Moroni 7

(My highlights in orange, my thoughts in blue 12/2020 red type 11/20 orange 8/21 Brown 2022 -23)

CHAPTER 7

An invitation is given to enter into the rest of the Lord—2nd Comforter Pray with real intent—The Spirit of Christ enables men to know good from evil—Satan persuades men to deny Christ and do evil—The prophets manifest the coming of Christ—By faith, miracles are wrought and angels minister—Men should hope for eternal life and cleave unto charity. About A.D. 401–21.

  1 And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning ^afaith, hope, and charity; for after this manner did he speak unto the people, as he taught them in the ^bsynagogue which they had built for the place of worship. The had "church buildings" just like us...
  2 And now I, Mormon, speak unto you, my beloved brethren; and it is by the ^agrace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and his holy will, because of the gift of his ^bcalling unto me, that I am permitted to speak unto you at this time. Right from the beginning he's telling them he is speaking to them with authority of God.
  3 Wherefore, I would speak unto you that are of the ^achurch, that are the 
^bpeaceable followers of Christ, is this a note of two possible groups within the group, or a more detailed description of the first group. In other words, within the "church" is there another group who are "the peaceable followers of Christ"?  and that have obtained a sufficient ^chope by which ye can enter into the ^drest of the Lord, "sufficient hope" means that you can have some hope, but not enough hope to enter into the "rest" of the Lord. What exactly does that mean? Is it hope such that you "rest" from the cares of this world and are not tossed and buffeted by the temptations of evil? from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven. This reference to "rest" sounds like it is before we die. I think "rest of the Lord" refers to calling and election made sure. 
  4 And now my brethren, I judge these things of you because of your peaceable ^awalk with the children of men. second reference to peace This is a great challenge in our day with so much division. How do you walk with peace when there is so much evil around you? Notice that he is judging them (perhaps as a "judge in Israel" like a Bishop); but my point is that he is making a judgment, so it's not a "sin" to judge (righteously, of course). "peaceable walk" - sounds like it can be "seen" and has to do with how they interact with one another, not just with church members but with others too. How do you stand for truth "peaceably"? Was Captain Moroni an example of this? (This Moroni is not that Captain Moroni, but probably named after him...) 
  5 For I remember the word of God which saith by their ^aworks ye shall know them; for if their works be good, then they are good also. This sounds black and white So what are the works of peace?  This is hard if you take it at face value. I don't believe the church's "works" of distributing the current vax to other nations is "good" and by this scripture that makes the church not "good" either. But...I believe they believe they are doing good, so does that make them good still? I think so, because I am sure I do things that I think are good that may not be and I don't want to be called not good....Does it matter what I "want" to be called if my works are not good, even though they aren't?
  6 For behold, God hath said a man being ^aevil cannot do that which is good; for if he ^boffereth a gift, or ^cprayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. Here, works are defined by intentions. Not so easy to see...
  7 For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.
  8 For behold, if a man being ^aevil 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. Here's one evil intention
  9 And likewise also is it counted evil unto a man, if he shall pray and not with ^areal intent of heart; yea, and it profiteth him nothing, for God receiveth none such. Here's another...
 10 Wherefore, a man being evil cannot do that which is good; neither will he give a good gift. An evil man has no good intentions
 11 For behold, a bitter ^afountain cannot bring forth good water; Beware of bitterness. It can poisen the waters of our actions neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; wherefore, a man being a servant of the devil cannot follow Christ; and if he ^bfollow Christ he cannot be a ^cservant of the devil. Is this a clue to why people follow Satan - they are bitter?  This sounds a little tricky, because no one is perfect...so do we flip flop between following Satan and Christ every day? "No one can serve 2 masters..." Maybe this is why we are told we must repent daily...because daily we have moments where we serve the devil and not Christ.
 12 Wherefore, all things which are ^agood cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to ^csin, and to do that which is evil continually.He never rests. Maybe one effect of entering God's rest is that you get to rest from Satan's attacks. 
 13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do ^agood continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and ^benticeth to do ^cgood, and to love God, and to serve him, is ^dinspired of God. Notice the contrast between the devil fighting 'continually' and God inviting 'continually'. Also 'fight' vs. 'invite'. 
