Mosiah 4-6

Lesson Preparation: 

1)      Make cards that say “Saints” and “Children of Christ” with a hole punched in the top of each and fishing wire or string strung through the hole and connected to a bent paper clip or other type of hook from which it can hang. Also punch a hole in the bottom of each card from which the spiral cycle can be hung. 

2)      Attach a loop of wire or string from the ceiling with a thumb tack or from the light fixture with some masking tape.  This is where you will hang the “Saints” and later “Children of Christ” cards.

3)      Print up several copies of the “Cycle of Mosiah 4:3” (found later in the lesson).  Cut them into a donut shape (a circle around the words and another circle inside the words). Keep one copy 2-dimensional for display on the board. Make a spiral of the others by cutting between the “Remember” part of the cycle and the “Faith” part.  Then tape the “Remember” from one cycle to the “Faith” of another until you have a spiral long enough to extend from the “Saints” card to the classroom table.

4)      You may also want to print up a copy of the “Cycle of Mosiah 4:3” for each class member to take home.

5)      Make a stand up card (by folding cardstock in half) that says “Natural Man.”

6)      Make a small poster of (or be prepared to write on the chalkboard) the words of 3 Nephi 12:3.

Two of the points made by King Benjamin in our last reading assignment are foundational to this week’s lesson:

First:  Our nothingness. 

“I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—

“I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

“And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

“And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

“And secondly, he doth require that you should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

“And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.” (Mosiah 2:20-25)

Why did King Benjamin, the speaker, and Mormon, the abridger, make such a big point out of telling us how worthless we are?  Isn’t that a little hard on our self-esteem?  Aren’t we told all of the time that we are special, that we can do anything we set our minds to do, that if we just believe in ourselves, we can achieve?

The Book of Mormon is “more correct” than pop psychology.  On our own, we are nothing, we can do nothing of lasting value.  No matter how we “set our minds to it,” we can never save ourselves.

Second: The necessity of being changed. 

“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.” (Mosiah 3:19)

It is essential, then, that we be changed from our natural state and become more than the dust of the earth.  (Hang label “Saint” from ceiling or light fixture.  Set label “Natural Man” on the table beneath.)  The topic of our lesson is how to go from this state (Natural Man) to this state (Saint).

The Lord said that he shows men their weakness that they may become strong.  (See Ether 12:27.) This verse uses the singular "weakness," not "weaknesses," as we often think. Our greatest weakness is our fallen state, and in fact, all our other weaknesses stem from this one.  If we are aware of this weakness, we can come unto Christ and receive the greatest strength of all: the power of the atonement in our lives.

“Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (3 Nephi 12:3)  (Put this verse up on the board.) 

"And now, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of speaking the words which had been delivered unto him by the angel of the Lord, that he cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them.

"And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men." (Mosiah 4:1-2) 

If we realize that we are lacking, that we are very “poor in spirit” indeed, we can come unto Christ and be saved. The Nephites got the point and took it to heart.

It’s fun to take gospel concepts from the scriptures apart and put them onto charts that are more clear to me.  If Mormon had the ability to do flowcharts and lists and video clips and musical interludes to put across his points, he certainly would have used them.  But he had only the use of Reformed Egyptian, as he lamented.  But, if we look carefully, we can see the lists and the flowcharts and the video clips as we read with the Spirit. Backing up just a little bit in the chapter, we read,

“And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.” (Mosiah 4:3)

When we realize the misery of our sins, we often just want release from the agony, but Christ gives us this tremendous bonus, this unspeakable joy brought with the Spirit.  (Put the 2-dimensional cycle on the board.) 

“And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

“And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.” (Mosiah 4:11-12)

Of course, faith includes works, keeping the commandments.

This is just a simple diagram of  how the principle “Men are that they might have joy” (2 Ne. 2:25) is accomplished.

But this is not just a circle that goes around and around; it is an upward spiral.  (Hang the spiral from the label that says “Saint,” with “Natural Man” on the table beneath it.)

