Week 27: O Sapo Disse

Hello family and friends,

This week we killed one of the elders in our district. We had a funeral service and everything.

(He isn't actually dead yet; he goes home at the end of his mission tomorrow.) Also, a bit more than a month ago, I bought a notebook of drawing paper to make the Nativity scene I mentioned. I have some pictures of what I had back then:

This week on a division I traded places with one of the zone leaders for a day, so I got to spend the day with these other missionaries:

and came back to find this in my notebook:

This was drawn by the companion of the elder in front in the picture above, who stayed in my are while I was in his. The Japanese on the side of this picture is a quote from モルモン書, which is The Book of Mormon in Japanese. He actually just opened the book and copied out a line, which would generally result in getting half a word on each side, but by chance this is actually not only a complete sentence, but one that is reasonably appropriate. I was impressed, but not quite enough.

This is what happens when you leave a black and white picture in a house with me and a collection of colored pencils. The character I added would be "frog" if I knew what that character was, but my knowledge of Japanese is limited to what I have in the Book of Mormon, and I don't think it mentions frogs anywhere, so I chose the next best thing. Bonus points for anyone who can read that character well enough to figure it out, or identify the quote on the side

Nosso escritura:

1 Néfi 4:14
E então quando eu, Néfi, ouvi estas palavras, lembrei-me das palavras que o Senhor me dissera no deserto: Se a tua semente guardar os meus mandamentos, prosperará na terra da promissão.

1 Nephi 4:14
And now, when I, Nefi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.

Essa promessa, dada primeiro a Néfi, é repetido muitas vezes no Livro de Mórmon: Guarde os mandamentos, e prosperará na terra.

This promise, given first to Nephi, is repeated many times in the Book of Mormon: Keep the commandments, and you will prosper in the land.

Essa descrição das bênçãos como resultado de guardar os mandamentos é certa. Os mandamentos são o caminho pelo qual recebemos bênçãos.

This description of blessings as a result of keeping the commandments is accurate. Commandments are the path by which we can receive blessings.

Quando Leí foi ordenado para sair de Jerusalém, ele recebeu a bênção de sobreviver enquanto os que permaneceram em Jerusalém pereceram. Essa bênção veio porque Leí não estava em Jerusalém quando foi destruída.

When Lehi was commanded to leave Jerusalem, he received the blessing to survive while those who remained perished. This blessing came because Lehi was not in the city when it was destroyed.

Quando Néfi e os seus irmãos foram ordenados para voltar a Jerusalém e pegar as placas de latão, eles receberam a benção de conhecimento das obras do Senhor e a história do Seu povo. Essa veio por meio das placas e as escrituras que estavam gravadas nelas.

When Nephi and his brothers were commanded to return to Jerusalem and get the plates of brass, they received the blessing of knowledge of the works of the Lord and the history of His people. This came directly from the plates and the scriptures that were written on them.

Todos os mandamentos de Deus são assim. Quando obedecemos, recebemos um bênção como consequência natural.

All of God's commandments are like this. When we obey, we receive a blessing as a natural consequence.

Não sempre sabemos quais serão as bênçãos de guardar um mandamento. Também às vezes não percebemos quais foram as bênçãos que já recebemos.

We don't always know what the blessings will be for keeping a commandment. We sometimes don't notice the blessings we've already received.

Mas eu sei que essa promessa de Malaquias é verdadeira: "E provai-me nisto, diz o Senhor dos Exércitos, se eu não vos abrir as janelas do céu, e não derramar sobre vós uma bênção tal, até que não haja mais lugar para a recolherdes."

But I know that the promise of Malachi is true: "And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."

Deus quer nos abençoar, e nos abençoa continuamente quando O obedecemos. Essas bênçãos sempre são maiores do que qualquer coisa que nós fazemos, e o único que precisamos fazer é obedecer.

God wants to bless us, and he blesses us continually when we obey Him. These blessings are always greater than anything we do, and the only thing we need to do to receive them is obey.

Essa semana, vamos olhar um pouso mais para ver essas bênçãos que recebemos.

Thank you all, have a good week.

Élder Hiatt

This week, let's look a little more for these blessings we receive.