Pancacke Recipe and the Checklist to get into Heaven

In listening to a lesson on Love in church today they were discussing the commandments.  We are told to follow them.  There are a lot of them.  How do you not get lost in the checklist mentality of getting into Heaven?  The answer was to focus on what is the greatest commandment, or in other words what is the goal or the reason behind the commandments.  Understanding the intentions of God really helps us to truly follow the commandments in the spirit they were given.

So how does this relate to pancakes?  Following a recipe is much like following the commandments.  It is important to know what the goal is... to make yummy tasting pancakes.  (It would also be nice if they were a bit healthy too.)  The checklist of commandments are like the directions in the recipe.  It is really important that you put in 2 eggs, not 20.  Adding the baking powder before the salt is not really important, but both need added.  

So, in conclusion, when making pancakes and when loving, we can follow the rules to obtain the goal.  We must not forget that the rules are not the goal.  The commandments of God are the means to become like him, and since he is love, love must be the goal.

LDS.org - Ensign Article - The Love of God

Try to learn of God: read the scriptures; study the words of His latter-day prophets; choose to listen to the Father, and do the things He asks of us. ...
lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0... -

The Human is created in the image of the cell

I am listening to "The Biology of Belief" by Bruce H. Lipton Ph.D..  He said that the Human is created in the image of the cell.  The cell has parts that function similar to the human body's organs.   A cell is composed of a community of molecules.  The human body is composed of a community of billions of cells.  So perhaps a God is composed of a community of humans.  Just as a cell is nothing compared to a human, a human is nothing compared to a God.

The tree profiteth me nothing

In  Jacob 5:35 it says, the tree profiteth me nothing.  The tree in this allegory is not the important part.  What is important?  The fruit.  What is the fruit?  The sweet and tender love of God.  LOVE. 

Moroni 7:46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing.

So we need to focus on LOVE.  It is the goal.

My talk on Beatitudes

Beatitudes

In Christianity, the Beatitudes (from Latin beatus, meaning "blessed" or "happy")^[1] are blessings from Jesus recorded in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 and the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6.  and in Americas as recorded in 3 Nephi 12. (see Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatitudes)
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The Lord said,

  3 Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I think Poor in spirit means humble.  Really, humility will allow us to be given the kingdom of heaven.  Without it we are nothing.

  4 And again, blessed are all they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

In the past few months I have come to be grateful for a chance I had in the past to mourn.   When we were first married we lost our first child early on and then were not able to conceive more.  We were unable to have children for about a year.  It seemed like eons then, in fact I am amazed when I look back and realize it was not actually very long, but it felt like forever.  This waiting for children gave us a chance to mourn.  And this mourning gave the Lord a chance to comfort us.  We would not have felt the Lord's loving arms around us as much if we were not mourning.  I hope I am better able to understand others and show compassion because I experienced that then.

    5 And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Some people have voiced negative views of this verse.  Some say the verse embodies the slave morality of Christianity, others condemn it for advocating a life without striving. Still others think this means to let others just run you over.   Investigating the original Greek source... the word "praos", translated as "meek", originally meant "becoming tamed, as a wild animal is tamed"  Read this way, far from fostering a slave-like mentality, the Sermon on the Mount recommends developing the inner strength to manage one's automatic reactions and aversions to reach a level in oneself called the Kingdom of Heaven.

  6 And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.

The best way to make a meal taste really good is to be excessively hungry.  When we hunger we enjoy being filled more.  So it would be the same with spiritual hunger.

  7 And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

My sister said, "The same measuring stick that we use to measure others' behavior is what we will be measured with."  In the June 1991 Ensign, President Hinckley gave a talk titled, “Of You It Is Required to Forgive”

He said, "A spirit of forgiveness and an attitude of love and compassion toward those who may have wronged us is of the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each of us has need of this spirit. The whole world has need of it. The Lord taught it. He exemplified it as none other has exemplified it.
(D&C 64:8–11.)

8 My disciples, in days of old, sought occasion against one another and forgave not one another in their hearts; and for this evil they were afflicted and sorely chastened.

9 Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.

10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men.

