

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story begins the Israelites, right?

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Like, he is one of the sons of Jacob, Israel.

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And so his posterity kind of begin those generations.

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There's a few generations between Joseph and Moses.

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Joseph is the person who kind of guides the Israelites into Egypt and they come

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in, you know, welcomed and greeted warmly.

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By the time they leave Egypt, they are slaves.

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But that's, you know, 400 years ish later.

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So Joseph, when he's prophesying all of this, can see this play out.

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Joseph in Egypt can see there's going to be a time of bondage, and then

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there's going to be a Moses that's going to lead the people out of Egypt.

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And then he can see, much further down the line, like, 3500 years down

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the line when Joseph Smith restores the gospel and brings light and

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law and truth to the world again.

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So what he does is he compares these two.

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Joseph in Egypt compares Moses to Joseph Smith.

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And so you see that reference a few times in the chapters.

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What I thought was beautiful is I came out of the Old Testament Admiring

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Moses for lots of reasons, you know, he and Joseph Smith have some really

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similar similar characteristics.

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They have different upbringings for sure You know, Moses is in Pharaoh's court and

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has a pretty posh living but Joseph Smith has a very different one in his little log

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cabin But they have some similar issues.

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They have insecurities about their ability to speak They don't feel

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worthy of the calling that they have.

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They are kind of on their own trying to reestablish truth and

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They bring the law to their people.

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Both of them bring the law.

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They also both have really high hopes for their people.

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You know, they, I think Moses, when he came off that mount with the

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law, had such high hopes that he could offer them all the blessings

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that the priesthood can extend.

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And they Made the golden calf.

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And I think in the Doctrine and Covenants, we saw over and over again

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how Joseph had high hopes for Zion.

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He taught and guided and enticed and, you know, like he wanted Zion to happen

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and the people just didn't quite rally.

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And they had a lot of opposition and other things, but it was just, I think

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they have some similar things, but Probably what I love the most, you guys,

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is what I read about them being compared.

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So this is 2 Nephi 3, 8 through 11.

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And I will give unto him a commandment, that he should do no other work save

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the work that I shall command him.

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And I will make him great in my eyes, for he shall do my work.

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And he should be great, like unto Moses, whom I have said I would raise up unto you

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to deliver my people, O house of Israel.

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And Moses will I raise up to deliver thy people out of the land of Egypt.

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But a seer, speaking of Joseph, will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins,

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and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins.

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And not to the bringing forth of my word only, saith the Lord, but to

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the convincing them of my word, which shall have gone forth among them.

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The reason I think we see it laid out this way, that Joseph and Egypt is putting

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these two right up against each other, is I think we're supposed to see similarities

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beyond What is more obvious, you know, the fact that Moses builds the tabernacle

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and Joseph was the first temple, you know, like I think there's some really obvious

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ones, but the one that hit me the hardest was I love the stories about Joseph.

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There's a great talk from Elder Maxwell, it's in the notes this week, where he

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lays out some of these stories that I had never read before, you know,

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about Joseph wrapping infants in these blankets and holding them by the fire.

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before he returned to somebody else's house and blessing those who were sick.

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And, you know, don't you love those stories about Joseph?

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Like him wrestling with the boys in the grass or like wrestling with his kids

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in the, in the front room when that guy comes over and he's so offended that

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a prophet would wrestle with his kids.

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Like, I just, I love the humanity of Joseph.

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I love, when I picture Joseph Smith, I picture someone who is joyful

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and hopeful and fast to forgive.

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And, you know, just, has a countenance of cheer.

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And I have never thought of that with Moses before.

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Maybe Hollywood is to blame, or maybe this is just my own misunderstanding

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of Old Testament scripture.

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I went through the whole Old Testament, you guys, and I never

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pictured Moses with a smiling face.

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Not that I thought he was mean, I just kind of picture him austere.

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And this week, what I learned, the more I studied, especially the more

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I studied Joseph Smith, The more I was like, Oh, he's like unto Moses.

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What if they're alike in temperament?

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What if they're alike in the way they took care of their people?

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What if I could start picturing Moses the way I picture Joseph?

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And I picture Moses playing with kids in their camp in Israel.

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If I picture Moses going around with a handkerchief and trying to help

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and heal and, you know, bless as many widows and children as he can.

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What if I picture Moses instead of austere with this brass serpent on a

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stick, if I picture him carrying that stick to everyone, pleading for them to.

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Look up and see.

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I just It softened for me.

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The Old Testament softened for me as I read the Book of Mormon.

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And I think that's one of the sweetest evidences of the Book of Mormon

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and the Bible working together.

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That as we study the Book of Mormon, and that's going to be in the prophecies

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this week too, you're going to see Joseph in Egypt prophesy that the

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words of the Bible and the words of the Book of Mormon will grow together

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and that they will teach people about their covenant connection to God.

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And I saw that.

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In a roundabout way, you know, I saw that happen in my heart.

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I saw myself soften towards Moses and start to envision him the way

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I envisioned the Prophet Joseph.

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And it was sweet to me.

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So, I would just encourage you to go back in.

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It made me picture things differently.

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So, if you go in 2 it says, Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write, and the

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fruit of the loins of Judah shall write.

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And that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which

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shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together, unto the

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confounding of false doctrines, laying down contentions, and establishing peace

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among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers

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in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.

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I love this because of what we studied in the Doctrine and Covenants.

