Jarom

I like the book of Jarom. He's fairly humble, with his, what could I say more comments and his brevity. He gives us a picture of the Nephites when nothing dramatic enough for Mormon to decide to copy it is happening. Th Nephites are living, by and large, righteously. They're having wars, but not being overcome. They're working and prospering, becoming rich. And they keep the law of Moses, the sabbath day, and they don't profane or blaspheme. It's interesting to me that he called out specifically profaning and blaspheming. The first is to speak Of sacred things irreverently or disrespectfully and the second is to speak of God irreverently or disrespectfully. The two are very connected, and when Jarom is making his list of how to describe the Nephites, he includes those two forms of respect for holiness.

Jarom

Jarom 1:1 Now behold, I, Jarom, write a few words according to the commandment of my father, Enos, that our genealogy may be kept. Enos grew up to be a grown man who was old enough to go into the forest to hunt by himself before he decided to pray to understand the truthfulness of the gospel and ask for a remission of his sins. His son, Jarom, kept the record according to his father's commandment for the specific purpose of preserving their genealogy. Not to record the things of Christ, the way that Jacob, Nephi, and to a lesser extent, Enos did. What happened during this time that resulted in what appears to be a decline in spiritual confidence? Because it's not that he didn't have revelations, prophecies, etc. He tells us in verse two that he had them, but that they were not worth recording.

Are everyone's spiritual experiences worth recording? I'm keeping this blog, to talk about thoughts I have while I read the scriptures, but is this something that is worth the digital storage space it takes up? I believe so. Sometimes more than others, but I think it has value—for me if for no one else. But, perhaps, my children will read it after I die, and maybe one or two of their children will also read it, and hopefully, they will find it valuable, and it will help someone one of my descendants to know that their father believed in Christ enough to read his word and write down my thoughts about the scriptures.

General Conference—Priesthood Session

Elder Bednar
What is the most defining characteristic of the church?
The priesthood
D&C 58:29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned. 
Priesthood is selfless. Require obedience. 
His father was not a member of the church. He asked, why, if the priesthood was restored and unique to our church, didn't members of our church differ more from people in other churches, especially in performing their duty?
However old he was when he baptized his dad, he looked exactly like he does now. 
He used to ask sisters somewhere what support they needed from him and the answer was always about helping their husbands to know/understand their responsibility as a priesthood leader in their homes. The specific examples were around scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening.  

Does Betsy wish I did more to lead the family?

Richard Edgley formerly first counselor in the presiding bishopric
Helping less active members return to full fellowship. Told a story about a dude who went inactive early in life but came back late in life. Lamented that none of his kids, grandkids, or great-grandkids are active in the church.  He traced the progeny of some less active great uncle or other in his family tree, and found something like 20,000 people by 6 generations later. I just did that math, and great uncle and all his progeny would have had to average 6.1 children each to get to 20k. I wonder how far back that uncle was. If you go too far, mortality rates prevent a larger portion of those kids from reaching adulthood, and if it was too recent, you run into declining birth rates, also preventing that from happening. 

Adrian Ochoa - Second counselor in YM presidency
Combo message on the fact that this is a war and thy should arise and use the power of god. 

President Uchtdorf
When he was called as deacons quorum president, there was either one or two deacons in the branch. His branch president took the time to tell him not only what, but why, and the why holds the keys to understanding the power. The what informs, the why transforms. 
He was called to be a stake president when he had just been promoted at work, and expected to be extremely busy. Church activities should be based on the why, and not on flashy trends. (Flashy trends was extremely hard to understand through his accent.) 
How shall we know where to focus our efforts, activities? Study scriptures, pray seek revelation. Pure hearts, seek glory of God.  It is in the application of doctrine that the purifying flame of something grows.  
Consider the words spoken here. Pray and ask for guidance in daily life and church responsibilities and specific challenges. Few the promptings of the spirit. 

President Henry Eyering
Keys of the sealing power. 
Gave some pointers, #2 was love your wife. 

