well hi there everyone I'm Dave Butler I'm Grace Freeman welcome to don't miss this scripture study class uh if you're new we point out things in the different chapters we're in that we think you don't want to miss just our favorite Parts essentially yeah it's really what it is and there's 100 million more but this is just just get you going this is like a it's a warmup I was I like I was about to say that like it was going to be really cool in my mind there's like an analogy of like a you like a warmup that was much better than the word warm up and it just didn't come to me in enough time so now we're having a warm up it's okay you guys the ball rolling nah it's not even good I don't know anyways just you get it right you get it this this is the appetizer that's cooler better that's more exciting so some egg rolls about have some egg rolls some uh whatever Edam momy whatever you get for the for the warmup but point is just point out some things that we think are really cool in the scripture that are meaningful insightful things that are great to teach that I think create great great lessons and discussions and then hopefully that just gets you going and learning to love the scriptures even more so uh all right Helman we're in the book of Helman we started last time we'll give you a little oh before before we have this little plug baby this little shout out cuz general conference is coming and if you saw last week we showed you these two versions of the General Conference Journal that you can get right these are they they should just be called General Conference um in like well Impressions is what they are because they're really used to kind of keep the Impressions the promises personal promises I think more important than the ones that are get printed because they're going to get printed right but just like the the thoughts that you have of things that you want to do things you want to think about things you want to study and then there's just different varieties one this one that's full of this beautiful art that's so good this one is just a little bit more simple it's just like graphic art it could be younger or for the younger in spirit who don't write as much or whatever and who need to Doodle drink com okay cuz this one has doodle spots and then we didn't show you this one last week and then you're lucky because you would have died last week and not heard this lesson because you can't even see the this is the same artist we've had in the past if you haven't and you have kids or if you even if you don't have kids this might be the one that you want for yourself me it's me I want this full of activities and note spots it's so awesome so these are just great they're designed so pretty they just kind of elevate they just Elevate the weekend they really Elevate the weekend so there's the plug for that get those at goodnews brandco tocom or you or I don't even know when this comes out but if it's the week of Swiss days it might be past Swiss days because we're going to be there with these and other fun treats so that's not even worth mentioning good newbrand code.com before they sell out there you go uh now we'll jump into hel them and we're halfway through the book so what we're going to kind of see here is a zoom in on on this oh speaking of conference on this Prophet Nephi and sort of like you get to see Into the Heart of a prophet here which I think is really intriguing and then you get to see also the heart of God um with his almost like his interactions you know isn't that neat that you we don't really see much of like President Nelson's personal interactions with the Lord we're like we are confident they're happening we have them um but I just like seeing this these this almost like um um I there's something special about this not only because he's the prophet but for all of us as individuals just that we see almost like the tug of war of life and God's involvement in that and so that's what I think you can look forward to in um in these in these chapters so uh 7 through 12 you know last time we came off of last time and and remember we're just kind of in like this really strange part of history and one that's strange about it if you are uh you know if you know the Book of Mormon is all up until this point you've sort of had like the Nephites this group of people called the Nephites were the good guys and the lamanites were sort of the bad guys and you had like a this cool conversion during the war chapters right of the Nephites but when you get to this spot in the Book of Mormon there's like a reversal and there's a switch and all of a sudden the more part of the righteous people live among the lamanites than they do the Nephites and that sort of the lay of the land another part of the lay of the land is just you like the you you don't want to be Governor or chief judge because you're probably going to die true within the month because there's just a lot of corruption a lot of money a lot of power it sort of just reminds you of a like a like a made for Netflix movie you know of a society just like crumbling from the inside with so much corruption and listen if you're a conspiracy person you're probably thinking that's our land you know or whatever right now and maybe so I don't know I don't know but at least it gives you this feeling it gives you this idea of like oh the the world's it's like out of it's out of control yeah it's out of control and whether your particulars look like these particulars or not all of us have experienced out of control and so it's it's great to see what's the Lord do in situations that feel out of control yeah and in situations that almost feel backwards and are very different than what you're used to that's what I loved hearing like when I read that this time that's what I thought was so cool is that I am a very I love comfortable and safe situations and this feels like here is what this is who God is in the moments that make you uncomfortable or are very different than what you're used to yeah yeah uh can I just point out this one cuz I don't think we did last time just a little sneak peek from last Helman six I just love seeing this line right it talks about 35 the spirit began to withdraw from the Nephites because of wickedness and hardness of Hearts but listen to this almost like a little formula in 36 thus we see the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon the lamanites so for those interested in a pouring out of the spirit listen up because of their easiness and willingness to believe in his words like that see that's that seems so instructive to me you know just like because of their easiness the easiness and willingness to believe I just I was so drawn to that before we jumped into seven so all right chapter 7 here's a couple things that I want to say we have Nephi who is sort of the spiritual leader we might say he's a prophet right at the time and sort of that um head of the church during this one he's helman's son so helan who led the 2,000 stripping Warriors who's also Alma the younger son so this Al of the younger's grandson I don't know why that's cool but for some Reon it does feel like we should know that it in my in my mind so um hean 