Sitting here pondering what to write. I could write about a synopsis of 1st Nephi, which I finished last night, or I could just dive into 2nd Nephi.  I think I'll do the latter. Verse 6 could be quite the controversial verse, for people who didn't like the Spanish conquest, or Christopher Colombus.  Yet, the verse still is what the ...

Recently I was reading from scriptures.lds.org and decided it could be improved to make it easier to read. Here is what it looks like normally. A couple things bugged me. Narrow text is generally easier to read. So, I made it more narrow. Also, the superscript letters that signify a footnote throw off the line spacing. I figured out a cool l...

I'm kind of distracted now due to external crud, but one of the verses jumped out at me.  Verses 7 and 8... I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the Spanish conquest, as it came to the Americas.  I have combating feelings toward the whole history of what happened. The "Indians" found here in America were the posterity...

I think that most of this chapter is talking about the gathering of the tribes of Israel, although I could be completely and totally offbase.  This is one of the chapters which I probably wouldn't write about had I not made a resolution to write about each and every chapter from the Book of Mormon. Pretty difficult to understand right now. ...

I've often wondered why Nephi included the portions of scripture containing the writings of Isaiah. I remember one time during my mission when I was reading the stuff in 2nd Nephi and it actually made sense, but I didn't write any of it down, so.... it still makes no sense to me. Only one verse out of this chapter gave me any inspiration at all...

A few minutes ago, I visited my favorite weather-forecasting website and I saw something I thought I should document, just because it doesn't happen very often.  I saw a 7-day forcast that looked like this: I think it may snow tonight! :) Anyway... My mustang isn't liking life very much right now.  It's so freakin' dirty.  ...

Ya know, I love verse 6, and verses like it (2nd Nephi 4, for example).  The reason is quite simple. Sometimes it's hard to remember that prophets are people, too.  They're just subject to Satan's temptations and mistakes and errors and such as we are.  Verses like this remind me that they aren't perfect, and it brings them down to...

I don't think that ever you will find any words of righteousness associated with Laman and Lemuel, not once, but twice, within 4 verses more than in this chapter alone. Not sure why that stood out at me this time, but once in verse 1 and again in verse 4, Nephi said that Laman and Lemuel were on good behavior.  I thought I'd take time to suc...

I find it so interesting that Nephi, in all cases I can think of, when stating how hard things can get, always follows it up with how blessed they are.  I believe Nephi was how I would like to, and am trying to be like.  He recognizes things are bad, yet always finishes on an optimistic note.  Personally, I beleve grounded optimism c...

I just got up from a nap I was taking due to my going to bed at 4:00am this morning and the first words my wife told me after coming up stairs was "President Hinckley died a few hours ago." I'm not one to get upset at death.  For some reason, I've never had a problem with people dying.  The one thought which makes this even ea...

Okay...  It had to happen, and it happened today.  Since this is a public entry, and I really don't want to throw a negative light on the situation, I'll do my best to filter out my emotions.  If I have to vomit emotions, I'll do it in private.  Anyway... This morning, I woke up and Kim (my dear mother-in-law) decided to make ...

This is the first time I think I've ever watched / listened to / read a talk given by Elder D. Todd Christofferson. My first impressions of him are very, very high.  He has a very poignant, straightforward, yet very soft tone to his voice.  He does not waver in his speech, and seems completely convicted of the things he says. I enjoye...

"Some are lost because they are different. They feel as though they don’t belong. Perhaps because they are different, they find themselves slipping away from the flock. They may look, act, think, and speak differently than those around them and that sometimes causes them to assume they don’t fit in. They conclude that they are not...

Sometimes it doesnt seem like i have anyfriends at alll cause i always get ditched and ignored at school wen megan isnt there cause desie always seems to wanna hang wit the other ppl in our class then me cause she says me and megan are alot closer then me and her which is true but still.and i wish she could come stay wit me this weekend cause of my...

How in the world do you do what Alma and Amulek did in verse 2?  Honestly, I don't know.  Also, another perspective is - how in the world do you take what Alma and Amulek just said?  It'd have to be something like, "Yeah, we were just in Ammonihah, after you guys were thrown out, and we had to endure watching the kings and pries...

