Come Follow Me LDS- 3 Nephi 12-16 (Sep 21 - 27)
Sep 23, 2020
'The Sermon on the Temple'
- Jesus follows the themes of Creation, Baptism and Covenant
- The "Salt of the Earth" are the covenant people of the earth.
- What does the "Strait Gate" mean?
- Like the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon at the Temple is a ritual couched in covenantal language.
Raw transcript
all right
all right welcome to this come follow me
episode we are covering third nephi
chapters 12 through 16.
remember last week we ended on chapter
11
with the visit of jesus christ a
resurrected jesus christ
to the americas and the important thing
to remember
about last week and and that visit
is the focus on baptism and the doctrine
of christ
we get here in chapters back to chapter
11 and then all the way through chapter
16 here and beyond
but especially in these chapters
a synthesis of gospel
concepts and ritual
that we see in many other places in the
scriptures now obviously
the most obvious here is that we get the
sermon on the mount
or as john welch calls it the sermon at
the temple
which is almost identical to what we
have in chapters 5
6 and 7 in matthew
the difference well we'll go over some
of those differences
but as i explained in that episode last
year in the new testament
this is a very ritualistic discourse
if we even want to call it that that
jesus gives here to the
12 disciples and to those present
at the temple it bountiful
but we've got to go back to chapter 11
and remember
about the ordinance of baptism i also
want to keep in mind here
for all of us the theme of creation
with the destruction of the landscape
with the weather with the loss of life
with death and with the darkness
that precedes this visit from from a
resurrected jesus christ
we're looking at the underworld we're
looking at death
right we're looking at the void we're
looking at
chaos the darkness
and christ coming down from
the heavens is that light
in creation both in genesis
and in john that is in a sense piercing
the veil
into the darkness and into the chaos
interestingly
now much of what we have here in
chapters well chapters 12
13 and 14 here in
the in third nephi parallel the
serpent on the mount i've already done
that last year and so
i would recommend you go to that episode
to get a little bit more of a
context to what we're covering here but
i
am going to dip down still in a few
places to talk about a few of these
things
and i want to continue with some
additional things that we can take
uh some insights that we can gather
from the changes and the context
that the sermon at the temple here gives
us that we don't have
from the sermon on the mount in the new
testament
so again keeping in mind that the idea
of baptism from the previous chapter
is going into the underworld
right or into death into darkness into
the void
and then coming back out reborn
a re-creation when we see that we can
understand how that fits right into the
context of what the nephites and
lamanites are going through here
let's go to chapter 12 verse 1 here it
says and it came to pass
let's go to chapter 12 verse 1 here and
it says and he came to pass it when
jesus had spoken these words unto nephi
and to those who had been called
now the number of them who had been
called and received power and authority
to baptize was 12.
this is interesting what we're getting
here is something that
at least from these words here we have
to keep in mind that
this may just be the aaronic priesthood
at least at this point
that he is giving them the authority to
use
right the the ability to baptize and
here's why it says
and behold he stretched forth his hand
under the multitude
and cried unto them saying blessed are
ye this is something we don't get
in the sermon on the mount right he's
going to start off with a few of these
beatings a couple of these beatitudes
that are not in
the sermon on the mount he says blessed
are ye
if ye shall give heed unto the words of
these twelve
whom i have chosen from among you to
minister unto you and to be
your servants then he says here
distinguishing
between the two powers between the two
priesthoods then
he says and unto them i have given power
that they may baptize you
with water right he's being very
specific here
just like we get in the gospels baptized
with
water and after that ye are baptized
with water
behold i will baptize you with fire
and with the holy ghost this is the
exact same
thing that we get from john the baptist
right in the gospels at the baptism of
christ
so i talk about a synthesis of ideas and
rituals
this is a synthesis of this is not
christ's baptism
but it is the the topic of baptism it is
the doctrine of baptism
in putting this into context here
again we see a split between the two
powers between the two
priesthoods the aaronic and the
melchizedek
now the other thing that we get here is
with this first
beatitude of blessed are ye if he shall
give heed unto the words of these twelve
is that this is likely the same type of
scenario we would have seen at the
sermon on the mount
where he would have called the twelve he
would have brought them together
he would have probably here given them
the authority whatever authority that
