2 Nephi 5:21-27 (05/27/15)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee 
Hymn:   Once There Was A Snowman
Prayer:   Maycee


CLICK TO READ  2 Nephi 5:21-27

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

2 Nephi 5:21-22  (Dad & Shaylee)

Q:   What was the curse the Lamanites had? Was it their darker skin color? (Dad)
A:   "No, that was a mark. The curse was caused by their iniquities." (Brandon)  "Yes, they brought upon themselves a curse because of their unbelief and iniquity. Their skin color wasn't the curse. Being cut off from the presence of the Lord and his servants as stated in verse 20 was the curse. We should not judge people by the color of their skin. The Lord looks upon the heart, and we know that the Lamanites who had the mark of darker skin were more righteous and favored of the Lord in many parts of the Book of Mormon. So the Lord cares about what's on the inside - in our hearts and minds - not what's on the outside like our skin color."  (Dad)

Q:   How could the Lamanites lift the curse upon them? (Dad)

A:   "Repent of their iniquities."  (Mom) 

2 Nephi 5:23-24  (Mom & Brandon)

Q:   What did the curse of being cut off from the Lord's presence and servants lead the Lamanites into? (Dad)
A:   "They were being idle, mischievous and sought beasts of prey in the wilderness." (Brandon)

2 Nephi 5:25  (Kenyon) 

Q:   So even though the Lamanites were cursed how was the Lord going to use them for good? (Dad)
A:   "It would stir up their [the Nephites] seed to remember Him." (Kenyon)  "Yes, when the Nephites would fall into unbelief and iniquity they would also bring the curse upon themselves and lost the protection of the Lord. Then the Lamanites would oppress them or go to war against them, which would humble the Nephites and cause them to remember the Lord. But many times in the Book of Mormon the Lamanites were more righteous than the Nephites and in the end the Lord spared them and allowed the Nephites to be destroyed by them because the Nephites sinned against the greater light and knowledge."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 5:26-27   (Jaron & Maycee)

Q:   What do you think it meant that the Nephites lived after the manner of happiness? (Dad)
A:    "Repenting and start following the commandments." (Shaylee)

Family Council: How to Overcome Contention in Our Home

Q:  Why don't we want contention in our home?  (Dad)

A:  "We won't be able to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Shaylee)  "It's a commandment."  (Mom)  "Contention is of the devil." (Brandon)  "Because it makes people be mad and drives out the Spirit." (Kenyon)  "Yes, because contention is the spirit of the devil we cannot have both it and the Holy Ghost, and we won't have peace or happiness when we're contentious. So when we choose to be contentious the Holy Spirit leaves us until we repent."  (Dad)

Q:  What are some things we can do to get rid of contention in our home?  (Dad)

A:   "If you don't have something nice to say, then don't say it, even if it's a joke." (Shaylee)  "Every time people contend they have to do something nice for each other." (Brandon)  "Pray for no contention." (Kenyon)  "They need to listen and obey. Also give time to wrap things up to make a transition instead of telling the kids to drop what they're doing. For instance tell them five minutes before it's time to read scriptures, to go to church, to take a bath, etc."  (Mom)  "Don't be rude." (Jaron)  "Be nice." (Maycee)  "We need to apply the Lord's teachings with each other. We need to apologize quickly and often when we hurt or offend someone whether we meant to or not. Also we need to forgive others quickly and often, even if they don't ask for it. We need to love, to bless, to pray for, and do good to those who are our enemies. So we should be doing the same things to those we love."  (Dad)

Q:  You cannot control other people and their behavior, only yourself. However, you can influence. What's the best way to influence them?  (Dad)

A:   "Show love to them and kindness." (Shaylee) "Exactly. We need to be Christlike by doing the things He taught us and that we've discussed. It's the best way to soften each other's hearts and drive out the spirit of contention."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 5:14-20 (05/24/15)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee 
Hymn:   The Lord Is My Light
Prayer:   Kenyon


