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Book of Mormon LESSON #5
(1 NEPHI 16-22)
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"HEARKEN TO THE TRUTH AND GIVE HEED"
by Ted L. Gibbons
 QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Believe in the Book of Mormon as another witness of the Son of God. This book has come forth as an added testimony to the world of the great truths concerning the Master as set forth in the Bible. The Bible is the testament of the Old World. The Book of Mormon is the testament of the New World, and they go hand in hand in testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I can’t understand why those of other faiths cannot accept the Book of Mormon. One would think that they would be looking for additional witnesses to the great and solemn truths of the Bible. We have that witness, my brothers and sisters, this marvelous book of inspiration which affirms the validity and the truth of the divine nature of the Son of God. God be thanked for this precious and wonderful testimony. Let us read it. Let us dwell upon its truths. Let us learn its message and be blessed accordingly (meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, 15 Nov. 1998; quoted in “Recurring Themes of President Hinckley,” Ensign, June 2000, 18-19).
INTRODUCTION:
“Behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” (1 Nephi 20:10) The wilderness journey of the family of Lehi was a “furnace of affliction”. In much the same way that the experiences of Palmyra and Kirtland and Missouri and Nauvoo refined the Church and distinguished between the faithful and the faltering members, the wilderness offered opportunities for colony members in Lehi’s group to discover and to declare themselves and their commitment. The Lord has promised to prove us in all things (see D&C 98:14,15) to see if we will abide in his covenant regardless of the hazard or sacrifice involved. The eight year journey (1 Nephi 17:4) from Jerusalem to Bountiful was just such a proving ground. The divergent responses of Nephi (and Sam) and Laman (and Lemuel) to their experiences teach great lessons about submission and rebellion. Nephi walks in a brighter and brighter light, while Laman and Lemuel, in order to compel their obedience, are larger clubs. In fact, an appropriate title for this lesson might be “Clubs and Lights.”
[Teaching Note: For you who are teaching these lessons in a Gospel Doctrine setting, the flow of this lesson will not follow exactly the lesson divisions of Lesson #5 in the Book of Mormon Teacher’s Manual. But it should be a simple matter to take the concepts discussed below and apply them in the appropriate locations in the manual if you desire to do so.]
> Read the Entire Book of Mormon Lesson
 DESERT BLOSSOMS #122
by Ted L. Gibbons
Life is a learning experience. We considered that truth in Blossom #118, with a story of David O. McKay being taught a lesson about the importance of knowing the scriptures. Even those whom we consider the greatest among us must grow into what they are. Joseph Smith waited four years to receive the plates. His mother, Lucy, wrote this of that interval of time:
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. . . the angel told him, at the interview mentioned last, that the time had not yet come for the plates to be brought forth to the world; that he could not take them from the place wherein they were deposited until he had learned to keep the commandments of God—not only till he was willing but able to do it (Smith, Lucy Mack, History of Joseph Smith, S.L.C., Utah, Bookcraft, 1958, p. 81). |
Watching the prophets learn the lessons of eternity is wonderful therapy for those of us who feel somehow less that spectacular in our spiritual preparation. One of the areas of our lives in which we may In this area, as in others, we need to learn and grow in spirituality, President Kimball wrote:
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We may not recognize some miracles. Occasionally people become overly sentimental and fanatic, and ascribe as a miracle everything that happens. But for every person who is overzealous or who is overpsychic or fanatical, there are numerous persons who fail to see the miracle in numerous healings. "They would have recovered anyway," they say. I give one example: ... Once when I was far away from home, after three days of quite intense suffering, I finally admitted to my companion, Brother Harold B. Lee, that I was in distress. He gave me a sleeping pill he had with him, then knelt by my bed and blessed me. Though I had gone through three nights in pain and almost without sleep (it was then three o'clock in the morning), I was fast asleep moments after the blessing. I am now ashamed to confess that the next morning when I awakened, my first thought was of the potency of the pill. Then, as hours passed and I knew the effect of the pill must have passed, the distress did not return, and I fell on my knees in remorse to ask forgiveness of the Lord for my having given credit to the medicine rather than to him. Months passed and still there was no return of pain or distress. I am ashamed, but I probably represent numerous people who have done likewise (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 507). |
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