To Bring About the Bowels of Mercy, Which Overpowereth Justice
The Justice, Mercy, and Grace of God
One hundred years before Christ would show Himself to the people of Nephi, two missionaries went forth to reclaim the apostate people of the Zoramites. This people were full of pride, worshiping a god who they professed who chosen them apart from all people to save them. After ‘worshiping’ through a single self-aggrandize prayer on the sabbath, they gave no thought of God the rest of the week, going about their wickedness and perversions (see Alma 31).
These two went forth among the people, testifying to help bring this people to repentance, for ‘their souls [were] precious, and many of them [were their] brethren’ (Alma 31:35). The missionaries found no success among the rich, but they were approached by the poor of the people, who had been removed from the synagogues. They were esteemed as dross and filthiness because of the coarseness of their apparel, and in humility, they asked Alma in what way they could come to their God to worship Him. How great was Alma’s joy when he met these people and could teach them the true principles of the gospel.
Alma taught them humility, faith, and prayer, helping them learning the truth of the word. Finally, he taught these humble individuals the eternal laws of mercy and justice, so they could understand the ‘great plan of the Eternal God’ (Alma 34:9). These words along with others in the Book of Mormon, help us to understand the purposes behind the suffering and death of our Savior, and understanding them enable us to better help us make it back to our Father in Heaven.
The Laws of Mercy and Justice
As stated in chapter 1, our Heavenly Father is bound by eternal laws. He remains our perfect Father through continually obeying these laws, receiving power because of His perfect obedience. Two of these laws are central to the atonement of Christ and are pivotal to understanding the purpose and realization of the atonement: the laws of mercy and of justice.
The law of justice is, perhaps, the law that humans have the greatest capacity for understanding. It is the law by which our legal system is established: when a law is broken, the wrongdoer receives punishment for breaking that law. The severity of the punishment is in direct relationship to the severity of the law broken. It is through this law of justice that Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden of Eden, having transgressed the law of God, bringing upon them death and a separation from God. With disobedience to the laws of God through sin, justice dictates a further spiritual death, or separation from Him.
The law of mercy, perhaps, is more difficult to grasp. It is through this law, though, that we can have a hope of a better world. This law is the only means through which we can ultimately return and live with our Father in Heaven. Mercy allows for the offering of forgiveness, of forbearance of punishment, and of pardoning us from the consequences resulting from disobedience to the laws of God. This pardoning comes to the offender having done nothing to merit the forgiveness.
These two laws are eternal, and God is bound by both. However,superficially, the two laws seem in complete contradiction to each other: the first demanding punishment for sin while the second offering pardoning of sins without merit of the sinner. The atonement, however, satisfies both laws, allowing men to be redeemed of the fall, to receive immortal bodies, to be brought back into the presence of the Father, and for some of His children to live eternally with Him in a state of eternal joy.
An Infinite and Eternal Sacrifice
Since the fall of Adam, the followers of God have offered animal sacrifices to their God. The purpose and symbolism of these sacrifices will be discussed in greater detail in chapter 5. However, it is important to note that through these sacrifices, mankind was given a means whereby they could look forward to the sacrifice of their Savior in the meridian of time. This practice continued until Christ laid down his life, fulfilling the law of sacrifice, through an infinite and eternal sacrifice.
The offering of Christ was ‘a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice...Therefore, there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world’ (Alma 34:10,12).
This sacrifice is both infinite and eternal, representing two aspects to this atoning sacrifice. The sacrifice was infinite, offering payment for the physical and spiritual death of ‘all mankind from the fall of Adam to the end of the world,’ (Mosiah 4:7).
To understand the eternal nature of the sacrifice, we must first understand the nature of Christ. He was sired by His Father in Heaven but was born of a mortal, choice mother. As such, Christ was immortal, gaining this attribute from His immortal Father. However, He had the ability to lay down his life, having gained the potential for death from His mortal mother. His sacrifice, then, was eternal because He was eternal, yet He chose to lay down His own life as a sacrifice for sin.
