Mosiah 15
I'm going to skip chapter 14 because it is Abinadi quoting Isaiah, and when I get to Isaiah in the Old Testament, I will do a really in depth study of it, but at this point, I'm going to skip it for now.
15:1-9 - Abinadi continues by teaching that "God himeslf shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people." This is important as he continues to teach that the Law of Moses is preparatory to the Atonement, because if looking at the perspective of the priests, even though most of them don't care about the message, if they truly believed that salvation came through obedience to the law of Moses, then the Mortal Messiah and the Atonement would be completely foreign to them. He continues "and because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son." I know we've discussed it before but the IM gives further insight on how exactly Jesus Christ can be the Father and the Son. The IM quotes Elder M. Russell Ballard as teaching “how can Jesus Christ be both the Father and the Son? It really isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Though He is the Son of God, He is the head of the Church, which is the family of believers. When we are spiritually born again, we are adopted into His family. He becomes our Father or leader. . . . In no way does this doctrine denigrate the role of God the Father. Rather, we believe it enhances our understanding of the role of God the Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. God our Heavenly Father is the Father of our spirits; we speak of God the Son as the Father of the righteous. He is regarded as the ‘Father’ because of the relationship between Him and those who accept His gospel, thereby becoming heirs of eternal life. And the third member of the Godhead, God the Holy Ghost, has the specific mission to teach and to testify of truth as it pertains to the divinity of both God the Father and God the Son." I really liked that he delineated that Heavenly Father is the father of our spirits, but that Jesus is the Father of the church, and like was said in another post, he has given us new life through the Atonement and the resurrection, and is not that a father? Verse 5 talks about what Jesus will endure once he gets down here to earth,"(he) suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out and disowned by his people. And after all this... he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb so he opened not his mouth. Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father." In an October 2002 general conference address entitled "That They May Be One in Us," Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught "Jesus was also a being of flesh and spirit, but He yielded not to temptation. We can turn to Him as we seek unity and peace within, because He understands. He understands the struggle, and He also understands how to win the struggle." This is how he can feel so tenderly towards us, how he can look at my meager, pathetic attempt at spirituality and tell me that he loves me and that I'm doing a good job. It is through the Atonement that he can have "bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, take upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice." He knows what it's like to live our lives, and he is proud of us for trying.
15:10-20 - Similar in concept to how Jesus is both the Father and the Son, Abinadi goes onto to teach, if Jesus is a Father, then who are his children or as he calls us his "seed." Those who are considered his "seed" are the holy prophets and "all those who have hearkened unto their words." So that means us, I believe. The IM quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks are teaching "how one becomes a son or daughter of Jesus Christ: 'In these great scriptures from the Book of Mormon, we learn that those who are qualified by faith and repentance and compliance with the laws and ordinances of the gospel will have their sins borne by the Lord Jesus Christ. In spiritual and figurative terms they will become the sons and daughters of Christ, heirs to his kingdom. These are they who will be called by his name in the last day." Kind of like when a parent has a large estate, when they pass away, the children inherit what is left, and this is a similar concept, I would imagine. Except that instead of dying, God has no beginning and no end, so we will enter into what he has planned for us. But there is something very profound that Elder Merrill J. Bateman taught and is quoted by the IM as saying "The Savior, as a member of the Godhead, knows each of us personally... Abinadi explains that 'his seed' are the righteous, those who follow the prophets. In the garden and on the cross, Jesus saw each of us and not only bore our sins but also experienced our deepest feelings so he would know how to comfort and strengthen us." I felt that that was truly amazing, to be known personally by the Lord and to know that when he was suffering, he saw me, that maybe I was able to comfort him a little bit and maybe tell him thank you. Could you imagine what that must have been like, to suffer agony so severe that only God himself could suffer it, but then if this statement it true, that meant that while this was happening, he was saw those who he was performing this for. I wonder if when it came time to suffer for my personal sins, and my own personal heartaches and deepest feelings, if he saw me then, that would make sense right? But I hope that he not only felt my deepest, darkest feelings, but one day, if not already, I truly hope that he gets to feel the same joy and happiness that I feel in my life, that would only be fair, to experience the good and the bad, opposition in all things right? Abinadi teaches that the "seed" of Christ are those who "publish peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!" The prophets who teach and the faithful saints, those who believe and do their best. The IM quotes Elder Carlos E. Asay as teaching "no one is more beautiful or more blessed than those who serve God by preaching and exemplifying the truth. It is the most sanctifying and beautifying labor of all!"
