#26 FEBRUARY 24 – MARCH 1: 2 NEPHI 26-30

February 29, 2020

#26 FEBRUARY 24 – MARCH 1, 2 NEPHI 26-30

Book of Mormon Google Group

            For those of you who access these Book of Mormon posts through the blog website, thank you for doing so. That is the most convenient way for me to communicate these to you and allows you the richest experience in terms of links and ability to make comments and see others’ comments.

            However, if you are having trouble with this format and would prefer to receive these posts as an email when they become available, we have created a Google Group which allows me to send out each post as an email. If you feel that would preferable for you, please let me know and include your email address by FB Messenger, email (rsboyer46@gmail.com) or comment to this post and I will add yours to the list of email addresses in the Google Group. No pressure to do so, but thought you might want to know. Thanks!

Weekly podcasts by Halverson and Griffin

            I’ve mentioned to you previously what a great resource is found in Book of Mormon Central. I especially enjoy reading the notes of Bro. John Welch which are published for each week’s reading and occasionally quote from them in this blog. Here is a link to find them: https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/book/john-w-welch-notes/6420.

There is another resource at Book of Mormon Central which is also very good. It is a weekly podcast by two BYU professors Taylor Halverson and Tyler Griffin . Some of you follow a weekly podcast called “Don’t Miss This”, which is also good. You may want to try this one and see which works best for you. If you are looking for something audio and visual with really good information, these two brethren may be just right for you. The introduction to their podcasts says: 
Taylor Halverson and Tyler Griffin work full-time at Brigham Young University empowering others through learning. They have teamed up with Book of Mormon Central to create these videos, which are designed to supplement study of and engagement with the scriptures following the 2020 Book of Mormon Come Follow Me curriculum.
It is the same format – two teachers standing in front of a white board teaching out of the Book of Mormon. They are also able to incorporate scenes from the Book of Mormon videos and other Church resources to enhance the visual quality of their presentation. I really like their style! Give their podcast a try. Here is the link to this week’s podcast on YouTube: https://youtu.be/jwC61a8muMk. Or you can find them on Book of Mormon Central at https://bookofmormoncentral.org/come-follow-me/book-of-mormon/come-follow-me-2020-2-nephi-26-30. Enjoy!

We talk of Christ!

            We concluded the last blog post writing about 2 Nephi 25 and Nephi’s statement that it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do. I hope that brief discussion was helpful to you. But I’d like to say a little more about that great chapter. Three verses later, Nephi says:

            And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.(v.26)

            How often do we “talk of Christ?” Is His name regularly, frequently on our lips? Do we speak to our children of Him? Do our children and grandchildren know of our love for Him? When we give a talk in church, bear testimony, teach a lesson, minister or counsel with others, do we focus on the Savior and His atonement? Do our journal entries, our emails, tweets and texts reflect our love for Him? If not, maybe we would do well to examine ourselves and see if we might include Him more in the conversations of our lives. We don’t need to be all weird about it and put people off or appear all “holier than thou”, but we can deftly work Christ into our conversations, lessons and testimonies and discretely bear witness of Him. After all, we covenant each week to take His name upon us when we partake of the sacrament and always remember Him.

            Some of you know that I keep a “Church Journal.” It is a journal in which I make hand written notes in sacrament meeting and sometimes other church meetings. I find that it helps me stay focused and awake. I’m a compulsive note taker. I think it started in medical school and I haven’t gotten over it. Sometimes, I go back to my journal and review talks or lessons to keep them in my mind. I’m pretty nerdy, so I write in two colors, blue and red (I’m trying to be politically correct between BYU and Utah!). In blue, I make notes on what the speaker or teacher says. In red, I make marginal notes of thoughts, impressions, feelings, items for follow up, etc. It is the only journal that I write by hand. All of my other journals are kept electronically by typing on my iPad or laptop. But I don’t want to be seen typing on my iPad in Sacrament Meeting. I’d like to set an example of not using our devices during that sacred meeting. So I do it the old fashioned way with paper and ink. Whoever heard of that? (I’m so old fashioned that I can remember rotary telephones, party lines and ice cream cones for a dime!) Anyhow, I enjoy taking notes in Fast and Testimony Meeting. Sometimes, I put a red star in the margin by each testimony that focuses in some significant way on the Savior. It’s interesting, in some testimony meetings, nearly every testimony gets a star! But in some meetings and in some wards, hardly even one gets a star. I think Nephi is saying that maybe there should be more red stars for Christ by the record in heaven (see D&C 62:3) of our testimonies, talks, and lessons whether given in formal or in more casual settings.

            To the ancient Israelites, the Lord spoke about the scriptures (which testify of Christ) and commanded them to

            … lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:(Deuteronomy 11:18-20)

            Do we follow this pattern in teaching our children and grandchildren of Christ and His gospel? We don’t write His name on the door posts and gates of our houses, but when people enter our homes, do they find paintings of Him or other artful reminders of Him? We need to be discrete, lest we appear to worship idols or paintings (notice that there are no paintings of Christ in the chapel portion of our meeting houses) but there are many lovely reminders of Christ that can appropriately adorn a Latter-day Saint home and remind us frequently of Him.

            In Book of Mormon Central, John Welch writes of the significance of the name of Christ to Nephi in these verses:

            It seems that Nephi, and many of the ancient prophets, had a well-developed and sophisticated understanding of the mission of Christ, of his life, and also of his name. In the ancient world, the people greatly appreciated the importance of what we call “name theology.” We do not have quite the same appreciation today. They had to know the name of the god that they were worshipping, and the name was usually very holy, kept sacred, and only spoken under certain conditions. In verse 19, Nephi knew and used the Savior’s full name, Jesus Christ. Often, the Savior was referred to as the Only Begotten of the Father, the Father of Heaven and Earth, and the Son of God. There are a number of ways in which Nephi described the Messiah who was to come. Possibly, the understanding of the Messiah’s name was something that came gradually and Nephi, Jacob, and all the subsequent Nephite prophets from this point forward knew him by his name, Jesus Christ. Nephi had deep respect for and interest in the name of God. I am sure he emphasized this. So, when Nephi taught that “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know,” this would have been a very solemn, spiritual, and holy teaching of his time. 

