God’s Unchanging Plan for Our Salvation

Mosiah 3:3-13

Nephi passed the sacred record to his brother, Jacob, to write “a few things which I considered to be most precious” which included “preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying” for, as Jacob explained it, “…we also had many revelations, and the spirit of much prophecy; wherefore, we knew of Christ and his kingdom, which should come” (Jacob 1:2, 4, 6). The plates continued to be passed down to sons and brothers until about 420 years after Jacob had received them, when the current caregiver, “having no seed, and knowing king Benjamin to be a just man before the Lord” gave the records to the righteous king of the Nephite people (Omni 1:25).
Before his death, King Benjamin gathered his people together and exhorted them to remember the Lord. He recounted the words of an angel that had visited him the night before, focusing on the mission of Christ, our indebtedness to Him, and then he encouraged them to “rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even as though he had already come among them” (Mosiah 3:3-13, entire sermon found in chapters 2-5; see also Alma 4:14).
These children of God, far from the land of Jerusalem, and struggling through their own unique trials and challenges, were dependent – as we are – on God’s word through His chosen prophets in their midst. These people, still living after the law of Moses (yet looking forward with faith to the coming of Christ and the fulfilling of His law), offered sacrifice and burnt offerings and thanked the Lord for delivering them out of the hands of their enemies and appointing “just men to be their teachers…that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men” (Mosiah 2:3-4; see also 5:2-5).
We know of Christ in the same way: by God’s word through His chosen servants, the prophets (see Amos 3:7) and the confirmation of these words by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; Galatians 5:22-23). Though they lived 100 years before Christ’s coming and we live over 2,000 years after His miraculous birth, the message is the same, the method is the same, and our God is the same. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He promised on the last pages of the Old Testament, “For I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6) and the apostle Paul confirmed, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).
We can have joy in God’s promises and in His unchanging plan of salvation – that Christ’s power of redemption is available to all! All will be resurrected and live again, and all who heed His words may have eternal life.

Thanksgiving

2 Nephi 8:3

After sailing across the sea, Nephi and his family landed on the shores of America and began a new life. The Lord commanded Nephi to keep two records on metal plates: on the first he recorded secular information about his people and the details of their wars and kings, etc.; Nephi used the second for "the more part of the ministry" which included the spiritual things and prophecies of Christ (1 Nephi 9:2-4).

On this second record, Nephi quoted many words of Isaiah and likened them to his people (see 1 Nephi 11:1). Among these words I point out one verse that has particular meaning to this day of Thanksgiving.

For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. 2 Nephi 8:3

The day will come when Jesus Christ will return and bring a time of peace to this world. We will be thankful and raise our voices in His praise. Though the time is not yet here, we can still be thankful and rejoice because He has not abandoned us. The Lord will comfort each and every one of us and make the best of our lives. I know joy and gladness can be found in my every day – if I will turn to the Lord and live with a heart of thanksgiving.

Joy During Trials

1 Nephi 8:7-12

In facing hardships, we can sometimes become bitter, hardened, exhausted. This is why it is crucial to rely on the love of God and the Atonement of His Son to remain whole.
Soon after leaving Jerusalem, Lehi had a dream where he was in a “dark and dreary waste” (1 Ne 8:7). He traveled in the darkness for many hours before he found a solution: he began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on him, “according to the multitude of his tender mercies.” After praying, he emerged from the darkness and saw a tree with fruit designed to make one happy. The tree represents Jesus Christ and the love of God in providing a way for eternal life to His children. The fruit is the saving principles of the gospel and is truly the way we can find peace and happiness, even during the worst of times.
When I am feeling dreary, I must remember to pray for mercy and God will show me my blessings and help me find that which will make me happy. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is not just for the aftermath, the cleanup, the repair of damaged souls. It is also for the here and now – for the constant support and lasting endurance of God’s children through our daily trials.

Later in the first book of Nephi (20:21) he quoted Isaiah 48:21, reminding us that God led the children of Israel through the deserts and provided water for them. God will lead me through the deserts of my life also. That is what the gospel is about – the here and now! So often I look forward to the “day of gladness when Jesus will come again” but His love is available to me NOW. He will carry me through the rottenest of days.

Truly, through Jesus we can have peace and joy – even during trials.

Comprehend Joy

1 Nephi 17:2, 6

After Nephi retrieved the brass plates, his family traveled to the seashore and God directed him in building a ship to travel across the sea. The difficulty of the trek provided opportunity for inner growth.

Imagine the challenges associated with 8 years of: Middle Eastern heat, wilderness, raw meat, living in tents, walking miles a day - some of them carrying and bearing children...

Nephi, in his positive hindsight, reflected how "great were the blessing of the Lord" in guiding them through and helping them "bear their journeyings without murmurings" (verse 2). He related that despite their afflictions, they were "exceedingly rejoiced" when they came to the seashore (verse 6).
Think how much they appreciated those shining waters! Would they have rejoiced if they were transported there directly somehow? Maybe they would have simply compared living in tents on the shores to their comfortable homes in Jerusalem and found reason to complain. But they rejoiced because they had been through hard times and they had survived. They had relied on God and had grown.

Without adversity, we would not grow. Without the trials we face we would not be able to comprehend the highest peaks of joy that can be experienced in this life.
I am not the kind of person that is "thankful" for trials. But I am very grateful for a God that loves His children so extremely that He allows them to experience adversity on Earth in order to truly know joy.

Look For the Good

1 Nephi 2:11-12

Nephi's oldest brothers, Laman and Lemuel, murmured (complained) constantly about their circumstances and the choices of others. Nephi explained that they "did murmur because they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them" (verse 12). Instead of working through their negative emotions and focusing on the many good things in this world, they were lazy and complained - even while doing service!

Their complaining made it difficult for them to stay (or become) motivated and to follow through with God's commandments. When God sent Nephi and his brothers back to Jerusalem to get the brass plates (the record of the Jews and the genealogy of Lehi's forefathers, including prophecies from the holy prophets such as Moses, Abraham, Isaiah, and Jeremiah) the constant murmuring of Laman and Lemuel made the errand near to impossible. Fortunately, Nephi had a positive view on everything and knew that if God asks us to do something, He will prepare a way for us to accomplish it (1 Ne 3:7).

I know this is true. God will guide us and give us power to accomplish the things he commands us (see 1 Ne 5:8). As we look for and spread the GOOD in life we will have the right frame of mind to see the "dealings of God" and we will have JOY in every day.