Truth

I'm going to make this post short because I'm really tired, and I need the energy for tomorrow.

In the third verse of 1st Nephi chapter 1, it reads, "And I know that the record which I make is true..." I just want to focus on that phrase tonight. Its simple and yet it is bold. Nephi claims that this isn't just a story, but that it is truth.

How many of you have ever been asked to define truth? To define truth almost becomes a cliche in some writing classes. But it is a good question. What is truth? When we say that the Book of Mormon is true, what does that really mean? Try asking an 8 year old that some time haha.

Truth is eternal. Truth never changes. How we learn truth or how we perceive truth might change, however, the truth itself never changes. The Book of Mormon is either true or false. It can't be both, nor can it be almost true. There is no gray area when it comes to it. If it is true, then it couldn't be false in the past or false in the future. If it was true in the past, it couldn't be false now. Confused yet? Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That's another way of saying that Christ is truth eternal.

Gospel principles are truths. The way we live those truths might alter slightly. For example, the Word of Wisdom is a specific commandment for this dispensation. It is a practice of living a truth. That truth or principle is that our bodies are temples and we must respect them. That truth has always been since the first body was created. That truth will never change. 

I hope my thoughts on truth make sense and isn't just rambling.

So when Nephi says that he knows that this record is true, he claims it to be eternal and in no wise altered. How conscience are we of the term 'true' when we bare our testimonies. "I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true!" "I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet!"  "I know that the I-phone is true!" Oh, wait..

So to an investigator, when Nephi says that he knows the record is true, perhaps the question is how will I know the record is true.

That's a completely different topic that I'll talk about in the upcoming verses in this chapter.

I want to declare that I know that the Book of Mormon is true, it it's fullest meaning. Through and through, this book is eternal and does not lie. It is of God. It is of Christ. It is of Truth.

1st Nephi 1:2 Language and Talents

Verse two of the first chapter of first Nephi says "Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians." A couple of questions flared up as I read this verse. First, why write in a unique mix of two languages? And two, why does Lehi know Egyptian? I suppose the Book of Lehi would tell us, but since we don't have it are we left to pure speculation? Several LDS scholars propose that Lehi was a tradesman. It makes a lot of sense. He led his family out of Jerusalem which seems like was a trade route. It also would explain that he speaks Egyptian probably for the use of trading with them. Egypt and Israel have a long history together. The jews were slaves to the egyptians for years upon years ending with the exodus of Moses. From the time of Moses to the time of Lehi is about 1800 years.

Anyways, that's getting a little off track. Assuming that the LDS scholars are correct about Lehi's occupation, it makes sense why he speaks Egyptian. Are there any other explanations? I'd love to hear your ideas on the subject. The most correct answer obviously is that the Lord wanted/needed him to know egyptian. He needed Lehi to teach his children so that Nephi and the rest of their posterity could write in the plates in this unique language. I don't know why the Lord wanted the plates to be written in that language, but all things are done in the wisdom of the Lord. I wonder if Nephi knew why it must be written in reformed egyptian. Perhaps it was simply for Charles Anthon to examine to say that an excerpt was authentic. It probably has a lot more to do with it than that. Perhaps that which was written is so sacred that it reformed egyptian articulated it best. No matter what the reason, it proves to me that the Lord uses people's gifts to advance His work.

The Lord will invest talents in His children, and later He will help us use those talents to help others and to help spread the Gospel. Two talents in which the Lord has helped me develop is my average musical ability with the Violin and with my second language of Spanish. I have often played my Violin along with others at church meetings, baptisms, and wedding receptions for no price. Music can bring and communicate the spirit to others better sometimes than words.
I have often wondered why the Lord sent me on a Spanish speaking mission in the states. Why didn't he send me to Tacoma, Washington english speaking? Preach my Gospel chapter 7 reads, "Strive to master the language throughout your mission and after you return. The Lord has invest much in you, and He may have uses for your language abilities later in your life." I can't help but feel that the Lord wanted me to learn Spanish not only to help those I met in Tacoma, but to serve him in a greater capacity after the mission. At work, I often times come in contact with Latinos who don't speak very much English. I try to reach out and communicate with them. They almost always light up and smile as I attempt to speak as well as they do. If making people smile for just a moment was the purpose of me learning Spanish, that would be sufficient for me. Hopefully I can serve the Spanish community in more and greater ways in the near future.
So I guess after a few questions, I have come to learn that the Lord invests much in all of us. We all have different talents, but we do have them. Some of them not so physical as playing the violin. For example, I have a friend that knows exactly how to make people feel loved. That's a gift! The Lord can definitely use that kind of gift.

Please leave a comment if you agree with anything that I've said, if you can answer anything better than I have, would like to give additional input, or even share a story. I love hearing faith filled stories. Again, I really enjoy learning from others. That's half the point of this blog. On the mission, we would have one hour of personal study and then one hour of Companionship study. During that second hour, we would share what we had learned during the first hour and teach each other. Honestly, I have had some of the most spiritual experiences in my life during that one hour with a mission companion. I miss those opportunities. Oh, and I don't mean to go verse by verse. That's just how it's worked out so far. I'll probably take more than one verse at a time in most of my future posts. Thank you for reading.

