Tag Archives: Forgiveness

Summary of Enos + Enos 1

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Summary of Enos + Enos 1

                The Book of Enos… is the fourth book in the Book of Mormon….

Enos opens up speaking of the knowledge his father had taught him, Enos goes out to hunt and while hunting finds himself pondering the words spoken by his father concerning eternal life and the joy of the saints.

                “And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. And I, Enos, know that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away. And I said: Lord, how is it done? And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Enos 1:4-8)

                Here, Enos cried out to God for his sins to be forgiven. God answered his prayer, just like he answers all of our prayers. God forgave Enos of his sins, because of his faith in Jesus Christ. This is the first principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Faith in Him!

After having felt this remission of his own sins, Enos desires this same for his people and asks God to deliver them from their sins as well. Enos desired that they would be spared and that the record which he had would not be destroyed; “…that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephities… that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites…” (Enos 1:13)

Enos goes on to explain how the Nephites had attempted on numerous times to reach out to the Lamanites to help them come unto Christ, but their labor was in vain. Enos explains that the Lamanites were “…a blood thirsty people, full of idolatry and filthiness…” (Enos 1:20) Enos saw many wars and contentions between the Lamanites and the Nephites.

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2 Nephi 4

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2 Nephi 4: Lehi Dies

                Lehi calls all of the sons of Laman, Lemuel and Nephi and all their families to give them a blessing before he departs (for Lehi must have known that his death was approaching).

“…it came to pass my father, Lehi, had spoken unto all his household, according to the feelings of his heard and the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, he waxed old…” (2 Nephi 4:12)

After Lehi died and was buried, Laman and Lemuel and their offspring were angered unto Nephi for he spoke many things of the Lord unto them. Nephi explains the purpose of his writings;

“…upon these [the plates] I write the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children. Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and myheart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.” (2 Nephi 4:15-16)

Nephi knows that the scriptures are important for man to ponder and learn from. Nephi knows that he is not perfect, but he knows that when he his encircled in temptations the Lord will deliver him.

“…when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted… God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh. He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me… he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time.” (2 Nephi 4:19-23)

Nephi praises the Lord for being with him through all the hard times, and he puts his trust in the Lord. Nephi then explains how sin can come upon anyone, but how we should overcome our sin and lean on the Lord for strength.

“…why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy? Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.” (2 Nephi 4:27-30)

Nephi asks why he should yield to sin and let the enemy encircle him. Nephi leans of the Lord, the Rock of his salvation to help him overcome the sins and temptations of the world.

“May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may walkin the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

…Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.” (2 Nephi 4:32;35)

Nephi explains that the temptations of the world and the evil are shut off from him because he has a broken heart and a contrite spirit and leans on the Lord, his Redeemer and Savior! Nephi exclaims that the Lord will answer to anyone who asks.

1 John 1

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1 John 1: We Follow God by Obedience to His Law

                John writes a general letter to all the believers of Christ and explains that we must be obedient to God and His commandments. For; “…God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) Therefore our purpose to become like Him means that we need to also be filled with the light and rid ourselves of the darkness. John explains that “If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we life, and do not the truth.” (1 john 1:6) Because of this we must not be hypocrites and instead practice what we preach. If we follow Jesus Christ and say we follow Him, WE MUST FOLLOW HIM! For “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

Essentially, we need to confess our sins and admit that we have and/or are currently sinning. We are not perfect, and therefore will make mistakes that are contrary to the commandments of God. If we work hard to rid ourselves of our sins by confessing them and promising to no longer participate in those sins, God is merciful and just to forgive us. Just like Salvation is a FREE gift we must still accept the gift. Unfortunately many believe that these gifts come FREE without any stipulations, but the truth is not so… we have to do our part in order to receive these wonderful gifts from God.

Hebrews 9

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Hebrews 9: Christ = The Mediator

                Paul writes to the Hebrews and explains that in times of Old (the Old Testament) a priest would come into the Holy Tabernacle once a year to “atone” for the sins of the people. However, Christ came to Atone for the sins of the people with a far greater tabernacle, which was His own body, the very same body that He sacrificed and Atoned for us. In order for this Atonement to take effect, Jesus Christ had to die for the Testament. This is similar to “last will and testament”, which is only executed upon death of an individual. Because of this it was necessary for Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Those who follow Him; “…are called [to] receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Hebrews 9:15)

Paul explains the divine mission of Jesus Christ;

“…Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands… but into heaven itself…. Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the scone time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:24;28) Therefore those who follow Jesus Christ will be given salvation when Jesus Christ returns for the Second time.

