Friday, February 17, 2017

3 Nephi 3:17-Councils

3 Nephi 3:17
Counsel with Councils
What
 17 And it came to pass that Lachoneus did appoint chief captains over all the armies of the Nephites, to command them at the time that the robbers should come down out of the wilderness against them.

Why,
because they would need to be organized to be effective in their battle. Lachoneus could not do it all alone by himself. Also they did not plan an attack but they would defend themselves.

Pattern

Exodus 18 (Jethro to Moses)

 19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: aBe thou for the people to bGod-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
 20 And thou shalt ateach them bordinances and claws, and shalt shew them the dway wherein they must ewalk, and the work that they must do.
 21 Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people aable men, such as bfear God, cmen of truth, hating dcovetousness; and place such over them, to be erulers of thousands, and rulers of fhundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
 22 And let them ajudge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the bburden with thee.
 23 If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.


Psalms 82:3

Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Alma 43:47


47 And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion

Helaman 4:7

7 And there they did fortify against the Lamanites, from the west sea, even unto the east; it being a day’s journey for a Nephite, on the line which they had fortified and stationed their armies to defendtheir north country.

Alma 48:14

14 Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea, and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.

D&C 109:8

  • Doctrine and Covenants
Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God; 

D&C 44:4

  • Doctrine and Covenants
And many shall be converted, insomuch that ye shall obtain power to organize yourselves according to the laws of man; 

D&C 102:24

  • Doctrine and Covenants
The high priests, when abroad, have power to call and organize a council after the manner of the foregoing, to settle difficulties, when the parties or either of them shall request it. 

D&C 104:11

  • Doctrine and Covenants
It is wisdom in me; therefore, a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall organize yourselves and appoint every man his stewardship; 

Christ

Create, Creation

  • The Guide to the Scriptures
To organize. God, working through his Son, Jesus Christ, organized the elements in nature to form the earth. Heavenly Father and Jesus created man in their image (Moses 2:26–27). 

D&C 88:74

  • Doctrine and Covenants
And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean; 

Conference

  • President N. Eldon Tanner wrote: “A leader should never try to do the work of one to whom he has made an assignment. … Give them freedom to do their tasks. Never criticize them, but praise success and encourage efforts. … We as leaders … should give the utmost attention to the personal growth of each individual through teaching correct principles and try to lead that individual to prepare himself for immortality and eternal life. This we should do by example and precept and then be prepared to help and support him in his efforts, but we should let him make his own decisions and govern himself according to the free agency that is his gift” (“Leading As the Savior Led,” New Era, June 1977, 6).
Conference
APRIL 1994 Counseling with Our Councils
M. Russell Ballard Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

When stake presidents and bishops allow the priesthood and auxiliary leaders whom the Lord has called to serve with them to become part of a problem-solving team, wonderful things begin to happen. Their participation broadens the base of experience and understanding, leading to better solutions. You bishops energize your ward leaders by giving them a chance to offer suggestions and to be heard. You prepare future leaders by allowing them to participate and learn. You can lift much of the load from your shoulders through this kind of involvement. People who feel ownership of a problem are more willing to help find a solution, greatly improving the possibility of success.
Once the appropriate councils are organized and the brethren and the sisters have full opportunity to contribute, ward and stake leaders can move beyond just maintaining organizations. They can focus their efforts on finding ways to make their world a better place to live. Certainly ward councils can consider such subjects as gang violence, child safety, urban blight, or community cleanup campaigns. Bishops could ask ward councils, “How can we make a difference in our community?” Such broad thinking and participation in community improvement are the right things for Latter-day Saints to do.
Come now,” said the Lord in an earlier dispensation through the prophet Isaiah, “and let us reason together” (Isa. 1:18). And in this dispensation, He repeated that admonition: “Let us reason together, that ye may understand” (D&C 50:10).
Let us remember that the basic council of the Church is the family council. Fathers and mothers should apply diligently the principles I have discussed in their relationships with each other and with their children. In doing so, our homes can become a heaven on earth.
Apply
(from above talk by Elder Ballard)
Brothers and sisters, let us work together as never before in our stewardships to find ways to make more effective use of the wondrous power of councils. I ask you to consider all that I said on this subject last October with what I have said today. I testify that we can bring the full force of God’s revealed plan for gospel governance into our ministries as we counsel together. May God bless us to stand united as we strengthen the Church and our members, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Music
Hymns
Children



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