was at that time
did he start off giving them the
melchizedek priesthood i don't know
but it's the same type of a setting and
it is a temple
type of a ritual remember that in
matthew
5 where we begin the sermon on the mount
verse 1 says this and seeing the
multitudes
he went up into a mountain representing
the temple
and when he was set his disciples came
unto him
here we could be talking about
specifically the 12
or many others at this point but before
he goes into the beatitudes
it says when he was set
as if he is setting something up
right this is a ritual this may have
even been something
you can find something similar in other
apocryphal writings
so even though he's fulfilling the law
of moses here
has fulfilled the law of moses when he
visits the nephites
was it was going to in a few short years
fulfill the law of moses in the gospels
when he gives the sermon on the mount he
may be
reinstituting something that had already
existed
even though our focus here is is on
going to a higher law from the law of
moses
it could very well be that the idea of
eventually going to a higher law just
like we get throughout the book of
mormon
right we understand throughout the book
of mormon even though they're living in
the time of the law of moses
that eventually that is going to be
fulfilled it's going to pass away
it's a dead law in that in that sense
there are non-canonical writings that
are ancient and very similar to the
beatitudes
oftentimes we think about jesus and his
teachings
right here he is he's gonna he's in
front of the nephites and he's doing
this again
as if joseph smith just cut and pasted
the beatitudes in the sermon on the
mount and put it into the middle of the
book of mormon
right that's not what's happening he is
reinstituting the church he's
reinstituting
he's launching he's reinstituting the
higher law and
launching the higher law for this
dispensation because of the fulfillment
of the law of moses
and this is how he's doing it
just as you would reinstitute the
additional ordinances here he
he goes over with them how to baptize
again
and then he's going to go over
additional ordinances eventually with
his disciples in palestine
and surely he did the same thing here
with the nephites
and the second beatitude we get that is
not in the sermon on the mount which is
also at the beginning here at the sermon
at the temple
it says in verse 2 and again more
blessed are they who shall believe in
your words because
they shall testify that ye have seen me
just that same idea we've gone over
before that
hey if you see this personally you're
blessed but if you believed on this
because others tell you about it then
you're blessed even more
right because you're exercising some
faith you're you're
you're throwing out some trust here on
these things and you would imagine that
you could take even another step back
from those that received it from those
that saw it
and then they turned around and preached
it right and the people that
believed on those things because they
feel the spirit
that would be even an even greater
blessing
right so even though we oftentimes want
to see signs
we we receive a greater blessing when we
don't
why do we receive that blessing because
we have to exert faith and that is a
matter of personal progression
it's a matter of of self-empowerment
connected to the savior and he gives us
something else here about baptism again
we
talked about this quite a bit last week
but it says those that
will be baptized will come down in the
into the depths of humility
and be baptized again it's that idea of
what that baptism symbolizes
it's not right it is
lowering yourself below all when we take
on the name of jesus christ we're taking
on the name of the savior
the anointed one or the anointed savior
and doing what he did right
that's what baptism represents it is a
new birth becoming
like the savior and then i'm not going
to go into a lot of these here because
again we've done this already last year
but just a couple things here we can see
there's some changes in
in the beatitudes as we go through these
things these these are
they look more like qualifications
almost like
what you would need to be and become in
order to
enter the temple right this is about
ritual
and covenant one of the things we get
here is
in verse 5 and blessed are the meek for
they shall inherit the earth
right one way to interpret the word meek
is
keepers of a covenant
in verse 8 and blessed are the pure in
heart
right psalm 24 clean hands and a pure
heart these are the ones that are able
to
enter the temple in verse 13 the same
thing
right where we talk about in in the
sermon on the mount it says
ye are the salt of the earth but here in
verse 13 it says i give unto you to be
the salt
of the earth now some have interpreted
this as a commandment
i give unto you to be the salt of the
earth looks to me more like it is an
opportunity and what is the opportunity
salt
represents covenant there are a lot of
ideas on
on why that might be it might be perhaps
because
when we take salt in and it has to be
ground down
right so just as they have talked about
just previously you know those that have
been reviled