President Thomas S. Monson
Thoughts and teachings from former church leaders on the priesthood. John Tayler called the priesthood the government of God. He loves duty. When God speaks and man obeys, that man will always be right. 
I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was duty (dharma). I acted, and behold, duty was joy!  (Dharma is sometimes translated "service" but president Monson said it "duty".)
Back when he was a new bishop (age 22) there were a lot of people serving in the military (23 from his ward) and the church asked that the ward come up with funds to cover subscription to the church news and magazines. He said that the priesthood quorums, with difficulty, covered the cost of the subscriptions.  I am blessed to live in a ward where covering the cost of something like that would not be a challenge.  Do your duty, that is best. Leave unto the Lord the rest. President Monson is an amazing speaker. 

Enos

Enos 1:14 For at the present our strugglings were vain in restoring them to the true faith. And they swore in their wrath that, if it were possible, they would destroy our records and us, and also all the traditions of our fathers. One of the great things about growing up in the west is that somehow I feel that I absorbed this idea that all men are created equal, and that anybody can work hard and succeed in life. Somehow I was blessed to grow up without inheriting any strong animosity towards any single group of people. (To be fair, I did believe that I hated the Russians for a long time, but I blame that more on Rocky and Bulwinkle than anything else.) When I look at the world now, there are so many groups of people who grow up quite literally hating one another for no other reason than group affiliation: the Jews and the Arabs, the racism of the south, the separatists in Spain and France, the Chechnyans in Russia, the list is as long as you care to make it. What is it that allows some societies to avoid that? Is it constant war that brings it on and lack thereof that makes it go away? How long do you have to live without war before the kids stop listening to the parents about how terrible another group of people is? The Nephites claim that the Lamanites want to destroy them, but by the time Zeniff goes to try to reclaim the original land of their inheritance, there are quite a few Nephites who hate the Lamanites just as much as the Lamanites hate them, with both sides feeling robbed by the other.

Enos

I'd like to visit this idea that God grants to men according to their desires.

Eons 1:12 And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith. Enos's desires were granted because of his faith.

Psalms 37:4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Our desires are contingent on our delight in the Lord.


Alma 41:3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.
4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other—
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh. Our final state is consistent with our desires while in mortality. Does this mean that The timing of the granted desires is post mortem?

D&C 7:8 8 Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desired. There are different desires that are acceptable to the Lord and appropriately make us happy.

D&C 11:17 And then, behold, according to your desires, yea, even according to your faith shall it be done unto you. This one seems to equate desires with faith. Does that correlation exist only for righteous desires or is a lack of faith equivalent and associated with unrighteousness desires?

Enos

Enos 1:11 And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites.
12 And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith. When Enos prayed for the Nephites, the Lord said, "I'll bless them if they're good and punish them if they're bad," or "naw, not going to change what I was planning to do with the Nephites just because you prayed about it." But when he prays for the Lamanites, the Lord says, "ok. I'll do what you're asking."
Of course, you've to remember that the Nephites and Lamanites mingle and blend around the coming of Christ so there isn't necessarily any specific genealogical tieback to Laman himself when they finally kill all the Nephites.

Enos

Enos 1:4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. Enos spent the whole day crying to God in supplication. It's hard for me to ask God for things. I find that in my personal prayers, I will mention things that I think might be challenging or are worrisome to me, but I always feel a little ungrateful to ask for more. I wonder, though, if supplicating God for your soul is different from asking for things like health or safety or confidence and success at work.

1:9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them. The scriptural case for asking others to pray for you is quite strong, and it makes me wonder a little bit, how does another person praying for you affect your agency and the consequences of your actions? Throughout the Old Testament, you generally see an individual or a group of people who ask ask prophet to pray for them, but what if you don't ask? Enos's prayer here is unsolicited, and the Lord tells him that he will keep the covenant he has already made with them (if they serve the Lord, they will prosper, but if they reject him, he will do likewise), which isn't much of an impact. So do our prayers in behalf of our children make a difference in their lives?