Come, Follow Me, Sep 14 - Sep 21. 3 Nephi 8-11: “Arise and Come Forth unto Me”

In this week's "Come, Follow Me" study, we reach the climax of the Book of Mormon, where the Savior visits the Nephites. Below are links to previous blog posts related to the chapters of the reading assignment

3 Nephi 8 -- The prophesies of Zenos, Rock metaphor, Fear and darkness, etc.

3 Nephi 9 -- The Holy Ghost in the Book of Mormon, Arm of mercy, Creation-Covenant connection, etc.

3 Nephi 10 -- The Sun/Son of Righteousness, Internal consistency in naming, Origin of the brass plates, etc.

3 Nephi 11 -- The doctrine of Christ and the temple, Crying out to God for mercy, Nakedness and clothing, etc.

"Having got the victory over the devil"

Sometimes people suggest to me that because they don't see the temple ordinances described in the Book of Mormon, and the Book of Mormon claims to contain the entire gospel of Jesus Christ, the temple must not be an essential part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The more I study the Book of Mormon the easier it is for me to see how false this way of thinking is.

Mercifully, the Lord does not lay out the fullness of His covenants in the book that will be used to judge the world. Instead, He allows us to prepare (through faith, repentance, baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and the sacrament) to receive the greater things until we are ready. What a blessing!

That does not mean we can't find evidence of the basic patterns of the temple in the Book of Mormon. Here's one I came across recently:

 

15 And thus did Alma and Amulek go forth, and also many more who had been chosen for the work, to preach the word throughout all the land. And the establishment of the church became general throughout the land, in all the region round about, among all the people of the Nephites.

16 And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming—

17 That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God.

18 Now those priests who did go forth among the people did preach against all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and malice, and revilings, and stealing, robbing, plundering, murdering, committing adultery, and all manner of lasciviousness, crying that these things ought not so to be—

19 Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and also the resurrection of the dead.

20 And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come; and they were taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection; and this the people did hear with great joy and gladness.

21 And now after the church had been established throughout all the land—having got the victory over the devil, and the word of God being preached in its purity in all the land, and the Lord pouring out his blessings upon the people—thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi. (Alma 16)

Notice the elements:

1. The word is preached by messengers "who had been chosen for the work."
2. There was no inequality among them. This is consecration, echoing Zion's "no poor among them."
3. Through the Spirit, their hearts and minds were prepared to "receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of His coming."
4. This preparation is done in order to allow them to "receive the word with joy, and as a branch grafted onto the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God." Here we find two obvious covenant metaphors.
5. The priests preach against all wicked behavior, including chastity, and also preach of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection.
6. The people "did hear with great joy and gladness."

The really fascinating part comes right after this in verse 21: "having got the victory over the devil, and the word of God being preached in its purity in all the land, and the Lord pouring out his blessings upon the people." This is definitely reminiscent of the temple.

The tree of life and the living waters -- Part 1

In my last post, I described how learning the Hebrew origin and context helped me gain a deeper understanding of a theme I have studied and written about before. That just happened again. This might get messy but I'm trying to tie up some loose ends and make connections between previous posts that I didn't know existed.

Previously, I have written about the relationship between the tree of life and the living waters. Lord Wilmore has done the same in another context. I also wrote about the ancient Jewish idea of the Torah being the tree of life. Then I read this article, suggesting that the Book of Mormon is the fountain of living waters and it all starts coming together. I recommend reading that last link, but here is a quick summary:

The etymology for the name, Mormon, has been discussed, but not really concluded. The author of the article (who grew up in the Jewish faith) points out that the root, 'mrm', broken down to the individual letters would give us water (the meaning of the Hebrew 'mem') and head/source (the meaning of the Hebrew, 'resh'). Quite frequently, when a name is introduced in the Book of Mormon or the Bible, it is connected to its meaning. The first time we encounter the name, Mormon, is actually in Mosiah introducing the place, not the person.

Now, there was in Mormon a fountain of pure water (Mosiah 18:5)

Is this a word-play on the meaning of the name and an allusion to the fountain of living waters? The person, Mormon, that the Book of Mormon is named after, is actually named after the place in Mosiah 18 (see 3 Nephi 5:12). This makes the Book of Mormon the book of pure/living waters.