and and where you have been persecuted
in all manner of evil against you
has been falsely said
for his sake right it's kind of like
okay you're you're the salt
and you're being ground down and that
being ground down is because of your
covenant
there is a reference to this actually a
jewish reference to this
about the scribes and and those that
work for them
right that they are going to be
persecuted and there's a reference to
salt
there that it has to do with covenant
then we get more themes and words and
phrases about creation and about the
temple
in 14 verily verily i say unto you i
give unto you to be the light of this
people
how well in fifty behold do men light a
candle
and put it under a bushel nay but on
a candlestick this would be like a
menorah
in the temple and it giveth light to all
that are
in the house well which house about the
house of the lord
then he says something important here it
says think not that i am come to destroy
the law
or the prophets these are two separate
things right in the tanakh
the the jewish old testament so to speak
you have a division
you have the law and then you have the
prophets well what is that division well
one way
we might look at that is that is that
you have the lower law which is the law
of moses
that would be the commandments that go
along with that and then you have the
prophets
and what are the prophets about they're
about prophesying about
christ and the doctrine of christ which
is the higher law
now that's not doctrine i'm just saying
that that's the way i see it
those are the two sides of the old
testament
but he says he's not there to destroy
the law
and that's important he's not saying
this is bad get rid of it
he's saying the time is up for it there
was a time and a place for this
it's just that he has now fulfilled it
because its whole purpose
was to look forward to his sacrifice and
resurrection
and then we get something else that's
important here and i've talked a lot
about this in the past
in verse 19 it says and behold i have
given you the law
and the commandments of my father
we've talked about this where the law of
moses can be seen
as the lower law right or the works
versus the grace that we see a lot in
the letters of paul
but it's not just the law of moses that
that is in that
on that side right of works
it's the commandments and where we might
find some of the commandments in the law
of moses the commandments are something
that are always around
and the works are attached to those
commandments
so before the law of moses after the law
of moses the commandments
are always there and the works of man
are always there based on our obedience
and repentance affiliated with
the commandments of god so he he divides
the law
of moses with the commandments
and he says i've given these to you that
you believe in me and that ye shall
repent of your sins
and come unto me with a broken heart and
a
contrite spirit behold ye have the
commandments before you
and the law is fulfilled all right two
well three things in that verse
backing all the way up and come unto me
with a broken heart and a contrite
spirit we make this mistake
this is at least my interpretation of
this
we make the mistake of thinking that
that is the new sacrifice
right animal sacrifices have been done
away with and serial sacrifices
sacrifices upon the altar basically have
have been
done away with because of the final
great sacrifice
of jesus and now what we're supposed to
bring to the altar is
a broken heart and a contrite spirit as
if it was new
that isn't the case that i see there are
references in the psalms there are
references
earlier on in the book of mormon about
making sure that we have a broken heart
and a contrite spirit
so the way i see it is the broken heart
of contrast spirit is not the new
sacrifice
it's what is left from the old sacrifice
we do away with the other things because
those were representative of
christ's sacrifice not ours
right we've always been required to have
a broken heart
and a contrite spirit the second thing
in here
well let's just say the second and third
things here in this verse it says behold
ye have the commandments before you and
the law is fulfilled so the commandments
aren't fulfilled
those don't go away those are part of
the lower law
but they are in and of themselves
eternal right they are not or at least
they're they're not
a part of the law of moses necessarily
or they can exist without the law of
moses
right adam and eve probably didn't have
the the the law of moses as we know it
abraham probably didn't have the law of
moses completely
right but they did have the commandments
of god
we still have the commandments and so
the commandments he's saying here are
before us the law is fulfilled but the
commandments are before us
and he says basically this exact thing
in the following verse in 20
therefore come unto me and be ye saved
for verily i say unto you that except ye
shall
keep my commandments which i have
commanded you at this time
he shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven
right he's making it very clear the law
of moses is done away with it's
fulfilled
but the commandments are here to stay