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Remember when Joseph Sr.

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gives Joseph Smith his patriarchal blessing?

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If you go to the patriarchal blessing template that we have on the site, you can

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see Joseph Smith's patriarchal blessing.

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And it was because I just posted this a few weeks ago that I happened

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to see this again, but it's just this beaming light where he, in the

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patriarchal blessing, talks about Joseph in Egypt and how Joseph Smith Jr.

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is, you know, this Prophecy come to life, and it's supposed to give him peace.

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I think it's the same thing Lehi's trying to give his son right now.

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He's trying to say, you are of noble blood.

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Look who you are named after.

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Look at the work that is ahead of you.

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This is a good work.

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And even though Lehi himself can't be there with his son Joseph to watch some

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of these things play out, he is, he is connecting him to something so much more.

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bigger.

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And I just love it.

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I found myself picturing heaven differently with these two prophets.

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You know, I almost picture Moses and Joseph Smith together, you know,

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like putting their arms around each other, watching these things play out.

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And, you know, like, I just think there's, there's more connection

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between these two mighty prophets of God than, than what is on the surface.

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And if you go into the verses, I think you'll find it.

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Spark number three, I call Covenant Connections, because you see covenant

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everywhere in these chapters.

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And I found myself wondering, why?

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Why is Joseph learning all of this from Lehi?

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Joseph is little.

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He is a kid at this point, and I'm sure he can't understand covenant that well

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or what that implies, but why is Lehi, at the end of his life, taking so much

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time to talk about covenant connections?

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And honestly, what helped me the most is the live we did this week.

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So over on gather.

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macmom.

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com, we did a live with Melinda Brown.

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She's the author of Even Adam that I talked about last week.

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And in the live, Mindy talked about her favorite name for Jesus Christ,

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that it is Immanuel, God with us.

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And then she talked about how when Adam and Eve had to leave the garden.

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They took God with them, you know, in lots of different ways.

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The priesthood went with Adam.

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They had these coats of skins.

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They had truth.

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They had these promises.

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They had their sealing.

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They, all these things that allowed them to take God with them.

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And not just in a figurative way, but Jehovah guides them, right?

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All throughout the Old Testament, Jehovah is with his people.

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And so I loved her.

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She cast a big light on that.

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And I feel like that's what Lehi is trying to do with his son as well,

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because Lehi can't Little Joseph, if, if Joseph did lose his mother early in his

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life, then Lehi's his only parent left.

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And to lose Lehi would have been devastating, except for Lehi

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chooses to focus on the covenant.

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So he makes him feel woven into something so much bigger.

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In fact, I listened to Mindy Brown on the Desert Book Magnify podcast this week.

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And she made this.

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sweet statement.

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She said, we often think of things in a chain when it comes to posterity,

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we think of a chain around our ancestry, but really it's lace.

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You know, it's this, we are interwoven into so many other lives.

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And I think that's what he's trying to help Joseph understand.

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You are part of this great web of God and he, you don't need to be afraid.

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Because you've got ancestors you can lean on.

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You've got a big brother in Nephi that you can look towards.

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You've got a future that is bright.

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Your posterity will make it and they will know the truth.

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Like, he is trying to show him this web.

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And what I thought was so powerful about that is I think

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it's what we should do too.

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I think you hear President Nelson speak about the covenant all the time, and I

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think part of the reason he encourages us to teach that, even to the very young, is

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because it gives a chance for stability.

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You know, we kept talking at the beginning of this video about, What

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it feels like to feel unstable.

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Kids in this world are going to feel unstable.

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And what gives them those added electrons to bring them to stability

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is understanding of the covenant.

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That God keeps his promises.

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He's always kept his promises and he will keep them forevermore.

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That is something that your kids can rest on, no matter what

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their life circumstances are.

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And I think that applies to Joseph as well.

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I think no matter how he, how afraid he is, he can be assured in the covenant.

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In fact, I love how that chapter ends.

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So at the end of 3, in 20, verse 25, he says, And now blessed art thou, Joseph.

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Behold, thou art little.

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Wherefore, hearken unto the words of thy brother Nephi, and it shall

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be done unto thee, even according to the words which I have spoken.

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Remember the words of a dying father.

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Amen.

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I don't think he's just pointing to Nephi because he's his great, good, big brother.

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I think he's pointing to Nephi because he'll be the next living prophet.

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And when we look to the next living prophet Always, we can be assured.

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We don't need to be afraid.

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Even in a tumultuous, chaotic world, there will be a living prophet

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to guide and direct his people.

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And that's where Lehi wants Joseph to look to.

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Spark number four is one of my favorites.

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I call this a father's blessing.

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So this is chapter four.

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Lehi pulls his other sons aside.

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So he's offering a blessing to all of his sons and these are

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specifically to Laman and Lemuel.

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He asked Laman to gather his children together and to come and sit at

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Lehi's feet and learn from him.

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And then he'll offer that same blessing to Lemuel's children as well.

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And it's just kind of interesting to me to watch how Lehi does this.

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He cannot control his sons.

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They have their agency.

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They have their choices.

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And frankly, as a father, he knows what they're going to pick.

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He knows their character well enough that he can see where this road goes.

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What breaks his heart, I think, is what the next generation will

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suffer because of their choices.

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That they will suffer being separated from the prophet and from the

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promises and the temple and all those things and it breaks his heart.

