I want to discuss Joshua 10:12-14.

Gibeon made peace with the Israelites and this troubled many kings in the region, so they joined together and went to war with Gibeon. The people of Gibeon learned of their preparations and sent word to the Israelites to send aid. And so they came to defend the people of Gibeon and the Lord was with the Israelites and cast great stones from heaven to smite those enemy armies. That in itself was miraculous. 

But then in verses 12 and 13  we read, "12 Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand though still upon Gibeon; and though, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. 13 And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies ... So the Sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day."

I have always been fascinated by this scripture. Can you imagine a day twice as long as it should normally be? And in our day and age we would be able to time it precisely and know exactly how much longer than usual it would be should this ever happen again.

This time when I read these versus I realized that it showed Gods complete control over everything He created. Since we know it is the earth that rotates around the sun we know that even though Joshua worded his command the way he did, it means that the rotation of the earth halted so that it looked as if the sun were stationary in the sky for about a days time.

The command was given by one of God's prophets, Joshua, so we also see that a servant of God can have just as much control as God over everything God created as long as it is the will of God that such a thing should happen. In this case it was the will of God that the day should be extended and that it should appear to everyone that the sun was stationary in the sky instead of appearing to move as it usually does.

May we all live our lives such that we know Gods will as well as Joshua did so that whenever the need arises to do anything great or small we will be ready to.

 I find it interesting how in Numbers 9:15-23 we learn about how a cloud would cover the tabernacle by day and fire by night and when the cloud was removed from the tabernacle they knew it was time to travel and where they found the cloud they knew it was time to pitch their tents and set up the tabernacle again. And it specifically states that it was at the command of the Lord that they journeyed and at the command of the Lord that they pitched their tents.

This is one of the ways, a very physical and clear way, that the Lord taught the Israelites to follow Him, Jesus Christ. And so he guided them during their journeying in the wilderness. I have wondered why nothing so clear is provided for us and amongst this wondering I have perhaps found a reason why not.

In the time of the Israelites there was nothing they knew of that could produce a cloud during the day and fire by night that would behave as this cloud did. Therefore it was more likely that they would conclude it manifest by some supernatural power. One of their greatest difficulties with this could have been deciding if it was manifest through the power of God or the power of the devil.

However, for us these days, we have a third option we know of that could produce such a phenomenon. Technology. And with this knowledge if something like this were to happen I imagine many people would ascribe such a cloud to some technology and not give it much more thought. Very few, if any, people would ascribe such a cloud by day and fire by night to God or to the devil.

Wither it be through something physical or something spiritual there will always be some element of belief or faith required on our part. I can imagine it may have been easier for the Israelites to believe it was of divine origin in the beginning but would become harder as the days dragged into weeks and months and then years. 10 years wandering, 20 years wandering, 30 years wandering, and 40 years. In fact they wandered long enough in the wilderness that everyone who witnessed the first time the cloud descended on the tabernacle and became fire by night had died except for three people. In all that time they faithfully followed instead of giving up and wandering off somewhere to build a permanent house or settlement. And its not like they never considered returning to Egypt. But they faithfully followed and it must have required great faith to continue following and wandering for so long.

As a fellow classmate pointed out to me we do have some physical manifestations in our time but they require a spiritual view and faith to understand them for what they are. The two she pointed out are temples and our patriarchal blessings. We must attend the temple or read our patriarchal blessing to feel the spirit and in this way gain a spiritual view of how the Lord uses them to guide us during a very different time than the time of these Israelites. It can be done and must be done and will require faith on our part.

In Exodus 35:4-9 the Israelites were commanded to sacrifice material things for the construction of a tabernacle. It is worded as a commandment to them but in that command are used the words "...whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring..." The Lord wanted them to willingly give of what they had for the construction of a tabernacle.

The Israelites response (found in Exodus 35:20-24) was immediate and many, if not all, brought what they had to offer and sacrificed it for the construction of the tabernacle. In fact they kept giving to the point that in Exodus 36:5-7 Moses commanded them to not bring anymore because they had more than enough to complete the tabernacle according to how the Lord commanded it to be built.

The Israelites had many faults for which we often remember them but in this thing they did very well in being willing to sacrifice what little things of wealth they were able to bring with them from Egypt into the wilderness not knowing how long it would take for them to replenish or replace such things if ever.

