CHAPTER 8 The Tree of Life

I wanted to separate the chapters because Chapter 8 is a larger chapter. I copied from my blog to word what I wrote, and now it won't let me copy it back. I have to retype the whole chapter that I was writing. Here goes.

In our Hymn book we have a song about The Iron Rod . The words go like this

1. To Nephi, seer of olden time, A vision came from God, Where-in the holy word sublime Was shown an iron rod.

2. While on our journey here below, Beneath temptation's power, Through mists of darkness we must go, In peril every hour.

3. And when temptation's power is nigh, Our pathway clouded over Upon the rod we can rely, And heaven's aid implore.

4. And, hand over hand the rod along, Through each succeeding day, With earnest prayer and hopeful song, We'll still pursue our way.

5. Afar we see the golden rest To which the rod will guide, Where, with the angels bright and blest, Forever we'll abide.

Chorus Hold to the rod, the iron rod;' Tis strong, and bright , and true. The iron rod is the word of God; 'Twill safe-ly guide us through.

Text Joseph L. Townsend, 1849-1942

Music William Clayson, 1840-1887

Lehi's vision of the tree of life-He partakes of its fruit and desires his family to do likewise-- He sees a Rod of Iron, a strait and narrow path, and the mists of darkness that enshroud men--Sariah, Nephi, and Sam partake of the fruit, but Laman and Lemuel refuse. Between 600 and 592 B.C.

Chapter 8

65. In Lehi's dream or vision he first of all found himself following a mysterious visitor through a ''dark and dreary waste'' for many hours in darkness'' 1 Nephi 8:4-8

4. But behold, Laman and Lemuel, I fear exceedingly because of you; for behold, methought I saw in my dream, a dark and dreary wilderness.

5. And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me.

6. And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him.

7. And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I was in a dark and dreary waste.

8. And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies.

In my opinion, what was the Lord probably waiting for Lehi to do before unfolding to his view the vision that was to follow? (verse 8)

He traveled in darkness and he began to pray to the Lord that the Lord would have mercy on him. My opinion, the Lord probably wanted Lehi to recognize the difference between darkness and the light. He was waiting for Lehi to pray to him.

66. In addition to Lehi, a later Book of Mormon prophet, Alma, said of the fruit of the precious tree.'' Those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life.''

(Alma 5: 62)

In the church today what is the word(beginning with the letter t) that we are accustomed to using to designate this fore taste of divine life and love that brings men hope and enthusiastic conviction in the Lord's work? It is a Testimony.

67. Judging by your own experience, or the experience of others who have partaken of the joyous testimony that the gospel brings, would you say that Lehi's desire to share the fruit with others was typical(verse 12) Explain, Yes, once you know the truth you want to share it with your family and friends. He wanted his family to feel the joy.

68. What did the river of water represent? verse 13

1 Nephi 8:13

13. And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also, I beheld a river of water; and it ran along, and it was near the tree of which I was partaking the fruit.

1 Nephi 15:26-29 for the answer.

26. And they said unto me: What meaneth the river of water which our father saw?

27. And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.

28. And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.

29. And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.

The river represented a gulf that separated the wicked from the tree of life.

69. What did the ''Rod of Iron'' represent? (verse 19)

1 Nephi 8:19

19. And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood.

1 Nephi 15:23-24

23. And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?

24. And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

Nephi said the iron rod was the word of God. If we would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, we would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

7. At what point does the vision extend beyond Lehi's family and become the story of four representative segments of the human family?

1 Nephi Chapter 8 verse 21

21. And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood.

Lehi saw numberless concourses of people pressing forward. I looked up the word pressing and it said this.

D&C 123:12

For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it--

Col. 2:8

8. Beware lest any man spoil, you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

I just learned so much in these passages.

