pgs. 72 and 73...it must needs be an infinite atonement - save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption.

CHAPTER 9

Jews shall be gathered in all their lands of promise—Atonement ransoms man from the fall—The bodies of the dead shall come forth from the grave, and their spirits from hell and from paradise—They shall be judged—Atonement saves from death, hell, the devil, and endless torment—The righteous to be saved in the kingdom of God—Penalties for sins set forth—The Holy One of Israel is the keeper of the gate. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 And now, my beloved brethren, I have read these things that ye might know concerning the ^acovenants of the Lord that he has covenanted with all the house of Israel—

2 That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy prophets, even from the beginning down, from generation to generation, until the time comes that they shall be ^arestored to the true church and fold of God; when they shall be ^bgathered home to the ^clands of their inheritance, and shall be established in all their lands of promise.

3 Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice, and ^alift up your heads forever, because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children.

4 For I know that ye have searched much, many of you, to know of things to come; wherefore I know that ye know that our ^aflesh must waste away and die; nevertheless, in our ^bbodies we shall see God.

5 Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great ^aCreator that he ^bsuffereth himself to become ^csubject unto man in the flesh, and ^ddie for ^eall men, that all men might become subject unto him.

6 For as ^adeath hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful ^bplan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of ^cresurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the ^dfall; and the fall came by reason of ^etransgression; and because man became fallen they were ^fcut off from the ^gpresence of the Lord.

7 Wherefore, it must needs be an ^ainfinite ^batonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the ^cfirst judgment which came upon man must needs have ^dremained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

8 O the ^awisdom of God, his ^bmercy and ^cgrace! For behold, if the ^dflesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who ^efell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the ^fdevil, to rise no more.

9 And our spirits must have become ^alike unto him, and we become devils, ^bangels to a ^cdevil, to be ^dshut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of ^elies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who ^fbeguiled our first parents, who ^gtransformeth himself nigh unto an ^hangel of light, and ⁱstirreth up the children of men unto ^jsecret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

10 O how great the ^agoodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our ^bescape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, ^cdeath and ^dhell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

11 And because of the way of ^adeliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this ^bdeath, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

12 And this ^adeath of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is ^bhell; wherefore, death and hell must ^cdeliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its ^dcaptive ^espirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive ^fbodies, and the bodies and the ^gspirits of men will be ^hrestored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

13 O how great the ^aplan of our God! For on the other hand, the ^bparadise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is ^crestored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and ^dimmortal, and they are living souls, having a ^eperfect ^fknowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.

14 Wherefore, we shall have a ^aperfect ^bknowledge of all our ^cguilt, and our ^duncleanness, and our ^enakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their ^frighteousness, being ^gclothed with ^hpurity, yea, even with the ⁱrobe of righteousness.


I read a commentary on this chapter that brought up a point I haven't considered before. The point was that those who read the Book of Mormon have an expanded knowledge of these Isaiah chapters that any who read the Bible would benefit from. I'm sure all Bible readers find the language in the book of Isaiah sort of hard to follow and would benefit from these chapters where Jacob is trying to explain Isaiah to his people. I would be fascinated to hear what a Bible Study group thought of these Book of Mormon chapters "overlap" with the Bible.


These next two quotes really sum up why death is important but why it would stop our eternal progress if the Atonement was not fulfilled.

“Death is just as important in the welfare of man as is birth. There is no greater blessing that can come than the blessing of birth. One third of the hosts of heaven, because of rebellion, were denied that privilege, and hence they have no bodies of flesh and bones, that great gift of God. “But who would like to live forever in this mundane world, filled with pain, decay, sorrow, and tribulation, and grow old and infirm and yet have to remain with all the vicissitudes of mortality? I think all of us would come to the conclusion, if that proposition were placed before us, that we would not like to have it. We would reject it. We would not want life of that nature. Life here in this world is short of necessity, and yet all that is required may be accomplished, but death is just as important in the plan of salvation as birth is. We have to die—it is essential—and death comes into the world ‘to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator.’” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:116).

