21:2-3
Was Jesus a completely separate and sovereign force of nature? No. He wasn't. He was a part of a Godhead that included himself, his Father and the Holy Ghost. They worked as a team in accomplishing his mission. In these verses, we read about how the Spirit also contributed to the greatness of Jesus Christ. Remember, these are verses written by Isaiah ~550 years before Christ was born.
Verse two makes three pairings in describing the Spirit. These pairs provide balance. One without the other is out of balance. "And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,"
"The spirit of wisdom and understanding," Being able to understand principles doesn't actually mean that we will do that wisely. Understanding comes from study. Wisdom comes from experience. When understanding gets ahead of wisdom, it can take us off track. We can begin to fabricate our own straight and narrow path. That's no good.
"The spirit of counsel and might," Imagine what would happen if you received counsel but not the strength to follow that counsel? That just makes you a wise but impotent man or woman. What's worse is when you have might but don't receive counsel. Imagine a strong person who doesn't listen to anyone. That sounds like an evil dictator!
"The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;" Knowledge should come with a healthy fear of the Lord. Knowledge on its own leads to pride. When we know a lot, we can begin to think that our ways are the Lord's ways. We become less teachable and can progressively see ourselves as the source of actual wisdom. Consider the knowledge of the Pharisees at the time of Jesus. Their knowledge wasn't paired with a healthy fear of the Lord - it didn't end well.
The Spirit helped develop Jesus in mortality. "And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears." Jesus had infinite understanding, paired with infinite respect and reverence for his Father. Jesus discerned the thoughts, intentions, strengths and weaknesses of everyone around him. He did this through the Spirit. He didn't judge or reprove based on his natural senses. He lived in and by the Spirit every minute of every day.
This, of course, is the perfect example of how we should pattern our lives. We'll never be as perfect as he was but it is our mission to try.
21:11-12
"And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people which shall be left..." This is about the gathering of Israel - which is happening right now! "And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." The gathering will happen and a divine being is at the helm. None of us should worry about the destiny of this church.
There are many people who are leaving the church. It will get worse. In fact, church members will soon be persecuted. We'll even be put down on social media! It doesn't matter. I'm reminded of something that Joseph Smith said, "The standard of truth has been erected. No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done." We are entering the "persecutions may rage" stage of this. I think we'll experience all that Joseph Smith said before the "great Jehovah shall say the work is done."
22:2
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation." This is another reminder that, if our perspective is correct, we will not be afraid of any worldly threat. If we only fear God and have faith in a Savior who is full of grace and mercy, what should we fear? Should I fear unemployment or illness or poverty or persecution when the only thing that matters is my faith in Jesus Christ? If my faith is intact, I have no need to fear anything that can happen in this life. Even if I die, I can be "safely dead" in my testimony of Jesus. The more we get this perspective, we more easily understand why Job said, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." No matter what happens, we are saved by Jesus.
23:7-8
"Therefore shall all hands be faint, every man’s heart shall melt; And they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames." I see this happening now. It seems that many people are losing their strength. Especially men. We are seeing a emasculating force take effect. Manly men are branded with having toxic masculinity. To believe that you must be strong to provide for and defend your wife is considered sexist. Men are supposed to be manly. The devil doesn't want this. If Satan can remove men's manliness, he has won another battle in disrupting the natural order of things. Many men's hearts are melting. Men used to be able to charge into battle and certain death. Now, many are offended at anything and search out "safe spaces."
Instead of bravery, we see fear. Instead of true, hardened leaders, we see softness. There is a degree of pitiful helplessness that appears to be new. Instead of leaders creating social change, we are experiencing an epidemic of social anxiety.
24:16
I have always loved this verse about Satan. "They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and shall consider thee, and shall say: Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?" We imagine Satan as this powerful being with big muscles and horns. Instead, he is a sniveling, withered, empty creature with no real power. He is a bitter, pathetic coward who won't get over his demise. He wanted to be chosen. When he wasn't, he rebelled instead of accept the will of our Father. He is a petulant child. He isn't human - but smaller and uglier. He doesn't have a body and never will. He wants everyone to be as miserable as he is. What made him great at one point is what has led him to be cast out forever. Truly, his strength became his weakness.
25:4
Nephi understands the challenge it is for me to understand Isaiah. "Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of the house of Israel, and give ear unto my words; for because the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you..." I am the "you" he is referring to. What can make Isaiah's words understandable? Is it increased study? Is it brain power? Nephi answers, "...nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy." In other words, it will take the Spirit to reveal to us what Isaiah meant. The fact that Isaiah's words are not plain to me indicates that I still have some progress to make.
Thankfully, Nephi is into plainness. "But I give unto you a prophecy, according to the spirit which is in me; 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." Nephi is easy to understand. My simple brain can comprehend what he's writing. My effort can be focused into following what he's teaching rather than discerning what he's saying in the first place!