 

Hebrews 8

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Hebrews 8: Christ Sacrificed for Sin

                Paul explains to the Hebrews that the Old Covenant has “…waxeth old [and] is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:13) Paul urges the Hebrews and everyone who can read this letter (either then, or today) should; “…teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:11-12)

Essentially Paul has reminded us that God is merciful.  This means that is DOES NOT matter if we have sinned in the past, as long as we put it in the past. Those who come to Christ, will have their sins and wickedness be forgotten by Him.

Colossians 3

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Colossians 3: Forgive One Another – Peace

                Paul urges the Saints at Colosse to seek “…things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2) Paul says that we ought to be ashamed on those who participate in; “…fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection [not within proper bounds], evil concupiscence [strong evil desire], and covetousness, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)

                Paul urges the Saints to not “Lie… to another…” (Colossians 3:9)  He says that when we are baptized, we put “…on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him…” (Colossians 3:10)

                Paul also urges the Saints to forgive one another and teach one another;

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another… Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:13;16)

Paul ends his address in this chapter by urging “Husbands…[to]…love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged” (Colossians 3:19-21) Essentially, Husbands need to love their wives and vice-versa… children should listen to their parents and parents should do well to not discourage their children. Simply put, families should help and love one another.

2 Corinthians 2

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2 Corinthians 2: Saints should Love one Another

                Paul explains his reasoning for writing the Corinthians; “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have is more abundantly unto you.” (2 Corinthians 2:4) Paul loved those who he served and wanted to bring to the attention of the Corinthians their wrong doings, and how they might correct them.

Paul explains that Christians need to forgive one another and that we as Christians need to be obedient in all things; “…be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive anything, to whom I forgave it…” (2 Corinthians 2:9-10) If we forgive, God will also forgive. If we do not forgive, and we let the anger stir within us; “…Satan should get an advantage of us…” (2 Corinthians 2:11) Paul reminds the Corinthians that he speaks these words with sincerity to help the Corinthians.

Luke 7

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Luke 7: Follow Jesus Christ

                After Jesus had finished speaking with those gathered, He traveled to Capernaum, where He is asked to heal a centurion’s servant. The centurion tells Jesus that He doesn’t need Him to come back to his house, because he is not worthy of the Lord to enter into his home.  But the man still believed that Jesus could heal his servant, and Jesus did. The servant was healed and Jesus proclaimed that the Centurion had great faith.

Jesus then travels to the city of Nain. When Jesus arrived He noticed a funeral procession, where a young man had died and his mother was distraught. Jesus saw her, and had compassion on her. Jesus the goes and commands the boy to arise, and he does. Jesus brought the young man back from the dead. The people who witnessed this great even were fearful; nonetheless they were filled with a sense of joy that God had sent such a great prophet to be among them. Jesus tells the witnesses to spread what they saw far and wide. The news spread throughout all of Judea.

Some of the servants of John the Baptists come and speak with Jesus and ask Him; “…Art thou he that should come? Or look we for another?” (Luke 7:20) Jesus explains to them that it is Him who was to come after John the Baptist and while healing the sick, blind, lame and deaf He tells the messenger to relay what they saw to John. So the messengers depart. Jesus then explains to those gathered that John the Baptist was the one who was sent before Him, to prepare the way.

Jesus explains that there is “…not a greater prophet than John the Baptist…” (Luke 6:28)

Those who heard Jesus, the publicans justified God by being baptized by John. But the Pharisees and lawyers “…rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.” (Luke 6:30)

Why did the Pharisees and lawyers reject the baptism of John? Because they did not understand the word of God! Instead they were not baptized by the proper authority, which is extremely important in baptism, for without the proper priesthood authority one will only get wet.