CLICK TO READ  2 Nephi 5:14-20

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

2 Nephi 5:14  (Jaron)

Q:   Why did Nephi make many swords? (Dad)
A:   "Because the Lamanites wanted to destroy them." (Jaron)



2 Nephi 5:15  (Kenyon)

Q:   What did Nephi have his people do with the abundance of ore and material the Lord blessed them with? (Dad)
A:   "He used all the stuff to make buildings." (Kenyon)  "He taught the people how to make them." (Shaylee)



2 Nephi 5:16  (Shaylee)

Q:   What else did Nephi have them build? (Dad)
A:   "A temple." (Shaylee & Jaron)



2 Nephi 5:17  (Maycee)

Q:   What did it mean that Nephi had his people be industrious? (Dad)
A:   "He made them work hard." (Kenyon)  "Make stuff." (Jaron)



2 Nephi 5:18   (Dad)

Q:   What did the people want Nephi to do? (Dad)
A:   "Be king." (Brandon)

Q:   Did Nephi want to be king? (Dad)
A:   "No." (Brandon)



2 Nephi 5:19  (Brandon)

Q:   So what was Nephi to the people? (Dad)
A:   "Ruler and teacher." (Shaylee & Brandon)



2 Nephi 5:20  (Mom)

Q:   Why were the Lamanites cut off from the Lord? (Dad)
A:    "Because they were not hearkening - listening and obeying - to the Lord's words."  (Mom)

2 Nephi 5:7-14 (05/22/15)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee 
Hymn:   Families Can Be Together Forever
Prayer:   Mom


CLICK TO READ  2 Nephi 5:7-14

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

2 Nephi 5:7  (Dad)

2 Nephi 5:8  (Jaron)

2 Nephi 5:9  (Shaylee)

2 Nephi 5:10-11  (Kenyon & Mom)

Q:   What main lesson from the Book of Mormon do we see from these last two verses? (Dad)
A:   "If you are righteous, you shall prosper."  (Mom)

2 Nephi 5:12  (Brandon)

Q:   What did Nephi have to help guide them? (Dad)
A:    "The Liahona and the plates of brass." (Brandon)

2 Nephi 5:13  (Maycee)

Q:   What else did they do? (Dad)
A:    "Multiply. Had babies."  (Mom)  "Yes, this is a sign of a righteous people. They also obey the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth. Righteous people view children as a blessing or as the scriptures say, an heritage from the Lord. Selfish people view children as a burden because children require you to sacrifice your time, talent and money in raising them instead of pursuing other self-interests."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 4:35, 5:1-6 (05/18/15)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee 
Hymn:   I Love To See The Temple
Prayer:   Brandon


CLICK TO READ  2 Nephi 4:35, 5:1-6

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

2 Nephi 4:35  (Mom)

Q:   What does Nephi mean when he says that God will give if we ask not amiss? (Dad)
A:    "If we ask for something righteously or right, not wrong."  (Mom)  "We need to ask for something that goes along with the Lord's will." (Brandon)

2 Nephi 5:1-2  (Jaron & Maycee)

Q:   What caused Nephi to pray much unto the Lord? (Dad)
A:   "Because of the anger of Laman and Lemuel."  (Mom & Shaylee)

Q:   What else? (Dad)

A:   "They were trying to take away his life."  (Mom)

2 Nephi 5:3  (Brandon)

Q:   Why did Laman and Lemuel want to kill Nephi? (Dad)
A:   "They wanted to kill Nephi because they think Nephi thinks he's their ruler. And because of all the trials they went through they blamed it all on him." (Brandon)

Q:   Why was it a problem for Nephi to be their ruler? (Dad)
A:   "Because they were older than him." (Shaylee)

2 Nephi 5:4  (Shaylee)

Q:   Were there any other reasons they murmured against Nephi? (Dad)
A:   "Yes, but there was too many to write." (Shaylee)

2 Nephi 5:5  (Kenyon) 

Q:   How did the Lord answer Nephi's prayers? (Dad)
A:   "That he needs to flee into the wilderness." (Kenyon) 

