My father was the son of Lithuanians, but he was born in Scotland. He moved to Brazil when he was still young. His ability to speak English facilitated his conversion since he could read the Book of Mormon in English, and there was not yet a reliable translation into Portuguese. This language barrier prevented my mother from joining the Church until a few years later, but when she did, she became a powerful example of dedication to others and love of God in our family. She is now 92 years old, and she is here today. It gives me great joy to say that I love her for her great faithfulness. I will also honor and bless her name forever.
I admire the courage my father had to be baptized into the Church in spite of the circumstances he faced at the time. It was not easy for him. His wife did not get baptized with him. The vices of drinking alcohol and smoking were strong temptations for him. He was poor. His mother was against his joining the Church, and she told him that if he were baptized, she would no longer consider him her son. With fewer than 300 members in Brazil, the Church did not have a single chapel there. I am truly astonished by my father’s determination and courage.
How could he make such a decision in the face of so many unfavorable circumstances? The answer is simple: it was because my father read the Book of Mormon.

Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis

A vein of gold

If you have ever listened to the way gold miners talk in the movies, they talk about finding the main or richest vein of gold within the rock. They chip away looking for good color until they run into a pure vein, where almost everything you pull out of the mine is more gold than rock. Well, 2 Nephi 10-24 is that kind of vein. It is dripping with doctrinal gold. It makes summarizing it or writing about it almost ridiculous. First, it is already a summary of some of the most important passages of Isaiah, and second, it is so rich that no matter what is said, 10 important things are left unsaid. However, that is the challenge before me, so here goes...

Jacob begins preaching on day two of conference and explains that the promises he has read them and the ones he is about to tell them are for them because they are members of the house of Israel, which also means it would apply to anyone that accepts the gospel because they are also considered part of the Tribes of Israel. He promises that although many people including their own children may die in unbelief, because of the savior their children will be restored to them. He tells them that an angel revealed unto him that the savior shall be called Christ and that he would be born among the jews and that they would crucify him. Now, I thought Christ was a title (so it makes sense that would be easily revealed). The saviors earthly name would have been Jesus Barjoseph, which actually would have been Joshua Barjoseph, since that is the hebrew. I think the title of Christ was actually greek, so it is interesting that the greek title is revealed to Jacob. Either that, or as it was translated, the more familiar name of Jesus the Christ is what Joseph Smith read as the translation. That makes sense to me as well. Either way, the saviors name and title is revealed to Jacob who teaches it to his people. This probably comes in handy later.

This chapter is largely about God fulfilling his promises of the covenant. Obedience is our end of the bargain, and his end of the bargain is gathering our posterity and not allowing them to be lost forever. Is this a driving force within us? I mean, it is a biological force to propagate the species, and particularly our own DNA. It seems that it is used as a spiritual force as well. It isn't so much, if you obey, life will be easy and all will be well. The promise is that our obedient posterity will be gathered and returned to the land of their inheritence. You may wander in the wilderness, but in the end, the family makes it to the promised land kind of thing.

Jacob consecrates the land they are on to their seed. Now in the BOM there are several different peoples brought there. All of them have lands in the western hemisphere consecrated to seed. I wonder how many are gathering here now? Trivia that makes you go hmmmm....

In the end we are told we have the freedom to choose, but I have to say that Jacob phrases it a bit funny. You can choose eternal life or everlasting death... bwah bwah bwah! While that is the logical juxtaposition in the end, and perhaps the eternal perspective we should keep, it is weird to think with each choice we make that it is actually life or death. Maybe that was too irreverent.

Nephi lets us know that Jacob preached a lot more and a lot longer, but that Nephi has recorded what he feels are the important highlights, and he has other things he wants to write into the record. He does testify that both he and Jacob have seen Christ. He also explains that the law of Moses is given to prepare people to receive Christ, at which time, the law will be fulfilled and the law of Moses will come to a close. (Side note- since Nephi is referring to the ordinances of animal sacrifice here, it is interesting that despite the disbelief of some that Christ was the Messiah, the animal sacrifice did end with the destruction of the temple around 70A.D. and isn't practiced) Nephi testifies that there is a Christ that will come and that he will be the fulfillment and beginning of all the promises that God had made, and that without a Christ there would be no God. And then he begins to copy verses of Isaiah.

I always wonder about this. Was Nephi worried that with the seperation from Jerusalem, their language was becoming to altered for all of them to understand the Isaiah records they already had, so he was transposing the ones he wanted to make sure to preserve to his posterity? OR was this purely for us? Did we need the repeat and clarification of Isaiah (although what is here isn't that much clearer than what we have of Isaiah)? Or both? Or neither and something else entirely? Too many questions.