“The fall brought death. That is not a desirable condition. We do not want to be banished from the presence of God. We do not want to be subject forever to mortal conditions. We do not want to die and have our bodies turn to dust, and the spirits that possess these bodies by right, turned over to the realm of Satan and become subject to him. “But that was the condition; and if Christ had not come as the atoning sacrifice, in demand of the law of justice, to repair or to atone or to redeem us from the condition that Adam found himself in, and that we find ourselves in; then mortal death would have come; the body would have gone back to the dust from where it came; the spirit would have gone into the realms of Satan’s domain, and have been subject to him forever” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1:122).

pgs. 70 and 71...Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which has drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury...

5 The Lord God hath opened mine ^aear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back.

6 I gave my back to the ^asmiter, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from ^bshame and spitting.

7 For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ^aashamed.

8 And the Lord is near, and he ^ajustifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near me, and I will ^bsmite him with the strength of my mouth.

9 For the Lord God will help me. And all they who shall ^acondemn me, behold, all they shall ^bwax old as a garment, and the moth shall eat them up.

10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the ^avoice of his servant, that ^bwalketh in darkness and hath no light?

11 Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of ^ayour fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. ^bThis shall ye have of mine hand—ye shall lie down in sorrow.

CHAPTER 8

In the last days, the Lord shall comfort Zion and gather Israel—The redeemed shall come to Zion amid great joy—Compare Isaiah 51 and 52:1-2. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 ^aHearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the ^brock from whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye are digged.

2 Look unto Abraham, your ^afather, and unto ^bSarah, she that bare you; for I called him alone, and blessed him.

3 For the Lord shall ^acomfort ^bZion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her ^cwilderness like ^dEden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

4 Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a ^alaw shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a ^blight for the people.

5 My righteousness is near; my ^asalvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall ^bjudge the people. The ^cisles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.

6 Lift up your eyes to the ^aheavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall ^bvanish away like smoke, and the earth shall ^cwax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner. But my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, ^afear ye not the ^breproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their ^crevilings.

8 For the ^amoth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.

9 ^aAwake, awake! Put on ^bstrength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days. Art thou not he that hath cut ^cRahab, and wounded the ^ddragon?

10 Art thou not he who hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a ^away for the ransomed to pass over?

11 Therefore, the ^aredeemed of the Lord shall ^breturn, and come with ^csinging unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and ^dmourning shall flee away.

12 ^aI am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you. Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be ^bafraid of man, who shall die, and of the son of man, who shall be made like unto ^cgrass?

13 And ^aforgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath ^bstretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, and hast feared continually every day, because of the fury of the ^coppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?

14 The ^acaptive exile hasteneth, that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.

15 But I am the Lord thy God, whose ^awaves roared; the Lord of Hosts is my name.

16 And I have ^aput my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: Behold, thou art my ^bpeople.

17 Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the ^acup of his ^bfury—thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling wrung out—

18 And none to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth; neither that taketh her by the hand, of all the sons she hath brought up.

19 These two ^asons are come unto thee, who shall be sorry for thee—thy desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword—and by whom shall I comfort thee?

20 Thy sons have fainted, save these two; they lie at the head of all the streets; as a wild bull in a net, they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God.

21 Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and ^adrunken, and not with wine:

22 Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord and thy God ^apleadeth the cause of his people; behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again.

23 But ^aI will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; who have said to thy soul: Bow down, that we may go over—and thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over.

24 ^aAwake, awake, put on thy ^bstrength, O ^cZion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall ^dno more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

25 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the ^abands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.


There is so much going on in these verses and on such a large scale that it feels like a lot to grasp. I wonder if the Nephites felt the same way when Jacob was teaching it to them. The main theme I take from these verses is that Christ suffered so intensely for all of us because He loves us and that His love never changes. Also He is always hoping we will turn to Him. What do you think?

Symbolism Often Used in the Scriptures.

