28 And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked
people; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot
misunderstand. And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony
against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the
right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also
deny the prophets and the law.
29 And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is
to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel;
wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might,
mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise
be cast out.
30 And, inasmuch as it shall be expedient, ye must keep
the performances and ordinances of God until the law shall be fulfilled which
was given unto Moses.
Why does Nephi speak plainly to his people? “[B]ehold, my people, ye are a stiffnecked people” (2 Nephi 25:28). His people have become like the Jews. King Benjamin told us “the Lord God saw that his people were a stiffnecked people, and he appointed unto them a law, even the law of Moses” (Mosiah 3:14).
Listening to our leaders today, these men and women speak
plainly to us. They follow in the
tradition of Nephi. They are making sure
their words and message cannot be misunderstood. They make certain the Lord’s words are
understood.
Teaching the people of Ammonihah, Alma2 told
them:
“And now, my beloved brethren, for ye are my brethren, and
ye ought to be beloved, and ye ought to bring forth works which are meet for
repentance, seeing that your hearts have been grossly hardened against the word
of God, and seeing that ye are a lost and a fallen people.
“Now it came to pass that when I, Alma, had spoken these
words, behold, the people were wroth with me because I said unto them that they
were a hard–hearted and a stiffnecked people” (Alma 9:30-31),
Nephi’s words will stand as a testimony against all who read
them. He teaches the word of the Lord
and “the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not” (2 Nephi 25:28).
Nephi makes it clear “that the right way is to believe in
Christ, and deny him not” (2 Nephi 25:29).
We must “bow down for him and worship him” (2 Nephi 25:29).
Mathew L. Bown explains:
“By casting the commandment to ‘bow down . . . and worship’
the Lord in the language of the Shema [a Jewish prayer], Nephi reveals the
proper mode of proskynesis [Greek name of the ritual greeting at the eastern
courts[1]] before God: it must be done
with all one's might, mind, strength, and one's whole soul,
like the offering of ‘whole souls as an offering unto [the Holy One of
Israel]’ (Omni 1:26). Acceptable proskynesis is inseparable from faith in
Christ (‘the right way is to believe in Christ . . . ; wherefore
ye must ’ 2 Nephi 25:29) and is a supernal manifestation of it.
“The promise to those who so worship is a promise of
eternal life: ‘ye shall in no wise be cast out’ (2 Nephi 25:29). Through
faith in Christ, the ‘children of men’ (1 Nephi 11:22, 24) can again have
access to the tree of life. They must therefore come forth, fall down, and
partake of the fruit of that tree.”[2]
When we worship him, we must worship him with “all your
might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul” (2 Nephi 25:29). Here, Nephi could be reminding the Nephites
about the words of Moses when he commanded the people, “And thou shalt love the
LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
might” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
Speaking to a scribe, the Savior taught:
“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments
is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this
is the first commandment.
“And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. There is none
other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31).
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