The Sting of Death is Swallowed Up in Christ
As discussed previously, disobeying a commandment of God and partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil brought upon Adam and Eve the ‘first judgment’ upon man. Where their bodies were immortal in the Garden of Eden, their natures were changed such that physical death was brought for all the children of men. In addition, the first ‘spiritual death’ was brought upon all mankind: though Adam and Eve could access the presence of God readily in the Garden, after the Fall they were removed from the presence of God.
How was this first judgment to be remedied, brought upon by the disobedience our first parents? Christ lived a perfect and sinless life, doing all that His Father had commanded Him. His body could have lived forever, having the capacity for immortality from His Godly patriarch. In spite of this potential for immortality, Christ came to this earth to lay ‘down his life, according to the flesh’ (2 Ne 2:8) from His mortal mother. As stated by Samuel the Lamanite, who prophesied of the birth of Christ five years before the event, ‘He surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the death’ (Helaman 14:15-17).
The fall, and therefore physical death, was brought on by the disobedience; therefore, overcoming the effects of the fall required the sacrifice of a perfect and sinless life. Christ accomplished this as He was never disobedient to any laws of God. As the fall brought mortality to Adam, an immortal son of God, only the sacrifice of the immortal body could pay for the disobedience that brought upon the fall of mankind. This payment could then satisfied justice, the punishment of the transgression of Adam paid for by the death of Christ. In this manner, ‘the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death’ (Alma 11:42).
This, however, only represents the first piece the atonement which brings to pass the resurrection of mankind. After His death on the cross, and having been laid in the tomb for three days, Christ was ‘raised by the power of the resurrection’ (2 Ne 9:12), one of the great powers manifest in our God (see Mormon 7:5). After this point, the lower of resurrection was then given to Christ, ‘giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men’ (Mosiah 15:8). Through this, we can be resurrected, that ‘the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ’ (Mosiah 16:8).
The atonement of Christ, though, accomplished far more than simply paying the price for physical death. Though mankind could now be resurrected, our spirits and bodies reunited in immortality, the consequence of disobedience would forever keep our unclean spirits out of the presence of God.
Initial separation from God came about as consequence of the fall of Adam. To overcome this, the death of God’s perfect son paid the price to overcome the first spiritual death brought on by the fall. The result is that each of will will one day be able to once more enter the presence of their Father and be judged according to how we lived during our probationary state. As stated by Samuel the Lamanite, ‘behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringest them back into the presence of the Lord’ (Helaman 14:17)
This represents the pattern of God through which the laws of mercy and justice can be satisfied. When there is disobedience to a law of God, justice demands a payment as punishment for the disobedience. Through his suffering and death, the atonement of Christ provided payment for every form of disobedience that man would ever do. Then, having fulfilled all that His Father had commanded, Christ was given power to use this payment to satisfy the laws of justice for the sons of men. His death paid the price for the initial effects of the fall of Adam. As a result, all mankind are saved unconditionally, in the sense that all will be resurrected and will be brought into the presence of God once more to be judged. However, the further salvation of eternal life, or living in the presence of God, is conditional upon what we have become in this life.
Little Children Are Alive in Christ, and also All They That Are Without the Law
The resurrection of man is brought to pass through the death and resurrection of Christ. However, as part of the atonement, Christ also suffered tremendously in the garden of gethsemane. The suffering of Christ represented three very important roles in the atonement: first, the suffering pays the punishment for sins unknowingly committed; second, the suffering pays for sins committed knowingly and then repented for; and third, the suffering brought about the bowels of mercy as Christ experienced all we can in this life. The first two will be discussed in this chapter, and the third will play a major part in chapter 7.
