Mormon 5

 (All of my own thoughts are in blue ? red type 7/20 orange 7/21brown 2022-23) 

CHAPTER 5

Mormon again leads the Nephite armies in battles of blood and carnage—The Book of Mormon will come forth to convince all Israel that Jesus is the Christ—Because of their unbelief, the Lamanites will be scattered, and the Spirit will cease to strive with them—They will receive the gospel from the Gentiles in the latter days. About A.D. 375–84.

  1 And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, and did repent of the ^aoath which I had made that I would no more assist them; and they gave me command again of their armies, for they looked upon me as though I could deliver them from their afflictions. This is interesting that he could repent of an oath. It seems that throughout the Book of Mormon, oaths were considered the most binding thing you could give and even your greatest enemy would trust you if you gave them an oath and no matter how much they hated you, they would not break an oath they gave to you. Why could Mormon "repent" of his oath? The only thing I can come up with, based on the footnote, is that he did not give this oath to the people, but only "vowed" in his heart that he would no more help them. Maybe it's different if you don't say it to others? 
  2 But behold, I was ^awithout hope, for I knew the judgments of the Lord which should come upon them; for they repented not of their iniquities, but did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them. He must have really loved them as "his" people, to want to help save them from utter destruction. That's a really hard heart to not desire to call upon God in the middle of a struggle. Seems most people experience a "death-bed" repentance. Not these people... 
  3 And it came to pass that the Lamanites did come against us as we had fled to the city of Jordan; but behold, they were driven back that they did not take the city at that time.
  4 And it came to pass that they came against us again, and we did maintain the city. And there were also other cities which were maintained by the Nephites, which strongholds did cut them off that they could not get into the country which lay before us, to destroy the inhabitants of our land. It seems, in God's great mercy, he gave the Nephites a measure of success for a couple of years, as they were led by Mormon, that they might repent and give God the credit for preserving their lives...God may have been granting this according to Mormon's prayers and love and not for any other reason. Love is powerful!
  5 But it came to pass that whatsoever lands we had passed by, and the inhabitants thereof were not gathered in, were destroyed by the Lamanites, and their towns, and villages, and cities were burned with fire; and thus three hundred and seventy and nine years passed away.  This is a witness to the saving importance of the principle of "gathering". Symbolically, we are to "gather" in to one body each week to "remain unspotted from the world" and it's destructive influence. Whoever doesn't "gather in" to the body of Christ are threatened with being destroyed by the king of Babylon. Eventually this physical gathering will become literal protection from physical death as well as spiritual death.
D&C 45:68 And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety.69 And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.
 6 And it came to pass that in the three hundred and eightieth year the Lamanites did come again against us to battle, and we did stand against them boldly; but it was all in vain, for so ^agreat were their numbers that they did tread the people of the Nephites under their feet. They did not repent and give God the glory for their protection and safety, so His providence Grace was removed.
 7 And it came to pass that we did again take to flight, and those whose flight was swifter than the Lamanites’ did escape, and those whose flight did not exceed the Lamanites’ were swept down and destroyed. A testimony to physical fitness. Reminds me of animals running from a predator. The slow are slain.
 8 And now behold, I, Mormon, do not desire to harrow up the souls of men in casting before them such an awful scene of blood and carnage as was laid before mine eyes; but I, knowing that these things must surely be made known, and that all things which are hid must be ^arevealed upon the house-tops—nothing remains secret forever... I am so looking forward to this day, for there are so many things that are "hid" that need to be revealed "upon the house-tops" so everyone can hear and see and know. The footnote for "revealed" leads to these important scriptures:

Matthew 10:26–33

26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Luke 12:3

Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

2 Nephi 27:11

And the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops; and they shall be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever have been among the children of men, and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth. Is this before the Second Coming?    

Doctrine and Covenants 1:3

And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:108

And then shall the first angel again sound his trump in the ears of all living, and reveal the secret acts of men, and the mighty works of God in the first thousand years.

