“Every Man Did That Which Was Right in His Own Eyes”

Judges 17-21 chapter summaries; Institute Student Manual Judges 17:21

Some events that happened in these chapters are Micah builds a house of gods and consecrates his own priests, the Danites sought out an inheritance for themselves, idolatry, rape, abuse, and death. 

Judges 21:25

This verse is such an accurate description of this terrible time of Israel’s history because everyone decided to do what they thought was right based on their own beliefs. It's very much like our day today where many people "do good" from what they think is right, but when compared to God's laws and commandments, they really aren't doing good. This verse saying "there was no king is Israel" made me relate that to there is no Christ here on earth. Christ is our King and our ruler, yet, in our world today, He isn't brought up, He isn't spoken of and He is definitely disregarded. People choose to do what they want rather than obey the King who is Christ. 

John 14:6; 2 Nephi 9:28-29; Isaiah 55:8-9

The reasons these verses give for why doing things the Lord’s way is so much better than our own are because: Jesus is the light and truth and the only way we can return to God again; we are foolish to think we can make it through this world on our own instead of listening to God because we will perish otherwise; and God's ways and thoughts are always going to be higher than ours, we just have to accept that fact.

"Choose You This Day Whom Ye Will Serve"

Joshua 10:12-14; Institute Student Manual commentary Joshua 10:12-14,

"Did the sun really stand still in the heavens?"

To someone who says that they won't believe the Bible when it says that the sun stood still in the heavens because it contradicts science, this is what I have to say: God controls all aspects of our universe, so surely He can cause the earth to stop moving--which makes the sun stand still. He brought upon plagues and turned water to blood during Moses' time, so it really isn't all that surprising that He could tell the earth to stop rotating, and it would. 

Joshua 7-22

 Israel's Successes

• Ambushes Ai, slays inhabitants
• Gibeonites are made slaves to Israel
• Defeats Amorites and allies
• Conquer whole land, destroying cities and nations
• Conquered two kings east of Jordan, and 31 west
• Inheritances of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh are confirmed
• Caleb inherits Hebron
• Judah is given an inheritance in Canaan
• Ephraim and Manasseh receive inheritances
• Benjamin receives inheritance
• Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan receive inheritances
• Lord fulfills all promises, gives Israel rest
• Some tribes dismissed with blessing

Israel's Failures

• Defeated by people of Ai

Joshua 23-24; Institute Student Manual commentary for Joshua 24:1-28, 

The main theme that Joshua spoke to his people about in these chapters was to continue to love God and keep the commandments and be courageous in standing up for what was right. Joshua chose to deliver his final address on this particular topic because God has blessed him and his people from destruction and death. He gave Israel so many blessings and always fulfilled the promises that He made to them because of their obedience. Joshua wanted his people to continue to serve God and show Him how grateful they were for the many blessings they received and to be worthy to continue receiving them; "but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

The people responded to Joshua by saying, "God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods, for the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those greats signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed." They recognized that the blessings they were receiving came from God and they recognized His power in all things. That's what we need to do in our lives: recognize all that God does for us. Because He does everything.

Israel Commanded to Destroy the Wicked

Deuteronomy 20:17; 2:15, 7:2, 12:2-3

The nations that are listed in these verses are: Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the Jebusites. The Lord commanded Israel to destroy those nations that He spoke about; destroy their alters, pillars, burn their groves, hew down graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of the gods out of those places. He also commanded Israel to not make any covenants with them or show them mercy or marry anyone within those nations.

Deuteronomy 9:4-5; Institute Student Manual commentary 7:1-5

 The reason why the Lord commanded the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites was because they were so contaminating with their wickedness that if they had been spared and were shown mercy, it would have led to the spiritual downfall of Israel. However, later history shows that this is what happened to Israel eventually because they failed to follow these instructions from God. All Canaanites were devoted to death already from God since their religious practices became full of idolatry, prostitution, and homosexuality; and the way they were going to be put to death was from Israel as their executioner. As the Student Manual says, “The failure of Israel to execute it fully became finally their own judgment.”

Many of the sins found among the people living in Canaan are prevalent in today’s society. I think that in order to protect ourselves from the sins that the Canaanites were involved in is being aware of what the prophets teach us in our day. The Lord is constantly telling us what we should be doing and what we should avoid through our prophet and if we listen to him and heed his words, then we will be protected from spiritual death. Many people today claim that homosexual behavior is okay and that we should love our fellow brethren and support them. They forget the commandment to love God first over anybody else, which means to obey the commandments He has put in place, which is standing up for what He has told us to do and not do and not condoning or supporting behavior that He has explicitly told us not to involve ourselves in. We can love our fellow brethren without supporting their behaviors and sins. We are all trying to be better disciples of Christ in overcoming temptations and sins; we shouldn’t support others in committing sins either. 

The Brazen Serpent

Numbers 21:4-9; Institute Student Manual Points to Ponder section (pg. 212). 

•        What did the children of Israel do that resulted in the curse of the “fiery serpents”?

The children of Israel spoke against God and Moses, complaining that there wasn't any bread or water and that they would die in the wilderness because of it.

•        In what ways are people today sometimes like unto the children of Israel anciently? (See also 1 Nephi 17:45.)

