When Jesus commands Nephi to come forth

At Christ’s appearance to the Nephites, after the multitude has all touched and seen the wounds in the risen Christ’s hands and feet, there is this incident that happens:

And it came to pass that he [Christ] spake unto Nephi (for Nephi was among the multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth. (3 Nephi 11:18)

This caught my eye recently and my imagination started working on it, visualizing it. Nephi was not up at the front of the crowd; he’s out in the middle, and Jesus spotted him and told him to come forth.

Now, imagine you were Nephi. This is sort of like being pointed out in the crowd at stake conference when you’re sitting in the back. What do you suppose is going through Nephi’s head as he comes up to meet the Savior? He’s already personally seen the wounds in His hands and feet as part of the great witness experience. And now he’s been singled out. What for?

I wonder if he was searching his memory frantically, wondering if there was anything he’d done wrong in his ministry. If he had, and the Savior decided to comment on it, Nephi had to be spiritually ready to take it and learn from it.

I love what Nephi does when he finally reaches Jesus.

And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet. (3 Nephi 11:19)

That gesture was Nephi’s way of demonstrating that he was ready for whatever Christ chose to say to him, ready for instruction, for reproof, for assignment, for anything. It showed his humility and submission as a servant of God. He’d followed spiritual promptings so often before that he was ready.

Another thing I love about this incident is that even though Nephi was mixed among the crowd of believers, the Lord was able to pick him out. He knew him. And as we can see from what happens next, he knew Nephi’s faithfulness because he gave him power to baptize.

That bestowal of power to baptize must have been a reaffirmation because Nephi had been baptizing people to repentance before, so he wasn’t without authority. There may have been disputations about the way to baptize and so this stuff had to be laid out plainly for everyone. If Nephi had had to work among people who questioned his authority and methods, Jesus’s singling him out and giving him power would be reassuring.

I hope that if I or any of us were ever singled out by Christ or our leaders, that we could be as humble and ready for whatever is asked of us.

Convinced of their Errors

In 3 Nephi 1 after the great sign was given of Christ’s birth, there is told of some who started to preach that they didn’t have to keep the Law of Moses anymore, and they tried to prove this with the scriptures.

24 And there were no contentions, save it were a few that began to preach, endeavoring to prove by the scriptures that it was no more expedient to observe the law of Moses. Now in this thing they did err, having not understood the scriptures.

25 But it came to pass that they soon became converted, and were convinced of the error which they were in, for it was made known unto them that the law was not yet fulfilled, and that it must be fulfilled in every whit; yea, the word came unto them that it must be fulfilled; yea, that one jot or tittle should not pass away till it should all be fulfilled; therefore in this same year were they brought to a knowledge of their error and did confess their faults. (3 Nephi 1:24-25)

I think it is very interesting how they are reclaimed from this error. It struck me recently that it isn’t very specific about who convinced them of their error and showed them the Law had to be completely fulfilled. Before, I just assumed one of the prophets told them. There’s place in Helaman 11:23 where there is much strife, but Nephi and Lehi laid down the true points of doctrine because of their many daily revelations and were able to end it. But here it doesn’t say who convinced the people who were in error.

So, it hit me that it must have been Heavenly Father who revealed to these people that the Law still needed to be fulfilled. And that’s pretty extraordinary because usually when there are dissenters, they go off on their own and nothing but a difficult preaching mission can reclaim the most humble and open of them.

What is different about these people that they could realize their error through revelation?

I don’t’ know; maybe it was that they were still receptive and humble enough that revelation would reach them.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could always be so humble that all our errors could be corrected solely through revelation? Let’s make it a goal to strive for that humility.

Big problems among the Scribes, as Jesus points out

After Jesus answers some questions meant to entrap him, we get this bit:

45 ¶ Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,

46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;

47 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation. (Luke 20:45-47)

What exactly is Jesus saying here?

He’s warning the disciples to beware of the scribes who do certain things. It seems to me He’s not telling the disciples to shun them necessarily, but to beware of becoming like them.

So what exactly is wrong with this behavior, and are there modern equivalents that must be avoided?

They desire to walk in long robes – Long robes are not easy to move in, and they get dirty easy. I get the impression that long robes were a sign of status, and hard work was not done in them. People in long robes don’t gird up their loins to serve others; they are usually the ones being served. The modern equivalent might be people who desire to wear suits all day.