Okay... I can't write a lot, but I've *got* to write something. My good friend Steve and I have been wanting to find a good place to race our new cars. He has a 2006 Cobalt SS (sweet ride), and I just got a 2007 Mustang GT (which, unfortunately, I really don't know how to drive well yet). So, today we decided to just head out west and end u...

My wife and I got a dutch oven set about a month ago. We finally decided to try it out. We have both seen and helped with dutch oven cooking before, but have never done it without the help of someone more experienced. Problem #1 You need to get the coals lit before you can cook anything. I tried a couple methods to get them started. Pile o...

Today I anticipated changing the clutch on Ryan's 1995 Mustang GT for about 3 hours.  I got up at 7:30 to do it, and I'm writing this about 2 hours after we finished.  Needless to say, it was an all-day adventure - and holy cow, were we dirty. I didn't have the sense to take a picture of both of us before I took a shower, but I did of ...

I just finished reading through this talk, and it brought some thoughts to mind... With Elder Walker's example of his grandparents displaying a photo of the First Presidency, I totally agree with the analogy, "Years later I concluded that displaying the picture of the First Presidency was equivalent to Joshua’s beautiful expression: '...

I honestly hope I'm never in the position to deliver a speech as the one Jacob records in this chapter.  Holy moly. He condemns pride, people seeking after riches, and chastity breakers to a degree not many other speeches can. I wonder if the words he wrote were the same words he used in the speech, because a lot of the metaphors he uses a...

To have that taken away which is precious to you usually results in one of two things.  Either you do what is required to get back what was taken from you, or you devalue the thing which was taken, justifying its absence. About three years ago, for one reason alone, my Temple recommend was revoked from me and the ensuing years caused me to ...

I'm so glad that the vacations for the Jones family for 2007 are OVER! Holy cow, I'm quite done with driving in a car with two kids who love screaming.  Anyway... Yesterday, we woke up, got some quick breakfast, and then got in the car to head out to see 3 people take on the LOTOJA bike race (I assume LOTOJA means "LOgan TO JAckson&...

So two days ago, I found myself on the same stage with the same band I've been with for the past 5 (or so) years, playing pretty much the same songs. Except, this time, something was different.  As I walked around looking at all of the awesome vehicles on the grounds, there was just something wonderful.  I have no idea how to describe i...

Let Isaiah begin! This chapter is a great pre-cursor to the chapters to follow.  Nephi explains why he like the words of Isaiah, as well as the fact that he likes to bring people to Christ. Interesting in verse 3, Nephi says he'll send the words of Jacob to his children for the purpose of reinforcing his own words.  The reason being b...

Amazing...  It's almost unbelievable that in the space of less than 13 years, a whole nation can go from being wicked, to almost dying of hunger, to becoming incredibly righteous and prosperous, and then coming back to being so wicked that the combined armies of the Nephites and Lamanites can't defeat the wicked part of the people. I've bee...

Where do I even begin with this chapter? I remember reading it and understanding it for the first time during my mission.  It was really cool realizing that all of this stuff in this chapter is written about in history books!  It talks about Christopher Columbus discovering America, the Revolutionary War, the Bible, the coming of the Bo...

Due to recent events in my life, I've been feeling a little like the waves constantly lapping at the shore - in motion or at unrest.  I know the sounds of the ocean usually bring a feeling of peace, but .... not if you're in the water.... :) Anyway...  This feeling of unrest has brought on a bunch of thoughts and ponderings to me as I'...

There are portions of this chapter where I think it is referring to our day, or the latter-days.  I'm not sure, though. Man, to understand this Isaiah stuff, I've really gotta be in a super-spiritual, "yearning after truth", mood or it just doesn't make much sense. The latter verses I find interesting simply because they are so f...

Lately, I've been feeling quite the spiritual outpouring from heaven upon me.  It happened about ....  Let's say last Friday (the 10th).  I'm not entirely sure what this means, but I've been happier, more settled emotionally, more productive at work, and ....  Just really anxious to be about a good cause. I think now would be a...

I thought I had to substitute teach the 15-16 year old class today, so I prepared it this morning, only to find out I didn't. That's okay, because the gospel doctrine teacher we have is amazing, and I got to sit in his class! Omni.... One of the best lines of this chapter is in verse 2.  "I myself am a wicked man".  I'm...