There is a lot of good
"stuff" in the Book of Mormon, and Latter-day Saints are most
fortunate to know where it comes from. Having God's gift of the Book of Mormon
and knowing of its truthfulness bestows upon every member of the Church a
responsibility, for, as Lehi said: "Wherefore, how great the importance to
make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth" (2 Nephi 2:8).[1]
Lehi continues to explain the atonement to Jacob. Christ, Lehi says will offer Himself as a
sacrifice for sin. Only those who come
to Him with a broken heart and a contrite spirit will be able to take advantage
of the sacrifice “and unto none else can
the ends of the law be answered” (2 Nephi 2:7). Paul would tell the Romans, “For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4).
All the inhabitants of the Earth need to understand the
importance of these things. The only
ones who may stand in the presence of God, in the flesh are those who, “through the merits, and mercy, and grace of
the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh
it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection
of the dead, being the first that should rise” (2 Nephi 2:8).
The word “resurrection”
appears, for the first time in the Book of Mormon, in verse 8.
The first appearance of resurrection in
the Book of Mormon is in 2 Nephi 2:8, where Lehi tells Jacob that the Messiah
will "bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that
should rise." It is interesting that Lehi is the first person in the Book
of Mormon recorded as using the word resurrection, given that he is
closest to the time and culture of the Old Testament, in which the word resurrection never
appears.8 Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland has noted that the Book of Mormon "links the religious
worlds of Malachi and Matthew not only by bridging the intervening years
between them . . . but, more important, by bringing Old and New
Testament texts together in the continuity of doctrine taught." 9 Lehi's
use of resurrection is one example of such a linkage.[2]
There are many references to the fact that, only through
Christ, can we be saved in the Kingdom of Heaven.
And
now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way
nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of
God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine
of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end.
Amen.
2 Nephi 31:21
And
this is the means whereby salvation cometh.
And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of;
neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions
which I have told you.
Mosiah 4:8
And
he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind
his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be
filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the
flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
Alma 7:12
And
we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of
by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted
unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary
state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state
which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.
Now,
if it had not been for the plan of redemption, which was laid from the
foundation of the world, there could have been no resurrection of the dead; but
there was a plan of redemption laid, which shall bring to pass the resurrection
of the dead, of which has been spoken.
Alma 12:24 - 25
Now
Aaron began to open the scriptures unto them concerning the coming of Christ,
and also concerning the resurrection of the dead, and that there could be no
redemption for mankind save it were through the death and sufferings of Christ,
and the atonement of his blood.
Alma 21:9
And
now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn
of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and
through Christ. Behold, he is the life
and the light of the world. Behold, he
is the word of truth and righteousness.
Alma 38:9
What does it take for us to be saved? As Lehi said, “salvation is free” (2 Nephi 2:4).
We cannot earn salvation. We
cannot march up to the gates of heaven and demand entrance because of our good
works. It is only through the atonement
of Christ that we are saved and no other way.
Latter-day Saints readily
acknowledge that though our efforts to be righteous are necessary, they
will never be sufficient to save us. Book of Mormon prophets thus
explained that above and beyond all we can do, we are saved by the grace of
Christ and that our most significant labor is to trust in and rely upon the
merits and mercy and grace of the Holy Messiah (see 2 Nephi 10:24; 25:23; 2
Nephi 2:8; 31:19; Moroni 6:4).[3]
Joseph Smith did in fact teach that
our own efforts could never do anything to "earn salvation"—which
Davies claims is part of the "traditional" sense of grace—but that it
is only the name of Christ and his merit that has the power to save. A verse
from the second book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon serves to make this point
more apparent: "Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things
known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no
flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and
mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah" (2 Nephi 2:8). It is this sense
of grace that has been perpetuated throughout the church's history and recently
reiterated by authors like Millet and Robinson.[4]
Christ will be the first fruit of the resurrection. He will make intercession for all of us if we
believe in Christ and are saved. “And thus God breaketh the bands of death,
having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession
for the children of men—“(Mosiah 15:8).
Wherefore,
my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into
heaven, and hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his
rights of mercy which he hath upon the children of men?
For
he hath answered the ends of the law, and he claimeth all those who have faith
in him; and they who have faith in him will cleave unto every good thing;
wherefore he advocateth the cause of the children of men; and he dwelleth
eternally in the heavens.
Moroni 7:27 - 28
[1] The Book
of Mormon, An Interpretive Guide to the New Testament,
Dennis Largey, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 10,
2013.
[2] Who
Uses the Word Resurrection in the Book of Mormon and How Is It
Used? John Hilton III, and Jana Johnson, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed June 10, 2013.
[3] 7.
What do Latter-day Saints believe a person must do to be saved? Robert L.
Millet, and Noel B. Reynolds, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute,
accessed June 10, 2013.
[4] Work,
Worship, and Grace, David L. Paulsen, and Cory G. Walker, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed June 10, 2013.
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