11 And ye ought to say in your hearts—let God judge between me and thee, and reward thee according to thy deeds.

If there be any who nurture in their hearts the poisonous brew of enmity toward another, I plead with you to ask the Lord for strength to forgive. This expression of desire will be of the very substance of your repentance. It may not be easy, and it may not come quickly. But if you will seek it with sincerity and cultivate it, it will come.
Are not the words of Abraham Lincoln beautiful which he spoke out of the tragedy of a terrible civil war: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, … let us … bind up the … wounds.” (In John Bartlett, Familiar Quotations, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1968, p. 640.)
My brothers and sisters, let us bind up the wounds—oh, the many wounds that have been caused by cutting words, by stubbornly cultivated grievances, by scheming plans to “get even” with those who may have wronged us. We all have a little of this spirit of revenge in us. Fortunately, we all have the power to rise above it, if we will “clothe [ourselves] with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace.” (D&C 88:125.)

    8 And Blessed are all the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

    9 And Blessed are all the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

  10 And Blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name's sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

  11 And Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

  12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

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These few verses are all discussing one overall theme.  BEING.  Be attitudes are a way to BE! An ATTITUDE! You choose to follow these things.  You choose to BE better.  
President Henry B. Eyring in Oct 2009 Conference said ,

"The message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can and must expect to become better as long as we live.  I feel blessed to have the opportunity to speak with you on this Sabbath day. Different as we are in circumstances and experiences, we share a desire to become better than we are. There may be a few who mistakenly feel they are good enough and a few who have given up trying to be better. But, for all, the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can and must expect to become better as long as we live."

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Changing who we are is not easy.  What would motivate you to chose to do something so hard?  In every verse the Lord offers some motivation to get us started. 

  the poor in spirit who come unto me, receive the kingdom of heaven.

  they that mourn, shall be comforted.

  the meek shall inherit the earth.

  they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.

  the merciful, shall obtain mercy.

  the pure in heart,  shall see God.

  the peacemakers,  shall be called the children of God.

  all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, are given the kingdom of heaven.

  when you are persecuted, ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, 

These are not the only rewards for being this way, but they are a motivation to get us going.  At one point our R.S. leaders offered a motivation that helped me to get going on changing.  If you showed up to Enrichment meeting on time your name was entered into a drawing for a prize.  I never really cared for the prize, but that game really helped me to arrive on time or even early many times.  Little Motivations can bring great change.

So how are we to be all these things?  How are we to become better?  Is it just a matter of changing our actions?  Is there a checklist? 
-----------------
A friend of mine wrote in an email,

"checklist salvation does not make good people.  This is the subtle variation that makes all the difference.   We should not get baptized unless we have already made the covenant and decision to be a follower of Christ.  In other words, we are good people.  (Good people here means that we are following our personal desire to make this covenant for the right reason regardless of the influence of others, not that a person is “Good” or “bad”.)  If a good person prays, they are praying because they have the intent to pray, not because others are watching or it’s dinner time, or we start all meetings with a prayer.  Real intent is the Key here.  It is the difference between rituals/dead works and ordinances/living works. 

   For those who do go through the motions and do what good people do without being good themselves, having real intent, the motions mean nothing to God.  The covenants mean nothing to God, and God does not give His “Seal” of approval to these people.  The Seal of approval comes when the Spirit, who cannot lie and speaks for God, witnesses to a person that God has accepted their action, covenant, bond etc…  It is known as “the Holy Spirit of Promise”.  (See D&C 132:7)

Good people, (Who do good actions with real intent), receive the promises of God and communicate with God.  Bad people,(who do good actions but have no real intent for the actions they are doing), do not."

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

"If you look at each action that we take individually we can see that we are doing good or evil in that action.  Sometimes we pray without real intent, (good action counted as evil), and other times we pray with real intent, (good action counted as good). Mormon pointed out what he believes God means when God said this:

- Moroni 7:6-11

"6 For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing.
  7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.
  8 For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.
  9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with real intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such.
  10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift.
  11 For behold, a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he follow Christ he cannot be a servant of the devil."

