Jacob tells the Nephites Christ will appear in
Jerusalem. He will be subject to them
and die. Through His death, all men will become subject to Him. Nephi would later write, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth
the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw call
men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth
none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2 Nephi 26:24).
Christ would tell the Nephites:
And
my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I
had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I
have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to
stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether
they be evil—
And
for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the
Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.
3 Nephi 27:14 - 15
It was appropriate that Jacob was a priest and teacher. “Jacob was particularly qualified to serve [as
a priest and teacher] because, as Lehi noted, he had seen the glory of the
Redeemer and knew of his ministry in the flesh and of the salvation he would
bring (2 Nephi 2:3—4; cf. 11:3; Jacob 2:11).5.”[1]
Death comes upon all men.
Why? To fulfill the plan of
salvation. There has to be a
resurrection. This comes about because
of Adam’s fall. The fall came about
because of transgression. Through
transgression, we are cut off from the presence of the Lord. In Ecclesiastes we read:
Because
to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is
great upon him.
For
he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?
There
is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he
power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall
wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
Ecclesiastes 8:6 - 8
John Tvedtnes continues:
The fall of Adam resulted in two
types of death, both required under the law of justice. The physical or
temporal death separates the spirit from the body, while the spiritual death
separates us from God (see D&C 29:40—43). Lehi declared that, "By the
law men are cut off ... by the temporal law ... and also, by the spiritual law ...
and become miserable forever" (2 Nephi 2:5). Jacob put it this way:
"For as death hath passed upon all men ... because man became fallen they
were cut off from the presence of the Lord" (2 Nephi 9:6; cf. verse 9).[2]
The plan of salvation is an infinite atonement. Were it
not, “corruption could not put on
incorruption” (2 Nephi 9:7). Through
the first judgment, we di and our flesh will “rot and … crumble to its mother earth to rise no more” (2 Nephi
9:7). Alma2 and Amulek both confronted
Zeezrom over this issue (first Amulek).
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 11:45
Next, Alma2.
And
now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye
shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh
him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea,
according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the
everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto
the last death, as well as the first.
Alma 12:36
Alma2 would explain to his son, Corianton:
But
behold, it was appointed unto man to die—therefore, as they were cut off from
the tree of life they should be cut off from the face of the earth—and man
became lost forever, yea, they became fallen man.
Therefore,
as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a
spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the
presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from
this spiritual death.
And
thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice;
yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his
presence.
Alma 42:6, 9, 14
The plan of God, therefore, was for
Adam and Eve to become mortal or imperfect, in order that they and their
offspring might gain experience unavailable to them in their perfect condition.
But there was a problem to be overcome. Since the penalty for disobedience is
death, it was necessary to forestall the judgment in order to give mankind the
opportunity to repent. In the eternal plan, this meant (1) providing a savior
whose death would satisfy the demands of justice, and (2) establishing a
probationary period during which Adam's family could be tested and learn
obedience to the plan of mercy.[3]
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