The Words of Mormon in the Book of Mormon is often skipped over or read through quickly with the thought, "I know what he's saying. He's telling us that he's made an abridgment of the Plates of Nephi and added in the Small Plates and then he tells me again where the plates came from and then lets me know that he is passing the record down to his son, Moroni. - Got it." And in the first 11 verses, you're right. But starting in verse 12 and through the end - a mere 6 verses - we find a wealth of gold in dealing with contention! Once this lesson popped out to me, I've reread it many times. I am so grateful for the lessons learned in this short 6 verses. Words of Mormon has become one of my very favorite books in the Book of Mormon.
Let me explain why.
We read in verse 12 that King Benjamin "had somewhat of contentions among his own people." This contention come from two places:
from outside the kingdom - the armies of the Lamanites came down to battle (vs. 13)
from inside his kingdom with "false prophets, and false preachers and teachers among the people" (vs. 16).
King Benjamin loved his people and wanted their safety, both physically and spiritually, so he had to end the contentions. He was successful and we read in verse 18 that "by laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul did once more establish peace in the land."
How did he fight the contentions from both the outside and inside of his kingdom?
Against his outside enemies, the Lamanites, we read that he "gathered together his armies, and he did stand against them; and he did fight with the strength of his own arm. And in the strength of the Lord they did contend against their enemies." (vs. 13-14)
Against the internal enemies seeking to destroy them spiritually, "with the assistance of the holy prophets who were among his people, [the false prophets, and false preachers and teachers] mouths had been shut, and they punished according to their crimes" (vs. 15-16)
What allowed King Benjamin to accomplish these things? In verse 17 we read that King Benjamin was a "holy man, and he did reign over his people in righteousness; and there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God with power and with authority; and they did use much sharpness because of the stiffneckedness of the people"
So how does this apply to me and my home?
We also have enemies on the outside trying to harm our families spiritually. Through scripture and the words of the prophets we know who the adversary is and what he is trying to do. Elder Marion G. Romney said, "We need not be, and we must not be, deceived by the sophistries of men concerning the reality of Satan. There is a personal devil, and we had better believe it. He and a countless host of followers, seen and unseen, are exercising a controlling influence upon men and their affairs in our world today." (link here)
His goal is to “destroy the souls of men.” (D&C 10:27.)
“… he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.” (Moro. 7:17.)
At the last supper just prior to his ordeal in Gethsemane, Jesus warned Peter: “Simon, Simon, … Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” (Luke 22:31.)
How do we take what King Benjamin taught us about outside enemies to fight the adversary today? We FORTIFY AND FIGHT!
We fortify and fight by doing the basics: FHE, family scripture study, family prayer and family fun times.
We also fight against contentions inside our homes. In my house those things look like: yelling, arguing, bullying, teasing, sarcasm, insults, speaking unkindly and basically anything that tears us apart instead of bringing us together as a family.
We can replace those behaviors with: soft voices, keeping calm, obeying rules, giving service, treating others the way we want to be treated, forgiveness, apologizing and respect.
What kind of people do we need to be to accomplish this?
We need to be like King Benjamin, righteous and holy, speaking the word of God with power and authority. Sometimes as parents we, like King Benjamin, need to also use sharpness. Doctrine and Covenants 121:43 tells us how this should be done, "Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy."
In Mosiah 1:1 we read the end of the story. "And now there was no more contention in all the land, among all the people who belonged to king Benjamin, so that king Benjamin had continual peace all the remainder of his days."
We must be like King Benjamin and "laboring with all the might of [our] body and the faculty of [our] whole soul" against contentions inside and outside our homes and by following the example of King Benjamin, we will be successful.
We couldn't travel across the country without stopping at LDS church history sites along the way. Ideally you would do the trip from east to west because the church started in New York and as it grew, they moved further west eventually ending up in the Salt Lake Valley of Utah. But we were driving west to east, so we did the trip backwards. For timeline chronology, I will share our stops with you from east to west.
We drove up to the birthplace of the prophet Joseph Smith on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It was a short drive from where we were staying in Killington, VT. It was a beautiful drive in the early fall. The leaves were just starting to think about changing colors.
The site is beautifully landscaped and a visitor's center gives you an opportunity to find out more about the Smith Family and the prophet. The monument is a beautiful smooth polished obelisk shaft that is 38 1/2 feet tall, one foot for each year of the Prophet's life.
