3 Nephi 17 - 19 | 3 Nephi 20 - 26

[00:00:16] Speaker A: Welcome to the weekly Deep Dive podcast on the add on Education network podcast, where we take a look at the weekly come follow me discussion and try to add a little insight and unique perspective. I am your host, Jason Lloyd, here with my friend, your friend. And this shows producer Nate Pfeifer. [00:00:33] Speaker B: Hello. [00:00:34] Speaker A: Hello. [00:00:35] Speaker B: How are you doing, buddy? [00:00:37] Speaker A: Dude, I'm doing well. I'm doing well. How are you doing? [00:00:41] Speaker B: That makes me happy, buddy. I'm, uh, I am doing okay. [00:00:46] Speaker A: We're. [00:00:47] Speaker B: We're pushing forward, making the hits, getting back on the. The podcast schedule. Only got a couple months left. [00:00:56] Speaker A: Yeah. Thanks. Thanks. Thanks, guys, for your patience. As. As we've been trying to connect this last little bit, we can take last week's and this week's and combine them into one episode. [00:01:10] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:01:10] Speaker A: Is this fair game? Open game on. Open season on. [00:01:13] Speaker B: Yep. We got conference. A little bit of reaction to conference. We got it all, dude. [00:01:20] Speaker A: That's. That's what I was actually looking forward to, man. Conference. [00:01:24] Speaker B: What's awesome, dude? [00:01:26] Speaker A: I felt like that hit so well. It. I mean. I mean, it's conferences. They all hit well, but I especially loved conference. I was kind of looking forward to your reaction and some of your thoughts on that. [00:01:38] Speaker B: I always enjoy going back through the talks again and reading them. I feel like I I get a lot more out of them because usually when I'm trying to watch it, I'm either at work on Saturday, trying to watch it kind of in between sessions, or on Sunday. I'm trying to wrangle four children and make sure everybody's doing their best to pay attention. So I usually don't get all of my best parts out of it usually on Sunday and Saturday, but I am excited to go back through, and I think I'll have some better reactions. I am happy about the way that we are talking about the sacrament as a church in general, by the way, though, referring to it less and less as a renewal of baptismal covenants, referring to it less and less as the renewal of covenants and more and more as what it is, which is a making of covenants. Had a couple good moments of that in conference this weekend or last weekend. [00:02:39] Speaker A: Very nice. Very nice. I. It. For me, this is the first time, um, seeing. Seeing conference on a different time schedule. Right. So the first conference for. For us started at 06:00 p.m. got done with it eight. And then the second session started at 10:00 p.m. and. And got done at midnight. [00:03:08] Speaker B: Wow. [00:03:09] Speaker A: And, yeah, the adult session was 02:00 a.m. right. So no way I was staying up for that. Getting used to a different schedule was interesting. And so what we did for the adult session, we made an effort to watch it 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. and, you know, conference can sometimes be difficult to stay awake through when it's. When it's in the middle of the day, when it's late at night, sometimes it's a little bit challenging. But the adult session, we just wait. And then Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. we watched, and it at a decent hour, just the recording of it from YouTube, and then it's been nice, actually, it's fun going through the conferences after conference is over, but when you're missing some of these late night ones, it's nice to kind of just break these down into digestible. Listening to a talk a day, two talks a day, kind of going back and reviewing it, it kind of forces the issue a little bit more. So it's kind of been fun going through it again. But it felt like a lot of conference focused or centered around Christ coming again soon and the need to be prepared for that. And it felt like there was a lot of energy put into that. And it's nice. I mean, we're talking right now, third Nephi, about Christ's appearance to the Americas and something. You know what? Maybe this is the good place to jump into this week's lesson right now. This time of year, I believe, is the same time of year that these chapters took place in 13. And there's something interesting about that. There's something interesting about what's going on. The Jews in the Old Testament had two new years. Did you know that, Nate? Nope. They had so Rosh Hashanah, the head of the year. The new year's festival happens in October. It just barely happened recently. Here for us today in modern Judaism, you had the rosh Hashanah and these fall festivals. This was the beginning of the new year. However, when the Jews were let free from Egypt, the Lord said, okay, this is now going to be your new year and your calendar month. I want this month, Nisan, to be the first month of the year. So that became their new year. And so they had. They had two new years. There's one almost a political. The schedule, how it was the Rosh Hashanah, and then another a religious new year. So you. You had two new years, which is fascinating. And. And it wasn't even interesting enough, wasn't even super unique to the Jews. The Babylonians also had two new years. Their Ketu festival was celebrated in the fall, October around there. And then they also had a new year's festival that they celebrated in, in the springtime around April. And so this was the ancient world, and the Jews a product of the ancient world. It's just interesting to have these two different New Year's festivals. And the reason why I'm rambling and ranting on this so long is so much of the restoration of the gospel focused around these two new years or these two holidays. When you look at the church being restored in 1830, April 6, 1830, this was, this was Passover, and Passover was in Nissan, the first month, the new jewish new Year, if you will. But then when you go to Joseph Smith going to Cumorah and finding the plates and being taught by, by Moroni, and when he eventually gets the plates and takes them out of the hill, this is. These are coming into the fall festivals. The other New Year's, the Rosh Hashanah, the Sukkot festival. A lot of these events are also happening around this other time. And where I think this fits in pattern with today is even still today we have general conference, which is taking place in April, corresponding with the Pascua, the Passover, the Jewish New Year, the first Nissan. Right. And we have conference taking place in October, which is happening at the Rosh Hashanah, and the day of atonement, the New Year's festival for the Jews. So these two sacred times of the year in April and October are still very significant events for us in the church and in our six month cycles, which is, which is kind of interesting. The reason why I say that Christ appeared to the Nephites at this time period is we know that Christ died Passover. And we've had long conversations about this. And so when we look at third Nephi, chapter eight, and all of the devastations and the destructions that happen, these happen at the end of the year, beginning of the year, Passover. And they say it was at the beginning of the year that these things happen in the book of Mormon. And then when they say that Christ comes to them, they're saying now, this is several months later, that Jesus appears to them towards the close of the year, which would be right before the Rosh Hashanah or the New Year's festival. So they use some words that say that. Here's another really important tie into this and why. And why this is relevant, too. There are three jewish festivals in which the adult males or all of Israel are supposed to go to the temple. We remember in the New Testament when Christ was supposed to go to the temple at Jerusalem, but all of the people in Jerusalem were seeking to kill him. And so his brothers, being the brothers that they were, were egging Christ on, saying, hey, why don't you go up to the new year's festival, trying to encourage him to go, not, not because they thought it was important that he was there, because they were hoping that he would get killed. And Jesus told them, it's not my time to die, but your time is at any moment, so no one cares about you. Which is another great brotherly response coming back to him. But this was what it was in relationship to, right, these festivals where everybody was required to go to the temple. So let's revisit third Nephi, chapter eleven. This is happening towards the end of the year, around the suit coat festival and corresponding with the coming of the next year. Then everybody would be required to present themselves at the temple. And what is the setting that we see when they hear a voice and they look to the heavens to see where it was? They were all gathered around the temple. So I'd like to think that these events are happening corresponding with the jewish holiday, with the festival, and that there's some correlation with that. And again, when you talk about the people that are at the temple, Christ is appearing to those who were prepared, those who were obedient and had presented themselves to the temple according to the laws and the customs of the people. They were the ones that were ready to see Christ when he first came. Does this mean that he's the only one or that they're the only ones that appear to know? They rounded everybody up that they could afterwards, but there was almost this extra bonus for being ready, for presenting yourselves when you were supposed to be there, standing where you're supposed to be, when you're supposed to be there. And they were rewarded with the presence of the savior. Is any of that making sense? [00:11:27] Speaker B: Yep. Yeah, let's keep going. [00:11:31] Speaker A: Okay. And it reminds me something powerful that's really stayed in my mind from President Nielsen when he said, and now I'm going to butcher it, he said, he promised that those who would. Would seek the Lord in the temple would find him there. It was kind of an interesting, interesting promise that he made. If you're. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, go back and listen. Sunday afternoon, when President Nielsen gave his address. But. But it was cool. And it was cool in connection with Christ coming again and also encouraging us to be where we should be all right. Let's move forward. Um, all right. There's. There's something. And. And if there's anything you want to throw in, I'm just going to start at random here. Okay. Throwing stuff at this. Um, when. When Christ says, watch and pray always. Um, and. And we. We hear a lot about pray always. Pray always that you be not faint. Pray always that you come, you don't suffer temptation or that you're able to come off, conquer. And so in third Nephi, chapter 18, there's a lot of this pray always talk. And when he's. He's going to this. So this is verse 15. Verily, verily, I say unto you, you must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted, and the devil. And by the devil, and you be led away captive by him. And then it talks about praying, and then he's going to go through and say it again, and he's going to keep repeating himself. But in verse 18, behold. Verily, verily, I say unto you, you must watch and pray always, lest ye enter in temptation for Satan desire to have you. And I think we've all focused on the pray always part. And what does it mean to pray always and always turning to the Lord? But what hit me this last bit as I was reading through these verses was the watch part. It's not just, I want you to pray always, lest you enter temptation, but it's watch and pray always. And so that got me thinking. What does it truly mean to watch? And not just pray always, but watch. Watch for what? And as I think about that and try to apply this in me and my life, I think there are things that become temptations for me. There are things that are going to keep me off focus or distracted. And. And for that, that's what watching is, to. To know what my triggers are, or to know what's going to be pulling me away or distracting me, or to know when I need to pray. It's not just so much to praying, but to be alert enough to know when Satan is trying to tempt me or when I am trying to tempt myself. And. And that goes in connection with the prayer. When I am aware or I see what's happening, then I know to pray and find the Lord. And so I think that watching becomes very significant. [00:14:44] Speaker B: In. In sports, they call it keep your head on a swivel. [00:14:49] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. It's a great way to put it. [00:14:53] Speaker B: Keep your head on a swivel, baby. [00:14:57] Speaker A: Keep your head on a swivel. And. Excuse me, I. Let me let me ask this question. When we talk about the wheat and the tares and the sifting of the wheat, we've even seen a video, right? I think you sent me a video of a guy sifting wheat, and he takes the pitchfork and he throws the. [00:15:20] Speaker B: Yes. [00:15:21] Speaker A: And the wind is doing a lot of the sifting, right? Because the chaff has no weight, and it just kind of gets tossed by the wind where the. Where the grain itself just falls straight down into the ground. Right. [00:15:33] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:15:35] Speaker A: So I was thinking about this. Who does the sifting? And in my mind, I thought it was the Lord that does the sifting, because the voice. [00:15:46] Speaker B: The voice of the Lord. Wind. [00:15:48] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. The voice of the Lord is the wind. We sit down for judgment, and the Lord says, I'm going to separate a and. And you're gonna have the sheep and the goats, and you're gonna have the. The wheat and the tare. So for me, the sifting seemed like a process that the Lord was. Was the one doing. But when we come back into here in third Nephi, and Christ is teaching the people, and this is something that he also told the apostles in the New Testament. He says, talking about, watch and pray always, lest ye enter into temptation, for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. I thought, oh, man, that's. That's interesting. And we've talked about the dual nature. We've talked about, you know, water being a symbol of Christ, but then water was also the symbols of. Of wickedness, of chaos, of destruction, a creative force, a destructive force. And we've talked about how the two always mimic each other when we're talking about Satan and Christ, Satan has his imitation. And here to see him doing the same thing, desiring to sift you as wheat. And that kind of stood out to me. And I thought about that for a bit. What does it mean that Satan is trying to sift us? And is he the one that's pushing the refiners fire, or how do we know the difference? And when I think about this, the story that stands out to me in my mind is job. Because think about it. Job was a perfect man, wealthy, doing really well, praying not just for himself, but just in Case his kids were messing up, trying to atone for them as well. And Satan approaches God and says, you know, accuses man of not being worthy. And God says, have you not seen my servant job? And Satan says, I bethe that he would falter. And Satan, in the story of Job, is the one seeking to sift Job. And to have him. And in Hebrew, the name Satan means prosecuting attorney, the accuser. And so when we look at Satan trying to sift us and have us as wheat, it's. It's almost like Satan is the one, and in many instances, who is blowing the wind that's trying to sift the wheat from the chaff. And when those winds beat against us and Satan's trying to prove or accuse us of just being chaff and not being wheat, I think at times we move. If we looked at the video and we looked at the guy throwing the wheat in the air and the chaff getting blown off and the wheat going, I would bet that the wheat is not also falling straight down. It's. It's falling relatively straight compared to the shaft, but it's still. It's still a little bit moved. How can you not be moved in the wind? And I think when we suffer temptations and doubt and anxiety and whatever Satan wants to throw at us and the trials, sometimes. Sometimes we try to hold still and anchor ourselves in Christ and not be moved, but we can't help but feel emotions and tremble and the trembling or the doubt or whatever it is that we're experiencing makes it feel like we are being tossed by the storm. And those small movements that we make as we try to believe in our mind, I feel like we believe ourselves to be the chaff because we're moving so easily. And it creates some of that self doubt. And we start to wonder. And Satan desires to have us, sift us and accuse us for every small movement. Movement. But where this is all coming back to is the very first story in the Bible was about Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit after creation. I don't think that's by mistake. I think that's by design. This story, this plan of salvation is not about perfect people that don't move. It's about how the Lord is going to redeem those that moved, how the Lord is going to provide a way whereby we can be saved and pull us back. It's the miracle of salvation. It's the miracle of his plan, and. And the hope that we can still have when Satan is trying to sift us. That's. [00:20:36] Speaker B: Love it, baby. Let's keep going. [00:20:40] Speaker A: All right, let's. Let's keep marching on. There's. There's a ton about remembering here. There's a ton about sacrament. [00:20:51] Speaker B: I know, chapter 18, but we should talk about that a little bit. [00:21:00] Speaker A: Yeah. I think, you know, President Nielsen encouraged us every week, at least weekly, to focus on the atonement of the savior. And what better way he says, is to do this each week? And maybe he doesn't outright state this is a sacrament thing, but is that not what we're supposed to do in the sacrament is reflect on the atonement and reflect on what it does for us. And