Lesson #6. 2 NEPHI 1 & 2

Consider 2 Nephi 1:15 “[T]he Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love” (see also 2 Nephi 2:4-5). What blessings did Lehi and Jacob obtain through their faithfulness?

President Joseph F. Smith taught that Christ redeems everyone from physical death and all those who repent from spiritual death (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith).  Joseph Smith taught that everyone will eventually be redeemed from spiritual death except for sons of perdition (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph F. Smith, 361). Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said that when we have the companionship of the Holy Spirit we are, to that degree, spiritually alive.

Citing 2 Nephi 1:15, Elder Russell M. Nelson explained: “Lehi, father of Nephi and Jacob, was also an eyewitness of the Lord” (October 1999 CR).

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Regarding 2 Nephi 1:20 (see also 1 Nephi 17:3, 13) …

… President Benson said the Lord was not promising material wealth but that the faithful would prosper in righteousness (seeApril 1986 CR).

… President Grant said, “[R]eal prosperity” is “growth in a knowledge of God, and in a testimony, and in the power to live the gospel” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 124).

… Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said, “The possession of wealth or the acquisition of significant income is not a mark of heavenly favor, and their absence is not evidence of heavenly disfavor” (Pure in Heart, 76; see also 1 Timothy 6:5; Mosiah 12:14-15; 25:24).

… President James E. Faust said that payment of tithes and offerings will not ensure freedom from economic problems, but it will create a communion with the Savior that will enhance a person’s inner core of strength and stability. (See February 1998 First Presidency Message).

What did God promise those who keep the commandments?

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2 Nephi 1:21-25) What did Lehi suggest are some qualities of a righteous man?

            How do these compare to the world’s definition of manhood?

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2 Nephi 2:5) How does the law cut us off and prevent us from being justified? (See, e.g., 1 John 1:8; Romans 3:23.)

2 Nephi 2:6–7) Since we cannot justify ourselves, how can we be justified and enabled to enter God’s presence? 

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Regarding 2 Nephi 2:22-23 . . .  

… Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said, “When Adam and Eve received the first commandment, they were … not yet subject to death and not yet capable of procreation. They could not fulfill the Father’s first commandment without transgressing the [second]…. Eve transgressed … in order to initiate the conditions of mortality.… Informed by revelation, we celebrate Eve’s act and honor her wisdom and courage.” (See Oct 1993 CR.)

…. Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained that "the Lord gave two conflicting commandments." Adam and Eve "must choose to become mortal" so they "could have children" or "remain forever in the garden in a state of innocence."  They "chose the Lord's way; there was no other way whereby salvation might come…” (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith [1985], 91; see also Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions 2:215.)  

What conditions and commandments preceded the “Fall”?

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President Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Adam and Eve could have remained in the Garden of Eden to this day, if Eve hadn’t done something …  I want to thank her…”(Oct 1967 CR,  reprinted in January 2006 Ensign, p. 8.)

President James E. Faust said, “We all owe a great debt of gratitude to Eve. . . . If it hadn’t been for Eve, none of us would be here. . . . Mother Eve left a lasting legacy that comes down through the ages to bless the lives of all men and women.” (October 1999 Conference Report [CR].)

2 Nephi 2:17-18) Why then did Satan tempt Eve to partake of the fruit?  (See also Moses 4:6.)

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Regarding 2 Nephi 2:19. . .

… Elder John A. Widtsoe testified [1] that the “fall” involved “a deliberate use of law, by which Adam and Eve became mortal, and could beget mortal children”; [2] that “there was no sin in the ‘fall’”*; [2] “that Adam and Eve had to become subject to death so that we could “inherit corruptible bodies”; and [4] that “in view of the great sacrifice they made to make the Plan a reality, they are a great hero and heroine of human history.” (A Rational Theology, 51-52; *see also Articles of Faith 1:2; Words of Joseph Smith, 63). “This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation 1:114–15).

… Elder Joseph Fielding Smith explained that the word “corruptible,” as used in the scriptures to refer to our bodies, does not mean sinful or evil but mortal, temporal, subject to disease and decay (Doctrines of Salvation 1:67; 2:286). Unless they are resurrected, sanctified, transfigured or translated, our mortal bodies cannot withstand the presence of the Father or the Son.  (See D&C 101:23-24; Helaman 14:15-17; 2 Nephi 9:7-12.)

Why were Adam and Eve “driven out” of the garden? 

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Regarding 2 Nephi 2:21 . . .

… President Hugh B. Brown said, “We refuse to believe that the fall [led to] the corrupttion of human nature… [T]he so-called fall … placed [us] in a world of experience … where choices, freely made, determine … the condition of the soul.” (Apr 1964 CR, 82.)

… Elder Harold B. Lee said, “Satan came among the children of Adam and Eve and said [of the Gospel their parents had taught them] ‘Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they … began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish’” (Oct 1956 CR, emphasis added). 

....Elder Boyd K. Packer said, “a doctrine is taught that men are basically evil; that they are . . . carnal and devilish, conceived in sin and possessed of a tendency to be wicked . . . that man is, by his very nature, inclined to be bad.  That doctrine  . . . is not only false; it is also very destructive . . . . [W]e have inherited the tendency to be good, not evil.” (July 1977, Liahona, 35.) Elder Packer also said: “Behavior begins with belief” (Oct 1996 CR).

In what sense were we all “lost” because of the transgression of our first parents?

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Regarding 2 Nephi 2:23 . . .

…. Elder Neal A. Maxell endorsed C. S. Lewis’s insight that only those “who try to resist temptation know how strong it is” while “bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness” because “they have lived a sheltered life by always giving in” to it. Elder Maxwell added: “Because Jesus resisted it perfectly, He understood temptation perfectly … [T]hat He gave it no heed reveals His marvelous character, which we are to emulate.” (Apr 1997 Ensign, 8.) 

… Elder Joseph Fielding Smith: “We are subject to temptation; but the Lord never intended that we should yield to it and thus become subject to sin” (Doctrines of Salvation 2:2).

Is it necessary for us to sin before we can begin to do good?

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In conclusion, “As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks Oct 2007 Conference Report [CR]; also quoted, for example, in Oct 2014 CR).

*for lesson #6.

“[I]t looked as if [Eve] would have to pay a high price for taking the initiative in the search for knowledge.... The key is the word for sorrow, atsav, meaning to labor, to toil, to sweat, to do something very hard. . . . [After telling Eve of the astav of having children] the Lord says to Adam, ‘In atsav shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life’ (that is, the bread that his labor must bring forth from the earth). The identical word is used in both cases . . . It does not mean to be sorry, but rather to have a hard time.” (See Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 1:89.)

President Kimball said: “Our beloved mother Eve began the human race” wanting to bear and rear children and “willing to assume” the hardships connected with doing so. (See October 1975 Conference Report; March 1976, Ensign, p. 70.)

The adversary's false pretences

SATAN’S (SO-CALLED) “PLAN”

  

“Satan's plan required one of two things: Either the compulsion of the mind, the spirit, the intelligence of man, or else saving men in sin. I question whether the intelligence of man can be compelled. Certainly men cannot be saved in sin…  [S]alvation and exaltation are founded in righteousness…” (President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., October 1949 Conference Report, 193.)

“Without [agency] there could be no salvation…. Under false pretenses [Satan] offered to save all the children of our Eternal Father …. Such a salvation would have required each individual to surrender his [agency], therefore it could be no salvation at all.”  (Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, Jr., Answers to Gospel Questions 3:46.)  False pretenses: deliberate misrepresentation of facts; (for example, that it is possible to force a person to be good)].

“When God rejected Satan's plan . . . I believe the rejection came not only because Satan shouldn't deliver on his promise, but because he couldn't deliver. His promise was … a lie…. Satan's plan to save us without agency could not have worked. Without free inquiry and voluntary action … no personal growth is possible.” (Elder Bruce C. Hafen, BYU Studies 25[1985]: 3:173; 32[1992]:3:17.)  

“Few concepts have more potential to mislead us than the idea that choice, or agency, is an ultimate goal…. To secure our agency in mortality we fought a mighty … ‘war in heaven.’ … But our war to secure agency was won. The test in this mortal estate is not to secure choice but to use it to choose good instead of evil so that we can achieve our eternal goals. In mortality … [we] must … resolve many questions concerning what restrictions or consequences should be placed upon choices…. It will not do to pretend that our agency has been taken away when we are not free to exercise it without unwelcome consequences.”

(Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Weightier Matters,” January 2001 Ensign)

Regarding 1 Nephi 16:23

 Elder Marion D. Hanks said: " 'If you treat an individual has he is, he will stay as he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he could be and ought to be, he will become what he ought to be.... [Nephi] could have gone to his own knees. He could have taken over. I count this as one of the really significant lessons of life in the [Book of Mormon].... [Nephi] had strength enough, and humility enough ... to go to his wavering [parent] and say, 'You ask God, will you?' Because somehow he knew that this is how you make [others] strong, that wise confidence in [others] builds them."  

Book of Mormon Lesson #5

Book of Mormon Lesson # 5—1 Nephi 16–22

“Hearken to the Truth, and Give Heed unto It

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Ponderize Scripture: 1 Nephi 17:3. “And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them.”

Introduction

This week’s reading ends their journey of faith through the Arabian wilderness and takes them on the long sea journey to the New World, the land of promise. It also introduces us to the first Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon, Isaiah 48 and 49. We will mainly be dealing with 1 Nephi 16–18. For commentary on 20 and 21, see the admittedly sparse notes here
http://p3sslessons.blogspot.com/2014/10/lesson-38-alison.html
If you want some fun, spend 50 minutes with Hugh Nibley as he talks about 17-19, 22.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTCl1Xwkarw

To see the Neal A. Maxwell/FARMS documentary on the Journey from Jerusalem to Bountiful, see here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_M_Faw_s3s

There are two aspects the lesson manual wants us to concentrate on and they have to do with two physical things—the Liahona and the ship. Both are miraculous in their way: the Liahona because of its divine communication, and the ship because of the necessity of divine inspiration on how to do it and the steps Nephi had to take to gain those skills. My take on both of these is the necessity of daily repentance to avoid the Laman and Lemuel in our nature, the reality of the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and the absolute truth of continuing personal revelation—all made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

1. The Lord guides the families of Lehi and Ishmael according to their faith and diligence.

1 Nephi 17:4–55; 18:1–4.

If we look at their toil in the wilderness from Nephi and Sam and their families point of view, what do we learn. If we look from Laman and Lemuel’s point of view, how is it different. Pres Kimball: “If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball (2006), 15.)

Elder Christofferson, “Some see only sacrifice and limitations in obedience to the commandments of the new and everlasting covenant, but those who live the experience—who give themselves freely and unreservedly to the covenant life—find greater liberty and fulfillment. When we truly understand, we seek more commandments, not fewer. Each new law or commandment we learn and live is like one more rung or step on a ladder that enables us to climb higher and higher. Truly, the gospel life is the good life.”[1]

2. Nephi demonstrates unwavering faith by fulfilling the Lord’s command to build a ship.

 1 Nephi 16; 17:1–3.

Sis. Elaine Jack: “One of the things I recognize is that if we are obedient, faithful, and earnest, the Lord helps us prepare our offerings. We learn this from Nephi, who was told, “Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters” (1 Ne. 17:8). Nephi was not from a seaside community; he had never built a boat. But his response was so full of faith and accountability: “Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?” (1 Ne. 17:9). Without hesitation or question, Nephi began to prepare an offering to the Lord in the shape of a ship.”[2]

Regarding 1 Nephi 16:2, Elder Maxwell said, “God is not only there in the mildest expressions of His presence, but also in those seemingly harsh expressions. For example, when truth ‘cutteth … to the very center’ (1 Nephi 16:2), this may signal that spiritual surgery is underway, painfully severing pride from the soul” (Ensign, Nov. 1987, 31). Have you ever experienced “spiritual surgery”? It isn’t easy. The surprising thing is that even that is not sufficient to turn Laman and Lemuel permanently. We talked last week about hard-heartedness. For those who persist in this condition, it has the capacity to win out in the end. Doesn’t that put a new light on what it means to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. As Hugh Nibley said in the quote Br. Lott shared with us last week, we need to repent—every day! It’s the only way not only to avoid Laman and Lemuel’s fate, but, more importantly, to make sure our personal Liahona, the Holy Spirit, is able to continually guide us.

Elder Bednar: “As we each press forward along the pathway of life, we receive direction from the Holy Ghost just as Lehi was directed through the Liahona. ‘For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do’ (2 Nephi 32:5). The Holy Ghost operates in our lives precisely as the Liahona did for Lehi and his family, according to our faith and diligence and heed” (Ensign, May 2006, 30–31).

Regarding the bow incident—here Nephi has already received his call to be a prophet (1 Nephi 12), but instead of asking the Lord himself where he should go to get food, he submits himself to his father’s authority. As an interesting side note, Hugh Nibley puts in perspective what the loss of the bow meant, “Things looked black when Nephi broke his fine steel bow, for the wooden bows of his brothers had "lost their springs" (1 Nephi 16:21; note the peculiarly Semitic use of the plural for a noun of quality), and though skilled in the art of hunting, they knew little enough about bow-making, which is a skill reserved to specialists even among primitives. Incidentally, archery experts say that a good bow will keep its spring for about one hundred thousand shots; from which one might calculate that the party at the time of the crisis had been traveling anything from one to three years. It was of course out of the question to make the familiar composite bow, and was something of a marvel when Nephi ‘did make out of wood a bow’ (1 Nephi 16:23), for the hunter, the most conservative of men, would never dream of changing from a composite to a simple bow. Though it sounds simple enough when we read about it, it was almost as great a feat for Nephi to make a bow as it was for him to build a ship, and he is justly proud of his achievement. According to the ancient Arab writers, the only bow-wood obtainable in all Arabia was the nab' wood that grew only ‘amid the inaccessible and overhanging crags’ of Mount Jasum and Mount Azd, which are situated in the very region where, if we follow the Book of Mormon, the broken bow incident occurred. How many factors must be correctly conceived and correlated to make the apparently simple story of Nephi's bow ring true! The high mountain near the Red Sea at a considerable journey down the coast, the game on the peaks, hunting with bow and sling, the finding of bow-wood viewed as something of a miracle by the party—what are the chances of reproducing such a situation by mere guess work?”[3]

3. Laman and Lemuel bind Nephi, who shows courage and gratitude despite this trial. After they free him, he guides the ship to the promised land.

1 Nephi 18:5–25.

In England there are various ways to leave the “Garden Isle” to go to mainland Europe—air, sea, and land. By land you can go through the “Chunnel” by train and your car can go too. By sea you have the option of a hovercraft or boat. Often people take the boat in order to get relatively cheaper French wine—it’s called a “booze cruise.” Why do I cite this fairly frivolous example? Well when we talk of hard-heartedness, it often seems to be fueled by something that isn’t good for you, whether spiritual, like hate, envy, pride, or physical, like alcohol and drugs. And obviously no matter where humans are, they will find a way to ferment something. Now it doesn’t say that Laman and Lemuel and their families actually had alcohol on board, but “make merry” to me does suggest a certain abandonment that is often alcohol-fueled. Be that as it may, after all the evidences of God’s hand in their lives, their rebellion continued to the extent that their parents were nearly brought to death and Nephi was bound, but, at least as far as we know, they did not plan to kill him. Nevertheless, their concentration on amusing themselves led to spiritual deafness, Elder Wirthlin: “Some are spiritually deadened and past feeling because of their choices to commit sin. Others simply hover in spiritual complacency with no desire to rise above themselves and commune with the Infinite. If they would open their hearts to the refining influence of this unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost, a glorious new spiritual dimension would come to light. Their eyes would gaze upon a vista scarcely imaginable. They could know for themselves things of the Spirit that are choice, precious, and capable of enlarging the soul, expanding the mind, and filling the heart with inexpressible joy” (Ensign, May 2003, 27).

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[1] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/the-power-of-covenants?lang=eng#2-PD50015887_000_008, n. 2.

[2] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1997/04/a-small-stone?lang=eng.

[3] http://www.boap.org/LDS/Hugh-Nibley/Lehi_in_the_Desert_part_2.html.

Book of Mormon Lesson #4: 1 NEPHI 12-14*

*In the interest of time, our class discussion will focus on 1 Nephi 13-14.

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Ponder 1 Ne. 13:37  “And blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion . . . for they shall have the gift and the power of the Holy Ghost; and if they endure unto the end they shall be lifted up at the last day . . .”

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Regarding 1 Nephi 13:4-5, “the great and abominable church is a symbol of apostasy in all its forms. It is a representation of all false doctrine, false worship, and irreligious attitudes. It does not represent any specific church…” (Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual.)

Regarding 1 Nephi 13:8, see Alma 39:14; D&C 6:7 & 11:7; AofF #13.

Regarding 1 Nephi 13:9, “To seek after the praise of men, the scriptures caution us, is to be led carefully away from the only safe path to follow in life" (President Packer, April 2007 CR).

1 Nephi 13:24–26) What did “the great and abominable church” do to the Bible?

           vs. 27) Why?

Regarding 1 Nephi 13:29 . . .

. . . President Joseph F. Smith said: ““Our hope of salvation must be founded upon the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, for we cannot build upon error and ascend into … the kingdom of our God”(Gospel Doctrine, 1).

. . . Elder Boyd K. Packer said: ““[B]ehavior begins with belief…. True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior [better] than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” (See October 1986 General Conference.)

1 Ne. 13:34–36) How did the Lord ensure that His words would be restored?

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1 Ne. 14:1-2, 7) What blessings are promised to those who hearken to those words?(See also D&C 59:23)

vs. 6) What ‘heart condition’ must we avoid/overcome to obtain those blessings? 

  

 What are some sources and symptoms of, and treatments for, a hard heart? (Ether 8:25; Mosiah 11:29; Duet. 15:7, Hebrews 3:13.)

         

. . . Elder Dallin H. Oaks has said: “If we harden our hearts, reject continuing revelation, and limit our learning to what we can obtain by study and reason on the precise language of the present canon of scriptures, our understanding will be limited to the ‘lesser portion of the word’(Alma 12:11).  If we seek and accept revelation and inspiration … we will have ‘the mysteries of God unfolded unto [us] by the power of the Holy Ghost’ (1 Ne. 10:19).” (See January 1995 Ensign, 7.)

2 Nephi 2:7) What kind of heart is essential to prevent/overcome hardheartedness?

 Elder Robert D. Hales has said: “We humble ourselves with a broken heart and a contrite spirit as we recognize our sins and seek forgiveness” (“To Be in the Kingdom and of the Kingdom,” October 2000 Conference Report). 

President Howard W. Hunter said, “Contrition is costly—it costs us our pride and our insensitivity … [and] our sins. . . [T]his is the price of true hope” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter, 41.)

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf has said: “[R]epentance … includes a change of mind … ‘a broken heart and a contrite spirit,’ giving up sin and becoming meek and humble. . . . When we continue to have a ‘broken heart and a contrite spirit’ we may trust that God will ‘remember [our sins] no more’”( April and October 2007 Conference Reports).

When do we need to have a broken heart and contrite spirit?

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 Regarding 1 Nephi 14:10 . . .

. . . . “President John Taylor spoke of the necessity of going beyond simply being members of the Lord’s Church … ‘It is not enough for us to embrace the Gospel . . . and be associated with the people of God, attend our meetings and partake of the Sacrament … for notwithstanding all this, if our hearts are not right … we shall not, unless we repent, participate in these blessings … of which the Prophets bear testimony.’” (See Book of Mormon Student Manual, 26.)
. . . Brother Hugh Nibley suggested: “You can always find somebody who is worse than you are to make you feel virtuous … those awful terrorists, perverts, communists—they are the ones who need to repent! Yes, indeed they do, and for them repentance will be a full-time job, exactly as it is for all the rest of us….  You are either repenting or not repenting and that is … the whole difference between being righteous or being wicked.”(Collected Works of Hugh Nibley 1:217.)  In what sense are there 2 'churches' only?

           

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1 Nephi 14:14) With what did Nephi see the Saints would be armed?

How can we ensure that we are so armed?

President Spencer W. Kimball said, “We are easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for the coming of the Lord. When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to [man-made weapons] and depend on them for protection and deliverance…. [W]e become anti-enemy instead of pro-kingdom of God … We forget that if we are righteous the Lord will either not suffer our enemies to come upon us or he will fight our battles for us.” (“The False God’s We Worship,” June 1976 First Presidency Message.)

Elder Neal A. Maxwell, “[T]he people of God will be ‘armed with righteousness’ —not weapons ….  This will happen, but only after more members become more saintly and more consecrated in conduct” (April 1988 and October 1991 Conference Reports).

Alison's supplemental quotes for BM#4

Alison’s Notes on Book of Mormon Lesson #4 1 Nephi 12–14

1 Nephi 12

This is Nephi’s call to be a prophet, Pres. Kimball said, “The first prophet Nephi was great like Moses and Brigham Young. His vision of the immeasurable future was comparable to the one received by Moses, Enoch, and Joseph Smith. He saw the promised land, the population of Lehi's seed as numerous as the sands of the sea. He saw war, slaughter, cities destroyed. In his vision he saw the birth, life, and ministry of the Christ, his coming to the Western Hemisphere and organizing his Church here. He saw three generations of righteousness and then centuries of unrighteousness, with battles culminating in the destruction of millions, followed by centuries of degradation, scattering, persecution, and suffering. He saw nations grow out of the Eastern empires, and the kingdoms of the Gentiles arise. He saw Columbus and other explorers cross the deep, and the puritans and pilgrims settle a new country. He envisioned the Revolutionary War, the total subjugation of the descendants of Lehi, the coming of the Bible, the restoration of the gospel, the organization of the Church, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon—and the balance of his vision was not written.”[1]

1 Nephi 13

Regarding Columbus, Wilford Woodruff said, “The commencement of Columbus' project was certainly unpopular, but the result has proved it true. And so in all cases, whenever men have been inspired to receive truth, or to promulgate any principle, which would be a benefit to the human family, they have generally been unpopular.”[2] On 17 Jan 2016, the Anglican Church issued this statement, “The traditional doctrine of the church in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union. The majority of those gathered reaffirm this teaching.” And in doing so basically disenfranchised the Episcopal Church for its acceptance of non-traditional marriage.[3] This will cause a huge backlash against the Church of England.

1 Nephi 14

The indomitable Brigham Young was unequivocal in his views of right and wrong. Here he is on 1 Nephi 14:10, “This book, that we call the Bible, the Christian world profess to believe in. Let me tell them that they must either acknowledge, openly and frankly, that the Latter-day Saints have the Gospel taught by Christ and his Apostles or they will go to the wall as infidels; it cannot be otherwise. There are but two parties on the earth, one for God and the other for the world or the evil one. No matter how many names the Christian or heathen world bear, or how many sects and creeds may exist, there are but two parties, one for heaven and God, and the other will go to some other kingdom than the celestial kingdom of God.”[4]

Regarding 1 Nephi 14:12, Elder Maxwell said, “The Church would grow much faster now, numerically and spiritually, if it were not for the wickedness of the world (see 1 Ne. 14:12). It would also grow much faster if you and I were better by taking up the Christian cross daily (see Luke 9:23). Part of taking up the cross is denying ourselves the lusts and appetites of the flesh. “For it is better,” the resurrected Jesus said, ‘that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross’ (3 Ne. 12:30). Thus, the daily taking up of the cross means daily denying ourselves the appetites of the flesh. By emulating the Master, who endured temptations but ‘gave no heed unto them,’ we, too, can live in a world filled with temptations ‘such as [are] common to man’ (1 Cor. 10:13). Of course Jesus noticed the tremendous temptations that came to him, but He did not process and reprocess them. Instead, He rejected them promptly. If we entertain temptations, soon they begin entertaining us! Turning these unwanted lodgers away at the doorstep of the mind is one way of giving ‘no heed.’ Besides, these would-be lodgers are actually barbarians who, if admitted, can be evicted only with great trauma.”[5]

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[1] Spencer W. Kimball, “Who Is My Neighbor?” Conference Report, April 1949, 104.

[2] Wilford Woodruff, “Truth Is Mighty and Will Prevail,” Journal of Discourses 25:4.

[3] http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2016/01/statement-from-primates-2016.aspx.

[4] Brigham Young, “The Latter-Day Saints the Hope of the World,” Journal of Discourses 14:73.

[5] https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1987/04/overcome-even-as-i-also-overcame?lang=eng.