I know, leading up to this new insight I have thrown in a bunch of links without much explanation. Let me try to connect the dots with a summary:

• There are several connections between the tree of life and the living waters in the scriptures. They go together. Alma 32 and John 4 are describing each as "springing up unto eternal life". They are seen together in Lehi's dream, they coexist in John the Revelator's vision of the New Jerusalem. In the Garden of Eden you have the tree of life and the river splitting in four streams. etc.
• The tree of life and the living waters symbolize the results of a process that involves both an outward adherence to the word of God and an inward growth of the word of God in us. You cling to the iron rod (the word according to 1 Nephi 11:25) to get there, but you also grow it inside you by planting the seed (the word according to Alma 32:28).
• In ancient Israelite tradition, the Torah is the tree of life. In Hebrew, the meaning of 'Mormon' can be connected to the living waters. Both contain the word of God. We can view the Bible and the Book of Mormon as the word that gets us to the tree of life and the fountain of living waters.

Viewing the Book of Mormon as the book of the pure and living waters has certainly been food for thought, and helped me better understand two other issues that I have studied before. I will discuss the first one here and save the other for a later post.

A puzzling pattern combining judgment and fruit/water now starts to make sense. In that post I noticed how judgment often appears together with this tree(fruit)/water symbolism but I didn't understand why. This is how I see it now: The Bible and the Book of Mormon are the word of God, not exclusively as we know, but they symbolically connecting to the tree of life and the living waters. In another post, I explained how the scriptures sometimes state that Christ is the word. What we have done with the word is manifest in the state of the tree and water and will ultimately judge us.

On the one hand, we may have planted the word and nourished the tree. We may have accepted the living water that Christ offers and continually run to the fountain of all righteousness (1 Nephi 2:9). If this is the case, both the tree and the water will spring up in us into eternal life. We shall "partake of the fruit" and "enter into his rest", never to hunger or thirst again. 

On the other hand, we may stand in front of God on judgment day, not having made room in our hearts for the word or we may at some point later have "pluck[ed] it up and cast it out". We may even have polluted the water like the great and abominable church. If this is the case, we will not have brought forth good fruit and will be "hewn down and cast into the fire".

Notice how Alma describes it

Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned. (Alma 12:13)

If we are condemned on judgment day, why is that? Because the word is not found in us! Food and drink is something we put in us. Do you see the symbolic connection between judgment and food/drink better now? The word of God is found in the Bible, the Book of Mormon and other scriptures and words of living prophets. They testify of Christ. This is the tree of life and the living waters. Before judgment day, everyone will have had the chance to receive the word. What determines our judgment is whether the word is found in us or not, often symbolized by fruit and water.

I can't help but connect this to the sacrament and the powerful symbolism of eating and drinking the symbols of Christ, who is "the word of truth and righteousness" (Alma 38:9). Renewing our covenants with him is a way to ensure that the word is found in us on that last day. 

The Spirit, the word, and the heart

I've noted a connection between the word of God (or the work of covenant-making) and the hearts of His children. Lately, I've also noticed a connection between these two elements and the Spirit.

Here is an example, as Alma-1 is preparing to baptize at the waters of Mormon:

 

12 And now it came to pass that Alma took Helam, he being one of the first, and went and stood forth in the water, and cried, saying: O Lord, pour out thy Spirit upon thy servant, that he may do this work with holiness of heart. (Mosiah 18)

Here is another example from the life of Samuel the Lamanite, who receives the voice of the Lord and declares the word to the people according to what the Lord put into his heart:

3 But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart.

4 And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart.

5 And he said unto them: Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart; and behold he hath put it into my heart to say unto this people that the sword of justice hangeth over this people; and four hundred years pass not away save the sword of justice falleth upon this people.
6 Yea, heavy destruction awaiteth this people, and it surely cometh unto this people, and nothing can save this people save it be repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, who surely shall come into the world, and shall suffer many things and shall be slain for his people. (Helaman 13)

This example is more subtle, but Nephi uses these three elements to bookend the final words of Lehi, as he declares his final words to his posterity:

5 ...Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord.
6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord. (2 Nephi 1)

...

12 And it came to pass after my father, Lehi, had spoken unto all his household, according to the feelings of his heart and the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, he waxed old. (2 Nephi 4)

The final example I'll give is found as Alma and Amulek declare the word among the Nephites:

16 And there was no inequality among them; the Lord did pour out his Spirit on all the face of the land to prepare the minds of the children of men, or to prepare their hearts to receive the word which should be taught among them at the time of his coming—
17 That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God. (Alma 16)

"One day and a night and a day"

  I'm currently reading The Lost 116 Pages by Don Bradley.  One of the interesting details I did not previously know is that the Eight Witnesses reported that the engraved characters were stained "with a black, hard stain, so as to make the letter more legible and easier to read." (Footnote 20 on page 44.)