15:21-31 -
15:1-9 - Abinadi continues by teaching that "God himeslf shall come down among the children of men, and shall redeem his people." This is important as he continues to teach that the Law of Moses is preparatory to the Atonement, because if looking at the perspective of the priests, even though most of them don't care about the message, if they truly believed that salvation came through obedience to the law of Moses, then the Mortal Messiah and the Atonement would be completely foreign to them. He continues "and because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father, being the Father and the Son." I know we've discussed it before but the IM gives further insight on how exactly Jesus Christ can be the Father and the Son. The IM quotes Elder M. Russell Ballard as teaching “how can Jesus Christ be both the Father and the Son? It really isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Though He is the Son of God, He is the head of the Church, which is the family of believers. When we are spiritually born again, we are adopted into His family. He becomes our Father or leader. . . . In no way does this doctrine denigrate the role of God the Father. Rather, we believe it enhances our understanding of the role of God the Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. God our Heavenly Father is the Father of our spirits; we speak of God the Son as the Father of the righteous. He is regarded as the ‘Father’ because of the relationship between Him and those who accept His gospel, thereby becoming heirs of eternal life. And the third member of the Godhead, God the Holy Ghost, has the specific mission to teach and to testify of truth as it pertains to the divinity of both God the Father and God the Son." I really liked that he delineated that Heavenly Father is the father of our spirits, but that Jesus is the Father of the church, and like was said in another post, he has given us new life through the Atonement and the resurrection, and is not that a father? Verse 5 talks about what Jesus will endure once he gets down here to earth,"(he) suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out and disowned by his people. And after all this... he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb so he opened not his mouth. Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father." In an October 2002 general conference address entitled "That They May Be One in Us," Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught "Jesus was also a being of flesh and spirit, but He yielded not to temptation. We can turn to Him as we seek unity and peace within, because He understands. He understands the struggle, and He also understands how to win the struggle." This is how he can feel so tenderly towards us, how he can look at my meager, pathetic attempt at spirituality and tell me that he loves me and that I'm doing a good job. It is through the Atonement that he can have "bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, take upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice." He knows what it's like to live our lives, and he is proud of us for trying.
15:10-20 - Similar in concept to how Jesus is both the Father and the Son, Abinadi goes onto to teach, if Jesus is a Father, then who are his children or as he calls us his "seed." Those who are considered his "seed" are the holy prophets and "all those who have hearkened unto their words." So that means us, I believe. The IM quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks are teaching "how one becomes a son or daughter of Jesus Christ: 'In these great scriptures from the Book of Mormon, we learn that those who are qualified by faith and repentance and compliance with the laws and ordinances of the gospel will have their sins borne by the Lord Jesus Christ. In spiritual and figurative terms they will become the sons and daughters of Christ, heirs to his kingdom. These are they who will be called by his name in the last day." Kind of like when a parent has a large estate, when they pass away, the children inherit what is left, and this is a similar concept, I would imagine. Except that instead of dying, God has no beginning and no end, so we will enter into what he has planned for us. But there is something very profound that Elder Merrill J. Bateman taught and is quoted by the IM as saying "The Savior, as a member of the Godhead, knows each of us personally... Abinadi explains that 'his seed' are the righteous, those who follow the prophets. In the garden and on the cross, Jesus saw each of us and not only bore our sins but also experienced our deepest feelings so he would know how to comfort and strengthen us." I felt that that was truly amazing, to be known personally by the Lord and to know that when he was suffering, he saw me, that maybe I was able to comfort him a little bit and maybe tell him thank you. Could you imagine what that must have been like, to suffer agony so severe that only God himself could suffer it, but then if this statement it true, that meant that while this was happening, he was saw those who he was performing this for. I wonder if when it came time to suffer for my personal sins, and my own personal heartaches and deepest feelings, if he saw me then, that would make sense right? But I hope that he not only felt my deepest, darkest feelings, but one day, if not already, I truly hope that he gets to feel the same joy and happiness that I feel in my life, that would only be fair, to experience the good and the bad, opposition in all things right? Abinadi teaches that the "seed" of Christ are those who "publish peace, who have brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto Zion: Thy God reigneth!" The prophets who teach and the faithful saints, those who believe and do their best. The IM quotes Elder Carlos E. Asay as teaching "no one is more beautiful or more blessed than those who serve God by preaching and exemplifying the truth. It is the most sanctifying and beautifying labor of all!"
15:21-31 -
Here is a chart from the IM on the "Order of the Resurrection." I learned something here that I didn't know before. The IM teaches "Jesus Christ was the first person on this earth to be resurrected. Consequently, the period of time referred to in the scriptures as the First Resurrection commenced with His triumph over the grave and continues through the Millennium." I didn't realize that we are currently in the First Resurrection! I guess it makes sense, but I always thought for some reason that the First Resurrection was going to occur in one big swoop in one day, one big event. But I was wrong and it's already started. The IM continues "Abinadi taught that those who would come forth in the First Resurrection would include 'the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words,' those who have died in ignorance without having 'salvation declared unto them,' and little children who die before they are accountable.'" That sounds like a majority of the people yeah? I think I've mentioned the book before but there's a book I love that really develops this concept that's called "Odds Are You're Going to be Exalted." That's an Amazon link, I didn't know where else to link it, but in the book, the author Alonzo Gaskill reminds us that at least 50% of the population ever born on the planet died as children, before the age of accountability. Of those who have lived to maturity, a very very small percentage knew of the gospel, and there are many believers among those who have heard. And it seems like only the unjust will be resurrected after the Millennium, which according to a Sunday School manual teaches that "at the end of the millennium, the second resurrection begins." But Abinadi makes sure to point out that the first resurrection is not for the wicked, like the priests and king that he's preaching to for "these are they that have no part in the first resurrection... for salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim." This is why it's so very important to remain righteous, Jesus saw each of us while he suffered the atonement, he atoned for each of us, the right and blessing is there, but we must live worthy to claim that blessing.
Comments
Post a Comment