Scriptural Highlights

• Through His Atonement, Jesus Christ offers redemption from temporal death and spiritual death.
• Certain attitudes and actions prevent us from receiving all the blessings of the Atonement.
• The Lord remembers His covenants with His people.

2 Nephi 6

• Beginning with Chapter 6, Nephi has inserted the teachings of his brother Jacob.  Jacob's teaching continue through Chapter 10.  In chapters 7 and 8, Jacob has quoted the words of Isaiah as contained Isaiah 50 and 51.
• 2 Nephi 6:1:  "The words of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, which he spake unto the people of Nephi".
• We don't know the setting of Jacob's sermon.  Given its placement in 2nd Nephi we can presume that it was after the people of Nephi fled from among the people of Laman and Lemuel.  Given the content of this great sermon, I would assume that Jacob was teaching in a conference like setting.  Consider the love and passion of this great teacher for the people.
• 2 Nephi 6:2-3:  "Behold, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, having been called of God, and ordained after the manner of his holy order, and having been consecrated by my brother Nephi, unto whom ye look as a king or a protector, and on whom ye depend for safety, behold ye know that I have spoken unto you exceedingly many things.

    "Nevertheless, I speak unto you again; for I am desirous for the welfare of your souls. Yea, mine anxiety is great for you; and ye yourselves know that it ever has been. For I have exhorted you with all diligence; and I have taught you the words of my father; and I have spoken unto you concerning all things which are written, from the creation of the world."
• In our reading thus far, Nephi has already quoted from Isaiah.  Jacob is about to base his sermon on the writings of Isaiah.
• We have discussed in past weeks the fact that the Book of Mormon was written and prepared for us in our day.
• Nephi, Jacob, and Mormon felt so strongly about Isaiah's teachings that they included significant portions of his writings on the plates.
• READ 2 NEPHI 6:4-5. Jacob speaks of the words of Isaiah for the sake of the people.
• WHAT REASONS DID JACOB GIVE FOR QUOTING ISAIAH?
• The words of Isaiah speak of things which "are, and which are to come".
• Jacob spoke these words at the request of Nephi.
• They were spoken for our benefit, that we "may learn and glorify the name of...God."
• His words concern the house of Israel.
• The words of Isaiah may be "likened" unto us, for we are of the house of Israel.
• READ 2 NEPHI 6:6-7. Jacob quotes Isaiah 49:22-23.
• WHAT IS THE "STANDARD" SPOKEN OF HERE?
• Marion G. Romney: "This Church is the standard which Isaiah said the Lord would set up for the people in the latter days.  This Church was given to be a light to the world and to be a standard for God's people and for the Gentiles to seek to.  This Church is the ensign on the mountain spoken of by the Old Testament prophets.  It is the way, the truth, and the life." (Conference Report, April 1961)
• Jacob provides additional commentary on this verse:
• READ 2 NEPHI 6:12-13. Blessed are the Gentiles if they repent.
Those who rally to the "standard", those that repent and turn away from wickedness, "shall be saved".
• Brigham Young:  "My heart is comforted. I behold the people of God, that they have been hunted, cast out, driven from the face of men. The powers of earth and hell have striven to destroy this Kingdom from the earth. The wicked have succeeded in doing so in former ages; but this Kingdom they cannot destroy, because it is the last dispensation—because it is the fulness of times. It is the dispensation of all dispensations, and will excel in magnificence and glory every dispensation that has ever been committed to the children of men upon the earth. The Lord will bring again Zion, redeem his Israel, plant his standard upon the earth, and establish the laws of his Kingdom, and those laws will prevail." (Discourses of Brigham Young, p442)
• WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE WORK OF ZION?
• See 2 Nephi 6:17-18.
• Heber C. Kimball:  "I know that if this people will do right, our enemies, those who lay snares and gins to ensnare the servants of the living God, shall be slain by the sword of His wrath, and shall have no power to fight against God, nor against Zion, and all Israel shall say, AMEN." (Journal of Discourses, 4:177)

