Welcome to Day 16...
Today's reading begins with a beautiful and easy to understand chapter of Isaiah. He expresses sweet and inspiring phrases: "Behold God is my salvation...I will trust and not be afraid...Jehovah is my strength and my song!" 2 Nephi 22: 2,5
There is a poignant moment in chapter 26 when Nephi speaks of the destruction of his people and says, "it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord...notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it." (2 Nephi 26:7, 10)
Seeing the destruction of his people likely gave Nephi added motivation to teach his posterity about the Savior and plead with them to worship Him with all their might, mind and strength.
" And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul..." (2 Nephi 25:26, 29)
Nephi expresses: "The words of Isaiah...are plain to all those that are filled with the spirit of prophesy...my soul delighteth in plainness...yea and my soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah." 2 Nephi 25:4-5
Now, let's seek to be filled with the spirit of prophesy so that Isaiah's words are "plain" to US!
- Opening Song: "Come Unto Jesus"
- Pray to invite the spirit to your study session.
- Scripture Study: 2 Nephi 22-26 (listen)
- Study Guide: (here)
Discussions on The Book of Mormon: 2 Nephi 17-24
"And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out." (2 Nephi 25:29)
"He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation." (2 Nephi 26:24)
“The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.” --Ezra Taft Benson 
- Close with prayer and enjoy the sweetness of the Spirit you invited from feasting on the word.
The Lord makes it clear that He takes care of the demands of justice, and that He gives us every chance and every warning to repent and take advantage of the Atonement in our lives. Our assignment is to extend the truths of the Gospel to all mankind and to view all with charity. To forgive and to repent are our responsibilities, and He will take care of the rest as only He can. We must put aside envy, strife and contention. We must be patient, long suffering, kind, and not take offense. We must protect ourselves and others from abuse, but we must not foster hateful feelings or grudges. The Atonement pays for our sins and pays for the sins committed against us. As disciples of Christ, our faith in Him will ease the burdens of our own sins and heal the effects of the sins that others have perpetrated against us. It is a beautiful plan. In order to learn and to grow, we must experiment in the "sandbox" of life on earth. But no permanent damage need occur if we accept the power of the Atonement to right all wrongs, heal all wounds and make all things work for our best good.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the scriptures every morning Heidi. Thanks so much. I cannot see most of the videos on my iPad and android phone however. Do u know why?
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