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And so he does what he can't.

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He can't do all things, but he can offer a father's blessing to his posterity.

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I just love it.

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It's, it's like he understands, you know, in Doctrine and Covenants

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130, where this is 20 and 21.

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This is where we learn that like blessings come because they

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are predicated with obedience.

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You have to have the obedience first in order to Obtain the blessings.

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So what Lehi does is he prays to the Lord to offer this Exception, almost.

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He basically says, if my grandchildren or great grandchildren, any after them,

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make mistakes, it's not their fault.

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They weren't led by parents who would teach them truth, so please

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don't hold them accountable.

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And because of that blessing, promises are made.

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So if you look, this is from 5 to 7 of verse, or chapter 4.

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But behold my sons and my daughters, I cannot go down to my grave save

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I should leave a blessing upon you.

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For behold, I know that if you are brought up in the way you should

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go, you will not depart from it.

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It's almost like he knows the character of his grandkids, and he knows.

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It's not their fault.

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And then in six, wherefore if you are cursed, behold, I leave my

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blessing upon you, that the cursing may be taken from you and be answered

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upon the heads of your parents.

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Wherefore, because of my blessing, the Lord will not suffer that ye shall perish.

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Wherefore, he will be merciful unto you and unto your seed forever.

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This is his promise, right?

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This is, this is grandpa intervening on the behalf of his grandchildren without

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breaking the bands of agency at all.

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It's basically what we read in the bible dictionary about prayer.

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So it says this, prayer is the act by which the will of the father and

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the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other.

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The object of is not to change the will of God, but to secure

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for ourselves and for others.

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The blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made

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conditional on our asking for them.

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This is, I think, what Lehi understands.

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That if he prays for this offering to be made to his grandchildren, that the

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accountability will rest squarely on the shoulders of those who chose it first.

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Laman and Lemuel have had understanding and light and knowledge and visions of

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angels and heard the word of god like they have heard and seen remarkable

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things and are choosing to rebel against it their children won't see any of those

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things and therefore shouldn't be held accountable so god offers this promise.

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Lehi feels assured in this moment that his grandkids will be safe.

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What I loved about this is they're not going to be safe

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for many generations, right?

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It's going to take a long time before the Lamanites finally are taught by the

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Nephites and get to come around, you know, but I just, the promise is kept and

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what it inspired me to do is pray more.

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You know, I, I just think what are, what blessings do I want for my kids?

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I should pray for them.

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I should seek them out.

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The visual that came into my mind, you guys, from the Old Testament,

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it just kept coming back every time I went through these verses.

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It was that story about the widow with the vessels.

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Do you remember this?

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Like, she's someone who, she goes to Elisha and she says,

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My husband has been killed.

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He was a diligent I can't remember the exact words, but she's like, he was a

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diligent, faithful member of follower of God and he he's killed and now his those

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who we owe debts to are coming after me and they want to take my sons what can

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I do and I wrote some of the verses down this is 2nd Kings 4 6 7 and it came to

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pass oh so sorry he told he tells her go gather the vessels remember this in the

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Old Testament he says go to your neighbors ask for as many vessels as you can because

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first he says to her what do you have And she says, I only have this one pot of oil.

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And he says, go to all your neighbors, gather as many vessels as you can,

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and then shut all the doors and go inside and pour out the oil.

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So she takes what she did have and she pours it into these empty

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containers and it fills every single container till there are none left.

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And that's how I feel about.

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Father's blessings and prayers of faith by diligent mothers.

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They are this opportunity to fill those vessels.

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I just Here's second kings four six and seven and it came to pass that when

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the vessels were full that she said unto her son Bring me yet a vessel and

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he said unto her There is not a vessel more and the oil stayed and then she

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came and told the man of god and he said Go and sell the oil pay the debt live

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thou and thy children of of the rest.

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This is how The Lord wants to care for our posterity.

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He basically says, gather as many vessels as you can.

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To me, this is an imitation, you know, because I just started being

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a grandma just a couple years ago.

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This is an imitation, like, gather as many vessels as you can.

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You gather as many places where your kids can interact with the Spirit and create

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as many opportunities for your kids and your grandkids to, to know truth.

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And then just start pouring.

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Pour abundantly and trust that as you pour truth in all

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these different circumstances, they'll be able to be filled.

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There's a promise that somehow truth will seep through.

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They will come to know.

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It might take generations of time, like it does with the Lamanites,

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but those promises are kept.

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We know that because you see it in the Book of Mormon over and over again.

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I mean, you could ask King Mosiah or Alma Senior, do prayers of grandfathers work?

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Yes.

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You know, like think about how their testimonies and their

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diligent prayers change the lives of their sons in key moments, which

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changed the lives of generations.

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I mean, that's why we have Helaman, that's why we have Nevi and Lehi down the road.

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Like, you have these mighty men of God in this line because

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a grandfather chose to pray.

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And I think that applies to grandmothers, mothers, fathers.

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Diligently pray and seek for blessings for your children, even

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if they don't think they want them.

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And then watch what God can do.

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Chapter four has some of the most beautiful scripture

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in all the Book of Mormon.

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This is what a lot of people call Nephi's psalm.

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It's after Lehi's death, before the separation.

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There's this, where Nephi exposes his soul.

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He talks about what's in his heart and what he's wrestling with.

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And what I think is really interesting is how we read it.

