23 And the Lord said: I will prepare unto my servant Gazelem, a astone, which shall shine forth in darkness unto light, that I may bdiscover unto my people who serve me, that I may discover unto them the works of their brethren, yea, their secret works, their works of darkness, and their wickedness and abominations.
24 And now, my son, these ainterpreters were prepared that the word of God might be fulfilled, which he spake, saying:
26 And now, my son, we see that they did not repent; therefore they have been destroyed, and thus far the word of God has been fulfilled; yea, their asecret abominations have been brought out of darkness and made known unto us.
27 And now, my son, I command you that ye retain all their oaths, and their covenants, and their agreements in their secret abominations; yea, and all their asigns and their wonders ye shall bkeep from this people, that they know them not, lest peradventure they should fall into darkness also and be destroyed.
28 For behold, there is a acurse upon all this land, that destruction shall come upon all those workers of darkness, according to the power of God, when they are fully ripe; therefore I desire that this people might not be destroyed.
29 Therefore ye shall keep these secret plans of their aoaths and their covenants from this people, and only their wickedness and their murders and their abominations shall ye make known unto them; and ye shall teach them to babhor such wickedness and abominations and murders; and ye shall also teach them that these people were destroyed on account of their wickedness and abominations and their murders.
30 For behold, they amurdered all the prophets of the Lord who came among them to declare unto them concerning their iniquities; and the blood of those whom they murdered did cry unto the Lord their God for vengeance upon those who were their murderers; and thus the judgments of God did come upon these workers of darkness and secret bcombinations.
32 And now, my son, remember the words which I have spoken unto you; trust not those secret plans unto this people, but teach them an everlasting ahatred against sin and iniquity.
33 aPreach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be bmeek and lowly in heart; teach them to cwithstand every dtemptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
34 Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find arest to their souls.
37 aCounsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for bgood; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the cmorning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
38 And now, my son, I have somewhat to say concerning the thing which our fathers call a ball, or director—or our fathers called it aLiahona, which is, being interpreted, a compass; and the Lord prepared it.
39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.
40 And it did work for them according to their afaith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.
42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did anot travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of their transgressions.
43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a ashadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.
44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the aword of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.
45 And now I say, is there not a atype in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.
47 And now, my son, see that ye take acare of these sacred things, yea, see that ye blook to God and live. Go unto this people and declare the word, and be sober. My son, farewell.
First, a little trivia from verse 23...we do not know what the name "Gazelem" means or who the servant Gazelem was but many have wondered if it has any tie to the fact that Joseph Smith was referred to as "Gazelam" (a little different spelling) in earlier editions of the Doctrine and Convenants 82:11. We do know through Bruce R. McConkie in Mormon Doctrine (pgs. 307-308) that the stone mentioned refers to the Urim and Thummim.
Next, I was surprised that I have not taken more notice in past readings to verses 25 - 31. It is very strong language and repeatedly states that there is "curse upon all this land, that destruction shall come upon all those workers of darkness, according to the power of God." That seems like more of a blessing than a curse, right? I guess it depends on whose side you are on. It brings me a sense of security that I didn't ever appreciate or realize before.
Lastly, I can't pass over these verses without commenting on verse 33-37 but especially 37. It is an all-time favorite and such good fatherly advice from Alma to Helaman! I know that if we "counsel with the Lord in all our doings" He WILL direct us to amazing paths.
First, a little trivia from verse 23...we do not know what the name "Gazelem" means or who the servant Gazelem was but many have wondered if it has any tie to the fact that Joseph Smith was referred to as "Gazelam" (a little different spelling) in earlier editions of the Doctrine and Convenants 82:11. We do know through Bruce R. McConkie in Mormon Doctrine (pgs. 307-308) that the stone mentioned refers to the Urim and Thummim.
Next, I was surprised that I have not taken more notice in past readings to verses 25 - 31. It is very strong language and repeatedly states that there is "curse upon all this land, that destruction shall come upon all those workers of darkness, according to the power of God." That seems like more of a blessing than a curse, right? I guess it depends on whose side you are on. It brings me a sense of security that I didn't ever appreciate or realize before.
Lastly, I can't pass over these verses without commenting on verse 33-37 but especially 37. It is an all-time favorite and such good fatherly advice from Alma to Helaman! I know that if we "counsel with the Lord in all our doings" He WILL direct us to amazing paths.
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