remember, I mean, even President Nielsen in conferences is reiterating the words of Christ that we see here in third and Nephi. Remember the Lord. And this is something that you've been beating on your drum for a long time. Nate, when we talk about what the sacrament means and always remember him and the impact and the power that it has, when we remember the savior, when we remember our covenants and when we strive to commit and make a covenant with him, to be like him, the power that, that has on, on who we are. And I think a big theme of what we've been discovering as we've been going through. Come follow me. And reading the scriptures is the transformative power of the atonement. And not looking at the atonement as something like, like an eraser that just goes through our past or white out and just blots things out here and there and here and whatever, but rather like, like on a bike. Nate, you do a ton of bike riding. [00:22:29] Speaker B: I do? [00:22:31] Speaker A: When, when you riding a bike, where your eyes are, is where you, you track is where you follow, right? [00:22:36] Speaker B: Yes. [00:22:39] Speaker A: You can't. If you've got to make a turn, you don't stare at the road right there as you're turning over it. You look at where you're trying to head, and it guides you through the turn as you, as you come around it. [00:22:51] Speaker B: One of the first things that we would teach the high school kids is that your bike goes where your eyes go. And so even around, like, sharp turns and stuff like that, even if you're coming crazy downhill, you always need to be looking into the turn and not what's underneath your tires at the time. [00:23:09] Speaker A: And I think that's the lesson here with the sacrament. And always remember him. If our focus is on the savior and we continue to look at him and to focus on him, it pulls us through the turn as we change and become more like him. And where your heart is, where your desire is, that's where your treasure is, that's where your heart will be also, right. And then I single to my glory. As we talk about these things, all of these scriptures to me in my mind, roll up to the atonement. Roll up to. The more I focus on him, the more I think about him, the bigger the role he plays in my life. And the more he becomes my hero, the more I try to emulate him, the more I try to be like him, and the more I change. And that transformative power, that the atonement is what makes us like Christ. It's not about just blotting out sins. It's about changing who we are. And to me, and I've stated it before, when I talk about how I know Christ lives and why I believe in Christ, I can look back through my life and see how I've changed and who I've become from my focus on the savior, through the covenants that I've made and what I have been able to overcome and improve on in my life. And to me, that's the evidence I need that sustains me, that I can say, I know. It's not that I believe the proof is there. I know because I have changed. I know because I have seen the impact in my life. And this becomes the evidence that keeps me going. This becomes the well I go to and the reason why I say I know that Christ lives. I've seen his power in my life, and I've seen how it's changed me. And that comes from always remember him and the covenants that we're making and the authority and the priesthood that the church has to be able to administer those covenants, and the transformative power of the atonement. [00:25:20] Speaker B: Let me ask you a question in chapter 18. I love this chapter for a few different things. One, I do like it in verse 16 where it talks about, behold, I am the light. I have set the example for you. I like that. When he commenced earlier, when he first comes, he says, we need to let our light so shine. I like that. Then later he identifies as, when he's saying, let our lights shine, he's basically saying, I am that light. It's not just a kind of an abstract idea, but it's very much a, let me be reflected in your countenance. Like, let me personally be the light that you are shining unto the world. And I've always appreciated that. That's just like, a little quick one. But let me ask you a question. So, in talking about the sacrament, Jesus, I feel like this is one of the great scriptures where he's very kind of to the point and straightforward, you know, do this verse five. I'll ordain you. I'll ordain the people that need to be doing this. Break the bread, people of my church, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name. So once you're a member of the church, this ye shall always observed to do, even as I have done, broken the bread and whatever. In verse seven. It feels fairly straightforward. This shall ye do in remembrance of my body which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the father that ye do always remember me. And if you do always remember me, you have a spirit. Okay, that's. That seems fairly straightforward. Eight. It came to pass that he had him bring the wine. They blessed the wine. Ten. When the disciples had done this, Jesus said unto them, blessed are ye for ye have done, for which ye have done for this fulfilling of my commandment. And this doth witness unto the father that ye are willing to do, which I have commanded you. Verse eleven. This you should do for people that repent and are baptized in my name. And ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood which have shed for you, that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. It seems fairly straightforward. And this is where my question comes in. So Christ says, this is exactly why I'm having you partake of the sacrament and do it often. Twelve. And I've given you the commandment that ye shall do these things. And ye shall always do these things. Blessed are ye, for you are built upon my rock. And then in verse 13, whoso among you shall do more or less than these are not built upon my rock, but are built upon sandy foundation. When the rains come, when the floods come, blow away, fall the gates of hell ready to open. You. What is the more or less than? [00:28:20] Speaker A: That's such a great question. That's such a great question. [00:28:24] Speaker B: And you know where I'm going with this, right? [00:28:29] Speaker A: I don't know if I do, but I actually. I'm really glad you brought this up. [00:28:32] Speaker B: Okay. I. Do you want me to throw my. My thought out there first or just throw it in? [00:28:36] Speaker A: Throw it in. Throw it in. [00:28:38] Speaker B: I feel like there's a lot of things in this church that we make more or less than at times. I think that this is. I think that this is very much a charge directed towards us, members of the church and not, and not the world at large. You know, there's sometimes, like, the commandments of the world at large and then there's some that feel very specific to cleansing the inner vessel before we're worrying about the outer vessel. As I've been reading, as I was reading through this one, again, reading through with my kids, I'm like, man, I think that there's for me at least, that kind of hit a nerve because I'm like, yeah, you know, I think that people in general, maybe not even as individuals, but I feel like at times as groups, there is very much kind of a sense of people within a big tent religious structure. We like to have ceremonies and we like to have, you know, we like to attach a lot of not fanfare necessarily, but we like things that have a lot going on with them. And I wonder sometimes, and this has maybe been the thing that kind of I've been beating the drum about with the sacrament, is I feel like more and more, we continue to put more and more with it, where I just read this and I just read literally what Jesus says to the people. And I'm like, this is so much more simple, I feel like, than what we've added to it. So there, there is something, maybe, maybe this is just me trying to find something, but I don't think it is. But that's kind of, that's kind of where I was. I saw something. What are you thinking? [00:30:20] Speaker A: Well, and correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it also tie this into his rock? Right. Anyone who builds upon this, he compares to those who were built upon a rock where those who build, like you say, more or less build on a sandy foundation. And so when I go back to this idea of more or less, for example, if my whole testimony is based off of something that Hugh Nibley said of the church, of something that he looked at and said, this is to me, is the proof of why this is true or whatever, and that becomes the anchor that's got me founded in here in the gospel and come to find out for as much research as he did, and as interesting as that point was, and we look at it and see that that wasn't the case or he didn't understand or he didn't know and what he stated was wrong, and then I look back and say, what? That's not true. That's not the truth, then, then what was I been believing? And if that becomes my foundation, we see how loose and how easy that is to crumble. Or