Sunday, September 23, 2012

I will save thy children

These verses ring with the doctrine of temple work.  The original children, who were "lost", or dead, in verse 20 and 21 are brought back in the arms of the Gentiles, through the ordinances of the temple.  Pay attention to the title these Gentiles receive in verse 23. The Lord says he will "save thy children" in verse 25 by the prey being taken from the mighty, and the captives being delivered.  In other words, the dead in spirit prison, and lawfully so, will be delivered through the work of temple ordinances.




Tuesday, September 18, 2012

More fully persuaded

Nephi makes his intentions clear: he wants those whom he teaches to be more fully persuaded to believe in Christ, whether he teaches them personally, like Laman and Lemuel, or whether he teaches them through his writings, like us, like his posterity, or like the whole house of Israel.  Nephi understood that this persuading was the key to the redemption of his beloved Jerusalem, and it's inhabitants.  He was a witness of their decline and depredation, and through a vision, their destruction and deportation into Babylon.  He knew that they would ultimately reject their Savior and would be hated among all nations.  (First Nephi 19:13-15)  And he knew that in the latter days, they would need to turn their hearts, as do all of us.  He understood that being persuaded to believe in Christ would be the solution to our global problems today, and the global problems of the past that still persist.

First Nephi 6:4


First Nephi 19:18


First Nephi 19:23



 Second Nephi 15:16