Thursday, April 18, 2013

Scripture Highlights from my Youth; First Nephi

This weekend I asked my kids to bring me a Book of Mormon.  They brought me the Book of Mormon I owned in my youth.  The passages in the scriptures that I highlighted are very telling it is like reading a journal.

1 Nephi 1: 14
[14] Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth, and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!

i.e. God will not allow me to perish.

1 Nephi 1:19
[19] And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of the Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.

i.e. I may be mocked for saying what is true.

1 Nephi 2: 19 - 20

[19] And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.
[20] And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

i.e.  I am blessed because of my faith, and for seeking the Lord with lowliness of heart.  If I keep the commandments I will prosper and I will be lead to a place where I will be safe.

1 Nephi 3:6
[6] Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured.

i.e. I am favored of the Lord.

1 Nephi 3:19-20
[19] And behold, it is wisdom in God that we should obtain these records, that we may preserve unto our children the language of our fathers;
[20] And also that we may preserve unto them the words which have been spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been delivered unto them by the Spirit and power of God, since the world began, even down unto this present time.

i.e. Scriptures preserved for me

1 Nephi 3:29
[29] And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold, an angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them, saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands.

i.e. I may feel smitten by my family now, but that does not determine how things will end up in the end.

1 Nephi 4:13
[13] Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.

i.e. It is better to expose my father rather then allow him to continue to abuse.

1 Nephi 4: 14
[14] Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.

i.e. I and my family will prosper.

1 Nephi 9:6
[6] But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen.

i.e. The Lord will prepare a way for me to do good.

1 Nephi 14:2
[3] they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.

i.e. I will escape captivity and no longer be confounded, I will be blessed.

1 Nephi 15: 33-36
[33] Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also, as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.
[34] But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy, and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God; wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness prepared for that which is filthy.
[35] And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken, and the devil is the preparator of it; wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God, or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.
[36] Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen.

i.e. About my father.

1 Nephi 20 :10
[10] For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

i.e. About me.

1 Nephi 10:11
[11]  for I will not suffer my name to be polluted, and I will not give my glory unto another.

i.e. The Lord will not suffer my father polluting his name.

1 Nephi 10:14
[14] All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? The Lord hath loved him; yea, and he will fulfill his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans.

i.e. The Lord loves me and his arm will come upon my enemy.

1 Nephi 22:20
[20] And the Lord will surely prepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

i.e. The Lord will prepare a way for me.

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