This is a list of common scripture symbols from the book Your Study of the Book of Mormon Made Easier by David J. Ridges. It has helped me with these Isaiah chapters but I think it will help a lot in the whole Book of Mormon. I decided to list it in it's own post so that we can refer back to it easily.

colors:
white - purity; righteousness; exaltation
black - evil; famine; darkness
red - sins; bloodshed
blue - heaven; godliness; remembering and keeping God's commandments
green - life, nature
amber - sun, light; divine glory
scarlet - royalty
silver - worth, but less than gold
gold - the best; exaltation

body parts:
eye - perception; light and knowledge
head - governing
ears - obedience; hearing
mouth - speaking
hair - modesty; covering
members - offices and callings
heart - inner man; courage
hands - action, acting
right hand - covenant hand, making covenants
bowels - center of emotion; whole being
loins - posterity; preparing for action (gird up your loins)
liver - center of feeling
reins - kidneys; center of desires; thoughts
arm - power
foot - mobility; foundation
toe - associated with cleansing rites
nose - anger
tongue - speaking
blood - life of the body
knee - humility; submission
shoulder - strength; effort
forehead - total dedication, loyalty

numbers:
1- unity; God
3 - God; Godhead; A word repeated 3 times means superlative, "the most" or "the best"
4 - mankind; earth (4 angels over 4 parts of the earth: Rev. 7:1)
7 - completeness; perfection. When man lets God help, it leads to perfection. (man+God=perfection) (4+3=7)
10 - numerical perfection; well-organized (example: ten commandments, tithing)
12 - divine government; God's organization
40 days - literal; sometimes means "a long time" as in Samuel 17:16
forever - endless; can sometimes be a specific period or age

other:
horse - victory; power to conquer
donkey - peace
palms - joy; triumph, victory
wings - power to move, act, etc.
crown - power; dominion; exaltation
robes - royalty; kings, queens; exaltation

pgs. 68 and 69...all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

6 And now, these are the words: ^aThus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my ^bstandard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

7 And ^akings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that ^bI am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that ^cwait for me.

8 And now I, Jacob, would speak somewhat concerning these words. For behold, the Lord has shown me that those who were at ^aJerusalem, from whence we came, have been ^bslain and ^ccarried away captive.

9 Nevertheless, the Lord has shown unto me that they should ^areturn again. And he also has shown unto me that the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, should manifest himself unto them in the flesh; and after he should manifest himself they should ^bscourge him and ^ccrucify him, according to the words of the angel who spake it unto me.

10 And after they have ^ahardened their hearts and ^bstiffened their necks against the Holy One of Israel, behold, the ^cjudgments of the Holy One of Israel shall come upon them. And the day cometh that they shall be smitten and afflicted.

11 Wherefore, after they are driven to and fro, for thus saith the angel, many shall be afflicted in the flesh, and shall not be suffered to ^aperish, because of the prayers of the faithful; they shall be scattered, and smitten, and hated; nevertheless, the Lord will be merciful unto them, that ^bwhen they shall come to the ^cknowledge of their Redeemer, they shall be ^dgathered together again to the ^elands of their inheritance.

12 And blessed are the ^aGentiles, they of whom the prophet has written; for behold, if it so be that they shall repent and fight not against Zion, and do not unite themselves to that great and ^babominable church, they shall be saved; for the Lord God will fulfil his ^ccovenants which he has made unto his children; and for this cause the prophet has written these things.

13 Wherefore, they that fight against Zion and the covenant people of the Lord shall lick up the dust of their feet; and the people of the Lord shall not be ^aashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who ^bwait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah.

14 And behold, according to the words of the prophet, the Messiah will set himself again the ^asecond time to recover them; wherefore, he will ^bmanifest himself unto them in power and great glory, unto the ^cdestruction of their enemies, when that day cometh when they shall believe in him; and none will he destroy that believe in him.

15 And they that believe not in him shall be ^adestroyed, both by ^bfire, and by tempest, and by earthquakes, and by ^cbloodsheds, and by ^dpestilence, and by ^efamine. And they shall know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of Israel.

