Continuing his sermon, Jacob tells the people that all
covenants made by the Lord will be filled during this lifetime. There will be works of darkness (sins done is
secret[1])
and other evils, but they will be destroyed by the Lord.
In 2 Nephi 10, Jacob, Nephi's
younger brother, also quotes some unique, divine covenant pronouncements … [The
Lord] foretells that America would be a land of inheritance for Jacob's
descendants and also a land of liberty for the gentiles. The Lord continues,
"Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I
have made unto the children of men, . . . I must needs destroy the secret works
of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations" (2 Nephi 10:15); he
would fulfill his promises to the righteous, which would include having the
gentiles both afflict and bless Jacob's seed. Thus the coming of the gentiles
to America is an important precondition for the fulfilling of God's covenants
to the house of Israel, especially Lehi's seed.[2]
The Lord warns those that fight against Zion are against
Him. In his vision, the angel told him, “Behold there are save two churches only;
the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil;
wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to
that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of
all the earth” (1 Nephi 14:10). The
Savior Himself made it clear, “He that is
not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad”
(Matthew 12:30).
Here, Jacob reiterates his brother, Nephi’s, teachings. There are only two churches, the Church of
the Lamb and the Great and Abominable Church of the Devil. Those who follow Christ belong to the Church
of the Lamb. Those that oppose Christ
and his church belong to the Church of the Devil.
Hugh Nibley comments:
For [Jacob] as for Nephi there are
just two sides to the question. He groups all factions and complexions of
people into two arbitrary categories. After naming seven different groups, he
adds, "But I shall call them Lamanites that seek to destroy the people of
Nephi, and those who are friendly to Nephi I shall call Nephites" (Jacob
1:14). In the same way, Nephi had explained: "He that fighteth against
Zion, both Jew and Gentile . . . are they who are the whore of
all the earth" (2 Nephi 10:16; italics added). By this reasoning there are never more
than "save two churches only" in the world, and indeed Nephi's
much-commented remark to that effect (1 Nephi 14:10) reads more like a
statement of general principle than the denunciation of one particular church
among many.[3]
The Lord promises He “will
fulfil my promises which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do
unto them while they are in the flesh” (2 Nephi 10:17).
[1]
See That
Old Black Magic, William J. Hamblin, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed September 28, 2013.
[2] Covenant
Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Victor L. Ludlow, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed September 28, 2013.
[3] Churches
in the Wilderness, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed September 28, 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment