“And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of Laban…. And I also spake unto him that I should carry the engravings, which were upon the plates of brass, to my elder brethren, who were without the walls.”
Nephi is a hero in so many ways. He obeys the Spirit and kills Laban, on the spur of the moment comes up with the plan to dress as Laban and then goes towards the treasury Zoram, Laban’s servant. But once in the treasury, he doesn’t take anything else of value. Read the rest of this entry »
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Ezra Taft Benson addressing BYU students about debt.
“And after I had smitten off his head with his own sword, I took the garments of Laban and put them upon mine own body; yea, even every whit; and I did gird on his armor about my loins.”:
Nephi here is trying too appear as Laban to get the plates. He can now freely walk into Laban’s home with his servants respecting him. We don’t know if Nephi looks anything like Laban, however, its the clothes that demand the respect, not Laban himself. Think about it… its Laban’s wealth that demand respect, not Laban himself. Take away Laban’s wealth and he doesn’t garner the respect that his servants give him. His fine clothes are a symbol of his wealth. Read the rest of this entry »
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President Monson gave a great talk and discussed 3 things we can do to qualify to be God’s people
- Learn what we should learn
- Do what we should do
- Be what we should be
Since the Book of Mormon promises that if we keep the commandments, we’ll prosper in the land, and especially in our troubled times, we need to heed this counsel.
Experts: Read the rest of this entry »
Family Finances
Family Home Storage
Seeing the need for basic education about money, the First Presidency releases the pamphlet “All is Safely Gathered In: Family Finance”.
This pamphlet is released in conjuntion with the pamphlet “Prepare Every Needful Thing: Family Home Storage”.
Following the principles discussed in these pamphlets will protect you from emergency needs. Of note is the repeated advice to budget your money. While most people know they should be doing this, its hard to get on a regiment, but its essential to your financial fitness.
I’ve always found it interesting that, as Nephi was constrained by the Spirit to kill Laban, he used in his reasoning and justification (amongst a few reasons the Lord spoke of) that Laban had taken away Lehi’s family’s property. I’ve often wondered about this. My understanding of future celestial glory is that people would live in a united order, where all things are shared, people are given stewardships of land, but possessions begin to lose their meaning as traditional possessions are held in common to be allotted by Bishops. The early saints experimented with living this order but it was a dismal failure. Clearly the people were not ready for such a jump in understanding and paradigm shift. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in C) 1st Nephi |
Tags: book of mormon, justify murder, nephi murder, scripture, scriptures |
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Wise Financial Management During Tough Economic Times
The church continue to emphasize, with increasing frequency, living within our means and using a budget.
Selected Quotes from this article:
Richard W. Ebert Jr., the director of Employment Resource Services for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, says, “Financial problems are a source of much unhappiness and are certainly a major factor in family and work difficulties. Unresolved, they can lead to crushing debt and divorce.”
- Avoid debt…
- Use a budget…
- Teach family members early the importance of working and earning…
- Work toward home ownership…
- Appropriately involve yourself in an insurance program to avoid the significant debts place upon families when they are uninsured.
- Involve yourself in a food storage and emergency preparedness program…
- Build a reserve…
“And I beheld his sword, and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel.”
We read later in the Book of Mormon that this space was reserved for sacred things and not much was written because of the difficulty of engraving on plates of gold. So, why did Nephi take the time to describe the features of Laban’s sword? Maybe, as Nephi stumbled upon Laban in his drunken state the sword reminded him of Laban’s wealth and power. Read the rest of this entry »
2008 OCT General Conference – Sat. Morning: Elder L Tom Perry (Let Him Do It With Simplicity):
- Stress and anxiety can be caused by ups and downs of the economy and associated circumstances
- spoke of US housing crisis, rising fuel costs. Future is not predictable, but we must
- Encouraged us to return to a simple life and living within our means to reap the spiritual blessings that come from it.
- Told story of a man who went to live in a rural area for 2 years, not as a hermit, but to live simply to figure out the meaning of life.
- built his own home and reedom for $28.04. Planted a garden to sell food to sustain himself (made only $8.71).
- He enjoyed spirutual benefits of a simple lifestyle.
- He determined that to survive we need 4 things: Food, clothing, shelter and fuel.
“And it came to pass that Laman was angry with me, and also with my father; and also was Lemuel, for he hearkened unto the words of Laman. Wherefore Laman and Lemuel did speak many hard words unto us, their younger brothers, and they did smite us even with a rod.”
As we discussed previously, Laman was lusting after the wealth of his father, his inheritance. Although they’d been taken into the wilderness, the return to Jerusalem surely brought back some of these desires. Handling their wealth and offering to Laban must have been hard for him. Read the rest of this entry »