Mormon Budget

Posts Tagged ‘mormon’

Moses' Brazen Serpent

1 Nephi 17:41-42

“And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.
And they did harden their hearts from time to time, and they did revile against Moses, and also against God; nevertheless, ye know that they were led forth by his matchless power into the land of promise.”

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Debt is slavery

1 Nephi 17:40

“And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.”

Some historical refresher… Before the Exodus, the Israelites had been in Egypt for 400 years after Joseph had Jacob’s family move in. At some point during that time, the Israelites became slaves to the Egyptians. Many believe the Israelite “slavery” was not nearly as bad as is commonly depicted in major motion pictures. How did they turn into slaves? Among the reasons, debt is high in the list.Interestingly, modern-day prophets refer to debt as slavery – even the Lord refers to this as he instructs Martin Harris to “Pay thy debt… Release thself from bondage” D&C 19:35.

The evocation of the Moses story was a powerful lesson to Nephi’s family – to any family, even in our day. We will do well to remember that the Lord will deliver us from bondage and slavery as we are consistently loyal and obedient to him. We need to be careful about our debts, yes; but sometimes we fall into financial bondage without much choice in the matter. We can be delivered from our debts, but in the Lord’s time. The scripture says the Lord “remembered the convenants” he made. Clearly he didn’t forget, but they were fulfilled unto the Israelites after many years of slavery and unanswered prayers. We too many need to spend time, even years at a time in our personal bondages, even in debt, before we too are delivered. Our delivery will likely be less miraculous than a deliverer bringing us on an Exodus from our debtors. Rather, small graces must be taken advantage of. Rather than spending unexpected income on frivilous items, pay down your debts. Over time, the Lords tender mercies will add up to our deliverance.

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Toronto Temple Coin

Thanks to my good friend Gavin who pointed this one out to me.

Highlights from Haggai 1:5-9. (Old Testament, p.1166 in the LDS Edition of the Old Testament)

” …Consider you ways.
Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
This saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.
Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did low upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.”

This scripture was written shortly after (17-18 years) the Jews return to Jerusalem from the captivity in Babylon.

We know that the common reference to the “mountain of the Lord” means the temple. The Lord was saying through Haggai that although effort was put in to earn wealth and provide for oneself and family, the return just wasn’t quite enough. Where were the blessings of heaven? Why did they struggle? It is revealed here that the temple had to be rebuilt and used.

Most reading this are in relatively close proximity to a temple. Are we using it the way we should? Would Haggai’s words apply to us? Make sure your temple attendence (and worthiness) is not lacking so the Lord doesn’t withhold monetary success from you because of your poor temple attendence. Temple worship is a great, peaceful experience; a way to serve others and the Lord’s purposes. And — as noted here, it can help make sure your are getting enough and more.

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1 Nephi 17 33-38
“And now, do ye suppose that the children of this land, who were in the land of promise, who were driven out by our fathers, do ye suppose that they were righteous Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice than they if they had been righteous I say unto you, Nay.
Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fullness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.
Behold, the Lord hath created the earth that it should be inhabited; and he hath created his children that they should possess it.
And he raiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked.
And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes.”

Lest we, as a people, become prideful we need to be reminded that were are not chosen because of bloodline, membership in an organization or any other similar reason. We are chosen only because of our righteousness. The blessings of the Lord are available to all. We cannot expect to join the Lord’s church and then coast through life with His blessing. We need to be righteous, always trying to improve, overcoming our weaknesses. The Lord will bless us for our righteousness only. We’ll receive our “precious land” because of our obedience. Otherwise we face the curse of the land, for our own sakes.

That also means our business competitors can be equally blessed according to their righteousness. There’s lots of good people out there to compete with, so make sure you’re obedience, or lack thereof, is not holding you back from success. Afterall, if your competitors are righteous, they are also chosen and able to receive the Lord’s blessings.

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1 Nephi 17:20-22
“And thou art like unto our father, led away by the foolish imaginations of his heart…
And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses…And after this manner of language did my brethren murmur and complain against us.”

Nephi’s brethren are now fathers, so they take this opportunity to complain about the hardships of their wives and how they could have been enjoying their possessions back in Jerusalem. There is no particular mention of Laman and Lemuel in this passage, which makes me think that even young Sam has joined in the complaining, leaving Nephi truly alone.
However, lets look at some of the problems with the complaints of Nephi’s brethren.