 14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is ^aevil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil. This is where we are in politics. Good people can't decide if Trump is good or evil. It's important we judge correctly! It has been hard for me to not judge that which is good (wearing a mask) to be of the devil. But I know the devil corrupts every good thing, so perhaps that is what he did here. Also, I believe the Prophet has called the vax "good" but I believe it to be "evil". Time will tell. I know it's hard to say it because who am I? and who is he? Why would I know it's evil and not him or any of the 15? Some say the prophet has to be right because he's a doctor and God surely preserved his life (he's 96)99! to be our prophet in this time to give us confidence to know what to do. But from what I have heard about doctors...they are the least "open" to looking at science that contradicts their learning, so it doesn't help me personally, that he is a doctor. But...he has been relentless in teaching us to "Hear Him" - God, so I don't think that is a small thing in this confusing time. 
 15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. We are taught here that we are only to judge to know good from evil, and we can know it perfectly. We are told we are to judge good from evil. 
 16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. We judge by the Spirit of Christ. Conscience. Notice things of God are done by 'invitation' and 'persuasion'. They will support belief in Christ.
 17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. Notice we have the devil, his angels, and those who subject themselves to him (mortals). In a recent statement by the First Presidency they said the "only" way to end the pandemic is through vaccination. This doesn't persuade men to believe in Christ at all. I think it was made as a open, obvious clue to the saints that the whole statement was a PR stunt to keep the temples open and keep the Church from being targeted. I think we were supposed to easily discern the lies in that statement. Sadly, most took it as God's word because it came from the prophet and they aren't supposed to ever question it. But this is the same prophet that warned we wouldn't survive spiritually if we didn't learn to "Hear Him". Some are not even surviving temporally because they couldn't discern the truth/lies in the statement...
 18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the ^alight by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same ^bjudgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. This statement is supposed to be a deterrent to judge at all, so we will not be judged the same way we've judged others if it's been wrong. I don't believe that anymore. I think we are to judge, but make the effort and do the work to judge correctly.
 19 Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the ^alight of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a ^bchild of Christ. This sounds like an invitation to search the scriptures and the words of the prophets, but do it "in" the light of Christ. Then when you find good "lay hold upon it" and let it drive your actions..."then" you will be called a "child of Christ". Or it is telling us to search diligently, in the light of Christ, to know good from evil (not the scriptures or words of the prophets, although we search them too, but should assume already they are "good"). Once we find good, we are to lay hold on it and not condemn it. Why would we condemn what we know to be true? Perhaps many are struggling with this today. They have judged the gospel to be true and good, but are condemning it now because of the actions of men in the church. Search diligently in the light of Christ, even within the Church, to know good from evil. Lay hold on the good things and don't condemn them because of the evil you find elsewhere.
 20 And now, my brethren, how is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?
 21 And now I come to that faith, of which I said I would speak; and I will tell you the way whereby ye may lay hold on every good thing.
 22 For behold, God ^aknowing all things, being from ^beverlasting to everlasting, behold, he sent ^cangels to minister unto the children of men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ there should come every good thing. These words from angels to man are in the scriptures...
 23 And God also declared unto prophets, by his own mouth, that Christ should come. Also recorded in scripture...
 24 And behold, there were divers ways that he did manifest things unto the children of men, which were good; and all things which are good cometh of Christ; otherwise men were ^afallen, and there could no good thing come unto them. This says there are "other" ways God manifest things to us, which are good...what would these other ways be? (dreams? "sudden strokes of ideas"? inventions? ) Because of our carnal natures...without the light of Christ (which sounds like the vehicle for all good things to come to us) we would do no good because without the light of Christ, we are fallen.
 25 Wherefore, by the ministering of ^aangels, and by every word which proceeded forth out of the mouth of God, men began to exercise faith in Christ; and thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing; and thus it was until the coming of Christ. We have to act on the things that God tells man through the scriptures or prophets or to the mind and heart of man. That demonstrates our faith in Christ. And why is that faith "in Christ"? Because we are acting on words that came from Him, so we are showing Him that we believe in Him and His words.
