Golden Rule.

3 Nephi 14:12

"Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them, for this is the law and the prophets."

Christ urges us to treat others how we want to be treated. I know I love it when people are kind and loving to me, so I should act that way more to other people.

Service

3 Nephi 13:4

"That thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father who seeth in secret, himself shall reward the openly."

When we do service, what is our purpose? Are we serving to look good? Or are we serving because we love doing it? Do we love the person we are serving? Do we want to be praised of man or of God? I think it's best to serve and keep it secret. It's not best to flaunt our service and boast of how good we are. That's contradictory.

Obedience

3 Nephi 12:30

"For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell."

Christ is teaching us why there are commandments. They are not in place to make life hard, rather they are tools to keep us out of hell. Christ lovingly issued these commandments so that we can receive exaltation and stand blameless before Him. He speaks from experience and knows what is best for us. We just need to have faith and trust in Him.

Baptism

3 Nephi 11:38

"And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God."

Baptism is such an important covenant to make with Heavenly Father. It includes us having faith in Christ enough to repent of all our sins. We covenant to keep the commandments, serve and love others, and be faithful to the Lord. In return we are accepted into the Church and have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion.

Prophesy

3 Nephi 10:14-15

"And now, whoso readeth, let him understand; he that hath the scriptures, let him search them, and see and behold if all these deaths and destructions by fire, and by smoke, and by tempests, and by whirlwinds, and by the opening of the earth to receive them, and all these things are not unto the fulfilling of the prophecies of many of the holy prophets.
Behold, I say unto you, Yea, many have testified of these things at the coming of Christ, and were slain because they testified of these things."

2 Nephi 26:3  Nephi prophesied of these things.
Helaman 14:20- Samuel the Lamanite prophesied as well

Those are 2 instances where prophets prophesied of this destruction at Christ's death. They were not slain, but they were rejected.

Sacrifice

3 Nephi 9:20

"And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not."

Physical sacrifices were done away when Jesus was sacrificed. In their place, we must sacrifice our hearts and spirits. We must give them to the Lord and devote our lives to Him so that He can use us for good. Having a broken heart is when we are sufficiently humble and know that we are nothing compared to God. A contrite spirit has to do with feeling remorse for sin and wrongdoings. These sacrifices mean we want to change from our natural selves and be more like the Savior. It is an ongoing process, daily implemented.

Regret

3 Nephi 8:24

"And in one place they were heard to cry, saying: O that we had repented before this great and terrible day, and then would our brethren have been spared, and they would not have been burned in that great city Zarahemla."

This regret is so sad. I cannot imagine how awful this would feel. I do not want this to happen to me. I want to repent each day so that I will not feel this utter regret. I want to have a clear conscience before the Lord and feel comfortable. I can prepare for this by following the Prophet, reading the scriptures, praying, and trying to be a better person each day.

Faith

Ether 12:6

"And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."


This is how faith works. Faith is so powerful! It is a belief and hope in something we cannot see. It comes through feelings and manifestations of the Spirit. Faith is hard to explain because it is so personal. Yet, faith is so abundant. So many people have faith, and this faith bolsters the faith of more people.

Baptism

3 Nephi 7:24

"Now I would have you to remember also, that there were none who were brought unto repentance who were not baptized with water."

This chapter focuses a lot on baptism, showing how important it is for people to repent and be baptized. It's not an optional thing-it's necessary.

Satan

3 Nephi 6:15

"Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this-- Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world."

This is how Satan works. He temps us with worldly glory. Glory that is only temporary. This world is only a speck of time compared to the eternities. Does worldly power really matter? Is it worth it to follow Satan and be wealthy? What happens when this wealth does not last? Satan's lures are only temporary-they do not last. He doesn't care for us, but wants us to fall like him.

Serve all the time

3 Nephi 5:3

"Therefore they did forsake all their sins, and their abominations, and their whoredoms, and did serve God with all diligence day and night."

How amazing! I think it's awesome that these people forsook all the bad things they did and replaced them with serving God. They served Him all day and all night. I wonder what they did and how they did it. I'm sure they prayed constantly for opportunities to serve and He gave them some.

Repent and be Humble

3 Nephi 4:33

"And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction."

These people recognized the hand of God in their salvation. They were so grateful for the Lord's help that they wept. They were repentant and humble. Those are key characteristics to receive the Lord's guidance. Being repentant and humble will keep us from being prideful, envious, and other destructive character traits. These things bring happiness and protection.

Unity

3 Nephi 3:25


"And they did fortify themselves against their enemies; and they did dwell in one land, and in one body, and they did fear the words which had been spoken by Lachoneus, insomuch that they did repent of all their sins; and they did put up their prayers unto the Lord their God, that he would deliver them in the time that their enemies should come down against them to battle."

I love how unified this people is. They lives together, repented together, and prayed together. This unity gave them strength. They were unified in their faith and in the Lord. The Lord listened to their many prayers and was with them.  I love this! I love that they all wanted the same thing, to be safe from their enemies, and they helped each other.

Rights of Religion

3 Nephi 2:12

"Therefore, all the Lamanites who had become converted unto the Lord did unite with their brethren, the Nephites, and were compelled, for the safety of their lives and their women and their children, to take up arms against those Gadianton robbers, yea, and also to maintain their rights, and the privileges of their church and of their worship, and their freedom and their liberty."

Yet again the righteous people need to engage in war to defend their rights. How blessed we are to live in a place where we don't have to wage war to protect our rights of religion! We can worship as we please, go to church, read the scriptures, and share the gospel with others.

Agency

Ether 8:26

"Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved."

This is the purpose Moroni writes. It is not selfish in any way, rather it is for everyone who reads this book. He writes so that we can be saved. He writes also so that Satan may no longer have power upon the earth. We can choose who we want to follow. Moroni knows that choosing Satan will lead to everlasting destruction. Choosing the Savior leads to joy! May we choose wisely.

