For A wise purpose

Book of Mormon Study Guide #14

Enos

1:3

Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forest; and the ___________ which I had often
heard my ________________ speak concerning eternal life, and the ___________ of the
saints, sunk ________________ into my heart
I love, Love, LOVE this verse. This is the image that fills my head as I read: I
imagine that every time I talk to my children about the gospel I am skipping a rock
across a lake. Most of the time the rock just skims the surface and then
bounces on. But occasionally, for whatever reason, the rock sinks deep into their
heart. And when it does, thinking happens, testimony grows, change occurs.
Can you think of a time when your words seem to have suddenly sunk deep into
the heart of your child or a student?

Enos and Prayer

Some people get prayer. They inhale heaven and exhale God. They retreat to prayer
mountains and and can pray all day without faltering. Enos was one of those people. They
would rather pray than sleep. Why is it that I tend to sleep when I pray? My mind wanders.
My thoughts zig, then zag, then zig again. Distractions swarm like gnats on a summer night.
Prayer giant? Hardly. Prayer wimp? Admittedly.
If youre a prayer warrior, be grateful for your gift, for your calling to pray for the rest
of us. If you can relate to the phrase Prayer Wimp, then Ive got some good news for you.
God will teach you to pray. Dont think for a minute that he is glaring at you from a
distance with crossed arms and a scowl, waiting for you to get your prayer life together.
Just the opposite. Revelations 3:20 tells us, Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with me.
Jesus waits on the porch. He stands on the threshold. He taps and calls. He waits for
you to open the door. To pray is to open it. Prayer is the hand of faith on the door handle
of your heart. And when we pray, with pure intent, as did Enos, Jesus forgives us of our
sins.

The book of Jarom

Jarom 1:3
Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the
__________ of their hearts, and the ___________ of their ears, and the ________ of their
minds, and the ________ of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them,
and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land.
Jarom lists four things that keeps people from receiving the word of God. They are:
1) __________________________________________________
2) __________________________________________________
3) __________________________________________________
4) __________________________________________________
Hardness of Heart:
Ephesians 4:17-19 lists some of the symptoms of a hard heart. They include being
hopelessly confused, have minds of darkness, having no sense of shame, living for lustful
pleasure and practicing every kind of impurity.. No wonder Proverbs 28:14 states that he
who hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief!
What if for one day you were able to live your life with the heart of the Savior? Your
heart gets the day off, and your life is led by the heart of Christ. His priorities govern
your actions. His passions drive your decisions. His love directs your behavior.
What would you be like? Would people notice a change? Your family would they see
something new? Your coworkers would they sense a difference? What about the less
fortunate? Would you treat them the same? And your friends? Would they detect
more joy? How about your enemies? Would they receive more mercy from Christs heart
than from yours?
And you? How would you feel? What alterations would this transplant have on your stress
level? Your mood swings? Your temper? Would you sleep better? Would you see sunsets
differently? Death differently? Taxes differently? Any chance youd need fewer aspirin
or sedatives? Would you still dread what you are dreading? Better yet, would you still do
what you are doing? Pause and think about your schedule. Obligations. Engagements. Outings.
Appointments. With Jesus taking over your heart, would anything change?
Keep working on this for a moment. Adjust the lens of your imagination until you have a
clear picture of Jesus leading your life, then snap the shutter and frame the image.
What you see is what God wants. He wants you to think and act like Christ Jesus.
Gods plan for you is nothing short of a new heart.
You were taught to be made new in your hearts, to become a new person. That new
person is made to be like God made to be truly good and holy.
God wants you to be just like Jesus. He wants you to have a heart like His.

The deafness of their ears

The statement, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear is found eight times in
the synoptic gospels. During the Old Testament Days, members of the church would
use an ear pick, a small tool to clear of wax and dirt from the outer ear canal
as a religious symbol that they were ready to hear the world of the Lord. We too,
in these last days, should, clean out the garbage poured into it by the world. We
need a spiritual Q-tip to eliminate the false, the perverted, the sinful.
But, most importantly me must remember the teachings of Nephi found in 1 Nephi 10.
We cannot understand Gods truth until we know the Lord and until we ask Him to
reveal his truth unto us. See 1 Nephi 10:17.
I believe that one of the most important challenges of our mortal probation is
learning to hear, recognize and the follow the voice of the Lord. I would like to say
that again. One of the most importantif not the most importantchallenges in
learning how tome come unto Christ and to be be perfected in him is to learn to
hear, to recognize, ad the follow the voice of the Lord Gerald Lund
If you and I will study the scriptures and pray and tune our hearts and ears, we
will hear the voice of God in the voice of the people that he has sent to teach
and guide us and direct us. Henry B Eyring
What is keeping you from more fully hearing the words of the Lord in your life?