Now continuing with the Book of Mormon

  9 And also that a knowledge of these things that were just referenced must ^acome unto the remnant of these people, and also unto the Gentiles, who the Lord hath said should ^bscatter this people, and this people should be counted as naught among them—therefore ^cI write a ^dsmall abridgment, daring not to give a full account of the things which I have seen, because of the commandment which I have received, and also that ye might not have too great sorrow because of the wickedness of this people. Sounds like the things he couldn't write about the future are pretty terrible...
 10 And now behold, this I speak unto their seed, and also to the Gentiles who have care for the house of Israel, that realize and know from whence their blessings come. The Gentiles have care for the house of Israel. This is a great responsibility. Is this part of why the Gentiles carry the gospel to all the world? Do I realize and know from whence my blessings come. In part, our blessings come from the House of Israel and the record they have provided us through the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
 11 For I know that such will sorrow for the calamity of the house of Israel; yea, they will sorrow for the destruction of this people; they will sorrow that this people had not repented that they might have been clasped in the arms of Jesus. Do I read of this destruction and feel sorrow for all these people? If not, I need to pray to feel more love for all people and not focus on "justice", but desire mercy through repentance for all.
 12 Now ^athese things are ^bwritten unto the ^cremnant of the house of Jacob; and they are written after this manner, because it is known of God that wickedness will not bring them forth unto them; and they are to be ^dhid up unto the Lord that they may come forth in his own due time. This is one way that God accomplishes His will and work without interfering with the agency of man. If he knows that the plates will not survive until the latter days, through the wickedness of man, He just removes them/buries them, until He can trust man to preserve them. 
 13 And this is the commandment which I have received; and behold, they shall come forth according to the commandment of the Lord, when he shall see fit, in his wisdom. Just wondering why the plates had to be buried when Moroni was capable of just taking them and bringing them back at will...
 14 And behold, they shall go unto the ^aunbelieving of the ^bJews; and for this intent shall they go—that they may be ^cpersuaded that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; that the Father may bring about, through his most Beloved, his great and eternal purpose, in restoring the Jews, or all the house of Israel, to the ^dland of their inheritance, which the Lord their God hath given them, unto the fulfilling of his ^ecovenant;
 15 And also that the seed of ^athis people may more fully believe his gospel, which shall ^bgo forth unto them from the Gentiles; for this people shall be ^cscattered, and shall ^dbecome a dark, a filthy, and a loathsome people, beyond the description of that which ever hath been amongst us, yea, even that which hath been among the Lamanites, and this because of their unbelief and idolatry.
 16 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord hath already ceased to ^astrive with their fathers; and they are without Christ and God in the world; and they are driven about as ^bchaff before the wind.
 17 They were once a delightsome people, and they had Christ for their shepherd; yea, they were led even by God the Father. This is quite a statement. Christ was their shepherd, but God the Father was leading them at one point! Is this talking about the 200 years after Christ visited them?
 18 But now, behold, they are ^aled about by Satan, even as chaff is driven before the wind, or as a vessel is tossed about upon the waves, without sail or anchor, or without anything wherewith to steer her; and even as she is, so are they.
 19 And behold, the Lord hath reserved their blessings, which they might have received in the land, for the ^aGentiles who shall possess the land. The Nephites and Lamanites could have had this land be theirs and prosper as we have, but instead they have been driven and are on reservations and the Gentiles were given the blessings of this land. 
 20 But behold, it shall come to pass that they shall be driven and scattered by the Gentiles; and after they have been driven and scattered by the Gentiles, behold, then will the Lord ^aremember the ^bcovenant which he made unto Abraham and unto all the house of Israel.
 21 And also the Lord will remember the ^aprayers of the righteous, which have been put up unto him for them. We need to pray for their return.
 22 And then, O ye Gentiles, how can ye stand before the power of God, except ye shall repent and turn from your evil ways?
 23 Know ye not that ye are in the ^ahands of God? Know ye not that he hath all power, and at his great command the ^bearth shall be ^crolled together as a scroll?
 24 Therefore, repent ye, and humble yourselves before him, lest he shall come out in justice against you—lest a ^aremnant of the seed of Jacob shall go forth among you as a ^blion, and tear you in pieces, and there is none to deliver. Now the warning turns to us. We must repent and turn to God and acknowledge Him in all things, or the 10 tribes will return and destroy us.

Alma 26

(All of my own thoughts are in red type 7/20 4/21 7/22 Brown 8/23)

Chapter 26

Ammon glories in the Lord—The faithful are strengthened by the Lord and are given knowledge—By faith men may bring thousands of souls unto repentance—God has all power and comprehends all things. About 90–77 B.C.