 26 And after that he came men also were ^asaved by faith in his name; and by faith, they become the ^bsons of God. And as surely as Christ liveth he spake these words unto our fathers, saying: ^cWhatsoever thing ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you. This sounds so black and white and simple. If it is, then we have to get a better grasp on what "faith" is, and how to know if something is "good" or we'd get more of what we ask for... We know that we are all children of our Heavenly Father, but we must also become "sons of God". Is this referring to God-Christ? Because we are not His children by birth. But we become so, by the "born again" birth of baptism by water and the Spirit. 
 27 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have ^amiracles ceased is this phrase used after verse 26 because the "things we ask for" will be "miracles"? because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to ^bclaim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?  Do we see Christ as a God of mercy? Do we understand he claims that "right" because he "answers the ends of the law"? (next verse)
 28 For he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith in him; These words can be seen as supporting statements to the idea that Christ suffered for our sins as the victim of our sins, not in our place as the perpetrator of our sins. As the victim, only He is in the position to offer mercy or to demand justice. What we get will be determined upon our repentance or lack of it. He tells us if we don't repent, we must suffer, even as He did. And what did He suffer? The act or the penalty? Is the worst punishment we could receive the act of knowing experientially what our sins did to others, and not some kind of "prison sentence" or "lashings" where we are still disconnected from the pain we caused others? Hmmm....and they who have faith in him will ^acleave unto every good thing; Which the scriptures and prophets and the Spirit teaches him. and which we have learned to discerned is good and not evil "Cleave" suggests holding close and not letting go of...right now, following the prophet makes me feel like I have to let go of "every good thing" I have been taught about the prophet not being able to lead us astray. It has been a wrestle, but I have landed in a place where I believe that we have to do the work to know if the prophet speaks by the Spirit of Revelation...especially when he does not openly claim to be doing so. Perhaps the prophet who made the statement about not leading astray was not speaking by the spirit? Or perhaps we redefine what "leading astray" means. If it means the prophet cannot make a mistake, does that not make him infallible? They claim they are not infallible, which means they can make mistakes. So maybe not leading astray only means they will never be allowed to teach there is not Christ, or they would be removed. I can make peace with that definition... wherefore he ^badvocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth eternally in the heavens. What is the "cause" He advocates?
 29 And because he hath done this, Advocated our cause? my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have ^aangels ceased to minister unto the children of men.
 30 For behold, they are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of ^agodliness. We can still see angels today. We just have to have "strong faith" and a "firm mind" in "every" form of godliness. It's a tall order, but must be attainable or it wouldn't be given to us to know. Again we see that we have have "strong" faith, or "not strong faith, but still some faith". It's not all or nothing. We need to pray for strong faith!
 31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the ^achosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.
 32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the ^aresidue of men may have ^bfaith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts,according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.
 33 And Christ hath said: ^aIf ye will have ^bfaith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is ^cexpedient in me. This hearkens to 1 Nephi 3:7
 34 And he hath said: ^aRepent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved. This is evidence that God doesn't "select" His "elect", but ALL are invited to come. WE self-select to be His "elect". 
 35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with ^apower and great glory at the last ^bday, How will this be shown to us? We are in the "last days", but what/when is the last "day"? that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?
 36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he ^awithheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?
 37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that ^amiracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of ^bunbelief, and all is vain. Unbelief is what limits our faith. We must search out all that is "evil" in our beliefs and "lay hold" upon that which is true and good and then our faith will be strong!
 38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made. You have to have faith in Christ to partake of the miracle of His Atonement.
 39 But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; Meekness is evidence of faith. Why? Because you have submitted all to Christ and there is no ego left in you to sin by pride. for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not ^afit to be numbered among the people of his church. So no meekness...no "people of his church"
 40 And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning ^ahope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope? 
 41 And what is it that ye shall ^ahope for? Behold I say unto you that ye shall have ^bhope through the atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life ^ceternal, and this because of your faith in him according to the promise.
 42 Wherefore, if a man have ^afaith he ^bmust needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.
 43 And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be ^ameek, and lowly of heart. It keeps coming back to meekness!