take this podcast, for example. If what you and I are saying as we discuss the scriptures and people decide to like, look at something that we've made and a point or something that we've, and oh, that's an interesting thought. That's an interesting perspective. But all of a sudden that perspective becomes the base or the foundation upon why somebody believes or what their truth is and replace it for the simple, beautiful aspect of the gospel that is being built upon the foundation of Christ. And what is that foundation? He talks about believing, being baptized. But. But ultimately, what he talks about is following him. Revelation and that spirit and being connected to him. Because what is the covenant that we're making? A sacrament that we will keep his commandments. And how can we keep his commandments if we don't hear his commandments? Which is what he's saying to Peter, right upon this rock, I shall build my church. What rock is that? The rock of revelation. That we will. We will follow every word that proceeds from the mouth of Jesus. We will follow him. What is the gospel of Jesus Christ? And what is the difference between the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints and any other church that exists today in the world? Is that the church of Jesus Christ is founded upon the revelation that we live on. The words that come from the mouth of Jesus Christ. And I'm going to go back to conferences last week when they said, why are we building so many temples today? And he said, the simple reason is, is because Jesus Christ asked us to, or Jesus Christ told us to, that, to me, is living upon the words. And if we replace it with more or less than what Christ is saying, and we hang all of our hopes and all of our dreams and all of our belief and our testimony on what makes sense, logical sense, as opposed to listening to Christ and the testimony. The foundation of that, when. When something inevitably doesn't line up or match with what we have built, our house on, that foundation is eroded and we're left shaking and shook in and fall. And I think that's what so many people have fallen into when they. When, when, when you look at people that have been shook and by church history, when they look at, okay, my belief is, and they start looking at church history as their foundation or whatnot. And if something's not true or something looks sketchy or something doesn't look right, they fall, because they were never built on that testimony. The relationship with Christ. Is that making sense? Yep. [00:34:19] Speaker B: And your point, too, though, the difference that separates is also correct. Authority, which is also talked about earlier in chapter 18, when Jesus himself gives people the authority to be performing the sacrament as well. [00:34:35] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah. And so I've wrestled with this one a bit, right? Because when I think people that do more or less of than this and I think of the gospel, the gospel is take the sacrament. And as Christ lined it out, to be clear, as I read through these verses and as Christ lined this out, and I, and again, will you point me at what verse you're reading at Nate? [00:34:58] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm in 18 right now in third Nephi 18. And the rock is verse twelve, and then 13. Is anything more or less than is where I was. [00:35:12] Speaker A: Perfect, perfect, perfect. When we go through these things and he says, this is my gospel. And he talks about baptism, and he talks about the sacrament, and then he says, anything more or less than this? And this is where I started to think about it and say, do we as a church fail this test because we've. We've created the temple and the temple ordinances, and those temple ordinances, are they more than the gospel, and are we adding on to it? And therefore, are we failing the litmus test of this? And as I ask myself that question in relationship to this, then I can easily go back to. Okay, then. Wait a second. What about Abraham? When he went to sacrifice his son? Was he failing the litmus test? Because all of a sudden now his salvation, his gospel, hangs on whether or not he's willing to sacrifice Isaac. Is that not more or less than just taking the sacrament and remembering Christ and being baptized and the simple gospel? And so when I start going down this road and asking these questions, well, what about, what about. And I think the answer for me came back. And I believe in verse eleven is where I find the answer. And this shall you always do, those who repent and are baptized in my name. And ye shall do it in remembrance of the blood which I have shed for you, that you may witness unto the Father, that you do always remember him, and if you do always remember him, that ye shall have my spirit to be with you. Um, back up a little bit. Verse ten. And when the disciples had done this, Jesus said, blessed are you for this thing which ye have done, for this is fulfilling my commandment. And this doth witness unto the Father that you are willing to do that which I have commanded you. That's where it was for me. [00:37:15] Speaker B: I mean, that's everything for me, with what the sacrament is, with the bread. It's that you're willing to witness to the Father that you will always remember me with the water. It's that you're willing to witness to the Father that you are going to obey my commandments. [00:37:31] Speaker A: That's it. And what does it mean to obey the commandments of Christ? Obviously, Christ reveals commandments through his apostles, through the prophets, through the church. He. He provides us with a foundation. And it's not enough to just say, you know what? I go to church, I take the sacrament, and so therefore, I've checked the gospel off in my life. I am saved. Because what is the gospel? What is the sacrament? Like you said, nate, the sacrament is witnessing that I will do what the Lord asks. So therefore, if the Lord asks me to do something and I don't do it, does the. Does the sacrament still save me? And how could it, if I witnessed that, I would do what the Lord asked by taking of the sacrament. But then the Lord asked me to do something and I didn't complete with it. Then. Then what? Use of the sacrament. It's a lie. The sacrament becomes a lie. In which case, I think we're taking the name of Lord in vain because we are saying that we will be like Christ. And what did Christ say? He said, I have only done what the Lord has asked me to do, or what I've seen the Lord done. Not my will, but the Lord's will. And I am the Father. If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Christ was an example of doing what the Lord asked him to do and following him. And then he turned around to us and said, now you come follow me and do what I ask you in order to be saved. This is my gospel. And if we witness that, we're willing to follow him, and then he asks us to do something and we say, not today, then we're taking the name of the Lord in vain because that's not what Christ would have done. If God asked Christ to do something like take this bitter cup. And Christ says, you know what? I would rather not take this bitter cup. And he shrunk that he wouldn't have to take the bitter cup. Nevertheless, not my will, but thy will. And at the end of the day, he drank from that bitter cup. That is the gospel. That is what we are built on. And so are we justified in sending missionaries, in having temple ordinances and having, and having what could be deemed as more or less than the simple sacrament that we partake every Sunday, 100%. If that's what Jesus told us to do, that's what the sacrament is all about, and that's what we're going to do, because the Lord asked us to do it. And salvation lies in following the Lord and being willing to say, not my will, but thine. And that is not more or less, that is the gospel. That is the rock. That is the foundation. So when I look at our motivations for coming to Spain and feeling that this was something that the Lord wanted me to do, following him is. Is the gospel for me. Is it more or less. On paper it might look like it is, but when it comes down to it and distills it, what is the motivation for what we're doing? If I create my own set of requirements for salvation and say, you know what, God? I'm going to make a covenant with you. I am going to do x, y and z, and you're going to save me, or I am going to go do this to demonstrate my faith, and I am going to. And I am. And I am. And all of a sudden we start dictating the terms of our salvation to God and what he's going to do to save us, then we've replaced him with us, and it's not his will, but our will. And now we've built on a shady foundation. And because our foundation is not eternal, it's not God, it's going to crumble, and we're building on a loose foundation that's going to erode out from underneath us. If the terms are convenient to us and we're stipulating and laying it out, then we're going to fall. [00:41:25] Speaker B: Yeah, I like that. I do like the idea that you need to