            There is an interesting chart in Book of Mormon Central of the distribution of 67 different names for Jesus Christ among Book of Mormon prophet authors. It is quite interesting! Here is the link to Bro. Welch’s notes for last week: https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/2-nephi-11-25. It is Figure 2 in those notes.

            To our current prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, the name of Christ is very important! He has been an articulate and persuasive voice for putting the name of Jesus Christ back into the name of our Church. Remember his powerful correction, promise and testimony in General Conference, “The Correct Name of the Church”, October 2018:

            My dear brothers and sisters, I promise you that if we will do our best to restore the correct name of the Lord’s Church, He whose Church this is will pour down His power and blessings upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints, the likes of which we have never seen. We will have the knowledge and power of God to help us take the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord.

So, what’s in a name? When it comes to the name of the Lord’s Church, the answer is “Everything!” Jesus Christ directed us to call the Church by His name because it is His Church, filled with His power.

The right way is to believe in Christ!

            Nephi concludes his powerful witness of Christ in Chapter 25 with the statement that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out. (v. 29)

            Even though Nephi and his people had a well-developed knowledge of Christ, His gospel and the prophecies of His coming, they kept the Law of Moses. Nephi concludes Chapter 25 by saying, ye must keep the performances and ordinances of God until the law shall be fulfilled which was given unto Moses.(v. 30)

            Remember that Nephi is the “poster child” of obedience in the Book of Mormon, so it is no surprise that he teaches his people the importance of obedience to the Law of Moses, even though their ultimate focus is in looking forward to Christ and His coming.

Overview of Chapters 25-30

            Chapter 25, which was included with last week’s Come, Follow Me lesson, actually fits better with Chapters 26 through 30. These chapters are Nephi’s commentary on the prophecies of Isaiah and his own prophecy of the future. If this feels a bit repetitive from what he has written before, it is. It’s like Yogi Berra (For you Brits, he is a classic American baseball player of the 1950s and 60s who was famous for his laconic tongue-in-cheek phrases, such as “No one goes there anymore; it’s too crowded!”) would say, “It feels like déjà vu all over again!” You’re right, Yogi! This is the third time Nephi has been over this material – the coming of Christ and His ministry, the destruction of the Jerusalem and scattering of Israel, the apostasy, the destruction of his posterity in the new world because of their wickedness and the preservation of the posterity of his brothers, the role of the Gentiles in bringing the gospel to scattered Israel including his brothers’ descendants, the restoration of the gospel and coming forth of the Book of Mormon to join the Bible as a witness of Christ and testimony of two of the branches of Israel (Joseph and Judah), the events leading up to the Second Coming of the Savior including the wickedness and destruction of the wicked that will occur and finally the advent and millennial reign of Christ on the earth.

Nephi saw these things in vision early in his life as a young man while still living in his father’s tent in the Valley of Lemuel (1 Nephi 11-14). They had such an impact on him that he is still writing about these things over 40 years later near the end of his life. He writes about them again in 1 Nephi 19-22, using two chapters from Isaiah to help tell the story. In his book of Second Nephi, he records a sermon by his brother, Jacob, which touches on these things (2 Nephi 6-10), and records 13 more chapters of Isaiah that relate to these events and prophecies. He will now finally will finish his record (except for his teachings about the “doctrine of Christ” in chapters 31-33) by writing about them again. Do you think these things are important to Nephi? Do you think he wants his posterity to get it? Do you think he knows that they will be important to us? Hopefully, you answered “yes” to all three questions.

            So chapters 25-30 are Nephi’s final commentary and prophecies about the things he learned in vision early in his life. When recording that vision, near the end of chapter 14, Nephi tells us that he was stopped by the Spirit from writing about all that he had seen. He was told that John the Revelator would write the remainder of the vision. I think that Nephi must have felt somewhat unfulfilled or incomplete because he couldn’t tell the whole story and he knows that it is an important story to tell. He is obedient, so he does what he is asked. But the Spirit didn’t tell him that he couldn’t use chapters from Isaiah that help to tell the story, so he includes them in his writings. And it appears that near the end of his life, he feels a little more comfortable sharing some things with us about the last days than he did as a young man. But Nephi is not one to be disobedient or rebellious. The Lord must have let him know that it would be ok to share a little more, which he does.

            I don’t have time to write and you don’t have time to read all that comes to mind as I read these chapters. Nephi writes so plainly! It is so clear! Even I can understand what he is saying about our time, what to beware of, how to recognize Satan’s tactics, the key role of the Book of Mormon in bringing the gospel to scattered Israel and the role that some people will have in its coming forth. So I won’t try to comment on everything that is in these chapters. They are brimming with “good stuff.” You can figure out much of it for yourselves, some of you more than I can. I wish we could sit in a room reading these chapters together verse by verse and discuss the insights that come to mind as we do so. That would be wonderful! It would be Come, Follow Me at its best! Most of us don’t have the luxury of doing so, though some of you can read some of these chapters with your family members or others and glean a great deal from them. And Sunday School teachers could read portions from some of these chapters with their class and help their class members discuss what they learn from them. So that I can get though writing this blog post and you can get through reading it, the best I can do is to pick out one or two key concepts in each chapter to write about. Hopefully, it will be interesting and helpful to you.

Chapter 26

           

Nephi prophesies of his seed

            The first 13 verses of chapter 26 are about Nephi’s descendants. But first he makes a statement that fits better with chapter 25. He has just told them ye must keep the performances and ordinances of God until the law shall be fulfilled which was given unto Moses.(25:30). But he then tells his posterity that after Christ shall have risen from the dead, he shall show himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do.(26:1). Keep the Law of Moses for now, even though you are looking forward to the coming of Christ. When He comes and shows Himself to our people, then keep the law that He will give you. Recall that Christ fulfilled the Law of Moses. He gave the law and completed all of its requirements. So He gave a new law, a higher law, the Law of Christ. This progression is taught subtly but definitely in the temple. Watch for it! Since we live after the coming of Christ, we are no longer subject to the Law of Moses but to the Law of Christ, His higher law. We’ll talk more about that later in the year when we read about His coming to the Nephites.