  1 And now, these are the words of Ammon to his brethren, which say thus: My brothers and my brethren, distinction? literal brothers and brethren of the church? Fellow missionaries? behold I say unto you, how great reason have we to rejoice; for could we have supposed when we ^astarted from the land of Zarahemla that God would have granted unto us such great blessings? Does this mean that their success was greater than they imagined? Surely they had faith of some success or they wouldn't have even gone. Or maybe they felt a duty to go even if there was no hope of success. How often do we put off our ‘neighbor’ missionary work because we are sure we won’t have any success. But these missionaries went with little ‘chance’ of success. Look how God surprised them!
  2 And now, I ask, what great blessings has he bestowed upon us? Can ye tell?
  3 Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how ^amany of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made ^binstruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work .Even though the Lamanites are so blessed for being converted, these missionaries also feel so blessed to have been a part of it. 
  4 Behold, ^athousands of them do rejoice, and have been brought into the fold of God. that’s quite a mission! 
  5 Behold, the ^afield was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the ^bsickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your ^csheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted. Elder Bednar says one meaning of this is they are gathered into the temples.
  6 Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the ^astorm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them. If this is a "last day" scripture, then the promise is that when the storm comes, we SHALL be gathered together to OUR place, where we will be protected.
  7 But behold, they are in the hands of the Lord of the ^aharvest, and they are his; and he will ^braise them up at the last day. With this faith, what is there to fear?  Why is he talking about the “last day” right now? “they” in this verse are the “sheaves”. These sheaves are gathered into the garners. They are not beaten down by the storm; or harrowed up by the whirlwinds. They are gathered when the storm comes. The storm won’t penetrate to them; they won’t be driven by fierce winds by Satan. They are in the hands of the Lord. They are His. He will raise them up. May this be our blessing for us, "in the last day"! Perhaps he's speaking of future Lamanites/Nephites?
  8 ^aBlessed be the name of our God; let us ^bsing to his praise, yea, let us give ^cthanks to his holy name, for he doth work righteousness forever.
  9 For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with ^ahatred against us, yea, and they would also have been ^bstrangers to God.
 10 And it came to pass that when Ammon had said these words, his brother Aaron rebuked him, saying: Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away unto boasting.
 11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not ^aboast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my ^bjoy is full, yea, my heart is brim with ^cjoy, and I will rejoice in my God.
 12 Yea, I know that I am ^anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will ^bnot boast of myself, but I will ^cboast of my God, for in his ^dstrength I can do all ^ethings; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever. True humility can boast. Paradox!
 13 Behold, how many thousands of our brethren has he loosed from the pains of ^ahell; and they are brought to ^bsing redeeming love, and this because of the power of his word which is in us, therefore have we not great reason to rejoice? This could possibly mean they knew the scriptures so well that the power of those words were in them and it gave them power as the preached. Good reason to study the scriptures. I even more so think they were blessed with a power that was in them. His words were given to them to speak. He was in them!
 14 Yea, we have reason to praise him forever, for he is the Most High God, and has loosed our brethren from the ^achains of hell.
 15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting ^adarkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting ^blight, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work. Here is a reference to the "great and marvelous work". If it is used consistently, then it is a code name for "gathering sheaves into the garners through conversion". That works with Isaiah's use of the phrase.
 16 Therefore, let us ^aglory, yea, we will ^bglory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his ^cmercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel. He is SO HAPPY!
 17 Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and ^apolluted state? And thus, they wanted to “snatch their brethren the Lamanites” out of their awful and polluted state...
 18 Behold, we went forth even in wrath, with mighty threatenings to ^adestroy his church. Reminds me of Saul/Paul's turn around as well. Never doubt that God can take sinners and turn them into saints!
 19 Oh then, why did he not consign us to an awful destruction, yea, why did he not let the sword of his justice fall upon us, and doom us to eternal ^adespair? This sounds like it's getting very personal for him. He is comparing himself to the Lamanites. He was facing the pains of hell and justice for rebelling against God. He doesn't really know why God was so merciful to stop him in his tracks. But he took that mercy and went after those who were in a state as he was. Now he knows they are saved from the same hell he was facing and he's so happy!
 20 Oh, my soul, almost as it were, fleeth at the thought. Behold, he did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting ^agulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls. They were rebellious Nephites. Usually, mercy is not what apostate Nephites get...