They love greetings in the markets – This seems pretty benign at first. Who doesn’t love to run into friends at the market? The problem, I think, is when it becomes a point of pride, when one preens over one’s connectedness and how all those greetings by all one’s acquaintances lead one to say, “Look how important I am! Everyone knows me and loves me! Even people who don’t know me can see I must be special because of all the people who greet me!” It is hard to focus on others, when others are so focused on you.

They love the highest seats in the synagogues and the chief rooms at feasts – High seats in the synagogue are probably leadership seats. They love the best places and aspire to importance and status. They love the visibility more than the opportunity to serve.

They devour widows’ houses – Here’s a sad thing. These scribes will visit widows (thinking they are charitably bestowing their attention and encouraging presence) and then the widows are obligated by the rules of hospitality to feed them a big fancy dinner, so the widows have to spend beyond their means to do it, and of course, those scribes have to do justice to the spread, so they eat it all, and thus the widow is far worse off financially after the scribe’s visit than she was before. The scribe is devouring her house. And she lives at poverty level, anyway, so it is all very bad for her finances. At bottom, this is a lack of awareness of how hospitality is going to affect one’s host. It is inconsiderate, and a lack of charity. If these scribes had any real charity, they would host the widow and not obligate the widow to host them. Or they’d bring a nice big present of grain or something to make up for the burden of their visit.

For a show, they make long prayers – Their prayers aren’t doing them any good if it just a show to impress other people. If there is no real desire or repentance or gratitude behind the words, the prayers mean nothing.

The thing that is the greatest warning is that Jesus says, “the same shall receive the greater damnation.” To me, this is saying these characteristics get disciples more spiritually stuck and stop progression more than some others.

To summarize:

Long robes >> status clothing that precludes service and work

Loving greetings >> status and such connectedness that prevents one from forgetting oneself and focusing on others

Loving high seats and the best rooms at feasts >> obsessed with public shows of status at religious events and gatherings. Preoccupation with position and visibility more than opportunities for service and ministering.

Devouring widow’s houses >> Lack of consideration and charity for those who really need it. Making a show of attention that doesn’t really help and leaves the widow worse off afterward.

Making long prayers for show >> Desire to look holy has overcome any desire to actually be holy.

So, the pattern I see here is that status and show for these scribes has become the most important thing, such that they completely miss the increased opportunities for service and charity and ministering that come with a leadership position. They are stopped in their spiritual progress from becoming more like Christ.

Can we draw any conclusions from what one should do instead?

1)    Wear clothes you can help people in

2)    Focus on others and appreciate the humility of anonymity

3)    Care more for the opportunities to serve than position, status, or visibility

4)    Find ways to give notice and charity without taxing others’ resources to give hospitality

5)    Pray with sincerity

These things tell us that Jesus was strongly aware that if leaders weren’t careful, some of the earthly advantages of status created awful spiritual disadvantages with eternal negative consequences. He wanted His disciples to be aware of those problems and do all they could to avoid those behaviors and attitudes so that their position could be a real blessing to them and to all those around them.

Assembling the halt, the outcast, the afflicted

6 In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;

7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. (Micah 4:6-7)

When I read this, it seems to me it is talking about the gathering of Israel, but in curious terms. The halt are the lame, the “driven out” are those who were marginalized or rejected, and the afflicted are those who had some sort of physical or mental problem that was unexplainable or seemingly incurable.  Why speak of these as part of the gathering of Israel in the last days?  

Also, the blessings given to them are interesting and even a little counterintuitive.

As a first instance, the Lord promises that those who were halt will be made a remnant.  The “remnant” in battle terms would be those who make it through war and destruction that killed or scattered everyone else. You’d think that only the fit would survive, but no, the halt do--the ones too lame to run, those who aren’t seen as a threat.

As another instance, the Lord promises to gather those who were driven out and make them a strong nation.  These are the outcasts, the marginalized, maybe even the people who had to leave because they couldn’t accept what was going on.  Or they might have been driven out because they were criminals.  They are so few, so alone…  And the Lord says He will make them a strong nation?  That’s a major miracle for the marginalized to become such a strong institution that it might be called a nation.  It would have to have a justice system, so any criminals would have reformed.

