Emily Clark

REL A 121
Hilton
11-2-2014
Book of Mormon Project
Questions and Study Aids Paper Two
2 Nephi 25:4- wherefore I shall prophesy according to the plainness which hath been with me
from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father; for behold, my soul delighteth in
plainness unto my people, that they may learn.
I was wondering about the plainness that Nephi was talking about in this chapter, and so I
looked up plainness as described in the footnotes. Those led me to 2 Nephi 33:5 and Jacob
2:11 which gave some clarification. These scriptures describe the words of the Lord as words of
plainness, and that they contain truth. It also gives the hint that these words are harsh; I am
getting the vibe from this that words of plainness refers to doctrine that is simple but can be
hard for people to accept because it does not settle with their current way of living and requires
an amount of change. In the topical guide plainness almost always refers to communication and
is a way of speaking that is direct with the audience; a writing tactic that leaves no room for
misunderstanding.
What does it mean in the chapter heading of 2 Nephi 25 when it says They will be restored
when they believe in the Messiah?
In verses 29 and 30 of this chapter I found my exact answer. Nephi exhorts his people to
believe in the Messiah, and goes into detail of this saying wherefore ye must bow down before
him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye
do this ye shall in nowise be cast out. The restoration that is spoken of in the chapter heading
is not being cast out which is where the Jews were headed if they did not believe in the Savior.
This was really clarifying, and I received new meaning for both believing and being
restored.
Looking again at Chapter 25 I noticed another reference for the word believe in verse
16. It refers us to 2 Nephi 10:7 which tells us that believing in Jesus as the Christ is essential.
Putting these together I can more clearly see that Nephi is telling us that we need to pray to our
Heavenly Father to know if Jesus is the true Christ. Once we have a confirmation of that faith,
and we know that Christ is indeed the Son of God, we must worship Him with all of our heart. I
am glad that I found this clarification all within the same chapter's references, and now I
understand more fully how to be restored through faith.
2 Nephi 26:7- O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people!
What is the reference for using O in scripture, and what other instances use it?
Although this is more of a curiosity question, I found some interesting information in
searching for an answer that I think give us some insight into Nephi's style of writing and into a

more emotional side to the Book of Mormon that I hadn't thought of before. In this scripture
Nephi is truly mourning; lamenting for the loss of people he knew and loved. The scripture
reference for O takes us to Mormon 6:17- O ye far one, how could ye have departed from
the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones how could ye have rejected Jesus, who stood with open
arms to receive you! Both of these scriptures show the little shown true bursts of emotion
from writers in the book of Mormon. In this verse Mormon is lamenting over the people
leaving Christ. I think it is interesting to not that these two instances that I have just found that
were related via cross referencing are both lamenting. I think it speaks even more for the
scriptures when the source of equal lamentations is different, yet I think that it brings them both
onto equal ground; death and departing from the Savior. Both scriptures begin with O and
end with an exclamation point, while one shows a writer that is distraught over his people
dying, and the other is distraught over his people betraying Jesus. I mean, Mormon's people are
dying also, but he initially laments over the fact that they betrayed the Savior, and then
addresses that they would not have died had they not done so. This really showed me that
standing by the Savior transcends death and is something worth dying for.
Mormon 6:21- and these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become
incorruptible bodies: and then ye must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ...
What is meant by incorruptible bodies?
I came across this while reading following the tangent that my reading took after the last
reference. I wanted to know more about what was being talked about in the reference of
incorruptible bodies, because, hey, that sounds really cool, and there was a reference for it.
This led me to 1 Corinthians 15:53 where corruption is related to mortality, while incorruption
is related to immortality. I thought it was really interesting to have this relationship establish, in
that our eternal, immortal life requires that we become incorruptible. It then says that when we
have done this that we shall have victory over death, and victory over sin.
1 Corinthians 15:58- Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the
Lord.
What can I do to further know that what I am doing is not in vain?
When reading this verse I automatically thought of the cross-reference of 2 Nephi 31:20 that
says, Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope,
and a love of God and of all men. This sort of answers my question in telling me that if I have
a love of God and of all men, that I am headed in the right direction. If I base my actions upon
this principle, I think I will be headed in the right direction. This verse also gives further
guidance as it says, Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and
endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. This also helps
define what would not be in vain. Anything that requires me to endure to the end and feast upon
the words of Christ is not in vain.