A blind mind
This is an interesting phrase. Typically we associate blindness with eyes, not minds.
The definition of blindness in the Miriam Webster Dictionary is, unable or unwilling
to discern or judge. The Hebrew definition of the word mind is attention and
will. Putting those definitions together, what do you make of the phrase blindness of
minds?

In psychology, min-blindness refers to a cognitive disorder wherein an individual in

unable to attribute mental states to themselves and others. In other words, they
are completely unaware of what others are feeling and are also unable to
attribute their own behavior and actions to emotions and intentions. How does
spiritual mind-blindness look like psychological mind blindness?

The Stiffness of Their Necks

A stiff neck prevents a person from glancing sideways at his neighbor or looking
upwards towards his creator. A stiff neck creates tunnel vision. Interestingly,
in Chinese medicine, a stiff neck is caused by the tension between what we
should be doing and what we are doing in reality. The recommended cure is to
find ways to narrow the gap between the ideal and fact, to do whatever it
takes to remove the conflict.
N Eldon Tanner said that, Stiffneckedness in the Book of Mormon was most
likely to occur when the righteous prospered and became proud and selfsufficient and forgot whence their blessings came.
Lets avoid this. Take a moment to look around you. At this moment, name your
blessings and think, Are there any of these things that you have obtained all by
yourself? Record your feelings about the One who hath provided with all things,
not because you deserved them, but because He loves you.

Jarom 1:4
Ann there are many among us who have many revelations for thy are not
all stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have
communion with the Holy Spirit.
Jarom promises two wonderful blessings to those who can avoid the four
pitfalls mentioned in verse three. What are they?
1)______________________________________
2)______________________________________

This is a remarkable text. The announcement is not that the faithful are
entitled to receive revelation but rather that the faithful will not be
without revelation! The spirit of revelation is not intended to be a privilege
sparingly granted among the household of faith rather, it is obligatory upon
all who are or can be called Saints. Without the spirit of revelation we can
neither preach nor teach the gospel, nor know of its certainty. Without
revelation there is nor can be no true religion. Robert Millet

The world rams at your door; Jesus taps. Their voices scream for
allegiance; Jesus softly and tenderly requests it. The world promises flashy
pleasure; Jesus promises a quite dinner. Which voice do you hear? Let me say
something important here: There is never a time during which Jesus is not
speaking. Never. There is never a place in which Jesus is not present. Never.
There is never a room so dark, an office so sophisticated, a playroom so
noisy that our ever-present, ever-pursuing, relentlessly tender Friend is not
there, tapping gently on the doors of our hearts, waiting to be invited in.
Few hear his voice.
Fewer still open the door.
Amidst all of the noise and the chaos, may we never make the fatal
mistake of interpreting our numbness as his absence. He has promised to
always be there. And God keeps his promises. Always.

Omni 1:17
and their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no
_________________ with them; and they denied the being of their
____________...
Why is living without the scriptures so spiritually devastating? "The
untaught can, so quickly, become unbelieving. They form a rising
generation who do not understand the words of prophets and who do
not believe in the resurrection of Christ...Holy scriptures testify
powerfully, but they also familiarize us with the history of what God
has done for His people. This spiritual memory is so essential. Holy
scriptures, when searched and believed, help us to remember as it
were from the sacred records". Neal A Maxwell
What does Omni 1:25 tell us is the purpose of the Book of Mormon?

Has it done this for you in your life? For your family?

Omni 1:26
What does the Lord ask of us today?

He no longer wants burnt offerings, he wants an offering of what?

What does this mean to you? What part of your soul are you keeping
for yourself? What do you not want to let go of?