Come Follow Me - Helaman 7-12: "These Are Your Days"

[Music] hello unshaken Saints welcome back we have some amazing material to cover this this week uh Helman 7 through 12 we are barreling towards Samuel the lonite uh eventually the coming of Christ once we get to third Nephi so amazing things ahead I wanted to start today though by well REM reminiscing a bit going down memory lane when I first started teaching for the church what 25 years ago I remember an old-timer teacher faculty member colleague that was was reflecting on his career as he was approaching retirement and he said to me you know the

great thing about teaching the gospel to the youth is you will always relate to them right now you're their big brother they look up to you and and you'll connect with them in really easy ways same generation basically give it some time and you'll be their cool Uncle they'll still listen to you uh give it some time and you'll end up being their dad and that's that's an interesting uh relationship toward your students as far as age is concerned and by the time you're finishing your career like I am you're their grandpa again every stage

of of the situation you are connecting with your students and it's interesting now to be in the dad stage uh my kids are the ages of my students and it's interesting to especially the last two years that I've been at BYU BYU has such a large geographical footprint and brings in youth from the church across across the world and I have taught the children of friends of mine from high school in the old Valencia days I have taught the children of friends of mine from my married student days the old BYU 174th word I have

taught the children of mission companions I've taught the children of friends and and people that I served with in Tennessee it's it's wild and I love those kinds of connections but it really has forced upon me when I see the child of someone I grew up with boy does it make me feel old but it makes me reminisce on the good old days and to think of how much fun we had as high school kids or the incredible friends we made in our married student Ward just a a lifetime of relationships and connections to people

that can't help you can't help but pull you back to those old times oh that seem to be seem to be not just good old days but Glory Days now that can be a challenge okay Nostalgia is a two-edged sword and we're going to see some of that from Nephi son of helan today you see where we left off last week cultural chaos okay some some societal shiftings that are leading in the wrong direction we saw social upress we saw political upheaval we saw division both political and economic and of course religious as usual uh

all kinds of challenges we are seeing the shift from the from the fs to the PS if you remember that right who cares about faith and family when you can go after pride and prosperity and Prestige and and everything else well it's in that moment Nephi and Lehi these brothers have been down to the land of Nephi they had that incredible experience in Helman chapter 5 in the prison right surrounded by Darkness but then enveloped in a pillar of light Mass conversion the land being given back to nephite hands one of the most successful missions

in all of the Book of Mormon well building on that they went North uh to an area where people had been spreading and yet they are completely rejected and so they come back home to zer himla now if it's been a while since you've been back home back to where you grew up brace yourself for some change and that's exactly what Nephi faces when he gets there and it's changing the wrong direction if you want to sum up the whole thing look at Helman 7: 4 and 5 and it describes what he saw seeing the

people in a state of such awful wickedness and those gadianton robbers filling the Judgment seats having usurped the Commandments of God and not in the least a right before him doing no justice unto the children of men now you got a problem here they're the in the Judgment seat but they're not judging righteously right they there's no justice here it describes it better in the next in the next phrase condemning the righteous because of their righteousness how's that for Topsy Turvy moralism how's that for what Isaiah described as the last days calling good evil and

evil good the righteous are being condemned precisely because they're living righteous lives it's not it's not socially acceptable to have those kinds of standards well keep going they let the guilty and the wicked go unpunished because of their money you see with money you can buy just about anything right we've heard that from from certain sources and to go unpunished to pay off to bribe the judge or to know that if you're in a person a person of wealth and social stature then the laws and standards of society are beneath you I shouldn't have to

live by those things I can pay my way out or I just have the prestige of the populace so I can get away with whatever I want keep going moreover these people that were not punishing the wicked even though they should have these Wicked were held in office at the head of government to rule and do notice this phrase according to their Wills forget the will of God forget the will of the people forget the laws of King mosiah back in the day no do whatever you want rule according to your will and what's their

will we know it that they may get gain and glory of the world I guess we've got some G's and not just some peas right gain and glory and moreover that they might the more easily commit adultery and steal and kill and then that phrase again and do according to their own wills it is a battle of wills in the book of Helman we saw cause versus cause coming and clashing against one another back in the war chapters of Alma well it's still cause against cause it's still will against will and what desires of the

heart where which direction are they pulling you well here they are pulling in a very individualistic Direction and in radical individualism often leads to moral relativism because if it's individual instead of cultural or Community if there are no Traditions handed down with with the wisdom of the ages if it's something where who cares what go so-called God has said you do you be authentic to whatever identity you assume well no wonder it's going to lead to that kind of moral relativism because I if it's according to my own will then what my what I will

is right it goes completely well I'll put it this way there's a there's an interesting technical term we learned in Divinity School theological anthropology it's a great phrase go see if you can use it in casual conversation today uh anthropology is the study of human beings but a theological anthropology is what is human nature like what are people like theologically in other words what does your Doctrine teach you about human nature we believe our theological anthropology is that we're children of God that's the highest most Central identity that we have and yet to live in

a world that is so myopic so so shortterm term and that whatever you want whatever you will that's right so run with it there's an interesting verse by the way at the end of the Book of Judges judges is a nightmare book in the Old Testament it is the pride cycle going every time you get a new judge there's all kinds of judges in the Book of Judges and every new judge is a new round of the pride cycle and at the end of the Book of Judges it describes their society in this way this

is judges 21:25 in those days there was no king in Israel every man did that which was right in his own eyes how's that for the radical individualism how's that for the moral relativism how's that for the the society we live in to this day there's no King there's no Royal Standard set down by the King of Kings himself instead you do you be authentic and all is well well in nephite society as it's going down that path hel the book of Helman is about as close to the Book of Judges as you can get

we're going to see The Pride cycle some more today but in this Society oh it's headed in the wrong direction and Nephi knows it now what he does about this is interesting I mean think about put yourself in helman's excuse me in Nephi's sandals okay if it was you in this situation how would you feel how would you feel if you had to raise a family or serve a Mission or lead the church in these kinds of circumstances well Nephi is on his garden Tower he lives right next to the main thoroughfare that leads to

the the marketplace uh so picture your backyard overlooks the freeway okay rough part of town and and he's praying up on this Tower we've seen some Towers in the past there's the ramyum tower bad example there's King Noah on his Tower bad example there's King Benjamin on his Tower awesome example and Nephi is a lot more like Benjamin but he's not talking to the people he's talking to God so he climbs his Tower to get as close to Heaven as he can and he pours out his heart his prayer is absolutely beautiful look at some

of it chapter 7: 7-9 oh that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem sounds like dad's uh counsel has been taken taken to Heart remember I named you after your first father so you'd remember them well this Nephi is remembering the first Nephi and the Nostalgia in some ways is is freezing him in time wishing that it were back in time that he lived okay notice all the could haves In this passage we already saw the first oh that I could have

had my days way back when the good old days then that I could have joyed with him in the promised land then were his people easy to be entreated first firm to keep the Commandments of God slow to be led to do iniquity they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord yay if my days could have been in those days then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my brethren you see the could have then leading to a would have if I could have had those earlier days then I

would have had Joy my life would have been easier it would have been happier but then notice it's like he he comes to terms for a minute he kind of shakes himself out of that that Nostalgia and says but behold I am consigned that these are my days and that my soul shall be filled with sorrow because of this the wickedness of my brethren now if you know your early nephite history as well as I do then you're probably scratching your head or maybe giving a certain smile to Nephi going is this Collective Amnesia uh