7 we we kind of zoom in onto unto him and you find that people have rejected all of his words uh and the gadan robbers are just filling the government and things are just out of control and he is in it says six in the agony of his soul and he pours out this pray prayer to God and I think this is interesting because all of us have in our lives these moments these Garden Tower that's where he is these Garden Tower prayers where we pour out the agony that is in us I I think there's something it makes me feel like you're po getting the poison out of you a little bit get the hatred out of you get the greed out of you get the Envy out of you get the sadness out of you and just lay it before the Lord and it seems to be what he's doing and he says man I wish I lived in first Nei W that's where I wish I lived which I think is that is the sweetest prayer to me that he's like oh if I could have just lived then right why my life is so hard and I I think sometimes we think oh Lord If I Only Could Have so and so's life or if I could only have so and so's kids or if I could only have this and this calling or these and these particulars like I just feel like sometimes we all pour that out sometimes to the Lord and I think that's one of my favorite lessons even just from that verse is just thinking in my head like the most powerful prayers are the most honest prayers and there could have been he could have prayed something very different in this moment and it almost feels like stereotypically he should have and he should have started with like oh I'm so grateful for this day and say all the things that you're grateful for and In This Moment he just really couldn't like his prayer really did need to start out and be like listen I just wish my life was different than the life that I'm living right now and I think it's sometimes okay to realize that the best prayers are the most honest ones and being vulnerable in prayer is for me as scary as being vulnerable with other people but that's the type of prayer that God craves is the most honest ones yeah and and and I just think it helps you get to where Nephi goes yeah the P because he eventually gets to this line in verse 9 to underline these are my days and that's a real ation that's really powerful I think and and because we could spin in this washing machine of oh I wish that this and I wish that that and this is unfair and I wish you know but eventually he gets to a spot and that's okay that he's just like God I wish I wish this wasn't my particular trial right now but then he gets to this conclusion which is but these are my days this is my life these are the current circumstances and so I will then pour these out to God and that's what you see in verse 11 pouring out his soul unto God of the way things are because sometimes I think what adds to our frustration in Life or our frustration with God is our wishing so much that they were different but if we can get to that spot that says but they're not and these are my days and then take that and place it before the Lord I think then he's able to do wonderful things with it you know I think of that kid with the five fish and whatever how many Loaves and Fishes where he's just like but this is insufficient this is I you know it's like but just hand what you have over but this is what I have and these are my days this is my call right now this is my season of life and then pour and hand that over to the Lord and I think we begin to see something beautiful now and he's in the midst of this prayer on this Garden to hour and and people pass by and they and they hear him and and this a crowd gathers to hear his prayer which I think is a little bit rude um but they're you know they're listening to and pray and and they're all there and um and he starts to kind of you know address it with them he's like you want to know why I'm so upset I'm upset because of y'all because of the lives that um the the way our world looks and and then he kind of lays out this this little decision for him and I made this little chart because you know um where he almost and this could be a cool teaching opportunity or a cool study where in verse 16 he says how could you have given way to the enticing of him who's seeking to hurl away your souls to Everlasting misery and endless wo we have a choice of who we're going to hand our hearts and our lives over to to and he just sort of seems to lay out like and then you can look at each of these verses and remember you can take a little screenshot or the or the you can get the PD F and the app of this and this could be a cool little study of where he points out this is what it looks like to hand your heart over to the adversary and this is what it looks like to hand your heart over to the Lord right where he says it's be you um you could hearken in verse 18 to the voice of the Good Shepherd right or have you forgotten he's the kind of God who delivers you um and so you almost have this difference between who who is it that I'm going to and my heart and in fact verse 25 last little thing I'll say for chapter 7 he says woe be unto you because of this great Abomination which has come unto you you have United yourselves unto it the secret band of of gadian and I just circled that word United and it's just like who have I United myself together with whose cause am I giving my heart and my energy to whose voice am I listening to for uh advice for how to deal with this situation that I'm particularly in and I just love that when you lay them out next to each other it's kind of cool as just like what whose voice if you look at it like this just do the what's that was list called you know like the pros and cons lists you know where you're just like that's what it feels like called it's the name is the ex but the description is the name it's no problem continue continue what never mind about to go and make fun of myself even more but it's almost just like a really logical way of saying okay are you going to listen to him over here or him with the capital H over over here so anyways those are things I that I love about seven um chapter 8 is the continuation on obviously of this story and what happens is all of these people like kind of start going against Nephi and they see him and the prayer and they have this experience with him and then everyone gets super super angry and in verse number one um they cry out saying unto the people um like all the chief people the judges say why do you just not bring him forward so we can like punish him that's going to be the easiest just go get him and bring him here and we'll take care of the problem and it's so funny because the more you read it like gets funny because the only reason they wanted them to do it and not them is because they were scared of him so they were like you guys do it that's your problem not ours like we'll deal with it once you get him and so the people go out and I think verse number six is so interesting to me because all the people are talking and they talk about like we're so good and like our city is huge and we have like so much progress and we're doing so so well and then in verse number six they say and now we know that this is impossible for our city