2 Nephi 2:3-4

Verse four says, "And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory..." and verse 3 says, "...and thy days shall be spent in the service of thy God..." You could say that we've beheld His glory in our youth through all the great things our church does. Because of this, we know that we should spend our time doing worthwhile things, especially serving our Father in Heaven!

1 Nephi 14:10

"And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God1, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of all abominations; and she is he whore of all the earth."

This, in my opinion, is saying what will happen to us in the last days. Will we belong to the church of the lord, taking eternal glory? Or will we give into the earthly stuff, so we cannot be with Heavenly Father when we die? The choice i s all ours. This scripture is telling us that we NEED to choose the church of God, not the church of the devil.

1= this is the church of the lord, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

1 Nephi 4:32

This was a while back in my reading, but in 1 Nephi 4:32, just after Nephi killed Laban for the plates, Nephi asks Zoram to come with them into the wilderness. Nephi says, "if he would hearken unto our words we would spare his life." This is so similar to the situation we are faced with in our mortal lives, we make mistakes and there is no way we will be able to make it back to our Father in Heaven on our own, but the Lord has assured us that if we hearken unto His words He will spare our lives! How wonderful and comforting this is! However I think that sometimes because we hear this so much it starts to become almost monotonous, but really it is so incredible to know that as long as we listen and try our very best to live those teachings we CAN still live with Him someday thanks to the Atonement. I know that the Savior doesn't just tell us that He wants us to return to Him but he is doing everything He can so that we will be able to return to Him. His hand is ALWAYS extended and his spirit is always available to guide us in the right direction.

Matthew 6:1-4

Yes, I know I'm supposed to be blogging about the Book of Mormon, but we were reading as a family in the New Testiment and we came upon this wonderful chapter. If you don't recall what this section is about, it teaches about serving others secretly. Anyway, here are the verses that really stood out to me. Verse 1: Take heed that ye do not your alms(Or service) before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward in heaven. Verse 2: Therefore when thou doest thine alm, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you they have their reward. Verse 3: But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. Verse 4: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Every verse in this chapter is very important. If I could've, I would have wrote the whole chapter down. I challenge each of you, if you have time, to read the rest of this section. It is very important for us to know. It tells us how if we do secret service and not make a big deal out of it we will be blest by Heavenly Father in the after life. I have a testimony of the scriptures and I know that President Monson is a great example of service, and if we listen to his teachings and follow them we will be blest in so many ways. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Always looking to God

If you look all through Nephi you can discover Nephi's strong love and desire to do the things of god. When ever he was in trouble he turned to his heavenly father for comfort and guidance. Such as when his brother had tied him up and the boat the first thing they did when they released him was to pray to his heavenly father in thankfulness. Heavenly father is always there for us through times of trial and tribulation and even in times of happiness and joy! Our father in heaven is on our side no matter what. He might not always be happy with the choices we are making but he is always opened armed to receive us back into his arms of eternal purity. So the question you can all ask your selves... have you talked to your father today?

Two Weeks Into Challenge

It's been nearly two weeks since we began this challenge and I appreciate all those who have contributed.

Sariah Complains

I couldn't agree with Jessica more about "murmuring". It makes me sad when I think about Sariah complaining against her husband. I hope I can believe without everything having to be proven to me. I think it goes back to Jessica's comment...we have to remember when the spirit witnesses of the truth and never forget those experiences. Doubt is not one of God's tools.

One Week Into the Challenge

It's been one week since the challenge to read two pages a day in the Book of Mormon. I heard from many of you at church that you were doing it and it was making a difference. By now we should be on page 18 and about to begin chapter 11. I encourage you young men and young women to ponder what you are reading and share your ideas on this blog. (Some of you mentioned you were having trouble figuring out how to publish a post on the blog - I explained it a little more clearly in a post I put on the blog yesterday). Even if you don't have a thought to share on a specific scripture, don't hesitate to write a few lines about how your life has been blessed by reading daily.

I was impressed as I was reading this past week by 1Nephi 1:5 where Lehi "prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart..." It made me think about what it means to pray with all our hearts. I came to the conclusion that it's much more than saying the same thing night after night. It means to really think about what we are saying in prayer and truly feeling it deep inside our souls. It inspired me to to work on making my prayers more meaningful.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to post on this blog. I'd love for you to add your thoughts each week or more.

--Bishop Hildebrandt

Tent Living 1 Ne 2:15

"My father dwelt in a tent." Everyone's familiar with this interesting, even funny passage. Have you ever wondered why this was a big enough deal to Nephi that he would dedicate a verse to the concept of living in a tent?

My guess is tent-living was something Lehi's family wasn't accustomed to at all. We know they were a family of significant wealth, so they were probably ancient Jerusalem's version of "Marriott Campers." I think it may have been as big a sacrifice, perhaps bigger, for them as what the pioneers went through crossing the plains. In fact their wilderness sojourn lasted years, not months!

Just as we are often asked to reflect and give thanks for the sacrifices the pioneers made for us, Lehi's family probably deserves a great thanks from all of us for the sacrifice they made that eventually resulted in our having the Book of Mormon--The Keystone of our Religion.