back in first Nephi's days everything was glorious uh he got driven out of town in Jerusalem his father was almost killed by his persecutors he's on this 8-year Journey Through the Wilderness where they can't even cook their own food and he's constantly being beat up or threatened by his older brothers Layman and lemel easy to be intreated well maybe half the family but not the other half I mean it's one thing to have social Schism it's another thing to have a a Family Feud and that's what the first Nephi had to deal with with well

it's interesting that sometimes we look at the past through rose-colored glasses and we think that the if if they're old days then they must be good old days at least they must be better than the days we're dealing with right now sometimes again our own myopia myopia forces the negatives right up close and personal and we forget the negatives of the past my wife has sometimes laughed well every time she goes in for labor and delivery she says epidurals are the compensation God gives us for making us live in the last days we got some

rough things spiritually but some great things medically I'll take it well to think about what Nephi this Nephi is dealing with can we get past the could Haves and the wood haves and embrace the do haves what do I have right in front of me and can I make a difference you remember in his father's generation the Temptation was to just flee and start over and sometimes that's important sometimes that's necessary right but his father and these two sons decided to stay and make a difference if if that was spatial on his father's part it's

now temporal on his son's part instead of fleeing to a different place he wishes he could flee to a different time period and that's just not possible stay right here these are your days Elder Maxwell gave a talk by that title once it was magnificent embrace the situation you find yourself yourself in grow where you're planted right and make a difference I found a great quote by Kurt vaget the the author of slaughterhouse 5 if if you were familiar with that book he put it this way I apologize because of the terrible mess the planet

is in and that's what Nephi is sensing in his own time period but vonet goes on but it has always been a mess there have never been any good old days there have just been days and as I say to my grandchildren don't look at me I just got here myself well we did just get here right however long we've stayed but can we make a difference in the days that we are allotted there's an old joke among historians that the great thing about studying history is that you realize that people have always been this

dumb and at the other on the other hand people have always been this heroic people have always tried to make a difference in the days that they are given so let's make a difference in ours well that's exactly what Nephi wants to do okay but what's interesting as he concludes his prayer it must have been a long prayer and a very focused prayer because he doesn't even realize that the masses have been assembling down below during this whole prayer experience of his like I said he's living by the freeway right and all of a sudden

I mean you see a prophet praying you're going to pull over and try to understand what he's saying and that's what all these people have done well so Nephi takes advantage of that and shifts from prayer to preaching uh he he lowers his gaze and addresses a more immediate audience and his sermon is incredible it lasts for the rest of chapter 7 verse 13- 29 it's filled with emotion this is one of the most emotional sermons you'll see in the Book of Mormon uh even if you just look at the punctuation marks okay there are

only oh 24 sentences yes I counted them I'm a nerd 13 of them and with periods but six end in question marks and five end in exclamation points I mean there's a motion behind question marks and exclamation points right he's trying to get a a message across and he's trying to pull them into conversation with these rhetorical or not so rhetorical questions the the sermon is described as being filled with exceeding sorrow and mourning and lamentation at least that's what describes Nephi's feelings right he's poured out his soul in sorrow to God now he's pouring

it out in lamentation to the people notice some of the things that he says this is it starts in verse 13 and he says behold why here's his first question why have you gathered yourselves together and then he answers it himself one possibility that I may tell you of your iniquities think about that do I really need to tell you what you already know or even worse do you not know do you not know that society's going to hell in a hand basket and it's on us do you not not know that we've allowed gadd

Anon robbers to usurp Authority in the Judgment seat do you not know that moral morality has been turned on its head do you have any idea what you're doing or did you have to come and hear a prophet pouring out his soul in sorrow before it woke you up to realize what's he so sad about something we've done well what have we done well go on and in what what he says next is interesting because in this is verse 17 Jump Ahead a few verses and it's an echo of what he heard in the prison

back in chapter 5 it's the same message that the voice of God gave to all those surrounded by Darkness all right Mists of Darkness how do I get through it well here's the iron Rod piercing through back in the prison in chapter 5 The Voice had called them to repentance and that's the key word for Nephi's message here verse 17 I he says it so poetically so emotionally oh repent ye repent ye why will ye die turn ye turn ye unto the Lord your God why has he forsaken you this this double these repeated invitations

repent repent turn turn which again turn means to repent turn around change your view change your attitude please change your direction you're heading downhill come and climb with me otherwise why will you die that's where you're headed that's the destination in fact that is shorthand for what he's going to say through so much of today of this week's material so much of this message is repent or face the consequences and the consequences are spiritual death so turn in fact if it's repent because why would you die then the turn because why has God forsaken you

oh there's some poetry there too some literary flare of if you don't turn back to God do do you not know why God has turned away from you do you not realize what you've done to offend him to make to cause him to forsake you the rest of this sermon he repeats over and over and over five times the phrase except ye shall repent and so the focus here is not only on repentance but on the consequences of failing to do so this is a sermon on choice and consequence these people have been reveling in

their choices but they've severed those choices from their consequences that's that was Satan's plan at the beginning agency well go ahead and have the choice you don't have to pay the piper there won't be any consequences that's how these Nephites under the gadianton robbers sadly now the gadianton rulers that's how they're living and so over and over and over except you repent here's the consequence by the way abinadi said the same kinds of things to King Noah right similar similar periods in nephite history but then he pulls them back to the root problem of it

all this is verse 26 yay woe shall come unto you because of that Pride that Pride which you have suffered to enter your hearts which Has Lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches now that to me is an inter inter in phrase beyond that which is good suggests that there's some good level of Pride well it wouldn't be Pride actually it would be self-esteem it would be self-image it would be identity and self- understanding there is a there's a goldilock Zone here okay we've talked about that before when

it comes to proving contraries and if we're outside the Goldilocks zone either because we have too much of it or too little of it then we've got some problems well if we don't think enough of ourselves then that self-loathing or self-deprecation is going to be problematic but if we think too much of ourselves then we just have a problem at the opposite extreme so what is Nephi aiming them toward how should I feel about myself how much wealth is sufficient for my needs so I'm not begging from others but at the same time I'm not

so focused on wealth that I refuse the beggar who comes to me King Benjamin would taught us that right what is good that good goldilock Zone how much should I possess how much how much should I work what's my level of ambition what's my level of of how pushing myself to accomplish things whatever it might be we have to be careful if pride is pulling us to the Too Hot Zone of this spectrum Nephi is trying to warn them against that because at some point it's no longer going to help you it's going to start

hurting you now pause there for a second and Helman chapter 8 and chapter nine then follow and these are amazing it's one long story basically where Nephi and the people are having this interaction okay he's finished his sermon and chapter 8 begins with a bunch of people in the crowd that are trying to incite the crowd against against Nephi these are lower judges in the system and yes they are gadianton robbers and because Nephi is calling out the social sin including that of the gadianton robbers they they it feels like they're being pushed out from

behind the curtain okay he's he's tearing aside that curtain and exposing society's rotten underbelly that's the last thing they want and yet it's ironic despite the fact they're political rulers they're lesser judges they know they're powerless because Nephi has done nothing wrong so instead they try to incite the crowd and and make Nephi an offender for a word this is exactly what abinadi what Noah was doing against AB benite what the Pharisees were doing against Jesus Christ right we we know we can't exercise our Authority but ah if we can get the people then then

that we can make him a prisoner to popular opinion that's what they attempt but I want you to see something in chapter 8 and N I'm going to try to teach these two collectively it's amazing in a certain principle that they illustrate it might be the best illustration of this principle anywhere you'll see in scripture okay you ready for this now the the the verse that tipped me off to it years ago when I was studying this is chapter 8 verse4 there it says that those judges these lesser judges that were there in the multitude