to be destroyed for everything we've built up to be destroyed like it's that would be impossible we have nothing to be afraid of and I think that verse number six gives you a little clue into the mindset of this people and they were really limited by the word impossible you can see it in verse number six and you're going to see it in the rest of the chapter they lived in an impossible mindset they thought that everything they had built up it was impossible to be destroyed but as the story continues you're going to see that they didn't just think that but they lived with limited beliefs their eye of Faith was so so small because what's going to happen is um they're all kind of panicking their like okay like our cities are great we have so much power like no enem is going to beat us and they were like we can do this like we can get Nei like we're strong like we're tough and then they heard other people which I highlighted in mine in verse number seven for there were some who did cry out let leave this man alone for he is a good man some saw what Nephi was doing in his prayer in his heart and they said wait a minute he is good that is a good good man and then all of a sudden there's a little bit of contention because you have this group of people that were finally brave enough to like take him and like bind him up and bring him to the judges and then this other group that said wait a minute we think he's good and we think what he is talking about is good we think he's on to something there which it's like almost if you would just give yourself a minute you know like some of the people heard what Nephi was saying and offended them quickly or it was uncomfortable or it meant that they were going to have to change or it just you know and if you would if they just give themselves a second to look at the situation and look at what he's doing some of them came to the realization like oh he's a he's a good man actually right he doesn't have to do this there's no benefit coming to him from it yeah it's just like almost this analysis of who he is what he said and they're just coming to the conclusion to say hold on hold on what what what's going on with this what's going on with him and so now there's a little bit of commotion and there's people fighting that he's good and people fighting that he's bad and then all of a sudden Nephi sees the situation and he begins to speak to the crowd and for me when I read this I was remembering the group of people that lived with that impossible mindset and I wonder if Nephi had to have been thinking a little bit like that as well because what he starts talking about are stories that God did impossible things and he begins with Moses and the Red Sea and then the serpent on the stick and everyone's looking at the serpent everyone's like he's going through these scenarios where God does things that are impossible and then he continues and after Moses he goes to Abraham and he's like did you forget about Abraham because his story is absolutely insane and both of these two people preached about Jesus coming before that was even a possibility like before that was even like way far in the future and then he goes through and in verse 19 and 20 you're going to see he goes through all of these he says like what about Zenus and zenic and Jeremiah and Isaiah and all of these people that preached the same message that Jesus was going to come how is that even possible that they all got on the same page and at the end of verse 20 I think you kind of get the fight against an impossible mindset and he says oh then why not the Son of God come according to his prophecy and the truth is and the more I read this and the more I thought about it is I was like the that the Christian like core that story is crazy and the fact that all of these people thousands of years before Jesus even came which also like Jesus one man coming to save all of mankind that sounds like an impossible story and then to know all of these people that prophesied before he even came that he would come and then you have Nephi that's standing giving the same prophecy that Jesus is going to come and all of these people live in the impossible mindset and the story does seem impossible if you take everything away and you just hear it you are like yeah that is actually crazy that seems impossible and it is easy to let impossible shape your faith and Nephi contradicts it with just two words why not why not just believe it is just as easy to to believe something is impossible as it is to believe that it is possible yeah it's just as easy so why not why not just give it a chance why not give it the opportunity to happen and um it's so interesting and then he's going to go through and he keeps going and he talks about Lehi and Nephi and their like the their backstory and all of these things and um I love verse 23 I just like put a heart next to it in my scriptures because I think it's just so precious and he says and behold he is God and he is with them and he did manifest himself unto them that they were Redeemed by him and they gave unto him glory because of that which is to come and the truth is the story does seem impossible until you know God and once you know the God we believe in we believe in a God that makes the impossible possible and we can experience that because he will be with us he will show you that impossible things are made possible through him that's why you can believe in all of the crazy things and all of the stuff that you're like that doesn't even make any sense there's no chance you can believe because of him you have a chance at believing because he will be with you and he will show you through glory and power and his presence and in verse number 24 it goes through and it says um and now seeing you know these things and you cannot deny them except if you lie you know this is true and if you're saying that it's not you are lying to yourself therefore you have sinned You' rejected all those things but this part is my favorite of the whole chapter not withstanding so many evidences which you have received and the truth is the story is crazy it just is that the best the world has ever seen the greatest man to ever live came and he died so that we could be sa saved the like he is so out of our league and we he shouldn't even be thinking about people like us but he did and people prophesied that and believed that even before he came and thousands of years after that is absolutely crazy but I cannot deny that it is real I have to say that it is true and real and the story is possible because it did happen because of the evidence that God has showed me in my life and and I just think it's so cool and in my scriptures I like have a little scripture journal and I just wrote at the top of my evidences and I wrote a line underneath and then I just started going through and I was like you know what it's easy to believe in the impossible but I don't want my my faith to be limited on what I think is possible or impossible I want to believe in a God that can do impossible things and I just listed through all of the things that I like have seen the evidence to me of a God that can do the impossible and some of them were silly