Psalm 19:8, "The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes."

Mankind was never meant to be separated from God.

It is God's will that we dwell with Him eternally. In fact, the entire history of God's interactions with man can be summed up as a continual effort to draw mankind back to the Father. By the actions of our first ancestors, we became tarnished, imperfect, unholy, and unworthy to dwell in the presence of the Lord. Thankfully our God is a loving Father who has not turned His back on His disobedient children, but instead has provided a way for us to become clean, perfect, and holy once again. That process was given to us through His statutes and the fulfilling of His law.

The law of God is perfect; it is true; it is pure; it is the path of our salvation.

Psalm 19:7, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple."

I don't know about you, but most of my co-workers believe that the existence of God is downright ridiculous.

Considering themselves to be tolerant and open-minded, they readily acknowledge that some people have "traditions" or "guiding moral principles." But for someone to actually believe in a supernatural deity wielding absolute power and moral authority is uneducated, intolerant, or even delusional.

There are some scripture passages that ring clear as a bell. Others are more shrouded in mystery. Some are simple and straightforward; others sag delightfully beneath the weight of packed promises and prophecy. Some are repetitive. Others are confusing. And some are …

… unequivocally, undeniably, unrestrainedly …

gorgeous.

I think Psalm 19:7-14 is one of those.

At the end of 1 Nephi 19, Nephi mentions that he is reading the words of Isaiah to his brothers. 1 Nephi 20 and 21 represent two of the chapters that Nephi read to them. Although not a word-for-word match, these two chapters line up closely with Isaiah 48 and 49.

In chapter 20 (Isaiah 48), the prophet scolds the House of Israel for not heeding what God was telling them, especially about the coming of Christ. Although God shared this knowledge on multiple occasions, it somehow didn't penetrate for Israel. The prophet words it, "Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time thine ear was not opened" (verse 8). He describes them as having closed ears, and the admonishment in the rest of the chapter is "Open Your Ears!"

After arriving at the promised land of the Americas, Nephi spent considerable time with the various records in his possession. It was then that he prepared the plates on which he would record his own family's record. He also read from the records of the prophets that were recorded on the plates of brass.

Nephi also spent time teaching his brothers from the writings of the prophets and even read to them from these writings. His favorite prophet to read from was the prophet Isaiah. He said that he chose Isaiah to read from because his writings were especially applicable to his family who were part of the House of Israel. The way he put it was that they could "liken the scriptures" to themselves.

Over the last few chapters, we've seen the Lord direct Lehi's family to the border of the Arabian Sea and work through Nephi to build a ship that would take the family across the many waters to the land of the Americas. In 1 Nephi 18, the family boards the ship and begins the voyage.

One day during the trip, Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael and their wives began to have sort of a party with singing and dancing. Perhaps if the party had been limited to this, it wouldn't have been a problem, but the account states that they did "speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness" (verse 9).

We're pausing our weekly study of 1 Nephi to bring you this article by Brother Joshua Gehly.

For Hindus, it’s the Sruti. For Buddhists, it’s the Tripitaka and the Dhammapada. For Taoists, it’s the Dao De Jing, Chuang Tzu, and the I Ching. For Islam, it’s the Quran. For Judaism, it’s the Torah. Different Christians include the Bible and, for some groups, many other texts. Each text claims to hold critical keys to spiritual understanding of divine truth.

Odds are good you have not read even a fraction of the religious texts available around the world. How do you know what the Word of God is?

In 1 Nephi 17, the journey of Lehi’s family brings them to the border of the Arabian Sea, which they called Irreantum, meaning "many waters." The next part of their journey would be by water, eventually crossing the ocean and making their way to the land of the Americas. However, in order to do that, they would need a ship.

None of the party was experienced in shipbuilding, but the Lord summoned Nephi onto a mountain and told Him, “Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters” (verse 8).

A Global Positioning System receiver (GPS) is a very useful device that has gained widespread use over the past 10 years or so. The purpose of the GPS is simple: It helps you get to where you want to go. Using a GPS is quite easy:

• Turn on the device.
• Tell it where you want to go.
• Follow the instructions it gives you.

Although the device is easy to use, there are a few things you need to do to ensure a successful trip.

While Nephi was being caught up to a high mountain to see his wonderful vision, as recorded in 1 Nephi chapters 11-14, his brothers were in their tent arguing about their father Lehi's dream and what he had said to them regarding future events. Nephi walks in on this argument at the beginning of Chapter 15 and tries to explain to them the meaning of some of the things that Lehi had said.

Among other subjects, Nephi explained the meaning of the metaphor that had been used of an olive tree and branches being grafted into it. He explained that the olive tree represented the House of Israel (all the people who are descendants of Jacob/Israel from the Bible) and that the branches being grafted in represented the Gentiles (everybody else). Specifically, the metaphor referred to a time when the "fullness of the gospel" would come to the Gentiles who would in turn bring it to the House of Israel.

We are living in the period of time that was being described!

There are many times in life when we are faced with a difficult choice and we put off making that choice as long as possible. We stay on the fence as long as we can, perhaps hoping that something will happen to make the choice a little easier. Although this is not necessarily a bad strategy, the time generally comes when you either have to make the choice or else it will be made for you.

For example, when you eat at a restaurant, you're presented with a menu that offers lots of choices. Although the choice may be difficult, you eventually have to select something. What would happen if you stayed on the fence and refused to make a choice? Either you would sit there with nothing while everybody else eats, or someone else would make the choice for you (probably spinach or something equally distasteful).

It was early March, 1776. The British General decided to attack the Americans at night. His troops were all ready. But the battle never happened. God had intervened!

During the previous day, the weather had been very pleasant; it was even abnormally warm. But by nightfall a storm raged. Hail mixed with snow and sleet, and the wind blew with almost hurricane force. Windows were smashed and fences were blown over. One American lieutenant called it the worst storm that he was ever exposed to.

The next morning, the wind continued to blow, and the snow and sleet changed over to a driving rain. The British general had no choice. He could not fight in those conditions. So instead, the entire British army evacuated the city of Boston without a fight. If it wasn't for that blizzard, American history could have been very different.

What is it? How was it written? Why is it the Word of God?

These are questions you’ve probably asked in the past or may still ask. It's likely you've been asked them many, many times. To craft some clear, basic answers, we're taking a cue from the Gospel News and giving you 5 Amazing Facts about the Book of Mormon:

If you've ever read or learned about Lehi's dream, then you probably know that the tree in the dream represents "The Love of God" as Nephi is told in 1 Nephi 11:22. However, if you read the description of what Nephi is shown as the meaning of the tree, you'll see that he is shown the virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus (verses 15-20) as well as the Lord Himself going forth among the people (verse 24). Putting these together, we see that the love of God has been demonstrated to mankind by Jesus coming into the world and making a way for each of us to inherit eternal life in the kingdom of God.

Jesus Himself said the same thing: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

DESIRE – A strong feeling of wanting to have something that inspires actions to be taken to obtain the goal

After hearing his father Lehi’s wonderful vision (1 Nephi 8) and his other prophecies regarding the coming of the Messiah and the future of the House of Israel and the Gentiles (as summarized in chapter 10), Nephi “was desirous also that [he] might see, and hear, and know of these things.” Nephi’s desire for this was so strong that he was caught up by the Spirit of the Lord and was shown all of this and more (as recorded in chapters 11-14).

How strong is our desire for the things of God?