Consider a small child, still innocent, who has just done something he knows that his mother and father will be very unhappy about. The parents, knowing that this occurred, then might ask this innocent child about the event, to which the child may respond untruthfully. The parents, then, have the opportunity to teach this child early a lesson of honesty that he could take with him when he finally gains a knowledge of good and evil. Did the child sin in being dishonest with his parents? The answer is no, as sin requires a knowledge of good and evil. Was a law of God broken? The answer must be yes, since a law of God, ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness,’ was broken. Thus, if the atonement only consisted of the death and resurrection of Christ, if this child were to die, he would be endlessly lost.
Christ, in His great love and mercy, took upon Him the punishment for these transgressions through His sufferings. ‘For behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they [little children] fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins’ (Mosiah 3:16). Through this, all little children who have passed on from this life, never attaining a knowledge of good and evil, are saved. They, however, are not the only ones who would benefit from Christ’s payment for sins committed in innocence. Additionally, those without the law given also receive mercy for transgressing the laws of God (see 2 Ne 9:25-26). This represents two types of individuals: first, it represents those who have obtained the age of accountability but never reached the mental faculty to understand right and wrong. Second, it represents those of us who transgressed a law of God, only to discover afterward that doing so was in violation of His commandments.
For this reason, little children, as well as the very special individuals God has kept from a knowledge of good and evil, have no need of baptism. In the words of Christ, as penned by Mormon, ‘Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them’ (Moroni 8:8). How truly great is the mercy of Christ, ‘for behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also all they that are without the law. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law’ (Moroni 8:22).
Oh, Have Mercy and Apply the Atoning Blood of Christ
For those of us who live to receive a knowledge of good and evil, God gives unto us the opportunity to use this knowledge in shaping our own destiny, either coming to Him or going after our own will. Salvation, as defined by eternal life or living in the presence of God, will come conditionally to mankind, as a result of what each of His children has become as a result of mortality. This conditional saving of eternal life is separate from the unconditional salvation from the grasp of death. The first is offered through the mercies of Christ based on what we have become through Him, while the second is paid for through His death and pays the penalty that all experience as a result of the fall of Adam.
Recall that this life is considered a probationary, or testing, state as well as a preparatory state. This mortal existence, then, is given for mankind to prepare to meet God. Having paid the price through His death and resurrection, we will all be brought before God to be judged of what we chose in this life. Under what conditions must we be upon meeting God in order to receive all that He has? Said our Savior to the people of Nephi, 'I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect' (3 Ne 12:48).
We have previously established that all mankind are in a lost and fallen state, all becoming carnal, sensual, and devilish, meriting nothing of themselves. How, then, can we be expected to achieve the state that God requires of us? The answer is that, first, life is given for man to prepare to become perfect, but perfection cannot be attained in this life. However, through the grace of Christ we can become perfected throughout this mortal life, ultimately becoming like God in the eternities.
As with the little children who die before accountability, as well as those who do not have the law given to them, the suffering of Christ pays the justice of God for all of our sins. These are different from the transgressions made by those who break the sins of God in innocence, however, as we have a knowledge of good and evil. As such, our sins constitute a willful rebellion against the commandments of our Father. To overcome this punishment, through a depth of love incomprehensible to man, Christ ‘Himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also’ (Alma 42:15). In other words, all of the sins of every person that has or ever will live on this world were paid for in Christ’s atoning sacrifice. During His great hour of suffering, Christ bled from every pore, and it is 'His blood [that] atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam' (Mosiah 3:11).
Thus, the suffering accomplished during His atoning sacrifice paid the price of the punishment of sin, just as His death satisfying the demands of justice for the fall. We learn about this payment for sin, as well as the concept of becoming the seed of Christ, begotten in His image, through these beautiful words of Abinadi to the wicked King Noah. Said he, ‘When [Christ] shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed...having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice (Mosiah 15:9).
