Monday, October 28, 2019

"On the one hand or on the other"

In 1 Nephi 14:7, we read:
For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity
The marvelous work mentioned in this verse is referring to our time: The latter-day gathering of Israel and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. According to this verse, this work will have som sort of divisive effect. It's not hard to see how this prophecy is being fulfilled in our time.

I had a thought when reading Lord Wilmore's post about the relationship between the Bible and The Book of Mormon. Some people trip over things like the presence of New Testament phrases in the Book of Mormon. It becomes a stumbling block to them (another phrase from 1 Nephi 13-14). If we have faith and humble ourselves, we will see things like the post is pointing out, that the Book of Mormon and the Bible are written to complement each other. There are many other examples of how exercising sufficient faith to engage in a deeper study can turn apparent weaknesses into strengths. For those, this marvelous work will be "to the convincing of them". For others, it will be "unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds".

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