right that is you reaching up to heaven
that is the purpose of
the sacrifice of jesus christ is your
obedience to
the commandments then he starts going
over the commandments the ten
commandments
he talks about not killing but then he
starts to go into again this i'm not
gonna go deeply into this but
he goes into something that has more to
do with about what we are becoming what
is
inside of our minds and what is inside
of our hearts
right so instead of saying thou shalt
not kill and you're done he's saying
beyond that
whosoever is angry with his brother
shall be in danger of
his judgment right so it's something
that's even more it's not just your
acts it's your thoughts and it's your
heart
and this is exactly maybe outside of
jesus being the christ
outside of the son of god being the
messiah
this is one of the biggest distinctions
that you have between
jewish thought and christian thought
right your thoughts aren't as big of a
deal in
in in judaism i'm not saying they're not
a big deal right but it's not it's not
the same thing
because the doctrine of christ
has everything to do with your
progression
and your progression is based on your
heart
and on your thoughts
another thing that's interesting about
this example of being angry at your
brother
right think about not being able to
progress further in a temple experience
right it says here go thy way into thy
brother and first be
reconciled to thy brother and then come
unto me
with full purpose of heart and i will
receive you
right you need to as we know
right in the protocol
of the endowment
is we need to be right with those around
us before we can be received
by god a little bit more about covenant
here
uh 36 neither shalt thou swear by thy
head
because thou canst not make one hair
black or white
but let your communication be yea yea
nay for whatsoever cometh of
more than these is evil right it's
you're agreeing to something or you're
not
agreeing to something it's
covenant-making
and lastly i'll touch on this again in
in 48
which is the same as uh matthew 5 48
says therefore i would that she should
be perfect the wording here is different
therefore i would that you should be
perfect even as i
or your father who is in heaven is
perfect
the obvious difference here is that
jesus now is saying that he is also
perfect
right in matthew it just says therefore
i would that she should be perfect even
as your father
in heaven or who is in heaven is perfect
now he includes himself in that because
he is
done with his mortality he has passed
away
and he has resurrected now what is the
important distinction here
the important distinction is that
perfect here is the greek word talios
this is a word that is used in the greek
mysteries that is the greek temple
ceremonies
it means a perfection or a completion
you have arrived at the end of the
initiation
and christ now has done that he hadn't
done that before
and so again putting this into a temple
and ritual setting
being perfect means going through
toward the end of
the ceremony of the ritual
and then in 13 as we get in uh
matthew 6 we get some
some recommendations it's almost like
it's almost like wisdom literature
that we get in the old testament right
from proverbs
right we're told how to be and much of
it has to do with how we show ourselves
to the outside as compared to the inside
of course here
different from the sermon on the mount
we don't get the references to the
pharisees because they are not here in
the americas
but we get the same instruction of do
not
your alms before men to be seen of them
right in other words we're not here to
do these actions for others to see
this is about who you are becoming do
not be as the hypocrites with your
prayers
right we learn a lot about that with the
zoramites use not
vain repetitions when you pray it's
interesting because that is part of the
sermon on the mount
and then it's just it's going to go
right into the lord's prayer here
and of course for some denominations
christian denominations
they go ahead with the vain repetitions
anyway
it's it's right there right preceding
the lord's prayer
do not use vain repetitions one of the
things we get here with the lord's
prayer is an exclusion
in the second verse of the prayer
which in matthew is thy kingdom
come thy will be done on earth as it is
in heaven
in third nephi here
there is no thy kingdom come
that's gone it's just thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven because
the kingdom has already come right
because christ has already
died and resurrected and of course then
we get the
platinum rule right if you forgive men
their trespasses your heavenly father
will also forgive you
that's in reference to and forgive us
our debts as we forgive our debtors in
the lord's prayer
right the way that we handle others in
judgment
is the way that we are going to be
judged
so instead of the golden rule treat
others as you would have them treat you
or do unto others as you would have
others do unto you
the platinum rule here is do unto others
as you would have
god do unto you and going over to 14 and
again i'm not going to cover a lot of
these it's in the other
in the other episode in the new
testament but