He says to judge by looking at the works or actions, but, then he provides us examples of how this applies in real life.  He evaluations a man doing the right actions and says that a man is counted evil.  HOW CAN THIS BE A SURE KNOWLEDGE?!?!  This seems confusing to many people, and certainly not a sure way to judge good vs. evil.  Assuming Mormon is correct, and not contradicting himself, he is trying to tell us how to know good from evil every time with perfect accuracy.  He says;

Good people = Those who do good works
Good works = Actions taken motivated by the Real Intent of Charity,

Mormon is pointing us to redefine “Good Works”.  And he is pointing out that  “Good Works” are defined not by actions but by intents.  Dead works are those actions that seem good but lack the intent and spiritual motivation of Truth & Love.  So a man being evil, (selfish or lacking Charity toward God and Mankind), cannot do good works because a good work is an act done in love with real intent.  So, a man giving a gift grudgingly has not done a good work because it was not done with real intent in Love.  A man praying without real intent has NOT done a Good Work! 

2 people can be doing the exact same thing for different reasons and one is counted as a good work and the other is counted as an evil work.   (Ignorance also plays a role.)

Everything that makes a person good or evil or ignorant happens inside of them before they take action.   It is the motivation that brings the actions, not the actions that bring the motivations.  We must change ourselves from the inside out, not the outside in.  It can happen in a second or over many years.  It depends on us."

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Sometimes we don't have the right attitude and we don't do things with real intent.  And it is counted evil against us.  But if we keep trying and seek to have the real intent, it will come.  President Hinckley spoke about forgiveness and seeking for it. 

"I plead with you to ask the Lord for strength to forgive. This expression of desire will be of the very substance of your repentance. It may not be easy, and it may not come quickly. But if you will seek it with sincerity and cultivate it, it will come."

This seeking applies to more than just forgiving.  It applies to all our attitudes.  Sometimes we must keep doing things even if we don't have the the right intent, and keep trying to be motivated by real intent or charity.
The point of the gospel in not to become well trained servants, good at obeying every command.  God does not want servants, he wants children, who can become.  Become like him.  The point is to obey (as a servant) but to obey with the heart also.  We are to change ourselves.  This is a change not in actions but in the heart.    

The Lord, in speaking with Joseph Smith, often referred to him as "my servant Joseph." 
 

    D&C 5:2 And now, behold, this shall you say unto him—he who spake unto you, said unto you: I, the Lord, am God, and have given these things unto you, my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and have commanded you that you should stand as a witness of these things;

Later he referred to him as his son Joseph, 

    D&C 121:7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

and later as my friend Joseph.

D&C 84: 63 And as I said unto mine apostles, even so I say unto you, for you are mine apostles, even God’s high priests; ye are they whom my Father hath given me; ye are my friends;

D&C 93:45 Verily, I say unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., or in other words, I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have an inheritance with me—

As Joseph changed and became better his relationship with the Lord also changed.  From servant, to son, to friend.   Thus we must strive to become and change our relationship with the Lord.   And become.

The Destiny of the Sword of Laban

The Destiny of the Sword of Laban

True/False question, "The Sword of Laban currently rests upon the gold plates, unsheathed, in the Hill Cumorah." The answer is true.(from This site)

 What!?!  Aparently, according to Brigham Young's account of Oliver Cowdery's statements, when Oliver and Joseph Smith returned the plates they took them into a cave inside the Hill Cumorah and set them on a table.  The room was filled with plates, more than could fit in several wagon loads.  Later when they visited the room the sword of Laban was unsheathed and laying on top of the plates.  Writing on the sword said,

"'This sword will never be sheathed again until the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and his Christ."

 Wow.

I might study this more soon.

What's On - UEN
UEN-TV What's On

Earthshaker

• Upcoming Episodes
• Past Episodes

UEN-TV
Wed, Feb 17th, 2010 @ 11:30 pm

In 1979, two hikers in the Ojito Wilderness Area northwest of Albuquerque, New Mexico stumbled upon a colossal discovery: four enormous, largely intact fossilized dinosaur bones. For the next 25 years, the mystery of the Seismosaurus, or "Earth-shaking lizard," unraveled. EARTHSHAKER tells this fantastic story, from the thrill of discovering the world's longest dinosaur to "Sam's" public debut in a Jurassic exhibit at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science. Through interviews and 3D animation, viewers glimpse the 30-ton Seismosaurus as it would have appeared 150 million years ago. During the program, scientists speak about how the land-roaming herbivore lived, and speculate about the cause of its extinction.

Length: 26 minutes, 46 seconds.

Great Resource for Scripture Study

GUIDE TO THE SCRIPTURES
Gospels

Enoch, a man of faith so strong he moved mountains!