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There's a lot of different ways you can read these verses, and I'm in no

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way pretending mine is the right one.

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I just think sometimes we tend to make this seem so heavy, you know,

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that Nephi is completely and utterly dejected, that he is heavily depressed.

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I don't, it's, that's possible.

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That's just not how I read it, you guys.

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I think he is.

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Just diligent and honest.

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So these are the verses.

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So if you look at 2nd Nephi 4, this is 16 through 19.

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Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord, and my heart

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pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.

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Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord in showing me his

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great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth, O wretched man that I am, yea,

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my heart sorroweth because of my flesh, my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities,

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I am encompassed about because of the temptations and the sins which so easily

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beset me, and when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins.

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Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.

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To me, where Nephi begins is an indicator of where his heart is.

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I don't think he's coming from a state of hopelessness.

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He's saying he's been reading the scriptures and he delights in those

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scriptures, but the scriptures, as he comes closer to them and

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closer to the Lord by extension, he sees himself more clearly.

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Yeah, this is the divine discontent that Michelle Craig talked about.

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This is where you see, as you come closer to God, you actually see your flaws.

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better.

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You see them more clearly.

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It's almost like if you've ever held up one of those cosmetic magnifying

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mirrors, you know, where you like see your pores really big and you're like,

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oh wow, you know, or if you did one of those experiments in biology where you

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realized how many germs you create in a day on your toothbrush or whatever.

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I just think that's what happens when you come closer to God.

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You realize your own weaknesses.

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and they're in a more vivid relief, you know, like you can see them much

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more clearly because you have come to see the light and the warmth and

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the perfection of Christ better.

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And I don't think that necessarily leads to Hopelessness, I

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think it leads to progress.

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To me, the thing that helped me the most on these verses was Come Thou Fount.

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In fact, that's what I'm calling this spark because I, when I

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was reading this, I started to hear Come Thou Fount in my head.

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Jason had just given a talk on it and the memories of singing that song, I had

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this great experience in girls camp years ago with my girls where We were asked

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to do one of those singing tree things.

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I don't know if you've ever done this, you guys, but you go in girls camp and

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each ward is sort of at their own camp and each of you, each ward, stands by

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one of the trees in their camp and pushes their flashlights up onto the tree so

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that the tree lights up and then they sing a portion of the song and then

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that song passes to the next camp and although you can't see the girls You

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can see, like, a portion of their tree lighting up on the hillside, and you

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can hear them distantly singing, and you just watch this song go around.

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And we sang this song, Come Thou Fount.

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It was led by my dear friend Janelle, and I can still remember the the

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spirit that just pushed into that camp.

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Like, it was palpable.

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And that's what I felt like when I read Nephi's words.

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Because I feel like that's what he's saying.

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He's saying, I know I am weak.

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I know as the closer I come to thee, and the more I study these scriptures

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and see these mighty men of God, the more I realize how much I need you.

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How much I, how big the distance is, and how much I need the

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atonement of Jesus Christ.

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to bless me and help me.

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That's why I love that so much of his, the rest of his psalm

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is focused on looking forward.

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You know, he, he looks at the way God has supported him in the past,

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and he looks at the way that he can trust that God will support him in

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the future, and he lifts himself up.

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You know, he like arises on his own, where last week we were studying

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Lehi pleading with his sons to arise.

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Nephi finds a way to do it on his own.

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And that I just love.

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So if you go through the words of that hymn, to me, as I wrote those in my

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margins, it helped me read Nephi's words with more hope and more light and more,

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I could relate to it in a different way.

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So for example, I love in the third verse, it says, O to grace, how great

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a debtor daily I am constrained to be.

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Let that grace now like a fetter bind my wandering heart to thee.

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Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.

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Prone to leave the God I love.

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Here's my heart.

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Oh, take and seal it.

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Seal it for the courts above.

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I feel like that's what Nephi was asking of the Lord.

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He's saying, I can see the disconnect.

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I can see how far I need to go.

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I know you are the only way I can bridge that gap.

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Here's my heart.

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Take and seal it.

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You almost hear it in his words.

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So we read from 30 to 33.

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This is in chapter four.

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Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say, O Lord,

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I will praise thee forever.

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Yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

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O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul?

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Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies?

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Wilt thou make me that I might shake at the appearance of sin?

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O Lord, wilt thou encircle me in the robe of thy righteousness?

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O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies?

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Wilt thou make my path straight before me?

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Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way, but that thou wouldst

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clear my way before me, and hedge up not my way, but the ways of my enemy?

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It's almost like you can hear a gospel choir singing and

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you want to just chime in.

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Yeah, I, I can relate to this piece of Nephi.

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I don't think he is heavy in this moment.

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I think he is mortal and he knows exactly who to turn to for lift.

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And so he does.

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And he gets it.

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I just think it's powerful.

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Spark number six I call oddly answered prayers.

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Because I found myself wondering what Nephi thought would happen.

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You know, he offers this beautiful psalm and at the end he prays

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that the Lord will ease his way.

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Right?

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That he'll open up a path for him to be righteous and for

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his people to be righteous.

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That he'll hedge up the way of his enemies.

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I found myself thinking, you know, given Nephi's psalm and the introspection of

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it, I don't think enemies necessarily meant Laman and Lemuel, although they

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are his physical enemies in a lot of ways, and they will try to kill him.

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I think, in that psalm, his enemies are his natural man's self.