            In the next verses Nephi summarizes several hundred years of history of his people – many generations will pass away and there will be signs given of Christ’s birth and great destruction will occur at the time of His death. This destruction is a type of the events that will precede the Second Coming of Christ when the wicked (those living the Telestial law) will again be destroyed and only the good and righteous people of the earth (those living the Terrestrial Law or Celestial Law) will remain when He comes. (I suspect that most, if not all of those living the Terrestrial Law at the time of His coming will, as happened among the Nephites and Lamanites with His first coming, be converted to the Celestial Law, which will prevail until near the end of the Millennium.)

            Nephi laments the destruction of many of his people before the coming of Christ. O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just. (v. 7) His lament is similar to that of Mormon, who nine centuries later witnessed the destruction of his people - not just in vision but in reality! My soul was rent with anguish, because of the slain of my people, and I cried: O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord! O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you! Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen! But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return. (Mormon 6:16-20)

            Notice that Nephi is not bitter. He acknowledges to the Lord Thy ways are just. Can we do the same when life is hard and bad things happen to us or those around us?

            Not only must the Jews eventually be convinced that Jesus is the Christ in order to receive salvation, but it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God; And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost. (v. 12-13) Notice that the Savior will not show himself directly to the Gentiles, but that they will receive their manifestation of Him through the Holy Ghost. This is how I know that Jesus is the Christ. I have neither seen Him nor heard His voice, but through the witness of the Holy Ghost, I know that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the World. We don’t need to see Him to know. In his final testimony, Elder Bruce R. McConkie said in his last general conference address,

I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears. But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way. (“The Purifying Power of Gethsemane”, April 1985)

Elder McConkie knew by the power of the Holy Ghost and so can we. One day we will see, but we don’t need to wait until then to know. In fact, when it comes to matters of the spirit, it is not true that “seeing is believing” but instead “believing is seeing.”

Nephi prophesies of the last days

            Beginning in verse 14, Nephi begins to prophesy about the last days, the days when the Lord God shall bring these things forth unto the children of men. (v.14) Those are our days, so he is writing for us. This is not for his posterity, but for us. Listen up!

            Nephi prophesies that his seed will be destroyed because of wickedness but their words will be preserved in a book which will be sealed. They will speak low out of the dust and will speak as one that hath a familiar spirit (v. 16). Their words will be brought to the remnants of the seed of his brethren, who have dwindled in unbelief [but] shall not be forgotten (v. 15). I’m not one of the seed of Nephi or his brethren, but the Book of Mormon speaks to me with a familiar spirit. It is like an old friend. It feels good. Maybe it is because I’ve read it so many times, but reading the Book of Mormon is like coming home. I think that is the Spirit manifesting again that it is true. There is clearly a familiar spirit that attends reading the Book of Mormon. Reading it daily is the best way to keep our testimony fresh every day.

            In verses 20-22, Nephi describes the gentiles of the latter days – their pride, greed, intellectualism, selfishness, contentions, their envyings, and strifes, and malice and their secret combinations. He says that Satan is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness. It is interesting to realize that Satan is the founder of all of these evils. We will later learn that one of his tactics in the last days is to teach people that there is no Satan. But it is important to recognize him for who he is and what he does. One of his techniques is to gently bind us in the cords of sin. Nephi uses the term flaxen cords to describe how Satan begins to lead us into sin. Flaxen cords are soft, yellowish strands of flax, much like strands of hair. But if we are not careful, these flaxen cords can become the strong cords of addiction, habitual violation of the commandments of God, a closed mind and a hard heart (v. 22). From Book of Mormon Central:

            Nephi’s “flaxen cord” metaphor is apt and instructive: if an individual does not repent and turn away from their sins, then Satan can twist or braid the individual “cords of sin” (Proverbs 5:22) into “strong cords” which bind down his victims “forever.” Like a flax rope soaked in water, the knots become difficult—perhaps even impossible—to untie, and the unrepentant become hopelessly entangled in their sins.

            Nephi goes on to warn that one of the most pernicious characteristics of Satan-inspired organizations of the last days is the practice of priestcraft. So we will understand, he explains that priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion. (v. 29) What is the difference between priesthood and priestcraft? The following from the Millet and McConkie Commentary is instructive:

            “Priesthood and priestcraft are two opposites,” wrote Elder Bruce R. McConkie. “One is of God, the other of the devil. When ministers claim but do not possess the priesthood; when they set themselves up as lights to their congregations, but do not preach the pure and full gospel; when their interest is in gaining personal popularity and financial gain, rather than in caring for the poor and ministering to the wants and needs of their fellow men—they are engaged, in a greater or lesser degree, in the practice of priestcrafts.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 593.) “Such a man or woman might serve in Church positions or in private acts of mercy in an effort to achieve prominence or cultivate contacts that would increase income or aid in acquiring wealth. Others might serve in order to obtain worldly honors.” (Dallin H. Oaks, CR, October 1984, p. 14.)

            We need to be careful never to do anything that smacks of priestcraft. As church leaders, teachers and workers, sometimes people will say nice things about our service, a talk we have given or something we have done, but we must not (as Pres. Faust would say) “inhale it”! Our service must never be about ourselves but must always be about building the Kingdom and glorifying the Lord. We must not set ourselves up as a light because He is the Light. We only reflect His perfect light to those whom we serve.

            The opposite of and cure for priestcraft is charity, which charity is love (v. 30). As servants in the Lord’s kingdom, we must labor for Zion and not for ourselves or our own aggrandizement. The laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion (v. 31). And those who labor for Zion are not to murder, steal, be filled with pride, envy, malice or contention and should not be guilty of immorality. For none of these iniquities come of the Lord (v. 33).