This Ensign article says:

Enemy armies approached, “and so great was the faith of Enoch that he led the people of God, and their enemies came to battle against them; and he spake the word of the Lord, and the earth trembled, and the mountains fled, even according to his command; and the rivers of water were turned out of their course; … and all nations feared greatly, so powerful was the word of Enoch” (Moses 7:13).
It takes little to imagine the wonder that must have struck that advancing army as the land quaked and heaved and whole rivers swept out of their courses. The record tells us that the attacking army fled to a “land which came out of the depth of the sea,” and “there went forth a curse upon all people that fought against God” (Moses 7:14, 15). Few people have ever wielded such formidable power, but Enoch had proven himself worthy in the eyes of God to exercise it.

I want faith like that.

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Enoch: What Modern Scripture Teaches

LDS.org - Ensign Article - Enoch: What Modern Scripture Teaches

Why is the word ceremony used in Mosiah 19:24?

Mosiah 19:23-24

 23 And the people told the men of Gideon that they had slain the king, and his priests had fled from them farther into the wilderness.

  24 And it came to pass that after they had ended the ceremony, that they returned to the land of Nephi, rejoicing, because their wives and their children were not slain; and they told Gideon what they had done to the king.

I think the ceremony has to do with the death of the king and they are obligated to do some ceremony as quickly as possible, thus they don't wait until they return to the land of Nephi.

I agree with this site:

The fact that "the ceremony" is mentioned only in passing and is not described suggests that it was such a normal thing that there was no need to explain it. I believe that these Nephites, who had just slain their king and perhaps others in battle, underwent the purification required under the law of Moses for those who had touched dead bodies.

This site had some interesting insights:

the conversation itself is a ceremony or that it involved some kind of cere­monial aspect in recounting the execution of King Noah.

I don't think so.  The article also suggested that,

a word might have been miscopied or misheard as cere­mony

They suggest the word was sermon, misspelled as cermon, and then fixed incorrectly to be ceremony.  I don't think so.  I think there really was a ceremony and Mormon was just in a hurry to finish the text and fit it all in and he figured it was obvious so he didn't go into more details.

Someone Else's Blog Why is the word ceremony used in Mosiah 19:24?

Enoch 19, 20, 21

Enoch sees hell where the wicked are bound.

²And there I beheld neither the tremendous workmanship of an exalted heaven, nor of an established earth, but a desolate spot, prepared, and terrific.
³There, too, I beheld seven stars of heaven bound in it together, like great mountains, and like a blazing fire.

(Moses 6:29)

and a hell I have prepared for them, if they repent not

mientras = whilst

Minoans

The Minoans Civilization was on the island of Crete from 2700 B.C. to  1450 B.C.  We don't know anything about them except from the remains of their cities and some writings.   They all died off around 1450 B.C.  They may have died off from the effects of a volcano that exploded and destroyed one of their cities.  The volcano allowed archeologists to discover the history of Minoans.

This web site is well written.  I like this quote:

We know of the Minoans only through their ruins. Splendid as they are, with their remarkable architectural logic, their hypnotic art, and the richness of cultural artifacts, they spoke a language we don't understand and they wrote in a script which we can't read. So the voices of the Minoans, their stories, their history as they understood it, is lost to us. Even if we do by some miracle decipher their writing and penetrate the mists of their language, we may not end up with much of anything. For all of their writing seems to be one thing: accounts and records. The Minoans were, after all, a great mercantile people and they kept profoundly accurate records of their transactions.

Enoch 16, 17, 18

16 - God continues to tell Enoch how wicked the watchers were.  Because their hearts were in the wrong place when they told the secrets of heaven to the women, they will never know peace.
 17 & 18 - Enoch is taken to various locations of creation.  He is shown the location the wicked will be cast out to.  It has no earth beneath, or heaven above and is just a place of nothing.
The watchers are in trouble partly because they did things out of order.  

 ¹⁶The stars which roll over fire are those which transgressed the commandment of God before their time arrived; for they came not in their proper season.

Perhaps the information they gave to the women should have been given to women, but not then.

Enoch 15

Enoch continues to describe his vision.  God tells him not to be afraid (a common beginning to a vision).  Enoch is told to tell the watchers that they will not gain eternal life, they were wrong to marry women, and they should have been praying for men, not asking men to pray for them.

