Waters And A Dish

"And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever." Mosiah Chapter 18:8-10

“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.” Ether Chapter 2:17

I love these verses. They had to be translated from a poem, chant or song.  The repetitive pattern shown by "like unto a dish"   and "waters of Mormon, forest of Mormon" indicates such an occurrence. I believe they were told this way, as this culture taught their children to remember like how we remember "see Dick and Jane" sequences as young children. The formation of language and gospel culture is displayed by these writing patterns.

A Caring Parent

"Anywhere and everywhere, we love you all, as we are somewhere aware."

I came up with this clever phrase,  as the family is expanding and living in other parts of the country.

"in intercession we make contact with God which leads to Him communicating with us", from opentheword.org

Abinadi makes profound definitions regarding a personal, loving relationship demonstrated from the Savior (Abinadi defending Christ before wicked King Noah, Mosiah chapters).  His power, mercy trumping justice- victory for us.

Mosiah 15:

 8 And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men—

 9 Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.

"At times in history, mortal men have been executed by crucifixion. But only our Savior, Jesus Christ, embraces us still carrying the marks of His pure love."

Gerrit W. Gong

Hope To Heal

"Over time, I learned that they harbored lingering resentment toward me and the Church. For almost six decades, I have been haunted by this situation and have grieved for the Hatfields. I tried several times to establish contact with them, without success.

Then one night last May, I was awakened by those two little girls from the other side of the veil. Though I did not see or hear them with my physical senses, I felt their presence. Spiritually, I heard their pleadings. Their message was brief and clear: “Brother Nelson, we are not sealed to anyone! Can you help us?” Soon thereafter, I learned that their mother had passed away, but their father and younger brother were still alive.

Emboldened by the pleadings of Laural Ann and Gay Lynn, I tried again to contact their father, who I learned was living with his son Shawn. This time they were willing to meet with me.

In June, I literally knelt in front of Jimmy, now 88 years old, and had a heart-to-heart talk with him. I spoke of his daughters’ pleadings and told him I would be honored to perform sealing ordinances for his family. I also explained that it would take time and much effort on his and Shawn’s part to be ready and worthy to enter the temple, as neither of them had ever been endowed.

The Spirit of the Lord was palpable throughout that meeting. And when Jimmy and Shawn each accepted my offer, I was overjoyed! They worked diligently with their stake president, bishop, home teachers, and ward mission leader, as well as with young missionaries and a senior missionary couple. And then, not long ago, in the Payson Utah Temple, I had the profound privilege of sealing Ruth to Jimmy and their four children to them. Wendy and I wept as we participated in that sublime experience. Many hearts were healed that day!"

April Conference 2016 Message, M. Russell Nelson

What can one learn from this?

That the veil is thin between this world and the next.  Are we, being one who is living close to the spirit to feel of such an experience?  In our work with our kindred dead- we need to have this type of hope to heal.