16 ^aFor shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the ^blawful captive delivered?

17 But thus saith the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; ^afor the ^bMighty God shall ^cdeliver his covenant people. For thus saith the Lord: I will contend with them that contendeth with thee—

18 And I will feed them that oppress thee, with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior and thy ^aRedeemer, the ^bMighty One of Jacob.

CHAPTER 7

Isaiah speaks Messianically—Messiah shall have the tongue of the learned—He shall give his back to the smiters—He shall not be confounded—Compare Isaiah 50. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 ^aYea, for thus saith the Lord: Have I put thee away, or have I cast thee off forever? For thus saith the Lord: Where is the ^bbill of your mother’s ^cdivorcement? To whom have I put thee away, or to which of my ^dcreditors have I ^esold you? Yea, to whom have I sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

2 Wherefore, when I came, there was no man; when I ^acalled, yea, there was none to answer. O house of Israel, is my hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem, or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I ^bdry up the ^csea, I make their ^drivers a wilderness and their ^efish to stink because the waters are dried up, and they die because of thirst.

3 I clothe the heavens with ^ablackness, and I make ^bsackcloth their covering.

4 The Lord God hath given me the ^atongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season unto thee, O house of Israel. When ye are weary he waketh morning by morning. He waketh mine ear to hear as the learned.


All right friends, here we are again with some rich Isaiah symbolism that is easy to get lost in BUT it must be important to understand or Jacob wouldn't be teaching it to his people and Nephi wouldn't be recording it, right? So stay with me here!!! : )
In chapter 6 verse 6 Isaiah refers to a "standard" that the Lord will set up to His people. Here is a great quote on what that symbolizes.

“This Church is the standard which Isaiah said the Lord would set up for the people in the latter days. This Church was given to be a light to the world and to be a standard for God’s people and for the Gentiles to seek to. This Church is the ensign on the mountain spoken of by the Old Testament prophets. It is the way, the truth, and the life” (Marion G. Romney, in Conference Report, Apr. 1961, p. 119).

These pages also refer to the relationship the Jews will have with the Savior. In today's "politically correct" world this is tricky to discuss because it involves religion and politics, both hot button areas. Let me be clear that I love and respect Jewish people and I am so sad for the pain and suffering that has been their burden for so long. I find today's Mid-East Conflict to be so hard for both sides involved. During my time at BYU's Jerusalem Center I came to know and care for people in the Jewish faith and the Muslim faith. I truly hope that their suffering can come to an end soon. In this (very heavy) quote from "Doctrines of Salvation" we learn so much about how the Messiah will manifest Himself again to the Jews:

“Zechariah is another prophet who has plainly spoken of these great events. According to his predictions the nations will gather and lay siege to Jerusalem. Part of the city will fall, with dire consequences to its inhabitants, when a great earthquake will come, the Mount of Olives will cleave in twain, and the persecuted people will flee into this valley for safety. At that particular time will the Savior come as their Deliverer and show them his hands and his feet. They will look upon him and ask him where he received his wounds, and he will tell them they were received in the house of his friends—he is Jesus Christ, their Redeemer. Then will they fall to the ground and mourn, every family apart, because their ancestors persecuted their King and the children have followed in the footsteps of the fathers.
“At that time shall come the redemption of the Jews. Jerusalem shall then be rebuilt and the promises that it shall become a holy city will be fulfilled. The punishment which shall come upon those who lay siege to this land will be their destruction. The prophets have portrayed this in much detail with all its horrors” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:47).

pgs. 66 and 67...and I, Nephi, did build a temple.

15 And I did teach my people to ^abuild buildings, and to ^bwork in all ^cmanner of wood, and of ^diron, and of copper, and of ^ebrass, and of steel, and of ^fgold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance.

16 And I, Nephi, did ^abuild a ^btemple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of ^cSolomon save it were not built of so many ^dprecious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s ^etemple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of ^fSolomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine.

17 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cause my people to be ^aindustrious, and to ^blabor with their ^chands.

