27 But wo unto him that has the
law given, yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that
transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is
his state!
28 O that cunning
plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of
men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto
the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves,
wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they
shall perish.
29 But to be
learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.
After teaching the congregation that those who never receive the law will be covered by the atonement and hell will have no claim on them. He then speaks directly to the Nephites who have been taught the law.
During the time of
our probation, we have been given time to obey God’s laws and become faithful
servants. Even so, some will not take
this opportunity. “Those who misuse
their free agency, after being exposed to the truth, will have an eternal state
that is ‘awful’ (2 Nephi 9:27).”[1]
Responding to Peter,
the Savior told him:
“But and if that servant say in his heart,
My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and
maidens [GR maidservants], and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
“The lord of that servant will come in a day
when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut
him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
“And that servant, which knew his lord's
will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be
beaten with many stripes.
“But he that knew not, and did commit things
worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him
shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will
ask the more” (Luke 12:45-48).
Jacob tells us that those
who do not follow the commandments of the Lord are falling into the trap laid
by the devil.
O that cunning
plan
of the evil one!
O the vainness,
and
the frailties,
and
the foolishness
of men!
When they are learned
they
think they are wise,
and
they hearken
not unto the counsel of God,
for
they set it aside,
supposing
they know
of themselves,
wherefore,
their wisdom
is foolishness
and it profiteth
them not.
And they shall perish.
But to be learned
is
good
if they hearken
unto
the counsels of God.
Mormon, commenting after a battle when tens
of thousands died, wrote, “And thus we see how great the inequality of man is
because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by
the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men” (Alma
28:13).
Hugh Nibley, a very learned man, wrote:
Here is the devil's plan, and it is
devilishly clever, the best possible way to turn men's minds against the plan
of salvation being the appeal to their vanity. The two things people want are
to be successful and to be smart—The Elite: "and the wise, and the
learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning,
and their wisdom, and their riches," are the ones who think they are
putting God in his place, while it is He who is rejecting them: "yea, they
are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and
consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility,
he will not open unto them" (2 Nephi 9:42).[2]
The Elder Neal Maxwell was also a learned
man. Bruce Hafen tells us this about
Elder Maxwell:
“As part of his own discipleship, Elder
Maxwell very consciously cultivated the qualities of meekness and
submissiveness—precisely because he knew all about pride's subtle seductions.
Even the Greeks had no use for hubris. Elder Maxwell had seen very accomplished
people become too impressed with themselves—the learned who ‘think they are
wise’ and therefore "hearken not to the counsel of God’ for they suppose ‘they
know of themselves.’ Those who are, as Jacob said, ‘puffed up because of their
learning, and their wisdom’ suffer the great loss that the ‘happiness which is
prepared for the saints’ ‘shall be hid from them’ (2 Nephi 9:28, 42-43).”[3]
To be sure, there is nothing wrong with
learning. In the Doctrine and Covenants,
the Lord tells us that, “The glory of God is intelligence” (D&C 93:36). The Lord told Joseph Smith, “As well might
man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri river in its decreed
course, or to turn it up stream, as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down
knowledge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints” (D&C
121:33).
Education and learning has always an
important part of the gospel. Many
prophets have encouraged us to expand our learning. But, as we learn, it is essential not to
become proud and arrogant, thinking because we have a little learning we are
wise and can ignore God. We must always
acknowledge the Lord as the source of all knowledge.
(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:27-29)
[1] The Influence of Lehi's Admonitions on the Teachings
of His Son Jacob, John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute.
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