We live in a very different time and under circumstances very different from that of those Israelites from long ago. And yet we too are asked and/or commanded by the Lord to sacrifice for the benefit of others. I believe our willingness to give or sacrifice our material things, our money, our talents, and our time help define who we are. And how we feel as we sacrifice also indicates where our heart is on such matters. The Lord wants us to give willingly whether we are commanded to sacrifice or not. 

I would like to think I would willingly sacrifice anything that I was asked to sacrifice but the reality is I don't believe I am at that point yet and I struggle to learn how I can improve my heart and desires concerning such matters to align my willingness more to what the Lord what have it to be.

 I am currently studying the Old Testament of the Bible in a religious course I am taking at BYU-Idaho. This week our assigned study area is Genesis chapters 24-50.

In this post I will focus on Genesis 24:12-15,17-20. Here Abraham sent his servant on a long journey to where Abraham used to live to find a woman for a wife for Abraham's son Isaac. The servant has arrived and is standing beside a well. He offers a prayer to God asking for help in knowing who to pick.

In my life it is rare that my prayers get answered immediately and from what I have heard from others it seems like for them too, most prayers are not answered immediately. I have had a few that were answered immediately in such a way that I knew it was the answer.

In the case of this servant, the scriptures record that before he finished speaking he saw Rebekah coming down to the well. Her actions show him that she is the woman that is to be Isaac's wife. His prayer was answered almost immediately.

I know that our faith filled prayers are powerful and when it is God's will they are answered in the way we believed they would be answered. Our faith and our thoughts align with God's will in such a way that our prayer can be answered as we prayed it and in the time we hoped for. I was taught that before and/or after we pray we should do all we can and not simply utter our prayer and do nothing more and expect our prayer to be answered. Action is required.

The servant of Abraham did what needed to be done by travelling to where Abraham asked him to travel. Then even after he knew he had found the woman who would become Isaac's wife. He spoke with her family and told them how his prayer had been answered but also said he needed to know if they would let Rebekah go with her to be Isaac's wife. He didn't say they had to because of how his prayer was answered. All involved had their freedom to choose and they did. In verse 58 of Genesis Chapter 24 The mother and brother of Rebekah called her and asked her if she would go and she said she would.

The Jaredites Cross The Ocean

In the Book of Mormon in Ether chapter 6 the Jaredites enter into the eight barges which they had built to begin their journey to the Americas.

The Barges They Built

The properties, dimensions, and construction of the barges is described in Ether 2:16 - 17, 20.

"16 ...And they were small, and they were light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water.
17 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."
"20 ...make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air..."

The Journey To The Americas

In Ether 2:23 the Lord informed the Jaredites that they were not to take fire with them. For light they have two stones (Ether 3:1,6) per barge that give light because the lord touched them. Final preparations to depart and their departure are recorded in Ether 6:4-5

"4 And it came to pass that when they had prepared all manner of food, that thereby they might subsist upon the water, and also food for their flocks and herds, and whatsoever beast or animal or fowl that they should carry with them - and it came to pass that when they had done all these things they got aboard of their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God.
5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind."

This journey lasted three hundred and forty and four days according to Ether 6:11.

A few thoughts I have had about this journey are as follows. It seems to me they very likely had to practice some form of composting on their vessels to keep the stench of their waste down and because they were in constant motion they may have had little or no opportunity to open the door and discharge waste.

Furthermore along with the food they must have had enough water for the entire journey or a method of converting sea water to drinking water for them and all the animals that were with them.

The barges had no steering so they were completely dependent upon the Lord to get them where they needed to go and keep the eight barges together such that when they landed they were all together. This must have required great faith on their part. And if there were any who lacked faith once the journey had begun, it was too late and they were stuck for the remainder of the journey since they had no way to control where they went.

The light in their barges from the stones prepared by the Lord I view as a symbol of the light of the gospel shining upon them for the entire journey.

There is no record if they knew how long the journey would take and their main indicator would have been if the Lord had told them exactly how much food to take with them. If that is not the case then I doubt they knew how long it would take. In any case the amount of food remaining toward the end of the journey would be dramatically less than when they started after consuming food for over three hundred days. Again this would test their faith that they would arrive at the promised land before their supplies ran out.

They shed tears of joy (Ether 6:12) before the Lord upon setting foot on the promised land.