Q:   What does that teach us about answers to prayers? (Dad)
A:   "Answers to prayers aren't always the way we want them to be." (Shaylee)  "The Lord won't take away others' agency to answer our prayers. He can try and soften their hearts but he cannot change them. They have to choose it themselves."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 5:6  (Dad)

Q:   Who went with Nephi into the wilderness? (Dad)
A:   "Pretty much everyone but the wicked ones." (Kenyon)  "All siblings except for Laman and Lemuel." (Brandon)  "Practically his family and Zoram's family." (Shaylee)

2 Nephi 4:28-34 (05/17/15)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee 
Hymn:   I Am A Child Of God
Prayer:   Shaylee


CLICK TO READ  2 Nephi 4:28-34

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

2 Nephi 4:28  (Jaron)

Q:   What is it that Nephi desires so much? (Dad)
A:    "To leave no room for the devil in his heart and soul." (Brandon)

2 Nephi 4:29  (Maycee)

Q:   What else does Nephi desire? (Dad)

A:   "Don't let afflictions slacken mine strength." (Brandon)  "Also, do not get angry because of his enemies. Anger is a choice. Our enemies can't make us angry, we choose to get angry."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 4:30  (Kenyon) 

Q:   What does Nephi want to do instead? (Dad)
A:   "Praise the Lord." (Kenyon) 

2 Nephi 4:31-32  (Mom & Brandon)

Q:   What does Nephi ask of the Lord? (Dad)
A:    "Deliver him out of the hands of his enemies and redeem his soul."  (Mom)  "Shut the gates of hell continually before me. And walk in the path of the low valley that I may be strict in the plain road." (Brandon)

2 Nephi 4:33  (Dad)

Q:  "Again Nephi is asking the Lord to deliver him from his enemies, and help him follow the straight and narrow path. This is the second time Nephi has said this. So was is it easy for him to follow the straight and narrow path?"  (Dad)
A:  "No, that's why he's asking for the Lord's help."  (Mom)  "Exactly! We think it was easy for Nephi to be righteous and stay on the straight and narrow path because he was a prophet, but we can see that he pled for the Lord's help to do it. So we can see that it's not easy for any of us and that the key is that we recognize that we need the Lord's help and pray to Him to give us the guidance and strength to stay on it."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 4:34  (Shaylee)

Q:   What does it mean that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh? (Dad)
A:   "We should put our trust in God instead of what we or other people think we should do." (Shaylee)

2 Nephi 4:22-27 (05/13/15)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee & Maycee 
Hymn:   Happy Family
Prayer:   Brandon


CLICK TO READ  2 Nephi 4:22-27

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

2 Nephi 4:22  (Maycee)

Q:   How did the Lord bless Nephi regarding his enemies? (Dad)
A:   "He made them scared, and quake before him."  (Mom)

2 Nephi 4:23-25  (Shaylee, Brandon & Kenyon) 

Q:   How else did the Lord bless Nephi? (Dad)
A:    "He gave him visions at night, and heard his words in the day." (Shaylee)  "Angels came down and taught him." (Brandon)  "The angels ministered unto him which is more than teach. They also comforted him and gave him strength to deal with his afflictions."  (Dad)  "He blessed him by showing him things that he can't write." (Kenyon) 

2 Nephi 4:26  (Mom)

Q:   What question does Nephi ask himself after listing many of his blessings from the Lord? (Dad)
A:    "Why am I so sad about my sins?" (Shaylee)  "Yes, basically why is he focusing on what's wrong with him instead of all the blessings and good the Lord has done for him."  (Dad)

Q:   We should let our sins bother us enough to do what though?  (Dad)  "Repent." (Kenyon)  "Exactly, and once we fully repent we should do what like we learn in Frozen?"  (Dad)  "Let it go!" (Kenyon)  "Yes!"  (Dad)

