16 - Yea, the prophet Zenos did testify of these things, and also Zenock spake concerning these things, because they testified particularly concerning us, who are the remnant of their seed.
What is meant by "who are the remnant of their seed"? Is this referencing the literal seed of Zenos and Zenock? Is this referencing the seed of Israel? Is this referencing spiritual seed? Is it referencing many or all of the above? It is apparent that these prophets who went on before had seen that there would be a branch of Israel that was broken off and would witness the signs of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. It was very important for them to testify and write these things down. Why was there no record of this in the Old Testament that we have? Who would have been behind this "losing" of these prophecies?
17 - Behold, our father Jacob also testified concerning a remnant of the seed of Joseph. And behold, are not we a remnant of the seed of Joseph? And these things which testify of us, are they not written upon the plates of brass which our father Lehi brought out of Jerusalem?
Even Jacob (Israel) what would happen to the remnant of his seed. Is this a pattern that we see in the scriptures? How many prophets are shown what will happen to their seed? Is this something that can be shown to each one of us? Could this be one of the reasons that it was important for the Lord to have Lehi go back and get the plates of brass? Think of all of the times that the plates of brass are referenced throughout the Book of Mormon.
18 - And it came to pass that in the ending of the thirty and fourth year, behold, I will show unto you that the people of Nephi who were spared, and also those who had been called Lamanites, who had been spared, did have great favors shown unto them, and great blessings poured out upon their heads, insomuch that soon after the ascension of Christ into heaven he did truly manifest himself unto them--
Which ascension of Christ into heaven is being referenced here? Look at the footnote for "ascension". Which one does that reference? Why would Mormon have been shown this in vision?
19 - Showing his body unto them, and ministering unto them; and an account of his ministry shall be given hereafter. Therefore for this time I make an end of my sayings.
Why was it important for Mormon to point out that Christ appeared in his body to them? What other doctrine of the Gospel of Christ makes mention of Christ appearing in bodily form? Did this apply to those to who Christ appeared to here in the Americas? Is the account that follows a type of what to expect for all who receive it? Why did Mormon pause here? Could it have been because he needed to compose and gather his thoughts to write about what happened next? If it was so important for Mormon to get the correct thoughts down, how important should it be for us to study and contemplate all of the details of the experiences detailed in the following chapters? How often do you think about those things?
... Great things 2 ponder upon.
Showing posts with label Prophets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prophets. Show all posts
April 29, 2012
3 Nephi 10:12-15 -- Enduring to Witness the Resurrection
12 - And it was the more righteous part of the people who were saved, and it was they who received the prophets and stoned them not; and it was they who had not shed the blood of the saints, who were spared-
What did it take to be a part of this "more righteous part". Look at the scriptures in the footnotes for "more". Specifically, read 2 Nephi 26:8. These were those who hearkened to the words of the prophets, and destroy them not. Destroy what, the words of the prophets? The prophets themselves? Is there a difference from an eternal perspective? How does one go about destroying the words of the prophets? They looked forward to Christ with steadfastness. What does it mean to be steadfast in this instance? They were steadfast, even in the midst of all persecution. For ANY person to walk the same path that these saints walked, persecution will come. That persecution may have different forms for different people, but the persecution will come. This is part of the process of salvation. Think about all the dispensations of the gospel, were there any where the righteous were not persecuted? If you are not being persecuted, what can that imply? Back to verse 12. What or who makes a person a prophet? Why were they stoned? Why not just ignore them?
13 - And they were spared and were not sunk and buried up in the earth; and they were not drowned in the depths of the sea; and they were not burned by fire, neither were they fallen upon and crushed to death; and they were not carried away in the whirlwind; neither were they overpowered by the vapor of smoke and darkness.
14 - And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see and behold if all these deaths and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests, and by whirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of many of the holy prophets.
Mormon stops the reader here and says "And now, whoso readeth, let him understand". Why would he have put a statement in there like that? Are the things preceding that statement to be taken lightly? Glossed over? He saw us in this day. He knew what kind of people were are. Why are the events that happened on the American continent at the death and resurrection of Christ so important to us now? We don't stone prophets do we? Are those events and attitudes that happened then a type of what will happen before the second coming of Christ? Mormon also pleads with us to search the scriptures. Why? He tells us that they say these things. Why would he tell us to search them? Is there something vital that can not be gained/given to a person except through searching in the scriptures for these things? Do you trust Mormon enough to do as he asks?
15 - Behold, I say unto you, Yeah, many have testified of these things at the coming of Christ, and were slain because they testified of these things.
When is the time period being referenced here? Is it at the same time that the signs of the Savior's birth? So great signs were given and those who prophesied that more great things would happen at his death were killed because they said these things. How can that possibly apply to us in this day and age? Are we guilty of thinking that all of the calamitous events prophesied to happen before the second coming of the Lord won't happen because everything seems to be going fine right now? Are we guilty of destroying the words of prophets by rationalizing the meaning away because it is contrary to our will? Are you prepared to endure the events that are coming?
