Book of MormonPodcast 036 – 2 Nephi 10 (1h 02m)https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/mstroud/episodes/2019-03-30T18_41_00-07_00Jacob explains that the Jews will crucify their God—They will be scattered until they begin to believe in Him—America will be a land of liberty where no king will rule—Reconcile yourselves to God and gain salvation through His grace. About 559–545 B.C.

I’d like to share with you some things that Margie and I have been learning this last week before we resume our Book of Mormon lessons. Through some experiences that have taken place in the past 7 to 10 days I have learned what I think is an eternal truth. That truth is: Unresolved grief always results in bitterness.

In section 121: 34-45 is listed what is referred to as the Doctrine of the Priesthood connected inseparably with the Doctrine of Christ. All of the positive attributes and characteristics of godliness mentioned in these verses such as, persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, kindness, having your bowels filled with charity towards all men and to the household of faith, being able to let virtue garnish your thoughts unceasingly, having your confidence wax strong in the presence of God, having the doctrine of the priesthood distill upon your soul as the dews from, receiving the Holy Ghost as your constant companion, and having a scepter of unchanging righteousness and truth and an everlasting dominion that flows into you without compulsory means—all of these wonderful characteristics, attributes of God, privileges, rights, and powers disappear when bitterness appears.

Where bitterness is the full power of the atonement of Jesus Christ cannot have its full sway and effect on any of us to bring us into a state of unity and oneness, to bring us to Zion, therefore, it is a supreme tactic and strategy of the evil ones to fill us with bitterness and its related cousins--regret, contention, hate, betrayal, suspicion, judgment, unrighteous dominion, faultfinding, gossiping and backbiting. All of these are the children of bitterness.

And so the great thing we’ve been taught this week is that unresolved grief and all of the accompanying counterparts to that grief always result in bitterness. Bitterness also robs us of the prime objective of this life according to Joseph Smith, and that is happiness. So having learned that this week I’ve taken a good hard long look at myself inside to find out where I stand with this concept and to take steps to remove it or to block it so that it cannot have power over me. I have been shown that I have unresolved grief inside me that if not taken care of will end up in bitterness. Where bitterness is, peace and harmony cannot be. So here is Mike Stroud’s challenge, “I don’t know how to grieve.” I can see this inside me, but I don’t know what to do about it. My nature has always been to be strong for everybody and to not allow myself to be seen as weak or vulnerable. I have found out this week that this is not the Lord’s way.

As I have contemplated this and talked to my Father in Heaven in the name of his Son Jesus concerning this and asking, “What am I to do?” In His kindness and mercy He’s begun to open up thoughts and impressions on how I am to proceed from this point.

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The first step is to stop pretending that everything is all right when it really is not, and to begin face myself when I am sorrowing, when I am grieving, when I am unhappy, when I am unsatisfied. Not that I go and unload all of this on everybody, but many times people will simply ask, “How are you doing?”

In the past I have said, “I’m all right. I’m doing well. I’m in a good place.” And in doing that now as I have done all my life I suppress these feelings, these emotions, and as my wife says, “stuff them down inside of me,” and by so doing create a time bomb ticking that can only eventually explode and end up in bitterness.

So, as people ask me how I’m doing I share with them honestly what’s happening to me at the time they asked that question. If I’m doing well I’ll say, “I am doing well today, not every day, but today I’m doing well. Today I’m at peace. Today I’m happy.”

If that’s not the situation and someone happens to ask I simply be honest and say, “I’m not doing as well as I would like today. I’m having a hard time. I’m struggling.”

I have started doing this over the past week and feel a relief and a release of pressure inside that comes with being totally honest and open. I guess the big word for today’s society is, transparent. And so I am on a path of learning how to grieve when necessary in order to avoid bitterness and find happiness, peace and joy in my adversity and trials.

Much has been written on this concept and whether it comes from a book that may be titled, Feelings Buried Alive Never Die or whether it’s through something called an Emotion Code or a Body Code or any other godly vehicle that can allow us to release the garbage that is locked up inside of us that can only become rotten, infected, and fester in time, resulting in bitterness, needs to come out.

