We find "mercy" and "grace" in the same Book of Mormon sentence 4 times:
53 And behold how great the covenants of the Lord, and how great his condescensions unto the children of men; and because of his greatness, and his grace and mercy, he has promised unto us that our seed shall not utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh, but that he would preserve them; and in future generations they shall become a righteous branch unto the house of Israel. (2 Nephi 9)
5 And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death. (2 Nephi 11)
48 I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name. (Alma 5)
25 And now for this cause, that ye may not be destroyed, the Lord has sent his angel to visit many of his people, declaring unto them that they must go forth and cry mightily unto this people, saying: Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand;
26 And not many days hence the Son of God shall come in his glory; and his glory shall be the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long-suffering, quick to hear the cries of his people and to answer their prayers. (Alma 9)
There is a clear covenant context in each of these passages -- Jacob's praise of "the covenants of the Lord" and "Christ's condescensions" as well as His promise to "preserve them" as a "righteous branch unto the House of Israel" in 2 Nephi 9; Nephi's delight in the covenants of the Lord in 2 Nephi 11; Alma-2's mention of ministering angels in Alma 9 (see this post for more details about how that connects to covenants -- Mormon explains it in Moroni 7:29-32.)
A few important points jump out at me as I study these passages:
- God would not be a merciful God, nor would we have access to grace, were it not for the "great and eternal plan of deliverance from death."
- That plan includes Christ's atoning sacrifice and resurrection, but also includes other features of the Gospel: "covenants" and divinely appointed messengers declaring repentance and providing access to the ordinances through which we bind ourselves to God.
- The "holy order" spoken of by Alma-2 is a key component of bringing about the mercy of God through grace.
My next post will go into more detail about this holy order, using Alma-2 as a great example of how the "great and eternal plan of deliverance from death" brings about mercy and grace.
