I think Jesus is pretty much THE best and biggest endorsement a writer could get, don't you agree? ;) The past 3 chapters
Jesus has been quoting Isaiah and expounding on it (which is why the past 3
chapters were particularly difficult to get through – Isaiah isn’t easy stuff).
BUT even though Isaiah isn’t easy for us to understand, Jesus makes it clear
that it is important.
1 And now, behold I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah… 3 And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake.
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| Isaiah writing about the birth of Christ and other events to come |
Jesus also teaches the importance of the scripture records
when he calls out Nephi for not writing something important down. I can’t think
of another time in scripture that Jesus basically says, “Hey this important
thing was prophesied… Did it happen? Yes, well did you write it down? No, well…
please do.”
9 Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so?10 And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled.11 And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them?12 And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written.13 And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded.
The Savior is quoting Malachi 3 (last book of the Old
Testament) in this chapter – if you compare, they are pretty much identical. There are a couple important passages I would
like to highlight.
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say: Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my house; and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the fields, saith the Lord of Hosts.
God is basically saying that when we don’t pay tithing, we
are robbing him. In my church we pay 10% of our income back to the Lord. When I
served as a missionary for the church, at first I was nervous to tell new
investigators of the church about this law of tithing. How would they feel
about giving money to the church? But it didn’t take long for my perspective to
change, because I saw that they weren’t just giving money to the church—they
were giving it to God, and He pays them back as he promises! Look at verses 10
and 11! Basically the Lord will pour down more blessings on you then you will
have room to receive, and He will protect you from destruction and failure,
which I saw fulfilled in so many different ways, over and over again. I’ve seen
it happen for lots of people, and I’ve seen it happen for me. I am now a
confident lover of the law of tithing. I’m excited for people to try it, so
they can see how much more they have in their lives (both physically and
spiritually) living on 90% then they used to on 100% --the Lord keeps His
promises, always.
I’m not as familiar with these next verses, but they really
impressed me while reading them this time:
13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say: What have we spoken against thee?14 Ye have said: It is vain to serve God, and what doth it profit that we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard; and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.18 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
Many people have lost their faith because they can’t see the
benefits of worshiping and following God, and it often appears that the proud
& wicked are prospering and happy. But God is watching and listening to
those who “fear him” and think of him. To fear God isn’t to worry that He is
going to punish you or strike you down. It means to care more about what He
thinks and what He says than what people think and say. Verse 18 says that God
–and you—will be able to tell the difference between those that serve him and
those that don’t. And He will “spare” those that serve Him. I think this is
referring to the 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ, but I see in so many
ways how the Lord strengthens and delivers those who serve Him in the regular
challenges of life. I know that the Lord watches over those who remember Him
and serve Him.
In this chapter the Lord is quoting Malachi 4. The
first 3 verses continue with the idea from the last chapter – that in the end, the
proud & wicked will not prosper (and actually, at the 2nd Coming
of Christ they will be burned), but those who serve God will experience healing
from the Son of Righteousness.
In my church we cherish verses 5 and 6:
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
We believe that families can be forever if they are “sealed”
together in our temples –which is one of the primary purposes of our
temples—and if they are faithful to God and each other. We believe that Elijah the
prophet appeared to Joseph Smith in the first temple that they early members of
the church built, and gave him the priesthood authority to seal families
together and fulfill this prophecy in Malachi – to turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children and the children to their fathers. For this reason, the church is BIG on
family history and we have some of the best family history resources in the
world that are available for people of any faith to use. This is because we
believe in turning our hearts to our fathers, and that we can be together with
our families (back generations and generations) forever!
And speaking of family history, I was just on familysearch.org tonight looking at my "Family Tree" and discovered that my mom's dad's mom's dad's mom's line goes all the way back to British Royalty, French Royalty, Roman Emperor Royalty, and finally stopped in the 100's --- no, not the 1100's, the 100's! and I'm related to Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor. COOL! Certainly I get some bragging rights for that somehow?? 
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