            Nephi concludes this instructive chapter with a powerful statement of the breadth of the Lord’s love for His children. He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile (v. 33, emphasis added.) What part of all is not included in His love? What part of none will He turn away? As His covenant saints, we should follow His perfect example and do our best to include all and turn away none. When we truly do that, we will be close to creating Zion, at least in our small corner of the Kingdom.

Chapter 27

The “book” and the “words of the book”

            In chapter 27, Nephi writes about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in the last days. Of course he doesn’t call it by that name because he is writing about 900 years before the time of Mormon. Nephi talks about a “book” that is sealed and the “words of the book”, some of which are sealed. The “book” contains a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof (v. 7). The book shall be delivered unto a man [Joseph Smith], and he shall deliver the words of the book (v. 9) But the words which are sealed he shall not deliver, neither shall he deliver the book. For the book shall be sealed by the power of God, and the revelation which was sealed shall be kept in the book until the own due time of the Lord, that they may come forth; for behold, they reveal all things from the foundation of the world unto the end thereof.(v. 11) But the day cometh that the words of the book which were sealed shall be read upon the house tops [TV antennas? Satellite dishes? Cell signal transmitters?]; and they shall be read by the power of Christ; and all things shall be revealed unto the children of men which ever have been among the children of men, and which ever will be even unto the end of the earth (v. 12).

            This may be a little confusing. The “book” is the plates. The plates which were delivered to Joseph Smith were sealed. They could only be translated by one chosen by God by the “gift and power of God” and by the “means prepared”. That’s why Professor Anthon “could not read a sealed book.” So Joseph, the “Choice Seer”, chosen by God, was allowed and given the means to translate a portion of the plates. What he translated from the plates (the “book”) becomes known then as “the words of the book”, as distinguished from the “book” itself. Joseph was only allowed to translate 1/3 of the words of the book and publish them as the Book of Mormon. The plates contain, among other things, a revelation of the history of the world from the beginning to the end.  This knowledge was revealed to the Brother of Jared (and others) and abridged from the 24 gold plates of Ether where it was recorded on to the plates of Mormon by Moroni. But we have only that portion of the Brother of Jared’s writings contained in Moroni’s Book of Ether. Joseph Smith translated 1/3 of the plates. The remaining 2/3 of the words of the book were not translated. They were sealed even to Joseph Smith and will come forth when all things will be revealed, obviously during the great Millennium. They will be revealed by the power of Christ because He will reign personally upon the earth at that time. (10^th Article of Faith)

Witnesses provided

            Joseph was nearing the completion of the translation of the Book of Mormon and Oliver had been recording as his scribe for nearly two months when they finally get to this point in translating the Small Plates. Remember that the Small Plates were not first in the record but appended to the end by Mormon. So the translation was nearly complete when Joseph and Oliver learned that there would be other witnesses to the Book of Mormon. Can you imagine Joseph’s relief? He had prayed for this. Ever since Martin Harris lost the 116 pages of manuscript in the summer of 1828 nearly a year earlier, Joseph had prayed that the Lord would let him show the plates to some others. One day he and Oliver are translating and scribing and then there it is - none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered (v. 12). Joseph must have been so excited when he learned that! And I’m sure Oliver immediately wanted to be one of the witnesses, as did David Whitmer and Martin Harris. Joseph also learns that he will not be permitted to show the plates to anyone else save it be a few according to the will of God (v.13). I’ve written in an earlier blog about the witnesses, the significance of the numbers of the witnesses 1 + 3 + 8 = 12 and about some women who saw the plates. It is in blog #7 – Introductory Pages.

I am able to do mine own work

            Nephi goes on to prophesy that some of the translated words of the Book will be shown to a learned man who will say Bring hither the book, and I will read them. (v. 15) But the motives of this learned man are not right. Because of the glory of the world and to get gain will [he] say this, and not for the glory of God. (v. 18) You can’t do God’s work with selfish, personal motives. The words of the book are delivered to another man but he says I am not learned. (v. 19) So he doesn’t translate the plates or characters.

            Foreseeing these two faulty attempts to establish the truth of the book and the words of the book, Nephi then prophesies the words of the Lord in reply. I am able to do mine own work! … I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work. (V. 20 – 21) The Lord is saying, I don’t need anyone with the wisdom of man to help me bring this book to light. I will choose a backwoods plow boy with only a few years of formal education and give him the power to translate this book so no one will claim that he or anyone else did it by any other way than by the power of God.

            Sometimes we are frustrated as we try to do the work of the Lord. Whether serving as a missionary, a new bishop, a Young Women adviser, a Primary teacher or any of the many other places in which we serve in the Church, we can feel frustrated as we try to rely on our own knowledge and experience to fulfill our calling. My grandfather, Elder LeGrand Richards, used to say, “I never worry about the Lord’s work. I just do my best to do my part. But it’s His work and He can do His own work, so I let Him worry about it.” Great advice! The Lord is able to do His own work. It’s our privilege to help Him. A scripture similar to this is often misquoted. Sometimes we hear returning missionaries or others speak (almost brag) about how they have been “hastening the Lord’s work.” What did the Lord really say in the Doctrine and Covenants? Behold, I will hasten my work in its time.(D&C 88:73). He will hasten His own work. He can do His own work. It is a blessing to us to get to help him.

            (Sorry, I need to give you one more LeGrand Richards classic saying while I’m thinking about it. It doesn’t relate at all to what we’re talking about, but it is good advice for any brethren who might be reading. After putting in a full day or evening of Church work, he would come home and say to our grandmother Ina, “Mummy (that’s what he called her), I’ve done all I can do for the Lord today (or tonight), now what can I do for you?” And then he would help with the children or dinner, vacuum or mop the kitchen floor to show that he meant it. He didn’t come home and bury himself in the newspaper or work from the office or sports on TV. I need to be more like my grandpa! He was a good example of the advice, “Wherever you are, be there!”)