March 4, 2012
3 Nephi 10:9-11 -- Witnesses of the Resurrection
9 - And it came to pass that thus did the three days pass away. And it was in the morning, and the darkness dispersed from off the face of the land, and the earth did cease to tremble, and the rocks did cease to rend, and the dreadful groanings did cease, and all the tumultuous noises did pass away.
So in what time frame did the voice of Christ speak to the Nephites? Did this happen in Israel? Why not? What about the other other sheep that Christ visited, would this have happened there as well? What happened on the morning of the third day after Christ's crucifixion? Why would the earth have been trembling and groaning during those three days? Did the earth, as a being, recognize what had happened better than mankind upon the face of the earth? Was the earth mourning death of the only being who did not have to die, but was now dead? Was the earth confused, or just sad? Why did the earth stop all of this when the sun came up? Had the earth witnessed a particular event upon the face of it that would have stopped its sadness?
10 - And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.
Why did the earth cleave together again? Did it have a new brightness of hope? A perfect brightness of hope? Why did the people who were left alive stop mourning? Did they realize what the passing of the three days and the ceasing of the trembling of the earth meant? Remember that they had received many invitations from the voice of Christ in the previous verses. Remember they had stopped weeping and wailing for several hours to ponder the words and teachings that they had heard. Undoubtedly, at some level, they realized that the realization of the promises extended to them by invitation would be contingent upon the completion of Christ's earthly mission. At the time they were given, Christ was not resurrected yet. Do you think that they were able to match the prophecies of prophets to the events that they were living in? Did the three days mean anything to them? Did they realize that Christ was now resurrected and that they would be able to for sure seek after those promises they had been given by invitation from Christ himself? Would that cause them to change from mourning to praise and thanksgiving for the Redeemer? Notice one particular word used by Mormon, "their" vs "the". What does this imply that those people knew/realized at that time?
11 - And thus far were the scriptures fulfilled which had been spoken by the prophets.
Why did Mormon use the particular wording "And thus far..."? Which prophets are being refered to here? Just New World prophets or also Old World prophets?
... Great things 2 ponder upon.
So in what time frame did the voice of Christ speak to the Nephites? Did this happen in Israel? Why not? What about the other other sheep that Christ visited, would this have happened there as well? What happened on the morning of the third day after Christ's crucifixion? Why would the earth have been trembling and groaning during those three days? Did the earth, as a being, recognize what had happened better than mankind upon the face of the earth? Was the earth mourning death of the only being who did not have to die, but was now dead? Was the earth confused, or just sad? Why did the earth stop all of this when the sun came up? Had the earth witnessed a particular event upon the face of it that would have stopped its sadness?
10 - And the earth did cleave together again, that it stood; and the mourning, and the weeping, and the wailing of the people who were spared alive did cease; and their mourning was turned into joy, and their lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving unto the Lord Jesus Christ, their Redeemer.
Why did the earth cleave together again? Did it have a new brightness of hope? A perfect brightness of hope? Why did the people who were left alive stop mourning? Did they realize what the passing of the three days and the ceasing of the trembling of the earth meant? Remember that they had received many invitations from the voice of Christ in the previous verses. Remember they had stopped weeping and wailing for several hours to ponder the words and teachings that they had heard. Undoubtedly, at some level, they realized that the realization of the promises extended to them by invitation would be contingent upon the completion of Christ's earthly mission. At the time they were given, Christ was not resurrected yet. Do you think that they were able to match the prophecies of prophets to the events that they were living in? Did the three days mean anything to them? Did they realize that Christ was now resurrected and that they would be able to for sure seek after those promises they had been given by invitation from Christ himself? Would that cause them to change from mourning to praise and thanksgiving for the Redeemer? Notice one particular word used by Mormon, "their" vs "the". What does this imply that those people knew/realized at that time?
11 - And thus far were the scriptures fulfilled which had been spoken by the prophets.
Why did Mormon use the particular wording "And thus far..."? Which prophets are being refered to here? Just New World prophets or also Old World prophets?
... Great things 2 ponder upon.
February 1, 2012
3 Nephi 9:1-12 -- The First Words of Christ to the Nephites after the Crucifixion, Part 1
This chapter takes place after the natural destruction had finished on the American continent after the death of Christ. This is on or about the third day after the Crucifixion ( 3 Nephi 8:23 ). So this was not near the end of the 34th year, that Mormon told us that Christ manifested himself in the flesh ( 3 Nephi 10:18-19 ). The events of 3 Nephi 9 take place almost a year before Christ appeared unto them.
1 - And it came to pass that there was a voice heard among all the inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying:
Interesting to note who heard this voice. It wasn't just a group of people in a particular place.
2 - Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!