2 Nephi 4:27  (Dad)

Q:   What's a good reason to resist giving into temptations? What did Nephi say happens when we give place for Satan in our heart? (Dad)
A:   "It makes him angry." (Shaylee)  "To destroy your peace." (Brandon)  "Yes, and one way Satan tries to destroy our peace is to try to get us to continue to beat ourselves up over our sins even after we've repented. He doesn't want us to let it go. Misery loves company, and he can keep us miserable by keeping us from forgiving ourselves after we've repented and convincing us that we'll never be good enough and blew it. It's lie that he uses to get people to not repent or for those who have repented to destroy their peace by not letting their sins go."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 4:15-21 (05/11/15)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Kenyon, Shaylee, Jaron & Maycee 
Hymn:   The Lord Is My Shepherd
Prayer:   Mom


CLICK TO READ  2 Nephi 4:15-21

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

2 Nephi 4:15-16  (Kenyon & Shaylee)

Q:   What did Nephi say he did in his heart and soul with the scriptures and the things of the Lord ? (Dad)
A:   "His soul delighteth and his heart pondereth them." (Brandon & Shaylee)

2 Nephi 4:17  (Dad)

Q:   Why did Nephi say his heart sorroweth and his soul grieveth? (Dad)
A:   "Because of his sins because it hurts God." (Shaylee)

Q:   Why would Nephi feel this way since he's so righteous and a prophet? (Dad)
A:   "Even if you're righteous you still sin." (Shaylee)  "Yes, the closer you get to the Lord the more you will notice your sins, even little ones you didn't think of or that you didn't think were a big deal and they will bother you and make you feel bad. Feeling sorrow for our sins is a good thing because it leads us to repentance."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 4:18  (Jaron)

Q:   So Nephi is overwhelmed by the temptations and sins that he falls into easily that he's trying to overcome. We do the same thing in our family. What sins do easily beset our family? What commandments do we as a family struggle keeping? (Dad)
A:   "Fighting with each other." (Shaylee)  "Honoring our father and mother." (Brandon)  "Keeping the Sabbath day holy." (Shaylee)   "Yes, we do pretty well with keeping the Sabbath day holy, but we still need to do better at doing more of the Lord's will and less of ours like family history and service."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 4:19  (Brandon)

Q:   What gives Nephi comfort when his feels bad about his sins? (Dad)
A:    "He knows who he trusts, the Lord." (Brandon)

2 Nephi 4:20  (Mom)

Q:   Why does Nephi trust the Lord? (Dad)
A:   "The Lord supports him through his afflictions." (Brandon)

2 Nephi 4:21  (Maycee)

Q:   What did the Lord fill Nephi with for trusting in Him? (Dad)
A:   "Love." (Brandon)   "Yes, and the Lord will do the same with us as He did Nephi. As we trust in Him and obey Him he will comfort us despite our sins and fill us with His love."  (Dad)

2 Nephi 4:10-15 (05/08/15)

Scripture study participants:  Dad, Mom, Brandon, Jaron, Maycee & Grandma Phelon
Hymn:   Happy Family
Prayer:   Maycee


CLICK TO READ  2 Nephi 4:10-15

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

2 Nephi 4:10-11  (Jaron & Dad)

Q:   What blessing did Lehi give upon Sam and his descendants? (Dad)
A:    "He would be blessed along with Nephi's family." (Grandma Phelon)

2 Nephi 4:12  (Brandon)

Q:   What two things influenced Lehi's blessings that he gave? (Dad)
A:   "His feelings in his heart and the Spirit of the Lord." (Brandon)

2 Nephi 4:13-14  (Maycee & Mom)

Q:   Why were Laman and Lemuel angry at Nephi? (Dad)
A:    "They were told to follow Nephi." (Grandma Phelon)  "Nephi was telling them what the Lord wanted them to do."  (Mom)

2 Nephi 4:15  (Grandma Phelon) 

Q:   What was Nephi's main motivation for writing these things? (Dad)
A:   "His heart heart delighteth in the scriptures and pondered them. And he wrote them for the learning and profit of his children." (Grandma Phelon)  "Yes, and that's the same reason I am keeping this scripture blog. So you can learn and profit from it, not just now but years from now when you can look back on it and recall what we learned even after I have died. You'll have a record of my thoughts and testimony too."  (Dad)