A Marvelous Work and a Wonder

            Speaking of LeGrand Richards, the phrase A Marvelous Work and a Wonder is closely associated with him in modern Church literature. That is the title of the very influential book he wrote to help missionaries present the gospel in a logical way to those learning about our Church. The phrase comes from Isaiah 29 and is quoted in this chapter of 2 Nephi 27. In fact, much of Isaiah 29 is quoted in this chapter, but is changed in the Book of Mormon version more than any other chapter of Isaiah is changed. If you have time, you may want to do a comparison of Isaiah 29 and 2 Nephi 27 to look for similarities and differences. Either the Plates of Brass preserved the original text from Isaiah or the Lord inspired the changes through Nephi and/or Joseph Smith. Maybe it is a combination of all of the above. Regardless, the translation of the “book” into the “words of the book” is truly a “marvelous work and a wonder” and a great blessing in our lives and the lives of millions!

Chapter 28

            For the modern readers like ourselves, this chapter may be the most important chapter of the five we are studying this week. If I were leading a Come, Follow Me discussion on these chapters this week in Sunday School, I think this chapter is where I would spend my time. In this chapter, Nephi shows his remarkable prophetic insight as a true seer (“see – er”) by describing Satan’s diabolically subtle tactics to win the souls of men and women in our day. Taylor and Halverson call this chapter a glimpse into Satan’s “playbook.” (For those who haven’t played competitive sports, the playbook is a book of plays that a team uses, as in American football, to advance the ball. If you know the plays from the playbook, it’s easy to put up your defenses in the right places to block the advance of the other team.) Nephi is trying to give us an inside look into how Satan will work in our day so we can put up our defenses in the right places and block his advance. Thanks, Nephi! Brilliant!

            He begins by writing about the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord (v. 3). What does he mean by churches? Earlier we have read about the “great and abominable church.” It can be defined as any organization—social, economic, political, philosophical, fraternal, or religious—which fights against the church of the Lamb of God or opposes its practices or beliefs (see 2 Nephi 10:16). (DCBM). So “churches” is not limited just to religious organizations but includes all organizations – “social, economic, political, philosophical, fraternal or religious”. If they are not “built up … to the Lord”, then beware! Nephi will now warn us specifically about some of their tactics.

            Here are some of the characteristics of the “churches” built up “not unto the Lord”:

·      Contention – they shall contend one with another

·      Humanism - they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost

·      Atheism/Agnosticism - they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel … there is no God today

·      Skepticism - this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.

·      Hedonism - Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

·      Rationalization - Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God. (vs. 4-9)

Nephi summarizes these as false and vain and foolish doctrines (v. 9). The root causes of these false doctrines are

1.     Pride

2.     False teachers

3.     False doctrines

Pride has been called the “gateway sin” to all of the other sins and false doctrines listed above. Pres. Uchtdorf said Pride is a deadly cancer. It is a gateway sin that leads to a host of other human weaknesses. In fact, it could be said that every other sin is, in essence, a manifestation of pride. (“Pride and the Priesthood”, April 2010)

Some of the characteristics of the proud in the last days will be: (vs. 13-16)

·      They are puffed up

·      They rob the poor to build expensive sanctuaries

·      They rob the poor to wear expensive clothes

·      They persecute the meek and the poor in heart

·      They wear stiff necks and high heads

·      They are guilty of sexual immorality (abominations and whoredoms)

·      They err because the teach the precepts of men

·      They are wise, learned and puffed up

·      They turn aside the just for a thing of naught

·      They revile against that which is good and say that it is of no worth

·      They pervert the right way of the Lord

For all of these perversions because of their pride, Nephi pronounces the ominous “triple wo!” Wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell! (v. 15) (There are only three “triple wo’s” in the scriptures. In addition to this verse, see 3 Nephi 9:2 and D&C 38:6.)

           

            Still looking into the devil’s playbook, Nephi now tells us of three different approaches Satan uses to influence men and women in our day. (vs. 20-22)

1.     Rage and anger - at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good. If he can get us to get angry at the Church, its leaders, our bishop, our brother or our sister, then he can drive away the Spirit from our hearts. We are seeing a classic example of this tactic of Satan today in the whistle blower actions of a former employee of Church-owned Ensign Peak Advisors who is “raging” against honest, good people who have been prudently and legally managing the investment resources of the Church so that the work of the Kingdom can go forward even if there are significant economic reverses (which are inevitable) in the future.

2.     Pacify and lull - lull them away into carnal security by telling them All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well. And thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

3.     Flattery - others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.

Now that we know what is in Satan’s playbook, we can guard against letting him make us angry or pacify and lull us into “carnal security” or flatter us into believing that there is no devil. If we can avoid these three latter-day traps of the destroyer, we will avoid much of the heartache of the last days and will be much better able to stay on the covenant path.

Chapter 29 - A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible

            This is a short but important chapter. The chapter can be summarized in the phrase above - A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible (v. 3). One of Satan’s most effective tactics in the last days to divert otherwise well-meaning good people who love the Lord and His scriptures is to convince them that the Bible is all the word of God that they will ever need. In fact, he has convinced some that the Bible even gives them their authority to preach and lead congregations of followers. They will use a scripture in the Book of Revelation by John which says If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: (Revelation 22:18) as proof that there can be no scripture after the Book of Revelation, the last book in our Bible. They ignore the fact that John added his own epistles after he wrote Revelation. The scripture obviously refers to the Book of Revelation itself, not the whole Bible, a compilation of 66 books which were organized into what we know as the Bible until well after the Book of Revelation was completed. Interestingly, similar language is found in the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible: Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you (Deuteronomy 4:2) There is an excellent discussion of this issue in a general conference talk by Elder Hunter in April 1981, “No Man shall add to or take Away.”