“And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” (Mosiah 5:2)

When we have this change of heart, we start on this upward spiral and leave the natural man behind.  When the Nephites did this they had “no more disposition to do evil,” but do you think they became instantly perfect?  Of course not; they still messed up because of their fallen nature.  But the more we become “saints” in Christ, the more uncomfortable sin is, because it is not in our disposition, so we more quickly realize our failing, that we are again “poor in spirit” and need Christ’s atonement in order to have the sin remitted and regain the joy of the Spirit in our lives.  Our sins become smaller, although possibly more painful to us, and we repent quicker, thus climbing the spiral faster.

“And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.” (Mosiah 5:7)

(Hang “Children of Christ” label over “Saint” label.)  We can become begotten children of Christ.  Rather than being adopted, which like an earthly adoption means we are welcomed into Christ’s family and loved greatly, there is an additional miracle whereby we become begotten, or somehow endowed with his spiritual genetic material—his character, his behavior, his attitudes.  Once again, it is a process more than an event.

“And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free.  There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

“And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.” (Mosiah 5:8,9)

This process is only an upward spiral if this key is in place:  remembering.  Otherwise it’s just a circle that stops.  (Cut the lowest "Remember" part of the spiral and let it drop to the table.)  King Benjamin was wisely aware of this, so in his last recorded act as king, he re-instituted a system to help with remembering, which we also use today:  church meeting attendance.

“And again, it came to pass that when king Benjamin had made an end of all these things, and had consecrated his son Mosiah to be a ruler and a king over his people, and had given him all the charges concerning the kingdom, and also had appointed priests to teach the people, that thereby they might hear and know the commandments of God, and to stir them up in remembrance of the oath which they had made, he dismissed the multitude, and they returned, every one, according to their families, to their own houses.” (Mosiah 6:3)

1)Teaching and 2) renewing of covenants are both important tools for remembering.  Remembering our nothingness causes us to feel “poor in spirit,” but if we stop here, we just experience despair and guilt.  Remembering God’s greatness and goodness and patience as well impels us to come unto him.  (Tape the spiral back together.)

“Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all.  Amen.” (Mosiah 5:15)

Mosiah 1-3

RESTORING AND MAINTAINING POWER

I hold the copyright to this photo, but you may use it

for teaching purposes.

One of my four handsome sons is an electrician lineman, pictured above. Besides installment and maintenance of power lines, he is frequently called out "on trouble" to solve problems in power distribution, such as when poles are knocked down by wind or snow. During a recent ferocious thunderstorm with heavy rains and high winds, he worked for three days with almost no rest or sleep to restore power to a large part of the city of Ogden, Utah. 

Ironically, people receiving the power repairs are not always grateful. During this storm, he was called out on a Friday at noon. Working straight through the day and the night in the wind and rain, he was repairing the line to a single residence at 5:00 in the morning, when the police showed up. The woman who lived in the home had called the police to complain about the noise the linemen were making. Of course, the police issued no citation because without enduring this noise, the woman would not have heat, light or power restored to her home. Linemen get a little annoyed when complaints instead of gratitude come their way when they are out in a storm, but they keep on working.

I see gospel lessons in everything and this was no exception. Some people complain about the prophets and apostles, the spiritual "linemen," violating their personal "noise ordinance" by telling them things they don't want to hear. And yet these "lineman" (or in scriptural terms, "watchmen on the tower") are putting their own personal comfort aside and expending great amounts of time and effort to restore heat, light, and power into those peoples' lives.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

King Benjamin called a general conference of the church, with every family pitching their tents toward the tower from which he would speak.  He counseled them to “hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view.” (Mosiah 2:9)

King Benjamin reminded his people that, just like our General Authorities today, he was an ordinary man who did ordinary work and suffered ordinary infirmities just like them, but who was allowed by the Lord to be a spiritual as well as temporal ruler over the people.

Today we are going to play some General Conference games—hooray!  Since we recently had General Conference, we’ll refresh the words of the prophets in our minds.