Since many of the prophecies of Isaiah were of the Savior's mortal ministry, they have been fulfilled. Isaiah also prophesied about the last days before the Saviors return and I am just going to put a little + sign next to the things I think have been fulfilled.

+There will be a temple of the Lord built in the tops of the mountains and all nations shall flow into it.

He shall judge among the nations, and they will beat their swords into plow shares (seems to ebb and flow, but don't seem to get all the way there)

Lord has forsaken his people (+?) because they worship idols and the work of their own hands.

Mean man boweth not himself down, nor the great man humble himself (++++ doesn't this happen all the time?)

Lofty looks of men humbled and haughtiness of men bowed down. (still coming) Day of the Lord, idols abolished, the lord will appear and all people will know who he is.


Okay, I have to say here, that I am not unappreciative of some of the works of man and I wonder how to watch myself in that. I am one of those people that cringes in disaster movies because there is a penchant for destroying some of the worlds most beautiful and meaningful buildings. I don't like it. I love art, culture, and many things that are man made. Some would say that all things of worth including art and culture are inspired by god, and therefore unjustly credited to man. I am not sure where I lie in this sometimes.

Most importantly, we declared that the Book of Mormon is a book that testifies that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Great prophets throughout the Book of Mormon have borne solemn witness that Jesus Christ is the Creator of the earth, the Redeemer of mankind the Only Begotten of the FatherThese Book of Mormon prophets knew Him, as Abraham and Moses did, and received and taught His everlasting gospel. As we read and study their words, we gain a deeper understanding of the Savior’s matchless love, His perfect life and example, and the blessings of His great atoning sacrifice.

Elder Craig C. Christensen

Isaiahic Territory

Okay- This is where this blog is going to get sticky. We are entering Isaiahic territory now. For a good part of Second Nephi, Nephi and Jacob preach and copy from the writings of Isaiah. And the problem with just blogging Isaiah is that each verse is so rich, it could be its own entry, which actually might make a lovely idea for a follow up blog starting around the new year. However, in this blog, it doesn't really help, so to deal with it, I am going to summarize as best as possible and perhaps pick out a theme or half a one to talk about. If that means you all think I am cheating... well, it is because I kind of am. Oh well, repenting is becoming a favorite hobby of mine.

When we left off, Jacob was preaching out of Isaiah, and in chapter 8, I think he still is. It is a little unclear actually. He was preaching to the people, and then 2 or three chapters of Isaiah seem just stuck in and then we get back to him preaching again. He seems to be reading straight out of Isaiah to them.

Overall, I must say, Isaiah has a great of way of making you feel wonderful and terrible at the same time. He is always saying things like you are lower than the dust, but no worries, because the lord is so merciful and he thinks you are great. Chapter 8 starts out with a gem of his, "Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the rock from whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye are digged." Quite the confidence booster, isn't it? And he was only saying that to the people TRYING. Not to the others who are ignoring him.

I think Isaiah is always talking about being a covenant people, but in this he is also talking about where you put your priorities. Do you treasure the opinion of men above the opinion of God? Where do you put your trust? Those who trust in the Lord will receive an eternal happiness. Those who don't? Well... it ain't so good. And throughout it the Lord is begging us, pleading and reasoning with us to choose the better part. He is talking to us individually, but also as a people and as a recoginition of what will encompass the gathering of Israel.

Jacob steps back in at the beginning of 9 to teach the people about the gathering of Israel in the last days, and he makes it clear that they will be gathered to the "lands" of their inheritence. A plural indicates more than one, so this isn't just about Jews gathering to Jerusalem. Here Jacob explains the need for the atonement of the Savior and the part it plays in the greater plan of salvation. Jacob outlines the entire plan in these passages: how we had to have the fall, but that made us vulnerable to both death of the body and spiritual death, or being out of God's presense forever. He explains how the resurrection and atonement of the Savior calls us forth out of these deaths and provides hope for our return to live with God, if we live the commandments. Jacob then starts a laundry list of all the ways we can still screw up and lose out on the gift of the atonement, and like most lists of sins and their consequences, it doesn't exactly make you want to sing. Let's just say there are a lot of Wo's. Wo's to woes. And that gets me wondering, what the heck is going on in Nephi?? I mean, they are 40 years out, and they are preaching to the choir. What has the choir been up to? Ouch!