71. What did the ''mist of darkness'' of 1 Nephi 8:23 represent? Look up this scripture to find the answer 1 Nephi 12:17

17. And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.

1 Nephi 15:24

24. And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

Matt 13:19

19. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

72. What did the ''great and spacious building'' of verse 26 represent?

1 Nephi 8:26

26. And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.

Consult 1 Nephi 12:18

18. And the large and spacious building, which thy father saw, is vain imaginations and pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divideth them; yea even the word of the justice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever.

The ''spacious building'' is the vain imaginations and pride of the children of men.

73. Who were the four groups of people that Lehi saw?

1. Numberless concourses of people pressing forward that they might obtain the pathe which led unto the tree by which I stood. They did come forth, and commenced in the path which led to the tree. Mist of darkness came and they lost their way they wandered off and were lost.

2. He saw others pressing forward. They caught hold of the iron rod and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. They cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed.

3. Multitudes pressing forward they caught hold of the Iron Rod continually holding fast to the Rod of Iron they partook of the fruit of the tree.

4. Other multitudes feeling their way to the spacious building.

CHAPTER 7 Ismael's family to live in the wilderness, Lehi's sons to marry

Chapter 7

62. What is the minimum possible number of people that could have been in Lehi's Colony?

1 Nephi 7 (Verse 6) 1 Nephi 2:5 and 1 Nephi 4:35 I came up with 16+, but I could be wrong.

63. I skipped this question because it is confusing to me to answer. The question was how many unmarried daughters did Ishmael have. I believe it is 5 (verse 6)

64. Nephi discovered early in his career the singular fact about God that ''He 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 Nephi 3:7)

Explain how the Lord had prepared the way for Nephi and his brothers to convince Ishmael's family to forsake everything they had in Jerusalem for a life in the desert. Specifically(a) what remarkable event occurred earlier that seemingly by coincidence now provided Nephi and his brothers with an unanswerable argument that the Lord was behind the venture

1 Nephi 3:29

29. And it came to pass as they smote us with a rod, behold an angel of the Lord came and stood before them, and he spake unto them saying: Why do ye smite your younger brother with a rod? Know ye not that the Lord hath chosen him to be a ruler over you, and this because of your iniquities? Behold ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands.

and (b) what occurred earlier that seemingly by coincidence answered the problem of marriage for Ishmael's unmarried children

1 Nephi 4:35?

35. And it came to pass that Zoram did take courage at the words which I spake. Now Zoram was the name of the servant; and he promised that he would go down into the wilderness unto our father. Yea, and he also made an oath unto us that he would tarry with us from that time forth. I don't get this scripture in reference to Ishmael's family so I put in a search and here is the scripture I found on Ishmael's family

1Nephi 7:2

2. And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, and bring down Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.

God would deliver Laban unto them so they could get the Brass Plates. God sent an angel who spoke unto them. The Lord spake unto Lehi and told him that he needed to have his sons and daughters to marry. Nephi and his brothers were to go to Jerusalem and get Ishmael's family. Ishmael's heart was softened and his family also and they came into the wilderness.

My visit to see my Grandson Yesterday, and His Visit to See Me Today.

This is not the best picture of me, but our little grandson looks good all of the time. Wednesdays are getting to be one of my busier days. It starts out with exercise in the heated pool followed by lifting weights. When I get home, I grab a bite to eat and head over to the other Grandma's house. I get to see our little grandson. He is growing and learning to talk. He's so smart. He has a wonderful little personality blossoming. Our little granddaughter is there also. I took the pudding pops that he helped me make a while ago over to the other grandma's house. He loves pudding pops. He usually has to take his shirt off to eat them. I found out that some company makes dripless popsycle molds. I'm still looking for them. I make it out of pudding and rice milk. He was very observant when all of a sudden he has two grandma's. Grandma has a boo boo he tells me. He knows that I can not take care of him like the other grandma can, but I still love him. After my visit with him, he kissed me goodbye. It was so sweet. I have massage Therapy in the afternoons now. Then off to my scripture and writing class. I have so many things going on in my life now. I can't keep up with everything. This morning when the other grandma was walking in our neighborhood with our grandson. She called me, and I came outside to see him. He knows this is my neighborhood and states that to the other grandma when they go by. He got to water my trees and strawberries in the front. It was so fun to visit with her and with him. He is growing up so fast.