Palmyra New York
During our visit to Palmyra New York we saw the Smith Family Farm, the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah. Upstate New York is beautiful! The Palmyra temple is also in the same area. The temple is stunning and has stained glass windows of the Sacred Grove all around the outside. It was a sunny, warm Sunday and after attending church in one of the wards in the Palmyra Stake, we toured the sites.
Smith Family Farm
(here is the link to the official site)
The Smith Family Farm is, of course, right next to the Sacred Grove. In his early teen years, Joseph Smith lived in this home with his family. A religious revival was taking place in that part of the country and he was confused over which church to join. He read in his Bible, in James 1:5 - "If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God." He decided that the only answer he could get would be from God. So one morning he went out into the woods near his home to pray. The answer he got changed the world when he saw God, the Father, and Jesus Christ and they told him not to join any of the churches but that through him they would restore the true church of Jesus Christ back to the earth. (you can read the full account in his own words here or watch a quick video about it here)
The Smith farm consists of two homes and several out buildings that have been restored as they would have been in Joseph Smith's time. We loved seeing how they lived in the 1800's and we loved hearing the stories the missionaries told us about the events that happened there.
The Sacred Grove is a beautiful piece of forest that has been left untouched other than the addition of walking trails, rest rooms and benches. We walked in expecting to walk TO something, but finally realized that the entire grove was where we were going. There wasn't a place to get to. The trails lead all over the grove and allow for a peaceful, contemplative walk through and around the woods where Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ.
The Hill Cumorah is about 5 miles up the road from the Smith Family farm and Sacred Grove. There is a beautiful visitor's center there with videos to watch about the area and missionaries on hand to answer any questions. The monument to the Angel Moroni giving the plates of gold to Joseph Smith is at the top of the hill and can be driven to or walked to. We opted to drive up because it was late in the day and we were tired. We love this area of New York and could have sat in the peaceful forest for hours.
You want to start your journey through old Kirtland at the visitor's center. They have a film to watch about what happened in the church during the years the church was headquartered in Kirtland Ohio. The grounds now include the Newel K. and Elizabeth Ann Whitney Home, the Newel K. Whitney Store, the John Johnson house, a saw mill and several other period homes that have been restored. We took a great tour with fabulous missionaries telling us stores as we went. Most of the Whitney Store is original!
Up the hill from the visitor's center is the Kirtland Temple, the first temple built in this dispensation. It is currently owned by the Community of Christ church and after watching a short video on the history of the area, we were taken on a tour of the interior of the Kirtland temple. It has been fully restored and is so much bigger than I thought it would be! We were able to sit in the main chapel and sing "The Spirit of God", the song that was sung at the temple's dedication in 1836. That was one of the coolest things I've ever done!
Independence Missouri was the headquarters of the church for a short time and has been revealed to be the place where Zion - The New Jerusalem will be built when Christ returns to earth. The dedicated temple site is a grassy field near the visitor's center.
Adam-ondi-ahman is a beautiful piece of land in northern Missouri. It as been revealed that this is the place that Adam blessed his righteous posterity before his death. The acres and acres of land are farmed and beautifully landscaped. It is very peaceful there. Our friends, Kathy & LaMar Losee, from Payson are missionaries there. We loved meeting up with them and having them show us around their mission.
Carthage Jail is in the middle of the bustling town of Carthage Illinois about 20 miles from Nauvoo. It was here that the prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred by a mob. Every time I'm there I'm surprised that life can go on like normal in the town where the prophet was killed. I don't know what I expect, exactly, but I just feel a little surprised every time. There is a very special spirit on the grounds of the jail that can be felt walking around and touring the jail.
Nauvoo was headquarters of the church and home of the members for several years. They built a beautiful, thriving community out of swamp land on the banks of the Mississippi River. Most of the old town has been restored as it was in the 1800's. The modern part of the town is up on the hill behind the temple. There are many homes and shops you can visit in the old town. Start out at the visitor's center and go from there. There is a Family Resource Center that teaches about rope making, baking, weaving, coopering and several other every day activities in the life of a pioneer.
Our favorite shops to visit were the bakery where we got a gingerbread cookie, the brick yard where we got a Nauvoo brick, the blacksmith shop where we got a "diamond ring". We also visited the Browning gun shop, Red Brick Store and Smith family cemetery.