But Jacob ends hopefully. He pleads for their preparation for a glorious day, when they shall receive the rewards of eternal happiness. He is downright sunny as he ends and tells them to let their hearts rejoice and to be grateful for God's many mercies.

At the very last, he either is worn out and can't continue or he notices that they are, because he reserves part of his talk for the next day. Think I will too.

"My heart throbs as I study and ponder the sacred scriptures in the Book of Mormon, as it complements the Bible and further testifies of the divinity of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Redeemer and Savior of the world. Because of this sacred companion to the Bible, my understanding of Christ’s doctrine is expanded; thus many of the questions left unanswered in the Bible are explained to my full satisfaction. The Book of Mormon is tangible evidence that Joseph is a prophet of God, Christ did in reality appear to him, and the gospel has been restored in its purity and its fulness.
My heart throbs just to contemplate the miracle of the Book of Mormon’s existence—the laborious job of engraving on metal plates, the careful custodianship through the centuries by God’s chosen, and the miraculous translation. Truly it fits the perfect definition of holy writ. Because of God’s majestic love for us, He provided this evidence that we can handle, we can peruse, we can study, and we can even challenge. But, most important, God loves me enough that He will give me and anyone else who sincerely seeks a personal revelation of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon—the tangible evidence of the Restoration and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet."

Bishop Richard C. Edgley

There is so much more in the Book of Mormon than we have yet discovered. The book’s divine architecture and rich furnishings will increasingly unfold to our view, further qualifying it as “a marvelous work and a wonder” (Isaiah 29:14). As I noted from this pulpit in 1986, “The Book of Mormon is like a vast mansion with gardens, towers, courtyards, and wings. All the rooms in this mansion need to be explored, whether by valued traditional scholars or by those at the cutting edge. Each plays a role, and one LDS scholar cannot say to the other, “I have no need of thee” (1 Corinthians 12:21).”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

God hath been my support

After his father's death, Nephi again preaches to his brothers, and they again got angry. (is this the definition of insanity?) The specifics of what he says are on the larger plates, so Nephi continues on the smaller plates about how his "soul delighteth in the scriptures" and what a blessing they are to him and his children.
He then exits the story to talk about what a "wretched" man he is and how "sorroweth because of his flesh" which would make anyone ponder, how is it that Nephi, the hero of the story, whose faith never faulters, expresses such regret? Does Nephi have a hard time forgiving his brothers? He carries anger because of his "enemies" and what enemies has he encountered besides his older brothers? He finds comfort in that he has always put his trust in God and that he has been comforted in his afflictions. But it is sort of interesting that his afflictions still seem so present to him. One of the few times Nephi's wife is mentioned in the BOM, she is crying and pleading with his brothers. Could it be this image that makes Nephi feel "wretched"? At the end of this he tells his soul to awake from the anger, and promises to continue to trust only in the word and providence of the Lord.

When he reenters the story, his brothers are furious with him and plotting to take his life. Nephi is intructed to get out of dodge with all his family and those that would follow him. They leave L&L's families and they travel into this new wilderness until they reach a spot they decide to call "Nephi", where they build a city. They build a temple like Solomon's. They forge new swords modeled after Laban's. They ask Nephi to be king, but he demures. Jacob and Joseph are made priests (which I think indicates political as well as eclesiastical authority in the land of Nephi). They work hard and prosper for the next 30 years. In the following 10 years they have "wars" and contentions with L&L's people. And Nephi continues to make plates and record all these things.

The next thing Nephi records is the preaching of Jacob. This sounds something like a general conference talk. He is preaching to a large group of people who are professedly like believers and he is explaining the Isaiahic prophesy about kings being their nursing fathers and queens being their nursing mothers... Jacob has been given a vision about Jerusalem and the Saviors ministry on earth. He sees that Jerusalem was conquered and scattered. He also sees a regathering to Jerusalem before Christ is born. He witnesses that when the Savior comes, they scourge and crucify him and that they once again are scattered, but that eventually, those that believe will be returned to Jerusalem, "the land of their inheritence". And he goes on to explain that this will happen because of the gentiles. There is a lot of harsh imagery in this chapter- people being fed on their own flesh and whatnot- that is very apocolyptic. It makes me think Jacob has been granted many of the same visions as Nephi and Lehi had and as John the Revelator would. Jacob continues quoting Isaiah who says the Lord hasn't forgotten his covenant, but that many of the people have forgotten theirs and have sold themselves with their own iniquities. He reminds us that the Lord has the power to exalt, and warns us not to walk in our own light because it will fail eventually. The gist is "For the Lord God will help me. And all they who shall condemn me, behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, and the moth shall eat them up."