(All of my own thoughts are in blue type.5/20 red 2021 orange 4/22 Brown 2023)
CHAPTER 9
Jews shall be gathered in all
their lands of promise so more than one land 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— Why is it important that we know what covenants the Lord has made?
Why is important that we do not doubt they will be fulfilled? Someone pointed out to me that Isaac and Jacob secured or renewed these covenants with God for themselves and didn't just rely on the promise made to Abraham. Are we supposed to do the same?
"Elder Nelson Talks About Covenants"
It is thought by some that Jacob read to his people from Isaiah during the annual Feast of the Tabernacle holiday, where it is common to renew covenants with God. This takes place in Sept/Oct. This last Sept the entire General Relief Society Meeting was about keeping our covenants and several talks in General Conference. Coincidence?
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. This is a prophecy and promise for our day. How has He spoken to the Jews, by holy prophets, through today? Does our prophet speaking "to the world" satisfy this statement?
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. This is a prophecy and promise for our day. How has He spoken to the Jews, by holy prophets, through today? Does our prophet speaking "to the world" satisfy this statement?
3 Behold, my beloved
brethren, I speak unto you these things that ye may rejoice, and alift up your heads forever, as opposed to hanging them down in fear because of the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children. One commentary I read stated, "beyond the assurance of your own personal salvation, the greatest promise God can give the righteous is to bless their posterity." The covenant promises are to give us hope. Why was it important to Mormon, who saw our day, that we have these words to give us hope?
Luke 21: 25-36 ¶aAnd there shall be signs in the sun, and in the bmoon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men’s hearts afailing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be bshaken.
27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a acloud with power and great glory.
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your aredemption draweth nigh.
29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the afig tree, and all the trees;
30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.
31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.
32 Verily I say unto you, aThis generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. the generation that sees these things just stated...
33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
34 ¶And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with asurfeiting, and drunkenness, and bcares of this life, and so that cday come upon you dunawares.
35 For as a asnare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. A snare is a trap that is not seen that we walk right in to
36 aWatch ye therefore, and bpray always, cthat ye may be accounted dworthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the eSon of man.
(video: "Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them")
4 For I know that ye have searched much,
many of you, to know of
things to come Here
we see, that the mysteries and knowledge of God are available to all
those that "search much" for them; that it is okay to want to know of
things to come - in fact, these very scriptures were written for our
day, that we might know of things to come if we would search these
pages. They are a pre-telling of our very own history and future! Pres
Hinckley said, "the Book of Mormon is as current as the morning
newspaper". And so it is! wherefore I know that ye
know that our aflesh must waste away and die;
nevertheless, in our bbodies
we shall see God. since
the phrase "in our bodies we shall see God" follows the phrase -"our
flesh must waste away and die", it seems that the time when all men
shall see God "in their bodies" is after the resurrection. Jacob affirms
the doctrine that all mankind will be resurrected with perfect bodies. Yet he continues with the mortal body...so maybe not. Could be talking about seeing God in our earthly days...
5 Yea, I know that
ye know that in the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from
whence we came; It
is important that the people do not forget that they are of the House
of Israel and are tied to the covenants God made with Abraham for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it
behooveth the great aCreator that he bsuffereth
himself this affirms that Jesus Christ is the creator of this earth to become csubject unto man in the flesh, and ddie for eall men, that all men might become
subject unto him. This
is a beautiful phrase...one of many in the scriptures, that show God's
thoughts and ways are not man's. We lose our life to find it; To be chief among (wo)men, we must be the servant of all; We are strongest when we are weak; the way "up" to God is by falling "down" on our knees. (See "Falling To Heaven:Suprpising Path to Happiness" by James Farrell) The way we allow ourselves to become subject to Christ is by accepting
that He allowed Himself to become subject to man. Through that
subjecting, the atonement was wrought and He purchased all mankind with
His blood. Now, we are subject to Him for our eternal salvation. If we
reject that atonement, then we can pay the price of our sins for
ourselves - D&C 19:15 Therefore
I command you to repent—repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my
mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how
sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear
you know not."