 21 And now behold, my brethren, what ^anatural man is there that knoweth these things? I say unto you, there is ^bnone that ^cknoweth these things, save it be the penitent. At first I thought he was saying only really bad sinners will know this kind of joy. But aren't we all sinners? We just all need to recognize that it's not the degree of our sin that matters, but that there was only one way out of hell and that was Jesus Christ. Being Born Again is to have the "natural man" cast off through sincere repentance born of a broken heart and contrite spirit.
 22 Yea, he that ^arepenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good ^bworks, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the ^cmysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be ^dgiven to ^ereveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance. That is what he was given...
   1. repent
   2. Exercise faith
   3. Bring forth good works,
   4. Pray continually without ceasing
 then
   1. you will be given to know the mysteries of God
   2. You will be given the authority to reveal things which never have been revealed
   3. you will be given success to bring thousands of souls to repentance
Who do you know that has been given these great blessings? What is that saying? 
 23 Now do ye remember, my brethren, that we said unto our brethren in the land of Zarahemla, we go up to the land of Nephi, to preach unto our brethren, the Lamanites, and they ^alaughed us to scorn? Never listen to those mocking you|
 24 For they said unto us: Do ye suppose that ye can bring the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth? Do ye suppose that ye can convince the Lamanites of the ^aincorrectness of the ^btraditions of their fathers, as ^cstiffnecked a people as they are; whose hearts delight in the ^dshedding of blood; whose days have been spent in the grossest iniquity; whose ways have been the ways of a transgressor from the beginning? God's ways/thoughts are not man's! We have to give God room to do His mighty miracles! Now my brethren,  So he is talking to his missionary brethren, not converts ye remember that this was their language.
 25 And moreover they did say: Let us take up arms against them, that we destroy them and their iniquity out of the land, lest they overrun us and destroy us. Hmm....we’re not supposed to take the offensive. 
 26 But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls. There's that Martin L. King quote again about not chasing away hate with hate, or darkness with darkness... They were also willing to risk being destroyed themselves in the process of trying to save the wicked.
 27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to ^aturn back, behold, the Lord ^bcomforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with ^cpatience thine ^dafflictions, and I will give unto you success. How can you not go back with faith if the Lord speaks to you with that promise?  But it would certainly take a lot of courage to know you will suffer afflictions first...
 28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God. The ultimate success does not discount the hardship that got you there...
 29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their ^asynagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been ^bstoned, and taken and bound with ^cstrong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again. There are many untold stories here...
 30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our ^ajoy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.
 31 Now behold, we can look forth and see the ^afruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are ^bmany; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us. By their fruits ye shall know them...and the greatest fruit is love. 
 32 For behold, they had rather ^asacrifice their lives than even to take the life of their enemy; and they have ^bburied their weapons of war deep in the earth, because of their love towards their brethren. See again how love is the deepest foundational motivator for good? they didn’t bury their weapons out of self-serving concern but out of love for their enemy Lamanite brothers. 
 33 And now behold I say unto you, has there been so great love in all the land? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, there has not, even among the Nephites.
 34 For behold, they would take up arms against their brethren; they would not suffer themselves to be slain. But behold how ^amany of these have laid down their lives; and we know that they have gone to their God, because of their love and of their hatred to sin. This is being Born Again. When you hate sin.
 35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all ^apower, ^ball wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a ^cmerciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name. Remember this when you petition your Father in Heaven. He has ALL power, wisdom, understanding, comprehends ALL things and is ALL merciful. He wants to save His children even more than you do and will do all in His power to facilitate that IF they will repent and believe. 
 36 Now if this is ^aboasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a ^bbranch of the tree of Israel, and has been ^clost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, ^dwanderers in a strange land.
 37 Now my brethren, we see that God is ^amindful of every ^bpeople, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. May God's mercy come and end this pandemic! It is August 2023. The pandemic is over, but there are rumors of them ramping up another variant with a call for masking and lockdowns again. I think more people than before will rebel. But I think they are using it as a cover for all the deaths that are coming from the vaccine. They will blame the uptick in deaths on the large numbers of people who won't mask, thus making the divide greater and greater. What will it look like at church this time? In families? Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.