Chapter 5 & Chapter 6

Chapter 5

55. Lord Kingsbourough found that many American Indian groups were acquainted with early biblical events. What record provided their forefathers with such data(v10)? The plates of brass kept by Laban and brought to them by Nephi.

56. What did the Brass Plates of Laban contain vs(11-14)? They contained the 5 books of Moses which gave the account of the creation of the world and also of Adam and Eve who were our first parents. Record of the Jews from, the beginning even down to the commencement of the reign of Zedikiah King of Judah; Prophecies spoken of Jeremiah, genealogy of his fathers. He knew he was a descendant of Joseph the son of Jacob. Laban was also a descendant of Joseph. He and his fathers kept the records.

57. The Brass Plates of Laban- as also the records kept by Nephi and his descendants in the New World-dealt with the descendants of which of Jacobs sons(verse 14)? Joseph who had the coat of many colors.

58. What did Lehi prophesy concerning the Brass Plates of Laban vs(17-19)? He prophesied about his seed. Plates of brass should go forth unto all nations kindreds, tongues and people who were his seed. They will never perish will not be dimmed by time. They are of great worth unto them, preserve the commandments of the Lord unto our children. Wisdom in the Lord that they should carry them with them in the wilderness towards the land of promise.

Chapter 6

59. Nephi did not write the small Plates of Nephi for the purpose of offering people a textbook of history or archaeology or anthropology or geography. What did he say was the ''the fullness'' of his ''intent''; his real purpose for writing (Verse 4)? His intent is that he may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob and be saved.

60. What kind of quality of reader did Nephi know his writings would not please, and what kind did he know they would please (verse 5)? He was writing things that were pleasing unto God and people who were not of the world.

61. In my opinion(in connection with verse 5) would it be correct to say. ''The Book of Mormon is not on trial: the world is''? Compare with 2nd Nephi 25:22, 2 Nephi 33:14-15 and

3rd Nephi 26:6-11 especially verse 11. In these other scriptures it states that the world is on trial. We will be judged according to Nephi's words which are from God. It's very strong and we need to heed God's warnings.

Record Progress of My Weight Loss Journey Transformation

Sometime soon I'll be able to download some pictures of what I looked like from the beginning of my transformation. It's been a very slow process. I'm older now and most people would just give up and not try anymore, but I am determined to get the results. After my fall and my comeback, nothing will get in my way of my transformation. I have determination that will never quit until I get to my goal. It should be interesting what I will look like in a year or two because it will probably take me that long to get there. I have never been in my life what my goal is, I can't wait to see what it is going to be like. I just don't know how many 1000's of exercises that I will have to do to get there. It seems like an eternity.

In 1995 when I had my hip replaced my surgeon told my husband that I needed to lose weight. That didn't sit well with me. The doctor should have told me himself. I had some pains that I didn't know how to work through. I ended up gaining 50 more pounds because I didn't know how to lose weight then. I thought I was eating healthy, but I was not. I could not do much exercise because of certain problems with the hip replacement and my muscles.

2001 our son graduates from high school, and by the end of the year he's married. I was in not good health then. I weighed 220 pounds by then.

2004 I started working out at the gym. I found out that I was 50% fat. I never made much progress because I could never do enough exercise to burn enough calories to do any good. I may have lost a few pounds.

2006 I'm working all the time sitting 40 hours a week in a chair. A little exercise maybe. I have a terrible fall when my hip goes numb when I'm going down the steps in my garage. I fall to my left and down on the cement ground I fell. Well I'm in the hospital for a week. I'm home for a week, and then I'm back to work the next week. I continue to have excruciating pain for the remainder of 2006 and beyond. I start physical therapy. I met with my Orthopaedic Surgeon, and he says I need to lose weight to my face. I'm with a walker and I cant' walk. I told my Physical Therapist about what the doctor said, and he says he can help me lose the weight.

