Day Eleven

1 Nephi 2: 17-20

1 Nephi 2: 17-18

 17 And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which the Lord had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. And it came to pass that he believed in my words.

18 But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them.

No Specific Reference

1 Nephi 2: 19

19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

THE FAITH OF THE SCRIPTURES

I. Now, in these brief minutes I am going to lead your thinking to the faith of the scriptures. I think I shall beg leave to print in the interest of time. There are wonderful passages. As a matter of fact, the more I read the scriptures, the more I am impressed that the great echo through the scriptures is an echo of faith and of love and of obedience. When you put the three of them together, you have a great formula for proofreading all the experiences of life.

For those who receive it in faith, and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life (see D&C 20:14).

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear (Heb. 11:1-3).

I love to read the life and story of Abraham and of Nephi, and both of them echo the same sentiment.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went (Heb. 11:8).

Read 1 Nephi, chapters 2 (1 Ne. 2:1-24) and 3 (1 Ne. 3:1-31), the glorious experience of Nephi, who believed he could get the plates from Laban, against the doubt of his brother, Laman, who was sure he could not. Read those two chapters to find the power of faith and the emptiness of doubt and disbelief.

The kind of faith that I have in mind is the kind that always leads into works. I am mindful of James' injunction,

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (James 2:20).

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works (James 2:18).

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Heb. 11:6).

Consider these further meaningful scriptures:

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26).

And Christ truly said unto our fathers: If ye have faith ye can do all things which are expedient unto me (Moro. 10:23).

And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope (Moro. 10:21).

Ask the Father in my name, in faith believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient unto the children of men.

And if you have not faith, hope, and charity, you can do nothing (D&C 18:18-19).

But after repenting, and humbling himself sincerely, through faith, God ministered unto him by an holy angel, whose countenance was as lightning, and whose garments were pure and white above all other whiteness... (D&C 20:6).

And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart (1 Ne. 2:19).

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them (1 Ne. 3:7).

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost (A of F 1:4).

The Faith Which Impels to Action Elder Adam S. Bennion Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

 Conference Report, October 1955, pp. 116-120

1 Nephi 2: 20

20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

On the title page I read that it is “written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile.” In the introduction to the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, it says that the Lamanites “are among the ancestors of the American Indians.” As I read the Book of Mormon, it seemed to me that it was about my American Indian ancestors. It tells the story of a people, a part of which were later described as “Lamanites,” who migrated from Jerusalem to a “land of promise” (1 Nephi 2:20) about 600 B.C. It is an account of God’s dealings with these ancient inhabitants located somewhere on the American continents. It includes an account of the ministry of Jesus Christ among them following His Resurrection. Passages in the Book of Mormon suggest that over time they were dispersed throughout the American continents and islands of the nearby seas (see Alma 63:9–10). Their prophets foretold that many multitudes of Gentiles would eventually come to this land of promise and the wrath of God would be upon the Lamanites and they would be scattered, smitten, and nearly destroyed (see 1 Nephi 13:10–14).

My great-grandfather Echo Hawk, a Pawnee Indian, was born in the mid-1800s in what is now called Nebraska. When he was 19 years of age, the Pawnee people were forced to give up their 23-million-acre (9.3 million ha) homeland to make room for settlers. In 1874 the Pawnee people were marched several hundred miles south to a small reservation located in the Oklahoma Indian Territory. The population of Pawnee people had declined from over 12,000 to less than 700 upon their arrival in Oklahoma. The Pawnee, like other tribes, had been scattered, smitten, and nearly destroyed.

The Book of Mormon has a special message for descendants of the Lamanites, a remnant of the house of Israel. Nephi expressed this message while interpreting his father’s vision of these latter days: “And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved” (1 Nephi 15:14).

Larry Echo Hawk, "Come unto Me, O Ye House of Israel", Oct 2012

THERE ARE A LOT OF TALKS REFERENCING THIS SCRIPTURE - GO TAKE A LOOK!