they were angry with him and notice why because he spake plainly unto them concerning their secret words of Darkness now it's one thing to be angry because you're calling out my sins it's another thing to be angry because you're calling out my secrets and the way it's phrased there he is plainly speaking about their secret works of darkness it's like Mormon is trying to make this obvious okay they are hiding be under under cover okay we don't want people to know about our secret combination right that goes all the way back to S to Satan

and Cain I'll teach you how to murder and get gain and no one will ever know which is ironic because here we are thousands of years later still talking about it okay no secret there and so God outs the secrecy of the wicked and Nephi is doing exactly that now when in spite of all the kind of stirring them up to anger that these lesser judges are doing some people end up believing Nephi's words others don't and so now you have some commotion and contention in the multitude okay we think he's a prophet I he

called us out and he's right we're guilty of all those things so he must be right about the consequences of our sins others are like ah whatever we can do whatever we want okay there's no King in the land okay whatever is right in our own eyes but then notice what else happens okay he's going to spend the rest of this chapter giving another sermon it's like might as I got a captive audience in some ways might as well keep on preaching and what he's going to preach about here is the importance of prophets it's

a fascinating discourse I'm not going to go through it all verse by verse but he teaches the importance of prophets how God gives them power how he helps them know truth and then reveal it to people to help people understand the difference between right and wrong and what the consequences of those choices are that's the role of prophets he talks about this prophetic cloud of witnesses that have borne witness to the most important solution to the consequences of P choices that there's ever been namely Jesus Christ and that because of the prophetic witness of Jesus

that's the solution to our sins except ye shall repent here's the consequences well if you do repent it's only through Jesus Christ that you're able to do so it's a magnificent sermon he focuses on Christ and the atonement and the prophetic role in bringing the world's attention to those glorious truths but then something else happens he concludes the sermon with something that shocks not only his audience but shocks himself too you ever opened your mouth and had it filled with something you didn't expect something you hadn't prepared well the grand finale of this sermon was

quite the symbol crash because as he's decrying the wickedness of the Gadi Anon robbers all of a sudden the spirit Whispers to him you know how bad it's gotten the chief judge who's also a member of the Gad Anon band has just just been murdered by his own brother who also belongs to that band we're seeing Cain like actions all over again but brother against brother and again under the same cloak of darkness in this so-called secret combination well pause here that that's chapter 8 chapter N9 they're going to be like what that's crazy are

there's no way that's possible Five Guys go sprinting off to see they find out that yes sure enough the chief judge has been murdered he's lying there in his blood uh they're freaking out what's going on uh some are shocked they end up finding them they're basically passed out in in Fright and then some other multitudes come see them there assume they're the murderers and they've been struck down by God so they throw them into prison it's a great story okay read chapter 8 and chapter 9 yourself and you'll see that story unfold uh it

ends with this interesting interchange they're like oh Nephi must have set this thing up and he's like oh no go talk to the brother ask the BR you'll find some blood on the Hem of His robes if that's not incriminating evidence I don't know what is confront him about that accuse him of it his face will pale yeah there'll be blood on his skirts but not in his face and boy it will be crystal clear that he's the guilty one and I'm innocent speaking of guilt and innocence which one of those words describes you people

there and some more believe okay and others go their way that's the story in 8 and N but take that story and here's the the Insight that I'm grateful that the spirit whispered to me at one point when I was studying this and I saw all this exchange and all these interchanges but especially that first verse that tipped me off that there were people that were angry because Nephi was taking secret things and exposing cling them out in the open the thought that came to mind was the Johari window I'm sure the same just happened

to you right now well I explain this to my students and it's it's an eyeopener for them the Johari window is is a communication model or another way to put it is it's this model of interpersonal awareness okay that's probably the best way to describe it interpersonal awareness what do I know about myself what do I know about you what do you know about me what do we both both know about each other what do we what does what does neither of us know about one another it's really a fascinating thing I actually have my

students do a whole project every semester that we study this about the jari window and by the end of the semester they every semester I've done it they've said oh that was one of my favorites okay let me describe the Johari window it was named after the two Scholars two professors who who created it okay first name Joseph and another first name Harrington and so you take the Joe and the Harry and the Jo Hari window emerges and it's a window because there are four pains to it okay we're going to take two factors uh

and against two factors and then see how they line up into these four quadrants so let me see if I can paint the picture for you on the top let's see things that are known to yourself as opposed to things that are not known to yourself and then down the side things that are known to others versus things that are not known to others now cross 2 by two and here's the four quadrants of the jari window okay first if it's known to yourself and it's known to others we call that the open area I

mean that's common knowledge it's it's this is sometimes they call it the arena it's right there before us all the the if it's known to yourself but not excuse me if it's not known to yourself but it is known to others we call that the blind spot makes sense right everyone else is aware of this about you but you have no clue it's in your blind spot now if you know it yourself but others don't know it so we now have the opposite I know this is true about me but nobody else does we keep

that hidden well that's the hidden area it's also sometimes called the facade because I'm hiding behind it this is the person I'm projecting I I want you to think I am but behind the curtain now you see where this is where this clicked with me behind the curtain is is something I know about myself that I don't want out in the open and then if you across the two and it's not known to myself neither is it known to others well that's just the unknown area it's the opposite of common knowledge okay it's it's common

ignorance we it's ignorance that we all share now again if this is a model for interpersonal awareness what I love about the jari window is it gives you a chance for real communication real self-awareness real relationships to deepen to develop and to deepen uh what's fascinating about and the the reason these professors invented this or created this model was the hope was let's get everything into the open area we can't address it if it's not if it's not out in the open if we don't know what's going on wouldn't you want to know your blind

spots wouldn't you want see the way they would do it is they would often get teams together you could do the same thing in a marriage you could do the same thing in a family uh and then there's this massive list of adjectives that describe people and then the way it works is the one person fills out this kind of circles all the adjectives that describe them and then everyone else on the team fills out all or circles all the adjectives that they think describes that person too okay the subject there's still only just one

person that's kind of on the hot seat and what's interesting is they compare lists and every adjectives that circled on both lists is in the open area it's like I'm a humble person and everyone AG that I'm a humble person you know what I mean or I'm a little self-centered and everyone knows that and I know it too and I'm working on it and they're trying to help me okay that's open area now if it's on my list but it's not on theirs that's the hidden area or the facad it's who I think I'm that

person and it could be good or bad but if other people don't see it they're like huh it doesn't describe you at all or wow I never knew on the flip side if it's something that it's not circled on the subject's paper but it's circled on everybody else's that's the blind spot it's like really I do that I'll put it this way I have filmed myself well duh I'm filming myself right now uh but I remember as a younger teacher they said the best feedback you can ever get is from yourself film a lesson and

then watch it brace yourself it's painful but you'll start seeing blind spots finally or invite somebody in ask them for feedback and boy they will point out your blind spots uh honestly the way I try to set this up with my students is for them to have those kinds of experiences like I said the the the unknown area it's stuff that's not circle on either and it might be not Circle because it's true it might be not Circle because nobody knows okay but what's interesting here is to wrestle with the jari window in our relationships

with each other and our relationship with God our goal is to bring everything out into the arena into this open space where we can address it where we can work with things we can't improve when we're ignorant of the places we need Improvement and so it's interesting about all of this is if I'll go to my Bishop for example I can confess sin and I am coming out from behind the facade I'm bringing things from The Hidden area and bringing it out of Darkness into light why because I need help and as long as I'm