And the afflicted. This could be those with physical handicaps and/or mental illnesses. They are the people who probably had heads shaken over them and hands thrown in the air, saying, “I just don’t know what to do about them! What can I do for them?”   These were often seen as people God was punishing.     But if they are gathered to Mount Zion, then they are obviously being blessed instead of cursed!

All these the Lord says He will reign over in Mount Zion forever. These are people who accept His guidance and commandments. They believe in Him.  Could it be that their handicaps and marginalization and rejections and trials have humbled them enough to listen?

I get some great principles from these verses.

1)   Handicaps, marginalization, and afflictions can prepare us to follow the Lord if they humble us.

2)   The Lord reaches out to all types of people with all kinds of challenges and has the power to make weaknesses into strength.  Once again, the halt (lame)  become the remnant (the ones who survive). The outcast (rejected) becomes the strong nation, able to create unity and social cohesion so that others won’t suffer similarly. The affliected one who previously seemed punished by God becomes the faithful adherent in Zion.

3)   Behind the Sunday smiles, all of us have some problem we need help with. Even those who look like they have perfect lives have hidden challenges. (“In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can’t see.”) We are all broken somehow, all in need of healing, in need of Christ.

In a way, it also prophesies of days when handicaps and affliction would become better understood so that tools and means to cope with them would be created, and people who had these problems would be given the resources to transcend their difficulties and progress further.  Again, all of that shows the Lord doesn’t want to leave any of His children behind, and He reaches out to all.

Nephi’s different revelations

1 And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.

2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.

3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.

4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord. (1 Nephi 18:1-4)

I’m impressed about what these verses say about the revelations Nephi received.

Verse 1 says the Lord showed Nephi from time to time how he should work the timbers of the ship. I think this is cool because it describes a process of continual, specific revelation to solve mechanical problems. How did the Lord show Nephi? It could have been in open daylight vision. It could have been in dreams. It could have been a combination of the two. But however the Lord showed, it got the job done.

I wondered why Nephi didn’t describe in more detail what the Lord showed him when other spiritual experiences he had he gets pretty specific about. Eventually I realized that while it would expand on that pattern of revelation, all it would teach us beyond that was how Nephi built his ship. That might interest archeologists, but its value for salvation is very low. We don’t have to build ships to be saved in the kingdom of God.

Even if we know next to nothing about the ship Nephi built, we can extrapolate a few of the constraints on the design. 1) It had to be a ship for a non-seagoing people, so it had to be easy to learn and easy to use. 2) It had to be something that could be built with the materials available at that location.

Verse 2 says Nephi didn’t work the timbers like how men had learned, nor did he build the ship like men built, but he did it the way the Lord showed him. It implies Nephi had some idea of what ships should look like and what he was doing looked different. It seems he also had a little bit of knowledge (but perhaps not all) about how ships were made, and the Lord’s directions were different there too. It takes faith to follow the Lord’s directions when they are different from our own previous notions, so Nephi’s observation and obedience says a lot about his faith.

That phrase “not after the manner of men” and “after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me” seems to hold a more generally applicable lesson. Man has a small amount of wisdom gained over time, but aren’t there things we’ve learned to do after the manner the Lord has shown us, which is different from the manner of men?  Some examples I think of immediately are, “no power or influence ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood” or “he who is greatest among you shall be your servant” or “love your enemies and pray for them.”  There’s a bit of a risk when you go differently, following the Lord’s way for the first time; you wonder if it will work better or not. It takes faith.  (What other things can you think of that we know to do which are not after the manner of men?)

Verse 3 tells of Nephi going to the mount oft and praying oft and the Lord showed him great things. It seems Nephi wasn’t just receiving revelation about how to build the ship, but was getting other revelations as well—things he called “great.” He doesn’t tell us what they are, but we at least know he valued them. To me this teaches the blessings that can be ours if we will pray “oft” instead of just at the obligatory times of meals, church meetings, and morning and evening.

Verse 4 tells of how once the ship was finished, Nephi’s brothers saw it was good and they humbled themselves. If the boat building had been up to them, they would never have started since even if they got past murmuring, they would have had a hard time catching the vision of what to do. If you can’t start a project until you can tell it is good, and it doesn’t look good until the end, you will never start. Humbling oneself at the end instead of the beginning is too late.

I get down on Laman and Lemuel here, but I think far too often I have some of the same problems. I’m thankful for Nephi’s great example to show what I should do instead.