2 Nephi 7 & 8

1. Chapter 7.
• Isaiah 50 (2 Nephi 7) is referred to as the Third Servant Song.  In Isaiah there are four "Servant Songs" in which Isaiah describes the Lord.
• 2 Nephi 7:1:  "Yea, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee away, or have I cast thee off forever? For thus saith the Lord: Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement? To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my creditors have I sold you? Yea, to whom have I sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away."
• WHAT IS THE LORD, THROUGH ISAIAH, TELLING THE PEOPLE?
• Brother Robert L. Millett: "Although Israel has 'sold herself' through repeated transgression, although she has rejected her God and his everlasting covenant, although the people of the covenant have been disloyal to the royal within them, yet the decree is sure: Jehovah has not and will not cast them off forever." (Studies In Scripture, 7:115)
2. Chapter 8.
• This chapter (see also Isaiah 51 through 52:2) prophesies of the 4th prophetic period - the Last Days.
• Verses 9-11: A plea to the Lord from His people to act in their behalf as he did anciently when parting the Red Sea to deliver Israel.
• 2 Nephi 8:11:  "Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee away."
• In this same way he will gather his children in the latter days from throughout the earth and bring them to Zion where there shall be gladness and everlasting joy.
• Verses 17-18: A call from the Lord for the Jewish nation to awake and rise again and return to their God, the Holy One of Israel.
• READ 2 NEPHI 8:19-20. Two sons full of the fury of the Lord.
• WHO ARE THESE "TWO SONS"?
• The footnote in verse 19 refers to Revelation 11:3 and the two witnesses in Jerusalem:
• "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth."
• Brother Christian M. Ziebarth:  "John the Revelator told of 'two prophets that are to be raised up to the Jewish nation in the last days' (D&C 77:15; see Revelation 11:3–12), likely 'members of the Council of the Twelve or of the First Presidency of the Church,' to testify of their wickedness. Their words too would torment carnal minds until the only resort for those who will not heed their counsel to repent is to kill the prophets." (Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Vol 4, Number 2, p153)
• Elder Bruce R. McConkie:  "And these two shall be followers of that humble man, Joseph Smith, through whom the Lord of Heaven restored the fulness of his everlasting gospel in this final dispensation of grace. No doubt they will be members of the Council of the Twelve or of the First Presidency of the Church. Their prophetic ministry to rebellious Jewry shall be the same in length as was our Lord's personal ministry among their rebellious forebears." (DNTC, 3:510-511)
• Verses 21-25: Through the power of the Lord, Jerusalem shall prevail.  The period of Jerusalem's rejection is over.  She will never have to suffer banishment and destruction again.  The cup of suffering will now be given to those who have caused the Jews so much suffering (see D&C 113:7-10).

2 Nephi 9

1. I don't know how anyone could read this chapter and believe that the Book of Mormon was written fraudulently.  Chapter 9 is a testimony of the divine source of this book.
2. Joseph Smith:  "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it." (TPJS, p121)
3. WHAT DOES 2 NEPHI 9 CONTRIBUTE TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GOD'S PLAN FOR

OUR SALVATION?
• Death has passed upon all men to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator (v6).
• As discussed in Lesson 6, death was not an accident caused by Adam's transgression, but part of an eternal plan put in place for the benefit of God's children.
• As Lehi stated, there must be "opposition in all things".  Death is necessary to understand and bring about eternal life.
• Jacob speaks of men passing from "the first death into life" (v15).
• President Joseph Fielding Smith: "Death is just as important in the welfare of man as is birth.  There is no greater blessing that can come than the blessing of birth.  One third of the hosts of heaven, because of rebellion, were denied that privilege, and hence they have no bodies of flesh and bones, that great gift of God.

    "But who would like to live forever in this mundane world, filled with pain, decay, sorrow, and tribulation, and grow old and infirm and yet have to remain with all the vicissitudes of mortality?  I think all of us would come to the conclusion, if that proposition were placed before us, that we would not like to have it.  We would reject it.  We would not want life of that nature.  Life here in this world is short of necessity, and yet all this is required may be accomplished, but death is just as important in the plan of salvation as birth is.  We have to die--it is essential--and death comes into the world 'to fulfill the merciful plan of the great creator'." (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:116)
• Because of the fall, all men are cut off from the presence of God.  Consequently, as Jacob states, there "must needs be an infinite atonement" (v7).
• WHAT IS AN INFINITE ATONEMENT?
• The atonement is infinite in that it overcomes physical death for all mankind.
• The atonement is infinite in that its influence extends to all worlds Christ created (consider D&C 76:41-42, Moses 1:32-35).
• The atonement is infinite in the sense that the Lord is an infinite being.
• Jesus is able to do for us what we simply could not do for ourselves.
• We do not have the power to raise ourselves to immortality and pay the price for our sins.
• His was a sinless offering.
• He was able to do this because of who He is: A man who was the son of a mortal mother and the great eternal Father.
• From his Father he inherited the powers of immortality--the capacity to live forever.
• If there were no atonement and resurrection "our spirits must become subject to...the devil to rise no more" (v7-9).
• WHY WOULD OUR SPIRITS BECOME SUBJECT TO SATAN IF THERE WERE NO RESURRECTION?
• If, in fact, there were no resurrection then there would have been no atoning sacrifice by Jesus Christ.  Then there would have been no power to allow us to overcome the affects of death and sin.  Consequently, our spirits would have become subject to him who rules over the place where only spirits reside for eternity.
• Bruce R. McConkie: "Our spirits, stained with sin, unable to cleanse themselves, would be subject to the author of sin everlastingly; we would be followers of Satan; we would be sons of perdition." (A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, pp129-130)
• Temporal death is the grave, spiritual death is hell.  "...the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other...by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel" (v11-12).
• After the resurrection we must "appear before the judgment seat" of God.
• The unrepentant will have a "perfect knowledge" of their guilt and uncleanness and their nakedness (v14).
• The righteous "shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness" (v14-15).
• WHO ARE THE RIGHTEOUS? (see v18)
• They who have believed in the Holy One of Israel.
• They who have endured the crosses of the world and despised the shame of it.
• The Lord came into the world to save all men if they hearken unto his voice (v21).
• WHAT DOES THE LORD COMMAND MEN TO DO? (see v23-24)
• Have faith in the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
• Repent.
• Be baptized in his name.
• Endure to the end.
• The atonement satisfies the demands of justice upon all who have not received the law.
• "Where there is no law given there is not punishment" (v25-26).
• James E. Talmage: "According to the technical definition of sin it consists in the violation of law, and in this strict sense sin may be committed inadvertently or in ignorance.  It is plain, however, from the scriptural doctrine of human responsibility and the unerring justice of God, that in his transgressions as in his righteous deeds man will be judged according to his ability to comprehend and obey law.  To him who has never been made acquainted with a higher law the requirements of that law do not apply in their fulness.  For sins committed without knowledge--that is, for laws violated in ignorance--a propitiation has been provided in the atonement wrought through the sacrifice of the Savior; and sinners of this class do not stand condemned, but shall be given opportunity yet to learn and to accept or reject the principles of the Gospel." (Articles of Faith, p58)
• Jacob's list of warnings or "woes".
• Wo to those that have the law and transgresses it and wastes "the days of his probation" (27).
• 2 Nephi 9:28-29: "O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.