We love Nauvoo! We could spend a week there, but sadly we only had a day. We also walked down Parley Street to the Mississippi River where the members of the church crossed into Iowa to get away from the mobs and persecution. This is the closest you can get to the Mississippi River in town. You can walk right up to it and stick your feet in. But don't stick your feet in! I did and got "swimmer's itch" also known as duck mites and wanted to claw all of the skin off my legs for the next week! So whatever you do - DON'T stick your feet in the Mississippi River!
Going to Winter Quarters Nebraska was a little bit out of our way, but we were excited to see the Trail Center as well and the temple there. It was well worth our time! The Trail Center is very informative and is right across the street from the temple and the old pioneer cemetery. We loved the spirit of the area and loved the stories the missionaries told us about the people who wintered over there on their way to the Salt Lake Valley.
All of the visitor's centers are fabulous. Most have a 20-30 minute, very well done, video that we watched about what happened in that area and why it's important. They are also staffed with missionaries there to tell us stories, take us on tours and answer any questions we had. Several even have hands on activities to make the learning fun for kids. I love that the church has preserved all of these sacred spots and that we can visit them now to deepen our understanding of what they early members of the church endured so that we can have what we have today. I love this quote from Maureen O'Hara:
"My heritage has been my grounding, and it has brought me peace."
We truly found our heritage and felt it's peace as we visited these sites. We also had some very special experiences. Afton told me one day as we neared the end of our church history visits, "I think the most important thing I've learned as we've visited all of these spots is what the Spirit feels like." That is a happy mom moment!
We didn't get to all of the historic sites. Some were just a little too far out of our way. And for some, there just wan't enough time. The places we didn't get to visit will have to be saved for another trip.
They are:
Far West - Missouri
Liberty Jail Historic Site - Liberty, Missouri
Book of Mormon Publication Site: Grandin Building - Palmyra, New York
Peter Whitmer Log Home - Waterloo, New York
Priesthood Restoration Site - Oakland Twp (Susquehanna), Pennsylvania
In April 2009, Elder Gary E. Stevenson gave a talk about the temple that reached me to my very core. You can find the full talk here. He said,
"You are never lost when you can see the temple. The temple will provide direction for you and your family in a world filled with chaos. It is an eternal guidepost which will help you from getting lost in the “mist of darkness.” It is the house of the Lord. It is a place where covenants are made and eternal ordinances are performed.
The First Presidency has invited 'adult members to have a current temple recommend and visit the temple more often' where time and circumstance permit... They also encouraged 'newer members and youth of the Church who are 12 years of age and older to live worthy to assist in this great work by serving as proxies for baptisms and confirmations.' Even our young children have been encouraged to visit the temple grounds and touch the temple. President Thomas S. Monson once counseled, 'As we touch the temple, the temple will touch us.'”
I immediately knew that we needed to make it a priority for our entire family, not just those over 12, to visit the temples. We made a goal that before the end of the year we would visit all of our local temples in Utah to walk the grounds, read something about them and touch the temples. It made a great Sunday afternoon activity for our closest temples. As the year progressed we had other activities further out of town and made visiting the temples in those parts of the state a priority. We reached our goal and by the end of 2009 had visited every temple in Utah other than the St. George and Monticello temples.
That year set a habit in our lives of visiting temples. After that, whenever we travel, we go out of our way if necessary to see the temples in that region.
As of today, October 19, 2017, our family has visited 36 of the 81 temples in the US.
We LOVE visiting temples. We see the temple and feel it's spirit. We are truly never lost when we can see the temple!
I've spent a lot of time in the last several years learning about principles and how to find them. Stephen Covey said, “Our behavior is governed by principles. Living in harmony with them brings positive consequences; violating them brings negative consequences.” I also read from Elder Richard G. Scott, “It is worth great effort to organize the truth we gather to simple statements of principle.” and from Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, “The most important [thing] you can do...is to immerse yourselves in the scriptures. Search them diligently... Master the principles.”
I wondered, "what are these principles and where do I find them? And once found, how do I use them in my life?" I wasn't liking the results I was getting in my life, so a study of principles ensued and I'm excited to share what I found!
We can find principles in everything we're reading, watching and learning. They're all around us!
Once place we find principles is in the literature we are reading. As we look for principles in the things that we read, we grow and become better and have principles from which to live our lives. As we read, we come across the principles that the characters live their lives by. They may not (and usually don't) make an outward statement of the principles they are living, but we can make a pretty good guess by their actions and the results that they get. Sometimes they are true principles, sometimes they are false.