            The Lord’s response to the assertion of the gentiles that they don’t need any more scripture is to say to them: Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews? Know ye not that there are more nations than one? (vs. 6-7) We don’t want the Lord to have to call us fools! The Lord goes on to say the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. (v. 8) But the Lord speaks to more than two nations. Other scriptures will come forth. We need to be ready to receive them when they come. We don’t want to be like the Gentiles and say “A Bible and a Book of Mormon; we don’t need any more scriptures!” In actual fact, according to the word of the Lord,

I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it. And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews. (vs. 12-13)

We have more scriptures yet to come! Isn’t that exciting? When will we receive them? I presume when we have fully accepted and learned to live by the scriptures which we now have. We may not receive them until the Millennium. But, whenever we do, we don’t want to fall into the same trap as the Gentiles who think that they don’t need any more scripture than the Bible.

Chapter 30

            When Nephi recording the vision he had as a young man in the book of First Nephi, he wrote

… then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel. (1 Nephi 14:17)

After writing those words, which definitely apply to our time and the events ahead of us relating to the Second Coming of the Savior, he would write no more. He said that the angel showed him in vision John, an apostle of the Lamb, who would write the remainder of the things he had seen regarding the end of the world. He left us hanging as to what he had seen of that which is to transpire in our day before the Lord will come. But now, as a much older man, in this chapter he gives us more information about the events that will immediately precede the Second Coming of the Savior. Obviously, he feels that this is important information for us to have.

Perhaps the most important thing for us to understand is that salvation is not based on birth lineage. Nephi put it this way,

For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel. (v. 2)

The “covenant people of the Lord” or “children of the covenant” are those who repent and believe in the Son of God, regardless of whether their lineage comes through Israel by birth or if they are Gentiles (not of Hebrew lineage) adopted into the House of Israel through the gospel covenant. Most of us are “Gentiles” by Nephi’s use of the term. We come from “gentile nations” – England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Europe, Scandinavia and from the Far Eastern nations. However, we are actually of scattered Israel. Most of us, we learn through our patriarchal blessings, are children of Joseph through either Ephraim or Manasseh. So even though we come from gentile nations, we are blood of Israel. What Nephi is saying is that, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is if we are in a covenant relationship with Him through His Son.

There is an analogous situation in our Church among its members. Some of us have been lifetime members and come from multi-generational families in the Church dating to the first days of the Restoration. We might be tempted to think that we should have an “inside track” on the blessings of the gospel because of the courage and sacrifices of our ancestors. We won’t get into heaven on their pioneer coat tails. We need to walk the covenant path ourselves. Conversely, those who have only recently found the Restored Gospel and come into the Church through the waters of baptism and who are the first members of their family in the Church may feel that they All are alike unto God. (2 Nephi 26:30) There is no inside track and there are no special cases when it comes to the gospel. We must all choose the covenant path and walk it for ourselves. It behooves us to choose well and to walk obediently.

Nephi goes on to prophesy regarding the events leading to the Millennial day: (vs. 5-30)

·      Many will believe the words of the book (the Book of Mormon) and take it as missionaries to his seed and the seed of his brethren.

·      They will learn of their ancestry and begin to accept the gospel.

·      As they accept the gospel, they will repent and become a “pure and delightsome people.

·      The Lord will send His gospel to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people,

·      The Jews will begin to believe in Christ. They will began to gather and will become a delightsome people.

·      The Lord will smite the earth and slay the wicked.

·      The Lord will divide the wicked from the righteous. He will destroy the wicked, if necessary by fire.

·      He will spare His people.

·      Peace will come to the earth. The enmity between animals will cease.

·      The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.

·      All things shall be made known and all secrets revealed.

·      Satan will not have power over the hearts of the children of men for a long time (nearly until the end of the Millennium)

Summary

            Nephi is amazing! He writes in plainness and we are the beneficiaries thereof. What a treasure to have these chapters from Nephi! What if he had never written the Small Plates? Or what if Mormon hadn’t found them among the many records he had to sort through? Obviously, the Lord is in charge and wants us to have these things in our day. He also wants us to appreciate and be grateful for what we have and to cherish and live by these things. If there were nothing else in the Book of Mormon of value (and there certainly is!), these concluding chapters from Nephi (chapters 25-33) would be more than sufficient to establish the truth and great value of this wonderful book. The Book of Mormon is true – every day, every day, every day! (See Elder Peter M. Johnson, “Power to Overcome the Adversary”, General Conference October 2019)

            There are only three chapters for next week to conclude the words of Nephi in the Book of Mormon. But they are important because of his incomparable teachings about “the Doctrine of Christ.”

            Have a great week! I hope I’ve shared something that will enhance your understanding of these great chapters in the Book of Mormon. I hope that you’ll have something to share in Come, Follow Me discussions with your family and/or in Sunday School.

Thanks for reading!

Richard

#25 FEBRUARY 17-23, 2 NEPHI 25

February 23, 2020

#25 FEBRUARY 17-23, 2 NEPHI 25

Personal Note

            Thanks so much to each of you who have been reading my blog posts about the Book of Mormon for the past nearly two months. I don’t know if anyone (other than my dear wife Lori) has tried to read them all. But whether you’ve read only a few or most of them, thank you for taking the time to do so. I feel that I owe you an apology for taking up precious minutes or hours of your life. I don’t know if you are anything like I am; sometimes I groan inside when I get a long email from family member or friend or from a news service or even from the Church and I know I should and want to read it, but have so many other things to do (including other emails to read) that I don’t know when I’ll get time. So I save it to my unread list in my inbox hoping to get back to it, but sometimes I never do. It may be the same for you with my blog posts and emails. I really don’t want these to be a burden on anyone. I’m sorry if they have been for any of you.

            This Book of Mormon blog has turned out to be a bigger project than I anticipated! I naively thought I could spend a couple of hours a week to write some pithy short essay about each week’s Book of Mormon reading assignment and get on with it. Perhaps that should be the goal for me to try to get to. But each week there is so much to say! I just love the Book of Mormon! When I read it and study about it, thoughts and impressions just bubble up inside of me and I can’t rest until I write about them. But I’m afraid that what I write is overkill – it’s too much! So I apologize. I don’t even write all that I’d like to. I try to filter what I write to what I feel will be most helpful and interesting. It’s a little like when Lori comes home from shopping with a bunch of packages and says, “But, Honey, you should see all the things I didn’t buy!” You should be grateful I don’t write all that I could about these chapters!

