Blessed Are All They Who Are Persecuted for My Name’s Sake

Jesus Christ taught the descendants of Lehi in the Americas (who were of the house of Israel) many of the same gospel principles He taught to His Jewish disciples in the Old World. The teachings as recorded in the book of Matthew, found in the New Testament, known as the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) were again taught by the Savior when he visited Lehi’s descendants.

Below is the final portion of the Beatitudes, as recorded in the King James version of Matthew, and the comparable teaching as found in 3 Nephi of the Book of Mormon.


And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name’s sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake; for ye shall have great joy and be exceedingly glad, for great shall be your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.” (3 Nephi 12:10-12)


-Is a true and faithful follower of Jesus Christ prone to suffer persecution, regardless of the country or culture he or she lives in?

-Is Christ preparing His most faithful followers for the inevitable in these verses?

The Words of Christ Carry Us Beyond This Vale of Sorrow into a Far Better Land of Promise

Alma teaches his son about the power of scripture and prophetic teaching.

“…The words of Christ, if we follow their course, [will] carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.” (Alma 37:45)


-Is it possible to understand the culture of Heaven before entering into the eternities?

-Can the words of Christ (as found in the scriptures) prepare one to participate in the culture of Heaven?

-Will anyone who doesn’t understand the culture of Heaven be comfortable staying there?

-Have you ever thought of your promised land as becoming Christ-like so you are prepared to cross through the veil and meet Him?

If Our First Parents Could Have Partaken of the Tree of Life (After Partaking of the Forbidden Fruit) They Would Have Been Forever Miserable

The Book of Mormon prophets affirm that Adam and Eve were real people. Their fall brought death (physical and spiritual) into the world, but God knew this would happen. His plan utilized the mortal life that occurred because of the Fall to give His spiritual children (all of us on Earth) experience we could have gained no other way. He then provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, to overcome physical death for all and provide an escape from spiritual death for those who choose to follow Christ.

The verses below teach that immortality is a curse without the healing power of Christ’s Atonement.

Adam did fall by the partaking of the forbidden fruit, according to the word of God; and thus we see, that by his fall, all mankind became a lost and fallen people. And now behold, I say unto you that if it had been possible for Adam to have partaken of the fruit of the tree of life at that time, there would have been no death, and the word of God would have been void…” (Alma 12:22-23)

“And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of salvation would have been frustrated…but behold it was not so; but it was appointed unto men that they must die; and after death, they must come to judgment…” (Alma 12:26-27)


-Are some still seeking the “tree of life” in our time?

-How likely is it that God would allow His children to obtain immortality if it would be a curse to them?

-Are cherubim with a flaming sword, figuratively speaking, still guarding the tree of life (if the tree of life represents immortality separate from that provided through Christ’s Atonement)? (see Genesis 3:24)








The Spirit Speaketh of Things as They Really Are, and of Things as They Really Will Be

The Spirit has always testified of Jesus Christ. Before His birth, the Spirit testified of Him as Jehovah and as the coming Messiah and Savior. After His birth the Spirit now testifies of Him as the Savior who has worked out the Atonement in all of mankind’s behalf. Those who earnestly sought and obtained God’s Spirit before Christ’s coming—including the Nephite prophet Jacob—received a clear witness and understanding of who He would be and what He would do.

Writing about Christ sometime around 500 B.C., Jacob recorded the following about the power of the Spirit:

“…Beloved, marvel not that I tell you these things; for why not speak of the atonement of Christ, and attain to a perfect knowledge of him…He that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old.” (Jacob 4:12-13)


-Do you believe that true prophets (and their followers) who lived centuries before Christ had a clear understanding of who He would be and what He would do?

-Do you believe that you can have a clear understanding of who Christ is and what He has done through the Spirit?

All the Holy Prophets Had a Hope of Christ’s Glory Before His Coming

The Nephite prophets, including Jacob, had a clear understanding of Christ’s central role in the Father’s plan hundreds of years before Christ came to earth. Jacob explains that this was true of all true prophets who lived before Christ.