stupid things that no one else cares about like heads up pennies and fireworks and some of them were the moments that I like was driving in my car and I just knew that God lived and he loved me and everyone's list of evidence can be different and I think that's the most powerful part that just like verse 23 says God will be with you and he will give you evidence that the story is real that Jesus died and lived and he is with us all of the time and all of it's real we don't have to be limited by impossible with that's so awesome and and I think I would um I would I would do something like that like in your own journal or together as a family if you're going to do like one thing on a Sunday or together in a class just create a list of top at the top so many evidences it's almost like remind you of Alma's sermon that he gave like these are the reasons that I believe and you could give these examples to people from 23 times when he's been with you times that he manifested himself to you how about stories of redemption and Second Chances and change how about times of his glory when you've been in awe of him how about in 24 um things in heaven things on earth things that are you've times you've received a witness that things are are true the people of the past received so many evidences of a god of the impossible and Nei is here to teach them that same God lives today and he's still a god of doing impossible possible things he's still a God who will manifest himself in power and will be here and then in this next chapter of chapter 9 he gives an like he's like like let me give you one right this very now which is so exciting like can you imagine if you were there like he's like you think this is impossible wait like God opened a sea and God did this with a Brazen Serpent and God did this with Jeremiah and jail and God did this with Le Lehi and Nephi and he's still a god of power and he's given me power to tell you this right now that your judge your chief judge has just been murdered and how else could I know that except God is the god of impossible so go check and imagine the whispering like when he said that people who this like what so in chapter nine there are these five people who said behold this is verse two chapter 9 verse2 now we'll know of assurity whether this guy is a prophet and whether God hath commanded him to prophesy because we have got a chance to experience an Evidence or a witness and I actually um am so endeared to a God who wants us to experience his power and experience his presence and experience his miracles he's like I will not have you just believe the theology on paper I want you to live it out and experience and have evidences of your own those will be our what our faith is based in why we choose to believe are because of these so many evidences we will have them in our life and these five are like okay this will be a chance Let's test it out right I love thinking about General Conference coming and having somebody stand at that pulpit and make a promise like I'm thinking in my mind I just read recently that um like that old old quote from president Benson who says as you begin to study the Book of Mormon a power will flow into your life I think that's great for someone to say all right now we'll know of assurity whether this is a prophet and God prophesied I'm going to try it I'm going run I'm going to go see for myself and I'm going to do it and don't you love that it's a God who says go see for yourself or in the last General Conference president Nelson said those promises about the temple and attending the temple are some of the most remarkable things I feel like I've ever heard in my life and it was something I can try I can actually try it I can increase my temple worship and see if those things do not come to pass and and and and I would say write down as you listen to to this upcoming you know the prophets and apostles what promises are being given and try them out and see for yourself like these five um and and expect marvelous things verse two that's the line I underlined in verse two such marvelous things then we will believe right and God says great okay good I actually want you to do that right I actually want you to live them Mountain so they ran in their might and they went and they got to the chief judge and he really was dead and they were so overwhelmed with the possibility of like oh my gosh Nephi really is a prophet holy moly and it was so overwhelming they fainted because this happens all over the Book of Mormon and they fainted all five of them and at the same time like someone had got the judge is murdered you know and so all these people come in and they find the they see the five dead on the ground or fainted on the ground and they're like well surely they did it and God like knocked them on the head um for doing it and now we've got them and they throw them in prison and a trial is set and the trial is about to happen um and they're in the jail and finally somebody puts together two and two like the trial is happening and they're like yeah we got these five criminals and then people who were at the tower wait wait remember those five who went and running hold on what are the odds please that's the funniest verse you guys it's in verse 12 I literally wrote LOL next to it because it is so funny to me because this is literally what it says and they said oh they're like hey what happened to those five that were like the witnesses or whatever and they answered and said concern this five who you're talking about you sent we have no idea but there are five who we do have in jail and I'm you kidding it's not like it's one and one so funny so they're like wait a second so they go and get them out and they like tell us your story and they lay it out and they say this is what happened and they tell that whole garden story we ran and we came and and we just knew and then there's another accusation right and there will always be another accusation there will all always be someone saying something against your evidences and that game will play out until the very end every experience that you have someone's going to come in and say Well it must been because of this then you'll have another one and they'll say Well it must be because of that there will always be a counterargument to the evidences that you have and eventually you just have to make the choice you know what what am I going what am I going to believe yeah that there are a series of coinci es or or or there really is a God in heaven and they say um then Nephi gives another you know he says okay well then let me double down on this go to his brother who actually murdered him say to him you know do you um do you know that your brother got murdered and he'll say what and pretend and then you'll say did you murder him and he's going to go silent because he's going to be so shocked and then you'll see blood on his cloak and you'll know for sure and Nephi kind of lays out like a no other possibility sort of scenario so they go and that's exactly what happens and then it says this in 37 they went and did even as Nephi had said to them and behold the words which he had said were true for according to the words he did