(If you prefer instead to focus on King Benjamin's teachings on the Atonement in Mosiah 3, I can't do better than Elder Bednar's April 2012 Ensign article, which you can find here.)

For current pictures of the Apostles, go to this link.

FOUR GAMES ABOUT OUR SPIRITUAL LINEMEN

GAME #1:  WHAT WAS MY LINE?

To prepare this game, post pictures of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve.  Hand out wordstrips with their young adult service and their previous careers on them. but no names, and have the students try to match them up with the correct apostle. ( If you don’t have pictures, just write their names on the board.)

1. President Thomas S. Monson

2. President Henry B. Eyring

3. President Deiter F. Uchtdorf

4. Elder Russell M. Nelson

5. Elder Dallin H. Oaks

6. Elder M. Russell Ballard

7.  Elder Robert D. Hales

8.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

9.  Elder David A. Bednar

10.  Elder Quentin L. Cook

11.  Elder D. Todd Christofferson

12.  Elder Neil L. Anderson

13. Ronald A. Rasband

14. Gary E. Stevenson

15. Dale G. Renlund

ANSWERS:

1. Served in the U.S. Naval Reserves. Newspaperman. Served in the U.S. Naval Reserves. 

2. Served in the U.S. Air Force. Professor at Stanford, Commissioner of Church Education.

3.  Served as a flighter pilot in the West German Air Force. Airline Pilot.

4.  Served as a medic in the U.S. Army. Heart Surgeon.

5.  Served in the Utah National Guard. Utah Supreme Court Justice.

6.  Served a mission to England. Car Dealer. (Direct descendant of Hyrum Smith)

7.  Served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. President of Papermate, V.P. of Max Factor, head of Hughes Television, President of Chesebrough-Pond’s.

8.  Served a mission to England. Institute Teacher, President of BYU.

9.  Served a mission to Germany. Professor, President of BYU-Idaho.

10.  Served a mission to England. Lawyer, President of California Healthcare System.

11.  Served a mission to Argentina. Lawyer.

12.  Served a mission to France. Vice President of Morton Plant Health System.

13.  Served a mission to the Eastern United States. President and COO of Huntsman Chemical Corporation.

14. Served a mission to Japan. Co-founder and President of ICON Fitness. 

15. Served a mission to Sweden. Professor of Medicine at University of Utah.

GAME #2:  WHAT IS MY LINE?

Pick one memorable quote or story from each Apostles' most recent conference talk. Read the quote and ask the class who said it.

GAME #3:  FINISH THE LINE

Depending on the maturity of the class, you can hand out papers with the questions to every class member to fill out and then check them together, you can hand out individual questions to individual class members and have everyone try to guess, or you can hand out individual questions and individual answers to class members and have one person read a question, and have hopefully the person with the correct answer fill in the blank. These are from conferences several years ago, so they may be challenging.

1. “If the foundation of ___ is not embedded in our hearts, the power to endure will crumble.  –President Eyring

2. “The ______ is the most important social unit in time and eternity.”  --Elder Nelson

3.  President Uchtdorf’s two-word sermon on hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges or wanting to cause harm.

4. “Worthiness and willingness—not experience, expertise or education—are the qualifications for _______________.”  --Elder Bednar

5. “There is someone you can forgive.  There is someone you can thank.  There is someone you can _____.” –President Eyring

6. “A  ___________ is an escape valve for the pressures of life.” –Elder Scott

7. “Heaven is filled with those who have this in common:  ______________.”  --President Uchtdorf

8. “I hope we are reading _________ with our children regularly.”  --Elder Cook

9. “The sacrament gives us an opportunity to come to ourselves and experience a mighty change of ____.” –Elder Hales

10. “____ is a mistake that keeps on just keeps on giving.  Obviously, we suffer a little when some misfortune befalls us, but ____ requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know!”  --Elder Holland

ANSWERS

1.      Faith

2.      Family

3.      “Stop it!”

4.      Priesthood ordination

5.      Serve

6.      Sense of humor

7.      They are forgiven and they forgive

8.      The Book of Mormon

9.      Heart

10.  Envy

GAME #4: TOE THE LINE

This is not really a game, but a challenge.