hiding behind that facade I'm never going to get get the help that I need they don't know I need it meanwhile so if that's kind of self oh self-induced that's not the right word if if I'm doing that on my own I'm choosing I'm being proactive I'm coming out from behind this hidden area I need to be equally proactive in asking people to help me with my blind spots I can provide the information to come up from the hidden area but to come over from the blind spot I have to ask somebody to come and

watch I have to ask for feedback again as a teacher we do that often and it's amazing if you have people that are honest with you and kind in their critiques they can gently show us our rooms for improvement we often just have to ask them humbly honestly humility is the key for this whole thing it takes incredible humility to confess my sins or to share with colleagues or family members my weaknesses so you know what this has always been hard for me I'm not very good at it could you help me and they're like

what really I had no idea you were wrestling with that you see how this is good for team building by the way family Unity Collective Improvement and in the same time you know what I know this is a area of weakness help me improve please but would you also help me see the areas of weakness I'm unaware of that when I ask my students to do this project the Johari window project here it is all four quadrants they understand it and said now fill them out you don't even have to turn this one in this

is completely personal but be brutally honest with yourself when it comes to the hidden area confess confess your sins on paper brainstorm your weaknesses what do you know down deep about yourself that nobody else does because you don't want them to then find someone that you trust find someone that you know has your best interests at heart I'm guessing your mom is probably Choice number one for many of you sure enough it was but explain the jari window to them and then ask them for their help in identify find things in your blind spot again

ask them to do it gently and kindly brace yourself get some thick skin and soft heart be humble and you'll be amazed at some of the things that parents have been praying about behind closed doors the discussions they have of with areas of worry honestly your patriarchal blessing is such an incredible window into Who You Are it's got some Johari elements too there may be some weaknesses that the Lord reveals to the patriarch that you didn't know anybody knew and there may be things in your blind spot both good and bad that the patriarch can

bring to your attention skill talents to develop weaknesses to overcome Temptations to avoid it's powerful and in fact if it's Patriarchs that can help with that prophets help with that on the community level prophets again if it's humility that brings everything to the to the open area and that's the hope of prophets Pro in fact prophets have a part to play in all the areas the common knowledge that open area they're teaching they're confirming truths that we already know hold on to these when it comes to the blind spot prophets are crying repentance and letting

us know you can't do that and it's like oh really sorry I was sitting in ignorance or as we're seeing today here's the consequences of those choices except you repent you don't see in the rearview mirror what is coming and catching up to you so you got to change that and when it comes to the hidden area that's what we just saw happen with Nephi and these gadian and robbers in their secret not so secret combination they will call out sin that we don't want called out it's not just crying repentance and telling us things

that we didn't know it's calling us out for things we didn't think they knew yikes they see around corners as Sister Sister du has shared and they see around the corners even when we're setting up the wall that we're hiding behind most miraculously by the way when it comes to the unknown area which is hard to reach because I don't know what's in there and neither do you I mean the more that that I that we bring things into the open area out of our choice I think the more things from the hidden area start

to come on into our Consciousness but for the most part that's the Untouchable area but not to God not to an omniscient being for whom there is no unknown and as he reveals truth to his servants the prophets they can make known things that we didn't know and that they did didn't know either that's what happened when he says at the end of his sermon oh and the chief judge has just been murdered by his brother and they're both Gad an what news to us all now now do you understand the jari window are you

ready to do your own project okay find someone you trust open up it's amazing how this happens okay but notice over and over and over again in this story you will see the Johari window Pain by Pain by pain now we just saw that Nephi exposed Gadi anon's band okay there is the hidden area coming to light he told the Nephites the consequences of their sins there's the blind spot coming out into the open and then he just revealed something that he didn't even know with the murder of the CH chief judge there's the unknown

becoming known now let me give you some quick verses to just populate your pains your window pains for a moment here's Nephi on his Tower toop sermon for the open area this is 8:8 we know that he has testified a right unto us concerning our iniquities we did know we were doing those things wrong and he knew too okay common knowledge for the blind spot how about chapter 7:3 why have you gathered yourselves together Nephi asks that I may tell you of your iniquities H how's that blind spot well do you not know them do

you really are they really in your blind spot I know at least the consequences are so except ye repent let me fill in that window pain in the hidden area it's the verse that tipped me off to this from the start the judges were angry because he spake plainly concerning their secret works of darkness they didn't appreciate being exposed and then the unknown area the way Nephi says it after he calls things out it is not of myself that I know these things the Lord God has made them known unto me I mean he couldn't

have known any of this on his own or at least not all of it now that's one round of the jari window let me give you another another one okay pull out your Windex and wipe the pains and now let's set up some more scriptural verses upon them so round two of the of the tower toop sermon open area ye know these things and cannot deny them it's obvious to us all blind spot ye are ripening and except ye repent it will come unto you soon there's the consequences the hidden area they both belong to

your secret band which isn't so secret anymore and in the unknown area your judge is murdered and he hath been murdered by his brother breaking news believe me I just found out about it myself okay from above now like I said the next chap that's CH chapter ends chapter nine then chapter eight ends chapter nine then begins with the five rushing off and then finding and all these details and and the exposure of the of the murderer and the the the Vindication of Nephi fascinating story read it on your own time but here's another set

of versus for the jari window open area now we will know of assurity whether this man be a prophet okay that's what these five Runners are are doing we can know what he knows we're sprinting toward the open space the blind spot they were astonished exceedingly for they had not believed they they doubted the prophet's discernment but they'd been shown what they'd never considered they're now out of the blind spot the hidden area Nephi said says he shall deny unto you the murderer will and he shall make it as if he were astonished you see

this assassin the guilty wants to stay hidden in the dark Nephi is not going to let it happen and then finally the unknown area if he had not been a prophet that's what these the the multitudes finally realize if he had not been a prophet he could not have testified concerning those things yeah seers they can see things the rest of us can't they can see things they had never envisioned themselves okay you understanding jari window I hope honestly I hope you'll take the time not just to understand the concept but to to practice it

to engage in this process of self-exposure and selfawareness it's amazing what happens when we're willing to do that Pride pulls everything toward the darkness humility draws everything toward the light prophets coax us into the open area and human weakness Temptation sin brings and and our own willful ignorance brings everything back into the unknown if you look at the end of the story by the way chapter 9: 40 and 41 notice this when everything the dust is finally settled and this miracle has taken place and every everybody knows it now there were some among the people

who said that Nephi was a prophet yeah you think so well others swing right past that to the opposite side of the goldilock Zone first they thought you're not inspired at all that's too little then some realize oh he's a prophet all right others overcorrect swing past the goldilock zone and now it's too hot and they say behold he's a God I mean no mere Prophet here this guy must be some Divine himself for except he was a God he could not know of all things ooh there's the unknown area for behold he has told

us the thoughts of our hearts ah there's the hidden area and also has told us things whatever things they meant but I have a feeling that's the blind spot even he has brought unto our knowledge the true murderer of our chief judge again that was the unknown you see prophets there Nephi in this case bringing everything up to the open it's all spelled out right there at the end of this story you know if I could summarize this part of our discussion today with jari window in the blind spot it's all about what we're not

seeing and in the hidden area it's all about what we're not saying think about the difference there what do I not see and what am I not willing to say if I'll open up and that's vulnerable on my part it it's scary but if I can open up about what I'm struggling with or what I don't even know I'm struggling with what's interesting if if I come to them with vulnerability they'll usually come to me with compassion they will match my humility typically or they'll match my pride with pride of their own but if I

humble and seek that help they will humbly come and offer it to me your Bishop will see your courage in coming out from behind the facad your family members or your team members your ward members will help you by gently pointing out room for improvement there's something oh and then best of all the Lord himself through his Spirit can help you know of things that no one else could again Patriarchs and Prophets can help with that too but we can go to God directly in fact that's what Nephi is going to do from here chapter