Nephi gets Laman and Lemuel’s blessings

When Lehi and his family leave Jerusalem, they camp near a river’s outlet to the Red Sea, and Lehi tries to use the geographical features around them to teach his sons how they need to be.

9 And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying: O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!

10 And he also spake unto Lemuel: O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!

11 Now this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against their father, because he was a visionary man, and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things, to perish in the wilderness. And this they said he had done because of the foolish imaginations of his heart. (1 Nephi 2:9-11)

To me it is obvious that Lehi hoped the way rivers continually run to the ocean would be a good illustration to Laman of how he should continually run toward the Lord.

But I have often been puzzled that Lehi pointed out the desirable qualities of the valley to Lemuel as being firm, steadfast, and immoveable, especially when it would be much more obvious to say the most desirable quality that Lemuel needed most was humility, which perfectly matched the obvious lowness of valleys.

But maybe Lehi hoped that message would go without saying and called attention to other desirable qualities of valleys that he hoped Lemuel would decide to cultivate.

Overall, the characteristics of continually running into the fountain of all righteousness and steadfastness (and humility) are great ones for anyone to acquire.

In that same chapter, Nephi tells of how he cried to the Lord because he wanted to know the mysteries of God and the Lord softened his heart so he believed and didn’t rebel. When he prays for Laman and Lemuel, the Lord commends him with these words:

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 Nephi 2:19)

The very qualities Lehi wanted for Laman and Lemuel, Nephi was acquiring, so Nephi was gaining blessings that his brothers could have had if they had only listened.

Starting today, let’s seek the Lord diligently, with a humble heart.

Why did the Nephites have confidence in Mormon as a commander?

And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, and did repent of the oath which I had made that I would no more assist them; and they gave me command again of their armies, for they looked upon me as though I could deliver them from their afflictions. (Mormon 5:1)

It is interesting that the Nephites thought Mormon could deliver them from their afflictions. It is hard to know whether they thought he could make everything better, or whether they thought military victory was the be-all-end-all of success, or whether they hoped victory could give them breathing room they needed to fix other things.

Another question came to me too here: What evidence is there that the Nephites’ confidence in Mormon’s military leadership was well-placed? There is so much written about Captain Moroni in the Book of Alma, so what record is there of Mormon’s skill as a commander? The Nephites would not have resorted to him if he didn’t have some skills.

As I looked for the answer to this question, I realized that Mormon really downplays his own role as a military leader and any credit in Nephite victories. While he went into great detail as a historian on the clever tactics and practical hows of Captain Moroni and Helaman and Teancum in the past, he is very self-effacing about his own victories. Here and there he might drop a few words about fortifying or gathering or protecting key points or hint at a motivating speech, but otherwise he’s very brief, saying simply, “we beat them” or “we withstood them” or something of that sort, preferring to wrap his efforts in with the army at large.  And usually at the same time that he notes a victory, he also makes mournful spiritual observations about the wickedness of the people.

Considering the pride of the Nephites, Mormon’s style of leadership would have been hard to take. They probably felt he was a bit of a downer. It is extraordinary he was given command by these people in the first place; he wasn’t the type to draw attention by tooting his own horn.

Now here’s an odd thought: Mormon observed the Nephites put him in charge of the armies at the beginning because he was “large in stature” (Mormon 2:1) in his sixteenth year. The way he puts it, we get the sense that the Nephites were incredibly shallow to put that much trust in Mormon’s callow youth just because he was a big guy.  You also get the idea that Mormon wasn’t qualified for the position, but did his best anyway. This angle takes a dim view of both Mormon and the Nephites.

But if we take into account Mormon’s humility, it might be he was downplaying it. Turn it around and we could easily imagine a proud Mormon saying, “The Nephites cleverly chose me to lead their armies when I was only 16 years old—younger than Captain Moroni—because my observations suggested I would be excellent at military strategy and my large stature made me a poster child for men of war.”

It is probable that Mormon downplayed himself deliberately to keep himself humble when he could have let his position go to his head.  In the end, his humility allowed him to see the impending doom of the Nephites coming closer, even while that doom may have seemed sometimes on occasion to be masquerading as triumphant victory.

This suggested me that humility is a skill to practice even in victory or opportunity. Mormon’s life essentially proves to me it is necessary to spiritual survival. It will enable us to see the truth, piercing the comfortable illusions of society. It will also put us out-of-step with those around us, and we have to accept that.

