3.21.2009

pgs. 152 and 153...salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.

6 And he shall cast out adevils, or the bevil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men.
7 And lo, he shall asuffer btemptations, and pain of body, chunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can dsuffer, except it be unto death; for behold, eblood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his fanguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people.
8 And he shall be called aJesus bChrist, the cSon of God, the dFather of heaven and earth, the eCreator of all things from the beginning; and his fmother shall be called Mary.
9 And lo, he cometh unto his own, that asalvation might come unto the children of men even through bfaith on his name; and even after all this they shall consider him a man, and say that he hath a cdevil, and shall dscourge him, and shall ecrucify him.
10 And he shall arise the bthird day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to cjudge the world; and behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the children of men.
11 For behold, and also his ablood batoneth for the sins of those who have cfallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the dwill of God concerning them, or who have eignorantly sinned.
12 But wo, wo unto him who knoweth that he arebelleth against God! For salvation cometh to none such except it be through repentance and faith on the bLord Jesus Christ.
13 And the Lord God hath sent his holy aprophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive bremission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy, even cas though he had already come among them.
14 Yet the Lord God saw that his people were a astiffnecked people, and he appointed unto them a blaw, even the claw of Moses.
15 And many signs, and wonders, and atypes, and shadows showed he unto them, concerning his coming; and also holy prophets spake unto them concerning his coming; and yet they bhardened their hearts, and understood not that the claw of Moses availeth nothing dexcept it were through the eatonement of his blood.
16 And even if it were possible that little achildren could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are bblessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ catoneth for their sins.
17 And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be ano other name given nor any other way nor means whereby bsalvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the cLord Omnipotent.
18 For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink adamnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and bbecome as little children, and believe that csalvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the datoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
19 For the anatural bman is an cenemy to God, and has been from the dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he eyields to the enticings of the Holy fSpirit, and gputteth off the hnatural man and becometh a isaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a jchild, ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
20 And moreover, I say unto you, that the time shall come when the aknowledge of a bSavior shall spread throughout cevery nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
21 And behold, when that time cometh, none shall be found ablameless before God, except it be little children, only through repentance and faith on the name of the Lord God Omnipotent.
22 And even at this time, when thou shalt have taught thy people the things which the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, even then are they found no more blameless in the sight of God, only according to the words which I have spoken unto thee.

Today's reading is a continuation of what the angel instructed King Benjamin to teach his people. It is rich doctrine and well-loved and quoted, especially verse 19. It's impossible to pick a favorite verse since it is all so brilliant. One of the things you may not see on the surface is an ancient writing technique known as chiasmus found in verses 18 and 19. Chiasmus is a literary style which was discovered in Isaiah and other ancient writings. It is a style in which the author emphasizes an important message by writing a message in order such as "a, b, c, d" and then reversing the order to "d, c, b, a." The middle word (or in this case the letter d) is thought to be the most emphasized and important part of the writing. The following bold words show how this is present in verses 18 and 19:


18. For behold he judgeth, and his judgement is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble (A) themselves and become as little children (B), and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and though the atoning blood of Christ (C), the Lord Omnipotent.
19. For the natural man (D) is an enemy to God, and has been from trom the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man (D) and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ (C) the Lord, and becomth as a child (B), submissive, meek, humble (A), patient, full of love, willing to submit all things which the Lord seeth fit to infict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.