Yet, even with this sacrifice for all the sins of mankind, consider the exchange between Amulek and Zeezrom, who asked if God would save mankind in their sins. Amulek responded ‘he shall not, for it is impossible for him to deny his word’ (Alma 11:34). Instead, mankind will be saved through Christ not in their sins but from their sins (see Helaman 5:10). Thus, mankind cannot be saved in their sins, as no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of heaven (see Alma 11:37). Additionally, ‘there is a law given, and a punishment affixed...[and] justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God’ (Alma 42:22). All mankind who attain a knowledge of good and evil will unavoidably sin, and yet God cannot save mankind in their sins because of the law of justice. How, then, can we be saved?
The answer is found in the beautiful sermon of Alma and Amulek to the humble poor, with which the chapter began: ‘And thus He shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance. And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice’ (Alma 34:15-16).
To receive mercy, mankind must come to Christ, believe on His name, and repent of their sins. A powerful example of this is given as part of the address of King Benjamin to his people, (see Mosiah 2-5). During his words, after describing the final, eternal state of the righteous and wicked in the life to come, the people fell to the earth. ‘And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God...And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ’ (Mosiah 4:2-3). They had received forgiveness of their sins, having come to Christ, believed on His name, and seeking His forgiveness through repentance. However, one act of repentance, though powerful, is not enough to redeem them, for they certainly would continue to sin after this moment.
To these people, King Benjamin spoke that ‘if [they] should serve Him who has created [them] from the beginning, and is preserving [them] from day to day, by lending [them] breath, that [they] may live and more and do according to [our] own will, and even supporting [them] from one moment to another...if [they] should serve Him with all [their] whole souls yet [they] would be unprofitable servants’ (Mosiah 2:21). Even a lifetime of serving our Father cannot ‘earn’ us eternal life in the presence of God, for the Lord supports us in our every moment. Additionally, as all sin, without Christ we become unclean and would be eternally shut out from the presence of God. In fact, only by coming to Christ are we able to do any good at all, for it is by the strength and light of Christ and His assistance that we receive the ability to perform acts of righteousness. Nephi, in his beautiful psalm penned after his father died, expressed powerfully this help that he, and we, receive through Christ throughout our lives: 'My God hath been my support.' His pleas echo our need for a Savior, for said he 'wilt thou encircle me around in a robe of righteousness...wilt thou make my path straight before me...Oh Lord, I have trusted in the and will trust in thee forever' (2 Ne 4:23,33-34, emphasis added). Through the grace of Christ, as we come to Him each day, he can fill us with His Spirit and cleanse us from our works of unrighteousness. This cleansing power of the atonement brings us close to Him, enabling us to work greater works of righteousness as we draw nearer to Him. In coming to Christ, it is not only He who cleanses us from the sins we do commit, but it is also He who is the very way through which we can do good and become as He is.
This coming to Christ is not a single event to take place once in a person’s life. Instead, in this life the righteous follower of Christ become as Christ by continually coming to Christ. To the people listening to his address, King Benjamin gave them the following words of joy: ‘And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters’ (Mosiah 5:7). This spiritual siring of the righteous, becoming His children symbolically, is not something that occurs once in a lifetime but is a powerful and lasting relationship, from which we can derive strength throughout our mortal tenure.
To finish his great sermon, King Benjamin pleaded with his people that they ‘should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works’ (Mosiah 5:15). By doing so, and by continually coming to Him, ‘Look[ing] unto [Christ], and endur[ing] to the end...ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will [He] give eternal life’ (3 Ne 15:9).
In a coming day, we will all stand before Christ, offering our lives as a representation of what we have become. For the wicked, those who chose to become what they would, Christ will stand as their judge, showing them what they could have become had they only come to Him. At that point, they ‘shall have a perfect knowledge of all of [their] guilt, and [their] uncleanness, and [their] nakedness’ (2 Ne 9:14). Though He had paid the price for their sins, they did not pay their price in becoming as He is. As such, these will leave the presence of God forever, and it will be ‘as though there was no redemption made.’ These will spend the rest of eternity reaping the reward of going after their will instead of the will of the Father, for ‘mercy has no claim on the unrepentant’ (Mosiah 2:39).
