A Study of the Book of Mormon

Alma 30 The rhetoric of Anti-Christ: vs. 13 , Starts with the assumption of bondage through a vain and foolish hope. "Why do ye look for a Christ?" This is directly opposing Christ. vs.14 , he goes on to attack prophecy. Why if one is Anti-Christ would they go at the doctrine of prophecy? "Ye cannot know of things which ye do not see;" The support poles of the Anti-Christ argument is 1) you cannot believe what you cannot see ( vs. 15 ), and 2) when a man dies that is the end of him. ( vs. 18 ). At the heart of the Anti-Christ argument is that "there could be no atonement made for the sins of men." and that man is alone in the world to fend for himself. ( see vs. 17 ) This I could never believe because of the reality of the Atonement of Christ in my life. I have experienced a remission of sins. I know what it is to go in opposition to the commands of God, and then to return, to repent, and to have that weight lifted from me. Real as anything ...

Alma 1:1-15 There is a premise introduced in these verses that I feel that I have overlooked in past readings of the account of Nehor. The premise is this: King Mosiah, being a righteous king, had established a form of government with laws that had been acknowledged by the people. "Therefore they were obliged to abide by the laws which he had made." ( vs. 1 ) I suppose that I have never given much personal consideration to the obligation on my part to obey the laws of the land as a means of ensuring my liberties and freedoms. Yet this is the very reason for why organized government should exist: to preserve and ensure freedom. The account goes on to explain the account of Nehor, his priestcraft and his crimes, and then in verse 14 , Alma explains the violation of the law which Nehor had committed: Therefore thou art condemned to die, according to the law which has been given us by Mosiah, our last king; and it has been acknowledged by this people; therefore this people must a...

Jacob 7 This chapter is well known for its one of the two accounts found in the Book of Mormon of an Anti-Christ. Sherem came preaching a variation on the scriptures, claiming that he believed the things that were written therein, but denying the foundational message of every prophet that had written: that Christ should come. Jacob countered his claims. "...Behold, I say unto you that none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ." ( verse 11 )  Jacob's personal commentary on the situation reminds me of the Prophet Joseph Smith's comments about how he responded to people who plainly refused to accept his account of the First Vision.  Jacob observes: "And he had hope to shake me from the faith , notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me ...

2 Nephi 25:9-20 Nephi earlier in this chapter set out his intentions to be plain spoken and direct, and these verses are the evidence of his subsequent effort to do such. In very simple terms, Nephi explains why the Jews had been carried away into Babylon, and the cause of all their subsequent afflictions. Nephi states, "Behold, they will reject [Jesus Christ], because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks," ( vs. 12 ). It is a sobering thought that the answer is just that simple. Verse 16 talks about the elongation of this curse, "And after they have been scattered, and the Lord God hath scourged them by other nations for the space of many generations, yea, even down from generation to generation, until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement which is infinite for all mankind--" Furthermore, there is a standard that Nephi describes in this same verse that must be met for the ...