Why did the Lord tell the Brother of Jared to put a hole in the top and the bottom of the barge?

Cool idea of how it probably worked!

Golan Heights, biblical Bashan (BiblePlaces.com)

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Golan Heights, biblical Bashan (BiblePlaces.com)

Golan Heights (Biblical Bashan) Also known as Batanea, Gaulanitis, Geshur, Karnaim
		Cows of Bashan, Oaks of Bashan Cattle have been raised in this area, in ancient times as well as today. Both beef and dairy cattle are currently raised in the Golan Heights. In biblical times, this area (known as Bashan) was known for its cattle and its oak trees. Amos 4:1-2 (NASB) “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan..." (cf. Ps 22:12). Zechariah 11:2 (KJV) “Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down” (cf. Isa 2:13).

I set my face like a flint

FLINT ARROW HEAD FOUND IN ROGESTORPS MOSSEN (ROGESTORP BOG) THE YEAR 1940, 4 KM SOUTH OF FALKÖPING, ...Image via Wikipedia

In reading scriptures today I came across this verse and wondered what it meant to be like flint.

For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 7:7)

I found this web site:

Set Your Faith and Trust Like Flint! « Thoughts, Words & Devotions by Tim Burt

Flint is a variety of quartz that, due to its extreme hardness, is easily shaped by flaking. Known and used since very ancient times, flint was used by the Israelites for knives, ax heads, arrow heads, spear heads and starting fires. God wants us to be immovable by circumstances instead standing hard core like flint in His promises. .... When we draw close to Him with that kind of tenacity, God will help us see the cup half-filled while He is filling it the rest of the way. Our face will be set like flint and our faith ignited.

I think it interesting that flint flakes off easily but in one direction.  The Lord wants us to be focused, being hard and tenacious in following him, but easily bent to his will (flake off) but only his will (one direction.)

Christ's Return

I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven.

(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 28:7)

Prophesies of the Last Days

3  And he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory—yea, even all things which should come upon the face of the earth, even until the elements should melt with fervent heat, and the earth should be wrapt together as a scroll, and the heavens and the earth should pass away;

(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 26:3)

Prophesies of the Last Days

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5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;
6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I com
e and smite the earth with a curse.

(Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 25:5 - 6)

grow up as calves in the stall (Book of Mormon | 3 Nephi 25:2)

American King James Version
But to you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and you shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

American Standard Version
But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall.

gam·bol/ˈgambəl/ 

Verb: Run or jump about playfully.

The Amalekites are disenters from the Nephites.

We first hear about the Amalekites in Alma 21 when Aaron goes to preach to them.  Apparently they dissented away from the Nephites, but we don't have that history. (Book of Mormon | Alma 21)

the chief judge - bound by his own words

The people of Amonihah had just kicked out the men that believed in God and killed their women and children.  The chief judge says to Alma and Amulek, 

24 If ye have the power of God deliver yourselves from these bands, and then we will believe that the Lord will destroy this people according to your words.

Then they all hit Alma and Amulek.  Then Alma says,

26 ... O Lord, give us strength according to our faith which is in Christ, even unto deliverance.  And they broke the cords with which they were bound;  ...

So Alma and Amulek just did exactly what the chief judge said, so now he is bound by his own words to believe that the Lord will destroy the people.  So it makes perfect sense that...

"... when the people saw this, they began to flee, for the fear of destruction had come upon them."

(Book of Mormon | Alma 14:24 - 26)

I found this interesting web site by googling " becoming as Gods" as found in  the Book of Mormon | Alma 12:31

"I originally wrote the book "Becoming God" as scientific approach to debunk spirituality and religion through a close examination of quantum physics, chaos theory, and neurobiology.   For me, there was no mystery. Everything, I thought, could be explained by the forces of nature and through sciences that we are just now beginning to unravel.  I soon discovered that I couldn't have been more wrong.   The more I probed into this enigmatic subject, the more sure I was that science itself is not only intricately connected to spirituality, but is in fact a metaphor for spirituality."

http://www.becominggod.org/home.html

How is it possible that the Jews, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it?

Jacob 4:17 And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may become the head of their corner?

 Jacob 4:18 Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get shaken from my firmness in the Spirit, and stumble because of my over anxiety for you.

Jacob says he will explain this, as long as he does not stumble.  He then tells the allegory of the olive tree.  He explains,

Jacob 6:5 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of the day, harden not your hearts.

He doesn't speak again about those who rejected the foundation stone, but he speaks to his bretheren and asks them to not harden their hearts and accept Christ.

Jacob 6:8 Behold, will ye reject these words? Will ye reject the words of the prophets; and will ye reject all the words which have been spoken concerning Christ, after so many have spoken concerning him; and deny the good word of Christ, and the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and quench the Holy Spirit, and make a mock of the great plan of redemption, which hath been laid for you?

So I think he did get shaken from his firmness (he must have sensed he would.)  He did however show how everyone needs to not harden their hearts, and not reject Christ, but he neglected to relate it back to the Jews.  Perhaps he wanted to avoid pointing a finger directly at the Jews, and perhaps he was told by the Lord to explain that everyone, not just the Jews, need to accept the foundation stone.

Many Revelations

Jarom 1:4 And there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according to their faith.

I hope I am not too stiffnecked so I can have many revelations.

Be Familiar With All

Jacob 2:17 says

"be familiar with all"

I know this is referencing to be shareful with your money, but perhaps you need to be know who people are to familiar with other's needs to be able to share, thus you must be familiar in order to give.

"and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you."

So I am working on being familiar with all, (getting to know people and being friendly) and then as the Lord blesses me with substance, I try to be free with it.

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.

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?

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.)

And they were led by many preachings and prophesyings. Omni 1:13

Jacob has seen and heard something by the power of the Holy Ghost that proves all mankind would be lost without Christ.

In Jacob chapter 7 Jacob is telling Sherem that there must be a Christ.  He uses 2 proofs that there is a Christ.


First he proves there will be a Christ by the Scriptures.

  10 And I said unto him: Believest thou the scriptures? And he said, Yea.

  11 And I said unto him: Then ye do not understand them; for they truly testify of Christ. Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ.

Second he proves there will be a Christ by his own personal experiences.

  12 And this is not all—it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost.

Jacob must have seen and heard something that showed that all would be lost without Christ.  Perhaps he saw a world without Christ, or perhaps he saw the pre-existence.  We know he saw Christ.

2 Ne. 11: 2-3

  2 And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in his words. For I will liken his words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him.

  3 And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him;

But just seeing Christ would not give you the knowledge that all mankind would be lost without him.  I wonder what he saw and heard.  The Lord definitely prepared Jacob to have this exact knowledge of Christ's atonement so that he could defend Christ to Sherem.  I wonder what we need to know to be able to defend Christ to those around us.