deny and according to the words he did confess the brother confesses and he was brought to prove that he himself was the murderer and that the five were set free and so was Nephi and then 39 is the verse I love the most in this chapter and there were some of the Nephites who believed on the words of Nephi and there were some also who believed because of the testimony of the five and then this line for they had been converted while they were in prison and I just love a god who's sending Witnesses of every kind to this world and for all of us there will be some of us who believe because of the words of the Prophet that we hear in a couple weeks but there will be some of us who believe because of the testimony of who were converted in prison and both of those Witnesses become valuable parts of this story and I added the cross reference of to Helman chapter 7 verse 29 next to that verse um because it says this at the very end I know that these things are true because the Lord God has made them known unto me and maybe he makes them known unto you through your own personal experiences maybe he makes them known unto you through the words of a prophet or maybe he makes them known unto you through the five and I would add that to my list if I were making one of so many evidences and just say list your five who are the five people whose testimony whose stories whose Witnesses their personal stories and Witnesses have confirmed your faith as well and I just love a God who makes a prison sacred ground I know like of course they added that line and takes and takes those who were prisoners who were doubters right and and and then their witness becomes one that that converts so many God takes this is a theme of this book yes God takes Wicked Kings he takes Naughty Boys he takes doubters and they have an experience and and and their witness then becomes powerful chapter 10 begins and you're hoping like after that crazy crazy miraculous experience that everything's going to be really good and verse number one kind of shakes you into reality because there's another division among the people and everyone's angry at everyone and it's all a big disaster again and isn't that just sometimes how life feels like you're like oh wait but did you just like we just had like a good we had something good going for us and now of course it's falling apart and I think the image that this and I think it's cool to read that in the book and to see that just like when that occurs in your life don't take it as evidence that um it wasn't real that it wasn't um a meaningful experience that God's no longer involved just take it as evidence of this is just what life looks like sometimes and it Paints the picture so clearly because it's going to describe Nephi leaving all alone he's standing in the middle of all of the contention all of the disaster and he leaves all by himself and he goes and it came to pass that is Nephi went his way towards his own house pondering upon the things which the Lord had shown unto him and that to me just those two verses Paints the most clear picture of a boy that is just so worn down with disappointment and sadness and loneliness and it when I read it like it almost just like was like a super cut in my mind of all the times that I have felt that myself and I think maybe it's just the image of him walking home by himself and walking away from everything that was falling apart and saying well like now what do I do because I thought we had something good going and now it's still a disaster and everyone's angry at everyone and obviously what I'm doing is not enough and and your tempted in moments like that to just not care anymore it's like fine then I just I just won't care I just think of a mom who's just like I thought I had a breakthrough with my son and then last night he did this and it's like oh my gosh like what do what do I you know what do I do or a missionary was like I thought that they were making such progress and then no and then sometimes I like I read this I picture like President Nelson you have moments like that where he's just like gets stories back and he's just like I thought we were making such good Headway you know with with people and it just these are just moments that we just my brother-in-law used to be church security and it was when President hinley was president of the church and so he was out there and he said he would see him and he would ride in like the little golf cart with his head down you know and his hands like in on his head as he rode and he was just like oh my gosh like what is weighing him down what is what is it that he must be he must be carrying you know and finally one day he just said it to another worker another security guy worked there for a long time and he's just like man have you ever seen president hey R he just always seem have the weight of the world like on his shoulders and the guy was like oh no he does that because he doesn't want his hair to get messed up in the wind with where he's going in a particular I was like that's not real but even though that is funny the reality is you just said that whole story with like the most well that's that's how he oh because like she say ha it needs a little bit of light-heartedness in there but the reality is like can you imagine like the weight of carrying like the spirituality of the world on your shoulders and just you know like and just be you know being in charge of this you see that with every spiritual leader and that's that's the case of everybody who has someone that they're looking after spiritually and there is not a single person on this Earth who is immune to disappointment in this life right in fact I think it's important like I think it's an important emotion to feel and the disappointment might become might come because of kids or for missionaries or whatever the reason that the disappointment might come we grades not making the team or or I didn't get the job or whatever whatever but at some point in our lives I feel like we all are going to have that same walk home that is just like you're kidding me I did my very best best I was trying so so hard I gave that everything I had and I really thought it was going to work and it just didn't and I must not be good enough and this might not be working out and maybe he should have chosen something like someone different God because obviously it should not have been me or could be a reason to think like God must have forgotten me God must not love me what have I done wrong is a question that comes up in times like that too right certainly and I just imagine him with his like head down shoulders slumped not because of his hair everyone but because he was actually sad and um and then God shows up on that walk home and isn't that a good lesson about God anyways that he showed up on the way out not once you already got home but he said no no no wait when you're still on your way I will meet you in the middle of the disappointment and he said blessed art thou me f and I wonder if Nephi wanted to laugh and he's like for real like do you see like look around because I don't really feel blessed like I just don't think that's like a true thing and then his words to him