you know it's interesting that as you go
through some of these
instructions here and i don't know what
you would exactly call them especially
if you're in a ritual
context here in a ritual setting
i don't know that you would call it just
teachings i don't i don't know if that's
really what it
is in some ways i think it's
qualifications
might be kind of teaching but it also
might be things that are being said in
order for one to progress along
through the ritual right statements
questions qualifications but so much of
it is about being a hypocrite
think about here's this visit from
christ and what is
so much of his instruction here from the
sermon at the temple
it's about don't be a hypocrite
don't look for the praise of others
i find that kind of interesting down in
verse 7 here of chapter 14 it says ask
and it shall be given unto you
seek and ye shall find and the third one
knock and it shall be opened unto you
and that should be
uh familiar to us right
three knocks so to speak right three
requests just like the three
times the father gave his voice to those
at the at bountiful and they finally
heard it the third time remember the
rule of three
here it's not the father coming down to
us
it is us trying to reach up to god
and it's ask seek and
knock so three three requests or three
knocks
right and if we do that then
it shall be opened unto you pretty
interesting
and then we get the golden rule in verse
12. therefore all things whatsoever ye
would that
men should do to you do ye
even so to them for this is the law
and the prophet so this is everything
that they've been taught this is what
everything is about
right that's how you become like christ
that is part of the doctrine of christ
lower yourself serve others the greatest
among you is the least among you
and it's the exact opposite thinking of
lehi's dream
right it's the exact opposite of pride
do unto
others as you would have them do to you
is taking it
away from you right it's it's pushing
out the pride
and it's looking outward it is the great
and spacious building on one side and on
the opposite it is the doctrine of
christ the tree of life
and then more symbolism about a journey
here that you might have going through a
temple ceremony
right enter ye in at the straight gate
for white is the gate and broad is the
way which leads to destruction
and many there be who go in there at
because straight is the gate and narrow
is the way
which leadeth unto life and few there be
that find it this is the rule right you
can look at the pareto principle
the 80 20 rule right this is how things
work it's not
it's not because the the game is fixed
it's because most people don't choose it
by the way straight here right it's
s-t-r-a-i-t
you can think of the straight of hormuz
right or or a straight being
in geography class a narrow waterway
um it's not just narrow right we get we
get narrow is the way
straight is the gate um straight
it means um constricted or strict
it's the gate is strict the gate is
even bound it might be i mean
a little bit of a stretch here just a
thought it could be that a straight gate
could mean a locked gate
right you have to have the asking of the
three times
to be able to get through straight is
from the same
word that you would get string from
right a string and what is a string how
would that be the same
not because it's thin but because it's
for binding
it it's for tying and so the gate
could be bound there's just personal
thought on this
right you know how we hear the term in
the book of mormon and
in ancient scripture about strong
chords well that's very similar to
string
chords or they're for binding that's
where we get the
context for strong chords it's binding
chords
to tie something up with just just a
thought on that
and then we get the idea here that we
also get in a
uh the garden of eden right a temple
story we get
beware of false prophets
who come to you in sheep's clothing but
inwardly they are ravening wolves
this is exactly the scenario that
lucifer gives us in the garden of eden
story
ye shall not surely die but be is the
gods
right the sheep's clothing part is
you'll be as the gods that's true it's
something that he's using
you for in order to get in the lie
which is you shall not surely die which
actually means
to me i believe that means judgment it's
it's spiritual death
more than it is even physical death
there's no judgment
you're just going to be like the gods
right
right so that's a great example of of
wolves in in sheep's clothing
right from the very get-go and then
after that
you shall know them by their fruits
do men gather grapes of thorns or figs
of
thistles but we get in that verse 16
there
fruits thorns figs
and thistles right those are all all
words and
and items that we get in the creation
story
and then right after that even so every
good tree
bringeth forth good fruit but a corrupt
tree bringeth forth
evil fruit right so definitely
to me a creation slash garden of eden
motif here and again the idea of
baptism and creation or recreation here
in verse 2 jesus perceives that many
among them marvel and wonder what he
would
what he would concerning the law of
moses for they understood not the saint
remember
