And it came to pass that when those which were the children of Amulon and his brethren, which had taken to wife the daughters of the Lamanites -- they were displeased with the conduct of their fathers and they would no longer be called by the names of their fathers -- therefore they took upon themselves the name of Nephi, that they might be called the children of Nephi and be numbered among those which were called Nephites.
I can choose what name I want to become more like.
And now it came to pass that the burdens which was laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.
If I can't do something cheerfully, then I need to ask for His help.
And I will also ease the burdens which is put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage. And this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I the Lord God do visit my people in their afflictions.
I should recall frequently the good things that have happened to me after I have chosen to be obedient to promptings. Like getting a good night's sleep after contacting relatives.
And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me. And I will covenant with this my people and deliver them out of bondage.
No matter how much it feels like it sometimes, I am not alone.
"Many questions arose that we had to settle. There was no precedent for us to follow, and we just had to go to the Lord and tell Him our troubles, and get inspiration and help from Him."
Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith.
As I do hard things, I am strengthened and become more powerful like Him.
And it came to pass that they did multiply and prosper exceedingly in the land of Helam. And they built a city which they called the city of Helam.
I should live an exemplary life to encourage others to receive the same blessings I enjoy.
And it came to pass that the king hearkened unto the words of Gideon.
I should hearken unto true words, no matter the source, but every source is subject to confirmation through prayer.
And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities. Nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites, that they began to ease their burdens. Yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.
I should continue to seek His help so that He can continue to send me blessings.
And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility. And they did cry mightily to God, yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.
I should pray more often and with more desire and more willingness to change if I want Him to help me.
But Limhi saith unto them: Ye shall not slay him but bring him hither that I may see him. And they brought him, and Limhi saith unto him: What cause have ye to come up to war against my people? Behold, my people have not broken the oath that I made unto you. Therefore why should ye break the oath which ye made unto my people?
I should be slow to anger, patient, and reasonable in all situations.
It should be made clear that we are not talking here about a passive patience which wants only for the passing of time to heal or resolve things which happen to us, but rather a patience that is active, which makes things happen.
I should be more active in seeking solutions my problems.
Therefore the Lamanites did spare their lives and took them captives and carried them back to the land of Nephi and granted unto them that they might possess the land under the conditions that they would deliver up the king Noah into the hands of the Lamanites and deliver up their property, even one half of all they possessed: one half of their gold and their silver and all their precious things. And thus they should pay tribute to the king of the Lamanites from year to year.
I should be thankful that, in return for my tithe, I receive blessings more than I pay.
And the priests was not to depend upon the people for their support, but for their labor they were to receive the grace of God, that they might wax strong in the Spirit, having the knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority from God.
I should strive to learn more about Him so that I can receive increased spiritual strength.
And there was one day in every week that was set apart that they should gather themselves together to teach the people and to worship the Lord their God, and also as often as it was in their power to assemble themselves together.
On one day every week, I should gather to teach, worship, and assemble. I should reach out to connect with someone.
And it came to pass that Alma having authority from God ordained priests, even one priest to every fifty of their number did he ordain to preach unto them and to teach them concerning the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
I should endeavor to speak the truth whenever I open my mouth.
And now king Noah was about to release him, for he feared his word; for he feared that the judgments of God would come upon him.
I should listen to the voice that persuades to do good.
But there is a resurrection. Therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.
I can overcome all my sorrows with His help.
And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that are still publishing peace!
I should still my soul and publish peace whenever I can.
He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
I should be accepting of the hard things in my life and not murmur.
but the seventh day, the sabbath of the Lord thy God, thou shalt not do any work, thou nor thy son nor thy daughter, thy manservant nor thy maidservant nor thy cattle nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.
I should spend my Sabbath resting and connecting with others.
And they began to question him, that they might cross him, that thereby they might have wherewith to accuse him. But he answered them boldly and withstood all their questions —- yea, to their astonishment —- for he did withstand them in all their questions and did confound them in all their words.
If I strive to be honest at all times, I will always withstand anyone who attempts to deliberately mislead.
And it came to pass that he planted vineyards round about in the land, and he built winepresses and made wine in abundance; and therefore he became a winebibber, and also his people.
I should fill my life with the things I want my life to be full of.