Enos reported that the people of Nephi had “exceedingly many prophets among us.  And the people were a stiffnecked people, hard [or slow] to understand.”  (Enos 1:22; you may also want to read verse 23.)

Are we like this?  If not, prove it!  Write down (if you haven’t already) the items of counsel from General Conference that you personally received (read the talks if you’ve forgotten or if you missed them), and make a plan to implement them in your life, and then check yourself every Sabbath before going to Sacrament Meeting and renewing your covenants.

Enos-Words of Mormon

Here is my chart of the compilation of the Book of Mormon.  Hooray!  I was able to get Blogger to post it!  The post is too small to read, unless you have amazing vision, but you can click on it to pull it out of the blog, and then you can right-click and save it as a picture.  Then you print it as a full-page photograph.  (All the tricks we have to come up with to get around Blogger's and my limitations...!) 

(Thanks to our current ward Gospel Doctrine teacher who saved a copy of this from when I taught years ago!)

ENOS

The prophet Jacob, the brother of the prophet Nephi, stated at the beginning of his book the instructions given him by his brother.

“…Wherefore, Nephi gave me, Jacob, a commandment concerning the small plates, upon which these things are engraven.  And he gave me, Jacob, a commandment that I should write upon these plates a few of the things which I considered to be most precious; that I should not touch, save it were lightly, concerning the history of this people which are called the people of Nephi.  For he said that the history of his people should be engraven upon his other plates, and that I should preserve these plates and hand them down unto my seed, from generation to generation.  And if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our people.”  (Jacob 1:1-4)

When he passed the plates on to his son, Enos, he related those instructions.

“And, I, Jacob, saw that I must soon go down to my grave; wherefore, I said unto my son Enos: Take these plates.  And I told him the things which my brother Nephi had commanded me, and he promised obedience unto the commands…”  (Jacob 7:27)

A side note:  A French word suddenly appears at the end of Jacob:  adieu.  Weird, huh?  Why would Jacob have used a French word?  Well, he didn’t, of course.  French wasn’t even around then.  It was Joseph Smith who used the French word.  In translating the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith had to find words that conveyed the meaning of the Reformed Egyptian words.  The word adieu was in common usage in New England at the time, and it meant “towards God,” sort of like "God be with you."  Joseph obviously felt it a fitting equivalent to Jacob’s farewell in Reformed Egyptian.

Enos kept the commandment that his father had given him, and he chose to write about a specific personal revelation he received.

“And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.”  (Enos 1:2)

THE EFFECTS OF FAITH

The Book of Enos is a short study in faith:  How it is obtained, how it is used, and the effect it has upon a person.  Let’s work backwards to discover the process in Enos' life:

“And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest.  And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my father.  Amen.”  (Enos 1:27)

So we see the effect of great faith in a man at the end of his life:  He felt fully confident of receiving peace and joy in the next life and of hearing the welcoming praise of Jesus Christ at the judgment.  Wow!  Wouldn’t this be a great way to exit mortal life? 

Backing up just a little, we can see one effect faith had in the life of Enos:

“And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ.  And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world.”  (Enos 1:26)

His faith, which led him to preach the gospel all of his days, brought him great joy in his life, greater than the pleasures the world offers.

Enos had preached and prophecied because he had a great love for his people, the best definition of love being “seeking for the spiritual development of another.” 

“…I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.”  (Enos 1:9) 

The Lord assured him that he would bless the Nephites “according to their diligence in keeping the commandments.”  So then, Enos’s heart went out in love to his enemies.

“And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long struggling for my brethren, the Lamanites.