Three Nephite Disciples Will Not Taste Of Death

In 3 Nephi 28 there is recorded an  extraordinary event which I will portray here.

Jesus, robed in white, is talking with his twelve disciples and asks them "What is it that ye desire of me, after that I am gone to the Father?" I will here focus on the three disciples who did not immediately give Jesus their answer and so in verse 4 Jesus repeats the same question. When they still don't reply Jesus tells them he knows their thoughts and tells them what they want and grants it unto them.

They wanted to continue to bring souls to Jesus until his second coming. This would mean they would have to not die. They knew the implications of this. What I suspect they didn't realize is everything else that would come with such a request. The experienced a change that meant they would not taste of death until Christs second coming.

What they were granted that they may not have realized would be granted is that they would no longer suffer pain nor sorrows except for the sorrow for the sins of others. This means no more broken bones for them, no more getting sick, and quite likely no more aging.

Furthermore Jesus told them Satan could no longer tempt them. From that moment on, most, if not all of their mortal test ended. They saw marvelous things in heaven which they could not tell others.

They could not be burned, prisons could not hold them, wild beasts would not hurt them, pits they were thrown into could not hold them, and in fine all manner of ways people could and would use to bind them or punish them would no longer work against them.

Jesus Blesses The Nephite Children

I am going to use visualization and hope that you can see in your mind the great and wondrous events found in the Book of Mormon in the 3rd book of Nephi in the 17th chapter in verses 11 thru 25.

First I will set up the scene based on these verses and others. There were about 2,500 people - men, women, and children (3 Nephi 17:25)  gathered around the temple in Bountiful (3 Nephi 11:1) when our resurrected Savior, Jesus Christ, descended from heaven and instructed them and organized His church among them (3 Nephi 11 -16). I imagine it is in the late afternoon or early evening and Jesus tells them to go to their homes to prepare their minds for what he will teach them tomorrow when He comes again. The people wanted Him to stay longer and so he does and He heals their sick.

Now he turns his attention to their children.

Jesus commanded that their little children be brought. So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way till they had all been brought unto him. Infants were placed at his feet, looking up at him. Toddlers set down all around him and they sat quietly, reverently, and looked upon Jesus, older siblings sat still too. None spoke, none cried. So powerful must have been the spirit to create such a scene. The parents withdrew. Hundreds of children gathered round Jesus, some likely had just been healed by him.

All the adults knelt, making a second circle around Jesus. Jesus is at the center, encircled by the children, who are encircled by their kneeling parents. Jesus knelt. He prayed unto the Father.

The testimony the people gave of this prayer is as follows:

"16 ... The eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father;
17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father."

After this pray, Jesus arose. The joy the multitude felt overcame them to the point they were all laying on the ground. Jesus bade them arise and they did. Jesus wept for joy.

Then Jesus took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed for them. I imagine Jesus smiling as he held each infant in his arms and blessed each one. Likewise as he held each toddler, and each little child. So important are the children that he spent individual time with each one. There must have been more than one hundred.

And with joy, Jesus wept again. Tears streaming down his checks and around his smile.

Then he said, "Behold your little ones."

The heavens opened above them and hundreds of angels descended as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

There are a few ways to visualize this scene, one that I came upon, is that there is one ring of fire encircling all the children with the angels on the inside of that ring and Jesus in the center. The angels ministered unto them by lifting the infants into their arms, as well as the toddlers. They may have given hugs to the toddlers and little children, taken their hands, either walking beside the children hand in hand while teaching them the gospel and/or they could have set them in their laps to teach them or sat facing them moving their hands and arms as they taught them important truths. Resurrected beings (having only received their perfect bodies hours or minutes before arriving) with a white light around them brighter than the noon day sun and a circle of orange fire around this group between them and their parents but a fire that did not block what was happening from view.

And I wonder if some of these were Lehi, Nephi, Sam, Jacob, Joseph, Abinadi, Captain Moroni, both Alma's, Sariah, and others of the Nephites from times past. Wouldn't that have been something for them to be the angels that ministered unto the Nephite children.

I testify that Jesus did truly visit the Nephites after his Resurrection and he and angels ministered unto the Nephites little children. Not every word in this post is true as some of it is what I envisioned this event to be, however, every word of this event as found in 3 Nephi 17:11-25 is true and much of those words are quoted herein. May they help you to understand this scriptural event better.