A Study of the Book of Mormon

2 Nephi 19:6 & 7 The idea that the Savior of mankind will also become the supreme governor of the nations has capture my attention in this reading of these memorable verses. "For unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given..." one of their own. "And the government shall be upon his shoulders." This strikes me as amazing. The weight of the government of the nations shall be upon Christ. So effective will be his leadership, so profoundly revolutionary shall be its effects, that people will call Him "Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. The following verse states that this government that the Lord will establish will continue to expand and have no end to its increase. Yet the use of government in this sense is so different from the current, secular definition of government as I understand it today. This isn't to suggest that there will be an increase in government spending and programs. Christ's g...

2 Nephi 19:3-5 Verse 3 lists blessings or results of the "light" shining upon the house of Israel. Specifically, it mentions two blessings: 1) that he had multiplied the nation, and 2) that he had increased their joy. This first blessing has reference to the ancient covenant that the Lord made with Abraham (see Abraham 2:9 ) in that he would make of Abraham's posterity a great nation. By the time of Isaiah, the fulfillment of this promise had already been brought to pass. This second blessing, an increase of joy, is later described in this third verse as a joy similar to that which is experienced in a fruitful harvest, or the spoil obtained after a long fought battle. These comparisons make me to think that this joy is the result of something that had been desired for a long season, and more so which is the result of a long period of labor, comparable to all the work that goes into bringing about a fruitful harvest. Verse 4 explains the cause for this increase of joy: t...

2 Nephi 19:1-2 , see also Isaiah 9:1-2 Isaiah continues to explain the calamities that are to come upon the House of Israel, as they ignore the Lord their God, his law, and the testimony of the prophets. Yet Isaiah pauses here at the beginning of this chapter to testify of the coming of Jesus Christ. He says that their gropings in darkness will not be as bad as in times past, primarily because "the Light" will come among them. It makes reference to the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali. We learn from footnotes and from an account of the Savior's ministry that these were lands near or within the land of Galilee. (Galilee is also referenced here in the same verse, but it doesn't really illustrate the proximity of the regions to one another. ) In Matthew 4:14-16 , there is a direct reference to these verses of scripture as being the reason for which the Savior did set off in the specific direction that he did at that point in his ministry. This is one of many instances where...