repent and be baptized before you should be taking the sacrament. Like the idea that keeping the commandments is that you've witnessed to God, by the way, that you've taken the first step and you've witnessed unto God that you are willing to take upon yourself his name and all of those things by being baptized. I think that you kind of said this, and it just made me really kind of lock in a small but profound thing, which is that keeping the commandments then moving forward is less about renewing old commandments and more repenting. Always praying, always with your family, he says also in the scripture you've already chatted about and continue to. I mean, he kind of, Jesus says a lot of it in here, too. Let your light shine. I am that light. I mean, he really kind of just very simply and beautifully lays out what I think that he expects of us. You know, again, like, I go back to the more or less thing, and it's like, it's fairly simple and it's very well detailed and very well said. And so that's why, again, just to kind of put a bow on it, I think that this is a really great chapter in the book of Mormon that kind of illustrates where I've kind of landed with a lot of what, what is the purpose of the sacrament. I feel like 13 518 does a really great job of, in very simple terms, explaining exactly what it is. [00:43:15] Speaker A: I appreciate that. Yeah. And, you know, just to kind of tie in one last little bit with what you're saying, we say it's a living gospel and the branch that's connected to Christ is going to bring fruit. And to me, that's dynamic. It's not static. It's dynamic being tied to Christ. There's going to be growth, there's going to be budding, there's going to be fruit produced. That's not being tied to just something that was written a thousand years ago. It's being tied to Christ, who is alive, who lives and is directing us to follow him. And how can we keep his commandments if we can't hear his voice? And witnessing to him every week that we're going to follow and listen means nothing if we're not even willing to listen to him in the first place to know what he wants us to do. So how do we get that? And every conference has told us, the Lord is calling. The Lord is calling. And go back to what we were talking about with third Nephi. And we talked about how he spoke to the entire world. Yet they didn't understand him at first, and they had to strain and pay attention to be able to finally understand what he was saying to them. The same holds true today. The Lord is calling everyone the world over. If you don't know what inspiration or revelation feels like, if you haven't heard the voice of the Lord, if you don't know what it is that he's asking you to do, then. Then we've got to strain ourselves to listen and to hear and go back to the basics, the fundamentals. What does it look like? Studying your scriptures and praying and getting that inspiration to be able to hear the Lord? Then we can accurately witness that we're going to follow him in our actions and following through with the things that he asks us to do. For Jonah, salvation was, was just as much going to Nineveh to prophesy as it was for Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac, as it was for anyone willing to do what the Lord had asked him to do. This is the gospel, and that is the rock upon which we build. And if we're tied to the savior, we will produce fruit. And thank goodness for that, because it's not a one size fits all. And that's what becomes so cool about this. Christ lines this out and says, this is my gospel. And yes, it is a one size fits all everyone. You need to do this more or less than this doesn't work. But what is this. It's tied to a dynamic relationship in which Christ can guide each individual based on their situation, based on their family, based on what's going on, to find a way that's going to save the one just as much as he can apply this in general to the entire church, which is cool. Love it. [00:46:05] Speaker B: Let's keep going. [00:46:09] Speaker A: You know, we talk a little bit about other sheep that I have that are not of this fold that he had to go to. And Christ is really wrapping up his teachings here. And I think there's two things that we need to hit. First, this other sheep that I have which are not of this fold, then also must I appear to, and they must hear my voice, and they must see me. And they thought that he was coming to the Gentiles. They didn't understand that the Gentiles would receive his ministration through the spirit missionaries. But this was actually his people, the Jews. And we talk about Jews that they have in other parts of the world. We have the book of Mormon and we have the Bible, two books that testify of him coming and visiting them. What we're missing is, I think, records from other cultures and civilizations, wherever the Jews may be, that Christ visited and taught and expounded after he died. It's a bold statement that the book of Mormon makes the other sheep he's visited and who are they when we don't have those records? But it is interesting when we start going to some of the records that we've seen, Hawaii, for example, similar to what we see with the Aztecs. When James Cook visited the hawaiian islands, they thought it was their God coming to visit them because their God had promised that he would return and visit them at some time down the road. And here comes. Here comes these explorers in their canoes visiting the island, and they look different from them, and they assume that it's their God, just as the Aztecs received. Is it Cortes? Because of their traditions, right? Where do these traditions start? And this idea that God visited different parts of the world and promised to return, it's cool because that's what is lined out here in the scriptures. And one of the chilling things about that statement was when the Lord says, I'm having you guys record this just in case the people at Jerusalem never bothered to ask me about it. And why that is chilling to me is it shows that the Lord was willing to expound this to the people in Jerusalem and, and, and it would be a part of their record that could carry on, but he wasn't going to give it to them freely. The price of admission was them asking, and how many times does the Lord say, ask and you shall receive? And the chillingness to me is, what is the Lord willing to tell me that? I have never bothered to ask him, and I don't know what I don't know. And so it's an open invitation to be studying the scriptures and noticing small details and asking those questions and letting that curiosity help us build and establish that relationship with the Lord. But the reason I bring these chapters, that, that part into this, and I think this is what you want to get to. Nate, when we talk about Christ saying that he has to leave and trying to separate himself from the people to go visit other people that are waiting for him, he looks at them and he looks at their eyes, and he sees how desperately they just wish that he would stay with them a little bit longer. And so he stops, and. And first he asks, are there any sick among you? And he pulls them out and he heals them. But then he follows it up, and it's so beautiful. Bring your children. And the ministration of the children and so much of the gospel, it seems like even general conference sometimes is hard for little kids to listen to. Like, quiet, go sit in the corner, go somewhere else. The adults are talking, and we kind of push the children to the side, but Christ brings them front and center. And not only that, but it feels like. It seems like it is the greatest ministration. And the words that were ever spoken seem to be spoken to the children or when the children are gathered there. And I. You can't write or record how great and marvelous it was, and the angels are ministering to them. It's such a beautiful scene, but I just kind of wanted to set the stage on that, Nate, because this is something that you've taught me a lot about when we're talking about Christ and the children. Any thoughts you want to add to that discussion? [00:50:31] Speaker B: No, I just. I do appreciate it. I. One new insight I've actually had on this since last talking about it is we. And let me throw this to you, because I think that this is kind of where I had a little bit more of a unique insight than, for me, not unique, probably, to the rest of the world, but are children perfect or are they not accountable? Right. That's the question. My children, and including the ones that are under the age of eight, accountability, make mistakes all of the time. And I think that I. Where I have sometimes seen that as, like, the negative thing. I wonder if that that's part of even becoming like a child is the growth that comes from making a mistake and then overcoming it or making a mistake and learning from it. And I think that when Christ in. What is it? Is it, is it Moroni 319 318. Is that. Is that the become little children? What scripture am I thinking of? [00:51:50] Speaker A: I'm not 100% sure. [00:51:52] Speaker