3 Apr 2024, Wednesday

 3 Apr 2024, Wednesday

Prioritized Daily Task

7:45 pm - Dinner with Alex and Carter at Kitchen 88 in American Fork

NOTE: Sherem was the first anit-christ in the Book of Mormon.  He was learned with a perfect understanding of the language of his people and had much power of persuasion.  He was able to lead many away from Christ and Christ's Church by enjoying the things of the world, Babalon, or the great. and spacious building, Satan's church.  He tried to shake Jacob in his faith but Jacob could not be unshaken.  There are many like Sherem in the world today.

Horticulturists are amazed at the depth of knowledge and understanding that are explained in the allegory of olive trees in Jacob chapter 5 in the Book of Mormon.  Going past the literal level, to the allegorical levels of time with the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon in verses 4-14; then the New Testament and Book of Mormon in verses 15-28; the great apostasy in verses 29-51; and concluding with the restoration, millennium, and end of time you still have a moral level and anagogical level to go before finishing what Zenos wrote, Jacob copied, and Joseph Smith translated. 

Greek, Latin, and Hebrew writers were some of the first to employ chiasmus which is found in the Book of Mormon.

Chiasmus only has to repeat the structure, not necessarily the words.   Shakespeare frequently used chiasmus to create competitive wit games that reveal a winner and a loser in the scene, and when actors understand when and how Shakespeare uses these figures they can unlock new choices in performance.  John W. Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon on August 16, 1967, while on his mission in Germany, and since that time, chiasmus has served as a profound witness for the beauty and complexity of the Book of Mormon.  An example of chiasmus in the Book of Mormon is Alma chapter 36.  Alma tells his son Helaman about his dramatic conversion.  There are seventeen key elements, each repeated twice (verse numbers are indicated in parentheses):

a My son give ear to my words (1)                                                                   b Keep the commandments and ye shall prosper in the land (1)                         c Do as I have done (2)                                                                                    d Remember the captivity of our fathers (2)                                                      e They were in bondage (2)                                                                               f He surely did deliver them (2)                                                                         g Trust in God (3)                                                                                             h Supported in trials, troubles, and afflictions (3)                                            i Lifted up at the last day (3)                                                                           j I know this not of myself but of God (4)                                                        k Born ofGod (5)                                                                                              I I sought to destroy the church (6-9)                                                               m My limbs were paralyzed (10)                                                                     n Fear of being in the presence of God (14-15)                                                o Pains of a damned soul (16)                                                                         p Harrowed up by the memory of sins                                                            q I remembered Jesus Christ a son of God                                                     q' I cried, Jesus, son of God (18)                                                                    p' t Harrowed up by the memory ofsins no more (19)                                   o' Joy as exceeding as was the pain (20)                                                        n' Long to be in the presence of God (22)                                                   m' My limbs received strength again (23)                                                       l' I labored to bring souls to repentance (24)                                                 k' Born of God (26)                                                                                         j' Therefore my knowledge is of God (26)                                                      h' Supported under trials, troubles, and afflictions (27)                                 g' Trust in him (27)                                                                                        f' He will deliver me (27)                                                                               i' and raise me up at the last day (28)                                                           e' As God brought our fathers out of bondage and captivity (28-29)              d' Retain in remembrance their captivity (28-29)                                           c' Know as I do know (30)                                                                              b' Keep the commandments and ye shall prosper in the land (30)                 a' This according to his word (30).

The design of this text is amazing, especially with the repetition of the name "Jesus Christ, Son of God" at the very center of the chapter. This unquestionably had deep significance for Alma. It is one of the best examples of any ancient author succeeding in placing the most important concept at the central or turning point of his passage. By this, the structure of chapter 36 powerfully communicates Alma's personal experience, for the central turning point of his conversion came precisely when he called upon the name of Jesus Christ and asked for mercy. Nothing was more important than this in Alma's conversion—neither the appearance of the angel nor the prayers of his father. This was the turning point of Alma's life.

The Book of Mormon is before our eyes and those who do not want to accept the Church of Jesus Christ as true have to go around the Book of Mormon or go through it, they can not ignore it.  People have been trying to explain it away since or before the beginning of the Church in 1830.  The only explanation is Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.



The Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a Prophet, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored to the earth by Jesus Christ.  I know this, not because of the many external evidence I have had, but because the Holy Spirit has borne witness to my spirit that the book is true.  

I urge each of you who read this to study and pray to know for yourself that God lives, that Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, that the Book of Mormon is true, and that we have living prophets on the earth today.   I want you to know as I know, God lives, Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's Church on the Earth, and God loves all His Children.

As you love your children, I love you, and I love all my grandchildren.  I don’t have all the answers, and I do not know all the LGBTQ children have gone through.  But I do know that we are all one family and God, our Heavenly Father, loves all His children.

Jacob said, “O be wise; what can I say more?” Jacob 6:12

I was up before 7 am, had prayer, Matthew called and I sent him and Melodie the diagram Matt McCleary drew on the back of the envelope Jimmy Morris sent. I studied scriptures and got dressed to go to the Legacy Center to exercise for an hour.  I stopped on the way home and washed and vacuumed the car.  When I got home and ate lunch I watched the rest of a movie I had started last night.  I emailed Matt McCleary the information Gerald Searle sent: JALNA SEARLE ESTATE TRUST, he enclosed a copy of Form 1041, Schedule K-1, which was prepared by the accounting firm of Searle Hart & Associates, PLLC. It contains your share of the items of income or loss, credits and deductions, and other information for the tax year ended December 31, 2023.  Gerald sent Debbie what she needs to withdraw from her mother's IRA this year.  I took the Tesla to Quack Quack Car Wash and got the car washed and vacuumed.  When I got home I put the new floormats in the front and back of the Tesla.  I need to remember to tell Matt and Melodie not to let the girls eat in the car.  I was not able to get all the sticky candy out of the car but the new floor mats covered what I did not get.  Debbie sent me pictures of her, Stephanie, Kylie, and Abbey in Portugal.  I studied and watched TV before driving to Kitchen 88 to have dinner with Alex and Gavin.  We ate and visited for about 2 hours.  Carter's dad is not a member of the Church.  They are going to talk to the mission president here and see if he can get them 3 tickets to General Conference this weekend, if not they are coming up to the house to watch conference with me.  I got home had my personal prayer and read scriptures before going to bed at about 11:00 pm.



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