16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;
17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;
18 Which
suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble
because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and
spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—
(Video: "Addiction: You Will Be Freed")
The
doctrine of the creation, the fall, the atonement, the resurrection -
our Father's great Plan of Happiness - answers all questions of who am
I, why am I here, and where am I going. (My Dad just published a book
on this very topic. see: https://www.lulu.com/shop/travis-glenn-haws/who-and-what-am-i-why-am-i-here-on-this-earth/paperback/product-21447976.html?page=1&pageSize=4)We were created by a Loving Heavenly Father; His
literal spirit children. He created this earth for us. We are born into a
mortal world, subject to temptation, to see if we will choose to follow
the Spirit's promptings back into the presence of the Father. The
Atonement allows us to repent when we choose wrong and provides the way
back into the Father's presence. For more on this I invite you to read this blog (unblogmysoul.wordpress.com) online or as found in the book Journey to the Veil.
6 For as adeath
hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful bplan
of the great Creator, God's plan is MERCIFUL...don't forget that. However...to get mercy, you must give it. Don't forget that either! 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;
It
is important to understand that Adam and Eve transgressed by breaking
the law. They did not sin, however, because they were not partaking out
of willful rebellion. There is a difference. Adam and Eve had to be
given a choice. He was commanded to multiply (first) and not eat of the
tree (second). If he kept the second he could not keep the first and
visa versa. If there was a sin committed, it was that they trusted Satan
more than God and in their own reason. and because man became fallen they were fcut off from the gpresence
of the Lord. Eve looked "outside" of God for answers. We transgress when we do the same. Keep your eye on the Lord. HE is and has all the answers you need!
7 Wherefore, it must
needs be an ainfinite batonement—"infinite" could mean that Christ was an "infinite" being; and also that it is "infinite" in who it covers It also could mean that the effects of the atonement are infinite and last forever 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! He offers us this gift of life beyond death out of his mercy and loving grace. Not because we "earn" it or are entitled to it. 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, I wish we had more examples of this. There is one instance where Joseph Smith experienced this. D&C 120:20 And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings from ! , an angel from heaven, declaring the fulfilment of the prophets—the to be revealed. A voice of the Lord in the wilderness of Fayette, Seneca county, declaring the three witnesses to of the book! The voice of on the banks of the Susquehanna, detecting the when he appeared as an angel of ! The Prophet Joseph Smith taught: “An angel of God never has wings. Some will say that they have seen a spirit; that he offered them his hand, but they did not touch it. This is a lie. First, it is contrary to the plan of God: a spirit cannot come but in glory; an angel has flesh and bones; we see not their glory. The devil may appear as an angel of light. Ask God to reveal it; if it be of the devil, he will flee from you; if of God, He will manifest Himself, or make it manifest. We may come to Jesus and ask Him; He will know all about it.” (History of the Church, 3:392.) President Charles W. Penrose explained, Satan attempts to deceive by counterfeiting the light that accompanies the spirit of a just man made perfect. A just man made perfect who comes as a messenger will appear in his glory, “for that is the only way he can appear” (D&C 129:6). The Prophet Joseph Smith once said, “Wicked spirits have their bounds, limits and laws, by which they are governed … and, it is very evident that they possess a power that none but those who have the priesthood can control” (History of the Church, 4:576). The Prophet taught that when the devil is offered a hand to shake, “he will offer you his hand” (D&C 129:8). The mortal will feel nothing, because the devil is an unembodied spirit. He can therefore be distinguished in this manner from a righteous spirit or angel sent from God. The just man will not attempt to deceive (see D&C 129:7); an angel of Satan will not refrain from trying to deceive. and istirreth up the children of men unto jsecret
combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness. We
don’t even begin to know how bad this is...and if you think you do have
an idea of how bad this is you are quickly labeled a "conspiracy
theorist/nut"...but you're not.
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 resurrection 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. This is why our judgement will be so much self-imposed…
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.
These are YOUR promises! But be prepared to endure the "cross of the world" and to be despised and shamed.
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. Realize this
when you pray…
21 And he cometh
into the world that he may asave
all men if they will
hearken unto his voice; which begins as the light of Christ (conscience) and is added upon by the Gift of the Holy Ghost 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. (even though many will not benefit from His atonement because they will not accept Him)
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. He gifts resurrection to ALL who have lived on the earth, even if they reject him.
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. You cannot doubt Christ…
24 And if they will
not repent and believe in
his aname, and be baptized in his name, and
bendure
to the end, This is the gospel… 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, don’t let this be you…
for awful is his state! Distraction leads to wasted days...entertainment, social media, travel, hobbies, fashion, wealth creation....
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. This is very specific counsel and promise to us in the last
days…
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. Notice these two groups "will not" hear and see, implying they've had the opportunity to hear and see, but choose not to.
33 Wo unto the auncircumcised
of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the
last day.