Distorted View of Reality

1. They are delusional. They claim that the people in Jerusalem were righteous, even though when they left, Jeremiah had been thrown in to prison and Lehi’s life was threatened for preaching repentance to the people. While they were still likely performing all of the rituals associated with the Mosaic Law, they were far from righteous. Righteousness is not defined by rote obedience to a strict ritualistic law, but by the intentions of the heart. Surely Jeremiah and Lehi were prophesying about similar things, turn your heart to Jehovah to avoid certain destruction. Eight years in the wilderness has a way of distorting perspective and truth, especially when coupled with a longing for relaxing and riotous living.
2. Despite seeing an angel and having their plight confirmed, they call Lehi’s visions and commandments “foolish imaginations of his heart”. They have seen several demonstrations now of the power of God, yet still they choose to turn a blind eye towards the truth.
3. The use the word “wander” in the wilderness, when they have been guided and directed by the Liahona.
4. They tie happiness with enjoying their possessions in Jerusalem. We all know money cannot buy happiness, so clearly this is delusional also. There are always problems to be found in any situation. Its how we handle life’s irritants that defines and determines our “happiness”.

Now, their complaints did have some truth mixed in with them for good measure, in order to strengthen their arguments and make their statements seem more persuasive. However, it is not difficult for anyone who recognizes truth to see through these weak arguments and complaints and refute them.

[Right... noted. But whats this got to do with money and budgeting?]

We often get into trouble when we make financial decisions that are not based on correct perceptions of reality. A few examples: Read the rest of this entry »

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1 Nephi 17:17-19

“And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.
And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.
And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work.”

Don't Heed the Scoffers

Lets paraphrase this as an entrepreneur.? Instead of “build a ship”, substitute “start a business”, and other appropriate things.? Here’s my (true) version:

“And when my brethren saw that I was about to start a business, they began to caution me, saying: Are you sure? Starting a business is a big task. Do you really think you should leave your good job to try starting a business that might fail?
And thus my brethren did crush my spirit, and were desirous that they might not support my idea, for they did not believe that I could start a successful business; neither would they believe that I had prayed about it and felt it was the right thing to do.
And now it came to pass that I, Eric, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice, assuming they were correct, saying: We knew that ye could not start a successful business, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work.” Read the rest of this entry »

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1 Nephi 17:14-15

“Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence.
And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock. ”

Do you have character?

I once heard a definition of character as “the determination to stick to and follow a decision after the excitement of making that decision has passed.” I love that. How many of us get excited about a decision, new goal or direction we want to take while we are making the choice, and then in the coming days, our determination wavers, we fall back into old habits or fail to establish the new ones we hoped for. Nephi isn’t making a change or course correction here, but he does show amazing determination to follow the Lord’s commandments. He began the arduous task of constructing a ship by making tools out of molten ore. All of this in hopes of obtaining a promised land which they had never seen; a land much better than where they currently where, which they named “Bountiful”.

Likening the scriptures to ourselves, if we are to obtain our “promised land” (be that wealth, a comfortable home, ability to spend more time with family, freedom to choose what to do with your time, means to serve more, etc…) we need to make righteous goals and stick to them. That determination will show the Lord our willingness to keep his commandments. Once the Lord knows that we will not waiver in our constancy in serving Him (through a pattern of dedicated service, faith and attitude), our tests will lessen and the windows of heaven open and His blessings will pour over us. Obtaining our “promised land” before then may be possible, but it will not be done with the joy that comes from blessings of the Lord.

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I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not;

1 Nephi 17:12-13

“For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not;
And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led. ”

The thought of eating raw meat turns my stomach. But if its that or starvation, I’m sure I’d go for it. Of course, if the Lord made it sweet, it might not be so bad, especially after 8 years of getting used to it. Whats truly interesting about this is that the Lord was giving them pretty specific instructions that we only find out about as an explanation about lighting a fire. There likely was a lot of other specific instruction received that we don’t know about. Read the rest of this entry »

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1 Nephi 17:4

Lehis Journey in the Wilderness

“And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.”

I find it hard to keep in perspective that Lehi and family were traveling in the wilderness desert of Arabia for 8 years. It always seems that they went quickly from Jerusalem to the American continent; but it took more than 8 years, because once arriving in Bountiful, they stayed there for a while, at least long enough to construct a ship, which probably took nearly a year.

We need to keep in mind that they were not just walking with a backpack and a canteen. They had animals, provisions, tents… Their women bore children, people died and were buried. It was a really long journey: in distance, time and emotional drain. I’m sure this time served as a purification period for them. Similar to the people of Moses wandering in the wilderness for 40 years before entering their promised land, they first needed to be purified and prepared. During this time we can only assume that they continued keeping the commandments and, despite that, they did not obtain their promised land any time soon. Read the rest of this entry »

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1 Nephi 17:2-3

Financial life cycle

“And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.

And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.”

I’ve noticed a pattern in life. While we are older children (when we are able to notice things around us and remember), we often benefit from the many long years of work and toil that our parents have gone through. Parents have accumulated some measure of wealth with their efforts and we as children enjoy that wealth. We live in relative comfort. Things weren’t always this way, but we didn’t notice when we were really young children. When we are old enough we move out on our own and start our own family. Now, we have left the comforts of our parents years of effort and start with relative basics, slowly accumulating possessions and some measure of comfort. But it takes time. Read the rest of this entry »

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