Remember

re•mem•ber |riˈmembər|

verb [ with obj. ]

have in or be able to bring to one's mind an awareness of (someone or something that one has seen, known, or experienced in the past): I remember the screech of the horn as the car came toward me | no one remembered his name.

• [ with infinitive ] do something that one has undertaken to do or that is necessary or advisable: did you remember to mail the letters?

• [ with clause ] used to emphasize the importance of what is asserted: you must remember that this is a secret.

• bear (someone) in mind by making them a gift or making provision for them: he has remembered the boy in a codicil to his will.

• (remember someone to) convey greetings from one person to (another): remember me to Charlie.

• pray for the success or well-being of: the congress should be remembered in our prayers.

• (remember oneself) recover one's manners after a lapse.

In our class discussion of Helaman 6-10, we were talking a lot about remembering, and just how important it is to remember our covenants and Christ. Upon looking up the definition of remember, I was surprised to find that most of the definitions were not centered around simply recalling a piece of information. Most of them have to do with emphasizing importance or taking action and doing something for someone else. This is a really cool insight for this setting, because when we remember Christ, we aren't just recalling that he exists. We are showing gratitude for his sacrifice, and putting forth effort to keep the covenants we made. Remembering takes action.

Flatter

Hello everyone! Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. What I will do here is post weekly about reading that I've done from the Book of Mormon. I'll take a specific word from my reading, give the dictionary definition, and how that adds to the meaning of the scripture as a whole. Please comment and give feedback. This is meant to be an open forum for discussion.

Helaman 2: 5
Therefore he did ^aflatter them, and also Kishkumen, that if they would place him in the judgment-seat he would grant unto those who belonged to his band that they should be placed in power and authority among the people; therefore Kishkumen sought to destroy Helaman.


This scripture is talking about how Gadianton was trying to gain power. The word I want to focus on is flatter.

flat•ter |ˈflatər|

verb [ with obj. ]

lavish insincere praise and compliments upon (someone), esp. to further one's own interests: she was flattering him to avoid doing what he wanted.

• give an unrealistically favorable impression of

Normally when I think of the word "flatter", I think of it as just giving complements in general. But I love how the dictionary specifically points out that it is insincere and it is especially used "to further one's own interests." We know that Gadianton is a deceiver, but I think it is especially telling that even when he is giving "complements"he can't be trusted. Everything he does, however insignificant it seems is only for himself. Thinking about his makes me want to do a little self inventory. When I complement people do I mean it, or am I just trying to flatter them?