 44 If so, his ^afaith and hope is vain, for none is ^bacceptable before God, save the ^cmeek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and ^dconfesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs  have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity. So how do you know if you are meek? You have charity...
 45 And ^acharity suffereth long, and is ^bkind, and ^cenvieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily ^dprovoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
 46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
 47 But ^acharity is the pure ^blove of Christ, and it endureth ^cforever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, ^apray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true ^bfollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; Noticing that charity is "bestowed" and then we become sons of God  that when he shall appear we shall ^cbe like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be ^dpurified even as he is pure. Amen.

Alma 34

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 green 5/21 8/22 Brown 9/23)

Chapter 34

Amulek testifies that the word is in Christ unto salvation—Unless an atonement is made, all mankind must perish—The whole law of Moses points toward the sacrifice of the Son of God—The eternal plan of redemption is based on faith and repentance—Pray for temporal and spiritual blessings—This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God—Work out your salvation with fear before God. About 74 B.C.

  1 And now it came to pass that after Alma had spoken these words unto them he sat down upon the ground, no chairs? I think they are outside? and ^aAmulek arose and began to teach them, saying:
  2 My brethren, I think that it is impossible that ye should be ignorant of the things which have been spoken concerning the coming of Christ, who is taught by us to be the Son of God; yea, I know that ^athese things were taught unto you bountifully before your dissension from among us. We are reminded here, that the audience are former "members". And they claim to not know if there is a Christ, I suppose, because the prevailing “leaders” told them so; changed the doctrine; and they went along, but after they were cast out, then began to doubt what they had been taught. Well, we don’t really know if they began to doubt it...
  3 And as ye have desired of my beloved brother that he should make known unto you ^awhat ye should do, because of your afflictions; and he hath spoken somewhat unto you to prepare your minds; This can be studied. How does one prepare someone's mind to receive the word of God? Part of it seems to be going back to commonly believed books of scripture...yea, and he hath exhorted you unto faith and to patience—Truly these two words go hand in hand
  4 Yea, even that ye would have so much faith Faith can be quantified. It can be "small as a mustard seed"; it can be "so much" or "little". Our prophet asked the Lord 5 years ago "How do we 'increase' faith in our members?" Faith must be part of preparing the mind to believe as even to ^aplant the word in your hearts, that ye may try the experiment of its goodness. Just try...
  5 And we have beheld that the great question which is in your minds is whether the word be in the Son of God, or whether there shall be ^ano Christ. This should probably be our 'great question' as well. Think of "word" as "truth". Where is the truth? In the Son of God or someone else? If we were united in wanting to know truth then we could be one. It would not be about "who" is right...but "what" is right. We would not be afraid to "reason" with one another and talk about it and search the scriptures and present our "evidence" to one another. 
  6 And ye also beheld that my brother has proved unto you, in many instances, that the ^aword is in Christ unto salvation. unto salvation. It's not enough to just 'know' this. Of what good would the knowledge be if it didn't lead to something? He also showed the scriptures were clear about the coming of Christ, who is the Son of God.
  7 My brother has called upon the words of ^aZenos, "dead" prophet (some say their words are not as important as the living prophet...but living prophets testify of the truth spoken by past prophets) that redemption cometh through the Son of God, and also upon the words of ^bZenock; and also he has appealed unto ^cMoses, to prove that these things are true. This is evidence God has revealed his words unto prophets and that all those words will come to pass.
  8 And now, behold, I will ^atestify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the ^btransgressions of his people, and that he shall ^catone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it. I am leaning towards the idea that when Christ took upon him our transgressions, he became the "victim" of all we have done or not done, giving him the sole right to forgive or demand justice. We are taught if we are not forgiven, that we must pay the demands of justice. Maybe he didn't have to "suffer" the demands of justice at all...just the pain of all our sins inflicted upon himself. Does this diminish His atonement at all if this is true? I don't think so...
  9 For it is expedient that an ^aatonement should be made; for according to the great ^bplan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are ^cfallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made. Remember these people have come to believe that there is only God the Father and no Son of God and no need for Atonement. And that only THEY are chosen. 