continues and he goes through to say I have seen what you are doing every moment that you gave 110% and everyone looked at you like you were just giving 15% of your effort and that it wasn't important and it was meaning L I have seen that you have done everything I've asked of you you were not afraid of them you didn't even care about your own life all you cared about was doing what I asked for you I've seen every single moment of your life Nephi everything that you've given everything that you have done which I think probably was more than Nephi could have ever dreamt of God saying in that moment I cannot help but imagine that Nephi probably we wanted to weep when he heard those words mhm that God saw his effort I love that quote from president Nelson and I want to think about it every day that God loves effort um because that means that even if it doesn't work out God still loves it yeah and that's evidence in verse number four of that that God did not love the results God loved the effort mhm and he saw it every single ounce of effort and he says listen to me well and let's I just want everyone to see that verse four it's the words I have beheld that's where that's where you're getting that from and just to box those words just to hear that that's the voice uh that's the that's the message of God I see you yep and everything that you've ever done and he says I will bless you forever I will make you mighty indeed in faith in Works everything that you could ever say or want to have happen will happen and then in verse number six is the line of the whole my whole life I just love it it's so so simple but the exact reminder that Nephi needed in the moment of disappointment behold you are Nephi and I am God and the truth is is in those moments of disappointment isn't that all we really need and isn't this God's message still to you you are exactly who you are I am not disappointed in that I would not choose someone else I know your name I know what you have done I've seen everything you have gone through in your entire life and I am not confused I didn't accidentally choose you God knows exactly who you are and he chose you specifically MH and he is God that is who he is that is who he has always been forever he said we together are a really good team and you don't need to forget and doubt that anymore this is not an accident I didn't you weren't from like the B Team like I didn't just like have to accidentally I was like oh last one in the line I guess you're coming on my team you're my first pick this is a first pick kind of team and then he goes through and he says listen anything you could dream up I've got your back I will stand next to you and I will make it happen whatever you can dream up and create I will be with you in that anything you tell a mountain to go it's going to go like we are in this together and I will have your back and I think that my favorite part is in verse number 12 because it's just so simple but it just says that after the Lord had said this he stopped Nephi not the Lord he stopped and he did not go unto his own house but he did return again unto the multitudes and isn't that so true about the God we believe in that he will stop you in your tracks and he will make sure to remind you that you are capable of what he has asked you to do and he will get you exactly where you need to be and um to to be honest like it still was a disaster like the people still hardened their hearts and it wasn't necessarily particularly better in fact it was probably still a lot of days filled with disappointment but I bet Nei went home and he reminded himself of that day yeah that I am Nephi and he is God and together we can do this and you see that in verse number 16 behold the power of God was with them and they could not um they could not take him to cast him into prison for he was taken by the spirit and conveyed away out of the midst of them and it came to pass that he did go forth in the spirit and isn't that the best part of the story is that he walked home alone but he walked back with the spirit and that made all of the difference that in the moments that we want to give up and we're so lonely and we're all by ourselves don't worry God's going to meet you on your way back and he will not let you return by yourself that's so awesome so it gives Nephi this blessing and this power that whatever he speaks is going to happen and this people who are so hardened in their heart he prays in chapter 11 and and says can there be a famine in the land and this is the such a sweet line to stir them up in remembrance of the Lord their God and then this and perhaps they will repent and turn unto thee I just love that Nephi is engaging in this ministry uh under under the word perhaps that perhaps someone might turn that the Lord is going to do so much that just perhaps it's worth just the perhaps which is so beautiful and then the famine does come and it says this in verse 7 and they began to remember the Lord their God and they began to remember the words of Nephi and they began to plead with their Chief Judges that they wanted to to change and and to believe and to me that shows something about the heart of God that I love so much in chapter 11 is that once you begin to believe and begin to change he's like great we've got it and then Nei praise and he says can you take the famine away because they began to believe and that's all he waits for he doesn't wait for a complete transformation he is waiting for people just to begin and when they do begin this line verse 16 the nevi says Lord wil thou turn away thine anger and try again and I believe in a God who tries again and tries again and tries again and tries again and blesses us right when we begin to change and right when we begin to believe um and uh I think that's like isn't this a fun chapter where you see Nephi just like kind of like working together with the Lord to try and and and bring about this change in all of these people and this is sort of little side verse but I just want to point it out because I love it in 11 in verse 19 it says and behold Lehi his brother who we haven't heard of for like all these chapters was not a wit behind him as to things pertaining to righteousness and verse 19 is a call out to everybody who just feels like they are overlooked uh they're not in public or or leadership positions or or whatever and I think verse 19 is a call out to anybody who feels like they're just trying in in in just the you know I don't even know you know like just the Seminary classroom or like on the stage in Sunday school right that's where I teach my class sometimes I feel like about this the stage I'm in the freaking I'm on the stage you know and I feel like it's a call out to people who just like are are sometimes overlooked and I just love that God does not Overlook you as much as he behal everything that was going on in nei's life he beheld everything that was going on in lehi's life as well and it talks about these two and um it says this line about them in verse 23 where it didn't matter how many people came and ended against them they could always combat um the arguments and combat the doubts because it says that they were having