One-Liners and Principles Paper 2

One-LinersJacob 1:7- ...come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God...
This in reality is two one-liners, but I equally love the concept of both. It tells that when you
come unto Christ you become closer to God. When you can feel God's love for you in a
constant way, you are partaking of His goodness. I also think that when he says, partake it
sort of implies that God's love is huge, infinite, and everlasting, so much so that we can only
take part of fit.
Jacob 1:8- Wherefore, we would to God that we could persuade all men not to rebel against
God...
I totally agree with this; in fact, I feel like its kind of my motto. It is comforting seeing this in
the scriptures, and that there were a people that felt so strongly about this that they wrote it
down as scriptural doctrine.
Jacob 1:19- And we did magnify our office unto the Lord...
I think that this is a very simple, but very often overlooked principle. This simple one-liner says
that we need to accept the callings that we receive as callings from the Lord, and pray to Him
that we may know ways to fulfill it.
Jacob 4:1- ... and we know that the things which we write upon plates must remain;
Although this does not explicitly contain doctrine for us to pick up on, it certainly taught me
some things. This shows to me some behavior that I find in myself, where Jacob feels the true
weight o f the importance of what he is writing, and is a little hesitant to write jut anything on
the plates. It also shows me that whatever Jacob has included, he feels is of great importance.
Jacob 4:6- Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of
prophecy; and having all these witnesses we obtain a hope, and our faith becometh
unshaken...
I think that this goes to show that the more that we hear of the words of God, the more hope we
have, because our God is one of truth and light, and only wants us to be happy. This also tells
me that all things that we hear from our Prophets lead us to having an unshakable faith. I love
that this one liner let's us know that all of the words that we have from God provide a solid
foundation, where if men build their testimonies, they cannot fall. It testifies that all the
revelation that we receive from prophets is truly God-given, because none of it contradicts
itself, and is thus given like a highly organized puzzle for Church members.
Jacob 5:41- And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant:
What could I have done more for my vineyard?
This is a beautiful single-liner. I see so much of myself in this line, and I take comfort in the
fact that our Savior only wants to now what he could do more for his vineyard. I see so much
love and unconditional hope in this scripture.
Jacob 5:75- And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my
vineyard, and have kept my commandments...

I think that this one-liner is interesting in that it does not just say in laboring in my vineyard
but that it says laboring with me. I think that this is significant in that it He includes himself in
the labors, and acknowledges to the audience that they are not alone. I also get a vision of
missionary working in the field with Christ right there beside them to lead and guide with care
and diligence.
PrinciplesJacob 6:4- And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth the house of Israel, both
roots and branches; and he stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a
stiff-necked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not harden their hearts shall be
saved in the kingdom of God.
The principle behind this scripture is pretty straight forward. It says that God loves u so much,
and is continually reaching out to us. All we must do is turn to Him and not harden our hearts,
and we may be saved in His kingdom. Although this is not as easy as it sounds, it is something
that shows the simple truth of our Gospel, a rule that is self-evident and universal for all people.
Jacob 6:10- And according to the power of justice, and justice cannot be denied, ye must go
away into that lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable...
The principle that I have found behind this scripture is that we are still responsible for our
actions, and therefore justice will be there and we must take responsibility for our actions
because we have and own our complete agency. We must take advantage of the atonement
because it settles the demands of justice.
Mosiah 4:10- And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and
humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and
now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.
This verse outlines the very simple process that we must follow to repent. We must not only
forsake our sins but humble ourselves before God. This takes a level of humbleness and
lowliness of heart to do, because we must promise not to do the bad action again and ask God
instead what he would have us do. Next we must ask with a sincere heart for forgiveness. A
sincere heart means that we are fully committed to change, and true change is defined by
action, not just knowing. This is defined in the next sub-principle, where we are instructed to
take action. This reminds me of when my dad always says that, knowing isn't the same as
doing. Action is required because it is the true exhibition of a change of heart.
Mosiah 4:19- For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same
Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment and for gold,
and for solver, and for all the riches which we have of every king?
This clearly outlines the principle, that God is so much greater than man, and that we need to
help all men out. We were placed on this earth and nothing would have been possible without
God, so how can we turn our cheek on another when we owe all that have to someone else also.
This truly speaks of the need for us to help others out with all that we had because it is really
God providing it all for us.