8 and N now behind us 10 and 11 open up an incredible view what the people again have been dividing over these things some too cold some too hot some right just right but the M multitudes disperse and Nephi is left alone and he's kind of Blown Away by the whole experience himself so he's pondering these things and in this pondering the Lord speaks to him we saw him speak to the Lord in chapter 7 now it's God's chance to respond more directly in chapter 10 and notice what he says in verse four and five

and six and seven these early verses are magnificent verse four blessed art thou Nephi for those things which thou Hast done for I have beheld how thou Hast with unwear declared the word which I have given unto thee unto to this people and thou Hast not feared them and Hast not sought thine own life but Hast sought my will and to keep my Commandments talk about swimming Upstream at a time where everybody wants to do their own will according to their own desires that's never been the desire of Nephi heavenly father there is a king

in Israel and thou art that King so rule reign in my life as your humble servant I will do whatever you ask and I'll even do it with favorite word here unwear I think my spell check underline that that's not even a word well maybe because it's so uncommon to find anyone that's willing to be that consecrated that that such a disciple it's one of my favorite Spanish words on my mission it has so many syllables I had to keep practicing it but it was indea and there's a mouthful indefatigably is an exact is the

cognate in English and can you hear the root word of indefatigably fatigue you can't be fatigued what's interesting here is there's no fear on his part right you don't fear what the people do what they think what they're going to say you only fear God in a reverent kind of way in a covenant commitment kind of way but not only is there no fear there's no fatigue you do this with unwear now some of us again would vouch for the spell cheer it's like yeah there's how does anybody do stuff and never get tired well

that's the thing same thing with fear fear is present it's what you do with it Courage isn't the absence of fear it's the ability to push through it and unwearying doesn't mean you never get tired it's means it means you push through that fatigue now that doesn't mean you can't take a nap when you need one okay it doesn't I'm not believe me Nephi would not want to push you into toxic perfectionism okay do not run faster than you have strength but if you have strength then run and if you don't have strength to run

then walk you can run and not be weary and walk and not faint when you are consecrating all your efforts to the service of God that's unwear I've shared this before but after my first eight hour day at church I was a senior in high school went to my three-hour block went to a friend's three-hour block there were cute girls in the Sunday school class I guess uh and then went to a two-hour youth committee meeting came home to talk to my dad a member of the state presidency at the time I said dad I

had an eight- hour day at church it was awesome and he just smiled and said yeah eight hours at church that's not a bad beginning and I realized oh he's really used to eight hour days and then some long Sundays in the state presidency office and then he said something I pray I'll never forget nothing beats exhaustion in the Lord's service my father is nearing the end of his life by the time this episode is out there he may have already passed it's been a bitter sweet experience and when he had a a major stroke

last week and it really slowed everything down he's been a go go go guy his whole life and this stroke was this one was going to be way harder for to overcome and recover from the previous challenges he he'd faced and he'd faced a lot of them and so the they mom and dad made the decision come home and just enjoy these last days but one one point he got just enough ability to speak back and Mom praying for the gift of interpretation of tongues I'm sure uh dad just mom was trying to reassure Dad

you can go whenever you're ready and we've all felt that with him uh you have served with unwear you haven't feared others you've only wanted to do what God wants you to do and your life has been wasted and worn out in the service of God so it's all good well done thou good and faithful servant right and yet dad struggled to get out one word because mom was like why do you want to stay and Dad's one word was help and he wasn't crying for help it was offering help I just want to keep

helping like I did as a bishop like I did as a state president like I did as a patriarch like I did as a temple sealer like I did as a d dad and a husband and and Mom just trying to coax one word answers out asked Dad actually I I I missed a word when she was the first word was time she was like honey are you okay he looked almost pained what what can I give you do you need this do you need that and he just said time and she's like why why

do you need time you you've served you've used your time well what do you want more time for that's when the word came help time not to get help time to give more help and then Mom asked a third follow-up question with a one-word answer from Dad she asked who do you want to help perhaps she was thinking who could you possibly help in the condition you're in and Dad's one word struggled uh answer every I want more time to help everyone that's unwear Dad's tired he'll get to rest soon but what's amazing to me

is just the desire to give more this is John the Beloved this is three Nephites this is the missionary who doesn't want to have to come home the the person who doesn't want to be released from their calling even though they're exhausted but they recognize that nothing beats exhaustion in the Lord's service I pray that nothing that I said will push people out of the goldilock Zone okay above beyond that which is good but if it motivates us to continue enduring to the end then I bear my witness of the reality of those principles Nephi

become my my dad for me is Nephi in this verse and let what whoever you have that you're thinking of or let Nephi himself be this kind of example of unwearying Devotion to God he watching over Israel Slumbers not nor sleeps and I guess he feels a certain kinship to those that can't rest easy when there are more people to help all around them the Lord says more of this in verse 5-7 because of who you are verse four here's what I'm promising you verse 5 now because thou Hast done this with such unwear there's

that word again behold I Will Bless thee forever I will make thee Mighty in word and In Deed in faith and in Works ye even that all things shall be done unto thee according to Thy word for Thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will behold Thou Art Nephi and I am God behold I give unto you power that whatsoever ye shall seal on Earth shall be sealed in heaven whatsoever ye shall loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven and thus shall ye have power among this people power among by the

way not power over but that sealing power this these verses Helman 10 is the Book of Mormon equivalent of Matthew 16 and 17 I should add Matthew 16 is where Peter and the other Apostles are gathered with Jesus at cesaria Philippi and Peter Bears This Magnificent testimony of who the savior is to which Jesus responds blessed art thou Simon bar Jonah or here blessed art thou Nephi for Simon for Peter it was well that's where it gets the name Peter Upon This Rock right the rock of what God has revealed to you my Divine sunship

and he tells them I'll give you the Keys of the Kingdom what you bind on Earth will be bound in heaven what you loose on Earth will be loosed in heaven and that's exactly the same sealing power that God is giving to Nephi here why because he can completely be trusted he's proven that I mean he just got a blank check from God and if you're going to walk around with God's credit card and you can do whatever you choose man you must have proven yourself he had he' yielded his heart unto God like we

saw last week he'd served with un weariness the only thing he wanted to do was God's will not his own ah no wonder you're safe with the credit card no wonder you're safe with the Keys of the Kingdom you'll never lock what God wants to open and you'll never open what God wants to shut there's this delegation of authority but it's still God's Authority and Nephi is going to make that Crystal Clear he gets it in fact I wonder if that's why God said in the middle of all of this Thou Art Nephi and I

am God son keep these things straight and don't let it go to your head you're still not God I know some people were were wondering about that about you in the last chapter it's like Elder dorf's comment people are going to say great things about you don't inhale okay and so those with the sealing power and yes my dad was a temple sealer again he he's my Nephi in this in this chapter but to see how this all comes to comes to to pass God can trust Nephi because Nephi completely trusts God now what's going

to happen from this point forward is interesting Nephi goes back he continues crying repentance and sadly the people refuse to change things get worse until Wars are going to erupt against between the people and Nephi realizes I don't want their I don't want them to have blood on their hands especially one another's blood but there have to be consequences right he's the great prophet of choice and consequence and so what does he decide to do he decides to exercise the sealing power he was just given in fact God had dropped some hints when he gave

it to him in a later verse he said says yeah whatever you seal will be sealed including the heavens if you close them such that no rain falls then there will be famine in the land that must have stuck in Nephi's memory because as he's pondering the self-destruction right Pride cycle it's barreling toward destruction he realizes I don't want it I don't want them destroyed by one another let's go a more slow destruction let's put on the breaks a bit wake them up that yes there's consequences coming but they'll have time to change and repent