many Revelations daily and I think there's something about this that's really important and in fact it's the word of our our week U that word revelation this experience I like this communication of Truth to People by God himself or by his agents uh Revelation feels like a really fancy word I would translate this word revelation if you hang up this poster in your house say to everybody when you see this word it's a word that means god came into your story that's what that means uh it's one of those great evidences and in addition to being the word of the week it's also this worksheet which I think this is such a really neat exercise uh it's a calendar if you're just listening that's just got a couple like Monday through Sunday on here as a chance to just write down the revelations that we're having write down the moments that God is coming into your life the times that you feel like he was there the times that he gave you an answer the times that he gave you encouragement the times that he gave you forgiveness the direction that he's given you the nudges that you are feeling and learn to be aware of them I think we can train our hearts to recognize the revelations of God but it requires us to do the training and I love this worksheet gives everybody a chance for that I I just think sometimes you know we'll be in I'm you know in my 40s and sometimes we'll talk and people will say like well I remember receiving this Revelation when I was on my mission and I love stories from missions but I just want to say but what about the ones that are happening on Wednesday of this very week and I think we can get our hearts back into that mindset of and and if we're a mom or a dad we can help our kids recognize Revelations like maybe this week everybody is talking about every night when we have family scripture study you know or or just something but we're just trying to teach our eyes to see and our hearts to feel God ever present in our life and it's okay if on Monday you need to be a little patient um because sometimes it takes a second to get into the habit of not necessarily receiving Revelation but realizing Revelation and looking at your life and being like oh wait no that was God showing up in my story and on Monday night during come follow me it might take a second for you to break down what it really looks like for God's revelation to appear in your life and you might need to have a little second where you unpack that and figure it out and the goal is not necessarily that like to me when I saw this the goal right when I saw that it was a calendar I thought oh I just hope that every single day I just get a little bit better at seeing it and the thing I know about God is that he really will show up in our story and it's just whether or not I'm conscious enough to realize that he's there yeah yeah and I just think watching for it that's why I like it watching for it helps you like see it hopefully by Sunday a little better but then copy it again and do it again you know if it's helping you to to see that more clearly I just love this idea that sometimes this idea of many Revelations daily belongs to like uh prophets and apostles and I connect it with that 19 that Lehi was not one wit behind him as things pertaining to to righteousness or or opportunities that this is something that is a privilege of God's children all across the world that you can receive Revelations daily I was I was with a friend today who was just talking about a big decision that she's trying to make in her life and I just was so thrilled and so happy to have a God who is willing to speak to her on a daily basis like that's what I thought when she was telling the story I was like aren't we lucky aren't we so look that we're so looked after that that God in heaven is is willing to give daily Direction and daily encouragement um and if we find ourselves like the people at the beginning of the chapter the second we begin to re believe again that privilege becomes ours the second we begin to repent um it when we try again that that privilege becomes ours as well I like how this chapter ends in 26 in disaster because it says in in time and when I read that the first time I I thought it said in no time because of the not many years after that in in not many years in no time this Society goes into utter chaos but I like to compare that to verse um let's see verse 17 where it just said it didn't take many years either for them to change and try again and and that's that's interesting to know I think it's true that our lives can turn into a mess really really quickly but I also know it's true that we can begin to believe and begin to change rather quickly as well and begin to see those Revelations um you know as as soon as we want to see them again yeah um the pattern kind of continues and you see it that it almost just feels like for the next chapter and a half it's just they forget they remember they forget what they believe they remember who God is they forget what who he is they remember who he is and um it describes it with one word in verse number one of chapter 12 just the unsteadiness of the hearts of men and isn't that so true for me if anyone has ever spent one day with me they know that I follow I fall into that category of unsteady okay I'm going to have some good moments and some bad moments and that could be five minutes apart from each other and um then I love that it says yeah that is how men that's just how we are as people is we are just super unsteady there's going to be ups and there's going to be downs but what we see in the Lord is his great infinite goodness and that it will bless his people that's consistent all the time that is exactly who he is all the time and it's interesting and I like that it's it's consistency and also it doesn't run out too the word infinite also means it doesn't it like you it's not three strikes your yes right there is an infinite number of opportunities an infinite amount of goodness for every single one of us on the earth like there's so much that that where that word infinite could go yes 100% And you see it because it's interesting that it starts that chapter like that because then it like gets a little bit messy and like by verse number three you in your head when you read the beginning you're like I'm actually not sure that he really is a god of infinite goodness and it's going to talk about many afflictions and he's going to visit them with death and with Terror and with famine and pestilence and you're like I think you got the wrong guy like I don't know why you're saying that is infinite goodness until the very last line of verse three that they will not remember him and it is not that he was doing that because he is evil or because he was so like infuriated with their decisions he was doing that because he is willing to do absolutely whatever it takes to help you know him and he said wait what if this will help should I just try we believe in a God that will try anything to help us remember him and what's going to happen is it's still messy and they're remembering and they're forgetting and I've highlighted that in all through chapter 11 and chapter 12 I just highlighted the words forget