However, I know there must be both types of writing. Everything cannot be spelled out for us. Jesus taught this way with his parables. He knew that it would take work and study and pondering and prayer to fully understand what he was teaching. As people worked to understand, they put in the time and commitment that strengthened them to the point that the could actually follow what they now understood. I get it.
25:7-8
"But behold, I proceed with mine own prophecy, according to my plainness; in the which I know that no man can err; nevertheless, in the days that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be fulfilled men shall know of a surety, at the times when they shall come to pass. Wherefore, they are of worth unto the children of men, and he that supposeth that they are not, unto them will I speak particularly, and confine the words unto mine own people; for I know that they shall be of great worth unto them in the last days; for in that day shall they understand them; wherefore, for their good have I written them." Nephi knows that no one can misunderstand what he's writing.
It is interesting that he is speaking "particularly" to those who consider his words NOT of great worth to men. It sounds like he is interested in convincing those who aren't converted. Perhaps this is why the Book of Mormon is so good at bringing people to Christ.
We are in the last days. The Book of Mormon is of great worth to us. I believe we do understand what these ancient prophets were writing. We can easily understand their point. It's just the matter of us being able to do what we know. That is the challenge with this generation of Saints.
25:16
When Marci and I went to Jerusalem, we were amazed at how faithfully these people follow the tenets of their religion. They really believe it and live it. It was a very hot day and I saw men wearing all black with black coats and black, thick hats.
"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—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, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be expedient that they should believe these things." They do not currently believe in Jesus but I know that they will. Jews will be amazing Christians. We need their commitment and intense obedience and submission to the will of God. Jews will be awesome Christians.
25:23
This verse has been confusing for many. "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." This suggests that Christ's atonement is a booster to our own efforts. Or, that Jesus fills in the gap in our goal to be perfect. We can get 75% there and Christ fills in the 25%. Nope.
This isn't what Nephi meant. The two things that jump out to me before that "after all we can do" part are:
"Believe in Christ." Nephi isn't asking us to believe in ourselves in our journey of saving ourselves through our efforts. He is saying to believe in Christ.
"It is by grace we are saved." This is the important part of this sentence. It is only through Christ's grace can we ever hope to progress to be like Him and our Father.
The "after all we can do" part could be read "after all of the lame things that we can possibly do." That would be pretty accurate. There are lots of pathetic mistakes that we can make in our 75 years on this earth. Christ's atonement can overcome all of it. His grace is infinite.
Of course, Christ's atonement will not force us to be saved. Christ's atonement is the rocket but we must still hop in. Christ will not force us to come unto him. We have to walk towards him. It has to be our choice. Again, the key is that we believe in Christ and put our faith in him. We rely wholly on his merits. HE is mighty to save. We are not.
All we can do is believe. All we can do is have faith that his grace is enough for us. All we can do is keep getting up after we fall down. All we can do is strive, every day to align our will with God's. We'll never be perfect at it. But, to imperfectly follow Christ is all we can do.
25:25
"For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments." If any of us believe that it is through our obedience alone that we are saved, Nephi is attempting to clarify what is actually true. The law is dead. The law cannot save us. The law cannot bring us back from death. Only Christ can. We can only be made alive "in Christ." It is only "because of our faith" in Christ!
What does it mean "yet we keep the law because of the commandments." Am I keeping the commandments because it's the commandments that can save me? NO! I keep the commandments simply because I've been asked to by my Heavenly Father. I am not being obedient to earn salvation. I am being obedient to the law because I was commanded to. That's it.
25:26
"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." This is one of the most famous verses in the Book of Mormon. This gospel should center around Christ. Frankly, every meeting should be focused on Him. Yesterday, at church, we talked about having love for one another. I'm not sure that Christ's name came up. It didn't occur to me yesterday but it is as I write this. We all need to do our part to ensure that any topic is tied back to the Savior. How hard would it have been for me to tie LOVE to JESUS? It's definitely not a stretch!
The three talks in Sacrament meeting all had the same topic: "Becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ." So...that was good!
25:27
"Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away." It's important that we teach the commandments to our children. BUT, we must frame that instruction with clarifying that none of us is saved by the law. We are obedient because we love God and we know that the commandments are set up to protect and guide us and help us know when we are off track. They are NOT the source of salvation. There is no inherent power in the commandments.
To go back to my rocket analogy. The commandments make up the manual that the astronaut must follow to correctly ride the rocket to the moon. No astronaut mistakenly believes that the manual is what will propel them into the atmosphere! The manual protects the astronaut and ensures that he is not making mistakes that will lead to a horrible death. Again, there is no propulsion capabilities in the manual.
We all look in awe at the sight of a rocket soaring into the air. The power is amazing. No one has ever been in awe of the binder stored on the rocket. Christ is the way we are saved. Christ is where the power is. Understanding who Christ is and what he has done and what we will do and how that impacts us is THE principle we must understand to fully develop spiritually in this life and be saved in the eternities.
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