B: Mosiah. Mosiah 318. Anyways. Mosiah 319 probably. [00:51:57] Speaker A: Mosiah 319. [00:51:58] Speaker B: Mosiah 319 that's right. [00:52:00] Speaker A: Yes. I know exactly what you're talking about. Submissive as a child, submissive, meek, patient. [00:52:05] Speaker B: 319 yes, 319. Submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit. I don't hear perfect anywhere in that. That's not one of the qualifiers. [00:52:19] Speaker A: No, but. [00:52:21] Speaker B: And it's like, awesome, great. And I think that a lot of the things that we sometimes get in trouble with is that, and this is something we have talked a lot about, is that one of Satan's most effective tools, I think, as we get older, is despair in realizing that we blow it all the time. And then almost a, it's almost a, you might as well give up because you've gone too far this time or your habits are too ingrained at this point. There is, I don't know, as the older we get and the more kind of. We do kind of get entrenched a little bit in our. In our behaviors and, you know, or whatever it is that is holding us back. I know that it's kind of a weird thing to say, but there is almost a lack of humility. I don't necessarily want to call it pride, even though pride's probably the great word, the right word for this, but I think that making mistakes isn't the bug. Maybe it's the feature. And the difference between us as adults and children is with our children, you really can kind of very openly talk them through, like, hey, here's why this behavior isn't going to work. What can we do to learn from this? And kids can go, yeah, okay, great. [00:54:04] Speaker A: Teachability. [00:54:04] Speaker B: That's what I mean. Whereas an adult, it's almost. I don't know, it's almost like we let it become too much a part of us, that there's almost a pride in being like, I am who I am and I can't change it is what it is at this point. That is pride, right? Am I using the wrong word in this? [00:54:28] Speaker A: No, pride's the right word. [00:54:30] Speaker B: And so there is something even more to this idea that Jesus obviously loves the little children in a very incredible, beautiful, special way. And I don't think that it's because they don't ever make mistakes. I think it's because they're in such a better place to teach us how to handle making mistakes, which is feel bad for it and learn from it and do better. You know, be humble throughout that process and be teachable throughout that process. But like we've talked about in the past, I'm still searching and have yet to find anywhere in the scriptures where Jesus gathers a bunch of adults and then tells all the children to be more like them. I haven't. I have yet to find that scripture. [00:55:24] Speaker A: I think you nailed it, Mandy. The difference I view 100% humility. Humility versus pride. And. And I think it's got to be comforting. It's got to be comforting. If. If Christ pulls your kids, think about your kids. Think I'm. I'm thinking about mine. If he pulls my kids out there and says, I want you to be like them. And I know for a fact that two of them were fighting not an hour before and hitting each other, and I was sitting there trying to get them to pay attention because the savior was speaking at the time and think again. You know, something we said a little bit earlier in this episode, the first story, I don't think it's by mistake, but by design, after the creation, the first story is about how Adam fell. And to look at it and say, these children, I need you to be like them, knowing that they're not perfect, 100%. And the sense that, you know what? It's okay. That's the point. I can help you as long as you're willing to be teachable. Teachable, humble. Admit you're wrong and work to change and improve. And I think that's the key, and that's what kids do so. Well, you look at how fast they grow, how fast they learn. Looking at how fast kids learn things versus how long it takes adults sometimes to try to learn something new. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Well, you can, but. But it takes time and takes humility, and it's. It's a different process, and I think you just nailed it, man. That's. I think that's what Christ is really honing in on. And I think it's comforting when you know your kids and know that that's. That's who the Lord's setting up. You know, they're not perfect. [00:57:12] Speaker B: Yeah, there's. There's kind of an interesting question, because, you know, we were taught in multiple scriptures, through the Bible that if parents don't do a good job of teaching their kids the gospel and teaching them how to be good people, that they are in some way also going to be held responsible for not instructing their kids in the way of the Lord. I think that I need to be doing better about realizing that learning doesn't have to just come from one direction. And that that's also a very prideful way of looking at a relationship as well being specifically for me, like, well, because I'm dad, it's my job to teach you, therefore, it's your job to learn from me. And that is a very potentially dangerous way of looking at the dynamics of that relationship and really any relationship. And I, again, have said this and have more and more stories that continue to reemphasize this, which is there is so much learning going on, both directions in the relationships that I'm at least having with my children, and that together we can be hopefully helping to redeem each other and not just, you know, this through the scripture meant so much more with this last time we went through the Old Testament with the hearts of the children to the fathers and the hearts of their fathers to the children. Like, that is very much a very equal relationship or should be. And I don't think it's an accident of just using that language instead of just the hearts of the children turn to their fathers, but the fathers to their children is just as profound and incredible. [00:59:16] Speaker A: Thank you. And I think this ties into something else when we're talking about children, the Lord institutes the sacrament here a little bit later. And when he institutes the sacrament, he says, who's the sacrament for? Right? And he talks about those who have been baptized and who have made a covenant and repent. And repent. And this is who the sacrament's for. And he says, don't allow anyone to partake of the sacrament unworthily. Something you've done, Nate, that I think is unconventional, but there's wisdom in it, is teaching your kids to respect the sacrament. And correct me if I'm wrong, you don't have them partake of the sacrament before they're baptized. [01:00:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Charlie still sneaks in some bread every once in a while, but I make it a point, the biggest point that I used to be hard hardline about this, the point that I now work with Charlie, because he's just like, he's very much wanting to take it, is I still am very hard line about, it's not snack time. They don't take it unless they have. Unless. Unless I have vetted them previously and know that they are at least aware of what it is that they are doing on some level. But yes, I am kind of a stickler about that. [01:00:48] Speaker A: I think it's neat because I think when they get to a point where they can partake it, they appreciate it more. Right. Like they've true. It means something more to them. And I'm not advocating that everybody should do it. Right. [01:01:04] Speaker B: I'm not advocating either. That's what I'm saying is Charlie has definitely, Charlie's the one that has. We've been. My third oldest is the one that we've kind of accepted that that man is definitely going to be sticking his hand in that bread, but instead of just letting him do it his snack time, I always will now at least have them come over and sit on my lap. And even during the sacrament, it's awesome for me to be like, hey, man, tell me what you're thinking about right now. Help me understand why this is important to you, or what does this mean to you while you're doing it again? I know we're supposed to probably be dead quiet during the sacrament, but even in the little whisper conversations that I have with him that are the very much Christ focused, I feel like it's still accomplishing. It's something where I have a hard time imagining Jesus is on the other side going, uh oh, you're in trouble now because Charlie snuck some, you know what I mean, some bread in here. I don't think Jesus is, of all the things that I'm doing to stress Jesus out, I think that that's probably at the bottom of the list because heaven knows that list is real. [01:02:23] Speaker A: No, I think it's. I think it's cool. I think it's super neat. And I mean, to me, it goes back to the rock, the gospel being built on and following the spirit, following our, you know, trying to connect with the Lord and following the inspiration, and that's going to look different for everybody. But, but what you've done, I think, has instilled in your kids a sense of appreciation and profound respect