Mosiah 3

(Below is a list of questions and quotes that help me think about each verse as I read it. The numbers represent the verses in the chapter.)

Jesus Christ suffered so we can be saved from our sins. As we overcome the natural man, we become Saints through the Savior's Atonement. You can be saved from your sins and rejoice as you exercise faith in Jesus Christ and repent. If you yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, you can overcome the natural man through the Atonement of Christ.

1-27. How does this chapter help you appreciate what happened to the Savior on a personal level?

"Christ's agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause...it was within His power to lay down His life voluntarily. He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even conceive as possible. It was not a physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused Him to suffer such torture as to produce an extrusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of experiencing. No other man, however great his powers of physical or mental endurance, could have suffered so; for his human organism would have succumbed, and syncope would have produced unconsciousness and welcome oblivion. In that hour of anguish, Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, "the prince of this world" could inflict... In some manner, actual and terribly real, though to man incomprehensible, the Savior took upon Himself the burden of the sins of mankind from Adam to the end of the world." - James E Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 3rd Ed. [1916], 613

1-5. What was it in the angels message that could fill the Nephites with joy? What in the angels message fills you with joy?

2. How did King Benjamin receive the words that he related to his people? Why is the work 'awake' so important in this narration? Why is it so important to ensure that we awake FULLY from sin?

3. Was the angels message a message of sorrow or joy? What doctrines of the gospel bring you great joy?

4. Why do you suppose that the Lord wants His people to be happy and rejoice? Which of the Savior's gifts of service is the most impressive to you and why?

5-7. How often do you find joy in the knowledge and power of the Atonement of your Savior, Jesus Christ? Could you come to understand the power of the Atonement in your life more fully? What can you do specifically do this week to seek further insights and understanding of the Atonement of Christ?

8-9. What do you know about the Savior that testifies to your soul, that the Savior was more than just a man? How can you strengthen your testimony of the Savior and His ministry on the earth? What experiences have you had that has helped you know that Jesus Christ is the Savior? How does remembering this experience add joy to your life?

10. Did the Savior really live again? How can you strengthen your testimony of the reality of the Savior's resurrection?
11-18. Who enjoys the cleansing benefits of the Atonement?

11. Who does the blood of Christ atone for?
12. How does one who has rebelled against God take advantage of the gift of the Atonement of Christ? What will happen to those who rebel but choose not to repent?
13. How does the presence and teachings of prophets of God convey the great love God has for you? What hope does it communicate to you that God has in you?
14. Why was the law of Moses appointed and practised throughout all the years before the birth of Christ?
15. What are some of the signs, wonders, types and shadows that have been showed to the children of God throughout the dispensations?
16. Are little children (those under the age of 8) able to sin? How does the Atonement affect those who die before they reach the age of 8?
17. What is the only way through which salvation can be given?
18. Why are you admonished to become like a little child? How are little children humble and teachable? What can you do to become more like a little child in these aspects of your life?
19-27. A river is always crooked because water flows or follows a course of least resistance. If water's natural flow is altered by man's efforts, it can be channelled into a straight canal. How could a natural man be compared to a river? Is it the natural man or the Saint that follows in the course of least resistance? How is a Saint like the canal? What are some things you choose to do, because it takes less effort, instead of what you should do? Why would following a course of least resistance make you an enemy to God? What does it mean to yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit? How does the Atonement help you become a Saint? In what ways are you seeking to yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit in your life?

"Personal righteousness, worship, prayer, and scripture study are so crucial in order to '[put] off the natural man'" - Neal A Maxwell, GC, October 2000

19. What is the natural man? How does one overcome the natural man which resides in each and every one of us? How does the Atonement help you overcome the natural man? What childlike characteristics are listed here that help you overcome the natural man? Which characteristic do you need to work harder to develop? How submissive are you to the will of the Lord? How do you feel about your trials and challenges? How can a spirit of submission to God help you overcome your trials and challenges?

"A 'natural man' is a person who chooses to be influenced by the passions, desires, and appetites of the flesh rather than the promptings of the Holy Spirit." - Book of Mormon Study Guide for Home Study Seminary Students [2012], 110

"First of all, the natural man is an 'enemy to God.' This means that such individuals would (whether fully understanding the implications of their own resistance or not) oppose the ultimate purpose of God for mankind, which is, as we know, 'to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.' given our eternal interests, the natural man therefore is not our friend either, even if, at times, we seem quite at home with him... Instead of becoming a saint, being childlike and willing to submit to our Eternal Father, the natural man is rebellious and insists on walking in his own way. He is childish is instead of childlike. The natural man also stubbornly seeks for happiness in iniquity - an incredibly naive notion about the nature of happiness and the universe... Thus it is that the natural man, in attempting to live 'without God in the world' and in catering slavishly to his natural instances, is actually living 'contrary to the nature of happiness.'" - Neal A Maxwell, Notwithstanding My Weakness [1981], 71-2

20. What prophecy concerning the knowledge of God is given for our day? What can you do to assist in bringing the work of the Lord forth in assisting in the spreading of the knowledge of the Savior?
24-27. What will happen to those who choose not to exercise faith in Jesus Christ and repent?