Rest

3 Nephi 27 - 4 Nephi

3 Nephi 27:19
"And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end."

rest  |rest|

• [ with obj. ] (rest something in/on) place hope, trust, or confidence on or in

I had never really thought much about what the word rest meant in this situation. In my mind it was always the form of rest where we can say, we lived in mortality, which was hard, and now its time for us to take a break. To rest. But upon looking into the many definitions of the word, I found this. It's cool to think that will be trusted.

-m

Observe

Mormon 1-6

Mormon 1:2
"And about the time that Ammaron hid up the records unto the Lord, he came unto me, (I being about ten years of age, and I began to be learned somewhat after the manner of the learning of my people) and Ammaron said unto me: I perceive that thou art a sober child, and art quick to observe;"

ob•serve |əbˈzərv|

verb [ with obj. ]

• maintain (silence) in compliance with a rule or custom

Ordinarily I think of the word observe as noticing or seeing something. But upon digging I found this definition as well. While I don't think that this is the primary definition as it is used in the verse, it certainly fits well. One of the things that it seems is repeated over and over again in scripture is obedience. Based on what we know of Mormon, I think that we was probably a very obedient child. Obedience is key to being a servant of the Lord.

-m

Tight

Mormon 7 - Ether 8

Ether 2:17
"And they were built after a manner that they were exceedingly tight, even that they would hold water like unto a dish; and the bottom thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the sides thereof were tight like unto a dish; and the ends thereof were peaked; and the top thereof was tight like unto a dish; and the length thereof was the length of a tree; and the door thereof, when it was shut, was tight like unto a dish."

tight |tīt|

adjective

• (of a ship, building, or object) well sealed against something such as water or air:

This definition is a little bit more straight-forward. But this time I wanted to ask why every detail of the ship's "tightness" was included. If it took so much time and space to write on these plates, why was there so much focus placed on the ships? I think it is because we can and should draw a parallel between us and the ships. Is every facet of us tight like unto a dish? Are we sealed against outside forces?

-m

Grudging

Ether 9 - Moroni 7

Moroni 7:8
For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God.

grudg•ing |ˈgrəjiNG|

adjective

given, granted, or allowed only reluctantly or resentfully

When it comes to these things, it is really all about the intent of our heart. I found it interesting that by nature giving something grudgingly is resentful. In this case I think that you need to take a stand. Taking no stand is being passively grudging

-m

Manifest

3 Nephi 20-26
The scripture I'm starting with this week is 3 Nephi 26:9


"And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them."

man•i•fest ¹ |ˈmanəˌfest|

adjective

clear or obvious to the eye or mind: the system's manifest failings.

I love this, because when I just read the word manifest in the context of this verse, what comes to my mind is that things will be shown unto them. But again, going back to how the Savior wants everything to make perfect sense to everyone, the word manifest says it will become clear and obvious. So cool! No mysteries here.

Perceive

3 Nephi 15-19
During the Savior's short ministry in this section of scripture, he covers a lot of doctrine. Understandably, this would be hard to absorb. Especially in the amount of time that it is being given in. A few times during this ministry, He states that he perceives something about the people. Something they don't understand, something they want to know.

perceive |pərˈsēv|

verb [ with obj. ]

1 become aware or conscious of (something); come to realize or understand

This for me is really cool because of the last word in the definition. He knows and realizes the wants and needs of the people and addresses them immediately. But the understanding that goes along with it draws me back to the atonement. His purpose in coming to the earth was to fulfill the atonement so that we would be able to return to Heavenly Father. He came here to experience all that we experience. He came to understand us. When he perceived their wants and needs, it was more than just knowing what they wanted and needed. It was about what it felt like want and need the things that they did. He always knows what it feels like to go through what we are going through. He understands us perfectly.

Pierce

This section of scripture contains some of the most beautiful doctrines. It is the section that contains the Savior's ministry. A really cool discovery I made when reading this section is actually in the first few verses of 3 Nephi 11, before the Savior has even come. In verse 3 in particular, it talks about how they heard a voice from the heavens and it pierced them to the soul.

pierce |pi(ə)rs|

verb [ with obj. ]

force or cut a way through

I thought that this was super cool for a couple of reasons. First off, the definition of pierce shows the power of God's word. He can instantly cut through anything and get the attention of our very souls. Even cooler than that, is it says a few verses later that they actually began to understand the words that were being spoken. I thought this was interesting that they were pierced, even before they knew who was speaking and what he was saying. How powerful and direct the word of God really is... Let's not forget to listen to what He has to say after our souls have been pierced.