3 Nephi 1:21

"And it came to pass also that a new star did appear, according to the word."

How awesome is this? When Christ was born a new star appeared just as the prophets said it would. This star was seen throughout the whole world. Christ's birth was so glorious that even the heavens rejoiced and showed a new star. With Christ's coming, the heavens brought forth so much light. This was a glorious time and I love imagining the beauty of it.

Unbelieving

Helaman 16:6

"But the more part of them did not believe in the words of Samuel..."

Samuel was called of God to preach unto the Nephites. Sadly, most did not believe. This is the state of the Nephites at this time: hardened and unbelieving. These people were once believers, but they turned away. This chapter is sad, because if the people listened to Samuel and believed in what he preached, they would have been happier and far better off.

Freedom

Helaman 15:8

"Therefore, as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made free."

Freedom comes from living the gospel. There is nothing to chain us down; no bad habits to be enslaved by. It protects from danger and brings us closer to our Savior.

Choices

Helaman 14:31

"He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or have that which is good restored unto you; or ye can do evil, and have that which is evil restored unto you."

This is one of the purposes of life: our ability to choose. We make choices each day. We can do good things or bad things. We can choose to life others up or pull them down. We get to choose, and we are judged by our choices.

Pride

Helaman 13:22

"Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he hath blessed you, but ye do always remember your riches, not to thank the Lord your God for them; yea, your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions, and murders, and all manner of iniquities."

When we think of our worldly possessions before thinking of our God we are in trouble! When our things become more important to us than our relationship with our Father in Heaven, then we are on the path to misery. What are these things compared to God? What happiness comes of pride? None. Rejoicing in pride only makes us more unhappy because we will never be satisfied. With God, we can be happy and ever improve our selves to be like Him. I choose to thank God for everything and I know that will help me stay humble.

Iniquity

Helaman 11:34

"Now this great evil, which came unto the people because of their iniquity, did stir them up again in remembrance of the Lord their God."

Wicked things happened to this people. The robbers came and destroyed their cities and people. This happened because they were not following God as they should have been. God could not protect them, because they did not seek His help.

Prophets

Helaman 10:14

"Therefore Nephi did declare unto them the word of the Lord, saying: Except ye repent, thus saith the Lord, ye shall be smitten even unto destruction."

Nephi was a Prophet. Prophets declare the word of the Lord, and whatever they say will happen. When Nephi preaches repentance, you better repent. The destruction he prophesied did happen, because the people did not take Nephi seriously. President Monson is the Prophet today. Do we take him seriously? Do we follow him?

Missionary work

Helaman 9:39

"And there were some of the Nephites who believed on the words of Nephi; and there were some also, who believed because of the testimony of the five, for they had been converted while they were in prison."

There are many different ways to hear the truth. We can hear it from the Prophet himself, or from missionaries, or members of the Church. When we hear the truth and feel the Spirit, we feel good about it and know it is true. We can all be ministers of the gospel and have the Spirit work through us to teach others.

Prophets

Helaman 8:12

"And now behold, if God gave unto this man such power, then why should ye dispute among yourselves, and say that the hath given unto me no power whereby I may know concerning the judgments that shall come upon you except ye repent?"

True Prophets have this power. They receive revelation from God on behalf of all mankind. A Prophet tells the truth. He tells what God would say. His judgments are true, and he knows things that no other man knows. It is best to believe him and follow him.

Choices

Helaman 7:17-18

"O repent ye, repent ye! Why will ye die? Turn ye, turn ye unto the Lord your God. Why has he forsaken you?
It is because you have hardened your hearts; yea, ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd; yea, ye have provoked him to anger against you."

God does not just forsake us. We turn from him first. The forsaking is our own doing when we stop listening to Him. He is always there, but it's up to us to follow Him and take His lead.

Missionary Work

Helaman 6:37

"And it came to pass that the Lamanites did hunt the band of robbers of Gadianton; and they did preach the word of God among the more wicked part of them, insomuch that this band of robbers was utterly destroyed from among the Lamanites."

The Lamanites did not tolerate this wicked band. Rather, the set out to destroy it. What better way to destroy wickedness than by preaching the Gospel? These robbers felt the Spirit and changed their ways because they knew the Gospel was true. I love this example of preaching to anyone and everyone-especially those who are in the wrong path.

Christ Disperses Darkness

Helaman 5:40-41

"...What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us?
And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you."

There are many times in life where we feel as if a dark cloud is overshadowing us. This may be due to sin, anger, jealousy, or many other things. The best solution is to repent. To change our ways. Christ helps us repent. He made it possible to do so. When we seek Him and change out hearts, that darkness disperses.

Promise Keeper

Mormon 8:22

"For the eternal purposes of the Lord shall roll on, until all his promises shall be fulfilled."

Whatever the Lord says, that's what happens. No man can change that. Laws may change, but the Lord never does. His laws and consequences remain.

Choices

Helaman 4:24

"And they saw that they had become weak, like unto their brethren, the Lamanites, and that the Spirit of the Lord did no more preserve them; yea, it had withdrawn from them because the Spirit of the Lord doth not dwell in unholy temples-"

When these Nephites lost sight of the Lord they became weak. The Lord was no longer their strength and they were on even grounds with the Lamanites. They lost the Spirit. They lost so much as they chose to sin before their Master. How dangerous this was for them! How dangerous it is for anyone who chooses darkness over the light of the Gospel.

Believe

Helaman 3:27-28

"Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name.
Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God."

The Lord loves us. We are His children. He wants us to recognize Him, to call upon His name, and be like Him. We are all His children, so we these blessings are available to everyone. It's up to us to choose if we want this or not.