Ether 1:34

"...Cry unto the Lord..."

In this chapter this phrase if found at least four times. Jared urged his brother to "cry unto the Lord" so that his language would not be confounded and that they would be guided to a promised land. They were blessed with what they asked the Lord. The Lord saved these people from the confounding at the Tower of Babel and led them to the promised land.  The Lord hears and answers prayers of the faithful.

Mormon 9:34

"But the Lord knoweth the things which we have written, and also that none other people knoweth our language; and because that none other people knoweth our language, therefore he hath prepared means for the interpretation thereof."

The Lord knows everything.  He knows what is happening now and what will happen. It is no shock that the Lord knew how to preserve these scriptures. He can perform all miracles, and He did as Joseph Smith translated the plates into the Book of Mormon.

Mormon 7:9

"For behold, this is written for the intent that ye may believe that; and if ye believe that ye will believe this also; and if ye believe this ye will know concerning your fathers, and also the marvelous works which were wrought by the power of God among them."

The Book of Mormon (this) and Bible (that) are complementary. If you really believe the Bible, you will also believe the Book of Mormon. Reading both books helps us understand the history of prophets and the miracles wrought by God's power in past days. I am so grateful to have both books of scripture today.

Alma 45:3

"And Helaman said unto him: Yea, I believe."

Helaman answers Alma, his father, with this simple phrase.  In this proclamation Helaman affirms his belief in his father's words; the words of a true prophet.  Helaman shows his faithfulness and devotion to living the gospel just as his father had.

Mormon 3:20-22

" 20 And these things doth the Spirit manifest unto me; therefore I write unto you all. And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil;

 21 And also that ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, which ye shall have among you; and also that the Jews, the covenant people of the Lord, shall have other witness besides him whom they saw and heard, that Jesus, whom they slew, was the very Christ and the very God.

 22 And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ."

Mormon here describes the purposes of his writings.  They are:

1) To tell the whole human family that they will be judged by their works.

2) That all may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

3) That the Jews will have another witness that Jesus is the Christ and Savior of the world

4) To persuade all people to repent, thus being prepared for the inevitable judgement.

These are all unselfish reasons. I can tell that Mormon really loved the people and wanted them to be on good standings with the Lord.

Mormon 2:13

"But behold this my joy was vain, for their sorrowing was not unto repentance, because of the goodness of God; but it was rather the sorrowing of the damned, because the Lord would not always suffer them to take happiness in sin."

It's so sad that these people were so lost that they could not turn unto God to seek peace. They were so far away from the Spirit that they would not humble themselves. Their pride brought sorrow and lamentation.

4 Nephi verses 10-11

"And now, behold, it came to pass that the people of Nephi did wax strong, and did multiply exceedingly fast, and became an exceedingly fair and delightsome people.
And they were married, and given in marriage, and were blessed according to the multitude of the promises which the Lord had made unto them."

The Nephites lived the gospel and so were blessed.  I like how their strength is accorded to the many marriages that happened. Strength comes when there are families on the earth who love each other and live righteously. The family is so necessary in our day to preserve strength. To arm ourselves against the deceits of the destroyer. To have a place of refuge, a place where the teachings of Jesus are taught, discussed, and lived. I want my family to be like this and I am glad I was raised like this.