In the Book of Mormon we read that after the people repented, the Lord turned away His anger from them and caused rain to come upon the earth. The people rejoiced and esteemed Nephi as a great prophet. The people began to prosper once again. The church spread and there was peace. Helaman 11:17-21 "And it came to pass that in the seventy and sixth year the Lord did turn away his anger from the people, and caused that rain should fall upon the earth, insomuch that it did bring forth her fruit in the season of her fruit. And it came to pass that it did bring forth her grain in the season of her grain. And behold, the people did rejoice and glorify God, and the whole face of the land was filled with rejoicing; and they did no more seek to destroy Nephi, but they did esteem him as a great prophet, and a man of God, having great power and authority given unto him from God. And behold, Lehi, his brother, was not a whit behind him as to things pertaining to righteousness. And thus it did come to pass that the people of Nephi began to prosper again in the land, and began to build up their waste places, and began to multiply and spread, even until they did cover the whole face of the land, both on the northward and on the southward, from the sea west to the sea east. And it came to pass that the seventy and sixth year did end in peace. And the seventy and seventh year began in peace; and the church did spread throughout the face of all the land; and the more part of the people, both the Nephites and the Lamanites, did belong to the church; and they did have exceedingly great peace in the land; and thus ended the seventy and seventh year."
In the Old Testament we read about how Moses doubted his ability to convince anyone that the Lord had really sent him. The Lord told Moses about several signs he could use to convince them. Exodus 4:1-9 "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land."
Some verses with a thought booklet tell the story of how Jesus was tempted by the devil. Jesus had fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and was hungry. So the devil came along and told him that if He was indeed the Son of God, He should command some stones to be made bread. And alter when Jesus was on a pinnacle of the temple Satan again taunted him with the word "if." If He was the Son of God, He could jump down and be saved y angels. He also tried to tempt Him by offering Him all the kingdoms of the world if He would fall down and worship him. At Jesus' baptism, His Father had proclaimed that Jesus was His beloved Son. But the devil would have loved to place doubts in Jesus' mind with the word "if." Doesn't he do the same to us? Maybe we've been told by the Lord that we have nothing to worry about and everything will be okay regarding some matter in our lives. But given a little time we start to doubt that and worry some more. Satan loves to place doubts in people's minds. How did the Savior respond to all of Satan's temptations? He quoted scripture to him. In every instance, Jesus had a scripture that applied to every temptation Satan had to throw at Him. Here is a great lesson for us. We need to study the scriptures daily and know them so well that if Satan tries to tempt us, an appropriate scripture will come into our minds that will help us fight off anything Satan tries on us. Let's follow Jesus' example of not believing Satan's lies when he tries to make us doubt, and of studying the Word of God to help us to resist the devil and his temptations. Matthew 4:1-11 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
In the Old Testament we read about how Moses doubted his ability to convince anyone that the Lord had really sent him. The Lord told Moses about several signs he could use to convince them. Exodus 4:1-9 "And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land."
Some verses with a thought booklet tell the story of how Jesus was tempted by the devil. Jesus had fasted for 40 days in the wilderness and was hungry. So the devil came along and told him that if He was indeed the Son of God, He should command some stones to be made bread. And alter when Jesus was on a pinnacle of the temple Satan again taunted him with the word "if." If He was the Son of God, He could jump down and be saved y angels. He also tried to tempt Him by offering Him all the kingdoms of the world if He would fall down and worship him. At Jesus' baptism, His Father had proclaimed that Jesus was His beloved Son. But the devil would have loved to place doubts in Jesus' mind with the word "if." Doesn't he do the same to us? Maybe we've been told by the Lord that we have nothing to worry about and everything will be okay regarding some matter in our lives. But given a little time we start to doubt that and worry some more. Satan loves to place doubts in people's minds. How did the Savior respond to all of Satan's temptations? He quoted scripture to him. In every instance, Jesus had a scripture that applied to every temptation Satan had to throw at Him. Here is a great lesson for us. We need to study the scriptures daily and know them so well that if Satan tries to tempt us, an appropriate scripture will come into our minds that will help us fight off anything Satan tries on us. Let's follow Jesus' example of not believing Satan's lies when he tries to make us doubt, and of studying the Word of God to help us to resist the devil and his temptations. Matthew 4:1-11 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
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