Bradley makes the point that this means the characters as they appeared on the plates were an inverse in a way from the translation Joseph saw when looking at the seer stone in his hat:

The Book of Mormon hieroglyphs ... were set out in black against a bright background of gold. Conversely, the translated images or words that appeared as Joseph looked at the seer stone occluded in his hat were light against darkness. Thus, through the stone, the records original, untranslated state was inverted: its meaning previously hidden in characters literally and figuratively "as dark as Egypt." (p.44)

The metaphor of Joseph the Seer bringing spiritual truth out of the darkness and into the light is a powerful one. It's been on my mind quite a bit lately.  As I read this week's Come Follow Me chapters, I couldn't help but see two symbols from Samuel's words in a new light.

"Many signs and wonders in heaven"

Among the signs prophesied by Samuel was "one day and a night and a day as if it were one day and there were no night." (Helaman 14:4)  This day-night-day as one day symbol fits in with another pattern: Nephites-apostasy-latter-day restoration.

These signs and wonders in heaven would also have the effect that "ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth."  The signs from heaven cause mortals to fall to the earth. Reminds me of this recent post from Stisa.

Slippery treasure

In another part of his sermon, Samuel says:

18 And it shall come to pass, saith the Lord of Hosts, yea, our great and true God, that whoso shall hide up treasures in the earth shall find them again no more, because of the great curse of the land, save he be a righteous man and shall hide it up unto the Lord.

19 For I will, saith the Lord, that they shall hide up their treasures unto me; and cursed be they who hide not up their treasures unto me; for none hideth up their treasures unto me save it be the righteous; and he that hideth not up his treasures unto me, cursed is he, and also the treasure, and none shall redeem it because of the curse of the land.

20 And the day shall come that they shall hide up their treasures, because they have set their hearts upon riches; and because they have set their hearts upon their riches, and will hide up their treasures when they shall flee before their enemies; because they will not hide them up unto me, cursed be they and also their treasures; and in that day shall they be smitten, saith the Lord.

21 Behold ye, the people of this great city, and hearken unto my words; yea, hearken unto the words which the Lord saith; for behold, he saith that ye are cursed because of your riches, and also are your riches cursed because ye have set your hearts upon them, and have not hearkened unto the words of him who gave them unto you. (Helaman 13)

I couldn't help but compare the loss of buried treasure to the immense spiritual benefit which comes to the world (at least those who believe) through the Book of Mormon, which was engraven on gold plates and buried in the earth.

Both of these connections are loose, but I believe something deeper connects these scriptural metaphors. The gathering of the word is associated with the gathering of the House of Israel. The record of one covenant people can be of great worth to another covenant people.  The promises made to the fathers are fulfilled through the latter-day gathering.

Checed, Geburah and Tipharah

The nerd in me got really excited when I just discovered the blog of a convert who was raised in the Jewish faith. I have long been interested in the Hebrew roots of the Book of Mormon and will definitely read more of his posts. But this one caught my immediate attention. It deals with the parallels between the Exodus narrative and Lehi leaving Jerusalem. This concept is not new. Just go to bookofmormoncentral.org and search "Lehi Exodus" for instance. But the particular connection made in this post is nothing I have ever heard about, and it requires familiarity with Jewish tradition. I recommend reading the whole linked post (it's actually important for the understanding of the rest of this post), but to put it very shortly, there are three terms in the Exodus story that, according to the Zohar, refer to the attributes of God. These same three terms are found in 1 Nephi 2.

The three attributes of God that Exodus 14 and 2 Nephi 2 refer to are

• Checed (kindness, related to mercy)
• Geburah (power, related to justice)
• Tipharah (beauty, relating to the idea of harmonization, creating a balance between the two above)

My thoughts immediately went to Alma 42 and the beautiful harmonization between justice and mercy. Next I also realized that I have actually identified and discussed this concept in 1 Nephi before, without understanding how it relates to the ancient Israelite understanding. In this post I identified a pattern with these three same terms. So what does this all mean? Let's have another look at the scriptures from 1 Nephi 1 in this new context:

the power [Hebr. geburah], and goodness [Hebr. tipharah], and mercy [Hebr. checed] are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful [Hebr. chacad], thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish (1 Nephi 1:14)

The context is Lehi praising God after he has seen a vision. A personal manifestation of God leads to Lehi's exclamation of God's main attributes from an ancient Israelite perspective, it seems. By the way, since this was new to me, I had to check if this is a common Jewish understanding or just some stranger's claim in an obscure blog. But there are several other sources explaining this concept, like this one and this one. A few verses later, Nephi states

I, Nephi [Presumably the Egyptian equivalent of the Hebr. tipharah], will show unto you that the tender mercies [Hebr. checed] of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty [Hebr. gabar] even unto the power [Hebr. geburah] of deliverance. (1 Nephi 1:20)

(Note: In addition to the three word listed above, there is one additional link in each quoted verse because it is another variant of the word that shares the same root as one of the three). 

