Saviors “up on Mount Zion"

Here is a little background on the book of Obadiah in the Bible. Obadiah is a Biblical theophorical name, meaning "servant of God" or "worshipper of Yah." This book teaches us how to become the best servants of God who worship him in all that we do. I will focus my post today on the book Obadiah and specifically what it means by “…saviors up on mount Zion.”

These verses are so important. We must do temple work and we must do the work for the dead. This is how we deliver the faithful. The temple represents holiness because it is the Lord’s house and his precious and sacred work is being done in them. We learn in Obadiah 1:17 that upon mount Zion there will be holiness and there shall be deliverance. Obadiah 1:21 tells us that the kingdom shall be the Lords. These verses teach us that it is upon mount Zion that the temples are to be built and they will be holy and they are of the Lord, they are the Lord’s houses.

We get more detailed in the Doctrine and Covenants section 128. Verse 5 teaches us that “…by conforming to the Lord ordained and prepared before the foundation of the world, for the salvation of the dead should die without a knowledge of the gospel.” We know that every child of God will have the opportunity to hear the gospel and either accept it or not but the dead will have the opportunity in the afterlife to be taught the gospel. The next step is up to us. We must go to the temple and do their work for them, so if they chose the gospel they can be saved also.

Verse 15, on D&C 128, teaches us that these principles are important for the dead and the living and it “Cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation.” We cannot be made perfect unless the dead are also made perfect. It is important to do the work for our ancestors but it is also essential for us do to our own work and continue to go to the temple. We were not meant to only go once for ourselves, we are commanded to go as frequently as we are able. It is important for our salvation to go to the temple and continue to do the work for those who can’t do it themselves. I have heard people say that these people are on the other side, anxiously waiting for us to do their work.

The student manual gives more insight on Obadiah 1:21, specifically when it says that there will be saviors on mount Zion. I think that this is meaning disciples; there will be many saviors, or disciples, on mount Zion. How are we to become saviors on Mount Zion? I really liked the answer given in this student manual by the prophet Joseph Smith.

“By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations, and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah.’ (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, [Deseret Book, 1968], p. 330.)” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1972, pp. 47–48.)”

Daniel in the Lion’s Den: Daniel 6

Darius was the king of Babylon. Darius chose men to help him and Daniel was the leader of that group of men. Darius preferred Daniel because of the excellent spirit that was in him. The other men did not like Daniel and did not want him to be their leader. These men knew that Daniel was a religious man and prayed to God and went to the King and asked for a new decree or law. This new law stated that people could not pray to God and if people were found praying they would be throw into the lion’s den.

Daniel did not let this shake his faith, he kept praying, three times a day. The wicked men went to the king and told him that they saw Daniel praying. The king knew the law, which said that Daniel had to be thrown in the lion’s den. The king tried to think of a way to save Daniel from this but the law could not be changed. Daniel was then thrown into the lion’s den, but before he was thrown in the king, Darius, told Daniel that God would save him.

The king fasted all night and did not sleep. In the morning when the king went to the lion’s den he called out to Daniel and Daniel answered and said that the lion’s did not hurt him. Daniel said Daniel 6:22, “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me…” The king rejoiced because Daniel was not hurt.

There were many indications that King Darius had faith in the Lord. You can tell at the first of the chapter or story that Darius is fond of David and I think part of that was because of his faith in the Lord. We also see that when Daniel is found praying that Darius tries to find a way around the law. Then when Daniel is in the den Darius prays and fasts for his friend. These are the things that show that King Darius had faith in the Lord.

We learn in Daniel 6:3 that Darius preferred Daniel because of the excellent spirit that was in Daniel. We can learn a lot from this. People recognize the people we are. If we have a good spirit, people know that and they see that. People are often drawn to those who have the spirit constantly with them and it is no wonder why. These are the people we want in our lives and we should have in our lives. I hope that I can be one of those people and am constantly striving towards that.

When the decree/ law was made know unto Daniel he went to “his house and with his windows being open… he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime” (Daniel 6:10).  This must have taken a lot of courage, strength and faith. He stood for what he knew was right. He stood up for the Lord when some would have been scared. In all this, he prayed with his windows open. He didn’t do this in private. We shouldn’t praise the Lord only in private. We should always live the gospel and our faith, no matter what we believe.

We can learn a lot from this story of Daniel and his example, I know that I have. What have you learned from this story? How will you let this story influence you to be better?  I urge you to go to Daniel chapter 6 and read or re-read the story of Daniel and the lion’s den.

Jeremiah's Lamentations

I didn't know much before reading the book of Lamentations today. I had actually never really read it before. So I learned a lot from it. A lamentation is the passionate expression of grief or sorrow; weeping. Jeremiah The book of Lamentations are lamentations of Jeremiah. In the first chapter of verses 1 through 11 Jeremiah is speaking for himself, while in verses 12 through 22 he is speaking as if he were the whole country of Judah.

Four phrases from Jeremiahs words that explain why he lamented or why he wept for Judah are:

- Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction

- The adversaries saw Judah, and did mock at her Sabbaths

- Judah was filthy

-The heathen entered into Judah's sanctuary

When I compared Lamentations 1:12-22 and Mormon 6:17-22 I found that they were very similar. Both of the people were very wicked and departed from the ways of the Lord. They rejected Jesus and in consequence they fell into captivity. When we fall away from the Lord and chose wickedness over righteousness we will fall and we be like the people in both of these examples.

The reason for the suffering and destruction of the kingdom of Judah, as indicated and found in the chapter summaries for chapters 2-5 are, sin and iniquity. Alma 41:10, "...Wickedness never was happiness..." definitely applies to this period of history. The people were doing many wicked things and living in much sin and iniquity but they didn't want the consequences. They wanted to continue to live they blessed and happy life that the Lord provided them with. When you are not living your life in accordance with the commandments of the Lord and not keeping your commandments you will not continue to be blessed and you will not continue to experiences happiness. Therefore, "wickedness never was happiness." You will not be happy when you are wicked. The Lord will not bless us with happiness when we are wicked.

Lamentations 5:15–22; In these scriptures we are given some scriptures that teach us some characteristics of a person that is humble enough to repent. For example, it tells us to have a "heart is faint" we need to have Godly sorrow" when we do something wrong. In verse 19 it teaches us that we need to show that from generation to generation we have changed and that we are striving to become better and that we are striving to do what the Lord has commanded us. Verse 21 teaches us to turn our heart fully to the Lord, this will help us stay humble and help us keep our eye single to the glory of our Lord and our God. Staying humble will help us in every aspect of our lives and help us truly be happy and successful.