Test Post 2 - With Bullets

Guest Post - Our host is Bruce Neale.  In this post, Bro. Neale shares his favorite verses about God's Plan for His children and the Savior's Role in it.  See how to Become a Guest Author on the Book of Mormon Blog.

This chapter is one of my favorite (easily top 5) chapters in the Book of Mormon. Jacob continues by teaching about the great blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that it is central to the merciful plan of God. Jacob continues and testifies of the greatness of God and His plan for the happiness of man, and how the Savior is ever near to comfort, plead for, and redeem all who come unto Him.

God's Plan, the Atonement and the Savior's Role
To paraphrase would do injustice to the testimony of Jacob, so below are several of my favorite quotes from chapter 9 (which I have underlined in my scriptures) about the Plan of God, the Atonement, and role of the Holy One of Israel:

• (v. 5) “…for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men...”
• (v. 7) “Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement…”
• (v. 8) “O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace!”
• (v. 10) “O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell…”
• (v. 20) “O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.”
• (v. 21) “…he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; …he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children...”
• (v. 22) “…he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.”
• (v. 41) “…come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow…and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.”

Pearls of Wisdom
There are several other pearls of wisdom that Jacob teaches us about the atonement, resurrection and nature of man:

• (v. 14) In the resurrection “we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness” and that “the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.”
• (v. 18) The saints of God are those “who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it…”
• (v. 23) We are commanded to “repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel…”
• (v. 28) We are warned that the nature of man is such that “when they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not.”
• (v. 29) However, “to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.”

Bro. Neale's Declaration

After reading this chapter, you should be able to understand why and how the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ applies to you as an individual. I feel like Jacob of old in declaring ‘O how great the wisdom, holiness, mercy, goodness, and grace of God!’

Bruce Neale is the 1st Counselor in the Silverlake Ward Bishopric.  He talks funny (with a British accent) and has a witty sense of humor.  He grew up in Zimbabwe (what was then called Rhodesia).  He has a passion for Isaiah, and above all, is a dedicated husband and father.

Test Post 1

uest Post - Our host is Sarah Crosby.  In this post, Sis. Crosby shares some thoughts about singing praises to the Savior. See how to Become a Guest Author on the Book of Mormon Blog.

Hi ward members!  I am excited to be a guest blogger on Bishop’s blog today!  I am going to jump in head first with this one and take a stab at Isaiah.  I am not a great scripture scholar by any means but I am going to try to enlighten you in some way! 

2 Nephi 21 is all about the Millennium and the Second Coming.  It also good to note that Moroni quoted Isaiah when he visited Joseph Smith.  On the night of September 21, 1823 he wrote that Moroni "quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying that it was about to be fulfilled" (JS-H 1:40). I love watching prophecy in action. 

A part that stood out to me was verse 2. Isaiah does a great job describing Christ and in a repetitive manner too.  My eyes are always drawn to a pattern when I read.  "the spirit of wisdom and understanding...of counsel and might...of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."  Who doesn't want a leader with these attributes? I cannot help but think about Christ as the ultimate example of a great leader with this list of qualities as Isaiah described. I think as leaders in the community, church and our homes we should strive to have similar qualities. 

2 Nephi 22 is a short chapter, which we can all appreciate ;)   This chapter is known as Isaiah's and our “Song of Salvation”.  Maybe something we will sing at the Savior’s Second Coming or the Millennium? It isn’t very specific  on where we would sing it.  I would like to think maybe at the temple, general conference, or another important meeting. I was drawn to verse 3: "Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation."   A familiar parallel we often see in the scriptures.  (I love the repetition in the scriptures!)  The “wells of salvation” are referring to the living water or Christ because Christ is the waters of our salvation.

The second "song" starts similar to the first by starting in verse 4 "...and in that day ye shall say". Again using repetition, Isaiah reminds us that in the Latter Days these songs shall be sung.  And notice the list of action verbs that follow:

Praise, call upon, declare, make mention, sing, cry out and shout

We will and should praise, call upon, make mention, sing, cry out and shout when it comes to the Lord and his doings.  In case you feel this is an overwhelming task, we already do this in our daily lives.  We praise, make mention, and sing in church in our weekly worship. We "call upon" when we participate in priesthood ordinances and pray.  We declare, cry out and shout when we share with others our feelings about the church and our Savior or even when we are publicly sharing our gratitude for our lives and the blessing we have.

2 Nephi 23 is a bit descriptive and gory for my taste.  All I can say is that I do not want to be on the wrong side when the world is destroyed just like Babylon. It does not sound pretty. Verse 14 compares the wicked "as the hunted deer."  I am married to a hunter so this grabbed my attention.  A deer is not safe when a hunter is present and in a lot of cases the deer senses the danger at times. I believe this means that the wicked will not only no longer be protected by Christ but will sense the danger they are in.  That is a scary thing to think about for me.

2 Nephi 24
I have a book on Isaiah from my college days and in this chapter I had one thing highlighted and it still gets to me.  Verses 13 and 14 refer to a fivefold plan that Lucifer had in place.  To me this demonstrates his selfishness to exalt himself above everyone else, which we already knew.  It also shows me that Lucifer knew what he was doing and is prepared.

I am an organized person and I believe that being organized helps me be successful in life and helps me meet my goals.  Why wouldn't Satan do the same thing to get the same results?  Just something to think about.


Sarah Crosby is a primary teacher in the Silverlake Ward.  In a former life, she was a member of the internationally-renowned BYU Ballroom Dance Company.  In her current life, she plays mother to 3 boys - Bryan (29), Hunter (3) and Jackson (1).