Answering Questions Paper 2

Jarom 1:9- And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not prosper against us.
But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch
as ye will keep y commandments ye shall prosper in the land.
I think that a question that could be answered by this verse would be, What are the
consequences of following the commandments? This scripture sets the principle that if we
follow what the Lord tells us to do, that we will have good fortune. Another question that this
could answer would be, What are some other benefits of following the commandments other
than prosperity? which is also answered in that it says that the Nephites were prepared to meet
the Lamanites. If we follow the commandments, we will be prepared for whatever comes at us
in life, because the commandments are a set of principles set up to qualify us and prepare us in
a situation of trials.
Omni 1:6- For the Lord would not suffer, after he had led hem out of the land of Jerusalem an
kept and preserved them from falling into the hands of their enemies, yea, he would not suffer
that the words should not be verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch
as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land.
This verse could answer the question, I have been righteous in the past, why is this not
benefiting me now?And this verse states that it is because of continual obedience that we are
blessed. So while they were saved from the land, the Lord warns the people that they will not
prosper because they have not followed the commandments. I think that this is a very clear
answer, in that we need to be eternally progressing.
Omni 1:26- ...and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord
liveth ye will be saved.
A question that could be answered with this verse would be, Will enduring to the end really
work? This scripture testifies, as the Lord liveth ye will be saved. We are promised that as long
as our Savior lives, enduring to the end will be worth it. I know of no better motivation than
this verse, because I have a firm testimony of the life of Christ. This gives me ultimate hope in
enduring until the end.
Words of Mormon 1:18- Wherefore, with the help of these, King Benjamin, by laboring with
all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more
establish peace in the land.
Gahhh, I love this scripture. It could answer the question, Can I really make a difference?
This shows that if you labor with diligence and your entire heart and soul, you can change the
world, insomuch that Benjamin brought peace to an entire land. This gives me hope in knowing
that with the help of God surely I can accomplish things which are of a righteous source.
Mosiah 1:3- And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the
plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for these
plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in
ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God.
The question I thought of that could be answered by this scripture is, What do the scriptures

really tell me? or What would I not know if I didn't have the scriptures? This verse tells us
that we would not know of the mysteries of God without the scriptures. Although it is very
possible for us to go throughout life without this knowledge, I think that the mysteries of God
or of more eternal import than we can even know.
Other Questions I found Answered:
1. Mosiah 2:14- And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve
you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should not be laden with
taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borneand of all these things which I have spoken, ye yourselves are witnesses this day.
Question: How would the Savior spend his time?
2. Mosiah 2:20- I say unto you, my brethren that if you should render all the thanks and
praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you,
and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted
that ye should live in peace one with another-.... Question: What has God done for me? I
love this scripture in that it tells us that no matter what we do, we ill always be indebted
to our Heavenly Father.
3. Mosiah 3:14- Yet the Lord God saw that his people were a stiff-necked people, and he
appointed unto them a law, even the law of Moses. Question: Why does the Lord place
additional rules upon us? Rules help us to become more righteous and softer in heart..
4. Mosiah 4:5- For behold, if the knowledge of the goodness of God at this time has
awakened you to a sense of your nothingness, and your worthless and fallen state- 6. I
say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless
power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of
men;... Question: What can I learn in becoming humble before God? Along with
knowing of your own worthless state, you know of the infinite goodness of our God.
5. Mosiah 4:13- and ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably,
and to render to every man according to that which is his due. Question: What result
comes from being truly converted to Christ? You would have less desire to do evil.
6. Mosiah 4:20- And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and
begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain?
Nay, he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be
filled with joy, and has caused that our mouths should be stopped that ye could not find
utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy. Question: Will begging for a remission of
your sins produce more happiness? I love that this scripture assures us that we will be
happy when we repent.

