2.10.2009

pgs. 74 and 75...O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel!

15 And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the ajudgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the bjudgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.
16 And assuredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath spoken it, and it is his eternal aword, which cannot bpass away, that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they who are cfilthy shall be dfilthy still; wherefore, they who are filthy are the edevil and his angels; and they shall go away into feverlasting fire, prepared for them; and their gtorment is as a hlake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.
17 O the greatness and the ajustice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be bfulfilled.
18 But, behold, the arighteous, the bsaints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the ccrosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall dinherit the ekingdom of God, which was prepared for them ffrom the foundation of the world, and their gjoy shall be full hforever.
19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he adelivereth his saints from that bawful monster the devil, and death, and chell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
20 O how great the aholiness of our God! For he bknoweth call things, and there is not anything save he knows it.
21 And he cometh into the world that he may asave all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the bpains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of cAdam.
22 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.
23 And he commandeth all men that they must arepent, and be bbaptized in his name, having perfect cfaith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.
24 And if they will not repent and believe in his aname, and be baptized in his name, and bendure to the end, they must be cdamned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.
25 Wherefore, he has given a alaw; and where there is bno claw given there is no dpunishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him.
26 For the aatonement satisfieth the demands of his bjustice upon all those who chave not the dlaw given to them, that they are edelivered from that awful monster, death and fhell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them gbreath, which is the Holy One of Israel.
27 But wo unto him that has the alaw given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that btransgresseth them, and that cwasteth the days of his dprobation, for awful is his state!
28 O that cunning aplan of the evil one! O the bvainness, and the frailties, and the cfoolishness of men! When they are dlearned they think they are ewise, and they fhearken not unto the gcounsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their hwisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
29 But to be alearned is good if they bhearken unto the ccounsels of God.
30 But wo unto the arich, who are brich as to the things of the cworld. For because they are rich they despise the dpoor, and they persecute the meek, and their ehearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their ftreasure is their god. And behold, their gtreasure shall perish with them also.
31 And wo unto the deaf that will not ahear; for they shall perish.
32 Wo unto the ablind that will not see; for they shall perish also.
33 Wo unto the auncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day.

Whenever I read "wo unto" I always feel like I should pay a little extra attention! These last verses are the first half of a sermon by Jacob on the consequences we all face if we waste our time on the earth in wickedness. I can almost hear the pleading in his voice as I read this. It seems like he sincerely just wants all of the Nephites to be happy and to be able to live with God eternally.
P.S. I know you all have verse 28 memorized since it's a scripture mastery!!! ; )