“And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith.”  (Enos 1:12)

ASKING AND RECEIVING

Enos had asked that if the Lamanites should outlast the Nephites so that there was no more hope of the Nephites helping to convert them, that at least this record of their preachings and prophesying might be preserved and eventually reach them to bring them back to the Lord, “for at the present our struggling were vain in restoring them to the true faith.  And they swore in their wrath that, if it were possible, they would destroy our records and us, and also all the traditions of our fathers.” (Enos 1:14)

“Wherefore, I knowing that the Lord God was able to preserve our records, I cried unto him continually, for he had said unto me: Whatsoever things ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.”  (Enos 1:15)

Really?  Anything we ask, we will receive?  Is prayer like a genie in a bottle, granting us all our wishes?  Not quite.  We must ask “in faith,” and “in the name of Christ.”  When we pray “in the name of Christ,” we are acting as his agents, praying for that which he would desire, just as if we had a power of attorney and were acting in the name of a relative who was out of the country, or as if we were a real estate agent and were making an offer on a home in the name of our client.  When we act in someone else’s name, we are doing what they would want done.

So if we are praying “in the name of Christ,” as Enos was, and we are praying for what Christ wants anyway, what is the point of praying?  Why did Enos have to cry unto the Lord “continually” over a long period of time?  The Bible Dictionary answers our question:

“Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other.  The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them.”  (Bible Dictionary, p. 752-753)

Enos continued:

“And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time.  And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest.

“And the Lord said unto me: Thy fathers have also required of me this thing; and it shall be done unto them according to their faith; for their faith was like unto thine.”  (Enos 1:16-18)

FORGIVENESS BREEDS CHARITY

What made Enos care so much about the welfare of the Nephites and the Lamanites?

Enos, early in his life, had prayed for his own welfare, for a forgiveness of his sins, and was told by the Lord that he was forgiven (Enos 1:4-5).  His relief was immense and almost incredulous.

“And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.  And I said: Lord, how is it done?

“And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ…wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Enos 1:6-8)

Enos’s story contains the sequence found over and over in the scriptures:  As soon as one obtains a forgiveness of his sins and thereby is filled with the Spirit and the accompanying pure love of Christ, he is then immediately filled with a desire to help those in his sphere of influence, because that’s what the love of Christ is and does; he desires to bless others as he has been blessed.  (See for example Mosiah 28.)

Enos’s story also illustrates the truth that faith in Jesus Christ must precede repentance (see Article of Faith 4).  But beginner faith will do.  Enos’ faith is shown by the mere fact that he prayed for repentance and that he had some knowledge of God, for example he knew “that God could not lie.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF PARENTAL TEACHING

And now we are back at the beginning of the story, where we find out how Enos received this first bit of faith, this knowledge that changed his life and the lives of those who heard him preach and those who have read his words.

“Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart, and my soul hungered…” (Enos 1:3-4)

There is no way to know whether Enos was a rebellious or irreligious young man prior to this experience (we all have need of repentance), but his father Jacob planted words in Enos’s mind which came back to him at the time they were needed.  This was not an unlikely or unusual occurrence that has no relevance to our lives: it is a promise the Lord has repeatedly made to parents.

“If parents will continually set before their children examples worthy of their imitation and the approval of our Father in Heaven, they will turn the current, and the tide of feelings of their children, and they, eventually, will desire righteousness more than evil.”  President Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 208

“More than we can imagine, our faithful effort to offer to our family the testimony we have of the truth will be multiplied in power and extended in time.”  President Henry B. Eyring, April 1996 General Conference

“What a mother teaches a child doesn’t get erased.”  Sheri Dew, No One Can Take Your Place, p. 36

“If you mothers will live your religion, then in love and fear of God teach your children constantly and thoroughly in the way of life and salvation, training them up in the way they should go, when they are old they will not depart from it.  I promise you this; it is as true as the shining sun, it is an eternal truth.”  President Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 206

Do remember the “old” part of that promise!  We don’t know how “old” our children may be when they finally cling to the gospel truths, in fact:

“Not all problems are overcome and not all needed relationships are fixed in mortality.  The work of salvation goes on beyond the veil of death, and we should not be too apprehensive about incompleteness within the limits of mortality.”  Elder Dallen H. Oaks, October 1995 General Conference

This knowledge can remove our terror of having “an empty chair in heaven.”  Things that are beyond our control as parents, are not beyond the control of Heavenly Father.