their whole lives if they're whether
they're
their strong adherents or not is wrapped
around the law of moses every day
right this is how they live this is how
they have context to their lives if
they're going to stay within the
community
and even those that don't stay within
the community many of them have a
version of the law of moses the
amalekites the
uh the amalekia heights
the amla sites the priests of noah and
king noah
right they may have perverted it but
they're all they're all under the law of
moses here
so this is very strange to them how can
this be this has been our entire
religion this has been certainly the
practice of our religion
so it says they've marveled and wondered
about the law of moses
for they understood not the saying that
old things had passed away
and that all things had become new so
it's just like baptism
right it's the same idea it's baptism
remember as we go down into the water
into death
that is in a way it's a lot like the
lower law
it's a lot like the tree of knowledge of
good and evil
that's the lower law that's the
commandments and then coming
out of that is an introduction out into
the higher law it's it's resurrection
it's the doctrine of christ
it's being raised up as we get i think
here right
yeah up in verse one right we see it
right there what
him will i raise up at the last day
okay this is all the same thing you can
you can see how
the authors here are are putting in this
together they're
piecing it together in this way creation
theme and the idea of
recreation and baptism the higher and
the lower laws all these
these concepts these these these gospel
principles
are put into a a it's all a synthesis
right it's an orchestra that is pulled
together under a
a covenantal language but it says very
specifically here the the
law of moses is fulfilled but i do not
destroy the prophets
right that's the higher law that's the
doctrine of christ
and he gives us more language here about
being raised up or
of the brazen serpent experience in
verse 9 behold
i am the law and the light
look unto me and endure to the end and
ye
shall live now why is he the law because
the law looked to him
everything about the law of moses looks
to him so he's the law in that sense
and he's the light look unto me and
endure to the end and ye shall live
for unto him that endureth to the end
will i give
eternal life right look unto me look
into the brazen serpent
here i am the resurrected jesus christ
the lifting up
of the brazen serpent and the eternal
life
is the healing that would come from
looking to christ or looking to the
brazen serpent
and we get in verse 12 ye are my
disciples and
ye are a light unto this people right
again this is the doctrine of christ it
is delegated
the role of being jesus christ in the
sense of
being a savior in the sense of taking on
his name
in the sense of having his priesthood in
the sense of becoming like him for all
of us
male and female that doctrine of christ
applies to us so we become the light
also here it's the
disciples specifically i think he's
talking about the 12 here talking to
others
but they also as they receive the light
are to turn around
and give the light to others right don't
hide the light under a bushel
and he goes specifically and talks about
who they are as a people
these people who are a remnant of the
house of joseph again
a very josephite nation so not only does
he speak
to individuals here the disciples and
the
and to nephi but he's talking to
everybody here as a people
as josephites and then he gives us the
clear statement that the other sheep he
spoke of in the new testament
are them they are the other sheep
and beyond him where there is one there
is another think about
abraham three right in the in the
hierarchy that we talk about well
there's one
there's another well it's the same thing
the other sheep are
the the nephites and the lamanites but
there are other sheep of course
there are other sheep besides them was
lehigh
were the lehighs the only group that
left jerusalem no
we know they weren't
there are different dispensations there
are different peoples
there are different times that that
those that are ready receive the gospel
and and receive the fullness of the
gospel and receive
a portion of the gospel
and receive the covenants and receive
the priesthood
and now as we finalize this in chapter
16
for this week we get the the
finalization of of of being
of the wholeness of creation right
everything has been remember the rocks
had been rent apart
and and and people have been carried off
through the whirlwinds
and the fire and the destruction the the
disintegration of nature and of all
things earthly
is the beginning of this story here
and here at the end in verse 3 and
chapter 16 but i have received
a commandment of the father that i shall
go unto them
and that they shall hear my voice these
are the other the other sheep
and shall be numbered among my sheep
that there may be
one fold and one shepherd
therefore i go to show myself unto them
right and you can see the authors as
they've put this together right
prior to the visit of christ how
everything had fallen away into
tribalism
it's all political they're in their own
