26 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart
out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you,
Nay.
27 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of
his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all
men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to
repentance.
28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should
not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are
privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.
29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts;
for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set themselves up for a light
unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek
not the welfare of Zion.
Nephi asks, “[h]ath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation” (2 Nephi 26:27). No! The choice is ours. It has been given to us, free for all. Paul wrote, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
We see that salvation is a gift, given to freely, by the
Savior. All he asks is that we repent
and follow Him.
Has God commanded anyone that they should not partake of His
goodness? He commands no one. It is our choice. No one is better than anyone else is. Paul told the Romans, “For there is no
respect of persons with God” (Romans 2:11).
Alma2 told Zeezrom, “Or in fine, in the first
place they were on the same standing with their brethren; thus this holy
calling being prepared from the foundation of the world for such as would not
harden their hearts, being in and through the atonement of the Only Begotten
Son, who was prepared—“ (Alma 13:5).
Nephi had made this same point to Laman and Lemuel.
“And now, do ye suppose that the children of this land, who
were in the land of promise, who were driven out by our fathers, do ye suppose
that they were righteous? Behold, I say
unto you, Nay.
“Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice
than they if they had been righteous? I
say unto you, Nay.
“Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is
righteous is favored of God. “But
behold, this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in
iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did
curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse
it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers
unto their obtaining power over it” (1 Nephi 17:33-35).
Nephi makes it very clear that “there shall be no
priestcrafts” (2 Nephi 26:29). What did
Nephi mean when he tells us the Lord commanded no priestcrafts among the
people?
“Priestcraft, a word not in most modern dictionaries,
is defined by the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language by
Noah Webster as ‘the stratagems and frauds of priests; fraud or imposition in
religious concerns; management of selfish and ambitious priests to gain wealth
and power, or to impose on the credulity of others.’ This is in contrast to the
same dictionary's definitions of priesthood: (1) ‘the office or character
of a priest’ and (2) ‘the order of men set apart for sacred offices; the order
composed of priests.’ From these definitions, it is clear that priestcrafts, including
the order of Nehor, are counterfeits or frauds of priesthood or the sacred
priestly order.”[1]
A man who practices
priestcrafts are more interested in getting “gain and praise of the world, but
they seek no the welfare of Zion” (2 Nephi 26:29).
After converting to the gospel, Simon the Sorcerer saw Peter
and John exercising their priesthood.
“Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that
Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
“Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they
might receive the Holy Ghost:
“(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
“Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the
Holy Ghost.
“And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles'
hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
“Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay
hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
“But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because
thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money” (Acts 8:14-20).
The Savior warned the Nephites:
“And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you:
At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the
fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above
all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled
with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy,
and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and
if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel,
behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them”
(3 Nephi 16:10).
The Lord warned Joseph Smith:
“Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?
“Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of
this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—
“That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected
with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled
nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.
“That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we
undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to
exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of
men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves;
the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the
priesthood or the authority of that man” (D&C 121:34-37).
[1] Conflicting
Orders: Alma and Amulek in Ammonihah Conflicting Orders: Alma and Amulek in
Ammonihah, Thomas R. Valletta, Maxwell Institute.
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