Peaceable Followers of Christ

Moroni 7:3 ". . I would speak unto you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ, and that have obtained a sufficient hope by which ye can enter into the rest of the Lord, from this time henceforth until ye shall rest with him in heaven."

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I own the fact that I'm not always peaceable.
I want to be peaceable.
But I don't want to be passive.
This seems a fine line to me.
Are peaceable and passive synonyms?
Jesus Christ is peaceable.
Yet even in his extremity, he was entirely active, present, bold, steadfast, true, intentional.
Never passive.
Always perfectly in control of himself.
Never ever in control of others.
Even when he knew that he could be in control.
Of everything.
Amazing grace!!
I have hope and a desire to be Christlike. Maybe not "sufficient" hope.
Yet.
And I am working on that.

*This chapter tells us how to go about being Christlike -- thinking, saying, and doing what He would think, say and do.

A Broken Heart

Moroni 6:2 "Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of their sins."

Exactly what does it mean to "come forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit?"
Does anyone fully understand?
Maybe it's about giving up having our way and giving our whole will to God from the first day we figure that out until . . . forever.

The Sacrament

Moroni 5:2 ". . to bless and sanctify this wine (water) to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; . ."

As we partake of the Sacrament, we try to imagine the price Jesus paid for our privilege of repentance and forgiveness.

We Are Called Christians

Moroni 4:3 ". . that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, . ."

Jesus Christ asks us to come unto him and claim his name as our own.
We are called Christians.
As we continue to demonstrate faith, obedience and repentance, Jesus forgives us and claims us as his own . . still.

In a Nut Shell

Moroni 3:3 ". . preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end. Amen."

The Gospel of Jesus Christ isn't complicated.

He Knows Us

Moroni 2:2 "And he (Christ) called them by name . ."

Jesus knows each of us by name.

Why Write?

Moroni 1:4 ". . I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren "

I treasure the written words of my ancestors and hope my descendants will find worth in mine.

Drunken with Anger

Ether 15:22 "And when the night came they were drunken with anger, even as a man who is drunken with wine; and they slept again upon their swords."

Anger is human. To be "drunken with anger" is to lose control of one's response to anger.
In this case, anger resulted in the destruction of the entire Jaredite nation.

The Fulness of His Wrath

Ether 14:25 "And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction."

Are we there yet?

Choice Above All Other Lands

Ether 13:2 ". . after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it (the American continent) became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof;"

America is destined to be a promised land as long as . . .

Faith Makes Weak Things Strong

Ether 12:27 "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

The formula for strength to develop out of weakness is coming to Jesus Christ > discovering our weaknesses > recognizing in humility that we can not be strong without Heavenly Father > moving forward in faith to act > then comes strength.

Destruction of that Great People

Ether 11:1 "And there came also in the days of Com many prophets, and prophesied of the destruction of that great people except they should repent, and turn unto the Lord, and forsake their murders and wickedness."

Here is an example of how "prophesies of destruction" are delivered in our day:

*"The following proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of         Latter-day Saints

WE WARN that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."

Old Plans

Ether 10:33 "And in the days of Com there began to be robbers in the land; and they adopted the old plans, and administered oaths after the manner of the ancients, and sought again to destroy the kingdom."

Can you say "politics as usual?"

A Wicked and Secret Society

Ether 9:6 "For so great had been the spreading of this wicked and secret society that it had corrupted the hearts of all the people. ."

Much wickedness can happen in a very short time span.

Glory of the World

Ether 8:7 "And now Jared became exceedingly sorrowful because of the loss of the kingdom, for he had set his heart upon the kingdom and upon the glory of the world."

Our hearts harbor our desires and ultimately, our actions.

Remembering Our Ancestors

Ether 7:27 ". . and he remembered the great things that the Lord had done for his fathers in bringing them across the great deep into the promised land; wherefore he did execute judgment in righteousness all his days."

Gratitude for our ancestors includes knowing who they are and what they did for us, then honoring them with our behavior.

Walk Humbly

Ether 6:17 "And they were taught to walk humbly before the Lord; and they were also taught from on high."

Learning Godly principles and "walking humbly" often precede the honor and respect of others.

How Can We Know?

Ether 5:3 "And unto three shall they be shown by the power of God; wherefore they shall know of a surety that these things are true."

Truth is established with witnesses.

Signs Follow Believers

Ether 4:18 ". . repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and believe in my gospel, and be baptized in my name; for he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned; and signs shall follow them that believe in my name."

What are some signs that follow believers?
How about the signs of forgiveness, service, compassion, and kindness.

Getting What We Want

Ether 3:2 ". . O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires."

God knows what we want.
If what we want is within his will, he will help us.
That said;

• We need to ask with faith to act.
• God will not do our work.
• God will not take away the agency of others in order to grant our desires.

*From President Deiter F. Uchtdorf, "Fourth Floor, Last Door," Gen Conf. Women's Conference, Oct. 2016:

"Faith is powerful, and often it does result in miracles. But no matter how much faith we have, there are two things faith cannot do. For one, it cannot violate another person’s agency.

One woman prayed for years that her wayward daughter would return to the fold of Christ and felt discouraged that her prayers had seemingly gone unanswered. This was especially painful when she heard stories of other prodigal children who had repented of their ways.

The problem was not a lack of prayers or a shortage of faith. She needed only to understand that, as painful as it might be for our Father in Heaven, He will not force anyone to choose the path of righteousness. God did not force His own children to follow Him in the premortal world. How much less will He force us now as we journey through this mortal life?

God will invite, persuade. God will reach out tirelessly with love and inspiration and encouragement. But God will never compel—that would undermine His great plan for our eternal growth.

The second thing faith cannot do is force our will upon God. We cannot force God to comply with our desires—no matter how right we think we are or how sincerely we pray. Consider the experience of Paul, who pleaded with the Lord multiple times for relief from a personal trial—what he called “a thorn in the flesh.” But that was not God’s will. Eventually, Paul realized that his trial was a blessing, and he thanked God for not answering his prayers the way he had hoped."

If They Will Serve God

Ether 2:7 "And the Lord would not suffer that they (Jared and his brother, and their families, and also the friends of Jared and his brother and their families) should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise (the American continent), which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.
8. And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.
9. And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
10. For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
11. And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God--that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.
12. Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written."

How many ways are there to say it, and how many times do we have to be told?

*below is an excerpt from THE FAMILY: A Proclamation to the World 
by The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and presented by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society meeting September 23, 1995 in Salt Lake City, Utah

"We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.
Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."

A Choice Land

Ether 1:42 ". . I will go before thee into a land which is choice above all the lands of the earth."

America was a choice land centuries before it was ours.

Believe

Mormon 9:27 "O then despise not, and wonder not, but hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him."

How much smoother life can be as we let go of doubt and believe in possibilities.

Priorities

Mormon 8:39 "Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?"

Good question.

Singing Ceaseless Praises

Mormon 7:7 "And he hath brought to pass the redemption of the world, whereby he that is found guiltless before him at the judgment day hath it given unto him to dwell in the presence of God in his kingdom, to sing ceaseless praises with the choirs above, unto the Father, and unto the Son, and unto the Holy Ghost, which are one God, in a state of happiness which hath no end."

I desire with all my heart to be a voice in those choirs!

Avoiding Destruction

Mormon 6:22 "O that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state; and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy."

Good choices may not protect us from misfortune, but from destroying ourselves and others.