for the sacrament and what it is. And I think it's something hard in the church because it is so common. It's easy for it to slip into just this pattern, this habit or something that just doesn't get its due respect. I think if we truly understood the sacrament and what we were doing, how transformational that would be in our lives, agreed. It's easy to get caught into it. And so I love that you did that, and I love that you shared it. With me, which is why I kind of. Sorry, I don't mean to embarrass you. It doesn't embarrass me. I wanted to share it. [01:03:32] Speaker B: Here's something that's. Maybe the heavier part of that conversation is, yeah, I don't, and have in the past been very hard line about, yeah, I don't want my kids taking the sacrament until they've been baptized. And then I go through all of the reasons why, well, they're not accountable. It says in the scriptures, you shouldn't be doing this. It says, like, you know, we don't baptize kids because of the whole thing, you know, this whole thing like that. And then the next question goes, okay, well, what about all of us that have been baptized and it still basically is just snack time? What about for all of us that, you know, I'm worried so much about my kids not doing this because of, you know, the letter of the law and the technicalities, man, how many. How many sacrament meetings have I taken the sacrament? And my brain is on my fantasy football team. My brain is thinking about the week ahead of me at work and wondering how I'm gonna get all this stuff. Do you see what I'm saying? I'm saying this is kind of why I think I've chilled out quite a bit on this, is because, yes, I am trying to teach my kids this. And in the process of that, by the way, it actually has helped me have the sacrament be a much more special occasion. But with that said, there are still times that I catch myself going, hey, man, of any time to, like, turn your brain off of the world and just hyper focus on what it is that you're doing. Even me, I should be doing a much better job at that, too. So that's the bow I at least wanted to put on this, is that. Yeah, I don't stress out nearly as much about my kids anymore because I still have a long way to go myself. [01:05:21] Speaker A: Awesome. And I just want to take this maybe one step further. Transitioning as much as the sacrament can. Can fall into a pattern or a custom or something that we kind of take lightly. I think another part that's been really a heavy part of these chapters that we've been reading is prayer. When. When he gives the Lord's prayer and he says, this is the example of how you should pray. And when he prays with them, and then he commands them to pray. And we had all of chapter 18, we just kept talking about, pray, always, pray always, pray always. And something that comes from here when they are praying, it says they prayed for a long time, right? And not repeating words, and you're like, oh. And it was given to them what they should say, and they were following the spirit and they were in line with God. And. And I think that's that. The pattern of the Lord's prayer is not my will, but thy will. Right? This alignment of wills. And. And how do we make prayers, when we talk about the sacrament, sometimes becoming commonplace or easy for us to just take without thinking about it? I think it's beautiful here in these scriptures that Christ is focusing so much on the sacrament and its significance, but then also prayers. And this is something that's not just done weekly, but multiple times a day. And how is it done? In my mind, it's almost. The more often you do it, it almost seems like the less repetitive and less commonplace it becomes, which seems the opposite. If I'm doing it more and more and more often, then maybe, maybe I'm just going to be sitting here, vain repetitions or whatever. How do I pray? With real intent. But if we're praying every time we feel moved to whether we're inspired and want to thank God for something that's happening, or whether we are in a desperate need and we're coming to him and begging for something, but when we're praying because we're moved to, it feels like those prayers become emotional or powerful. And it's hard because sometimes we say prayers because it's morning, I got out of bed, and I know I'm supposed to pray. Or it's night and I'm about to jump in bed, so I know I'm supposed to pray, or the food set before me and I'm going to eat, and I know I'm supposed to pray. And some of those prayers become very repetitious and how, how. And lose some of that significance. And how do we breathe fresh air into prayer? And so I appreciate these chapters in light of the sacrament and the discussion that we're having, also being able to apply that something as commonplace as prayer, bringing those prayers to life. Love it. One last thought on prayer, and this is first, sorry to go back into chapter 18. Chapter 18 is just such a powerful chapter. Verse 20. Whatsoever you shall ask the father in my name, which is right, believing that you shall receive, behold, it shall be given unto you. And such. I mean, if we look at the beginning, whatsoever you shall ask, and in the end, it shall be given unto you. What a promise. I'll give you anything you want in the world, whatever you ask, you shall have it. And it almost seems like this magic lamp, Aladdin type situation. Anything you ask, you can happen. Um, but it's not, it's not without its condition. It's just like you have to rub the lamp or you get three wishes, or whatever the case may be. The Lord sets conditions on this. And, and I love these conditions. I mean, it's a powerful promise, but whatsoever thing that you shall ask. And then the first condition, the father. Okay, we need to ask God. Next condition. In my name. Next condition. Which is right. I, and so what does it mean for it to be right? And I think that's the alignment of wills. Not my will, but thy. When we are feeling the spirit and we know what we're asking is something that we should be asking for, well, then do we have the faith that it's going to happen? Right. When we, when we know that it's the right thing, do we really believe that the Lord is going to give it to us? And so that's subsequently what follows. Believing that you shall receive, then, behold, it shall be given to you. And I, and I look at that process and I think it's very easy for us to pray to God in the name of Christ. But, but is it, what does it mean to do it in the name of Christ? Am I really, am I really in line with the father? Because that's what Christ would be doing. And if I'm doing it as if I was him, I would be doing it in a position where it's not my will, but thy will, am I really in line with him to be able to truly say, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. Or am I taking the Lord's name in vain when I, when I'm offering that prayer? And if I am in line with the father and I am in line with his will, and it's given to me what to say, and the spirit is there and it is right, then I think an even harder question is, do I really believe that it can happen? Do I really have the faith that what I'm praying for is right and it can move mountains? We see what some people have prayed for and what has happened, and it is miraculous. And sometimes we have a hard time believing that that miracle can happen. And maybe I believe in miracles, but miracles aren't for me. I see miracles or people have been raised from the dead or people have been all sorts of things, but that wouldn't happen to me. Well, if it wouldn't happen to me, why not? And why can't it? And. And do we not believe in a God of miracles and the God that is alive? And if we know it's the will of the Lord, then what's stopping us from asking, with everything that we have, believing with a certainty that that's going to happen? It's a hard thing to do, but there's power in being able to unlock it and do it. [01:11:19] Speaker B: Do you know who does it really well? Kids that. Yeah, kids do. [01:11:28] Speaker A: They don't. [01:11:29] Speaker B: They don't know that they're not supposed to believe that it's gonna happen. Like, I just. I think that this just is another thing that comes down to the. To that idea that we keep coming back to that when. When Christ gathers the children around and says, this is who you need to be. Like, I think that that's a big part of it, too. Is that. Is that what you just said is exactly how my children pray? They don't. They don't know that they're not supposed to be having an answer to their prayers easily. Obviously, every time, you know, as we get old, as we get older, I think, is when doubt starts to creep in. [01:12:16] Speaker A: Yeah, I think you're right. We get jaded or hardened or prideful or whatever the case may be. [01:12:24] Speaker B: I mean, we just want to see things before we believe them. We want to. I mean, there's. I think that there's a lot that goes into it, you know? [01:12:37] Speaker A: I agree. Agreed. [01:12:40] Speaker B: Um, anything else you wanted to hit tonight? We're kind