Abiding Precepts – Mosiah 11

Read the full chapter here: Mosiah 11

Passage #1

For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart.

Mosiah 11:2

Precept #1

Learn to recognize when the desires of your own heart are contrary to the desires of God. Then choose to follow God’s desires instead of your own.

Do you love to choose your own path so much that you cannot see when it is not right for you, your happiness, and your eternal growth?

Passage #2

For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness. . . .

Yea, and they also became idolatrous, because they were deceived by the vain and flattering words of the king and priests; for they did speak flattering things unto them.

Mosiah 11:2, 7

Precept #2

Don’t let the wicked ideas and practices of your leaders distort your own perspectives and keep you from living righteously.

Do the voices of political correctness which surround you keep you from living with conviction for the doctrines and commandments of Christ?

Passage #3

And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord.

Mosiah 11:2

Precept #3

Don’t lead others astray by your own sins, transgressions, and false beliefs.

Are there people who could attempt to justify their own wrong doing because they have seen you do it too?

Passage #4

And it came to pass that he placed his heart upon his riches, and he spent his time in riotous living with his wives and his concubines; and so did also his priests spend their time with harlots.

Mosiah 11:14

Precept #4

Place more value in your heart on the things of God than you do in the pursuit of money and other temporary pleasures.

What do you spend your time, effort, and desires on?

Passage #5

And except they repent and turn to the Lord their God, behold, I will deliver them into the hands of their enemies; yea, and they shall be brought into bondage; and they shall be afflicted by the hand of their enemies.

And it shall come to pass that they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of my people.

And it shall come to pass that except this people repent and turn unto the Lord their God, they shall be brought into bondage; and none shall deliver them, except it be the Lord the Almighty God.

Mosiah 11:21-23

Precept #5

Repent and know that God wants you to turn to Him. Believe that He knows you and all that you do – and that He will respond to all that you do in one way or another if not now then at some future time.

When did you last repent? Do you believe God sees and knows all that you do?

Bonus Passage

And now, because of this great victory they were lifted up in the pride of their hearts; they did boast in their own strength, saying that their fifty could stand against thousands of the Lamanites; and thus they did boast, and did delight in blood, and the shedding of the blood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness of their king and priests.

Mosiah 11:19

Bonus Precept

Give credit where credit is due and don’t believe you are more capable or powerful than you really are.

Has there been an occasion when you have boasted of your own strength beyond what you are actually capable of? Are there times when you should have thanked the Lord either privately or publicly for His role in your accomplishments but you didn’t? Do you think you should now?

Enjoyed this post? Read the original post defining the Abiding Precepts project or the post presenting Russty’s Daily Coat.

Published by Russty

I remember my first truly sacred experience when I was 12 years old. The next was somewhere around 14. My teenage years after that - after beginning a life-long study of the LDS canon of scripture - was chalked full of sacred experience after sacred experience which have developed in me a love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and a devotion to His teachings as taught in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because of those experiences as a young man I can say for sure that Jesus Christ lives today and is the Son of the Living God. He atoned for me and has "redeemed my soul from hell." It was in those years that I learned for myself that the Book of Mormon is the true word of God. That came to be a huge social battle for one young as I was growing up in the Bible belt. I spent those years trying to live my life in such a way that people would know that I was a follower of Christ only to find out after years of hanging out with my friends that none of them believed I was Christian. This was devestating to me, a young man simply trying to show a good example as a follower of Christ. I felt like I had failed. It was only after serving my two year mission for the LDS Church that I realized the reason for their opinion was simply because our definition of what it meant to be Christian was drastically different. For me it had been about following Christ and living His teachings. For them it was whether or not my beliefs fell within their narrowly defined window of what they believed about God and Jesus Christ. I realize now that I was doomed to fail from the beginning! It was in those years while I was trying to show people that I was a follower of Christ - facing opposition from friend, minister, and teacher alike - that I began studying the scriptures not just to understand His Gospel, but to come to understand answers to the challenges I was being presented with. In short I became as much of a Mormon apologist as a teenage boy with little education could ever become. But I at least had the scriptures and and the guidance of truly devoted and inspired friends and teachers - and that was all I needed. It is this pattern of questioning and searching for answers which has informed all of my scripture study and learning over the years of my life since then. My research and understanding of the Gospel, the Church, The Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith have all grown and expanded because of that constant and consistent devotion to studying. And they will all continue to do so - for the knowledge of God is infinite and there is no way in the life to learn it all. This blog is an outlet for all I have learned and considered over the years of my Gospel study. I have found - as many people who have come to know the teachings of Christ the way I have - that when the Word is a part of one's soul he or she cannot escape the desire to share It. So share it I do. There are imperfections and missing pieces in what I write, but all in all I truly feel the Lord has blessed me with the one thing I have desired more than almost anything else: a well rounded understanding of His doctrine and truth as He has given to us at this point. Please forgive my imperfections for this blog is as much about improving myself and my own knowledge and faith in God and Christ as it is for helping anyone else do the same.

Abiding Precepts, Russty's Daily Coat, The Book of Mormon

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2 thoughts on “Abiding Precepts – Mosiah 11”

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  1. Just a note…it’s interesting to me the similarities there were between King Noah and Riplakish (in the Book of Ether). I appreciate your thought-prompting questions concerning both how we are influenced by our leaders and how we may bein influencing others.

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    1. That is an interesting connection that I’ve never made before. A good/important one. On that note I chose not to make any comments in this post regarding the negative impact of extremely high taxes on the people and that we should avoid such policies and the political leaders who support them, but it is worth considering. The church itself gets by on 10% plus voluntary additional donations. Why can’t the government? Think how much better a relationship there would be between government and people if the tax structure were more optional or self-directed than it currently is? But that’s a discussion for somewhere and some time else. 😉
      I’m glad the other questions have left a good impact. They can be difficult ones to face and answer. I think the important thing is being able to come to a correct personal understanding and conviction of true principles and then having the courage to follow them no matter what is going on around you or by whom it is encouraged. This is at the core of all Jesus taught and did. If we are to be like Him it’s for us to follow in His footsteps and do as He did. I think that concept is the key behind these particular precepts.

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