We all understand the importance of removing infection from a wound in order to be completely healed. I think that is a great analogy to the feeling that I’m talking about here. It is an interesting process that goes counter to my nature of the past, but that I’m willing with the help of the Lord to put my hand in His hand to move forward and let this understanding more fully lead to accessing the power of His cleansing and healing atonement to take place in my life.

My greatest desire of all desires, and my prayer of every prayer, is that I may love God our Eternal Father and our holy mother and the Lord Jesus Christ with all of my heart, might, mind and strength and to love my neighbor as myself. Bitterness is counter to everything in those two great commandments.

May the Lord bless us all as we work through our adversities, as our trials and our ordeals unfold in each of our individual paths. May we be introspective and look inside, acknowledge and recognize the death that dwells within us and allow the Lord in

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companionship with us to remove that by infusing us with His marvelous light and love so that we can be converted and healed.

2 Nephi 10:1[1] And now I, Jacob, speak unto you again, my beloved brethren, concerning this righteous branch of which I have spoken.

The righteous branch that he is speaking of is the Lehi colony and his righteous descendants that have been broken off, a branch broken off from the house of Israel, brought across the great oceans and established in a land of promise. Verse 2:

[2] For behold, the promises which we have obtained are promises unto us according to the flesh…

There he identifies the righteous branch as being themselves who have obtained these promises. Now in this chapter he’s going to list some of those promises they have obtained from the Lord concerning the flesh. Whenever you see the word concerning the flesh, according to the flesh, it has to do with the temporal world. So we would expect him now to list things that have to do with the promised land and their inheritance in that land. Going on with verse 2:

[2]…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.

Now this restoration takes place and refers to the latter days. All the promises concerning the remnant of Lehi’s seed after the great destruction at Cumorah and down through generations where the gentiles scourge his seed to where many of them in the North American part of the vineyard end up in a deplorable state, a hiss and a byword, plagued by the addictions of the flesh – alcoholism/drug abuse – find themselves in abject poverty on reservations throughout the United States of America and other places. Nevertheless, the promise is that in a future day these forgotten sons and daughters of Lehi will be restored to a knowledge of their true Redeemer and shepherd and blossom again and bear fruit as a magnificent righteous branch of the house of Israel through the seed of Joseph and his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh.

You can also see the key for this perishing is found in the middle of verse 2, all people perish in the flesh because of unbelief. Unbelief is the great disqualifier for life and light, love and truth, of the blessings and privileges of the doctrine of Christ, and the power of the doctrine of the priesthood. Unbelief is the great neutralizer. Verse 3:

[3] Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ—for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name—should come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world…

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Now this little part of this scripture here in verse 3 has been the source of contention and controversy both within and without the church. The controversy is that Jacob said that the angel told him that the name of this Redeemer would be Christ and that Christ is a title and not a proper name. To me this is straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Because all of the prophets before Jacob and all of the prophets after him have said that His name would be Jesus Christ. Even if Jacob does not mention Jesus Christ and only mentions Christ this becomes a stumbling block of no avail and no purpose for those who are looking for errors in the Book of Mormon and to dig a pit and ensnare the holy ones, as many try throughout the Book of Mormon history.

The name/title, Jesus Christ, has been known from Adam all the way up through Jacob and beyond. All of the holy prophets, as the Book of Mormon has testified and as we will see in future verses, have known the name of this Savior, this Redeemer, this Atoning One. Going back to the middle of verse three:

[3] … (that this Christ) should come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him—for thus it behooveth our God, and there is none other nation on earth that would crucify their God.

It appears that among all the nations of this earth, at this time in the Meridian, only the Jews were the most depraved and the most wicked among all the people on the earth that the Father and the Son in their foreknowledge would send Christ to in order for an atoning sacrifice to take place. As Jacob says here, if He had gone to any other people at that time on the face of this earth they would not have killed Him, in the face of His teachings and His miraculous ministry. Only this people at this time, after seeing, hearing and witnessing what they did, would still kill their God.

Let me read to you a couple of statements that illustrate this. Brigham Young in Journal of Discourses, volume 10 page 175 said this:

"We are inhabitants of a world of sin and sorrow; pain and anguish, every ill that can be heaped upon intelligent beings in a probation we are heirs to.”