Patterns Paper Number 2

1. Goodness of God- Mosiah 4:6
I researched the phrase Goodness of God and found that whenever it is mentioned it is
usually talking about being able to do all things. Often it is stated that because of God's
merciful nature we can accomplish all things if God approves of them. Whenever this phrase
was mentioned in the Bible it usually referred to the course of events in the opposite order. It
said that whoever was able to do something amazing was able to do so because of the goodness
of God.
2. Truth and Soberness- Mosiah 4:15
I wanted to see the correlation of these two words in the scriptures. I did not think that the
correlation would come up very often and was surprised when twenty results in the Book of
Mormon and the Bible came up. Most of the results that came with truth and soberness were in
description of righteous people, and I loved the description that accompanied each use.
'Walking uprightly before God, love one another, serve one another, all come up in
describing righteousness.
3. Beggars- Mosiah 4:19
While the only result for beggars was this verse, there were other results for beggar, not all
in the Book of Mormon. There were wither two sort of references for the word beggar: 1, as in
the context of are we not all beggars? And the other 2, was how we should treat beggars. In 1
Samuel 2:8 the reference is that the beggar shall be raised out from the dust, and concerns
how we should treat the beggars in our life. It also addresses that blessed are those that would
give, but do not have the means to.
4. Win the Prize- Mosiah 4:28
I was super interested if this phrase was found elsewhere in scriptures. In this verse it is talking
about not running faster than you are able, and there for the prize might not be won until later. I
was wondering if this was the same context that it was used in other places in the scriptures.
Although there were no direct correlates in meaning, the closest in relation to this one referred
to Ammon winning the hearts of the people by slaying the men taking the sheep. I thought that
the relationship of these two was interesting, as Ammon did not think it was beyond his
capacity or running faster than he was able to win the people's hearts through this feat. Some
of the other scriptures related coming unto Christ as being the prize. Maybe this is what
Ammon had in mind and therefore knew that his faith would be answered.
5. Disposition to do Evil- Mosiah 5:2
In looking this up I found that there were no solid references to this outside of the Book of
Mormon. It only talks about within the Book of Mormon having your heart changed is

manifested through no longer having the desire to do evil. However, although it is not
mentioned outside of the Book of Mormon does not mean that there is not a strong pattern for
how it is used inside the Book of Mormon. References to disposition to do evil occur in this
verse in Mosiah and three other times in Alma. In Alma's verses it is all in reference to those
that have the disposition to do evil will have evil returned unto them and evil as their reward. I
didn't realize that this is the only place in the Book of Mormon that it is clarified that your
disposition to do evil will decrease as you come unto Christ. This was surprising unto me, but
also clarifying in that I now know more that the importance to do good has left on me because
this is the only reference that comes into my hear when I hear disposition to do evil.
6. Do Good Continually- Mosiah 5:2
In conjunction with the last pattern that I wanted to find, I decided to look up this phrase also. I
found that there were many more result when I typed this in, with clarity in both the Book of
Mormon and Bible entries. Every scripture that mentioned doing good continually also
mentioned God. I thought that this was interesting, in that it relates that our God does good
continually, and thus those that are striving to o good continually are sent by Him. Another
pattern I notices was that whenever doing good continually was mentioned, along with it came
the mention of an absence of Satan. Let me explain, whenever it was mentioned that doing
good continually was happening, Satan was described as having no hold over the hearts of the
children of men.
7. Children of Christ- Mosiah 5:7
I wanted to look this up in context of our last midterm where we learned that we become the
seed of Christ by having faith in Him and believe in His atonement. The results that came up,
equally as abundant and scattered throughout the Bible as the Book of Mormon, most had the
reference or somewhere in the verse was mentioned the atonement, through the atonement,
by the atonement do we become the children of Christ. I also found a lot of results that came
up that showed the experiences of Christ with little children, which I also thought was very
fascinating.
8. Blotted Out- Mosiah 5:11
I wanted to find a little bit less known and less mentioned result, so I looked up blotted out to
see how many times it was used, and successfully only came up with around 3,000 references.
Almost without fail, transgression and iniquity were always related to having one's name
blotted out. What I found even more fascinating was that in both the Book of Mormon and he
Bible references, this mention of transgression and iniquity was always coupled with the
possibility of repentance,. Blotting out only occurred when people refused to repent. This
having your name blotted out was always a source of grief, or was described to be a potential
source of grief, and thus repentance was the way to remain happy.
I also found that while sources in the bible retold specific stories of when people had
their names blotted out, the Book of Mormon more warned against it and laid out a path to not
have your name blotted out.