Just like in 1 Nephi, we can be "past feeling" in hearing the voice of God, or recognizing the many blessings that come from him. I know many people from high school who just state how awful their life is going and that if there was a God then their life wouldn't be the way it was. They don't recognize that all the good that happens to them is from God nor do they even recognize that they have good in their life. Waking up to a new day is a blessing and gift from God! But, sadly, many people don't see life as a blessing.

•        According to Alma 33:18-22, what did the brazen serpent symbolize?

The serpent symbolized healing and the belief that God could heal them from their infirmities.

•        How does one “look to” Jesus Christ for healing?

One looks to Christ through obeying His teachings and trying to follow in His ways, that is where we can receive healing. Asking God our Father for comfort and relief through the Atonement that Christ made for us can give us the comfort and healing we need. 

•        Aside from physical healings, how can “looking to” the Savior heal a person in other ways?

Looking to the Savior can heal a person in other ways through emotional well-being. Christ can give us comfort and help heal our emotional wounds because of the Atonement that He made for each of us. He knows the pains that we've felt, not just the physical hurt, but also the pain we feel in our hearts. 

•        Where else do people sometimes turn for healing other than the Savior?

Sometimes people turn to worldly things for "healing," even though it's more of a distraction than anything else. These can be in the forms of television, movies, shopping, videogames, eating, reading books (other than the scriptures), etc. These only give temporary satisfaction and not true healing. They can be great distractors, but once they are gone, the pain comes back and you are not truly healed. Only through Christ can we be saved from the pain we feel and be truly healed again.

•        What are simple things in the gospel of Jesus Christ that can heal us?

Some of the simple things in the gospel of Jesus Christ that can heal us are praying. It's such a simple thing, but praying for comfort and relief from your pain is a very important step to make it happen. Faith in Christ is another simple thing that can heal us, because if we have the faith that Christ's Atonement can work through us, then it will. 

•        How have you experienced the healing power of the Atonement in your life?

I've experienced the healing power of the Atonement in many ways. I've received comfort and relief from pain that I wouldn't have been able to get rid of on my own or through any other means. I've received forgiveness from my sins through the Atonement, which heals me from the imperfect state that I would be in, unable to have the presence of God or the Spirit in my life. The Atonement is real and powerful, and freely available to anyone and everyone who wants to come unto God and change for the better.

Clean vs. Unclean

Leviticus 11:1-30 

Animals Israel Could Eat

Fish with scales and fins, cow (other animals that have cloven feet and chew cud), locust family (locust, beetle, grasshopper)

Animals Israel Could Not Eat

Camel, coney, pig, hare, fish without scales and fins (sharks, dolphins), all bugs other than locust, weasel, mouse, tortoise, ferret, chameleon, lizard, snail, mole, eagle, ossifrage, ospray, vulture, kite, raven, owl, night hawk, cuckow, little owl, cormorant, great owl, swan, pelican, gier eagle, stork, heron, lapwing, bat, all fowls that creep on all four legs. 

Institute Student Manual introduction to Leviticus 11-18 

Leviticus 11, “Clean and Unclean Food” 

The purposes of the Lord's ancient dietary laws was to "look beyond the outward commandments and rituals for what they were meant to teach about spiritual realities...There were practical reasons for these laws related to health and sanitation. The flesh of swine is highly susceptible to trichinosis, a malady easily transmitted to man. Shellfish can develop a deadly poison if they are not killed and handled properly, and so on. But the Hebrew word for clean used in the dietary law means more than just physically clean. It carries the connotation of being “clean from all pollution or defilement … and implying that purity which religion requires, and is necessary for communion with God." 

The Institute Manual goes on to say, "God was using the diet as a teaching tool. People may forget or neglect prayer, play, work, or worship, but they seldom forget a meal. By voluntarily abstaining from certain foods or by cooking them in a special way, one made a daily, personal commitment to act in one’s faith. At every meal a formal choice was made, generating quiet self-discipline. Strength comes from living such a law, vision from understanding it." 

Doctrine and Covenants 89:5-17. These are some of the things the Lord gave man for use and what He has restricted:

 Restricted

Wine, strong drinks, tobacco, hot drinks, corn for the ox, oats for the horse, rye for the fowls and swine, barley for all animals and mild drinks. 

Use of Man

Strong drink to wash bodies, Tobacco used as herb for bruises and sick cattle, herbs, fruit, beasts and fowls of the air to be used sparingly in times of winter, cold or famine, grain for man and beasts in time of famine and excess hunger, and wheat.

Leviticus 11:43-47; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Doctrine and Covenants 89:1-4, 18-21

The Lord has declared some things “clean” and others “unclean” because he wants us to become "holy" as He is holy. In order to do that, we must sanctify ourselves through our obedience of His commandments. The Word of Wisdom is part of the sanctification process because it helps us to become holy. We will receive health and wisdom, and we will be saved from the destroying angel. Our bodies are our temples, so in following the Word of Wisdom, we are taking care of those temples and sanctifying them. One way I can be more clean in my life is to eat healthier and more balanced diet. I need to be taking care of my body better than I have been in eating more wholesome foods.