Gospel Living Made Awesome

I think this was a big test for Nephi to see if he was really willing to do what the Lord commanded him, maybe even the hardest thing he ever did in his whole life. Can you imagine? But he did it. He proved to the Lord and to himself that he would keep the commandments no matter the consequences. I want to be more like Nephi.

This time your kids get to help Nephi and his brothers get to Jerusalem to get the plates. After listening to the chapter, click on the maze to get a PDF you can print out for them to solve. 

1 Nephi 2: Audio Scriptures for Kids

This is the first chapter of my audio scriptures intended for kids. Most of the audio scriptures out there are great... for adults. I hope with this version, kids will enjoy listening to the scriptures, too. The chapter is word-for-word straight from the book, but dramatized, with some sound effects and music. I'll create more such chapters based on demand, so be sure to let me know if your kids like it!    

Moroni was the man. You want to know if something is good or bad? He gave it to us straight--undiluted. He said, "Dude, knowing right from wrong is stinkin' simple. Plain as day" (paraphrasing). Ahem. Okay, so he really said, It is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. Meh, basically the same thing. But is it really that simple? Plain as day? What about when your friends at school take the Lord's name in vain? Is that right? "Well," you might respond, "it's not right for me to take His name in vain, but it's my friends. I can't control what they say. 'Judge not,' remember? That's what Jesus said!" Touché. Jesus did say that. And you're right. You don't need to treat your friends like scum, or heathens, or kickable garden gnomes... That would go against the Lord's teaching to love one another. But if you're going to quote Jesus, at least quote Him all the way. If you look at the inspired translation of that verse, we see that what He really said was, "Judge not unrighteously, but judge righteous judgement." But what about saying it yourself, just a little, to show your friends that you really are sincerely not judging them? "It's not like I say it at home!" you might say. "I don't even really like saying it--it's just for the benefit of my friends!" Benefit? Really? "Hey! You agreed that judging isn't good. Don't judge me either!" Okay, wait. First off, you're just a vague hypothetical person, not the real thing... "What?" Keep in mind, when I say "you" I really mean my evil twin. "Evil twin?" Okay, more like, devils advocate alternate ego. And second, remember that it's right and wrong that we're talking about. If I neglect to teach the principle, for fear of offending you, I may be held accountable for keeping my trap shut. Jacob in the Book of Mormon talked about "answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence." Now admittedly, I'm not your leader. I'm just some awesome dude on the Internet... "Pride goeth before the fall, brother." Okay, just some dude (just saying...) But still, if you're ever tempted to get after your leaders for being "judgmental" towards your choices, remember that your leaders and parents are called as judges. Anyway, we're getting totally off topic. Moroni says, The Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. (Moroni 7:16-17) So if something invites you to do good, it's good, and invites you to do evil, it's evil? That's it? Not exactly. Read the whole verse. (err... the whole verses... uh, both verses, wholly). Everything that invites you to do good, and persuades to believe in Christ, is sent from God. Everything that persuades you to do evil, to believe not in Christ, and to deny him, and serve not God, is evil. So if it invites you to do good and persuades you to believe in Christ, it's good. If it invites you to do evil and deny God, it's evil. It's that simple. "But wait..." you might say, "What about Batman? He doesn't tell me to believe in God, but He's not evil!" Ah, and this is the acid test. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where I stop reciting useless cliches and get back to the lesson.

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The views expressed in this video are solely my responsibility, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But I try my best to express what I understand to be the church's position in the matter. And all the goofiness? Yeah, that's mine too.

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