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You know, his weaknesses, his sins, his reasons that he, he

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can't quite bridge that gap.

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I think he's hoping to hedge off those parts of himself.

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And that's why I think it's really interesting how the

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Lord answers his prayer.

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Because you see the answer come.

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a little bit later.

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You see the end of four, this is 35.

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Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh.

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Yea, my God will give me if I ask not amiss.

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Therefore, I will lift up my voice unto thee.

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Yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness.

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Behold, my voice shall ascend up unto thee, my rock and my everlasting God.

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Amen.

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Nephi knows.

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I mean, we heard this way back in Bountiful.

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Remember when his brothers were threatening to push him into the water

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and kill him, and he's like, if I need the water to be earth, it'll be earth.

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Nephi knows what he's capable of doing.

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So I sometimes wonder, like, what was the ideal outcome for Nephi?

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In his mind, did he think the Lord would answer his prayer

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by changing his demeanor?

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Like, maybe he wouldn't.

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be quick to anger anymore.

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Maybe he would actually soften the hearts of Laman and Lemuel.

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Maybe he would inspire the daughters to come and soften them again.

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I don't think, this is just my opinion, I don't think Nephi

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expected the answer that came.

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Because the answer that comes is, Nephi, in order for you to hedge up the way

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of your own weaknesses, you need to go.

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This was fascinating to me.

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So let's say, for example, one of Nephi's weaknesses is he's quick to

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anger, justifiably quick to anger because his brothers are awful.

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And he oftentimes is frustrated with them, especially when they, they won't listen

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and they won't learn from experience.

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And it's possible, but that's one of his sins that he, that so easily beset him.

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One of the ways the Lord finds A way for Nephi to stop having that

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problem is to get him separated.

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So he says, there needs to be a divide.

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So if you look in the verses, this is in chapter 5, verses 5 and 6.

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After you learn that the brothers are literally trying to kill

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Nephi, this is what happens.

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And it came to pass that the Lord did warn me that I, Nephi, should depart

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from them and flee into the wilderness and all those who would go with me.

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Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also Zoram and

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his family, and Sam, my elder brother, and his family, and Jacob and Joseph,

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my younger brother, and And also my sisters, and all who would go with me.

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And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the

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warnings and the revelations of God.

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Wherefore, they did hearken unto my words.

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I don't, this is just me, but I don't think this is what Nephi expected.

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But I think it is an unconventional way to solve his problem.

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If his problem is, he is struggling so much with his brothers, and it's bringing

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out The worst in Nephi, one of the ways he can solve that problem is to separate.

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I don't think this is often the answer.

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I think the Lord wants families to be together.

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Always.

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I think that's his goal.

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But sometimes I think separation has to happen.

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This is just my opinion, but I was in a Relief Society lesson recently and

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a friend was talking about how she was struggling with this because she has

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a son who was so hard to have at home.

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And the weight of asking him to go and live elsewhere Due to his choices and

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his mistakes and his, he wouldn't honor them as parents and he wouldn't follow

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their guidelines and live a different kind of life than they supported.

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And so they had to make a really hard call to say, You need to live elsewhere.

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We love you, but we can't live with you.

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And it was eating her up a little bit.

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In fact, I've had another friend who similarly, like, was way down

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with the guilt of that choice.

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And I think this passage of scripture is really instructive.

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That in this moment, Nephi is led by God.

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So if you look in the verses, it says that he was led.

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The Lord did warn me that I, Nephi, should depart from them

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and flee into the wilderness.

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Sometimes, I think, the answer that the Lord offers is to separate for a

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season, um, so that things can change.

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Because Nephi chooses to follow this prompting and take all who will follow

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him, you know, anyone who comes, whether it's part of his family or maybe some

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of Laman and Lemuel's Children came, you know, after they heard the words of their

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grandpa, maybe they followed, I don't know, but as many as want to come, can

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come with Nephi, and they go into the wilderness, and they establish a new land,

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they're gonna call Nephi, and because they develop in a place that is safe, and that

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is diligent, you know, a place where the commandments are kept, the scriptures are

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read, a temple is built, all those things, those kids can thrive, and over the course

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of many generations, can circle all the way back to bring this group together.

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back to truth.

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It's, you know, the descendants of this group that settles in the land of

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Nephi who become Ammon and they become the sons of Mosiah and they become,

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you know, those who will seek after the Lamanites and bring them home.

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That can't happen unless at this point in time there's a division where

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truth can flourish and temples can be built and scriptures can be read.

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I just think There's peace in it.

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I'm certainly not trying to dictate what anybody else does in their

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families, but I do think the spirit can prompt you this way and you can

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feel assured no one is forgotten.

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Oftentimes his desires to separate us mean he's finding a way to.

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loop back around.

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And it's a longer road than he hoped for, and he certainly wanted to give blessings,

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but because of obedience issues, he can't.

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So he finds a much longer road around.

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And sometimes you have to separate so that those who are diligent and

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those who want to learn can thrive.

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I think there's application in families and classrooms and all kinds

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of settings, but get into the verses.

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I think it'll help you.

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One of my favorite verses about this actually comes in Alma.

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This is when you learn that those who do get converted, those Lamanites

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who, many generations later, do get converted, they never leave.

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This is Alma 23, 6 and, 6, 7, and 8.

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And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as

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were brought to the knowledge of truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his

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brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the

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power of God working miracles in them.