Think about that.

“…every ill that can be heaped upon intelligent beings in a probation we are heirs to.”

Then listen to this part:

“I suppose that God never organized an earth and peopled it that was ever reduced to a lower state of darkness, sin and ignorance than this. I suppose this is one of the lowest kingdoms that ever the Lord Almighty created, and on that account is capable of becoming exalted to be one of the highest kingdoms that has ever had an exaltation in all the eternities.”

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Do you see that principle? If we were to read that first part of his statement concerning the deplorable condition of this earth we might have a tendency to feel discouraged and depressed and say, “Wow, what did I do wrong to be consigned to this earth, especially in this day when this deplorable conditions, darkness, evilness and degradation are at their height right now.”

Instead, he points out this great doctrine of opposites. That where something descends so low it has within it the capability to ascend equally to a height never before obtained. Brigham Young goes on:

“In proportion as it has been reduced so it will be exalted, with that portion of its inhabitants who in their humiliation have cleaved to righteousness and acknowledged God in all things. In proportion to our fall through sin, so shall we be exalted in the presence of our Father and God, through Jesus Christ and by living the righteousness of his Gospel. All this people will understand in due time through their faithfulness, and learn to rejoice even in the midst of afflictions....” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol 10, page 175)

Isn’t that a great quote? Here’s another one that was given on 28 February 2004 in the Reuben Clark Law Society devotional at BYU by Boyd K. Packer he said:

“I know of nothing in the history of the church or in the history of the world to compare with our present circumstances (Now remember this was given in 2004). Nothing happened in Sodom and Gomorrah which exceeds in wickedness and depravity that surrounds us now. In Sodom and Gomorrah these things were localized, now they are spread across the world and they are amongst us.” (Boyd K. Packer, 28 February 2004, Reuben Clark Law Society Devotional)

It used to be that the most oft quoted scripture in the Christian world was John 3:16.

John 3:16[16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Now, the most oft quoted scripture seems to be found in Ephesians 6:12. This scripture is found in connection with putting on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. And then this verse which describes our day:

Ephesians 6:12[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

After the death and resurrection of Christ the Nephites and Lamanites slip into a place even more corrupt, more wicked, more depraved than the Jews who crucified their Messiah. Go with me to Mormon 4:12—

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Mormon 4:12[12] And there never had been so great wickedness among all the children of Lehi, nor even among all the house of Israel (that’s including the Jews at the time of Christ’s ministry), according to the words of the Lord, as was among this people.

And let’s look at one more, let’s go to the Book of Moses 7:36. This is Enoch who has just beheld marvelous visions of the creation of all things, speaking with God face to face, and in verse 36 the Lord who is weeping concerning the wickedness of the world, not only at the time of Noah when the flood comes and takes them all away, but looking also into the end of the world and the gross wickedness that takes place there, and the Lord says in verse 36:

Moses 7:36[36] Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also, and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.

At all times and in all places in eternity where there comes the necessity to atone for the sins of a world one must needs descend into a place of such depravity that this atoning sacrifice, the death of a God, can take place. Back to verse 4 in 2 Nephi 10.

2 Nephi 10:[4] For should the mighty miracles be wrought among other nations they would repent, and know that he be their God. (Verse 5)[5] But because of priestcrafts and iniquities, they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him, that he be crucified.

This crucifying of the Son of God was surely known by all prophets who have seen a vision of the coming redemption and atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some people will point out that this is a false statement and proof that the Book of Mormon is incorrect because they’ll say that crucifixion was not known to these people at this time and was not practiced upon the earth until we get into the time of the Romans. For scriptural proof of the knowledge of His crucifixion prior to the time of Jacob’s discourse let’s go back to 1 Nephi 19:10. Nephi is speaking:

1 Nephi 19:10[10] And the God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up, (watch this right here) according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos, which he spake concerning the three days of darkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the house of Israel.

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Here is evidence that Jacob did not have to be told by the angel, mentioned in verse 3, that Christ would be crucified at Jerusalem for they already had a record in the plates of brass from the writings of these prophets not found in our Bible canon, Zenos, Zenock and Neum, who describe His crucifixion, His name, His death, His resurrection and His ministry. This is the pattern of all prophets from the beginning down. They have all known this, therefore, there should be no discussion or contention on this matter. Especially when we have the Book of Mormon as our witness. Verse 6.

