BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.”  BYU students take nearly a semester of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.

In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.

In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America.  (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names.  We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)

Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.

Mormon Student Reflections: Civility during Civil War

In the Book of Mormon, there is a very large war that takes place in chapters 43-63 of the book of Alma. In it, the Nephites, who for most of the Book of Mormon are the “good guys,” are fighting the Lamanites, who for most of the Book of Mormon are the “bad guys.” The Lamanites are trying to take over Nephite land and subject them to their will, while the Nephites are defending their homes.

The captain of the Nephites Moroni, was holding up one front against the Lamanites when he sent a letter to Pahoran, the chief judge (the head of Nephite government), to send more men and provisions. He was met with silence.

In his frustration, Moroni sends another letter to Pahoran, this time asking him to not only send more men and provisions, but asking him why he is indifferent. Moroni thinks that Pahoran is sitting idle, ignoring the fighting that is going on, ignoring his duty to his country.

To quote Moroni, “Yea, will ye sit in idleness while ye are surrounded with thousands of those, yea, and tens of thousands, who do also sit in idleness, while there are thousands round about in the borders of the land who are falling by the sword, yea, wounded and bleeding?” (Alma 60:22).

However, there is a faction within the Nephites that want to overthrow their government, where judges are appointed to settle most matters and where there is most freedom, in favor of a monarchy. They are called king-men. They spring up a couple of times during the war, and when Moroni sent his epistles, they were again trying to gain power in Nephite lands. Pahoran was actually fighting these men and was therefore unable to help Moroni on the front.

Now, there are two choices for Pahoran at this point – he can become angry with Moroni for not understanding the fact that Pahoran can’t help him, due to the civil war brewing back home, or he can be understanding of Moroni. He chooses the latter.

To quote Pahoran,

And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart. I, Pahoran, do not seek for power, save only to retain my judgment-seat that I may preserve the rights and the liberty of my people. My soul standeth fast in that liberty in the which God hath made us free. (Alma 61:9)

Pahoran instead congratulates Moroni for worrying about the safety of their nation and for the glory of their God. He doesn’t return bitterness with more bitterness, but he sees things from Moroni’s point of view.

In life, we always have two choices when people criticize us. We can hate them, or we can love them for what they are doing, trying to make us better.

Too much in our society today do we fail to see the other person’s point of view, do we turn away from them and vilify them. This is especially true in politics, but it can happen anywhere, anytime.

If we do this, we will help not only others around us, but ourselves. We will allow ourselves to be happy and help others at the same time.

Do you know what happened when Moroni received Pahoran’s letter? He went down immediately to the Nephite capital and got rid of the rest of the King-men, and Pahoran then sent troops and provisions back to Moroni’s men. If Pahoran hadn’t acted the way that he did, the Nephites would very likely have lost the war.
Always make the better choice.

Additional Resources:

Mormons and Christ

I Believe: Expressions of Faith

Meet with Mormon missionaries

BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.”  BYU students take nearly a semester of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.

In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.

In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America.  (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names.  We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)

Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.

Mormon Student Reflection: Finding Deliverance

Today I’d like to explore the topic of deliverance. Now, we can find deliverance from many sources in many instances, but I’m specifically referencing the deliverance that really counts (and is even the reason for one of the names we call Christ- our Deliverer). What is so great and dreadful that we need a Savior to deliver us from? Truthfully, ourselves.

It is a given that we as humanity are far from perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, regardless of the extent or severity of those mistakes. However, it is an eternal principle that no unclean thing may dwell with Heavenly Father. This is not in force to hinder us, but actually comes as a blessing. Being imperfect around a perfect God brings to life all the guilt of our sins. Now, as we see in Moses 1:39, our Heavenly Father’s work and glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” He finds his joy and purpose in bringing us to become like him! How can an imperfect individual then become perfect? Heavenly Father is a just god, so justice must be satisfied. Where there are laws broken, consequences must follow.

This is where the Savior steps in. He is the only one to have lived life without sin, which allowed him to become a Mediator between the eternal laws of justice and that of mercy. Christ, a perfect being, took upon himself the consequences and punishment for every sin ever committed by every person. He then only asks we follow Him, and keep the commandments given to us by our Heavenly Father, and we will be forgiven of our sins! A clean slate, given freely and given lovingly by Christ. It is only through this “atonement” that we, being imperfect, can then become perfect like our Heavenly Father. THAT is the power of deliverance. THAT is the power of repentance and forgiveness.

Alma 58:10-11 states:

Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies… Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.

Similarly, we can receive assurance that Christ will deliver us. When we pray in faith, we will be granted greater faith, hope, and peace. We can feel the love of our Savior and our Heavenly Father in greater abundance all around us, and we will be then given greater capacities to spread that same love to all God’s children. For, it is his work and glory for ALL his children to return and live with Him!

Additional Resources:

Mormons and Christ

I Believe: Expressions of Faith

Meet with Mormon missionaries

BYU Students Share Letters & Reflections on Scripture

BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.”  BYU students take nearly a semester of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.

In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.
In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America.  (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names.  We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)

Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.