of running late. [01:12:44] Speaker A: We're running on time. I'm sorry. I just tried to force everything into, uh. I mean, isaiah. Isaiah. Christ really plays into Isaiah. Heavy. [01:12:54] Speaker B: And. [01:12:54] Speaker A: And he talks about the. He quotes Isaiah, and. And then he says, after quoting isaiah, he. He says, verse, chapter 23, verse one. And now, behold, I say unto you that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you, that ye search these things diligently for great are the words of Isaiah. So he's saying it's not even just, like, a good idea. I'm not just recommending it. I'm absolutely commanding you to search the words of Isaiah and the next few chapters. If I could summarize this, because I know we're running long on this. Isaiah talks about the restoration of the gospel. And before this point, we're hearing about stripping the jews when they get destroyed in BabyloN and the captivity and the scattering, and they're going to lose their wise men. And they talk about all of these men like ornaments for JerusaleM or ISrael. God's people. The jewelry, the clothing are the people, and they're going to be taken away. The leaders, the WiSE MEndenna, all of these people are going to be stripped out. The prophet, the guidance. But now arise, put on your garments, and it's the restoration of the church. Enlarge the tents and strengthen the borders and all of this. The Lord is going to bring the nations into AbrahAm to fulfill the covenant that he made with AbrahAm a long time ago, that Abraham will inherit the nations. And this is the Gospel of pulling in the Gentiles and restoring the gospel. And he says, how do you know this is going to happen? It's going to happen when this book comes out and you talk about the work that's happening, the book of Mormon, the gospel spreading, and the people that are being baptized, and what a wonderful, beautiful time it is to be alive. And Isaiah puts it so well and so beautifully. I love these chapters, and I wish I could give him its due time. He talks about Malachi and tries to, he makes sure that they include in there the words of Malachi. You've mentioned the hearts of the children being turned to the fathers. How powerful that is. The other one I want to mention from Malachi is, will a man rob God? And how is it that you will rob me? And you keep doing this over time and time and time again. Here you are witnessing. Every week you take the sacrament. You're witnessing that you'll take the name upon me, but then, and that you'll keep my commandments and do what I ask you to do. But then I asked you to pay tithing, and that became too hard for you. And wherein are you going to be actually following the word of the Lord if you're not going to do what I've asked you to do? And so he says, bring your tithes to me. And such a beautiful promise when it talks about the windows of heaven being opened and just touching on this lightly. And I'm sorry, I know I'm trying to move real quick. The windows of heaven, like they said in Hebrew, shamayim, there is water. Is this idea that the water lay behind the heavens and these windows open, the waters would fall. And why that's so important or significant to me is going back to an agricultural society. I could do all of the work in the world to break up the ground, to clear the rocks, to make the ground as fertile as possible, to dung it, to fertilize it, to plant the seed and, and labor all day long. And, and I can water it and, and build trenches and dig ditches, do whatever it takes to get the water to the plant and take care of it and make sure it's getting regular water and. And try to weed it and try to provide for it or try to do everything in my power to try to make sure that I have a crop to feed my family with at the end of the day and. And take that and translate that into modern, modern language. Right? We can do everything we can to in our boats. Nate. Trying to start our own business and branch out on our own and trying to hunt and provide food for our families in a real sense of going and trying to find work and trying to be productive. It's the labor process. And it goes all the way back to Adam. When God says that he will curse the ground for our sakes, that by the sweat of our brow we're going to survive, but the sweat of our brow only gets us so far. If I did all of that work and the heavens were sealed and it never rained, I still wouldn't have anything to provide for my family. I can do everything I can to try to create a business or try to provide for my family, but at the end of the day, nobody signs up or I don't have any customers or I don't have anything that it's like the rain being withheld and there is no. There is no crop to provide for them at the end of the day. And so when the Lord says he will open up the heavens so that the rains will fall down to the earth, what happens when the rain is regularly coming? Well, if I hadn't planted the seed, nothing, I still wouldn't eat. I have to do my part. But if I have done my part and there's an abundance of rain and good weather, and the Lord is taking care of all of the rest, and not just sending rain, but also banishing the destroyer so that it doesn't eat up my crops. And think about the great promise when. When the crickets were eating up all of the crops here in Utah, after they've done all of that labor, and the Lord sends the seagulls to destroy the devourer from. From eating what they've provided, the Lord's not just going to help us. He's going to stop the things that would destroy us, and he's going to send the rain that will make it to flourish. If we do our part, he does his part and the word covenant and go back to its latin roots. Convenient is they're both coming together. And the idea that if I do my part, the Lord will do his part. That's the blessing behind Malachi, is that all the work that I do will not be for no return. The Lord will also open up heavens, rebuke the destroyer, do everything on his end to make that validate. And what a beautiful blessing and covenant that is. That is the gospel. If I follow the Lord, the Lord will bless me. And in this specifically being applied to tithing, last thing, and I promise I'm done. 30 Nephi 26 I can't, I can't not be here and not share this when, when we're talking about Moroni saying now, there cannot be written in this book even a hundredth part of the things which Jesus did truly teach. The greater things were written in this plate. But I've tried to. I would have written them all. And, and this is, this is to me the power in here. Verse nine. And then the Lord said, he says, I would write them all, but the Lord rebuked me. Verse eleven. Behold, I was about to write them all, which were engraven upon the plates of Nephi, but the Lord forbade it, saying, I will try the faith of my people, and then skip back to nine. And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first to try their faith, and it shall show be that they shall believe these things, then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them. And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them unto their condemnation. And what is waiting for us if we but believe? And we receive these things and, and we go to work planting our seeds and, and building. What an exciting time to be alive. Nate, the, the church has been restored. The Book of Mormon is being published and sent out to the world. And we've received these things, and we're accepting them, we're believing them. And the Lord is making miracles happen. And as we believe and as we engage in his work, greater things are happening, and greater things are on the horizon. All I can say to wrap this episode up, and I know I've talked a long time, but, boy, I love God. I love the opportunity we have to be here today to be engaged in this work. It's exciting. I can't express it enough. It's exciting. And if you feel anxious, confused, darkened or worried about where we're at and what's happening or what's going to happen, go through and read these chapters, read these verses, and let the excitement kind of soak in. Israel is being restored. The beautiful garments are being placed back on, the people are coming to the church, knowledge is being poured down, revelation is happening. It's an exciting time to be alive and I can't help but feel that excitement not just in reading these scriptures but with conference and what was being said. It's an exciting time and hopefully that bleeds out and reflects on what I'm saying. [01:21:37] Speaker B: Love it, love it. I'm with you my man. Appreciate everybody listening. If you have any questions or comments you can hit us up at the email address. High deep dive.com. we always appreciate reading through feedback, comments, insights of your own. We always appreciate you being willing to share this with your friends and yeah keep passing the word along and it's always fun for us to see new listeners pop up all around the world so that's awesome and thank you again all for listening. That's all we got for this week so on this one, see ya.