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Yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, As many of the Lamanites as believe

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in their preaching were converted unto the Lord, and they never did fall away.

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For they became a righteous people.

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They had laid down their weapons of rebellion, and they did not

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fight against God anymore, neither against any of their brethren.

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Now these are they who were converted unto the Lord.

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The Lord has a long lens.

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He can see another way.

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He can see another way to bring families back together.

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Takes a long time, and it takes a lot of people making choices to be diligent like

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the sons of Ammon did, but it can happen.

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Families will be brought back in.

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So I think he's, God always plays for the team, and he'll find a way

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to keep you connected, if not right now, over generations of time.

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I think the key to that promise being fulfilled is that we never stop

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loving, and we never stop reaching.

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I think that's what you see in Nephi.

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He's gonna continually talk about the Lamanites and his brethren, and he'll

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pray for them, and he'll weep for them.

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I mean, you see the same thing with the Savior when The children of Israel

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are pulling away from his covenant promises that he weaves for them.

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Remember he says, you know, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, like it's that same longing.

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So I think as long as we are constantly reaching out, I think that's what

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conference taught us over and over again, that we keep those doors wide open.

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We keep our love flowing and we keep opportunities open to return.

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Promises are kept

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our last spark.

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I call how to be happy one of those age old Universal questions that we all ask

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ourselves and I think the answers are woven into chapter 5 Because this is after

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the separation occurs you see Nephi's people set up shop, you know, they go out

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into the wilderness It's a lot like Lehi's situation, right, where Nephi grew up as

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a teenager, seeing his dad preach to the people in Jerusalem, having the people in

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Jerusalem seek his life, and then having guidance from the Lord that they needed

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to go into the wilderness and begin fresh.

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Lehi basically sets a template for Nephi to follow, because

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Nephi does the same thing.

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He gets that same prompting from the Lord, and he takes his family

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and anyone who will follow him, and they go into the wilderness.

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and they have to begin again.

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Remember, they've left the land of First Inheritance.

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If you did those maps from last week, you can see where they traverse.

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They have to go many days, it says, and they set up camp.

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And if you've ever set up camp legitimately, like,

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it is not a pleasant task.

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They have to clear things.

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You have to find a spot where there's water.

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It's, it's work.

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But somehow, in the course of this effort, They live after the manner of happiness.

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That's the theme for this week, you guys, in the Come Follow Me Manual,

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because this effort that they have together where they're, they've created

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some separation between them and the temptations that easily beset them.

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They've, they've created some separation from those who don't

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believe and they're starting to build.

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What sounds like Zion?

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To me, it sounds like the waters of Mormon.

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You know, where they go out to this small place that used to be known

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because it was invested with wild beasts and now becomes this place of beauty.

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That's what chapter 5 is.

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Nephi becomes this place of beauty and prosperity.

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So if you look in the verses, it says in 10, We did observe to keep

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the judgments and statutes and the commandments of the Lord in all

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things according to the law of Moses.

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There's your first view in how you can live after the man of God.

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manner of happiness.

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You have to keep the commandments.

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Like there is no other, wickedness never was happiness.

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It can't be.

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So that's his first big instruction to us.

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If you want to be happy, keep the commandments.

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Doesn't that sound really familiar?

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It's like what we just heard from President Nelson in conference

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and several others who quoted him.

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Then in 11, And the Lord was with us, and we did prosper exceedingly.

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For we began to sow seed and reap again in abundance, and we began to raise flocks

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and herds and animals of every kind.

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The fact that the Lord is with them, to me, means they are

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making covenants and keeping them.

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They, they have that close relationship with the Lord, and He is among them.

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They are unified in hearts and minds, and they're working

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together to do something good.

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I just think this idea of Being united in this effort is powerful.

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I think how they use their energy and time is impressive.

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They don't spend all their time seeking ore or gold or things.

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Those, those things come.

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They use their time to develop a city and to build a place for their family

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to be safe and to raise crops and herds.

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Like, there's just something about that simple lifestyle that promises

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happiness if we do it in the Lord's way.

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And then in 12, And I, Nephi, had also brought the records which were engraven

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upon the plates of brass, and also the ball or compass which was prepared

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for my father by the hand of the Lord, according to that which is written.

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Another big way we can find happiness, I think, is to hold tight to the scriptures.

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Not just the scriptures, but miracles from our past.

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When we honor ancestors, when we do our family history and we study their

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stories, that's the Liohona to me.

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It doesn't seem like the Liohona is guiding them the same way it did before.

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I think it had a certain purpose, to get them across the waters and get them

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through the wilderness that's over by Jerusalem, but I think now it's, it is

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a It is a relic that tells them God is with them and has always been with them.

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And so he brings that living memory with them in this journey.

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And then I love 13.

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And it came to pass that we began to prosper exceedingly

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and to multiply in the land.

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That's the fruits of this effort.

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You don't have to take God's word for it.

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Happiness is evident as you live it.

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You get those blessings.

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As you live his commandments, happiness comes to you.

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It is not some prize that it's the end of this life.

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It is something that is a consequence of daily righteous living.

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You can see a bunch more in the verses, but I think he's trying

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to guide us towards happiness.

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A big one for me comes in the middle, where Nephi talks

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about building the temple.

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So this is 16.

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And I, Nephi, did build a temple, and I did construct it after the manner of

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the temple of Solomon, save it were not built of so many precious things, for

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they were not to be found upon the land.