            Anyhow, thanks to each of you for however much you have read of these blogs over the past few weeks. My original target audience for this blog was and still is you, our children, your spouses and our grandchildren. I have no illusion that any of you, our grandchildren, are reading these blogs, but maybe you are getting some of it in Come, Follow Me discussions with your parents. I hope that maybe someday you will discover these posts and read them. Maybe in doing so, you will discover your grandfather “Pops” in a way and in a depth you otherwise would not have done. My greatest desire is for all of you, our posterity, to stay on the covenant path so there will be no empty chairs when our family gathers in the next life. My hope and prayer are that something of what I write will help each of you learn to love the Book of Mormon and help you make good choices that will keep you on that path.

            My other original target audience is you, the good people of England and Wales, with whom we served as missionaries in the Chester Stake. I hope that these blog posts are helpful to you, especially those of you who are new or returning members, as you deepen your gospel understanding and love for the Book of Mormon.

            And to each of the remainder of you, my extended family, friends and some good people I’ve never even met, thanks so much for reading! I’ll try to be careful with your precious time and respectful of all the options you have for what to read. I’m honored and humbled that you or anyone would take time to read anything I write. I promise to do my best for each of you.

2 Nephi Chapter 25

My soul delighteth in plainness!

            This is a great chapter – one of my favorites in the Book of Mormon! I decided to save this chapter for a separate blog post rather than tack it on at the end of a long post about the Isaiah chapters and have it get lost. I’ll try to be brief, but there are some real treasures in this chapter.

            Nephi has just written 13 chapters of Isaiah into his Small Plates. If you thought they were tough to read, can you imagine what it must have been like to inscribe them onto the plates? And it was no small task for Joseph Smith to translate them. Obviously, Nephi felt it was important. We talked about some of his reasons in the last post. But it’s kind of funny how he starts this chapter. He admits right off that Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to understand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews.(v. 1) Further he says, there is none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the manner of the things of the Jews.(v. 5) Hello, Nephi! Then how in the world are we supposed to understand Isaiah, since we didn’t grow up in Jerusalem and don’t understand the things of the Jews?

Nephi realizes that neither his posterity nor the rest of us will understand much of Isaiah, so he is going to help us out. If Isaiah is obscure (and he is!), then Nephi will by contrast be clear! He says that the things he writes will be plain and easy to understand. Wherefore I shall prophesy according to the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father; for behold, my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may learn (v. 4). Further, I proceed with mine own prophecy, according to my plainness; in the which I know that no man can err; (v. 7) He uses the word plainness three times in two verses to describe how he will write so that we won’t be mistaken. Maybe we can be forgiven for not understanding Isaiah, but he will not leave us any excuse for not understanding what he will now write.

Nephi will now go on for 9 more chapters to write some of the clearest, most plain and understandable prophecy and explanation of doctrine found anywhere in scripture. These next chapters, his final entry on the Small Plates, are a scriptural treasure beginning with this chapter 25. Nephi is going to “go out in style” on the Small Plates. And we are blessed because he did!

Prophecies of the Jews and their Messiah

            Nephi confirms the words of his father and his brother Jacob that Jerusalem, or at least much of it, has been destroyed along with most of the inhabitants and those who weren’t destroyed have been carried off captive to Babylon (v. 10) He then prophesies that notwithstanding they have been carried away they shall return again, and possess the land of Jerusalem; wherefore, they shall be restored again to the land of their inheritance.(v. 11) (How plain is that? No misunderstanding there! I love reading Nephi! I can understand him!) And that’s just what happened. After 40 years in Babylon, the Jews were allowed to return to their homeland and rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.

            After centuries of war and conflict, the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh (v.12) But the Jews will reject Him. Why will they reject their Messiah? For the same reasons that people reject Him today. Look at the reasons: because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks (v. 12). The Jews rejected their Messiah and the world rejects Him today because of (1) their lives given to sin and sinfulness, (2) the insensitivity of their hearts to the things of the spirit and (3) their pride, greed and desire for wealth, power and position. We need to be careful not to fall into the worldly traps that distance us from the Lord in the same ways.

            Nephi confirms the prophecy of Jacob that they, the wicked Jews using the Romans as their “hit men”, will crucify Him. Then he goes on to make additional new prophecy not yet given that after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead (v. 13). This is the first prophecy in the Book of Mormon that He will be in tomb for three days.

            Don’t miss the next statement that Nephi makes: All those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God! (v. 13) Did you get that? If we believe on His name, we will be saved! Nephi will have more to say about that in a few verses.

            Nephi then adds his personal witness and testimony: for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy name.(v. 13). Nephi knows whereof he speaks. He has seen! He knows!

More prophecy of the Jews

            Nephi then proceeds to prophesy in plainness about what will happen to the Jews after they crucify their Messiah. I’ll briefly summarize:

·      Jerusalem will be destroyed again.

·      The Jews will be scattered among and by other nations.

·      Babylon will be destroyed.

·      After being scattered, the Jews will be scourged for the space of many generations.

·      Eventually the Jews will be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind—and when that day shall come that they shall believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah.

·      When that happens, the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state. Wherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men.

·      The Lord will bring forth His word to the Jews to convince them of the true Messiah, the One who was rejected by them. He will be the Messiah [who] cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem and the One whose name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Nephi wants to be sure the Jews know to which Messiah he refers, the only true Messiah (vs. 14-19)

There is none other name given

            To further emphasize that he is speaking of the true Messiah, Nephi refers to three commonly held foundational stories of the Israelite nation in support of his prophecy. He writes of (1) Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt, (2) Moses having power to heal the people bitten by the poisonous serpents and (3) Moses getting water from a rock. To his posterity, these stories are the like pioneer stories in our day, stories of our people, stories which inspire faith and show evidence of the hand of God in their lives and ours. In each case, Moses is acting as a type of Christ in delivering his people, healing them and giving them Living Water.

