Lesson 8: O How Great the Goodness of Our God
Book of Mormon: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, (1999),
33–36
1. Introduction
a) Two
weeks ago, we studied the important Atonement sermon Lehi gave specifically to
Jacob
b) Today,
we will study Jacob’s great Atonement sermon
i)
Will hear some amplification of Lehi’s principles
ii) Will
hear some new principles
c) Setting
i)
Probably a Nephite version of General Conference
ii) This
is 2 Nephi, so we can probably assume Nephi is recording this.
iii) READ
2 Nephi 6: 2-4
2 Behold, my beloved brethren, I,
Jacob, having been called of God,
and ordained after the manner of his
holy order, and having been
consecrated by my brother Nephi, unto whom ye look as a king or a
protector, and on whom ye depend for safety, behold ye know that I have spoken unto you exceedingly many things.
3 Nevertheless, I speak unto you again; for I am desirous for the welfare of your
souls. Yea, mine anxiety is great for you; and ye yourselves know that
it ever has been. For I have exhorted
you with all diligence; and I
have taught you the words of my father; and I have spoken unto you concerning all things which are written, from
the creation of the world.
4 And now, behold, I would speak unto you concerning things which are, and which are to
come; wherefore, I will read you the words of Isaiah.
And they are the words which my
brother has desired that I should speak unto you. And I speak unto you for your sakes,
that ye may learn and glorify the
name of your God.
iv) Jacob
will speak over the course of two days.
v) Will
quote from Isaiah 49, 50, 51 and 52 per Nephi’s instruction.
2. Through
His Atonement, Jesus Christ offers redemption from temporal death and spiritual
death
a) In
the middle of Isaiah and as a natural outgrowth of the teachings of Isaiah,
Jacob teaches a superb sermon about the Atonement in 2 Nephi 9
b) Jacob
speaks of two types of death
i)
Temporal death is the death of the physical body and
the separation of the spirit from the physical body – “death,” “death of the
body,” “the grave”
(1) Reading
1 – 2 Nephi 9:6
6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan
of the great Creator, there must needs be a
power of resurrection, and the resurrection
must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression;
and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
ii) Spiritual
Death is separation from the presence of God.
(a) Because
of the Fall, we are separated from God.
(i) 2
Nephi 9:6 - because man became fallen
they were cut off from the presence of the Lord
(b) Separated
from God because of sin
(i) READ
– Alma 12:16
16 And now behold, I say unto you
then cometh a death, even a second
death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a
temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto
righteousness.
(ii) Reading
2 – Helaman 14:18
18 Yea, and it bringeth to pass
the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down
and cast into the fire; but whosoever
repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon them again a spiritual
death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things
pertaining to righteousness.
(c) Jacob
uses the following words and phrases to refer
to spiritual death, or separation
from God: “shut out from the
presence of our God” (verse 9), “the
death of the spirit” (verse 10), “spiritual
death” (verse 12), “hell”
(verse 12), and “death”
(verse 39).
(d) Reading
4A - Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote: Our spirits, stained with sin, unable to
cleanse themselves, would be subject to the author of sin everlastingly; we
would be followers of Satan; we would be sons of perdition. (A New Witness for
the Articles of Faith, pp129-130)
iii) In
order for us to be saved, the Atonement must overcome both temporal death, the
death of the body, and spiritual death.
iv) Reading
4B - President Joseph Fielding Smith said: Death is just as important in the
welfare of man as is birth. There is no greater blessing that can come than the
blessing of birth. One third of the hosts of heaven, because of rebellion, were
denied that privilege, and hence they have no bodies of flesh and bones, that
great gift of God.
"But who would like to live forever in this mundane world, filled
with pain, decay, sorrow, and tribulation, and grow old and infirm and yet have
to remain with all the vicissitudes of mortality? I think all of us would come
to the conclusion, if that proposition were placed before us, that we would not
like to have it. We would reject it. We would not want life of that nature.
Life here in this world is short of necessity, and yet all that is required may
be accomplished, but death is just as important in the plan of salvation as
birth is. We have to die--it is essential--and death comes into the world 'to
fulfill the merciful plan of the great creator'. (Doctrines of Salvation,
1:116)
c) Reading
5 – 2 Nephi 9:5-7
5 Yea, I know that ye know that in
the body he shall show himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came;
for it is expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the great
Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might
become subject unto him.