It Mattereth Not: I Am Not Angry

To one having trouble forgiving,

I am in love with my iPod. His name is Bruce. I carry him everywhere, I use him all the time. He holds my music, my emails, my to-do lists, Facebook, etc. He is quite wonderful and my day is that much better with him in my pocket. These few sentences do not justify the love I have for dear, dear Bruce, but you must have some understanding of how important my iPod is to me.

It was my senior year, the week before Thanksgiving break. I walked into my first period class, very tired and very “out of it.” I had my iPod out to play a song my friend and I needed to practice singing. My teacher needed me near the end of class, so I went into her office; we chatted, the bell rang, and I grabbed my things and hurried to my next class so that I would not be tardy. Halfway through second period, I remembered I had left my iPod on the chair in my first class. I panicked and asked my second period teacher if I could go back and get my iPod. She said I could wait until lunch. When the bell rang I rushed back to my first classroom, praying that it was still there. It wasn’t.

I was devastated and angry at myself for being careless, even in my “out of it” state. I was also angry at the one who had taken my beloved iPod, but what could I do? It was gone. After my anger subsided, I had an idea. I wrote a message on the corner of the white board, describing my iPod in detail and offering a reward for whoever found it. I also added a small note at the bottom explaining that I was not angry at the person who had taken my iPod. I just wanted it back. I said that if it was returned to me, I would be beyond grateful and I would forgive the one who had stolen it.

My friends thought it was silly. They said I would never get my iPod back and that I should just erase the message, but I said no. I kept it up there, hoping that it would have some small impact. Thanksgiving break came and went and I had gone two weeks without my iPod. I had prayed and prayed for the thief’’s heart to be softened by my message, but still no iPod. Towards the end of the third week, I began to doubt the return of my beloved iPod and was going to erase the message I had left. However, on November 29th, nearly three weeks after my iPod was stolen, it was delivered to me during my fifth period class. One of the office staff came in, called my name, and handed it to me.

I was dumbstruck! My iPod! It had been given back to me! I rejoiced and I cried wonderful tears of joy. I turned my iPod on, and I noticed that a lot of pictures and notes had been deleted. But I found one note on there addressed to me. I still have that note. It says:

Dear person, im sorry i stole your ipod.. Keep ur reward i dnt deserve it. It was wrong of me so this is the right thing to do.. I also erased the notes and some pictures the day i took it because i was at the time being stupid and at the time was going to keep it but i was raised better than that. I hope u forgive me even though u dnt knw who i am. I am sorry if u forgive me then that spot were u wrote missung ipod plz just say u r forgive.. Im sorry again here is ur ipod back.. Im sure ur a good person and god loves u. Frm.. Sorry and stupid

I was blown away by the note and filled with gratitude for the return of my iPod. I erased my previous message and wrote another saying that I was extremely happy for the return of my iPod, that I had completely forgiven the thief, and that I loved them very much for giving it back to me. I still don’t know who did it, but I hope they saw my message and knew they were forgiven.

I could have stayed angry at the thief, I could have wept and wailed and gnashed my teeth, crying about how unfair it was that my iPod was stolen. However, that would have weighed me down, and my grudge would have made me bitter. Instead, I chose to forgive and I believe that both of our lives were blessed because of it.

In Alma chapter 60 of the Book of Mormon, Captain Moroni writes an epistle to Pahoran, the chief judge of the Nephites. Moroni is in the middle of a war and writes to chastise Pahoran for his seeming lack of care for the Nephite armies. He tells of the hunger, fatigue, and other afflictions the Nephite army had been enduring and pretty much told Pahoran that he was a thoughtless traitor for not sending help where it was needed. Little did Moroni know that Pahoran had been having troubles of his own; there were insurrections and rebellions against the government and Pahoran was having about as much trouble as Moroni was.

Now, Pahoran could have been angry at Moroni for insulting him. He had every right to be mad at Moroni and his false accusations. Men were trying to overthrow him and the government. Moroni had sent him a terrible letter. Who wouldn’t be at least a little angry after being called a thoughtless traitor? Pahoran didn’t get angry though. In chapter 61,he said to Moroni, “…in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart.” He forgave Moroni, and they were both blessed for it. Moroni came to the city and helped Pahoran to retain his judgment seat.

My point is that forgiveness is a beautiful thing. You can hold grudges and take personally the curve-balls life throws you, or you can choose to be happy and choose to forgive. I urge you to forgive–your life will be blessed because of it.

Love,
One whom forgiveness has brought great joy

If these reflections helped you, or if you have any questions, I would love to hear from you.

Additional Resources:

Mormons and Christ

I Believe: Expressions of Faith

Meet with Mormon missionaries

BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” BYU students take nearly a semester of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.

In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.

In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America. (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names. We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)
Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.

The temple the writer refers to is often referred to as the Mormon temple. It is considered by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be the House of the Lord. There are about 150 temples around the world. Faithful, worthy, prepared Latter-day Saints attend the temple to make covenants to God to live His commandments.