2007 I'm working and going to therapy.

2008 Aug. I'm ready to start some exercises. I weight 206 and I have 46% fat on me.
Here is the rest of my numbers that I want to keep.
I have lost my records for weight lost from Aug thru November's numbers. I mostly did water aeroebics in the pool during this time.

Dec. 4, 2008 Thurs. Weight 192.6, Fat% 46

Dec. 8, 2008 Mon. Weight 193, Fat 44

Dec. 11, 2008 Thur. Weight 193, Fat 42.3

Dec. 17, 2008 Wed. Weight 191.6, Fat 46

Dec. 19, 2008 Fri. Weight 193.6,

Fat 46.6, BMI 29.1

Dec. 23, 2008 Tues. Weight 191.6,

Fat 45.1, BMI 29.1

Dec. 26, 2008 Fri. Weight 190.4,

Fat 45.7, BMI 29.0

Dec. 30, 2008 Tues. Weight 191.0,

Fat 42.7, BMI 29.0

My weight is up and down and all over. My therapist gave me a book to read called the China Study. I recommend everyone in the world to read it. It took me awhile to really want to do it. My father came down with bone cancer, and that is when I got really serious in changing my diet. I never changed over till Nov of 2008. I will tell it now that I'm so healthy now. For me because of my injuries the weight is still slow coming off. I feel healthy, and I don't have to worry about things as much. I don't have cholesterol issues. I'm not going to get diabetes. I'm not going to have heart disease. My veins are clean, and I don't have hardening of the arteries which causes strokes and cancer.

Date, Weight, Fat%, BMI

Jan. 02, 2009 Fri. Weight 189.6, Fat 45.1, BMI 28.8

Feb. 03, 2009 Tues. Weight 184.6, Fat 43.0, BMI 28.5

March 04, 2009 Wed. Weight 184.6, Fat 42.8, BMI 28.5

April 03, 2009 Fri. Weight 179.4

May 08, 2009 Fri. Weight 176.2

30 lbs off

June 02, 2009 Tues. Weight 179.8, BMI 27.7

July 03, 2009 Fri. Weight 174.4, Fat 41.4, BMI 27.2

Aug. 04, 2009 Tues. Weight 176.2, Fat 40.9, BMI 27.2

Sept. 09, 2009 Wed. Weight 174.0, Fat 41.3, BMI 26.9

Day after lay off

Sept. 28, 2009 Mon. Weight 169.4, Fat 42.9, BMI 26.1 37 lbs off

Oct. 02, 2009 Fri. Weight 170.6, Fat 40.9, BMI 26.0

Nov. 04, 2009 Wed. Weight 171.6, Fat 42.3, BMI 26.5

Dec. 28, 2009 Mon. Weight 175.6, Fat 41.4, BMI 27.1

Jan. 05, 2010 Tues. Weight 174.6, Fat 41.9, BMI 26.9

Feb. 03, 2010 Wed. Weight 172.0, Fat 41.7, BMI 26.4

March 03, 2010 Wed. Weight 171.8, Fat 43.6, BMI 26.5

April 02, 2010 Fri. Weight 167.8, Fat 42.4

May 04, 2010 Tues. Weight 166.0, Fat 44.5

40lbs off

June 08, 2010 Tues Weight 166.0, Fat 41

Here is where I stand so far. It was grueling hard work to get to where I am today. It has taken forever, but if I gave up I'd be over 200 lbs again. Funds are getting tight, so I'm thinking of selling my furniture in the livingroom to continue this journey. Maybe I'll have to go down to once a week or once a month. I made this into a graph, but when I posted it the graph went crazy on me. I'm starting to feel better from my fall. A miracle!