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It could be built like unto, it could not be built like unto Solomon's temple,

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but the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon and the

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workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine.

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I think one of the best ways to find happiness is to be resourceful and

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not let perfection paralyze you.

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Nephi would have grown up in Jerusalem.

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He would have seen Solomon's temple close up.

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He couldn't have gone inside.

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He's not of the tribe of Levi, but he would have seen those outer courtyards,

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and he would have seen his dad offer sacrifices on those key feast

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days, and he would know its beauty.

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And somehow he doesn't let that perfection freak him out.

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Don't you just think that's cool?

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Like, he just finds a way.

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to make whatever he does exceedingly fine.

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And that, to me, was inspirational when I approached my life.

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There are lots of things where I find myself paralyzed because I

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can look to somebody else and say, Ugh, but he did it so much better.

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She'd be so much better at this.

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Look how, you know, you get.

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And then you just stop.

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You stop progressing.

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Nephi never stops progressing.

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In these moments where he has a vivid memory of something

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glorious and beautiful, he says, I'm gonna do the best I can.

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And it will not have all the jewels, but it will be exceedingly fine.

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He will do whatever he can to build the best house he can unto God.

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And it sounds so much like the saints that we read about in Kirtland who had

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limited means, or in Nauvoo when they had limited means, or in Salt Lake when

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they were, you know, scrapping together and taking 40 years to build a temple.

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They find a way to make Something that lasts, that is exceedingly fine, even if

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it's not a raid like Solomon's Temple.

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And I love that.

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If you go in the notes, you can read, there's a great talk from Elder

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Choi this last conference where he quotes President Nelson about living

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after the manner of happiness.

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And he makes it so simple.

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He says this, President Nelson also taught yoking yourself with the

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Savior means you have access to his strength and redeeming power.

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The reward for keeping covenants with God is heavenly power.

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Power that strengthens us to withstand our trials, temptations,

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and heartaches better.

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This power eases our way.

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Those who live the higher laws of Jesus Christ have access to this higher power.

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Keeping covenants actually makes life easier.

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Each person who makes covenants in baptismal fonts and in temples and keeps

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them has increased power, increased access to the power of Jesus Christ.

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My dear brothers and sisters, do you want to be happy?

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Stay on the covenant path.

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Your life will be easier, happier, and filled with joy.

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Our Savior is inviting us.

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Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

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He is the living Christ.

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He carries our wardens and makes our life easier.

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I love that witness from Nephi.

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They found happiness in this effort, and we can find it too.

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Time to get into the questions portion of week 7.

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Alright, I've got 5 good questions for you to just sort of mull

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over, think about, chat about with your families or your classes.

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And then if you have time, share some thoughts.

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I don't know the answer to most of these.

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I don't know that there is one answer.

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I'm just hoping it will get you into your scriptures and you will seek out your own.

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And if you get a chance, of course, I'd hope you'd share them with us.

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If you have a chance, put them on the YouTube comment thread

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or over on the course at gather.

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macmom.

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com.

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I would love to see what the Spirit teaches you.

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Okay, first question.

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This is one about Joseph Smith.

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So in this prophecy that Lehi is teaching his son Joseph about Joseph

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in Egypt and what he saw, that Joseph in Egypt 3, 500 years before Joseph

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Smith saw this mighty work happening.

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And he has this interesting phrase at the end of 3 verse 11.

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He says, But to the convincing them of my word, which shall

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have gone forth among them.

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He makes this distinction that it's not just that Joseph will bring forth his

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word, but that he, he will convince them.

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And I found myself wondering, why is there a distinction there?

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What do you see in Joseph Smith's life that doesn't just bring the word forth,

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but convinces men that it is true?

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Is it in his writings that you feel that?

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Is it in the way he lived his life?

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Where do you see connection points between what Joseph Smith brought

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to the world and how it convinces men to choose good, to believe?

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that this gospel is fully restored.

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Where do you see that?

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The second one comes from 16 and 17 of chapter 3.

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This is when he's prophesying, he's, Joseph is prophesying about this

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prophet that will come forth and that he won't be mighty in speaking.

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And this one I think he's referring specifically to Moses, that he

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won't be mighty in speaking, that he'll be mighty in writing.

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But I thought it was interesting that you see this pattern

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often in the Lord's prophets.

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You see him, you know, like with Enoch and here with Moses, and you're gonna

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see it with others, where the Lord almost Picks and chooses their gifts.

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I guess that makes sense since we know what we know about spiritual gifts But

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I guess I wonder sometimes if if they can be overcome in these verses The Lord

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makes it sound like he gives him a certain skill and blessing in writing But he

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doesn't give him one in in speaking and I found myself wondering and you know in

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the past I've always sort of assumed that I can acquire all spiritual gifts and

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that I any talent that I really wanted I could pursue Heavily enough and I could

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maybe get it That my life is supposed to be overcoming my insecurities about

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this, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe some, some insecurities or some

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weaknesses in us are intended to stay, if they're intended to tether us to God in

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a certain way so they are never removed.

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I just wondered.

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So I guess my question is this, do you think some insecurities are

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not to be conquered in this life?

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And if so, why?

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Maybe not just insecurities, but talents that you don't have, or

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things that you see in others that you wish you had, but don't.

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Like, do you think all of those are designed to be conquered?