Enoch 14

Enoch describes the vision he had.  He lets the watchers know that nothing in the paper he wrote for them will happen.  That they will see their seed die and never be saved.  Enoch, in his dream, came to a habitation made of crystal stones.  Then he saw a second one that was huge.  He saw a throne that appeared like frost but also like the sun.  He understood that God was on the throne, but knew that no one could look upon him because he had so much glory.  Enoch had a veil over his face.  God commands him to come.  He is compelled forward and raised up.

This description of God in His Glory on his throne is very well put.

17Attentively I surveyed it, and saw that it contained an exalted throne;
¹⁸The appearance of which was like that of frost; while its circumference resembled the orb of the brilliant sun; and there was the voice of the cherubim.
¹⁹From underneath this mighty throne rivers of flaming fire issued.
²⁰To look upon it was impossible.
²¹One great in glory sat upon it:
²²Whose robe was brighter than the sun, and whiter than snow.
²³No angel was capable of penetrating to view the face of Him, the Glorious and the Effulgent; nor could any mortal behold Him. A fire was flaming around Him.
²⁴A fire also of great extent continued to rise up before Him; so that not one of those who surrounded Him was capable of approaching Him, among the myriads of myriads ⁽²²⁾ who were before Him. To Him holy consultation was needless. Yet did not the sanctified, who were near Him, depart far from Him either by night or by day; nor were they removed from Him. I also was so far advanced, with a veil on my face, and trembling. Then the Lord with his own mouth called me, saying, Approach hither, Enoch, at my holy word.
 

Enoch 13

Enoch comes out of hiding and speaks to Azazyel.  He tells him he will be bound and not saved.  Then he spoke to all the "watchers" (the evil ones).  They were all afraid and asked Enoch to write a " memorial of supplication" for them to God, since they could not talk to Him anymore because of their wickedness.  Enoch writes it and goes on a journey.  While on the way he has a dream.

Enoch 13:9 I fell down and saw a vision of punishment, that I might relate it to the sons of heaven, and reprove them.

He heads back and begins to reprove them.

Fulfilled Prophesies

2 Ne 27: 2 thunder, earthquake,..storm, tempest, fire

2 Ne 27:6 the Book of Mormon will be published.

2 Ne 27:11 the Book of Mormon will be read on housetops

2 Ne 27:12 3 witness shall see the golden plates

2 Ne 27:29 deaf shall hear the words of the book, the eyes of the blind shall see the book

2 Ne 27:30 meek shall increase

2 Ne 30:6 Lamanites will be a pure and delightsome people (in some places of the Americas this has happened)

Jacob 4:15 the Jews will reject the stone upon which they might build (the promptings of the Holy Ghost,  which testify of Christ)

Jacob 4:16 this stone shall become the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation, upon which the Jews can build

Jacob 5   A long time passed away (The end soon cometh)

Jacob 5  Main tree had all kinds of fruit, none of which is good.  Young natural branches are corrupt also.  (no church has the fullness of the Gospel)

Jacob 5  Last - wild fruit had overcome good part, so the branch withered away and died. (Lamanites overcame the Nephites)

Jacob 5:63 The last shall be first and the first shall be last. (time of Jews, time of Gentiles)

Jacob 5:68 They (the various trees) shall be one.

Jacob 5:74 They become like unto one body.  (World wide church)

Mosiah 12:23 the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem (Christ has come to the earth and redeemed Jerusalem)

Prophesies- Not Sure if they are Fulfilled

2 Ne 27: 2 a great noise


2 Ne 27:28 Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field

Unfulfilled Prophesies

2 Ne 27:3 Nations that fight  against Zion shall be as a dream

2 Ne 27:4 people shall be drunken, but not with strong drink

2 Ne 27:11 all things shall be revealed

2 Ne 27:22 sealed portion of Golden Plates revealed

2 Ne 29:13 the Nephites & Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel (new scriptures)

2 Ne 30:10 the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people

Jacob 5 For a long time they will lay up fruit. v. 76 (Millennium)

Evil fruit will again come in to the vineyard. (at the end of the millennium)

The good and bad will be gathered.  Good  - preserved (in heaven)

Evil - cast away into it's own place (outer darkness)

The End - vineyard burned with fire (earth burned)

Jacob 6:3 The world shall be burned with fire.

