2 Nephi 9 Part 1 (10/9)
Reading Assignment for class on 10/10: 2 NEPHI 9:1-26
Points to Ponder:
1. What are the awful monsters Jacob talks about? Why is monster a good way to refer to them?
2. How can death be considered merciful?
3. Enjoy and ponder these quotes about the Atonement. Consider copying and pasting them into your electronic scriptures:
Elder Russell M. Nelson, Perfection Pending, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1998], 167
“His Atonement is infinite-without an end. It was also infinite in that all humankind would be saved from never-ending death. It was infinite in terms of His immense suffering. It was infinite in time, putting an end to the preceding prototype of animal sacrifice. It was infinite in scope-it was to be done once for all. And the mercy of the Atonement extends not only to an infinite number of people, but also to an infinite number of worlds created by Him. It was infinite beyond any human scale of measurement or mortal comprehension.
“Jesus was the only one who could offer such an infinite atonement, since He was born of a mortal mother and an immortal Father. Because of that unique birthright, Jesus was an infinite Being.”
Elder D. Todd Christofferson
“If our separation from God and our physical death were permanent, moral agency would mean nothing. Yes, we would be free to make choices, but what would be the point? The end result would always be the same no matter what our actions: death with no hope of resurrection and no hope of heaven. As good or as bad as we might choose to be, we would all end up ‘angels to a devil’ [2 Nephi 9:9]” (D. Todd Christofferson, “Moral Agency,” Ensign, June 2009, 50).
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2 Nephi 9:10. “O how great the goodness of our God”
President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) expressed gratitudefor the Savior’s role in fulfilling the Atonement:
“Thanks be to God for the wonder and the majesty of His eternal plan. Thank and glorify His Beloved Son, who, with indescribable suffering, gave His life on Calvary’s cross to pay the debt of mortal sin. He it was who, through His atoning sacrifice, broke the bonds of death and with godly power rose triumphant from the tomb. He is our Redeemer, the Redeemer of all mankind. He is the Savior of the world. He is the Son of God, the Author of our salvation” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Victory over Death,”Ensign, May 1985, 51).
President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) expressed gratitudefor the Savior’s role in fulfilling the Atonement:
“Thanks be to God for the wonder and the majesty of His eternal plan. Thank and glorify His Beloved Son, who, with indescribable suffering, gave His life on Calvary’s cross to pay the debt of mortal sin. He it was who, through His atoning sacrifice, broke the bonds of death and with godly power rose triumphant from the tomb. He is our Redeemer, the Redeemer of all mankind. He is the Savior of the world. He is the Son of God, the Author of our salvation” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Victory over Death,”Ensign, May 1985, 51).
2 Nephi 9:22. “That all might stand before him”
All people leave God’s presence as a result of the Fall of Adam and Eve. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all people will return to God’s presence to be judged. For more on this subject, see the following passages: 2 Nephi 2:9–10; 9:15, 22, 38; Alma 11:43–44; 12:12–15, 24; 42:23; Helaman 14:15–17; 3 Nephi 26:4; Mormon 9:12–13.
All people leave God’s presence as a result of the Fall of Adam and Eve. Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all people will return to God’s presence to be judged. For more on this subject, see the following passages: 2 Nephi 2:9–10; 9:15, 22, 38; Alma 11:43–44; 12:12–15, 24; 42:23; Helaman 14:15–17; 3 Nephi 26:4; Mormon 9:12–13.
2 Nephi 9:21, 23–24. The Atonement of Jesus Christ allows us to overcome physical and spiritual death
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that the Atonement of Jesus Christ would provide victory over physical and spiritual death:
“From the moment those first parents stepped out of the Garden of Eden, the God and Father of us all, anticipating Adam and Eve’s decision, dispatched the very angels of heaven to declare to them—and down through time to us—that this entire sequence was designed for our eternal happiness. It was part of His divine plan, which provided for a Savior, the very Son of God Himself—another ‘Adam,’ the Apostle Paul would call Him [see 1 Corinthians 15:45]—who would come in the meridian of time to atone for the first Adam’s transgression. That Atonement would achieve complete victory over physical death, unconditionally granting resurrection to every person who has been born or ever will be born into this world. Mercifully it would also provide forgiveness for the personal sins of all, from Adam to the end of the world, conditioned upon repentance and obedience to divine commandments” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 105–6).
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that the Atonement of Jesus Christ would provide victory over physical and spiritual death:
“From the moment those first parents stepped out of the Garden of Eden, the God and Father of us all, anticipating Adam and Eve’s decision, dispatched the very angels of heaven to declare to them—and down through time to us—that this entire sequence was designed for our eternal happiness. It was part of His divine plan, which provided for a Savior, the very Son of God Himself—another ‘Adam,’ the Apostle Paul would call Him [see 1 Corinthians 15:45]—who would come in the meridian of time to atone for the first Adam’s transgression. That Atonement would achieve complete victory over physical death, unconditionally granting resurrection to every person who has been born or ever will be born into this world. Mercifully it would also provide forgiveness for the personal sins of all, from Adam to the end of the world, conditioned upon repentance and obedience to divine commandments” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Where Justice, Love, and Mercy Meet,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 105–6).