1st Nephi 1:1

I have recently made it a solid goal to study the scriptures every day. Not just read them, but to truly study and apply them. Since coming home from the mission (about one year ago) I haven't truly studied. I don't know how I lost the habit almost instantly even when I promised myself I wouldn't. I pledge to rectify my sin by starting a new study. To help motivate myself, I bought a new set of scriptures. They are so beautiful! I wanted to post and share a little bit of what I learn. Not only will this act as a sort of study journal, but hopefully my insights will benefit more than myself.

I opened up my fresh new scriptures to the very first page of 1st Nephi. I thought to myself that if any verse is of upmost importance in this chapter to a new reader, it is the very first one. As a missionary, I was taught to teach the very first verse in a unique way. I decided to take those very questions that I would ask an investigator and apply them to myself. Verse 1 reads, "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents..." I stopped there and asked myself if I had goodly parents. A powerful and emotional answer of yes came to my mind. ", therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father..." Nephi was taught by his goodly parents. What do goodly parents teach? What have my parents taught me? I sat on my bed for a moment trying to answer that question as best as I could. My parents have taught me so much by example. They have taught me to love others and to care for them. They taught me to put away my selfish desires and to put others first. My parents sacrifice so much for their children, and anyone that stands in need. My father has taught me good work ethic and has attempted many times to teach me his skills, which are many. So now I have some sort of idea of how Nephi felt about his parents and some of the things they must of taught him.

"and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days". Have I experienced afflictions? Oh yes I have haha. I have experienced loss, betrayal, and what seems like impossible obstacles. Perhaps in these blog posts I'll share stories of my afflictions and how they have made me better. Afflictions are what build us. That's how we learn, no? It's never fun to look back on painful memories, but it is good to think of the great lessons we learned. Many members of the church have heard the story of the silversmith. A woman goes up to a silversmith and asks him about mastering the metal. He tells her that in order to get the perfect metal, he must put the silver in the furnace and beat upon it continually until all the impurities are gone. There is the obvious lesson in the metaphor that the Lord, being the silversmith, allows us in the furnace, our afflictions, and hammers us until we are perfect. Here's the part that makes me smile most. The woman asks the silversmith, "How do you know when all the perfections are out? You'll destroy the metal if you put it through that stress too long." The silversmith replied, "That's easy. I know its ready when I can see my reflection." Our afflictions are so much more than to just become better. They exist so that we can become like God. Are we understanding Nephi a little bit more? I know I am.

"nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord all my days." Nephi makes a high claim that brings joy to my heart. Even though he has gone through heck and back with these afflictions, he recognizes that the Lord loves him. Being "highly favored" doesn't mean that he is better than anyone else. If you are a parent, you probably understand this better than I do. Parents have favorites. Its true. There is a difference between trust and love. They love all their children equally, however, they will trust one son more than another. Why is that? It is through obedience. God loves all of his children more than we can comprehend. He favors people like Nephi because he is trustworthy and he obeys. I hope that toward the end of my life that I can say the same as Nephi, that I have been highly favored of the Lord all my life. It is a worthy goal.

The next part of the verse gives some idea of how to be highly favored, "yea, having had a great knowledge of goodness and mysteries of God". Nephi knew so much about God that it was impossible for him to disobey. He knew so much about God, that he trusted Him even through all those afflictions. The Lord wants us to know about Him. He wants us to know of His goodness and of His mysteries. Wait a second, His mysteries? What does that mean? These mysteries aren't a secret from his children. They aren't so hard to understand. His mysteries are merely his teachings that are given to his prophets and they teach us. Amos 3:7 as a cross reference. So to be highly favored of the Lord, to be obedient, we must learn of God and use faith. We read the scriptures to learn of His goodness and of His mysteries. We go to church and listen to the testimonies of others. We read and listen to the General Authorities' talks. We pray. We go to the Temple. This is how we build our faith and our knowledge of Him. Making a regular habit of these things and putting it all into practice will make it so much easier to obey God. Nephi must have done these things.
"therefore, I make a record of my proceedings in my days." He ends the first verse to another testament of Christ speaking of recording his faith building stories. He kept a journal! Why shouldn't we? We benefit so much from Nephi's stories. As we can see just through this first verse, we have a lot in common with him. Our stories can and will benefit all those who read of them.

I know that the Book of Mormon is truly of God. I spent an hour on a verse that I have read at least a hundred times before. I learned some really profound things about Nephi, God, and myself. I felt the spirit so strong in this study. I'm so grateful for the spirit that accompanied me this night.
I encourage you to read this verse carefully and break it down. Ask yourself questions like I have asked myself. It's amazing the inspiration and revelation that one can receive just by asking a simple question. Please, share with me your insights as well. I love learning from others.

This is merely a small step in my Walk with God. Genesis 5:24