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You know, we know from the DNC that you can, you can pray for all good gifts,

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but do you think there are some that are withheld on purpose, and if so, why?

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Okay, third question.

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This comes from chapter three again.

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This is 19 and 20.

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It says, And the words which ye shall write shall be the words which are

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expedient, and the wisdom should go forth unto the fruit of my loins.

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And it shall be as if the fruit of thy loins had cried unto them from

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the dust, for I know their faith.

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And they shall cry from the dust, yea, even repentance unto their brethren, even

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after many generations have gone by them.

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And it shall come to pass that their cry shall go, even according

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to the simpleness of their words.

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It's the cry from the dust part that I just I've been actually studying this

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for a few weeks now because I keep seeing that Word dust everywhere, you know,

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you can hear about it in the temple.

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You see it in scripture a lot We certainly saw in the Old Testament and I think

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you see it a lot here in the Book of Mormon as well This idea of things

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crying forth out of the dust, but I went into I guess it's I can't remember

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if it was the topical guide I started searching everywhere that dust appears

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in scriptures and there's some really interesting Connecting points, right?

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Like you hear in Genesis about coming forth from the dust, returning to dust.

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You hear things like in Psalms, it talks about how he's cleaving to the dust

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and he almost wants to not do that.

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I started to wonder, like, what does dust represent?

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It seems to be a specific symbol for something.

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I don't know exactly, but it felt to me like maybe it has some connecting point

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to things that are Beyond things that what things would look like if God was

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not there if God didn't allow for things to be organized and created It almost

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seems like dust is Everything left over.

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I just don't know, you guys.

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I did read in Moses 6.

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59 and it helped me a little bit.

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So if you're curious and you want to dig deeper, go read that verse and then read

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a bunch of others and tell me what it is you think dust is supposed to symbolize.

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Why do we see it so often in scripture?

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Especially in the Book of Mormon, you hear words crying forth out of the dust.

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What does that mean?

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I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Okay, last one.

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This last Oh, sorry, here we go.

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This last one is, I don't have a specific verse to point to.

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I just think it's really interesting that Nephi doesn't get a written blessing.

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You know, of all the brothers, even like the little, little kid brothers, and the

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sons of Ishmael, even Sam gets a blessing.

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Like, they all get these written blessings, but we

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don't have one for Nephi.

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And I'm curious why that is.

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Or, my next question would be Do you think there is a blessing

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for Nephi, but perhaps it's not written in the way we anticipated?

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Maybe it's different.

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How do you look at these verses and see Lehi's guidance to Nephi here?

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And if it's not here, where is it?

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Okay, chapter five.

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This is Nephi when he builds that first temple.

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What I love about Nephi, like I talked about in the insights,

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is his his tenacity, right?

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He doesn't have all the resources that Solomon had.

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He doesn't have the manpower.

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He doesn't have the jewels and the fanciness, but he's going

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to get a temple built and it's going to be exceedingly fine.

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And he does.

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And what I think is interesting is looking back over what we know about

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Nephi so far, there are several things that Nephi is asked to build.

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And I think there's connecting points between them.

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So my question to you is, where do you see Nephi Learning from the bow

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experience, from the boat experience, and from his other travels with his

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family, how does that give him the faith and the abilities to build this temple?

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Are they all, like, leading towards this great epic building project?

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You know, I don't know if you, I'm wondering if you see connection points.

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So how did Nephi's earlier work, when he built the, fixed the bow, built the

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ship, how did it impact his ability to build this house of the Lord?

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I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Before we head into the object lessons, I just wanted to give you a quick

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little snippet of Michelle Craig's talk.

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She's actually quoting C.

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S.

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Lewis.

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It's in the notes if you want to go find it, but this is where he talks

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about God's building project, that you are God's building project.

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If you look in the notes, you can read it, but it says, Imagine

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yourself as a living house.

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God comes in to rebuild that house.

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At first, perhaps you can understand what he's doing.

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He's getting the drains right, stopping the leaks in the roof, and so on.

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You knew that those jobs needed doing, and so you're not surprised.

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But presently, he starts knocking the house about in ways that hurt abominably.

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You see, he's building quite a different house from the one you thought of.

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You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage.

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And he is building a palace.

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One in which he intends to come and live in himself.

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The prophets have taught, this is Michelle speaking, The prophets have taught that as

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we climb the path of discipleship, we can be sanctified through the grace of Christ.

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Divine discontent can move us to act in faith, follow the Savior's invitations to

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do good, and give our lives humbly to Him.

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That's what I felt like you could see in these three chapters.

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Nephi, Lehi, Zoram, Sam, all of these, and all the families that go with them, they

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all get in these sticky situations and choose to let the grace of Christ flow in.

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So that they are drawn towards good, and they find stability where they

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didn't have it before by allowing the grace of Christ to fill those gaps.

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I think you'll see it on every page, so I hope you dig it.

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About the Podcast

Our Mothers Knew It
Our Mothers Knew It: A Creative Study of Come Follow Me with Maria Eckersley
Our Mothers Knew It: A Creative Study of Come Follow Me with Maria Eckersley is an audio version of Maria Eckersley's popular digital course. This is a study of the weekly Come Follow Me lessons offered by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In addition to the audio, the full course contains personal weekly insight videos, creative object lesson videos, professionally designed printables, extensive study notes, and the full library of past content. It can be found at gather.meckmom.com.