A Police Officer's Experience of Spiritual Guidance

Every once in a while I run across an extraordinary story of how the Holy Ghost can guide and protect.  Stan Cronin’s story is one of these.  It’s a story of how he was guided by the Holy Ghost to where he could do some good as a Phoenix police officer and protected with specific instructions in such a way that he came through a very tricky situation, while if he had gone strictly according to his training he would most certainly have been killed.

Several features stick out to me about his story.

--He was in a habit of consistently praying for guidance as to where to go to do good.

--He was not afraid to look silly.

--He received specific promptings to do things contrary to his training, things that seemed risky and weird to him.  He anticipated becoming a statistic and a training case study of what not to do.  But he had the humility to follow these impressions, and he trusted the Lord had a good reason. 

--He had to deal not only with a potentially dangerous situation, but also with the tension of knowing he was going “off script” from standard operating procedures, yet he didn’t give up and dismiss additional impressions as they came.  He saw things through to the end, continuing to follow guidance from the Holy Ghost. 

We believe keeping the commandments will bring us safety and peace.  We know rules and standard operating procedures are very helpful for bringing order and much safety to our lives. A well-trained police officer with integrity would expected to hold to that line.  And yet, we see in the particular situation of this story, that would have gotten him killed. The only way he escaped was by following the Holy Ghost.

It strikes me that the above features can be applied in each of our lives too, no matter our field of labor.  We can cultivate a habit of praying for guidance to do good. We can practice humility and learn to trust promptings.  We can recognize the tension we might feel if we’re off-script when following the Spirit and choose to continue to trust to the end.

Does more sin make grace abound?

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (Romans 6:1-2)

Here Paul addresses a mistaken notion people seem to have fallen into in his day. The notion seems to have been that if grace was a good thing to have, then sinning more would allow them to experience more of God’s saving grace.

Paul explains that if we die to sin—and it requires grace of God to do that—then more sinning is repugnant to that condition and inconsistent with a grace-changed life.

The assumption behind the error is that grace is only accessed to be saved from sin and that grace goes away after changing a person from a life of sin. 

Instead, God’s grace continues to abound in the changed life. And it must, otherwise there will be a fall right back into sin. The flesh continues to rebel against the spirit, and grace is needed for the spirit to win that battle every day.  Grace abounds when we humble ourselves and seek God’s help with our failings and weaknesses, when we pray to resist temptation, when we ask for strength in our fatigue, when we need and pray for more spiritual gifts to deal with new challenges and so on.

Isaiah 23 and the prophecy against Tyre

Isaiah 23 is a prophecy against the city of Tyre, which was a rich commercial port.  I’m going to point out a few interesting things and puzzling things about this chapter.

1 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

2 Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.

3 And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

4 Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.

5 As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.

6 Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.

7 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.  (Isaiah 23:1-7)

If the prophecy is about Tyre, why are all these other places mentioned—Tarshish, Chittim, Zidon, and Sihor?  I suppose those other places had ports that depended upon Tyre to buy their goods, or received the goods they needed from Tyre. You can imagine that if your market for your goods disappeared, you’d be distressed. Likewise, if your main supplier disappeared, you would be very worried.

“she is a mart of nations” – Tyre was like a Wal-mart for countries. 

Verse 4 is very interesting to me. It implies that some of these people needed a reminder that the sea—the way they transported or received their goods—was not as important as their families.  The sea might provide a living, but wasn’t the entity that birthed their children, or taught them, or nurtured them. They might have been so focused on making money, that they forgot their families were the important thing.  This is like an ancient wake-up call for workaholics, isn’t it?

The next section tells us who decided this destruction should happen and why.

8 Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?

9 The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.

10 Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.

11 He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the Lord hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.

12 And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.

14 Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste. (Isaiah 23:8-14)

The Lord decided to bring that destruction in order to humble the proud and the rich. Humbled people are more likely to repent, and the Lord wanted to save them, but their riches had created a feeling of self-sufficiency that precluded that kind of humility.  Sudden destruction and financial set-backs would humble them.

The principles still apply today. Too comfortable circumstances tend to make us more hard-hearted and deaf to the Lord’s appeals.  Financial set-backs tend to humble us.  How much better is it to humble ourselves regardless of our circumstances!

The next part has some puzzling elements:

15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.

16 Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.