As I also pointed out in the earlier post about this, Nephi uses his own name in this mix in 1 Nephi 1:20 as a possible wordplay. It is assumed that his name comes from the Egyptian word for good or fair, somewhat equivalent to 'tipharah'. Thus, perhaps Nephi views his own life and story as a manifestation of God's balance between power/justice and kindness/mercy. 

Also, as I explain in the post, when using these terms in connection with the phrase, "I will show unto you", Nephi connects these attributes of God to their exodus. This new insight provides further support for that. The next verse reads, "For behold, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream", marking the beginning of Lehi's exodus. What happens next is that they travel to the Red Sea, like Israel, and we get the word links to Exodus 14 that also refer to God's attributes brought up in 1 Nephi 1. Nephi is playing on a theme where the fundamental attributes of God are manifest in his family's exodus from a wicked environment to a promised land, just like Israel of old.

Even though Nephi rejoices in plainness and doesn't hide his writings in as much symbolism as, say, Isaiah, he still follows the Israelite scribal tradition where as much meaning is added into as few words as possible in a multi-layered text. This was not produced on a whim.

Alma quoting King Benjamin and Abinadi

It is expected that talks in church, in sacrament meeting, Stake Conference or General Conference include quotes from the scriptures. Typically, they are announced and then read out loud. But other times, quotes from the scriptures are just blended into our talks without announcement. We may for instance talk about "putting off the natural man", "carry each other's burdens" or "an opposition in all things". We don't necessarily have to open our scriptures and read, everybody recognizes it. In the Book of Mormon, there are several examples of Nephi, Jacob, Abinadi and others announcing their quotes and then sharing passages from the brass plates. In 2 Nephi 11 for instance, Nephi announces that he will read from Isaiah and then quotes Isaiah in 2 Nephi 12-24.

There are also examples of subtly mixing writings from the brass plates into sermons without announcement. We have seen many examples on this blog. But sometimes, Book of Mormon prophets would also refer to each other that way. Consider this example from Alma 38:9.

And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.

Compare with Mosiah 2:17

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that

Mosiah 3:17

there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

and Mosiah 16:9

He is the light and the life of the world

Alma seems to be quoting from King Benjamin and Abinadi. They are not direct word-for-word quotes, they are unannounced, but still very recognizable.

"Striving," Part 3

Part 1: "Striving" in the Book of Mormon

Part 2: "Striving" in the other books of scripture

In part 2, we ended in Moses 8, where Noah is ordained to the order of the Lord and given a commandment to "go forth and declare his Gospel unto the children of men, even as it was given to Enoch. (Moses 8:19.)

This comes right after the Lord tells Noah (see verse 17) that "[His] Spirit shall not always strive with man."

I couldn't help but compare this passage to Moroni 9, where Mormon encourages his son Moroni:

6 And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God. (Moroni 9)

Even if this dire situation, where the Nephites have hardened to the point of "seeking to put down all power and authority which cometh from God" and "denying the Holy Ghost," (see Moroni 8:28) Mormon reminds his son of their duty to continue in faith to preach to them and minister unto them.

Why continue in hope even when things seem so far gone?

I realize that the answer is found in the office of their calling, which Mormon explains in great detail is Moroni 7:

31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.

32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men.

33 And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.

34 And he hath said: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name, and have faith in me, that ye may be saved.

35 And now, my beloved brethren, if this be the case that these things are true which I have spoken unto you, and God will show unto you, with power and great glory at the last day, that they are true, and if they are true has the day of miracles ceased?

36 Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved?

37 Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain.

38 For no man can be saved, according to the words of Christ, save they shall have faith in his name; wherefore, if these things have ceased, then has faith ceased also; and awful is the state of man, for they are as though there had been no redemption made.