Evidences Paper 2
1. http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/fair-conferences/2002-fair-conference/2002dealing-with-demographics
This article was published and addresses the confusion that many Mormons have concerning
the statistics that are published by the scientific community, many of which have been slanted
to not necessarily be untrue, but give a bad light to the Mormon church. The author encourages
readers to gather all the facts and clarifies some of the erroneous statistics written about
abortion rates and polygamy. He also states that the scientific community is very good at what
it does, and so really, we must rely on faith.
2. http://www.fairmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2006-Brant-Gardner.pdf
This is a scholarly journal published that compares the evidences of the New World that
support the Book of Mormon and the correctness of the historicity. Because of this authors love
for the Book of Mormon, in recent years he has delved in to connect the information we have
gathered about the region of the Book of Mormon with the actual information of the Book of
Mormon. He loves it so much that he does not just look for parallels between the two pieces of
evidence and connects them specifically. Because of this he has been confused with an antiMormon writer by those that read his studies lightly, while n reality his studies support the
validity of the Book of Mormon on a much deeper level.
3. http://www.fairmormon.org/perspectives/publications/dealing-with-difficult-issues
This article also deals with conflicting views of the Church. Because the Church is under such
attack this man gives an outline of evidences in how we can retain a testimony of the real truth.
He outlines that there are very much flaws in the scientific community. We must realize that
many conclusions drawn today will prove to be awfully wrong in the future although they seem
completely accurate today.
4. http://www.jefflindsay.com/BMEvidences3.shtml#treas
I thought that this evidence was particularly interesting. It describes the knowledge of Ancient
American scrolls being kept in a treasury and that historian Rabbi Yosef confirmed the validity
of this historical fact. How would a young New York School boy know that ancient American
civilization indeed kept scrolls and records in a treasury?
5. http://www.jefflindsay.com/BMEvidences3.shtml#garden
This evidence showed evidence that all of the references to Gardens, temples and multiple
markets in Nephi's time were all correct. According to our knowledge of the culture of that
time, everything included in the scriptures was factually correct, and further evidence that
Joseph indeed was not faking this extensive knowledge.

6. http://www.jefflindsay.com/BMEvidences3.shtml#scrolls
This article addresses the recent discovery of the dead sea scrolls. Historians have recently
taken to analyzing these, and from a Jewish perspective they support areas of the Book of
Mormon that pertain to Jewish history and overlap in the same timeline.
7. http://www.jefflindsay.com/BMEvidences3.shtml#weights
This article addresses the description of weights and measures talked about in the book of
Mormon. Because the Book of Mormon is the first major recording of the system it came under
much scorn as being fake for many decades. However, in recent years there have been
discoveries linking the system used in the Book of Mormon to other factual information that
supports this in ancient American times.
8. http://www.jefflindsay.com/bme2.shtml
This entry supports the changing use of arrows and sticks throughout the Book of Mormon and
sites them as further evidence of its validity. For example, the changing of arrows and creation
of new arrows according to the bows is correct, because the shape of the bow would require
new arrow shafts to control the efficacy of each arrow.