One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat with him, and while eating a sinful woman came and anointed Him with alabaster oil. She also washed His feet with tears and dried them with the hair on her head. A Pharisee in the dinner party took no time to criticize Jesus ; “…This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.” (Luke 7:39)

Jesus then turns to Simon and says; “There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefor, which of them will love him most?” (Luke 7:42) Simon tells Jesus that he supposes the one who owed the most would be happier and love the creditor more. Jesus explains that Simon is correct and continues; “…Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me not water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet…” (Luke 7:44-45) Jesus finally tells Simon that he failed to do many things, but because the woman was a sinner she loved much when her sins were forgiven. Jesus tells the woman that she is free from her sins and that she is forgiven. He tells her; “…Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” (Luke 7:50)

Matthew 18

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Matthew 18:

We need to forgive our brothers 

The Twelve Apostles come to Jesus and ask him; “…Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1) and Jesus responded to them by having a little child come before the midst of them;

“…Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4) Essentially Jesus taught His disciples and now those reading the Bible that we need to become as humble and submissive as a little child. Does that mean that we need to act like children on that level of maturity? No. It means that we need to become as innocent as a child, clean without blemish.

Jesus goes on to elaborate “…whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he was downed in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:5-6) It is clear that children are pure and innocent; children are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. If this is true why do they have need for baptism? The answer is simple, baptism for children is unnecessary, baptism is for those who need to be clean, not for those who are already clean. It is also clear that those who harm children will be punished for their sins. Those who do ANYTHING to offend one of God’s little ones, would have done better to drown in the depths of the sea. “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones…” (Matthew 18:10)

                  Jesus goes on to explain His mission on the earth and the mission that we, as disciples, must follow. “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.” (Matthew 18:11) Jesus tells a story about a man who had 100 sheep, and one went astray. He explains that sometimes you need to leave the 99, to go and find the 1 that got lost. When the man finds the one that got away, his joy is greater that with those who did not go astray. In this manner we need to seek out those who are lost, even if it means abandoning, for a time, those who are not lost.

Jesus continues to explain some very important doctrine;

                  “…in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” (Matthew 18:16)

                  2 or 3 witnesses can establish the truth. This is why it is important for Mormon Missionaries to go out 2 by 2.

                  “…Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18) 

In the end of the Old Testament (Malachi 4:5-6), it was prophesied that Elijah would come to turn the hearts of the children to the father and vice versa. This was the power given by Elijah in the last days to seal families together forever, through the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, and through His church in the Last Days; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

                  “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

                  Wherever a few people are gathered, there will also be the Spirit of God. This does not mean that because 2 or 3 are gathered that churches should be formed without Authority from God, but it does mean that if those 2 or 3, or even more people are bound together with similar desires and moral aptitudes that the Spirit of God will be with them.

After Jesus had done much speaking, Peter asks Him; “…how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22) Does that mean that we are only supposed to forgive someone 70 x 7= 490 times? What Jesus meant is that we need to always forgive someone, especially if their desires are pure and their intentions are great. Jesus continues to address forgiveness with a story about a man who owed a great debt. This man was unable to pay the debt and begged his creditor for mercy. The creditor had mercy on him and forgave his debts. However, that same debtor who was forgiven of his debts, went and found a man who owed him money. This man was not as kind and did not have mercy on him, but instead cast him into prison. When the original creditor found that he did not forgive as he was forgiven, he was upset. Jesus explains that; “…likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hears forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses.” (Matthew 18:35)

Psalms 51-52

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Psalms 51-52

Chapter 51: David Pleads for Forgiveness

To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.

                David opens this Psalm by asking God to have mercy on him for his sins. David is speaking of something that happened earlier in the Book of 2 Samuel 11:2-5 “…David arose from his bed, and walked upon the room of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon… David sent and enquired after the woman [Bath-Sheba]… David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her… the woman conceived…” (2 Samuel 11:2-5)

                The story then goes on to explain that Nathan the prophet tells David that he despised the commandment of the Lord to commit adultery after he had been given so much. The son that was conceived in Solomon.

We learn that everyone sins, and David definitely sinned here. But it says that if we want to be forgiven of our sins, we need to come to the Lord and offer a sacrifice of “…a broken spirit: and a contrite heart…” (Psalms 51:17)

Chapter 52: Wicked Tongues

To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.

                David tells us that the wicked and evil man will boast himself in mischief, because he “…lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness.” (Psalms 52:3). These are the same men who trust more in their riches and worldly possessions than they do in God.