6 For as
death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the
great Creator, there must needs be a
power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by
reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because
man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not
put on incorruption. Wherefore, the
first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless
duration. And if so, this
flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no
more.
d) READ
– 2 Nephi 9:10
10 O how great the goodness of our
God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell,
which I call the death of the body,
and also the death of the spirit.
e) Reading
6 - Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote:
“O the wisdom of God, his mercy and
grace!” Jacob exults. Why? Because if there were no atonement, there would be
no resurrection; and if there were no resurrection, “our spirits must become
subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of Eternal God, and
became the devil, to rise no more. And our spirits must have become like unto
him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence
of our God, and to remain with the Father of lies, in misery, like unto
himself.” (2 Ne. 9:89.) That is to say, if there were no resurrection, which
comes by the grace of God, all men would be sons of perdition, the most horrible
and awful punishment in all the eternities. (Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised
Messiah, p.347)
f) Reading
7 – 2 Nephi 9:12-14
12 And this death of which I have
spoken, which is the spiritual death,
shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell;
wherefore, death and hell must
deliver up their dead, and hell
must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive
bodies, and the bodies and
the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the
Holy One of Israel.
13 O how great the plan of our God! For on the
other hand, the paradise of God must
deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to
itself again, and all men become incorruptible,
and immortal, and they are
living souls, having a
perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.
14 Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our
uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and
their righteousness, being clothed
with purity, yea, even with the
robe of righteousness.
i)
Note the temple reference
ii) Reading
8 - Pres. Joseph F. Smith, said: May I say to you that in reality a man cannot
forget anything? He may have a lapse of memory; he may not be able to recall at
the moment a thing that he knows, or words that he has spoken; he may not have
the power at his will to call up these events and words; but let God Almighty
touch the mainspring of the memory, and awaken recollection, and you will find
then that you have not even forgotten a single idle word that you have spoken.
I believe the word of God to be true, and therefore, I warn the youth of Zion,
as well as those who are advanced in years, to beware of saying wicked things,
of speaking evil, and taking in vain the name of sacred things and sacred
beings. Guard your words, that you may not offend even man, much less offend
God. (Gospel Doctrine, p. 311)
g) Through
the Atonement, all men and women will be restored to God’s presence to be
judged.
i)
READ – 2 Nephi 2:10
10 And because of the intercession
for all, all men come unto God;
wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness
which is in him. Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given,
unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed, which punishment that
is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to
answer the ends of the atonement—
h) How
may we be saved through the Atonement of Christ?
i)
Reading 9 – 2 Nephi 9:18, 21, 23-24
18 But, behold, the righteous, the
saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of
Israel, they who have endured the
crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit
the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the
world, and their joy shall be full forever.
SKIP
21 And he cometh into the world
that he may save all men if they will
hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men,
yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who
belong to the family of Adam.
SKIP
23 And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy
One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.
24 And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his
name, and endure to the end, they
must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken
it.
3. Certain
attitudes and actions prevent us from receiving all the blessings of the
Atonement
a) The
second part of Jacob’s Atonement sermon speaks of attitudes and actions that
prevent us from receiving those blessings.
b) Whenever
a prophet says “wo unto” pay close attention.
c) NOTE
– Go through each verse and talk about it.
d) Reading
10 – 2 Nephi 9:27-38
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.
30 But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. For because they are rich they despise the
poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; wherefore, their
treasure is their god. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.
31 And wo unto the deaf that will not hear; for they shall perish.
32 Wo unto the blind that will not see; for they shall perish also.
33 Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities
shall smite them at the last day. – NOTE
– uncircumcised are covenant-breakers
34 Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell.
35 Wo unto the murderer who deliberately killeth, for he shall die.
36 Wo unto them who commit whoredoms, for they shall be thrust down to hell.
37 Yea, wo unto those that worship idols, for the devil of
all devils delighteth in them.
38 And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for they
shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.
4. The
Lord remembers His covenants with His people
a) READ
2 Nephi 10:2, 7-8, 21-22
2 For behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto us according
to the flesh; wherefore, as it has been shown unto me that many of our
children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief, nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our
children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give
them the true knowledge of their Redeemer.
SKIP
7 But behold, thus saith the Lord
God: When the day cometh that they
shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their
fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto
the lands of their inheritance.
8 And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their
long dispersion, from the
isles of the sea, and from
the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be
great in the eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of
their inheritance.
SKIP
21 But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon
the isles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than
this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren.
22 For behold, the Lord God has led away from
time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And
now behold, the Lord remembereth all
them who have been broken off, wherefore he remembereth us also.
b) Reading
11 - Elder Boyd K. Packer taught: “The discouraging idea that a mistake (or
even a series of them) makes it everlastingly too late, does not come from the
Lord. He has said that if we will repent, not only will He forgive us our
transgressions, but He will forget them and remember our sins no more (see
Isaiah 43:25; Hebrews 8:12; 10:17; Alma 36:19; D&C 58:42)” (in Conference
Report, Apr. 1989, 72; or Ensign, May 1989, 59).
c) READ
– 2 Nephi 10:23-24
23 Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye
are free to act for yourselves—to
choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.
24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God,
and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of
God that ye are saved.
Conclusion