because that's my Hope from the start so he prays for a famine but notice how he does it 11:4 oh Lord do not suffer that this people shall be destroyed by the sword but oh Lord rather let there be a famine in the land why to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God and perhaps there's no guarantee here but perhaps they will repent and turn unto thee something's got to change so please make that change now notice what he said there oh Lord this is the situation down here please let this happen

please seal the heavens send a famine and part of me wants to go you don't have to ask for that you have the power to do it don't ask God to write a check he gave you the blank one but again that's what I love about Nephi he knows it's never been about his his power it's been delegated to me but I'm Nephi he's God so I love how crystal clear that it is is in his mind so that he prays to God and says will you please exercise your power and seal the heavens and

that's exactly what he does by the way it's a great punishment fitting the crime because they refuse to eat the bread of life and drink the Living Water oh in that case there'll be no lesser versions of those things there will be a famine in the land spiritually as well or temporally because you forced a famine upon yourselves spiritually okay Amos chapter 8 it would be a good cross reference here well the famine actually works uh the slow painful grappling with consequence and what can we do we can't force the rain to fall so the

only hope we have is to plead for the help of Heaven oh yikes I didn't want to face Heaven well now they will they repent of their sins they The Pride cycle has been successful in moving them from destruction or near destruction to humility the humility turns them to God they begin living more righteously uh and they can now be prospered the rain can finally fall and so what follows follows from Nephi's initial prayer to begin the famine then be becomes a much longer prayer asking God to end it The Language by the way is

really really beautiful uh he keeps repeating the phrase oh Lord again putting all the emphasis on God's power not assuming that he has got all that power himself okay he keeps it clear uh really really well but notice what he says in verse 13 and 14 of chapter 11 oh Lord wilt thou hearken unto me I know you said you already would uh but I I'm never going to take that power for granted so please wilt thou hearken unto me and cause that it may be done according to my words and send forth rain upon

the face of the Earth that she may bring forth her fruit and her grain in the season of grain notice it's not going to be a quick fix the rain's got to fall but then the plants still have to grow o I'm still this is not a quick rescue you I it's they were slow to remember the Lord their God so it's going to be a little slow for God to remember them okay let's let the N law of the Harvest yeah let's learn the law of the Harvest then he says continuing his prayer oh

Lord thou D hearken unto my words when I said let there be a famine that the pestilence of the sword might cease and I know that thou Wilt even at this time hearken unto my words for thou sayest that if this people repent I will spare them now to me that's a really fascinating prayer because it's not I know you're going to do this because you said I could do anything I want you get that he didn't say he wasn't he didn't call God back to his promise of power he called God back to his

promise of Mercy toward the penitent that to me is mindblowing I'm not asking you to do this because you did give me Authority and now I get to leverage that against you uh-uh we don't hold God hostage but we can trust in a God who keeps his word you said that you would be merciful to the repentant and look they've changed I read the read the prayer on your own and what I love about it is again it's so submissive on Nephi's part but he's an amazing intercessor he he an incredible defense attorney and instead

of playing judge and saying okay you got out early for good behavior instead he pleads with the real judge and says look at the changes in my clients look at how these people have repented and with that evidence I now trust your mercy to come and forgive them and that's exactly what happens I love this even the way he says it in verse 16 really interesting interesting phrase and now oh Lord wilt thou notice all of the second person pronouns it's always thee and thy and thine it's not about me it's about you okay but

wilt thou turn away thine anger and try again if they will serve thee and if so remember it's all the ifs and perhaps there's no guarantees but there's a possibility here I'm hoping if so oh Lord thou can bless them according to to thy Words which thou Hast said like I like I might like I said I love the these and thy and th it's all about God but I also love the phrase try again because Nephi is addressing that phrase to God will you try again just to see if they might actually serve thee

this time this time their repentance might stick maybe we've beat the pride cycle once and for all I'm hoping will you try again to put up with us since we're trying again to do what's right to me there's a a humility assumed there on the part of God not assumed that's understood but God try again we're the ones that need to keep on trying well of course but to me it says something about about God really engaging in the process being being willing to keep on working with us like okay back to the drawing board

this is a parent whose kids have just done everything against them and maybe made it personal and pushed them back and that can be hard on a parent parental patience can sometimes wear thin but when a child decides to try again will We Will We parents okay let's maybe try something we haven't tried let's keep on doing this I'll never give up on you and God never gives up on us well from what happens there oh like I said the the famine ends the rain falls uh in verse 18 and 19 of chapter 11 they

did not more seek to destroy Nephi it's good news for him but they did esteem him as a great prophet and a man of God oh that's still in the Goldie Lock so you're not God but you're a man of God having great power and authority given unto him from God and behold Lehi yeah we forgot about him Lehi his brother was not a wit behind him as to things pertaining to righteousness I love that little phrase if you've ever felt like you're playing second fiddle or you're ever the bridesmaid never the bride if you

if someone else's contributions and consecrations seem to attract attention in ways that yours have not then please hold on to that phrase and know that your contribution is not one wit behind that of anyone else that's good to know well I worry though about what you see in the next ver okay and I'm going to have to fly through the rest of of this chapter and chapter 12 just to to give you some things to to study on your own this week chapter 11:20 says the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land

well of course the rain's Fallen the famine is over the crops have grown and prosperity oh no it's that word are we back to the peas are we oh no are we back to the pride cycle I mean every time you see prosperity in scripture brace yourself because what's coming well verse 21 exceedingly great peace in the land oh that was close ooh 22 still peace save it were oh no I I'm I'm glad I braced myself it's here save it were a few contentions concerning the points of Doctrine which had been laid down by

the prophets well that's only a few well yeah but few often leads to many if you can't solve the issue early on and what are they contending over points of Doctrine laid down by prophets they're fighting over good things huh we're going to see more of that in third Nephi in a couple of weeks good people fighting over good things but it's the fight that's that proves fatal it's that Pride I get it right you got it wrong it's that Pride that's going to lead us down the pride cycle I wonder often in our day

is that where it starts too well-meaning people contending over prophetic Doctrine establishing their version of Orthodoxy at the expense of all harmony with those around them well unfortunately by the time you get to verse 23 there is much strife and then notice this but it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi and many of their Brethren who knew concerning the true points of Doctrine having many Revelations daily therefore they did preach un to the people in so much that they did put an end to their Strife in that same year they nipped The Pride cycle

in the bud they they held on to the merrygoround before it kept on going and established peace why because they knew true Doctrine and true Doctrine understood affects Behavior how did they know that true Doctrine they had many Revelations and they had them daily that that is such a profound phrase in Scripture do you remember back in uh Jacob chapter 7 when Jacob was facing sheram and what kept him unshaken in his faith that he had the ministering of angels he'd had the voice of God speaking unto him in very word from time to time

do you remember in Joseph Smith Matthew when it describes the deception of the elect as the as the defining sign of the times in the last days and what is it that helps us overcome that deception if we treasure up the words of life it's what happens on shelf number two that keeps shelf number one from getting Dusty and shelf number three from becoming overwhelming if you don't remember the Shelf issue we'll talk about that more in third Nephi in a couple weeks but it's current Revelation it's many Revelations daily that helps us again what

gets us through the midst of Darkness it's the iron rod and hand or hand the rod of long we get to the tree of life that's what's keeping the pride cycle at Bay keeping it from spinning toward self-destruction it's amazing these ongoing experiences with God like we said back in Alma 32 in our discussion of Faith vers versus knowledge being able to stand up in sacrament meeting and say I know the church is true that's not the Finish Line That's The Starting Line in some ways obviously there's things that lead up to that starting line