17 ¶And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

18 And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing. (Isaiah 23:15-18)

The puzzling thing here is the idea that Tyre would sing as a harlot, turn to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world—all of which has a very negative connotation—but at the same time the Lord would visit Tyre and her merchandise would be holiness to the Lord (consecrated), and her merchandise would be for them that dwell before the Lord—all of which as a very positive connotation and implies following the law of consecration.

What are we to make of this?  The question we might ask ourselves is, is it possible for people committing fornication to follow the law of consecration?  Probably not.  Even the early Saints of this dispensation had a hard time with consecration, so it doesn’t make sense for people committing sins of immorality to succeed at it.

This means there is an alternate meaning for fornication in this instance.  I suspect Isaiah uses it as a particularly crude way of referring to “doing business” because of the way business contracts and agreements tend to be temporary and continue only so long as both parties want them to.  Kind of a gross comparison, but that makes it a little easier to see what Isaiah is trying to say here.  

So, I think Isaiah’s message is that though Tyre would be forgotten for a generation or two after destruction, eventually Tyre would rebuild itself and regain its commercial status.  It would sing as an harlot (advertise enticingly to get business) and regain status as a center of commerce.  And the Lord would visit it.  This might mean the Lord would favor the city, or it might mean that the Lord would have many believers there.  At any rate, the people of Tyre would have learned an important lesson, and instead of hoarding their wealth, they would consecrate it to the Lord, and that wealth would be used to help the poor.

The overall lesson from this chapter for us today is that financial crashes and destruction are a wake-up call, an opportunity to humble ourselves, reexamine our priorities, and repent.  Then, in the rebuild, if we can keep from setting our hearts on riches and instead consecrate, we will be part of bringing Zion again.

How Ether 12:27 Blesses Us

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. (Ether 12:27)

As I ran across this scripture recently and how it invites us to come to Christ in humility about our weaknesses to be made strong , it occurred to me that this may be a doctrine and invitation given nowhere else.  I thought it might be interesting to do a survey of the scriptures to see what we are told elsewhere about weakness and being made strong.

Here’s what I found.

Ether 12:28 -- God will show the Gentiles their weakness and that faith, hope, and charity will bring them to God.

Ether 12:37 -- God tells Moroni he will be made strong because he has seen his weakness. (This tells us noticing our weakness is the first step toward being made strong, but the next steps are not there because they were given in Ether 12:27.)

Alma 58:37 -- Helaman trusts the Lord will deliver his people notwithstanding the weakness of their armies.  (We can see Helaman is applying the principles of faith in Christ and humility in a military context, but we need to know it works in other contexts too.)

D&C 1:24 -- Commandments are given to God’s servants in their weakness so they can come to understanding. (And probably trying to follow commandments shows us our weakness pretty quick..)

Jacob 4:7 – God shows men their weaknesses so they know only by His power and condescension can they do miracles.

D&C 62:1  -- Christ knows the weaknesses of men and how to succor those who are tempted.

Hebrews 4:15-16 -- Christ can be touched with our infirmities, so we can boldly come to Him and obtain grace to help at time of need.  (This gets pretty close to Ether 12:27, but the humility and faith in Christ are implied rather than explicitly stated.)

Hebrews 3:21-- Prophets and great men were made strong out of their weakness.  (This tells us others enjoyed the blessing of being made strong in their weakness, but it doesn’t tell us about how.)

2 Nephi 3:21 -- God will make the weakness of the Nephites’ words to their brethren strong in their faith. (This shows us the principles of faith in Christ and humility can be applied in the context of writing about the gospel for others.  But it isn’t explicit about the humility needed.)

2 Nephi 33:44 -- Nephi has faith that the words he has written in weakness will be made strong to his people.

D&C 38:14 -- The Lord will be merciful to our weakness. 

So it seems that other scriptures have pieces of this doctrine and invitation, Ether 12:27 shares it most clearly.  It gives us confidence that humility in our weaknesses and taking them to the Lord in faith will allow the Lord to strengthen us. 

I also notice, that the other scriptures expand on the doctrine and give examples of different ways prophets have been made strong.  Nephi and Moroni both had their words made strong. Helaman had his armies made strong.  Jacob was able to do miracles.

Today when we notice our weaknesses, let’s take them straight to the Lord for His help. Let’s find out how the Lord can strengthen us.