2 Nephi 10: [6] Wherefore, because of their iniquities, destructions, famines, pestilences, and bloodshed shall come upon them; and they who shall not be destroyed shall be scattered among all nations.

This is not only talking about the seed of Lehi but also about the house of Israel in general and specifically about the Jews and their great diaspora and gathering. Verse 7:

[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.

You see, the physical restoration or inhabiting a land of inheritance in the telestial world, or even into the millennial world, is symbolic of the great land of inheritance in the celestial world for the sanctified. Everything having its pattern, its type and its shadow. This latter-day gathering of the descendants of Lehi will be a marvelous work and a wonder. The primary tool to the gathering of these sons and daughters of the wilderness is the Book of Mormon. It is their book, written to them, speaking to them from the dust as someone that hath a familiar spirit. Verse 8:

[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.

Well, Judah has been restored to her long promised land of inheritance in May 1948 as a result of the movement spearheaded by some of the gentile nations of Western Europe and the United States, especially Britain under the Balfour declaration, the spirit of Zionism that began before that under the direction of Theodore Herzl and most recently this last week you can see another element of that where President Trump signed an executive order in the presence of Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House declaring the United States support for the right of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This will go a long way to further establishing the security for the state of Israel within her own declared boundaries. Once again, a gentile stepping forth being “great in the eyes of God in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance.” Verse 9:

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[9] Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute?

Now we’ve spoken much on that now in all of the chapters because that is a theme from the first verse of Nephi, 1 Nephi 1 down to the present verses.

[10] But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.

And that blessing upon the gentiles takes place until something called the fullness or the end of the gentiles. My personal opinion is that fullness of the gentile, and the end of the Gentile took place in September 2017. I know that that’s a subject of discussion and others may not agree, but that’s all right, we can agree to disagree.

[11] And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.

The land spoken here which is a land of liberty is the United States of America. And the gentiles are the citizens of the United States of America. It is true that Joseph Smith said that all of North and South America will be the latter-day Zion and the land of inheritance for Joseph and his offspring, but this nation that is spoken of exclusively throughout the Book of Mormon is the United States of America from the Canadian border on the north to the Mexican border to the south.

And as we have mentioned before, kings have tried to establish themselves upon this land from the very early days whether it be Spain or Portugal or Russia or Mexico or Britain--all attempts for a monarchy to be placed in power in what we call today the United States of America has failed and in some of those attempts has resulted in bloody wars to keep this prophecy in fulfillment.

Instead of a monarch we have a Republic and it’s a mistake to call the United States of America a democracy. And those who refer to it as a democracy have not learned the difference between a constitutional republic and a democracy. You need to do your homework in that if you think the United States is a democracy. Using that term and stating that over and over denigrates the purposes of the God and the founding fathers for this great nation and its inspired Constitution.

Even our Pledge of Allegiance says, “and to the Republic for which it stands.” It does not say, “and to the democracy for which it stands.” So I encourage you to do a little study in the difference between a constitutional republic and a democracy and change our thinking and our verbal usage of these terms to more perfectly reflect the true status of this marvelous land of liberty. Verse 12:

[12] And I will fortify this land against all other nations.

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And that has been our history since the formation of the Republic of the United States of America. Foreign nations who have sought to invade and occupy this land have been frustrated at every step along the way. It is true that we’ve had internal conflict, and great civil war, but foreign invading land, coming here—the Japanese tried it and got into Alaska a little bit, and a couple of bombs in California and some submarines off our coast—but basically, when the Lord says, “I will fortify this land,” He has done that and will continue to do that as long as we choose Him, Jesus Christ, the God of this land, as our sovereign.

Now, notice that the promise here, which they have obtained concerning and according to the flesh, has to do with protecting us against outside invasion and occupation. And the Lord has been good on His word.

Abraham Lincoln said this, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

President Benson had much to say on this and even wrote a book called, An Enemy Hath Done This.