 10 For it is expedient that there should be a great and last ^asacrifice; yea, not a ^bsacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an ^cinfinite and ^deternal ^esacrifice. Sounds like he is calling Christ by the name "infinite and eternal"
 11 Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another. Now, if a man murdereth, behold will our law, which is ^ajust, take the life of his brother? I say unto you, Nay.
 12 But the law requireth the ^alife of him who hath ^bmurdered; therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world.
 13 Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice, and then shall there be, or it is expedient there should be, a ^astop to the shedding of ^bblood; then shall the ^claw of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away.
 14 And behold, this is the whole ^ameaning of the ^blaw, every whit ^cpointing to that great and last ^dsacrifice; and that great and last ^esacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, ^finfinite and eternal.
 15 And thus he shall bring ^asalvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance. Our faith in Christ leads us to repentance. If it doesn't, then of what use is faith in Christ at all?  Or repentance...
 16 And thus ^amercy can satisfy the demands of ^bjustice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of ^cjustice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal ^dplan of ^eredemption. So....when our prophet asks God how to help the members increase in faith, what they are really asking is "how do we lead them to repentance"!!! This thing I had never supposed. The answer was to repent about how we keep the Sabbath Day holy. I think we are so focused on “performances” that we didn’t let the teachings of those 3 years change our hearts about the Sabbath Day. Or Christ I don’t think many changed what they do on that day. Hence...our “awful situation” today. Faith in Christ unto repentance, or it is not real faith at all...
 17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your ^afaith unto repentance, that ye begin to ^bcall upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
 18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is ^amighty to save.
 19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in ^aprayer unto him.
 20 Cry unto him when ye are in your ^afields, yea, over all your flocks.
 21 ^aCry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening.
 22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your ^aenemies.
 23 Yea, ^acry unto him against the ^bdevil, who is an enemy to all ^crighteousness.
 24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them.
 25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase.
 26 But this is not all; ye must ^apour out your souls in your ^bclosets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness.
 27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your ^ahearts be ^bfull, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your ^cwelfare, and also for the welfare of ^dthose who are around you.
 28 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye ^aturn away the ^bneedy, and the ^cnaked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and ^dimpart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your ^eprayer is ^fvain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as ^ghypocrites who do deny the faith. you "deny the faith" that has led you to repentance. But if that repentance has not led you to see others as yourself, you have not really repented, nor do you have sufficient faith that if you "impart" to others that Christ will support you in your own needs and hear your prayers. This is all very clear to read and much harder to have faith to do. It’s so easy to justify our own “wants” as needs and not feel a desire to impart to others. If we do not get answers to our prayers we need to look inside and see if we are helping the needy. I have much concern about the use of our tithes and offerings; that they are not helping the needy as they should. Also not sure why it is ok for our tithes to pay salaries to our leaders and fund our universities...  
 29 Therefore, if ye do not remember to be ^acharitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men. If you do not have charity you are nothing! I don't know if we can have true charity if we have not been born again and been given that heavenly gift.
 30 And now, my brethren, I would that, after ye have ^areceived so many witnesses, seeing that the holy scriptures testify of these things, ye come forth and bring ^bfruit unto repentance. Show you have faith.
 31 Yea, I would that ye would come forth and ^aharden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the ^bday of your ^csalvation; salvation cometh by faith in Christ and faith in Christ is demonstrated by repentance and repentance leadeth to salvation and therefore, if ye will repent and ^dharden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you. Immediately...because repentance IS redemption and redemption is only through Christ, Jesus. A hard heart is the reason we stay in our rebellion against what we know is right. We are not willing to truly sacrifice our will to know God. 
 32 For behold, this ^alife is the time for men to ^bprepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of ^cthis life is the day for men to perform their ^dlabors. And our labor is to repent and serve God and have charity towards others.
 33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many ^awitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not ^bprocrastinate the day of your ^crepentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the ^dnight of ^edarkness wherein there can be no labor performed. I'm unclear as to how this works with temple work for the dead and all the things we didn't know in this life due to the traditions of men and our blindness...
