Mosiah 9-11 & 12:1-17

Reading Assignment for class on Monday, Dec. 4: Mosiah chapter 9-11 & chapter 12:1-17

Questions to ponder:

1) What was the difference between how Zeniff and his people prepared for war and how the Lamanites prepared?  How was the outcome different?
2) Why is it a blessing when prophets call us to repentance?
3) What caused King Noah and his people to be blind in these chapters? What could cause us to become spiritually blind?

Consider copying these quotes into your scriptures:

Mosiah 9-10
Elder David A. Bednar
“Blessings require some effort on our part before we can obtain them, and prayer, as ‘a form of work, … is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings’ [Bible Dictionary, “Prayer”]. We press forward and persevere in the consecrated work of prayer, after we say ‘amen,’ by acting upon the things we have expressed to Heavenly Father” (David A. Bednar, “Ask in Faith,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2008, 95).

Mosiah 11-12:17
Think about why it is a blessing when prophets call us to repentance.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson
“The message of repentance is often not welcomed. …

“… When prophets come crying repentance, it ‘throws cold water on the party.’ But in reality the prophetic call should be received with joy. Without repentance, there is no real progress or improvement in life. Pretending there is no sin does not lessen its burden and pain. Suffering for sin does not by itself change anything for the better. Only repentance leads to the sunlit uplands of a better life. And, of course, only through repentance do we gain access to the atoning grace of Jesus Christ and salvation” (D. Todd Christofferson, “The Divine Gift of Repentance,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 38).

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Commentary and Background Information

Mosiah 9. The record of Zeniff

The heading before the chapter summary of Mosiah 9 was written by Mormon and was part of the original record given to the Prophet Joseph Smith. Similar headings, also written by Mormon, appear at the beginning of some other books and chapters in the Book of Mormon. (The phrase “comprising chapters 9 to 22 inclusive” was added in 1879, when the Book of Mormon was published in chapter format. The word inclusive was deleted in 2013. The brief summaries that precede each chapter of the Book of Mormon were added in the 1920 edition.)

Mosiah 10:12–18. What should I do if I feel I have been wronged?

Elder Harold G. Hillam (1934–2012) of the Seventy shared insights about how to deal with feelings of anger:

“If you feel you have been wronged, be ready to forgive. If there is, for some reason, an unpleasant memory, let it go. Where necessary, talk to your bishop; talk to your stake president.

“To all, but especially to those who some day will be great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers, your eternal blessings and those of your posterity are far more important than any prideful reason which would deny you and so many others of such important blessings” (Harold G. Hillam, “The Worth of Souls,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2005, 32).