The term secret combination is a Book of Mormon term. If you go to the other scriptures you will be hard-pressed to find that term. The Book of Mormon gives us great insight into the enemy from within us. The very term, secret combination, refers to that which lies within our own borders and which erodes and destroys from the core out. You can see this in modern-day American politics when something called the deep state or the cabal is now being exposed and brought into the light. We will talk much about these secret combinations in coming verses in the Book of Mormon.

But know this, my friends, that right now as we speak, a great global combination called the New World Order, and all of its associated devices and societies, whether it be the Illuminati, the Club of Rome, the Council of 300, all of it is presided over by the dark Lords of the fallen world. And their goal is to seek the enslavement and destruction of all of mankind and they do it most successfully through governments and the control of people through their leaders. Our great forefathers were inspired against these great damning combinations and gave us the Constitution of the United States, a heavenly document, an inspired document, brought forth by men raised up for that very purpose. And right now, as we speak, the Constitution of the United States is the oldest constitution still in existence and functioning in the whole world.

[13] And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.

Remember in the Old Testament language that Zion refers to the United States of America and Jerusalem refers to the Jerusalem of old and the modern state of Israel. Jacob’s statement in verse 13 refers us back to 1 Nephi 22:14.

1 Nephi 22:14

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[14] And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it.

That is yet to come and the fulfillment of that prophecy, I believe, will be seen by those of us in the days to come.

2 Nephi 10:[14] For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.

The Nephites have the record of King Saul in the plates of brass. The warnings the Lord gave the house of Israel in the days of David and Saul were known to Jacob and Lehi and Nephi. Let’s go to 1 Samuel 8:5 where the people are talking to Samuel in his old age.

1 Samuel 8:5[5] And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.[6] But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.[7] And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.

There’s a great principle of the gospel here. If you want something bad enough from the Lord, even though it will be to your destruction, He will give it to you. Now let’s skip down to verse 11 and Samuel outlines in a list the things you can expect if you ask for a king instead of the God of Israel to rule over you.

1 Samuel 8:11-20[11] And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: (number 1) He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.[12] And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them (here's the next thing, 2) to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest (in other words, you will be slave laborers to the king, serfs, peons, living and dying in poverty. [Number] 3), and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.

Notice at the beginning of this it says, “he will set them.” That wording shows that there is no choice here, it is forced labor.

[13] And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.

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[14] And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.[15] And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.[16] And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.[17] He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.[18] And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.[19] Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;[20] That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.

Well, Jacob has this information from the plates of brass as he reads to them in verse 14.

2 Nephi 10:14-16[14] For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.

And in the future history of the Book of Mormon proves that even as the house of Israel rejected Samuel and the Lord, even so they reject him in the Book of Mormon time and we have a period of unrighteous kings. It was also predominant throughout the Jaredite society and many verses in the book of Ether simply go from one king to another king speaking of their oppression and their tyranny over their people. Verse 15:

[15] Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.

And that refers right back up to verse 13, “And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.” Now, look at 16:

[16] Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.

Go with me to section 123 and let’s look at this principle of bringing to light the darkness that is within the core of each individual of us in our flesh and in our fallen nature and in the core of our governments and our societies which result in the rot and infection that eventually destroys whole civilizations.

D&C 123:9-15

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[9] Therefore it is an imperative duty that we owe, not only to our own wives and children, but to the widows and fatherless, whose husbands and fathers have been murdered under its iron hand;

And this [iron] hand refers to the previous verses of the traditions of the fathers and the lies that have been passed from father to child until it becomes the main spring of all corruption.

[10] Which dark and blackening deeds are enough to make hell itself shudder, and to stand aghast and pale, and the hands of the very devil to tremble and palsy.

Now we’re going to go back to this imperative duty. Imperative duty means must be done. Absolutely critical and necessary.

Verse 11[11] And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart—

Now, in the previous verses he was speaking to those who had been persecuted in Missouri, who had been driven from pillar to post, who had lost everything—lands, properties, loved ones— brutalized, imprisoned, and murdered and now in verse 11 we’re speaking to us, the rising generation.

[12] For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—

Now, I want you to think about the rotten infection festering within the core, the center of societies that we’ve been discussing as a result of what Jacob’s teaching. Verse 13

[13] Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—[14] These (meaning the hidden things of darkness) should then be attended to with great earnestness.[15] Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things.