            Then Nephi adds his testimony that as these things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ, of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved. (v. 20)

            Here is the crux of the matter – we are saved by and through the Son of God, the Messiah of the Old Testament who is Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the New Testament.

            At this point, Nephi refers to his writing on the plates and the promise he has received that these things shall go from generation to generation as long as the earth shall stand; and they shall go according to the will and pleasure of God (v. 22).

            He then gives us the reason why he writes on the plates. Don’t miss this!

            For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do. (v. 23) (emphasis added)

            The reason Nephi writes on the plates is so that his children and his brethren will believe in Christ. And that is the reason why I write in this blog – so that you, my children, my grandchildren, my brothers and sisters, and my friends will know that Jesus is the Christ. I add my testimony to that of modern apostles and prophets, though I am one of the least of His servants:

            Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son. (The Living Christ)

            In Nephi’s words:

            The right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out. (v. 29)

For we know that it is by grace that we are saved

            It is interesting – as I was growing up in the Church, we hardly ever heard anyone speak in conferences or sacrament meetings about grace. It seemed almost taboo. But beginning in the late 1980s and into the 1990s, grace began to creep into the Church lexicon much more. Now it is often the subject of talks, articles and even books. Here is a good summary of the grace vs works issue from the Millet and McConkie Commentary. It’s a little long, but worth it:

            Salvation—which is exaltation or eternal life—comes through the merits and mercy and condescensions of God: it comes by grace. It is a divine gift made available through the love of the Father and the selfless sacrifice of the Son. There are many things which are simply beyond the power of man to bring to pass. Man can neither create nor redeem himself; such activities require the intervention of beings greater than he.

Satan would have Christians err on this doctrine in one of two directions. First of all, there are those who contend that man is saved by grace alone, and that no works of any kind are of value. Such persons might reconstruct Nephi’s language as follows: “We are saved by grace; after all, what can we do?” “Salvation by grace alone and without works,” Elder McConkie observed, “as it is taught in large segments of Christendom today, is akin to what Lucifer proposed in the preexistence—that he would save all mankind and one soul should not be lost. He would save them without agency, without works, without any act on their part.

“As with the proposal of Lucifer in the preexistence to save all mankind, so with the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, without works, as it is taught in modern Christendom—both concepts are false. There is no salvation in either of them. They both come from the same source; they are not of God.” (“What Think Ye of Salvation by Grace?” p. 49.)

On the other hand, there are those who become so obsessed with their own “works-righteousness,” with their own goodness, that they do not look to Christ as the true fountain of all righteousness. Men and women must rely “wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save” (see 2 Nephi 31:19). In the purest sense, the works of righteousness which a person performs—ordinances of salvation and deeds of Christian service—are necessary but are insufficient to lead to salvation. No matter what a man may do in this life, his works will not save him: he will always fall short and thus be “an unprofitable servant” (Mosiah 2:21) without the grace or divine assistance of God. Indeed, it is only after a person has so performed a lifetime of works and faithfulness—only after he has come to deny himself of all ungodliness and every worldly lust—that the grace of God, that spiritual increment of power, is efficacious. In the language of Moroni: “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ” (Moroni 10:32; italics added).

“‘Salvation is free.’ (2 Nephi 2:4.) Justification is free,” wrote Elder Bruce R. McConkie. “Neither of them can be purchased; neither can be earned; neither comes by the law of Moses, or by good works, or by any power or ability that man has. . . . Salvation is free, freely available, freely to be found. It comes because of his goodness and grace, because of his love, mercy, and condescension toward the children of men.” Continuing, Elder McConkie explained, “Free salvation is salvation by grace. The questions then are: What salvation is free? What salvation comes by the grace of God? With all the emphasis of the rolling thunders of Sinai, we answer: All salvation is free; all comes by the merits and mercy and grace of the Holy Messiah; there is no salvation of any kind, nature, or degree that is not bound to Christ and his atonement.” (Promised Messiah, pp. 346–47.)

After all that we can do

            I just need to make one final comment to explain my understanding of a phrase used by Nephi, at least as it was translated into English by Joseph Smith. Verse 23 quoted above is the best scriptural resolution that is found anywhere in holy writ of the faith vs works argument that raged over centuries in the western Christian world, even sending many to their deaths. As Nephi wrote, we do all we can to be obedient and keep the ordinances and commandments of the gospel but it is through the grace of Jesus Christ and His atonement that we are saved.

We don’t save ourselves by doing all we can. That’s how we stay in the covenant relationship with Christ. That’s how we show Him our love and gratitude for all He has done for us. We can’t do it without Him. We can’t even do “all we can do” without His help. So His grace, His enabling power, is there for us and with us all along the covenant path.

But some have misunderstood the word after in this phrase after all we can do. I don’t like to try to edit the scriptures, but perhaps a more helpful preposition would be “as we do all we can do” or “while we do all we can do” or “in addition to all we can do.” We don’t have to go it alone until we reach the end of our rope, until we are hanging over the cliff by our fingernails, before the Savior and His grace rescue us, as suggested by the word after. The Savior, by the power of His atonement and through the enabling power of His grace, is with us all the way along the path of life as we strive to do all we can do, not just at the end of the road. And when we don’t even do all that we can do, when we fall short, as we all do more often than we want to, He is still there with us and for us. We are saved by the Savior’s grace while we strive, however imperfectly, to do all we can do. With the Savior and His enabling power, His amazing grace, life is good! Because of Him, there is always hope!

Thanks to Nephi for writing so clearly! We have two more weeks of studying Nephi’s remarkably clear and understandable prophecies and doctrinal explanations. These are some great chapters coming up. I’m looking forward to exploring them with you.

Thanks for reading!

Have a good week!

Richard