groups
and into iniquity and darkness
everything had fallen apart and here
he's talking about a recreation
a second half of the covenant a coveneer
that everyone should be in one fold
that's something we should think about
today i believe
right we are tribal and we're becoming
more and more tribal and this is going
to continue i believe
based on what we're learning we learn
here in the book of mormon
things are going to fall apart and
tribalism is going to run
rampant whether it be political or
national
religious it's going to be difficult
that's the opposite
of what's supposed to happen on the
latter half of creation
the ultimate goal of bringing everything
together
right he brings up the gentiles here the
nephites lamanites
the jews the gentiles
they're all to be brought together if
they choose
to be in one fold and how does that
happen
in verse 5 and then will i gather them
remember here we come into gather again
and then will i gather them in from the
four quarters of the earth
and then will i fulfill the covenant
which the father hath made unto all the
people of the house
of israel you can see how this is all
temple centered
these covenants here the gathering right
both on this side of the veil and on the
other side of the veil
and then we're told that the gentiles
who have risen in the last days
and typically we can look at the
gentiles as those of
maybe the united states and canada
perhaps and
and probably of of europe or western
europe
right they're going to fall into sin and
iniquity
it's their job to bring to light the
book of mormon and the gospel but
they're going to fall
into iniquity or if they do
right then then the lord is going to
reject them
and that they're going to be lifted up
not like the brazen serpent
not like the doctrine of christ where we
lower ourselves
for others but they're going to be
lifted up in the pride of their hearts
above all nations
and shall be filled with all manner of
lyings and deceits and
mischiefs and all manner of hypocrisy
and murderers and priests crafts and
whoredoms and of secret combinations and
if they shall do all
those things and shall reject the
fullness of
my gospel behold saith the father i will
bring the fullness of my gospel
from among them that
also is covenant right things move
around there are people that are
in charge sometimes if they they take
the responsibility
there are others that need help at that
time sometimes those things move around
it could be the opposite right the first
shall be last and the last shall be
first
the lord works through all of us all
groups and all individuals
and that's the way it's supposed to be
we all take a turn
at some point in in in the pre-mortal
existence in this existence
in a future existence he says but if the
gentiles will repent
right so they may fall completely into
iniquity but if they repent
they will be numbered among my people o
house of israel
and if they repent i will not suffer my
people
who are of the house of israel to go
through among them
and tread them down saith the father
but we know how fickle things really are
and how unstable things can really be
and then he ends up here in this chapter
with words from isaiah of course
right and then the words of the prophet
isaiah shall be fulfilled which say thy
watchmen shall lift
up the voice with the voice together
shall they sing
for they shall see eye to eye when the
lord shall bring again
zion break forth into joy sing together
e waste places of jerusalem for the lord
hath comforted his people
he hath redeemed jerusalem
then importantly here this is by the way
right after
this is in 53 isaiah 53. the lord hath
may bear
his holy arm in the eyes of all the
nations
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation
of god that is talking about the savior
so that is very appropriate here ending
on this chapter here in 16.
destruction moving all the way through a
process of creation
to being all one and all focused on
one fold all focused on christ
as the shepherd and the doctrine of
christ
covenant running through all of that a
falling apart
and bringing back together that is
creation that is covenant
baptism of falling into the void
right of falling away a darkness a
chaos a dead law that
is to be fulfilled and has been
fulfilled and then a resurrection
out of that darkness and into light to
be
raised up into a higher law
all to emulate and commit to covenant
to be like the savior jesus christ
i'll talk to you next time
Come Follow Me LDS
Book of Mormon 3 Nephi
"I Take This Every Day!"
Learn more about why I accepted Cardio Miracle as a sponsor and why I take it every day!
- Greg Matsen
Cwic Study Group
Checkout our weekly Cwic Study Group!
Delve deeper!
Stay connected with Study Tips & Updates!
Donate
Be a part of our mission! Help us help others increase their understanding of the scriptures and increase their faith.
Cwic Merch!
Check out our Merch Store! Apparell and Accessories.
Cwic Audio Player
All of the Cwic Media podcast episodes on one page!
Recent Posts
What Happened To Exaltation? The Slippery Slope From Eternal Laws To A Prosperity Gospel
Mar 28, 2024
Isaiah Predicts Our Time With Precision
Mar 16, 2024