“…We knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundred years before his coming; and not only we ourselves had a hope of his glory, but also all the holy prophets which were before us. Behold they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name and also we worship the Father in his name.” (Jacob 4:4-5)


-If all of mankind’s hopes rest on Christ’s redemptive power, how likely would it be that the Holy Spirit testified of Christ to all the true prophets who came before Christ?

Whoredoms Are an Abomination Before Me

Jacob is given revelation from the Lord that the Nephites are beginning to rationalize sexual misconduct based on the actions of David and Solomon.




-Is a society always cursed when the lure of unbounded sexuality is succumbed to and leads to a multiplicity of crass encounters that harm the souls of the participants?

-Were the men who are being called to repentance in the above verses letting their sexual desires overcome their basic decency toward many of the women around them? And, were they using the practice of plural marriage in their culture’s past as a cover for doing so?

-Are there others in the past, besides David and Solomon, who have practiced plural marriage without God’s sanction?

-When has God sanctioned plural marriage? What does the passage above suggest about why He would do so?

-Do you believe God sanctioned plural marriage as practiced by modern-day prophets such as Joseph Smith and Brigham Young? Or, do you believe they were acting on their own motivations against God’s will? What do you have for reference in judging their motivations?

Feast upon the Words of Christ

Nephi teaches that angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost and mortals who receive the Holy Ghost can speak by the same power.



-Who is speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost today?

-Where can one go to feast upon the words of Christ?

Has the Lord called prophets in our time to teach us and guide us?

-If you had the opportunity to hear someone speak with the tongue of an angel, to what lengths would you go to take advantage of that opportunity?

-Can only a prophet speak by the power of the Holy Ghost? What qualifies one to speak by the power of the Holy Ghost?

Teachings of Latter-day Prophets, Seers, and Revelators:

“To feast means more than to taste. To feast means to savor. We savor the scriptures by studying them in a spirit of delightful discovery and faithful obedience. When we feast upon the words of Christ, they are embedded ‘in fleshy tables of the heart’ [2 Corinthians 3:3]. They become an integral part of our nature” (Russell M. Nelson, “Living by Scriptural Guidance,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 17).

“If you and I are to feast upon the words of Christ, we must study the scriptures and absorb His words through pondering them and making them a part of every thought and action” (Robert D. Hales, “Healing Soul and Body,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 15).

They Have Closed Their Eyes and They Have Rejected the Prophets

The Book of Mormon testifies that the Lord is actively overseeing His creation and always reaching out to His children on earth to encourage good choices (righteous living in obedience to His commandments). God perceives all that is real and true and guides His children on earth accordingly through His Spirit, his prophets, the scriptures, and other means. In the verses below, the prophet Nephi sees the state of those who reject the Lord’s prophets and His Spirit in the last days.

“…All ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea ye shall be drunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink. For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, you have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity.” (2 Nephi 27:4-5)


-How is the impaired state that comes with being drunk, similar to the spiritual state of those who have cut themselves off from the ultimate light and truth only God can offer?

-How many throughout the world are staggering under the influence of belief systems that are not based on the deepest realities?

-Are some of the most common belief systems (that are not based on God’s revelations to mankind) actually a deep spiritual sleep?

-Are there prophets and seers on the earth today? If so, what are their claims to having authority from God to share His word?

-Are we in as much need of a prophet today as in the times of the Bible? Are our issues and problems more complex or less complex than in past ages?

Thy Ways Are Just

Nephi saw in a prophetic vision that, that after falling into deep wickedness, many of his people in the Americas would be destroyed at the time of Christ’s death and resurrection (around A.D. 33-34). Though it is a great burden on his soul to have this knowledge, Nephi resolutely testifies that God is just in all that He does.



“O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto God: Thy ways are just.” (2 Nephi 26:7)


-Do you believe, as Nephi, that God’s ways are just?

-When God allows the physical destruction of those of his children who have fallen into wickedness as described in the verses above, is He still acting out of concern for their eternal welfare?

-Can only God feel righteous anger and still be justified? Or, is righteous anger possible for mortals as well?