36 Wo unto them who
commit awhoredoms,
for they shall be thrust down to hell.
37 Yea, wo unto
those that aworship idols, for the
devil of all devils delighteth in them.
38 And, in fine, wo
unto all those who die in
their asins; for they shall breturn
to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins. Everyone is taken home to God after they die, and then go to spirit prison or spirit paradise.
39 O, my beloved
brethren, remember the awfulness
in atransgressing against that Holy God, and also the
awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that bcunning
one. Remember, to be ccarnally-minded is ddeath, and to be espiritually-minded is flife geternal.
40 O, my beloved
brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of
Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye
will arevile against the btruth; for I have spoken the
words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are chard against all duncleanness;
but the erighteous
fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken. This, right here, is why we should help each other in our wards and families to live truth. When we are corrected, we will not take the truth to be hard, but love the truth and are not shaken by being corrected, but humbly turn and repent with gratitude.
41 O then, my
beloved brethren, acome
unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the
bway
for man is cnarrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him,
and the keeper of the dgate
is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; We do not enter the gate from with the help of a mortal man. Only Jesus can let us enter. I believe the covenant path starts with the Baptism by Fire and the Holy Ghost; when we truly receive a remission of our sins. Before that, baptism by water is our witness that we are willing to enter the Gate, and our receiving the Holy Ghost is our witness we are willing to receive it and there is none
other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God
is his name. A mortal Bishop can be deceived and someone unworthy can enter the waters of baptism or the temple. But Jesus is never deceived, and He opens the gate when He knows we are truly ready and willing and sufficiently humble and obedient.
42 And whoso aknocketh,
to him will he open; and the bwise,
and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their clearning, and their dwisdom,
and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast
these things away, and consider themselves efools
think of the foolish virgins before God, and
come down in the depths of fhumility, he will not open unto them.
43 But the things of
the wise and the aprudent shall be bhid
from them forever—yea, that happiness which is prepared for the saints.
44 O, my beloved
brethren, remember my
words. Behold, I take
off my garments, and I shake them before you what is the meaning of this ritual…; I pray the God of my salvation that he view me with his
aall-searching eye; wherefore, ye shall know at the
last day, when all men shall be judged of their works, that the God of Israel
did witness that I bshook
your iniquities from my soul, and that I stand with brightness before
him, and am crid of your
blood.
45 O, my beloved
brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the achains of him that would bind you fast;
come unto that God who is the brock of
your salvation.
46 Prepare your souls for that
glorious day when ajustice
shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of bjudgment,
that ye may not shrink
with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful cguilt
in perfectness, and be constrained to exclaim: Holy, holy are thy judgments, O
Lord God dAlmighty—but I
know my guilt; I transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine; and the
devil hath eobtained me, that I am a prey to his
awful misery.
47 But behold, my
brethren, is it expedient that I should awake you to an awful reality of these
things? Would I harrow up your souls if your minds were pure? Would I be plain
unto you according to the plainness of the truth if ye were freed from sin?
48 Behold, if ye
were holy I would speak unto you of holiness; but as ye are not holy, and ye look upon me as a ateacher, it must needs be
expedient that I bteach
you the consequences of sin. We need more of this kind of teaching today.
49 Behold, my soul
abhorreth sin, and my heart adelighteth in righteousness; and I will bpraise the holy name
of my God.
50 Come, my
brethren, every one that athirsteth, come ye to the bwaters;
and he that hath no cmoney,
come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Is this world of "you can buy anything...with money", God offers all we need for free! Happiness is free!
51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that
which is of no worth, nor your alabor for that which cannot bsatisfy. Put this on your mirror…
Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and
come unto the Holy One of Israel, and cfeast upon that which
perisheth scriptures not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight
in fatness.
52 Behold, my beloved
brethren, remember the
words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give athanks
unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts brejoice.
Put this on your mirror too…Remember, pray,
gratitude, rejoice
53 And behold how
great the acovenants
of the Lord, and how great his bcondescensions unto the children
of men; and because of his greatness, and his cgrace and dmercy, he has promised unto us
that our seed shall not utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh, but that
he would epreserve them; and in future generations
they shall become a righteous fbranch
unto the house of Israel. Look for this!
54 And now, my brethren,
I would speak unto you more; but on the morrow I will declare unto you the
remainder of my words. Amen. We need a direct General Conference talk like this chapter. Lay it out plain and straight, regardless of the risk!
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