They were a wild and ferocious and a bloodthirsty people, believing in the tradition of their fathers, which is this: believing that they were driven out of the land of Jerusalem because of the iniquities of their fathers, and that they were wronged in the wilderness by their brethren, and they were also wronged while crossing the sea,
I should avoid spending my time thinking about how I was wronged. It is an investment that brings only dividends of sorrow, despair, and misery. I should spend my time thinking about how I've been blessed.
And it came to pass that we did go up to battle against the Lamanites; and I, even I in my old age, did go up to battle against the Lamanites. And it came to pass that we did go up in the strength of the Lord to battle.
I should gather unto myself the strength of the Lord instead of trying to do things by myself.
Now it was the cunning and the craftiness of king Laman to bring my people into bondage that he yielded up the land that we might possess it.
I should consider the long term consequences of my short term decisions
And Mosiah began to reign in his father’s stead, and he began to reign in the thirtieth year of his age, making in the whole about four hundred and seventy six years from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem.
He will help me to serve well in new callings.
And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free; there is no other name given whereby salvation cometh. Therefore I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.
I should listen to His voice and do what He asks, suggests, or commands.
And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need, and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain and turn him out to perish.
I will gain great power through my daily scripture study. With this strength, I should bless others.
At some point, without necessarily realizing it, I become so powerful that I can't help blessing others. I don't even have to try.
And again I say unto you, as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceeding great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember and always retain in remembrance the greatness of God and your own nothingness and his goodness and long-suffering towards you unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.
I need to be willing to let Him grant unto me a portion of His power so that I can change and improve
And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words, the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins and having peace of conscience because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ, which should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.
When I speak the truth, the Spirit can help me feel joy.
Yet the Lord God saw that his people were a stiffnecked people, and he appointed unto them a law, even the law of Moses.
He loves me enough to be patient with me, to allow me to learn and grow, and to accept my being at the level I'm at.
But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind. Yet as I have been chosen by this people and was consecrated by my father and was suffered by the hand of the Lord that I should be a ruler and a king over this people and have been kept and preserved by his matchless power, to serve thee with all the might, mind, and strength which the Lord hath granted unto me--
He has the power to help me do all that he asks. I just need to ask Him to grant me the power I need.
I will keep your name safe... I will see you for who you are at your best...I will never say anything about you that is unkind, that is not going to lift you.
This is charity. This is how I should be kind.
And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, and who had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies and had appointed just men to be their teachers and also a just man to be their king, who had established peace in the land of Zarahemla, and who had taught them to keep the commandments of God, that thereby they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men.
I should hold no bitterness or animosity.
And moreover I shall give this people a name that thereby they may be distinguished above all the people which the Lord God hath brought out of the land of Jerusalem. And this I do because they have been a diligent people in keeping the commandments of the Lord.
I should give myself a name by being dilligent in keeping the commandments.
"Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of our culture..."
What is faith in Jesus Christ? Speaking an empowering belief that enables me to act in the face of an uncertains outcome by enabling me to do something I don't feel like doing.
I can seak a truth that is stronger than the feeling of doubt, and enable a feeling strong enough to conquer it.
"To keep the commandments, you must know them."
There are the "everyone, everywhere, always" commandments in the scriptures, and there are also the "me, now, this time" commandments from the Holy Ghost. I should be completely obedient to both.
Wherefore it came to pass that after Amaleki had delivered up these plates into the hands of king Benjamin, he took them and put them with the other plates, which contained records which had been handed down by the kings from generation to generation until the days of king Benjamin.
I should work to integrate my knowledge into one complete whole by pondering the scriptures I read.
And we multiplied exceedingly and spread upon the face of the land and became exceeding rich in gold and in silver and in precious things and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings and in machinery, and also in iron and copper and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of war—-yea, the sharp pointed arrow and the quiver and the dart and the javelin—-and all preparations for war.
I should live in the way of the Lord so that I can be exceedingly blessed.
And it came to pass that they came many times against us the Nephites to battle. But our kings and our leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord, and they taught the people the ways of the Lord. Wherefore we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of our lands and began to fortify our cities or whatsoever place of our inheritance.
I should strive to be a mighty man in the faith of the Lord.
For at the present our strugglings were vain in restoring them to the true faith. And they swore in their wrath that if it were possible, they would destroy our records and us and also all the traditions of our fathers.
My strugglings may be vain now, but I will be blessed for my efforts in time.
Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forest, and I remembered the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life and the joy of the saints; and the words of my father sunk deep into my heart,
I should speak the words of the gospel often.