Now, up to verse 13, where he talks about the hidden things of darkness, go down and look at your footnote in 13b — secret combinations.

The CIA invented a term to cover up its nefarious activities that is now become widespread accepted and causes patriots and those who love the truth and seek to bring hidden things of darkness to light, and to shame them into quiet retreat, this term developed by the CIA is — conspiracy theory.

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You can leave out the theory because it’s not a conspiracy theory, it’s a conspiracy fact. All of these things, verse 15, back into 2 Nephi 10, where the Lord says, “I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations,” one of the ways to keep people from bringing these things into light is to brand them as a conspiracy theorist.

You cannot believe in evil and in a devil and in a dark world and not believe in conspiracy. For the greatest of all conspirators is the devil. And his works are based upon conspiracy. Go with me to section 89 and we’re going to look at verse 4. If we remain spiritual ignoramuses and we don’t pay the price to study and search the word of God then we easily buy these lies and deceptions and take them and embrace them as truths. This is the problem with the traditions of the fathers. Verse 4:

D&C 89:4[4] Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs (think of secret combinations) which do and will exist in the hearts of (look here) conspiring men in the last days, I have warned you, and forewarn you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation—

Evils and designs that exist in the hearts of who? Conspiring man. Whether it be political, educational institutions, those who control the water we drink and the food we eat, and even the air we breathe, we are foolish to set aside the idea that there is no conspiracy controlling the lives we live and where their designs want to take us.

2 Nephi 10:[17] For I 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—

What are these promises that He’s made unto us concerning our temporal lives while we’re living in this world in the body? Well notice there’s a “–“ after the word flesh, so to find out what He’s talking about we proceed on in verse 18. We already know that it has to do with lands of inheritance and as we’ve seen here that the land that He’s given to the descendants of Lehi and the latter-day gentiles will be a land of liberty that He will fortified against all other nations, if they will choose Him to be there God. Verse 18:

[18] Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles…

Why this affliction by the hand of the gentiles? You need to ask yourself that question? What state is the seed of Lehi in when the gentiles begin their affliction and scourging? Well they’re in a lost and fallen state having forgotten their glorious history, no written records, no written language, broken into tribes, warring against themselves, and slowly committing genocidal tribal warfare where millions have already died between Cumorah and the coming of the gentiles prophesied by Nephi. The purpose of all affliction is to soften your heart.

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These, the seed of Lehi, at this condition and at this state are hardened, irretraceable, and murderous. This is the legacy that we saw at the battle of Cumorah and what these peoples did to each other. There has to be a cleansing, chastening, scourging take place to soften the hearts of these people so that in the latter-days they can become the righteous branch spoken of by Jacob in the first verse of this chapter.

The afflicting of the seed of Lehi was heart wrenching. You can see it with the Spanish conquistadors. You can see it with them taking the Lamanite Indian peoples and enslaving them, to mine their gold, to go back to Portugal and Spain. You can see it all the way up through the Indian wars, the lies, the broken treaties, the final ending of the Plains Indian culture at the battle of Wounded Knee, and even up into the current day where you see their lost and abject condition on reservations and other places. But the Lord says also in verse 18:

[18]…nevertheless, I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore, the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel.

Now, don’t you find it interesting that this same group of people, the gentiles, the Lord uses to afflict and to scourge many of them into total destruction, and yet this same group the Lord also uses to be a nursing father and to bless them so that they can be numbered at a future day among the house of Israel as a righteous branch.

[19] Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed…

And that’s the repentant gentiles in a future day. We’ve talked about that and we’ll talk about that more when we discussed the remnant of Jacob.

[19]…forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God. Skip quickly over to Ether 2 and let’s look at verses 7- 12. These are promises made by the Lord to the brother of Jared concerning all that would inhabit this land of promise. Notice at the bottom of verse 7 the Lord says that this land has been “preserved for a righteous people.”

Ether 2:7-8[7] And the Lord would not suffer that they should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people.[8] And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever (that time meaning the Jaredite time when these promises were entered), should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.

Now, we’ll go into this in a little more detail when we get back to Ether, but skip up to verse 12.