Mosiah 3:20 the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

Mosiah 12:23 the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem (Christ will physically save Jerusalem)

Mosiah 12:24, Mosiah 15:28 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations  (Every nation will know of Jesus)

Mosiah 12:24  all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. (Everyone will see Jesus come again.)

Enoch 12

In this chapter we learn that it is Enoch that is in hiding. While hiding, he is taught of the Lord by angels.  He is now called Enoch the scribe.

More notes on the Book of Enoch

So the angels went and found wives and they had children.  The children became a race of giants 300 cubits tall!  -This seems really odd!  Dinosaurs?
The angels (they must be the devil's angels) taught their wives sorcery.  Then they, or the race of giants, taught all men all kinds of wickedness.

^{Enoch 9:5}You have seen what Azazyel has done, how he has taught every species of iniquity upon earth, and has disclosed to the world all the secret things which are done in the heavens.

The giants needed to eat so much they were hard to feed so they started to eat men and animals.  The men cry out to the gate of Heaven to God.  They ask what to do and praise the Lord.  Several angels notice.

^{Enoch 9:1}Then Michael and Gabriel, Raphael, Suryal, and Uriel, looked down from heaven

God responded and sent Uriel the Angel.  Uriel said to hide.  He said soon God would send a flood to clean the earth but he would preserve some seed of men.  God told Raphael to bind and cast out Azazyel.  He told Gabriel to destroy the Giants by having them kill each other off.  He told Michael to go announce Azazyel's crime.  God says he will fix it all and restore the earth to a pure state.

Notes from the Book of Enoch

From this book of Enoch:
Some angels looked down on the beautiful daughters of man and said they would go down and marry them.
- This seems odd.
Their leader, Samyaza, says, you are not to do this, and I will get blamed.  They reject that and swear on the top of Mt. Aromon that they will not be dissuaded from their plan.  Thus the mountain is called, Armon or Hermon, from the Hebrew word herem, a curse.

From Wikipedia:

Mount Hermon 

Location

Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon's summit is in Syria (on border with Lebanon and Israeli controlled Golan Heights)

Mesopotamia Map

Interesting map of the ancient world from this site.

What are neas and sheum as found in Mosiah 9:9?

I read this passage and then I prayed to ask what neas were.  I felt that they were a fruit that grows on a bush or low plant.  I prayed and asked what is sheum, and the Lord said it was a grain similar to barley.

Then I asked google.  I found this site, and it says,

As it turns out sheum is a perfectly good Akkadian (ancient northern Mesopotamian) name for a grain dating to the third millennium B.C.³⁷ This term, se um, (the s is pronounced sh in semitic languages) was a term by which these ancient Near Eastern peoples referred to barley, although it could also be applied to other kinds of grains.  Book of Mormon peoples seem to have applied this Old World name to some New World crop.

How exciting to have my revelation verified so quickly!  I am getting more and more confident in listening to the promptings of the spirit.  Who would think learning the definition of a word for barley could be so exciting. 

I also learned that people used to complain that the Book of Mormon listed barley as a grain, since no archeologists could find any evidence of barley in the Americas before the white man came.    This site states that:

Only in 1982 was evidence published demonstrating the presence of cultivated pre-Columbian barley in the New World (Sorenson, 1985, p. 184). 

3 Books of Enoch

There are 3 books purporting to be the books of Enoch.  They are pseudepigrapha, meaning they are written under an assumed name and written long after the supposed author.  However, they may contain some truths.

Jude quotes from the Book of Enoch,

Jude 1:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

Here are links to the Book of Enoch.
http://reluctant-messenger.com/enoch.htm
http://reluctant-messenger.com/1enoch01-60.htm

the Ethiopian Orthodox Church to this day regards it (The Book of Enoch) to be canonical.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch

 This photo is Chester Beatty XII, Greek manuscript of the Book of Enoch, 4th century.


Apparently there are more books than just the Book of Enoch that are missing from the Bible.

http://mormonbible.org/holy-bible/lost-books - This is a very well written article that references verses in the Bible that refer to other books, which are not found in the Bible.

Here's an article that quotes an ad for a New Bible: 

An interesting advertisement inadvertently testifies of Mormon beliefs

The ad linked below is to The Holy Bible in its Original Order: A New English Translation.
http://www.restoringtheoriginalbible.com/.  There's nothing like having sectarian Christians prove Mormon doctrine true, all in the name of trying to make a buck.

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