June 20, 2010 Father's Day

Today is Father's Day. It is my brother's birthday today the one who is very ill now. We as a family fasted and prayed for him. Just after our father passed away my brother who is three years younger than I am was told he had a brain tumor. He had brain surgery to remove the tumor. The doctor's didn't get it all because it's the worst kind. It's the kind that intertwines into the brain and it is hard to remove. He had six weeks of chemo and radiation. At the moment the tumor has shrunk, and it is not growing. He's had two blessing. Each blessing promised he's going to get better. At the moment his stomach hurts so bad. He has extreme pain all the time. The doctors tell him he has IBS, but he feels it is more than that. Our family the ones that could fast, we fasted today for him. We all prayed to the Lord to help the doctors find out what is causing his pain. We prayed that his pain will go away. I had IBS once, and it was bad. I know the pain he's having. It lasted for me 6 months to a year. It was really hard to work. I thought I had the stomach flu when I first got it. I had a colonoscopy the doctors told me I had IBS, and there was no cure. I was sick for some time. I lost about 26 pounds. Everything I ate went through me. I was wasting away, and I was very ill. My husband was driving one day in the car and heard a commercial on the radio about a doctor in the area that could cure IBS. He called me and told me the phone number. I wrote it down and called the doctor. My treatment was like no other. It took a few months of treatments. IBS stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I am cured today. It is a miracle.

Chapter 4 Scripture Study

50. According to the Bible has the Lord ever destroyed the wicked or commanded the righteous to destroy them? Explain

Genesis 6:5-13

The LORD destroyed the wicked people except Noah and the Ark and his family and the animals on the ark.

Deuteronomy 7:2 Verse 2 says And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

Deuteronomy 9:4 4.Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land; but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.

Acts 5:1-11 says

1.But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,

2.And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

3. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4. Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost; and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

6. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

7. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

8. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

9. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

10. Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

11. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

1 Nephi 17:35

35. Behold, The Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fullness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.

The Lord cursed the land against the wicked the wrath of God was upon them. But the Lord did bless it unto our fathers.

51. What nation would dwindle and perish in unbelief ? 1st Nephi Verse 13

13. Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief. The nation is America

The Mulekites had no records with them they denied the being of their Creator and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah could not understand them.

52. In my opinion if a 19 century American religious leader had written The Book of Mormon as a ''pious fraud'' to win converts to a new Christian sect, would he have had Nephi slay Laban? Why or why not? No, because if the book was a fraud then God wouldn't need to save people. The Lord wanted to save people who were righteous. God needed his righteous people to have their records of the creation and their genealogy. God wanted us to know more things. He wanted to give more information to his people. The Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith by the Power of God. This is my testimony. Heavenly Father has a plan for all of his children. He wants all of us to return to him someday. The Book of Mormon is ancient scripture. Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son in the Sacred Grove. From there he was an instrument in Gods hands to restore Christ's Church upon the earth today. If we follow the commandments of God and live the best we can we can live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus in the life hereafter. We are all spirit children of our Heavenly Father. We came to earth to show the Lord that we want to be with him after this life. There was a veil placed over our minds so that we could not remember our life in heaven. Through faith in Christ and following the Lord's commandments we can return to live in his presence in the next life. We can also have our families sealed to us for time and all eternity. This means that in the next life we can be together again. This is the Lord's plan. The greatest gift that God could give us.

53. The fact that Nephi promised Zoram that he should be a free man like unto us. Verse 33 Zoram must have been a slave or a servant.

Was slavery, involving Hebrew slaves practiced during the reign of King Zedikiah?

Consult Jeremiah 34:8-11 Yes slavery was practiced during the reign of King Zedikiah until they were commanded to let them go

54. After Nephi and Zoram had exchanged oaths(verse 32-35)

Zoram made an oath with Nephi that he would promise to go down into the wilderness and live with Nephi and his family. Nephi says in (verse 37) that Zoram made an oath with them and their fears did cease concerning him.

Joshua 9: 1-21 It says that when a man made an oath it was his word and you could trust him.

That's what I learned in Chapter 4