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Ether 2:12[12] Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

There it is, there’s your great promise. Go back to the last part of verse 19 in 2 Nephi 10.

2 Nephi 10:[19]… wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God.(Verse 20)[20] And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; (We talked about this in a previous podcast.) nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea. (We have talked about that.)

You see, this new land is really the ancient land, and the old country that they came from is really the newer lands. The lands of America spoken of in the Book of Mormon are the ancient cradle of all civilization. Verse 21:

[21] But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea…

And as we mentioned in a previous podcast, the isles of the sea can also be continental landmasses, continents, the seven continents that make up the current configuration of our earth.

[21]…wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren.

There is not one nation upon the face of the earth right now that does not have the blood of the house of Israel intermingled in the veins of its inhabitants. Verse 22:

[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.

This is a good reference to the potential for other lands having the house of Israel who are keeping the records of their prophets and the ministry of God amongst them and even the appearance of the Son of God to them after His resurrection or even before as He did to the brother of Jared. All of these records yet to come forth in a future day all testifying that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Verse 23:

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[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.

Harkening back to his brothers teachings and also to his father’s teachings found in 2 Nephi 2, and all of the teachings of Nephi. Verse 24:

[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.

Let me talk to you for just a moment about this reconciliation. To reconcile something means to bring it back into a state of unity and oneness something that has been divided and separated. If it is a husband and wife who are in a state of separation, the thing to be sought for is reconciliation instead of divorce. I find it interesting that the word divorce has the first three letters of that word are the first three letters of the word divide.

There is something to be said about the devilish tactic of divide and conquer. I’ve learned something in the last two weeks. As we’ve talked about the fall of Adam and Eve and what were the consequences of that fall and what was introduced into this world as a result of that, we’ve talked about many things, but I’ve come to find out that the primary consequence of the fall is division, divisiveness that before the fall everything was in a state of order, beauty, there was no death, there was no divisiveness, there was no divorce, there was no separation, everything was in a state of oneness, unity and perfect order.

With the fall we have all of the opposites—division, divisiveness, chaos, confusion, all of the negativities of this world, war, where nations are divided against each other; family breakup where children and parents are divided against each other; divorce where husband and wife are divided against each other. The whole consequence of the fall is to bring everything into a state of separation, disunity and division.

The word reconcile means literally—to call back into union and friendship the affections which have been alienated; to restore to friendship or favor after estrangement; to reconcile men or parties that have been at variance. This is from the 1828 Webster dictionary. Now, think of the word atonement. Right in the middle of that word is the word one. In fact, atonement’s very meaning is to bring things that are divided at variance and in disunion back into a state of oneness, to be reconciled.

No wonder the experiment called Zion in a telestial world failed so miserably throughout our 6000 year written history. Zion, atonement, reconciliation are all in direct variance to everything found in the fallen telestial world. However, knowledge is power and once we begin to understand these terms and the strategy of the evil one to divide and conquer then we can form our own strategies in connection with the Holy One of Israel—to unify so that there is one heart, one mind, no poor, and all dwell in a state of righteousness.

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There can be no division in righteousness. There can only be division in unrighteousness. We will speak more about the grace spoken of at the end of verse 24 as we go further into 2 Nephi. Verse 25:

[25] Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen.

Now, that is a one verse summary of all of Jacob’s teachings beginning with 2 Nephi 6 and completing now Jacob’s great discourse at the temple complex—“raised from death by the power of the resurrection and raised from the second death by the power of the atonement.”

I express my gratitude, freely, to my Holy Father in Heaven in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, for the privilege of having the Book of Mormon open in front of me that I may make it a lifelong study and love this book and honor it and cherish it above all other books upon the face of the earth.

The Book of Mormon is the handbook on how to stand in the presence of God, behold his face while in the flesh, and be redeemed from the fall. May we look upon it as such, I pray humbly, and testify of its truthfulness, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

References:2 Nephi 10John 3:16Ephesians 6:12Mormon 4:12Moses 7:361 Nephi 19:101 Nephi 22:141 Samuel 8:51 Samuel 11-20D&C 123:9-15D&C 89:4Ether 2:7,8,12

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