2 Nephi 9:8-9

After having taught about Christ, Jacob proclaims:

O the wisdom of God,

     his mercy and grace! 

For behold,

     if the flesh should rise

          no more

     our spirits must become subject

     to that angel who fell

          from before the presence

          of the Eternal God,

and became the devil,

     to rise no more.

                                                          2 Nephi 9:8

The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith:

For man is spirit.  The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;

And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.

D&C 93:33-34

The angel who fell from the presence of God was Lucifer.  He offered a plan of salvation that would force all men to follow the commandments of God.  He also wanted to the glory to be his.  This is how he became the devil, “having sought that which was evil before God” (2 Nephi 2:17; see all Isaiah 14:12 and Moses 4:3-4).

Nephi's brother Jacob extols the wisdom, mercy, and grace of God in providing the resurrection (2 Nephi 9:8, 53). Jacob, like his brother, notes that one must first be "reconciled unto God," and then, after that, one is saved "through the grace of God" (2 Nephi 10:24). At that point "grace divine" allows one to praise God (2 Nephi 10:25). Jacob also prefigures Jesus's own teaching by noting that "the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things" (Jacob 4:7).[1]

Without the atonement, we would become subject to the devil immediately upon our death.  We would become like the one-third host of heaven, cast out and cut off from the presence of God.[2]

We would become like the devil himself, and we would remain with “the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself” (2 Nephi 9:9).  Mormon would later write that if we reject Christ, we “shall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy, according to the word of Christ” (3 Nephi 29:7).

Alma₂ would preach:

And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness?  Behold, what will these things testify against you?

Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white?

I say unto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from the beginning, or suppose that he is a liar from the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have place in the kingdom of heaven; but they shall be cast out for they are the children of the kingdom of the devil.

And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye?  Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this?  Behold, I say unto you, whosoever denieth this is a liar and a child of the devil.

Alma 5:22; 24-25; 39

Jacob warns us the devil can appear as an angel of light with the intent to deceive us, to lead us into “secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness” (2 Nephi 9:9).

There was a war fought in heaven.  Michael led the angels against the devil and his followers.  They were defeated and cast out of heaven.  Now Satan’s purpose is to deceive the whole world (see Revelation 12:7-9).

After Korihor was struck dumb, he would testify to Alma2:

But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God.  And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say.  And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought this great curse upon me.

Alma 30:53

Jacob makes it very clear to the Nephites (and us as well), the devil will do all he can to deceive us and make us his.

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[1] The Grace of Christ, John Gee, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 27, 2013.

[2] The Literary Structure and Doctrinal Significance of Alma 13:1–9, James T. Duke, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 27, 2013.