but that's where we begin the process of discipleship transformation if the church is true it's only true because it connects me to Christ and what is Christ's goal with me make him make me into someone like him ah who fine the church is true whatever but am I having experiences with God as often as I possibly can one of my brothers used to say on his mission to everyone he met investigators less actives members fellow missionaries what have you done today to feel the spirit that's a great question to wrestle with what have I done

today well here we are studying scripture together so don't check the box there's not a box to check but hopefully it is inviting the spirit into your life so you have these many Revelations daily that's the goal and why is it such an important goal because we're up against that Pride cycle you see unfortunately what happens is by the end of chapter 11 there's a bunch of nephite dissenters oh those again that go and join the lamanites stir the lonit up to anger it's like your cause is more legitimate than ours but we'll use yours

to get ours accomplished and so let's go fight against the Nephites and now we're going to have wars just like yeah I told you the war chapters weren't confined to the end of Alma all of a sudden we're staring down the barrel of that again and wor first of all the gadianton robbers have been reborn during the famine they were eradicated from the land those old secret plans and secret combinations were buried deep to keep them secret oh but the original Source Satan is still able to whisper them in the ears of those that are

now going back behind the curtain okay we now have things behind the facade hidden area all over again notice for example 11: 36 and 37 in the 80 and 2nd year they began again to forget the Lord their God and in the 80 and3rd year they began to wax strong in iniquity and in the 80 and4th year they did not mend their ways and it came to pass in the 80 and5th year we're just tiing off the calendar here they did wax stronger and stronger in their pride and in their wickedness and thus they were

ripening again for Destruction I mean in those two verses you see the whole Pride cycle unfold back in Helman 3 I think it was it talked about the the Valiant the faithful waxing stronger and stronger in their humility and here we see its opposite waxing stronger and stronger in their pride you know where that leads Mormon knows where that leads he's lived through it on paper or on plate I should say as well as in the flesh his civilization succumbed to the pride cycle and ended in utter Annihilation he knows that the same happened with

the jedit he's seen it happen Among the Nephites with these gadian and robbers he's looking at our day and seeing that we're barreling towards the same problems due to the same pride and prosperity what did briam Young say we've been through speaking of peas we've been through persecution only made us stronger we've been through poverty that turned us to God but man there's a third pee that scares me to death and it's Prosperity he said as only briam could I'm afraid we're going to grow prosperous in these valleys of the West that we're going to

W wax fat Kick ourselves out of the church and go to hell thank you brother brigam saying it straight at what point are we are we prospering are we waxing fat are we kicking ourselves out of the church are we going to hell there's the pride cycle and what's interesting to me is chapter 12 is the longest and thus we see interruption in the entire Book of Mormon Mormon pauses The Narrative and just vents for a minute takes a whole chapter and makes sure we see what he's seeing if it's in our blind spot Mormon's

not going to let it stay there if we're trying to hide behind the facade and not deal we don't want people to know about our pride and our and our our trip down the or our impending trip down the pride cycle then Mormon is pushing everything out into the open and in the entire chapter 12 he vents about human nature and our tendency toward Pride and our unwillingness to come to our senses and repent it's a powerful chapter but a rough one brace yourself for a look in the mirror from someone who understands human nature

really really well I've told you this before one year when I read a book A day in the Old Testament during a summer to prepare to teach it The Following fall I read the Book of Judges in one day uh didn't take as long as like believe me uh but those chapters of Judges like I told you at the beginning of today's lesson every new judge is a new round of the pride cycle and I was used to reading you know a chapter a day and so you get kind of one round a day and

then you kind of recover and forget right and the next day you're like oh wow look what's happening but because I read it all in one sitting I couldn't help but notice the round after round after round of the pride cycle and honestly I started getting dizzy spiritually speaking like whoa really more than dizzy I started getting frustrated not only with human nature but even with divine nature because it seemed too merciful I was a young teacher back then I was in the older brother's stage okay not the dad's stage yet and what was interesting

was to just think God why do you keep forgiving them it's going to be like a chapter later maybe just the next column and they're going to fall back into pride and sin and then you read and you're like yep sure enough didn't even make it to the next chapter again God why do you do this and that's when the spirit came rushing in and whispered to me more than a whisper because I do the same thing for you oh yikes you're right I'm on the merry-go round constantly thank you for your mercy I'm sorry

for my natural man Human Nature by the time you get to Helman 12 I think Mormon is dizzy and Mormon is frustrated though not with God he's frustrated with us and so here's the venting I'll just show you a few verses right from the start verse one and thus we can behold like I said this whole chapter is a thus we see and that's how he starts how and what are we beholding what do we see how false and also the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men yay we can see that the

Lord in his great infinite goodness do bless and prosper those who put their trust in him can you picture Mormon just like ringing his hands and like man it's a miracle that God even puts up with us what am I seeing as I go through history what am I seeing as I fight lamanites in my day what am I seeing as I perceive the future prophetically I am seeing that the natural man is nothing but false and unsteady it's heart is placed on wrong things and yet what's on the other side pulling it in the

other direction a god of of infinite goodness repent ye repent ye why will ye die turn ye turn ye do you not understand why God has turned from you he says in verse two yay we may see at the very time when he doth Prosper his people oh here's Pride cycle doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people yay then is the time that they do Harden their hearts do forget the Lord their God and do trample under their feat the Holy One yay this because of their ease and their exceedingly great

Prosperity how Wonder brigin was so concerned that we're getting fat and happy and lazy spiritually or one of Brigham Young's earlier Heroes John Wesley the founder of methodism who was trying to revive religion in his day and lamented the fact that even though it was working there was no hope for it to be perfect permanent because of the pride cycle John Wesley said when where religion is revived the people turn to God and God blesses them which then leads to that Prosperity that succumbs to Pride and self-destruction he wrestled with it in his day like

Brigham did in his and like President Nelson and you and I are doing in ours okay so go back to verse three and thus we see right Mormons trying to make this as crystal clear as he can thus we see that except the Lord doth chasen his people with many afflictions y except he doth visit them with death and with Terror and with famine with all manner of pestilence they will not remember him and that's exactly what Nephi realized when he had to call a famine in the land how bad is it doctor brace yourself

for the ultimate diagnosis of the natural man because Mormon's going to give it to us we now realize that yep I'm I'm on the spin cycle and I'm going to do it again and why am I this way why don't I wake up why don't I change permanently well Dr Mormon is going to give us the diagnosis in verses four and five oh how foolish and how Vain and how evil and devilish and how quick to do iniquity and how slow low to do good are the children of men I told you you had to

brace yourself for this this is a rough one that's the natural man is an enemy to God like King Benjamin taught this is Mormon's version of it we're quick in some areas slow in others and we have those areas completely reversed if only we were quick to do good slow to do iniquity but we're not we've got the we got that the order wrong he says yay how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world World yay how quick to be lifted up

in Pride yay how quick to boast and do all manner of that which is Iniquity and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God and to give ear unto his counsels yay how slow to walk in wisdom's paths man are you can I get a second opinion Dr Mor no no yeah ask any Prophet they'll say the same that doesn't seem like a very good diagnosis well doesn't seem like a very good prognos is I think sadly I think you got the diagnosis spot on but where does that lead to self-destruction you know

where the pride cycle bottoms out unless you change unless you turn the Lord side of the pride cycle is beautiful because it's humility leading to righteousness leading to blessedness but what's interesting in all of this to me is the speed Factor slow fast and like I said we've got those all wrong I wonder if if it's natural for us to speed toward self-destruction and only slowly recover through repentance I wonder if there's a way to reverse it back to where it should be now this is going to take a lot of mindfulness on our part

a lot of intentionality but what if there were a way to slow down our slide into sin is there a way to put on the breakes is there a way to think harder about consequences when we begin to entertain choices is there a way to better remember the Captivity of our fathers oh there's a book of Mormon phrase can we think back to our own mistakes and the heartache can we hold on to Godly sorrow brainstorm what kinds of things can you do to slow down sin and then the the reverse are there are things