“Now, sometimes there are those [children] that are lost.  We have the promise of the prophets that they are not lost permanently, that if they are sealed in the temple ordinances and if the covenants are kept, in due time, after all the correction that’s necessary to be given, that they will not be lost.”  President Boyd K. Packer, Quorum of Twelve Apostles, Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Feb. 9, 2008

Sister Lant gave a beautiful summary of all the above promises, with which I will close:

“If our parenting is based on the teachings of the scriptures and of the latter-day prophets, we cannot go wrong…We will not be perfect at it, and our families will not always respond positively, but we will be building a strong foundation of righteous traditions that our children can depend on.  They can hold to that foundation when things get difficult, and they can return to that foundation if they should stray for a period of time…

“As we become ‘steadfast and immovable’ in keeping the commandments of the Lord, we will secure the blessings of heaven for ourselves and for our families.”  President Cheryl C. Lant, Primary General President, April 2008 General Conference

Jacob 5-7

ABOUT OLIVE TREES

Why did the Lord (and Jacob) take a whole lot of space on the golden plates to write such a long and drawn-out story about olive trees?  If you haven’t asked yourself this question, it’s only because you haven’t read Jacob 5 yet.

     

“The olive tree…is very hardy: drought-, disease- and fire-resistant, it can live to a great age. Its root system is robust and capable of regenerating the tree even if the above-ground structure is destroyed. The older an olive tree is, the broader and more gnarled its trunk appears. Many olive trees in the groves around the Mediterranean are said to be hundreds of years old, while an age of 2,000 years is claimed for a number of individual trees; in some cases, this has been scientifically verified…According to a recent scientific survey, there are dozens of ancient olive trees throughout Israel and Palestine, 1,600–2,000 years old.”  (Wikipedia)

This olive tree in Montenegro

is over 2,000 years old.

The olive tree is extremely valuable, with every part of the tree—the wood, the leaves, the fruit, and the oil of the olives—having important uses throughout history.

 “The leafy branches of the olive tree – the olive leaf as a symbol of abundance, glory and peace – were used to crown the victors of friendly games and bloody wars. As emblems of benediction and purification, they were also ritually offered to deities and powerful figures; some were even found in Tutankhamen's tomb.” (ibid.)

The olive leaf also has curative qualities and is used in medicine.

“Olive oil has long been considered sacred; it was used to anoint kings and athletes in ancient Greece. It was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples as well as being the "eternal flame" of the original Olympic Games. Victors in these games were crowned with its leaves. Today, it is still used in many religious ceremonies. Over the years, the olive has been the symbol of peace, wisdom, glory, fertility, power and purity.” (ibid.)

“Homer called it "liquid gold." In ancient Greece, athletes ritually rubbed it all over their bodies. Olive oil has been more than mere food to the peoples of the Mediterranean: it has been medicinal, magical, an endless source of fascination and wonder and the fountain of great wealth and power. Indeed the importance of the olive industry in ancient economies cannot be overstated.”

“Olive oil, being almost pure fat, is dense in calories yet healthy, without adverse health effects. Unlike cereals which can be destroyed by humidity and pests in storage, olive oil can be very easily stored and will not go rancid for at least a year (unless needlessly exposed to light or extremely hot weather), by which time a fresh harvest will be available. The combination of these factors helped ensure that the olive industry has become the region's most dependable food and cash crop since prehistoric times.” (ibid.)

“Olive [trees] are now being looked at for use as a renewable energy source, using waste produced from the olive plants as an energy source that produces 2.5 times the energy generated by burning the same amount of wood. The same reference claims that the smoke released has no negative impact on neighbors or the environment, and the ash left in the stove can be used for fertilizing gardens and plants. The process has been patented in the Middle East and the US (for example).” (ibid.)