 

Putting it all together

• The Spirit strives with the natural man in order to give each of us a choice between good and evil.
• The Spirit is capable of creating within us a "new creature" -- "born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters." (See Mosiah 27:25-26.)
• The work of conversion is helped along by those who have embraced the covenant and are called to the work. They become "chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him. And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men." (Moroni 7:31-32.)
• If we strive against this work and against the Spirit, it has no place in us and we become the carnal captives of the adversary.
• If we have once embraced the covenant but later reject it to the point that the Spirit no longer strives with us, we invite "speedy destruction" upon ourselves. (2 Nephi 26:11) 

The (gift of the) Holy Ghost in the Book of Mormon

I wrote two posts (here and here) listing and discussing scriptures that give conditions for and promises of eternal life. Based on these scriptures, I identified a pattern looking something like this

Covenant preparation / find the way and enter through the gate	Faith Repentance Baptism
Covenant keeping / "walk therein"	Keep the commandments Endure to the end

I received a comment on this blog post suggesting that the Holy Ghost was missing from this list. I had initially thought that it belongs as part of baptism because the baptism is two-fold (water and fire/Holy Ghost). It is also a bit unclear if the gift of the Holy Ghost as we practice it today was practiced among the Nephites before Christ. Nephi certainly teaches about receiving the Holy Ghost it in 2 Nephi 31, but it is unclear how and the Jews living before Christ didn't seem to practice this. 

Anyway, this made me think about something I have noticed before. The Holy Ghost is always portrayed as a blessing in the Book of Mormon, not a commandment. We have a tendency to think of the gift of the Holy Ghost only as a necessary step on the way. It certainly is one of the saving ordinances, so I will not argue against that. But it is interesting to note that the Book of Mormon never says: "Have faith, repent, be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost and then you will be blessed..." or something along those lines. Here is what the Book of Mormon does say on the matter:

For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. (2 Nephi 31:17)

Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. (3 Nephi 27:20)

And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost (3 Nephi 9:20)

come unto me, and be baptized in my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the Holy Ghost (3 Nephi 30:2)

We clearly see from these verses that receiving/being cleansed by/filled with the Holy Ghost is the blessing. It comes after we have repented and been baptized. This is a thing I noticed a long time ago but I just realized how it fits into the pattern I illustrated above. With these scriptures in mind, here is an updated version:

Step	Category	Conditions	Blessing
Step 1	Covenant preparation / find the way and enter through the gate	Faith Repentance Baptism	The gift of the Holy Ghost
Step 2	Covenant keeping / "walk therein"	Keep the commandments Endure to the end	Eternal life

Again, there are different ways to put it for sure. It would not be wrong to put the gift of the Holy Ghost in the "conditions" category in Step 1 and this is often how we frame it, perhaps because of the 4th article of faith. But I think the above illustration is more in line with how the Book of Mormon frames it and it has helped me look at our "covenant path" in a different way.

This is how I see it: Eternal life is always the end goal. This is exaltation, living in unity with the Godhead in the celestial kingdom. To get there, we have the atonement of Christ (already taken care of) and our part, that is summarized in these two steps in the table. At the end of step 1 there is a gate. When we enter through it we are offered the Holy Ghost. He is a member of the Godhead we ultimately want to be united with after step 2, but he comes to help us in this step, which is walking on the path after we entered the first gate. I expressed the conditions as "keep the commanments" and "endure to the end" but there is a lot that could be said about step 2. We know that further covenants and continuous application of the atonement in our lives are part of this as well. The point is that we get the Holy Ghost as a blessing after we complete step 1 and enter into the first symbolic gate. His role is to help and guide us along in step 2 to get to the second symbolic gate, the gate to the kingdom of heaven.

The unity that we can have with the Holy Ghost after entering through the first gate, and with Jesus Christ when becoming one with him through the sacrament, are preparations for the glorious unity we can have with them and the Father after entering through the second gate. The Father created a plan that can be accomplished through Christ and covenants. The Son completed his part and the Holy Ghost helps us do our part (keeping covenants). It is a beautiful illustration of the individual roles of the members of the Godhead, united in one purpose: To unite with us.

 

 

Come, Follow Me, Aug 31 - Sep 6. Helaman 13-16: “Glad Tidings of Great Joy”

We study Helaman 13-16 this week as part of the Come, Follow Me program. Here is a link to the lesson. Below are links to previous blog posts related to those chapters.

Helaman 13 -- Samuel the Lamanite channels Nephi (and Isaiah), Textual connections to Jesus and possibly Zenos, Pride of the eyes, etc.

Helaman 14 -- Internal consistency in Samuel's prophecies, part 1 and part 2, office of the ministry of angels,  rock metaphor, etc.

Helaman 15 -- Lehi's blessing to the children of Laman, Zenos and the restoration of the Lamanites, Prolonging and lengthening cords, etc.

Helaman 16 -- Internal consistency, "Cunning" in the Book of Mormon, etc.