18 And it came to pass that they would that I should be their ^aking. But I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have no king; nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power.

19 And behold, the words of the Lord had been fulfilled unto my brethren, which he spake concerning them, that I should be their ^aruler and their teacher. Wherefore, I had been their ruler and their ^bteacher, according to the commandments of the Lord, until the time they sought to take away my life.

20 Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will ^anot hearken unto thy words they shall be ^bcut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were ^ccut off from his presence.

21 And he had caused the ^acursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and ^bdelightsome, that they might not be ^centicing unto my people the Lord God did cause a ^dskin of ^eblackness to come upon them.

22 And thus saith the Lord God: I will cause that they shall be ^aloathsome unto thy people, save they shall repent of their iniquities.

23 And cursed shall be the seed of him that ^amixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same cursing. And the Lord spake it, and it was done.

24 And because of their ^acursing which was upon them they did become an ^bidle people, full of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey.

25 And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to ^astir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction.

26 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did ^aconsecrate Jacob and Joseph, that they should be ^bpriests and ^cteachers over the land of my people.

27 And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of ^ahappiness.

28 *And thirty years had passed away from the time we left Jerusalem.

29 And I, Nephi, had kept the ^arecords upon my plates, which I had made, of my people thus far.

30 And it came to pass that the Lord God said unto me: ^aMake other plates; and thou shalt engraven many things upon them which are good in my sight, for the profit of thy people.

31 Wherefore, I, Nephi, to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord, went and made ^athese plates upon which I have engraven these things.

32 And I engraved that which is pleasing unto God. And if my people are pleased with the things of God they will be pleased with mine engravings which are upon these plates.

33 And if my people desire to know the more particular part of the history of my people they must search mine ^aother ^bplates.

34 And it sufficeth me to say that *forty years had passed away, and we had already had wars and contentions with our brethren.

* verse 28 (569 B.C.); Verse 34 (559 B.C.).

CHAPTER 6

Jacob recounts Jewish history: Their Babylonian captivity and return; the ministry and crucifixion of the Holy One of Israel; the help received from the gentiles; and their latter-day restoration when they believe in the Messiah. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 The ^awords of Jacob, the brother of Nephi, which he spake unto the people of Nephi:

2 Behold, my beloved brethren, I, Jacob, having been called of God, and ordained after the manner of his holy ^aorder, and having been consecrated by my brother Nephi, unto whom ye look as a ^bking or a protector, and on whom ye depend for safety, behold ye know that I have spoken unto you exceedingly many things.

3 Nevertheless, I speak unto you again; for I am desirous for the ^awelfare of your souls. Yea, mine anxiety is great for you; and ye yourselves know that it ever has been. For I have exhorted you with all diligence; and I have taught you the words of my father; and I have spoken unto you concerning all things which are ^bwritten, from the creation of the world.

4 And now, behold, I would speak unto you concerning things which are, and which are to come; wherefore, I will read you the words of ^aIsaiah. And they are the words which my brother has desired that I should speak unto you. And I speak unto you for your sakes, that ye may learn and glorify the name of your God.

5 And now, the words which I shall read are they which Isaiah spake concerning all the house of Israel; wherefore, they may be ^alikened unto you, for ye are of the house of Israel. And there are many things which have been spoken by Isaiah which may be likened unto you, because ye are of the house of Israel.


I was so happy to read about the Nephites temple in today's pages. I guess it's because it feels like a connection between our day and theirs. It also reinforces to me how important temple worship has been for all of the human race throughout many eras of time. The industrious and hard working Nephites are inspiring in so many ways.


Probably the most controversial verse in the whole Book of Mormon is chapter 5 verse 21. I don't understand it fully. Many of the Japanese people I came to love on my mission struggled with the meaning of it. I have struggled with the meaning of it. One thing I noticed reading it this time is that the actual curse was being cut off from the presence of the Lord. The skin of blackness was not the curse, just the symbol of it. And we don't know if the skin of blackness covered their whole bodies or if it was just a certain place on their bodies. It does not necessarily mean they became what we would refer to today as a different race. One thing I know for sure is that the Lord loves all of His children from all races all over the world. His Latter-day Church includes EVERYONE and is accepted and lived by people of all colors and cultures. If you have any doubts about that just watch this video! I especially like the deacon from New Zealand! : )

pgs. 64 and 65...My voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God.