and remember just because it was intriguing to me that it happened over and over and I think it's because I'm a really forgetful forgetful person so it just is like oh yeah that's so true for me too like it's just going to be there's days of forgetting and there's days of remembering and then there's this little sermon in the middle of chapter 12 and all of a sudden it's just this moment they they're like wait you're forgetting the thing you're forgetting is who you are and who God is and it goes through and it seems a little meane because they're like you are dirt like you are just absolutely nothing but do you know who he is do you remember the god that we believe in because he is really really good first of all and in verse six I love this you just want to highlight it so I'll just tell you fast and they will not that he should be their guide that's a sad line that they don't want him to be his guide but I love that that's the role that God was playing in their lives was the role of a guide and I just think that's a cool like name for him right there and I think kind of comes back to that list of like the heo H lowercase and and uppercase one where it's was just like they would not that he would be their guide and you're like why maybe you forgot to read his resume and if you would read his resume maybe you would want him to be your guide because he's about to give you know his his resume here because right we all pick someone we look to we all pick someone as someone who influences us someone who guides us someone who's you know and it's just like what why I would just want to ask those people why would you not want him to be be your guide what is it about God in heaven that you're uninterested in him being your guide 100% like give a reason yeah and then he's going to go through and tell you who he is and you're like what he like how do you not like by the power of His Voice like he can break up mountains and Hills will Quake because of him and by the power of His Voice like the whole earth shakes and the foundations Rock to the very center and if he said unto the earth move it will move that's verse 13 it like starts in like verse 9 um all the power of his voice and anything that he says will happen he can make miracles happen left and right he can do anything he wants it's just like the power of just only his voice if he wants to raise mountains he'll raise mountains if he wants to hide treasure in the earth he's going to hide treasure if he wants to curse the treasure he can curse the treasure he can do whatever he wants like he is all powerful and um I was in the sacred grove a couple of weeks ago and I was so spoiled and as I was just walking through the sacred grove I was just having this moment that I was like it was my forget moment just so you know and I was just walking and I was like of course I'm in like the most like famous prayer that's ever been answered place of all time and in my head I was just like but God doesn't even answer my prayers like I was like I just feel like he hasn't in a really long time and I try to be good at praying and maybe I'm not the best prayer in the whole entire world but I just feel like God's not doing a lot of answering lately and I was just kind of having that conversation in my head and I was just thinking it and then this is maybe not great but it's fine everyone um I saw like this field of clovers and I was like okay I was like I'm going to pray for a fourleaf clover that's so easy that is so simple and so I just like prayed I was like please let me find a fourleaf clover and I sat on that ground just so you know everyone else I was with was having spiritual experiences in the sacred grove and I was on the outside of the Sacred Grove in a field looking for clovers for seriously 45 minutes I did not move okay just was searching for a fourleaf clover and I just did not find a single one and finally I was like I knew it I was like even in the place where God loves to answer prayers the sacred grove is the name of it like of course like I didn't find a fourleaf clover and everyone else just so you know everyone else was finding them okay and that made me feel worse because like the 8-year-old boy was like I got one and like oh my gosh I'm never finding one my prayers are broken and I would just like gave up and I was like it's fine I was like I don't even care anyways it was just fake prayer I didn't even really want that it's fine it's not a problem um and then I was walking away and a missionary ran up and they were like hey and I was like Hey and she was like look what I just found for you and she just pulls out the most beautiful fourleaf Clover that I had ever seen in my life and I legit screamed like I was like what and I was like how did you know like I she was like what and I was like no like I've been looking for a fourleaf clover for the past 45 minutes you didn't understand and she was like oh like she's like honestly like I just like found this one and I was like and I just like said like I was just going to give it to the first person that I like walked by and she was like so you can have it and like I remember thinking like she does not even know what that just like meant to me like she has no idea and I like pressed it in my scriptures and I remember walking away and just thinking God needed to remind me that there was no chance that I was ever going to find a fourleaf clover that's not how I work as like Grace the human just is not a good find I don't have really great eyes I get super distracted there was no chance that I was going to be able to find a fourleaf clover but undoubtedly God could do it in 3 seconds that was not even hard for him it wasn't even a stretch and I just think that maybe that's what we need to remember in chapter 12 and what they forgot because it almost seems like when it's describing God you're like oh he's like kind of big and like that's a lot and he can do a lot of things and maybe it feels overwhelming or a little bit like intimidating but I think that's the best part of God is that he is really big but he is not too big for us and he can move mountains and Grumble mountains and bury treasure and do anything that he says he will do but he can also find fourleaf clovers when I can't and he knows when I need one yeah and it seems like he's got this big resume about m mountains and foundations of The Rock and moving things and and the Waters of the deep he could dry up oceans almost to say but with that power he said verse 24 and may God grant in his gratefulness that men and women might be brought unto repentance and good words they might that they might be restored unto Grace for Grace according to their works that he's like but people are at his Center and and Save them and restoring their faith in him and restoring their relationships are are everything that he's wanting to do he is this great God of power and he uses that power that all men might be saved and might come unto him and live in relationship with him and uh I think that is is really powerful um all right hope you have a great rest of the week and we will see you next week for Samuel the lonite we can't wait I know jump on your roof everyone like