So, how does this relate to the parable?  We, the children of our Heavenly Father, the wild and tame olive branches, are extremely valuable to Him.  We have the potential to heal, to nourish, to energize, to bless, to comfort, and we are expected to do it.  There is a reason also that God chose one of the longest-lived trees on the earth in this allegory to show the extreme patience he uses in his work of helping us to achieve exaltation.  Normally the olive tree requires very little care—just an annual pruning and occasional fertilizing; they don’t even need to be watered—but the disappointing olive trees in the allegory needed a LOT of extra effort.  And yet, it was worth it to the Husbandman.

INTERPRETIVE NOTES ON THE ALLEGORY OF THE TAME AND WILD OLIVE TREES

The 9^th edition of the Book of Mormon, published in 1906 in Liverpool includes footnotes on the allegory of the olive tree by Orson Pratt, Sr.  Although they should not be considered scripture, they provide very interesting commentary and instruction.  I have written them in the margins of my own scriptures in pink (to differentiate from my other marginal notes).  I will also list them in this blog entry in pink, as opposed to notes I have gathered from other sources or thought of myself, which will be in black.

Elder Pratt’s commentary makes it easy to see an outline of the history of the world played out in the story of the olive grove.

5:4—FIRST VISIT, PRE-CHRIST.  He cares about the tree.

5:7—House of Israel conquered by Asyrria, Babylon, Rome

5:13—Isles distant from Palestine.

5:14—Ten tribes in the north.  Some of Judah and Joseph in American.  Others, upon isles.

5:15—SECOND VISIT, EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH.  Six or seven centuries.

5:17—The Gentiles in the Apostles’ days

5:20—First group.  Place unknown

5:23—Second group.  Place unknown

5:24—Third group.  Place unknown

5:25—Fourth group.  America.  Tame fruit = Nephites.  Wild fruit = Lamanites.

5:26—Lamanites

5:29—THIRD VISIT, RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL.  About 18 centuries.  Joseph Smith.

5:30—All sorts of fruit = Sects of Christendom.

5:38—Distant isles

5:40—Wild fruit = Lamanites.  Good fruit = Nephites.

5:43—Nephites.  America.

5:44—Jaredites.

5:45—Lamanites overcame the Nephites.

5:46—Present condition of the Indians (Present meaning, of course, the turn of the 20^th Century, and Indians meaning Native Americans)

5:48—The branches tried to support themselves rather than relying on the root.

5:50—Christ is always our Advocate.

5:52—Branches whose fruit is most bitter = The more wicked portions of the Gentiles.

5:54—Roots = The scattered branches of Israel.  The branches of this tree = The believing Gentiles.  [Graft them in unto] them, the roots = Scattered Israel.

5:55—The believing Gentiles numbered with the believing of scattered Israel.

5:56—The believing of scattered Israel numbered with the believing of the Gentiles.

5:57—Those ripened for destruction.

5:63—The last that may be first = Gentiles.  The first that may be last = Israel.

5:70—Servant = Joseph Smith.  Other servants = Those called through Joseph Smith.  (I differ with Elder Pratt on this one: It makes more sense to me that the servant is always Christ, and Joseph Smith is one of the other servants.)

5:76—MILLENIUM.  For a long time = 1,000 years.

5:77—JUDGMENT

A PERSONAL PARABLE

Michael Wilcox (Institute instructor and author) suggests alternatively reading this chapter of the Book of Mormon as a parable, looking for words such as “nourish,” and “grieve,” and “joy,” and think of the olive trees as individuals rather than nations (BYU Education Week Lecture, August 2008, my personal notes, 9:96). As you read the chapter, you may see stages of your own life represented in the story.

Some people’s life situations are such that it is more difficult to grow spiritually than others who were planted in richer soil.  But the Lord will nourish those in poor spots so that they can bring forth good fruit. 

And He often will point out that there are others in poorer spots than they. 

Sometimes those planted in good spots don’t bring forth good fruit, and that is a great disappointment. 

But the Lord and His Servant continue to fertilize, to weed, to graft, to transplant until the plant is nourished and productive.  What matters is not where we little olive trees are planted, but how we respond to the nourishment of the Lord.  It is available even in the nethermost parts of the vineyard.