For those whose lives had been an offering to their God, becoming perfected in Christ, having come to him and becoming as He is through a lifetime of dedicated service, they ‘shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness’ (2 Ne 9:14). Their lives were flawed, but the suffering of their Savior paid the price for their sins, and He would now stand to ‘advocat[e] the cause of [these] children of men’ (Moroni 7:28). These servants of God, after living a lifetime in His service and being reconciled to Him, will be brought to the bar of God, and yet it will be ‘only in and through the grace of God that [they] are saved’ (2 Ne 10:24). Indeed in spite of all we can possibly do, it will not be our works but through the grace of Christ that we are saved (see 2 Ne 25:23). Just as his death and resurrection overcame the effects of the fall, through His suffering and death, ‘He hath power given unto Him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance’ (Helaman 5:11).
Through this power, Christ will cleanse those who came to him of all their wickedness, He having paid the penalty for their sins. Then, having become clean and holy, in mercy and everlasting love Christ will then ‘seal [them] His, that [they] may be brought into heaven, that [they] may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of Him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all’ (Mosiah 5:15).
The Parable of the Carpenters
A parable will, perhaps, demonstrate the process we must experience in this life to become like our Father in Heaven and receive forgiveness of sins.
Consider a Master Carpenter that brought on two capable apprentices. Both were talented, with potential to become as fine of craftsman as the Master. As such, each was promised that they could take over a portion of the Master’s business at the end of their apprenticeship if they learned all that the Master had to teach them. Ultimately they could receive all that the Master carpenter had.
They each began their first project after receiving simple but detailed description of what they were to carve, and each was given sufficient time to finish the task. Both whittled and hewed, carved and polished, and after their work was completed, they each offered their work to the master: the results were dismal. The Master took the work, thanking both for their hours spent working. He then worked overnight, taking the imperfect works and carving each into a masterpiece. He placed these works on His shelf the next day, each labelled as coming from the Master himself.
This continued for a period of time, each time the apprentices working hard to complete the task given them of theMaster. Yet, each time they fell far short of the Master’s expectations. During the night, after receiving the finished attempts, the Master took the imperfect work and carved it into something worthy for His Master carpenter shop. Each work was then displayed in the shop, labeled as a product carved by the Master carpenter.
After a time, one of the apprentices came and spoke to the carpenter. He recognized His inadequacies and knew that, without the Master’s help, he would never become the master carpenter that he longed to become. His Master took the time to teach this young and humble apprentice some techniques through which the apprentice could become a greater woodcarver. He encouraged his apprentice to come by frequently, promising to teach him each time techniques to become more like the Him. As the apprentice left, the Master smiled kindly, promising his apprentice that, in time, he could become a craftsman equal in ability to the Master.
The second woodcarver was frustrated by the changes made and hurt that the works were credited to the Master and not to him. He vowed to become the greatest woodcarver of all time, even greater than the Master. To accomplish this goal, he went to other woodcarvers who were praised for their unique worldly styles. This apprentice met with each, learning the tricks of their trade to rapidly progress in the styles they worked in. Eventually, this apprentice became a very adept woodcarver, mimicking the styles of the worldly carpenters around him. He continued to make token projects as the Master directed, but the majority of his projects were made for his own personal gain, selling them outside of the shop of the Master.
Over time, this apprentice came to the Master for fewer projects, instead hewing out of the wood what he wanted to accomplish. He had become adept in the techniques of the world and enjoyed the creative process he experienced in his work. Additionally, he felt that the projects recommended by the Master restricted his potential as an artist. As time went on, the work of the second carpenter diverged greatly from the pattern provided by the Master woodcarver. Fewer and fewer projects were completed for his old Master. Yet, each task that was completed were hewn and shaped once more by the Master into masterpieces, displayed proudly in the shop.
On the other hand, the first woodcarver become increasingly proficient at the pattern of the Master, producing works of beauty that came closer and closer to the masterpieces worthy for the shop. From time to time, this woodcarver, too, made works of his own for his personal use. However, this apprentice eventually learned that the greatest fulfillment came when completing the works of his Master.
