Feast upon the Words of Christ 2 NEPHI 32-33

SAMPLE

GORGE

TASTE

NIBBLE

FEAST

S AMPLE, GORGE, TASTE, NIBBLE, SNACK, & FEAST Which of these words associate with:  Thanksgiving  Christmas Dinner  When you have the flu  Fast Sunday  Day after your breakup  Scripture study

2 NEPHI 32 Read 2 Nephi 32:1-3 Do you think feasting on scripture refers to: (1) the amount of scripture you read, (2) the types or passages of scripture you read, (3) the speed at which you read, or (4) the frequency of your scripture study? Why? Share a time when feasting on the words of Christ helped you know what to do in your life What little things do you do to make study meaningful?

“To feast means more than to taste. To feast means to savor. We savor the scriptures by studying them in a spirit of delightful discovery and faithful obedience. When we feast upon the words of Christ, they are embedded ‘in fleshy tables of the heart.’ [2 Corinthians 3:3.] They become an integral part of our nature.” “If you and I are to feast upon the words of Christ, we must study the scriptures and absorb His words through pondering them and making them a part of every thought and action.” Robert Hales, “Healing Soul and Body,” October 1998 Russell Nelson, “Living by Scriptural Guidance,” October 2000

Personal scripture study: _____________________ Sacrament meeting: _________________________ General conference: _________________________ Family scripture study: _______________________ Seminary: _________________________________ Family home evening: ________________________ Priesthood meeting or Young Women class: _______ Sunday School: ______________________________ Personal prayer: ____________________________ Are you feasting?

Prayer must accompany scripture study: 2 Ne 32:8-9 2 Nephi 32

Elder David A. Bednar: “In morning prayer, after expressing appropriate thanks for blessings received, we plead for understanding, direction, and help to do the things we cannot do in our own strength alone. … “During the course of the day, we keep a prayer in our heart for continued assistance and guidance. … “We will notice during the day that there are occasions where normally we would have a tendency to speak harshly, and we do not; or we might be inclined to anger, but we are not… 2 Nephi 32

“At the end of our day, we kneel again and report back to our Father. We review the events of the day. We repent and, with the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, identify ways we can do and become better. Thus our evening prayer builds upon and is a continuation of our morning prayer. “Morning and evening prayers—and all of the prayers in between—are not unrelated, discrete events; rather, they are linked together each day and across days, weeks, months, and even years. This is in part how we fulfill the scriptural admonition to ‘pray always’ (“Pray Always,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 41–42). 2 Nephi 32

“Pray always” for 24 hours. Invitation

2 Nephi 32:1-3 Elder Holland, The Ministry of Angels, October 2008

“May I suggest to you that one of the things we need to teach our [children], and one of the things which will become more important in their lives the longer they live, is the reality of angels, their work, and their ministry. “Obviously I speak here not alone of the angel Moroni, but also of those more personal ministering angels who are with us and around us, empowered to help us, and who do exactly that. ELDER HOLLAND

“Perhaps more of us… could literally, or at least figuratively, behold the angels around us if we would but awaken from our stupor and hear the voice of the Spirit as those angels try to speak…. “I believe we need to speak of and believe in and bear testimony to the ministry of angels more than we sometimes do. They constitute one of God's great methods of witnessing through the veil…” CES Symposium on the Book of Mormon 9 August 1994 ELDER HOLLAND

“I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88).

And now, behold, I say unto you, and I would that ye should remember, that God is merciful unto all who believe on his name; therefore he desireth, in the first place, that ye should believe, yea, even on his word. And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. ALMA 32

The word angel is used in various ways. A person who is a divine messenger is called an angel (Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James, John, Moses, Elijah, and Elias all ministered to Joseph Smith as angels). The scriptures also speak of another class of persons who, because of failure to obey the gospel, will not be exalted and will become angels in eternity. Angels also has reference to the heavenly messengers sent forth to minister to the inhabitants of the earth. Angels

ELDER ENZIO BUSCHE At a Christmas social once, I was sitting next to a woman from a recently opened country in Eastern Europe. She was in the west for the first time and was helping with the translation work. She was a convert of a little over a year. She told me about her branch and the poor circumstances they were all living in and how difficult it was for the members to get to their Sunday meetings… These new members could not say enough about the love and the gracious care of the Lord. Then she said, “Once in awhile, we have holy angels visit and comfort and strengthen us.” She added with a smile, “Can you imagine? I have found people in Salt Lake City who have never see an angel.” She laughed as if that were the strangest thing she had ever heard. Yearning for the Living God, p. 234

“When They speak to you—and They will—it will not be in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but it will be with a voice still and small, a voice tender and kind. It will be with the tongue of angels.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland)

JOSEPH F. SMITH “When messengers are sent to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not strangers, but from the ranks of our kindred, friends, and fellow- beings and fellow-servants... “Our fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who have passed away from this earth, having been faithful, and worthy to enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again, from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, or reproof and instruction, to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh.” (Gospel Principles, p. 435)

JOSEPH SMITH “Enveloped in flaming fire, they [in the spirit world] are not far from us, and know and understand our thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and are often pained therewith.” History of the Church, 6:52

What questions do you have about the role of Angels?

Who is the angel that most commonly speaks to us?

“Through the Aaronic Priesthood ordinances of baptism and the sacrament, we are cleansed of our sins and promised that if we keep our covenants we will always have His Spirit to be with us. I believe that promise not only refers to the Holy Ghost but also to the ministering of angels, for "angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ" (2 Ne. 32:3). So it is that those who hold the Aaronic Priesthood open the door for all Church members who worthily partake of the sacrament to enjoy the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord and the ministering of angels.” (Elder Oaks, "The Aaronic Priesthood and the Sacrament," Ensign, Nov. 1998, p. 39)

2 Nephi 33:1 “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost…” 2 Nephi 33:1 “The Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the heart…”

2 Nephi 33:1

Elder David A. Bednar: “Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. A teacher can explain, demonstrate, persuade, and testify, and do so with great spiritual power and effectiveness. Ultimately, however, the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter. Learning by faith opens the pathway into the heart” (“Seek Learning by Faith,” Ensign, Sept. 2007, 61). 2 Nephi 33:1

Elder Gerald N. Lund: “Why just unto the heart? Individual agency is so sacred that Heavenly Father will never force the human heart, even with all His infinite power. Man may try to do so, but God does not. To put it another way, God allows us to be the guardians, or the gatekeepers, of our own hearts. We must, of our own free will, open our hearts to the Spirit, for He will not force Himself upon us” (“Opening Our Hearts,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 33). 2 Nephi 33:1-2

“Work hard to gain your own salvation” Buddah “I love you more” Michael Jackson “Oh Lord, my God” Joseph Smith “I’m shot” John Lennon “I hope I haven’t bored you” Elvis Presley “Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here” Nostrodamus “I am a dead man” Hyrum Smith “I must obey” Nephi (2 Nephi 33:15) Famous Last Words

T HE OBJECTIVE OF SEMINARY IS TO HELP YOUTH UNDERSTAND AND RELY ON THE TEACHINGS AND A TONEMENT OF J ESUS C HRIST. What principles from today’s scriptures point you the teachings of Christ? What part of the lesson can help you rely on the Atonement?

Feast upon the Words of Christ 2 NEPHI 32-33