What is meant by "wo"? Why does Christ pronounce three wo's upon the people of this land? Why is just one wo pronounced upon the inhabitants of the whole earth? Is there a difference? What must you do to make sure that the wo's don't apply to you? Is iniquity and abomination the opposite of repentance? Are there other choices? What is the definition of iniquity? What is the definition of abomination?
5 - And behold, that great city Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood of prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them.
This is is the first city mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and the saints. Why would prophets and saints be mentioned separately? Is there a difference? The idea of what a prophet does is fairly common. However, what makes someone be called a saint?
7 - Yea, and the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Mocum and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Jerusalem and the inhabitants thereof; and waters have I caused to come up in the stead thereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, and the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more unto me against them.
These are the second, third, and fourth cities mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and saints.
8 - And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno, all these have I caused to be sunk, and made hills and valleys in the places thereof; and the inhabitants thereof have I buried up in the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up any more unto me against them.
These are the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth cities mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and saints.
9 - And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of their sins and their wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of their secret murders and combinations; for it was they that did destroy the peace of my people and the government of the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them.
This is the ninth city mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and saints. The previous cities that have been mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets were buried in one form or another. Here the list is started of those cities that are burned with fire. Why? How wicked were the inhabitants of the city of Jacobugath? Does "whole earth" just mean the Americas, or does it literally mean all of the world?
10 - And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations.
These are the tenth, eleventh, twelveth, and thirteenth cities mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and saints. The prophets were cast out. There was another group that was stoned. Was this other group what is meant in previous versus by saints? Who designates one a as being a saint? Is it possible to cast the prophets out and stone those sent to declare by the Lord without physically doing these things? If so, is it possible to experience spiritual destruction as a result? Could this be related to the greater things and lesser portions mentioned in earlier posts? ( 3 Nephi 26; Alma 12 )
11 - And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, and the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them.
Is this a universal law that happens when there is not a single righteous person in a city? Is there some other qualification that must happen as well before destruction? Could this also be applied to an individual person?
12 - And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations.
Was the land destroyed because it was wicked, or because the people were wicked? If it was because the people wicked, why did God allow it to happen? Could it be a testimony to future generations?
...Great things 2 ponder upon.
1 - And it came to pass that there was a voice heard among all the inhabitants of the earth, upon all the face of this land, crying:
Interesting to note who heard this voice. It wasn't just a group of people in a particular place.
2 - Wo, wo, wo unto this people; wo unto the inhabitants of the whole earth except they shall repent; for the devil laugheth, and his angels rejoice, because of the slain of the fair sons and daughters of my people; and it is because of their iniquity and abominations that they are fallen!
What is meant by "wo"? Why does Christ pronounce three wo's upon the people of this land? Why is just one wo pronounced upon the inhabitants of the whole earth? Is there a difference? What must you do to make sure that the wo's don't apply to you? Is iniquity and abomination the opposite of repentance? Are there other choices? What is the definition of iniquity? What is the definition of abomination?
5 - And behold, that great city Moronihah have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood of prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them.
This is is the first city mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and the saints. Why would prophets and saints be mentioned separately? Is there a difference? The idea of what a prophet does is fairly common. However, what makes someone be called a saint?
7 - Yea, and the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Mocum and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Jerusalem and the inhabitants thereof; and waters have I caused to come up in the stead thereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, and the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come up any more unto me against them.
These are the second, third, and fourth cities mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and saints.
8 - And behold, the city of Gadiandi, and the city of Gadiomnah, and the city of Jacob, and the city of Gimgimno, all these have I caused to be sunk, and made hills and valleys in the places thereof; and the inhabitants thereof have I buried up in the depths of the earth, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up any more unto me against them.
These are the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth cities mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and saints.
9 - And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of their sins and their wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of their secret murders and combinations; for it was they that did destroy the peace of my people and the government of the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to destroy them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them.
This is the ninth city mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and saints. The previous cities that have been mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets were buried in one form or another. Here the list is started of those cities that are burned with fire. Why? How wicked were the inhabitants of the city of Jacobugath? Does "whole earth" just mean the Americas, or does it literally mean all of the world?
10 - And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations.
These are the tenth, eleventh, twelveth, and thirteenth cities mentioned in relation to the blood of prophets and saints. The prophets were cast out. There was another group that was stoned. Was this other group what is meant in previous versus by saints? Who designates one a as being a saint? Is it possible to cast the prophets out and stone those sent to declare by the Lord without physically doing these things? If so, is it possible to experience spiritual destruction as a result? Could this be related to the greater things and lesser portions mentioned in earlier posts? ( 3 Nephi 26; Alma 12 )
11 - And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down fire and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my face, and the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me from the ground against them.
Is this a universal law that happens when there is not a single righteous person in a city? Is there some other qualification that must happen as well before destruction? Could this also be applied to an individual person?
12 - And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations.
Was the land destroyed because it was wicked, or because the people were wicked? If it was because the people wicked, why did God allow it to happen? Could it be a testimony to future generations?
...Great things 2 ponder upon.
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