The works of this loyal servant were always flawed, and the Master worked tirelessly to make each a perfect work for His shop. Though the first always fell far short of the perfection reached by the works of the master, with each project his carving pattern became more and more like that of the master. In contrast, though he certainly increased in ability, the second woodcarver improved in the techniques of the world, distancing himself from the patterns the Master yearned for him to follow. However, each token piece the the second brought to the Master, though always flawed, was worked to perfection by the skill of the Master's hand.
Eventually, the time came for the Master to pass on his business to his apprentices. He called both to Him and, to their surprise, all of their works sat before them, those done for the Master and those done on their own. Even more to their surprise, each of these works had been carefully perfected by the hand of the Master.
The first woodcarver sat anxiously. Though he had worked hard, he never came close to the perfection of the pieces that were displayed in the Master’s shop. On the other hand, the second sat confidently: his work was praised by all the world. Surely, the Master would grant him ownership of a portion of the business.
The Master spoke lovingly to each, telling them of the difficulty of coming to His decision. He could not pass on His shop to a perfect carpenter, for it was the Master who had paid the price to perfect each flawed work. After explaining this, the Master turned to the first apprentice. Though every work was flawed, this man had sat by the Master’s side to try to learn how to become the woodcarver that the Master would have him be. He was told that he would be allowed to continue in the shop, a partner in the business of the Master.
He then turned to the second apprentice. This man had become a woodcarver of the world, choosing not to follow the direction of the Master, instead choosing to make of his art what he desired. The Master indicated that this man would not be able to work for Him any longer, as he had become and artist of the world during his apprenticeship, and not become more like the Master.
As second left the shop of his Master, he looked one final time behind him, filled with remorse. Each of his works, carefully carved and crafted to perfection by the Master, suddenly changed before his eyes. All the work done by the Master to perfect his pieces disappeared, and his works became once more their original, flawed state. It was as if the Master had never worked on them. This carpenter left his Master’s presence forever, never to work with Him again. He had become an artist of the world, never learning to become the carpenter that his Master hoped he would become.
Over the next several years, the first woodcarver worked at the Master’s feet, continuing to grow in his ability as a woodcarver. Eventually, he became a perfect woodcarver, just as his Master. In time, this apprentice took his own apprentices, and followed his Master’s example to help them become as he, and his Master, is.
Come Unto Christ, and Be Perfected in Him
Two Book of Mormon characters represent a stark contrast in who they each became through their life experiences: Nephi and his older brother Laman. Both had many of the same life experiences, but while Nephi used these experiences to draw him closer to the Lord and become more like Him, Laman used these experiences to lead him to anger, resentment, and ultimately rebellion from the Lord.
Both were raised by their goodly parents and lived in affluence in Jerusalem. At the outset of the Book of Mormon, they experienced their first trial of faith when their father received a command from the Lord that their family was to leave their home and go into the wilderness. Laman responded by murmuring ‘against his father, and this because he knew not the dealings of that God who had created him’ (see 1 Ne 2:12). Nephi, on the other hand, had ‘great desires to know of the mysteries of God,’ and he cried to the Lord. In response to his plea, the Lord visited him and softened his heart (v 16). Interestingly, though both struggled with this difficult commandment from the Lord, Nephi was able to grow from the experience because he sought comfort from the Lord.
The second commandment from the Lord was in regard to their return to Jerusalem to obtain the brass plates, a record that contained similar books to the old testament written through 600 BC. Again, Laman murmured, saying that it was a hard thing that his father required of him. However, Nephi recognized the commandment came from the Lord and had faith that the Lord would be able to prepare a way for them accomplish all things He commanded them (see 1 Ne 3:5,7). Later, after the first attempts to obtain the plates had failed, Laman smote Nephi with a rod in anger. An angel appeared to them, offering hope that the Lord would deliver the records into their hands. After the angel had left, Laman remained unbelieving, asserting that obtaining the plates was not possible and that the Lord was unable to do such mighty works (v 31). Nephi, however, responded in faith that through the Lord, they would be able to do all things He commanded them (1 Ne 4:1). Nephi ultimately obtained the scriptures they desired, and they travelled back to their family in the wilderness.
