2 Nephi 9:1-4

After reading from Isaiah, Jacob continues his sermon.  The portion of the sermon in Chapter 9 is one of the most powerful sermons in the Book of Mormon. 

Chapter 9

Jews shall be gathered in all their lands 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. About 559–545 B.C.

Jacob read from Isaiah so the Nephites would know about the covenants the Lord made with the house of Israel.  They needed to understand that, even though they were separated from the main body, they were still a branch of the house.

John Lindquist and John Welch explain the purpose of Jacob’s sermon.

Jacob's ensuing speech is a covenant speech: "I have read these things that ye might know concerning the covenants of the Lord" (2 Nephi 9:1). Jacob's purpose was to purify the people, to shake his garments of all iniquities and have his people turn away from sin (see 2 Nephi 9:44-45), to motivate them to act for themselves—"to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life" (2 Nephi 10:23). His words compare closely with the covenant text of Joshua 24, where the Israelites were given the same choice as they established their new religious and social order under Joshua.[1]

The Lord spoke to the Jews through his prophets throughout history.  This will continue until they day they are “restored to the true church and fold of God” (2 Nephi 9:2).  At that day, they will again be gathered and establish their lands of promise.

Hugh Nibley explains Jacob’s role and contribution to the words of the Lord.

Since all the prophets tell the same story (2 Nephi 9:2), any prophet is free to contribute anything to the written record that will make that message clear and intelligible. The principle is illustrated throughout the Book of Mormon and indeed by the very existence of the book itself—a book that shocked the world with its revolutionary concept of scripture as an open-ended production susceptible to the errors of men and amenable to correction by the spirit of prophecy.[2]

Why does Jacob speak the words?  That they may rejoice because of the blessings their children will receive from the Lord.  In Psalms, David wrote:

Lift up your heads, O ye generations of Jacob; and be ye lifted up; and the Lord strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle, who is the king of glory, shall establish you forever.

And he will roll away the heavens; and will come down to redeem his people; to make you an everlasting name; to establish you upon his everlasting rock.

Lift up your heads, O ye generations of Jacob; lift up your heads, ye everlasting generations, and the Lord of hosts, the king of kings;

Even the king of glory shall come unto you; and shall redeem his people, and shall establish them in righteousness. Selah.

Psalms 24:7-10 (Joseph Smith Translation in bold)

The day will come, Jacob says, when our flesh will decay and die; yet, in our bodies we will see God.  In spite of all that happened to him, Job would testify, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:26). 

When confronting Zeezrom, Amulek would tell him:

Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that ^ball shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.

Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.

Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body.  I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.

Alma 11:41 - 45

Samuel the Lamanite taught that Christ must die for there to be salvation.  His death would bring forth the resurrection and bring us into the presence of God.  The resurrection saves all mankind from the spiritual death we suffered through the fall of Adam.  Christ will bring all men back into the presence of God.  Whoever does not repent, however, will suffer a second death, a spiritual death.  They will be forever cutoff from God (see Helaman 14:15-18).

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[1] Kingship and Temple in 2 Nephi 5-10, John M. Lundquist, and John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 22, 2013.

[2] The Bible in the Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 22, 2013.