Javert in Les Miserables, for example, lives his life based on the principle that "once someone is a criminal, they will always be a criminal and can't change". That is a false principle and we see that the results of living by it brought him nothing but frustration and sorrow. We know that it is never too late for us to repent and change and that we are progressing and changing every day of our lives.
Or from Jane Eyre, "doing the right thing by God is always the right thing to do even if society and circumstance allow doing the wrong thing". That is a true principle. Even though she risked loosing her love, she found peace doing right by God.
So how do we know when the principles we find are true principles or not? We can run the principles through a few tests and ask a few questions to determine whether the principles we see others living are true.
To be a true principle, it will be a natural law, a law from God, and it will be true at all times for all people. What was true for Jane Eyre would also be true for the ancient Egyptians as well as for us in our day.
Here are a few benchmarks we can look for to judge the principles we find by:
From Elder Richard G. Scott:
• Principles are concentrated truth, packaged for application to a wide variety of circumstances. • A true principle makes decisions clear even under the most confusing and compelling circumstances.
• Foundational idea upon which behavior is based (it’s not an application)
• True for all people, all the time
• Creates greater freedom for the individual and society
• Enlightens the understanding, enlarges the soul, expands your mind, brings new connections and ideas
• Empowers and gives hope
• Increases desire for good—in thoughts, behavior, environment and relationships
• Generates growth, enlivens
• Increases health and wholeness
• Creates win/win situations
Audrey’s Principle Checkpoints:
• God and/or Natural Law
• Your scripture or standard of truth
• Conscience
• Common sense
• Your experience—long term
• The experience of others—long term
One of the most important places for us to find principles is in our scriptures. Of course when we find them in the scriptures (or in the words from the prophets) we don't have to evaluate them as true or false, they are always true.
I find that it helps me and is really powerful to find principles and then rewrite them so that they apply, ("liken the scriptures..".). It also helps to write the principles in a "If...then..." format.
"If I do something, then something else will happen."
Author John Hilton III teaches us this in his book, "Please Pass the Scriptures: From Reading to Feasting" chapters 9-10. He gives us three tricks to use with principles. He says:
• Principles can be easier to find and apply when you write them in an “If ....then” statements. • Rewriting principles in your own words helps you find, remember, and apply them. A great place to write principles you find is in the margin of your scriptures or other books. • If you ask “What is the author trying to teach?” it can help you find principles.
Once we find the principles we can then decided how to apply them to our own lives. Principles are the foundational truth, and the application will be different for everyone. Stephen Covey said, “If you want to achieve your highest aspirations and overcome your greatest challenges, identify and apply the principle or natural law that governs the results you seek. How we apply a principle will vary greatly and will be determined by our unique strengths, talents, and creativity, but, ultimately, success in any endeavor is always derived from acting in harmony with the principles to which the success is tied.”
For example, if I would like to be more physically healthy, a principle would be: "If I eat healthy foods, then my body will be healthy." That is the principle, we can go down the check offs and know that it is truth. The application is then how people choose to live or apply that principle. So for the food principle, some applications could be: not eating meat, not eating dairy, or not eating gluten. So while the application looks different for each of us, the principle is the same for all of us.
Another example would be the principle "parents are responsible for the education of their children". Applications of that could be home school, public school, private school, charter school, trade school, etc. Whatever they, the parents, feel is the best way for their own children to be educated. So while the applications are different for everyone, the true principle is the same.
Here's are some examples of principles in the scriptures...
In Helaman 3:27 we read: "Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name." So we can rewrite the principle to be "If I call upon God's name with sincerity of heart, then the Lord will be merciful to me." We then can apply "calling on God" it many different ways.
or Helaman 3:28 "Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God." would be "If I believe on the name of Jesus Christ, then the gate of heaven will be open to me." Then we each can decided what "believing on the name of Jesus Christ" looks like to us and how we want to apply it.
Make sense? So I decided to try it with my Patriarchal Blessing. Wow! Amazing. I made a copy and have marked it all up. It's amazing to see patterns and words that show up numerous times. My patriarchal blessing is only 1 and 1/4 pages long. Super short! But I found 12 principles in it!
As I've made a study of principles I have found many that I try every day to live in my life. I have seen myself change and am seeing different results in my life. I have truly found what Stephen Covey promises, “Peace of mind comes when your life is in harmony with true principles and values and in no other way.”
For additional learning, here is a video from the ten Boom Institute on finding principle in what we read:
We fortify and fight by doing the basics: FHE, family scripture study, family prayer and family fun times.