The brothers were told once more to return to Jerusalem, this time to take women as wives, that they might be able to raise seed in a land of promise. On the journey back to the tent of their father, Laman and others once more rebelled, desiring to return to Jerusalem. Nephi tried to speak the words of the Lord to them, but they became angry and bound Nephi in cords. In faith, Nephi cried to the Lord and the bands were loosed from Nephi’s hands. Yet, his brothers once more became angry, only softening their hearts in response to the pleas of others in the group. After, Nephi urged them to ask the Lord for forgiveness and they did so, in this case coming toward God (see 1 Ne 7).
Their father then had a remarkable vision, demonstrating the paths of the righteous and wicked make through mortality and the ultimate states of each as a result of their actions. Nephi, desiring to know what his father had seen and to understand the interpretation of the vision, pondered in his heart the words that had been spoken. As a result, he was carried away in vision, receiving the interpretation of each aspect of the vision. The Lord did not stop there, though, but gave to Nephi a vision in which he was shown all things because of his faith (see 1 Ne 11-14). When he came down from this exultant experience, he was met by the sight of his brothers disputing about what their father had said about his vision. Nephi urged them to seek understanding by inquiring of the Lord, and they responded that they ‘ha[d] not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us’ (1 Ne 15:9). What contrast, one brother receiving a vision of everything because he asked the Lord and the other refusing to ask the Lord because the Lord had not already told them what the dream meant.
After many years of crossing the wilderness, they finally reached a land which they called Bountiful, because of the fruit and wild honey of the area. Their journey was not done, however, and the Lord spoke to Nephi, commanding him to build a ship to cross the ocean and take them to the promised land. In response to the command, Nephi simply inquired of the Lord where he could go to find ore to make tools, offering to us a beautiful demonstration of his faith and ability to rely entirely on the Lord to accomplish His commandments. Once more, upon hearing the latest commandment of the Lord, Laman and his brother murmured against Nephi, saying that he could not build the ship. They indicated that they neither believed that Nephi could build a ship nor that he was instructed by the Lord. Nevertheless, the ship was built, after the manner of the Lord and not the manner of men, and they made the journey to the promised land (see 1 Ne 17).
One final story demonstrates what each individual had ‘become’ as a result of their response to each experience. Lehi was about to die, and he desired to give each of his sons a blessing. To Laman, Lehi pleaded that he would return from his wicked ways and come back to the Lord. He reminded them of the great things they had seen the Lord accomplish for them. Lehi was very willing to provide for them the birthright, if only his sons would return to their God, and rebel no more (see 2 Ne 1). However, their anger only increased against Nephi, and they sought to take away his life. In response, Nephi and those who would follow him departed into the wilderness (see 2 Ne 5:1-7). They were guided by the Lord to a place where they could raise their children in righteousness. In contrast, Laman, those who followed him, and their children were spiritually lost for generations. With each life experience, Laman had distanced himself from the Lord, becoming hardened and angry over time, and leading many others with him away from the Lord.
In contrast, after his father’s death, Nephi lived his life in righteous, leading and protecting his people. His response to each experience of his life was turn turn toward the Lord and gain strength and understanding through Him. The result of his life of becoming more like the Lord are demonstrated by these final words of Nephi: ‘But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry. And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people....I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell’ (2 Ne 33:3-4,6).
And so, the same opportunity is offered to each of us, in becoming who Christ hopes that we will become. For ‘He commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation’ (2 Ne 26:24). Instead, He says to all of us, ‘Come unto me, all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey without money and without price’ (2 Ne 26:25). ‘Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified through Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot’ (Moroni 10:32-33).