Correct directions on joining blog

My earlier directions on how to join the blog were not correct. Many of you told me about the problems you were having posting messages on the blog. What you have to do is accept my invitation to join the blog by following the directions on the email invitation from "Jay." If you have a gmail account it will let you right in. If you don't it just takes a few steps to create one.

I will resend those email invitations right now. Sorry about that. Let me or Jana know if you have any problems and we can help you.

Bishop Hildebrandt

2 Nephi 4:4

I also started a little early. Anyway, in this chapter Lehi is giving blessings to his family before he dies, starting with Laman's. While he is talking to them he reminds them what the Lord had told them. The scripture says,"For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land" but then goes on to say "And inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence." I know that verse still applies to our lives, and that if we keep the commandments we will be blessed here on Earth and in heaven, and if we don't keep the commandments we really will be cut off from the presence of the Lord and will be punished for our iniquities. I have a testimony of the Godhead and of the Book of Mormon. I know that President Monson is a true prophet, and that his teachings are true. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

1 Nephi 17:16

I'm a little ahead- I started the Book of Mormon when school started. The verse states," And it came to pass that I did make tools of ore which I did molten out of rock." Simple, huh? But the I started thinking that maybe the rock could be the gospel and the tools could be things like the scriptures, church leaders, Personal Progress and Duty to God porgrams, and more. This is in the chapter where Nephi was commanded to build a ship. So then I started thinking. with these gospel tools, what ship am I going to build?

1 Nephi 4:4

For some reason this verse always amazes me. Then again its laman and lemuel. after seing an angel of god it says: "they were yet wroth, and did still continue to murmur." I think that it important to remember that even though we haven't seen an angel, we have felt the spirit in church, or at a fireside. And some of us might have been able to have seen a miracle with a priesthood blessing. So we should think before we , 'murmur' or are 'wroth' and remember those feelings so that we aren't like Laman and Lemuel.

Our Picture

Okay everyone, here's our picture! We've officially started the challenge to read the book of mormon. We decided that we could read two pages a day of the book of mormon in order to finish it by the end of the school year and we are starting NOW! Good luck everyone! Don't forget to post some of the things you read about here! Try to come at least once a week to post cool things you've found in your reading.

I Nephi 8:27

In this chapter Nephi is describing the vision Lehi had of the tree of life. In verse 27 he talks about the great and spacious building and he describes what the people inside were doing:

"They were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit".

I didn't think much of it when I first read this scripture because I've read about the vision so many times before, but then I remembered something my friend had said about how they were not enjoying the "wonderful" things that were inside the building, but they were focused on making fun of those at the tree. If the great and spacious building was as great as it was made up to be, they would have been inside enjoying themselves. It made me think about how movies and the media make bad decisions look great, when in reality it's not all it's cracked up to be.

It made me grateful that I know which side I want to be on and that I know where the iron rod is. I just have to keep in mind that the great and spacious building is just that: great and spacious. It looks exciting on the outside, but is really empty and only looks "great" from the outside.

I'm very excited to try and read the Book of Mormon together this year and can't wait to read all the things we will post here!

1 Nephi 4:1

I am so excited to be able to read the Book of Mormon during this school year because it is such a strength to me every day! At the very end of 1 Nephi 3 Laman and Lemuel are discouraged about their inability to get the plates from Laben and they ask, "Yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us?" Nephi responds saying, "for behold [the Lord] is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban"? Then why is he not mightier than any of our struggles that we face today? It is so encouraging to know that he can help us overcome anything Satan confronts us with!

Directions On How To Use Blog

1. Give your email address to Bishop Hildebrandt so he can add you as an author.

2. Go to shamrockparkmutual.blogspot.com ( anyone can go to the site and read what's on it)

3. If you want to post a message, click "sign in" in the upper right corner. The first time you may have to set a password.

4. Click on "new post" to write your thoughts. There's a small box for a title and a bigger box for you to write in.

5. When you are done, click "publish post" and your message will appear.

If you want to write a brief comment about what someone else has posted, click on comment at the bottom of their post.

If you have any questions contact Bishop Hildebrandt or Jana Urling.

Good Luck.

Scripture Blog Invitation

Dear Young Women and Young Men of the Shamrock Park Ward,

This blog has been set up for you to have a place to share your thoughts on the scriptures you are reading. As you accept the invitation to read two pages a day from the Book of Mormon I hope you will ponder what you read, mark in your scriptures verses that stand out to you, and from time to time share in this blog what impressed you.

As many time as I've read the Book of Mormon I still gain new insights every time I read it. Just tonight as I read the first couple pages of 1st Nephi again, I was impressed with something Nephi said in the very first verse. He said he was "taught somewhat in all the learning of my father." It hit me that if Nephi was taught the gospel by his father, that Laman and Lemuel were probably taught the same things, but they turned out a lot different than Nephi. I'm making it a goal to see what Nephi did to follow his father's teachings that Laman and Lemuel didn't do. Then I'll try to follow Nephi's example.

If you read just two pages a day from the Book of Mormon, you should finish it about the time the school year ends. I know that as you young women and young men of the Shamrock Park Ward study your scriptures, even if it's just two pages a day, and share what you learn and feel in this blog, that all of us who participate will be blessed.

Bishop Hildebrandt