Being Worthy
Letter to Writer’s 16-year-old brother

Hey Ben,

I thought I’d write to you about what I’ve been learning in my Book of Mormon class. Last week, we studied Alma 35-42, which includes Alma’s writings to his sons. Honestly, I feel like I relate to Corianton the most in my life right now. Now, that’s not to say that I’ve committed some terrible sin that I’m in need of chastisement for: I’m doing really well, but as I look toward a mission and attending the temple in order to receive my endowments, I can’t help but ask if I’m truly worthy of the honor of visiting the Lord’s house and of representing Him to people who have never heard of Him or His gospel before. I am not a perfect person, and that imperfection has been weighing on me recently.

As I have been pondering what it’s going to take for me to be “worthy” to enter the temple and be a type of Christ as I serve a mission, some of Alma’s words and actions have been very comforting to me. In Alma 39, Alma is addressing Corianton’s sins, and some of the advice given in verse 13 is “turn to the Lord with all your mind, might, and strength . . . and acknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done.” Corianton is told to look to the Lord and, later, to move on past his sins. At the end of his words, Alma says “ye are called of God to preach the word unto this people . . . go thy way, declare the word with truth and soberness” (Alma 42:31).

Even as Alma is telling his son to repent, he calls Corianton on another mission. Corianton is not perfect, but he is called to serve the Lord. As I read this, and as we discussed similar concepts in my Temple Preparation class, I realized that my definition of “worthy” was lacking. I had thought that I needed to be perfect, when in reality, I just need to be working on my spirituality. Don’t get me wrong, there are certain things that one cannot do and still be worthy to enter the temple, but perfection is not a prerequisite to attending the temple and serving the Lord. There’s an applicable quotation: “The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.” It’s attributed to multiple people so I don’t know where it came from, but it’s still good. So as long as we’re trying to become better through the power of the Atonement, we can know that we are worthy to enter the temple and serve missions.

Additional Resources:

Mormons and Christ

I Believe: Expressions of Faith

Meet with Mormon missionaries

BYU (Brigham Young University) is operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often mistakenly called the “Mormon Church.” BYU students take nearly a semester of spiritually uplifting, stimulating religion classes.

In this series (see below), students enrolled in scripture study classes have shared their thoughts, insights, and reflections on the Book of Mormon in the form of letters to someone they know. We invite you to take a look at their epiphanies and discoveries as they delve into the scriptures.

In publishing these, we fulfill their desire to speak to all of us of the relevance, power and beauty of the Book of Mormon, a second witness of Jesus Christ and complement to the Bible. The Book of Mormon includes the religious history of a group of Israelites who settled in ancient America. (The names they use are those of prophets who taught the Book of Mormon peoples to look forward to the coming of Christ—Nephi, Lehi, Alma, Helaman, and other unfamiliar names. We hope those names will become more familiar to you as you read their inspiring words and feel the relevance and divinity of their messages through these letters.)
Let us know if you’d like to receive your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon, and/or if these messages encourage and assist you spiritually as well.

Build Your Foundation on Christ

Written to one of my best friends who has had some experience with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and needs some uplifting news at this time in his life.

I wanted to send you my thoughts about one of the scriptures that I read to you a while back.
It was in Helaman 5:12:

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

For a building to be stable and strong, and to not crumple, it needs to first be built on a strong foundation. Without the foundation built first to support the rest of the growth of the building, it would fall again and again and again. We are like buildings. We can only stay strong and can only bare these trials in life without crumpling under temptation or trials if we have first built our lives on a foundation of Christ. As humans and children of God we know that the trials will come, but if we have Christ as our foundation and base for everything, we will be able to withstand them. When the winds of the world come that seem to sweep us up, or when we get caught up in the whirlwind of stress, when the hail of the outside world’s thoughts and unkindness hits us and leaves bruises, or when the storms seem to never end–at the end of the day, we know that we can always continue to stand upright and grow even taller because we have a testimony that He loves us and is there for us every step of the way.

You are one of my best friends and I know it is because we have a strong connection through Christ. I admire you so much for your faith. Because of your faith and desire to be good I am strengthened and my faith and testimony of Christ has grown so much through our friendship and your example. I know you already know this, but no matter how hard life gets, know that I am always here for you, but more importantly Christ is there as well. I may not always know or be able to relate to exactly what you go through, but He ALWAYS will.

I know that when Christ suffered for our sins, He not only suffered for the things we did wrong and the guilt that comes with that, but He also suffered for every time we have felt sad, left out, sick, angry, depressed, etc. He has felt everything we have felt and knows how much we suffer. He is the only person that can ever say, “I know exactly how you feel. I have been there. I suffered those things for you so you can overcome them and become something better.” That is why I love my Savior so much and have built my foundation with Him, so that when the hard times come I can stand. I may lean on His shoulder, or limp along, but I can stay upright with His support.

Love you so much. I love my Savior. I am so excited to go on my mission to let everyone know that He is there for them and to help them build their lives with Him as the foundation. [A mission is an optional gift of service individuals often choose to complete at their own expense for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For young men, who may serve from age 18, the time period is two years; for young women, who may serve from age 19, the time period is eighteen months.]

For more information about Mormon Beliefs try, www.mormon.org or www.lds.org