24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty ^aprayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.

25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been ^acarried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.

26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath ^avisited men in so much ^bmercy, ^cwhy should my ^dheart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

27 And why should I ^ayield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to ^btemptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my ^cpeace and afflict my soul? Why am I ^dangry because of mine enemy?

28 Awake, my soul! No longer ^adroop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the ^benemy of my soul.

29 Do not ^aanger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

30 Rejoice, O my ^aheart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the ^brock of my salvation.

31 O Lord, wilt thou ^aredeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of ^bsin?

32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my ^aheart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may ^bwalk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy ^arighteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine ^benemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy.

34 O Lord, I have ^atrusted in thee, and I will ^btrust in thee forever. I will not put my ^ctrust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his ^dtrust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

35 Yea, I know that God will give ^aliberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ^bask ^cnot amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the ^drock of my ^erighteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

CHAPTER 5

The Nephites separate themselves from the Lamanites, keep the law of Moses, and build a temple—Because of their unbelief, the Lamanites are cursed, receive a skin of blackness, and become a scourge unto the Nephites. Between 588 and 559 B.C.

1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cry much unto the Lord my God, because of the ^aanger of my brethren.

2 But behold, their ^aanger did increase against me, insomuch that they did seek to take away my life.

3 Yea, they did murmur against me, saying: Our younger brother thinks to ^arule over us; and we have had much trial because of him; wherefore, now let us slay him, that we may not be afflicted more because of his words. For behold, we will not have him to be our ruler; for it belongs unto us, who are the elder brethren, to ^brule over this people.

4 Now I do not write upon these plates all the words which they murmured against me. But it sufficeth me to say, that they did seek to take away my life.

5 And it came to pass that the Lord did ^awarn me, that I, ^bNephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with me.

6 Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also ^aZoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me. And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the ^bwarnings and the revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words.

7 And we did take our tents and whatsoever things were possible for us, and did journey in the wilderness for the space of many days. And after we had journeyed for the space of many days we did pitch our tents.

8 And my people would that we should call the name of the place ^aNephi; wherefore, we did call it Nephi.

9 And all those who were with me did take upon them to call themselves the ^apeople of Nephi.

10 And we did observe to keep the judgments, and the ^astatutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the ^blaw of Moses.

11 And the Lord was with us; and we did ^aprosper exceedingly; for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in abundance. And we began to raise flocks, and herds, and animals of every kind.

12 And I, Nephi, had also brought the records which were engraven upon the ^aplates of brass; and also the ^bball, or ^ccompass, which was prepared for my father by the hand of the Lord, according to that which is written.

13 And it came to pass that we began to prosper exceedingly, and to multiply in the land.

14 And I, Nephi, did take the ^asword of Laban, and after the manner of it did make many ^bswords, lest by any means the people who were now called Lamanites should come upon us and destroy us; for I knew their ^chatred towards me and my children and those who were called my people.

I have heard people call Chapter 4 verse 15-35 "The Psalm of Nephi." I love these verses because we see Nephi go from overwhelming sadness and depression to strong confidence and hope in his future with God. I think these verses apply to all of us...I read them outloud this time (trying to concentrate over the noisy kids in the house) and it felt so meaningful and personal. Try it!

Chapter 5 is the pivotal chapter where Nephi, Sam, Jacob and Joseph separate from Laman and Lemuel in order to save Nephi from being murdered. Isn't it sad to see them divide so soon after Lehi passed away? I was glad to see that he kept the Plates of Brass, the sword of Laban and the Liahona with him. Even though those items aren't mentioned too often in the account I can't help but think they had a huge influence in the every day lives of Nephi and his contemporaries.