Eric Poulin

Posts Tagged ‘mormon’

I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not;

1 Nephi 17:12-13

“For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not;
And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led. ”

The thought of eating raw meat turns my stomach. But if its that or starvation, I’m sure I’d go for it. Of course, if the Lord made it sweet, it might not be so bad, especially after 8 years of getting used to it. Whats truly interesting about this is that the Lord was giving them pretty specific instructions that we only find out about as an explanation about lighting a fire. There likely was a lot of other specific instruction received that we don’t know about. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Nephi 17:4

Lehis Journey in the Wilderness

“And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.”

I find it hard to keep in perspective that Lehi and family were traveling in the wilderness desert of Arabia for 8 years. It always seems that they went quickly from Jerusalem to the American continent; but it took more than 8 years, because once arriving in Bountiful, they stayed there for a while, at least long enough to construct a ship, which probably took nearly a year.

We need to keep in mind that they were not just walking with a backpack and a canteen. They had animals, provisions, tents… Their women bore children, people died and were buried. It was a really long journey: in distance, time and emotional drain. I’m sure this time served as a purification period for them. Similar to the people of Moses wandering in the wilderness for 40 years before entering their promised land, they first needed to be purified and prepared. During this time we can only assume that they continued keeping the commandments and, despite that, they did not obtain their promised land any time soon. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Nephi 17:2-3

Financial life cycle

“And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.

And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.”

I’ve noticed a pattern in life. While we are older children (when we are able to notice things around us and remember), we often benefit from the many long years of work and toil that our parents have gone through. Parents have accumulated some measure of wealth with their efforts and we as children enjoy that wealth. We live in relative comfort. Things weren’t always this way, but we didn’t notice when we were really young children. When we are old enough we move out on our own and start our own family. Now, we have left the comforts of our parents years of effort and start with relative basics, slowly accumulating possessions and some measure of comfort. But it takes time. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Nephi 16:11

Seeds of every kind

“And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness.”

Rather than bringing fruits and vegetables, they brought seeds. This indicates an intent to be in their new location for a long time, time enough to plant, grow and harvest. Seeds are a representation of future properity. They are an act in the “now” to prepare for a future.

Monetarily and finanically, we should likewise save for our future. Also, we should not just bury our savings under a matress, but save our money in a way that it can grow into something better and more useful in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Nephi 16:10

Liahona

“And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.”

The Liahona, in itself, is not an object of great worth. True, it is made of fine craftsmanship and brass, however, in the circumstances which Lehi’s family find themselves in, ornaments can be of little or no worth. Items of worth in this scenario would be food and survival items. However, the true value of the Liahona is its ability to point the way for them to go. It points the way to their future wealth.

Of course, we know that the Liahona is powered by righteousness and faith. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Nephi 11:25

“And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God…”

We know the iron rod = the word of God. Why not a golden rod, showing a higher value of the word of God? How about a jewel encrusted rod?

Well, iron, although its not glitzy, it is strong, proven and known. Gold, while shiny and pretty, is not a strong metal. Also, iron is very plain, as is the word of God.

Likewise, we sometimes see glitsy advertising telling us about investment opportunities, multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes that are just too good to be true, trying to gain our attention. They are not going to lead to joy. They are not the iron rod. They ARE too good to be true. Stick to the iron rod, regular investments. Get rich slowly by keeping the commandments and working hard. Be smart with your money, but not overly risky, cause when its gone, its gone.

Pay Thy Debt and Live

Exerpts:

“In the long run, it is easier to live within our income and resist borrowing from future reserves except in cases of necessity never for luxuries. It is not fair to ourselves or our communities to be so improvident in our spending that the day our income stops we must turn to relief agencies or the Church for financial aid.

Do not, I solemnly urge you, tie yourselves to payment of carrying charges that are often exorbitant. Save now and buy later, and you will be much further ahead. You will spare yourselves high interest and other payments, and the money you save may provide opportunity for you to buy later at substantial cash discounts. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Nephi 8:27

Great and spacious building

“And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.”

It would be easy to paint a picture here about the filthy rich scoffing at the pious and humble followers of Christ, but I think that is not a fair portrayal of the facts. Back in the early days of Christianity, there was an ideology that Christians took a vow of poverty and the idea that money was inherently bad. Some took their example from John the Baptist, who chose a very basic life eating and wearing just the basics. As a matter of interest, just in the recent October 2008 General Conference, Elder L. Tom Perry encouraged a return to a simple life.

But a simple life doesn’t mean poverty. Read the rest of this entry »

1 Nephi 8:1

“And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds of fruit of every kind.”

Food storage and emergency preparation are evident from the very early beginnings of the Book of Mormon. This becomes a personal finance topic because, in order to be prepared, we have to have planned our finances in a way to obtain food storage, and also have a store of money that we can get at if an emergency occurs.

I always look at an emergency scenario as worst case. Lets say all electricity is gone and a true emergency has happened. Most people will go into shock. Read the rest of this entry »

Making Money Your Ally by: By W. Steve Albrecht

Exerpts:

“Law 1: Pay an Honest Tithing…

Law 2: Budget Your Expenditures…

Law 3: Save Some Money Every Month…

Law 4: Decrease Your Expectations…

Law 5: Stay Free from Debt…

Law 6: Become Knowledgeable Consumers…

Law 7: Teach Family Members the Importance of Work and Managing Money…

Law 8: Make Wise Investments…

Law 9: Have a Will…

Law 10: Keep Money in Perspective…”