I can do to speed up righteousness to accelerate senses of accountability to to again to speed up good decisions Elder Maxwell used to talk about developing righteous reflexes there's the wax on wax off we've talked about with the karate kid right but in in these terms intentionality mindfulness if we can do that Ponder the speed Factor okay speed up good things slow down our descent into bad things whatever it takes we need some speed bumps on the road to hell right he then says this in verse six we're almost done here behold they do not

desire that the Lord their God who hath created them should Rule and Reign Over them there's some irony there he's your creator but you don't want him to be your king he says notwithstanding his great goodness and his Mercy towards them they do set it not his counsels and they will not not that he should be their guide yeah us puny imperfect ignorant Mortals telling omniscience himself that we're not interested in his advice oh talk about irony talk about obstinacy no wonder he says in verse 7 and 8 oh how great is the nothingness of

the Children of Men yay even they are less than the dust of the earth and here's why for behold the dust of the earth moveth hither and thither to the dividing asunder at the command of our great and everlasting God that that's what makes us less than the dust of the Earth at least the dust obeys you ever seen an obstinate dust particle just like clinging onto its position in the world like no I won't blow where the wind listeth now the wind's going to blow and the dust is going to go love that about

about dust well as long as it's blowing away from me right well we obstinate dust particles fighting back against a god of goodness what are we thinking well we're not thinking about our nothingness that's for sure remember Moses when a recognition of that nothingness was forced upon him not by saying how bad he was but by finally seeing how good God is don't dig the pit extend the pedestal right well once NE once Moses saw that what's he saying Moses 1 man is nothing which Thing I Never Had supposed maybe we need to suppose that

a little more often and suppose its opposite it's one of my favorite contraries as far as the nature of humanity are theological anthropology yes we are nothing less than the dust of the Earth but in God's eyes we are also everything worth worlds worth the life of his only begotten son as I've said before an old Rabbi centuries ago used to have a slip of paper in either pocket and one slip of paper said you are less than the dust of the earth and the other slip of paper said but for you God created created

the heavens and the Earth and this wise Rabbi said the key to life is to know which slip of paper to pull out in any given situation that's what contraries do need to move a little to the left need a move a little to the right need to become a little more humble need a little have a little more confidence in God and in well then know which slip to pull out of your pocket and read it well well Mormon then speaks repeatedly of the power of God specifically through his word and notice how often

he says and God said and the Lord commands it's his word it's his word it's it's his word and what does that word always point to repentance and Redemption through the Redeemer no wonder Mormon is going to spend his whole life on this project of getting the word into the hands of people in his day and in our own that that's his great point because he knows human nature he knows the natural man but he knows the spiritual man or woman we can become through Christ he knows that despite the Mist Of Darkness and the

great and spacious B great and spacious building the iron Rod will draw us to the tree and its magnificent fruit that's why Mormon is extending that Rod right to us his takeaway at the end of it all I love this this is verse 24 and 25 and may God grant so now it's a prayer it's gone from a lament ation on human nature to a sense of gratitude for divine nature and he's praying that God will do something for us that he'll grant us something now if he's if we have to pray that it might

be granted then we cannot take it for granted when it hasn't been yet okay but this is what this is the Grant from God that Mormon is pleading for may God grant in his great fullness that men might be brought unto repentance and good works that don't seem to be able to find it on their own but God can you bring them repentance good works no more sins of omission no more sins of commission that they might be restored unto Grace for Grace according to their works and I would that all men might be saved

that phrase restored unto Grace for Grace oh there's there's a phrase worth worth a sermon it reminds me of section 93 of the doctrine covenants which describes how Christ himself went from grew into a fullness of divine glory and it was a process of going and growing From Grace to Grace now here it's the phrase Grace for grace and that phrase appears in section 93 as well it's interesting both phrases Grace for grace and grace to Grace now Grace for Grace suggests a kind of Exchange and Grace to Grace suggests some kind of oh ascent

and that's exactly what happens whatever step you're on on The Stairway to Heaven God offers you Grace and prays that we will return Grace for Grace he gives us gifts talents opportunities time to help as many as we can and as we return Grace for the grace we been given then he graduates us to a higher level of Grace because of our willingness to live in Grace for Grace God will invite us to live in Grace to Grace until we receive a fullness even as Christ did now what I love about the way Mormon wrestles

with that same concept is our sins our descent down the pride cycle interrupts the process of living grace for grace in fact we get downgraded in Grace right we lose that because we're not doing anything with it we don't want it we think we can do it all ourselves I don't need God's help I got this and what's Mormon's prayer man recognize your flimsy failed false human nature and turn to a god through repentance and he will Empower you he will give you Grace which you can then live in and act on and pay for

forward and give back to God with increase this is the parable of the talents all over again and then he can give you more that's the process of growing up in God ascending heavenward and what Mormon is pleading for is God will you please Grant these thy children a chance to re-engage in the process remember as soon as we repent then immediately The Plan of Salvation begins to work in our favor instead of against us we get back into the process of Grace for grace and there's no better place to be now in your own

study this week here are some phrases to wrestle with a beautiful list starting back in chapter 7 and making it all the way through chapter 12 not in the least a right swollen with sorrow easy to be intreated these are my days tell you of your iniquities great need to Marvel oh repent ye repent ye why will ye die except ye shall repent sinned against that great knowledge lengthen out their days beyond that which is good look upon the Son of God with faith all the holy Prophets rejoiced in his day which is to come

he is God and he is with them do ye know how long the Lord your God will suffer you sent unto you from God he has told us the thoughts of our hearts with unwear declared the word mighty in word and indeed in faith and in Works sealed in heaven to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God humble themselves in sackcloth oh Lord wilt thou hearken unto me if this people repent I will spare them thou seest that they have repented a great prophet and a man of God not a wit behind

build up their waste place contentions concerning the points of Doctrine having many Revelations daily a stop put to this work of Destruction the unsteadiness of the hearts of the children of men his great infinite goodness doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people how slow to walk in wisdom's paths they will not thought that he should be their guide How great is the nothingness of the children of men less than the dust of the earth restored unto Grace for Grace it's my prayer that we can be restored to that magnificent process of

spiritual growth like I said God has a half of the pride cycle just like the devil does if you took the Maro around and just drew a line right down the middle Pride wickedness and destruction is the adversaries territory but repentance humility righteousness blessedness is on God's side of that line and as long as we will continue turning to God Even in our blessedness Even in our prosperity and that's what where we get nervous but if we will continue to come unto Christ even in our prosperity then it's no longer a a gamble on God's

part to give us that prosperity to begin with we won't be waxing fat we will be inviting others to the feast we won't be kicking ourselves out of the church we'll be inviting other people to come and join us there we won't be going to hell brother Brigham we'll be going to heaven in fact we'll be making a heaven right here which is exactly what God is calling us all to [Music] accomplish thanks so much for listening to unshaken a proud member of the faith matters podcast Network you can learn more about faith matters and

check out our other shows at Faith matters. .org