One Year Bible Blog: July 4th One Year Bible Readings

One Year Bible Blog: July 4th One Year Bible Readings: "Psalms - Psalm 2 today is a prophetic and Messianic Psalm! This Psalm is frequently quoted in the New Testament in reference to Jesus as God's Anointed and the great son of King David. The word "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew word for "anointed one." And the word "Christ" comes from the Greek word for "anointed one." (as we read Anointed One in verse 2 of this Psalm today)

http://oneyearbibleimages.com/messiah.gif

'via Blog this'

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)

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.

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? 
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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.

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.)

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.