A Study of the Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 9:28-39 I don't know of anywhere else in the scriptures where a prophet lays out the designs of the adversary to destroy us, but this is exactly what Jacob does in these verses. I find in these verses applicable course correction and an appropriate understanding of sin so that I can repent and avoid the more serious sins. Perhaps I don't struggle with all the major sins listed here, but the tendency is there. For instance, I think of how easy it is to glide into auto-pilot in prayers, Sunday School lesson preparation, or participation in Church meetings. If the metaphorical soil of the soul is not tilled periodically and frequently, it becomes harder to learn and receive counsel. The uncircumcised, murderers, adulterers, idol-worshipers -- these all have they're consequences laid out in simple terms in these verses (see vs. 33-37 ). In being able to see the consequences of such actions, there is a strength in understanding the results of even allowing ourselves to t...

2 Nephi 9:21-27 The latter verses in this grouping stand out this morning. In verse 26 , "The atonement satisfies the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them...". This reminds me of Nephi's resilient observation that the Lord will not give commandments to his children, except he has prepared a way for the commandment to be fulfilled (see 1 Nephi 3:7 ). God is a merciful and just being. He has not prepared commandments with the intention of condemning us, but to exalt us. It impresses me that the Lord God Omnipotent performed the atonement on behalf of all. It impresses me that God will not condemn those who never had the opportunity to received his law. It impresses me that God does expect those who have the law, such as I, to live in obedience according to the standards of His law.

2 Nephi 9:19-20 I've found two scripture in the Book of Mormon this morning that state God's omniscience and mercy in the same thought. Here in 2 Nephi 9:19 & 20 , Jacob states that first God is merciful. In the next short verse he adds to his argument that God is all-knowing. In Alma 26:35 , Ammon concludes similarly that God, as a being who comprehends all, is merciful to all those who will repent and believe in the name of Jesus Christ. Back in 2 Nephi, these verses are the premise that Jacob sets up for explaining the atonement and the condition of salvation in plain terms. There is something else that stands out in verse 20: the footnote for holiness . There's a Hebrew translation for the word holiness which means committed or consecrated. I think on the standard of righteousness that is set before us by our God, how he expects us to be like Him even a perfect being. The thought is overwhelming except for the fact that He has also provided the tools to enable us ...

2 Nephi 9:10-18 These verses contain a very vivid description of the division between the wicked and the righteousness in the eternal realms and the reasons for this division. This group of verses starts with perhaps the clearest definition of death and hell in all of holy writ. Death ( vs. 11 ) - A temporal death, also known as the grave. This is what holds our bodies separate from our spirits when we die. Hell ( vs. 12 ) - Also called spiritual death. This is the holding space for those captive spirits separated from their body. Earlier in this chapter, it was already established that separated from the presence of God, our spirits would be as the devil, consigned to a fallen, disembodied state. This is hell. In verse 18 , the culmination of the blessings of the resurrection are extended to the righteous. "But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despise...

As an addendum to my last post , I've found another scripture that parallels Job's and Jacob's (brother of Nephi) statements about the resurrection (see Job 19:26 , 2 Nephi 9:4 ). This one says nearly the same thing as the others, only the context of this declaration is significant. In Moses 5:10 , Adam states, "Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God." This is father Adam, the head of the human race, when he had finally come to understand the meaning of his fall from the Garden of Eden. In verses previous to this, Adam had learned that salvation was made available to him on conditions of repentance and faith on the Son of God. Though he had been separated from the presence of God, this new knowledge of God's plan for the human family allowed him to understand that at some future date he could be restored to physically and spiritually live in the p...