 34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful ^acrisis, footnote is for the hell that awaits the wicked that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth ^bpossess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. footnote for possess: when we yield to sin then we are servants to the devil and he has power over us (that we have given to him). I believe this refers to real spirits that do possess our bodies when we yield to them...at least the evil spirits that never were given bodies. I suppose if this works in the affirmative, that when we yield to God and become His servant that the Holy Ghost takes up residence in our bodies and even Jesus and the Father promise to "make their abode with us". Cool thought. I don’t know why it’s so easy for us to believe the Lord's Spirit can be “in” us and not evil spirits...
 35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become ^asubjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth ^bseal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked. We must understand that when we use our agency to choose God, we will always retain that agency and will use it for righteousness. BUT...if we use our agency to choose Satan, then, at some point we lose our agency and become his subjects and he has all power over you. You can no longer NOT choose to be subject to him. You are his prisoner forever. Yikes! Intesresting that there is a "sealing" power to evil...?
 36 And this I know, because the Lord hath said he dwelleth here is the "righteous possession" concept not in ^aunholy temples, but in the ^bhearts of the ^crighteous doth he dwell; yea, and he has also said that the righteous shall sit down in his kingdom, to go no more out; Unlike the devils kingdom, in God's kingdom, you are his forever, not by subjection but by choice and freedom and lack of temptation by the devil but their garments should be made white through the ^dblood of the Lamb.
  37 And now, my beloved brethren, I desire that ye should remember these things, and that ye should ^awork out your salvation repentance is work. increasing in faith is work. prayer is work. constant faith in Christ is work. until the natural man is completely rooted out of our flesh. with fear before God, and that ye should no more deny the coming of Christ; and no more deny the possibility of the coming of Christ to you in the flesh, in this life.
 38 That ye ^acontend no more against the Holy Ghost, how often do I fight against the Holy Ghost? murmur? justify? but that ye receive it, If 'receiving' the Holy Ghost is the opposite of 'contending against' the Holy Ghost, then the phrase that we hear when we are confirmed a member of the church and given the gift of the Holy Ghost - "receive the Holy Ghost" is more of a charge or a command to not contend against it but to listen and to follow it until you are able to keep His companionship always by remaining clean. Wow! wow! Hear that again. "receive the Holy Ghost" means, when you get communication from the Holy Ghost - receive it. Do not push it away, argue with it, dismiss it. Instead, listen and follow and take upon you the ^bname of Christ; does this refer to the bride/bridegroom covenant? You are committing to be His? to follow wherever He goes? to live in His presence? that ye humble yourselves even to the dust, this is what it will take “Dust” could be a reference to the “dust of the earth” which is more obedient than we are, but is also of what we were made. Someone suggested that the “dust” refers to our mortal bodies and that our bodies are obedient to whatever we tell it...good or bad. and ^cworship God, in whatsoever place ye may be in, in spirit and in truth; and that ye live in ^dthanksgiving daily, for the many ^emercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you. gratitude is required for humility
 39 Yea, and I also ^aexhort you, my brethren, that ye be ^bwatchful unto prayer continually, that ye may not be led away by the ^ctemptations of the devil, that he may not overpower you, warnings: be watchful to the point that you are always in prayer. Understand the power of temptation and the desire of the devil to have power OVER you. that ye may not become his subjects at the last day; for behold, he rewardeth you ^dno good thing. How can anyone actually want to choose the devil? He doesn't give you anything good! You become his slave and prisoner! Why would you choose that over God?
 40 And now my beloved brethren, I would exhort you to have ^apatience, and that ye bear with all manner of ^bafflictions; see their divine purpose that ye do not ^crevile against those who do cast you out because of your ^dexceeding poverty, lest ye become sinners like unto them;
 41 But that ye have ^apatience, and bear with those ^bafflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions. I guess people exchange immediate gratification for eternal rest and glory. I choose to bear with patience mine afflictions and trust in God until I receive eternal rest! Isaiah teaches "descent" before "ascent". Be patient with the descent. It will test your faith and resolve. Our ability to obey comes through the sacrifices that the Lord asks of us.