    "But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God."
• 2 Nephi 9:43: "But the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from them forever--yea, that happiness which is prepared for the saints."
• Wo unto the rich (v30).
• WHY?
• They despise the poor, persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures.  Their treasures become their gods.
• Wo unto the deaf that will not hear (v31).
• Wo unto the blind that will not see (v32).
• Wo unto the uncircumscribed of heart (v33).
• These are they who may appear clean outwardly--whose actions seem to accord with the prescribed patterns of living--but whose hearts are corrupt, whose minds lust after the things of this world.
• Wo unto the liars, murderers, and they who commit whoredoms (v34-36).
• Wo unto those that worship idols (v37).
• Those who rivet their attention and focus their affections upon anything other than the true and living God.
• Wo unto all those who die in their sins (the procrastinators?) (v38).
• The words of truth are hard against all uncleanness (v40).
• The way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course.  There is no other way than by the gate = the Holy One of Israel (v41).
• The course is narrow, but it is straight and true.  There are no tricks to involved in obtaining one's reward.  One must simply follow the Savior.
4. Jacob gives emphasis to that which he has taught:
• 2 Nephi 9:44:  "O, my beloved brethren, remember my words. Behold, I take off my garments, and I shake them before you; I pray the God of my salvation that he view me with his all-searching eye; wherefore, ye shall know at the last day, when all men shall be judged of their works, that the God of Israel did witness that I shook your iniquities from my soul, and that I stand with brightness before him, and am rid of your blood."
• 2 Nephi 9:54:  "Wherefore, do not spend your money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.  Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness."

2 Nephi 10

1. Jacob stated that "it has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief" (v2).
• In verse 6 Jacob says of the Jews that "because of their iniquities, destructions, famines, pestilences, and bloodshed shall come upon them; and they who shall not be destroyed shall be scattered among all nations."
• Consider the mercy of the Lord for his wayward children, if they repent.
• "God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer" (v2).
• 2 Nephi 10:7-8:  "But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto the lands of their inheritance.
      "And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance."
• This mercy is remarkable in light of Jacob's statement that these ancient Jews were so wicked that they were the only people on earth wicked enough to "crucify their God" (v3).
• HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO US?
• Elder Boyd K. Packer:  "The discouraging idea that a mistake (or even a series of them) makes it everlastingly too late, does not come from the Lord.  He has said that if we will repent, not only will He forgive us our transgressions, but He will forget them and remember our sins no more (see Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 8:12; 10:17; Alma 36:19; D&C 58:42)."  (Ensign, May 1989, p59)
2. Jacob concludes this great sermon.
• 2 Nephi 10:23-25:  "Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves--to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.
      "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.
      "Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen."
• WHY SHOULD WE CHEER UP OUR HEARTS?
• The Lord remembers his people (v22).
• We can choose our eternal destiny (v23).  We are eternal beings, endowed with the opportunity to choose the course of eternity.  We are not mere animals that evolved by happenstance.  If we were, our destiny would end at death.  That should be enough to "cheer our hearts".
• After we are reconciled to God, through Christ we are saved.  The bands of death and hell have been broken, thus allowing us to choose our eternal destiny.

Next Week

Lesson 9: 2 Nephi 11-25