Choose the House of Israel

3 Nephi 16:13 "But if the Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel."

We are favored people of God when we repent and turn to him.

Just Do It

3 Nephi 15:10 "Behold, I have given unto you the commandments; therefore keep my commandments. And this is the law and the prophets, for they truly testified of me."

Why should we object to obeying commandments that work for our good?

Judging Others

3 Nephi 14:1 "I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged."

Everyone makes mistakes. Be careful when you feel that others don't "get it" while you do.

Forgiveness

3 Nephi 13:15 "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Forgiveness is mandatory to happiness.

Reconciliation

3 Nephi 12:23-24 "Therefore, if ye shall come unto me, or shall desire to come unto me, and rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee -- 
Go thy way unto thy brother, and first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I will receive you."

We can't expect reconciliation with God when we refuse to reconcile with others.

Light of the World

3 Nephi 11:10-11 "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning."

The beginning of glory is knowing the will of Father in Heaven and submitting to it exactly.

Christ Wants to Help Us

3 Nephi 10:5 ". . how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not."

If only . .

Jesus Came to the Americas

3 Nephi 9:15 "Behold, I am Jesus Christ the Son of God. I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name."

These are the words of Jesus Christ as he visited the American continent after his death.
And there are more.

Worthiness Begets Miracles

3 Nephi 8:1 ". . and there was not any man who could do a miracle in the name of Jesus save he were cleansed every whit from his iniquity --"

Those who call down miracles in the name of Jesus Christ must be his worthy and faithful disciples.

They Did Yield Themselves

3 Nephi 7:5 ". . and all this iniquity had come upon the people because they did yield themselves unto the power of Satan."

Followers of Jesus Christ move forward in his name past all distractions from the adversary.

Set at Defiance the Law

3 Nephi 6:30 "And they did set at defiance the law and the rights of their country; and they did covenant one with another to destroy the governor, and to establish a king over the land, that the land should no more be at liberty but should be subject unto kings."

It feels like this describes the United States during the past eight years of King Obama.
If Ben Carson had been the first black president, we would have more liberty instead of less!

Everyone Believed

3 Nephi 5:1 "And now behold, there was not a living soul among all the people of the Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets who had spoken; for they knew that it must needs be that they must be fulfilled."

100 % believed in the words of the prophets. Wow.

Hearts Swollen With Joy

3 Nephi 4:33 "And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction."

The path of deliverance winds through humility and repentance.

Empty Promises of Socialism

3 Nephi 3:7 ". . yield yourselves up unto us, and unite with us and become acquainted with our secret works, and become our brethren that ye may be like unto us--not our slaves, but our brethren and partners of all our substance."

Say what?
No, thank you.

The Sword of Destruction

3 Nephi 2:19 ". . and thus were the people in a state of many afflictions; and the sword of destruction did hang over them, insomuch that they were about to be smitten down by it, and this because of their iniquity."

The "sword of destruction" could be defined in many ways.

Happiness, Safety and Peace

3 Nephi 1:20 "And it had come to pass, yea, all things, every whit, according to the words of the prophets."

As we listen to prophets and align our lives to their counsel, we can be sure of eternal happiness, safety and peace.

The Balance of Power

Helaman 16:10 ". . the more part of the people remaining in their pride and wickedness, and the lesser part walking more circumspectly before God."

In our day, generations of a different sort have supplanted the "greatest generation," including those whose lives contributed to the faith, fortitude and success of America's WWII era.

A Sure Formula

Helaman 15:7-8 "as many of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth . . and are led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance, which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them--
Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free."

prophets > truth > scriptures > faith > repentance > steadfastness > freedom

We Can Choose Life

Helaman 14:31 "He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you."

We get what we choose.

O That We Had Repented

Helaman 13:36 "O that we had repented in the day that the word of the Lord came unto us; for behold the land is cursed, and all things are become slippery, and we cannot hold them."

The time for repentance is now.

Famine Vs Abundance

Helaman 11:4 "O Lord, do not suffer that this people shall be destroyed by the sword; but O Lord, rather let there be a famine in the land, to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God, and perhaps they will repent and turn unto thee."

Why do war and famine turn hearts to God while peace and abundance harden them?

* “The greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement.” Dale G Renlund, LDS Gen Conf, April 2016, quoting Wilford W. Andersen.

At Some Point

Helaman 10:11 ". . ye shall go and declare unto this people, that thus saith the Lord God, who is the Almighty; Except ye repent ye shall be smitten, even unto destruction."

At some point, even the Lord God Almighty loses patience.

Honesty

Helaman 9:36 ". . And then shall ye know that I am an honest man . ."

Over time, honesty shows in the character of a person . .  or not.

Speaking Plainly

Helaman 8:4 "And those judges were angry with him because he spake plainly unto them concerning their secret works of darkness; . ."

Speaking plainly is the path to understanding plainly.
Besides, Americans are still supposed to have freedom of speech.

The Powers That Be

Helaman 7:4-6 ". . seeing the people in a state of such awful wickedness, and those Gadianton robbers filling the judgment-seats--having usurped the power and authority of the land; laying aside the commandments of God, and not in the least aright before him; doing no justice unto the children of men;
Condemning the righteous because of their righteousness; letting the guilty and the wicked go unpunished because of their money; and moreover to be held in office at the head of government, to rule and do according to their wills, that they might get gain and glory of the world, and, moreover, that they might the more easily commit adultery, and steal, and kill, and do according to their own wills.--
Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites, in the space of not many years . ."

This scripture exactly describes Obama giving $400,000,000 undercover to Iran, the world's most active sponsor of terrorism, in ransom for four American prisoners.

Who Receives God's Spirit?

Helaman 6:35-36 ". . the Spirit of the Lord began to withdraw from the Nephites, because of the wickedness and the hardness of their hearts.
And . . the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon the Lamanites, because of their easiness and willingness to believe in his words."

The Lord shares his Spirit with hearts soft rather than pedigrees impressive.

When Laws Become Corrupted

Helaman 5:2 "For as their laws and their governments were established by the voice of the people, and they who chose evil were more numerous than they who chose good, therefore they were ripening for destruction, for the laws had become corrupted." [*30 B.C. America]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. [*2016 America]