Week 49 is scheduled for study Dec. 2-8, 2024. We don’t just automatically stay in the right way in our quest to be like Christ. We must be kept in the right way.
Day 1
Moroni 1 – I can follow Jesus Christ despite opposition.
This is what I want to address. It is found in Moroni 1:2.
… they every Nephite that will not deny the Christ.
The manual asks “What are some ways a person might deny the Christ?” and that got me thinking. I first assumed that denying Christ came in an official grand proclamation about one’s refusal to believe in him. That can be one way to do it, but there are more subtle ways to deny the Christ that drifted hazily through my mind. I had to think about this.
It isn’t enough to say the words that you deny the Christ. Anyone wanting to know if you were being truthful would need proof. Would want proof. So what does one do to show that a denial of Christ’s influence in your life is real? The first thing that comes to mind are the commandments Jesus gave us. If I have become lax in keeping those commandments and have chosen to live in other ways than what I have been commanded to live then aren’t I denying Christ? The commandment tells me to love my neighbor. But if I find every excuse to ignore my neighbor or cause trouble for my neighbor, aren’t I refusing to live that commandment?
When Christ tells me I am supposed to support my priesthood leaders, and I instead criticize them and talk about them behind their back (or to their face), aren’t I denying the Christ? I may be attending church, but I am undermining Christ’s representatives and spreading doubt among his more faithful followers.
Pick any commandment and think about what happens when we choose to ignore it or have actually replaced it with a practice of the world. Aren’t we denying Christ by refusing to be his disciple in that thing? I suppose this is why being a disciple of Christ requires deliberate and chosen obedience and practice. We are living a sham and a lie if we say we believe one thing, but live another.
Day 2
Moroni 2-6 – Priesthood ordinances must be administered as the Lord commands.
Confirmation – In 3 Nephi 18:36-37 we are told that the disciples were given the power to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost on others at their baptism, but we aren’t given Christ’s words at that time.
36 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of these sayings, he touched with his the whom he had chosen, one by one, even until he had touched them all, and spake unto them as he touched them.
37 And the multitude heard not the words which he spake, therefore they did not bear record; but the disciples bare record that he gave them to give the . And I will show unto you that this record is true.
This is what Moroni says in Moroni 2:2 about the disciples receiving the ability to bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost.
2 And he called them by name, saying: Ye shall on the Father in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this ye shall have that to him upon whom ye shall lay your , shall give the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine apostles.
As far as I am aware, this is the first time in the history of mankind that the gift of the Holy Ghost was given to every person by an ordinance of the Melchizedek priesthood after baptism, just like it was done by the apostles in Jerusalem. In all the ancient covenants with God the Holy Ghost was still operative in their lives, but it was not given by a Melchizedek priesthood holder to every person who accepted baptism by covenant.
Ordination to the Aaronic priesthood – I noticed in my reading that the Elders of the church (what they called the 12 disciples chosen by Christ) ordained men to only the Aaronic priesthood in these verses. The Aaronic priesthood can baptize, but only the Melchizedek priesthood can bestow the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is interesting that Moroni doesn’t say anything about ordination to the Melchizedek priesthood, only the Aaronic.
Those who ordain someone to the Aaronic priesthood should pray to God about what they are about to do. What do you think are some appropriate things to pray about before ordaining someone to the Aaronic priesthood? What is something good for the person who is about to be ordained to be thinking about?
Sacrament – We can’t all sit in absolute quiet and reflection during the administration of the sacrament. But can’t we begin our preparations for receiving the sacrament even before we leave our home? Being worshipful is an attitude that isn’t something we turn on or turn off. We must become worshipful through the things we think about and the things we choose or try to feel. How this happens is somewhat different for each person, but it is up to each of us to figure out how to become worshipful as we prepare for church each week so we are prepared to receive the sacrament of the Lord’s supper and always remember him.
Baptism – In yesterday’s lesson I talked about deliberate discipleship. By this I mean choosing to learn God’s commandments then live them each day through the choices we make. Those who are ready for baptism are ready because they have deliberately made the choices to give up their worldly ways and accept to live Christ’s commandments all the rest of their life. The baptismal candidate discusses their desire to be worthy and remain worthy with a priesthood leader and confesses their willingness to let Jesus and God be their goal for the rest of their life.
Day 3
Moroni 4-5 – Taking the sacrament helps me draw closer to Jesus Christ.
Let’s do something novel today and look at the sacramental prayer on the bread backwards. Here is the verse from Moroni 4:3.
3 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and this to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his to be with them. Amen.
If we always want Christ’s Spirit (the Holy Ghost) to be with us we must keep Christ’s commandments and always remember him. This makes sense since forgetting Christ’s pivotal role in our life causes us to stray from keeping his commandments. When we do these things we are able to take upon us the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. To take upon us someone’s name is to become a member of their family and identify ourself with that family ever afterward. When we forget to remember Christ we also forget to act as a son or daughter of God is supposed to act. These four things in the sacramental prayer are necessary in order for us to be able to receive forgiveness for our sins and become like Christ.
Day 4
Moroni 6:4-9 – Disciples of Jesus Christ care for each other’s souls.
This is difficult to write about, probably because it is also difficult to talk about. We live in an age where society has pushed each other aside and demanded to be left alone. Then we have a pandemic where people became afraid to be with others and we spent several years in relative isolation. During this time many of us have forgotten what it means to belong to a group of people who care for one another. We have been too protective and taught to be guarded about the intrusions of others by society. This has made living with each other and among each other more difficult. Too many of the teachings of the world have crept into our thinking. That is my opinion on the matter.
My point here is that being a member of a family is not always a perfect slice of heaven. We disagree with one another, sometimes hide from one another, but ultimately we support each other and defend one another. Even when we disagree because a brother or a sister has admonished us to do something they think we should be doing or have chastised us, in the end we acknowledge that we are a unit who all want basically the same thing, and that is to see each other succeed.
The Church should be the same way. We are told in the scriptures to admonish one another to do what is right. Service is required to help those in need and to be watchful of those who are weak or need help in some way. People are people and aren’t always the kindest or more diplomatic. But in the end we look out for one another and defend each other. The gospel of Christ is a family full of people from their own families. We should all know how families work. We just need to expand our scope of acceptance to include our fellow Saints into the embrace of our fellowship.
Society is making uniting as a ward or stake family more and more difficult, but this is the challenge we have accepted to master at baptism. We have covenanted to represent Christ at all times, and in all places we might be in. If we think it is difficult to forgive and tolerate our immediate family members, I think it takes even more to tolerate, accept, and forgive our ward and stake members. But that is what we have agreed to do. We may just need a change of perspective in our efforts.
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Dear Brother,
I have been recieving emails from you for a long time,and all these were very useful,in the sunday school and specially in my understanding of the scriptures… I want you to know that i appreciate all these. Thank you for helping many of us.
Best regards!
Sis. Soriano