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Thread: Scripture Study

  1. #1

    Scripture Study

    I'm winding my way through the Book of Mormon a very different way this time around. I'm reading "Living the Book of Mormon, Abiding by its precepts" from the 36th annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (Deseret Book). It has a wide variety of authors.

    While reading from the chapter, "All are Alike Unto God", it referenced 2nd Nephi 26:33. Here Nephi states that the Lord welcomes all:

    ...for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and heainviteth them ball to ccome unto him and partake of his goodness; and he ddenieth none that come unto him, black and white, ebond and free, male and female; and he remembereth thefheathen; and all are alike unto God...

    Elder Dallin H Oaks expanded on this verse to explain how all-encompassing it is:

    "He invited them all." We understand "male and female." We also understand "black and white," which means all races. But what about "bond and free"? Bond--the opposite of free-- means more than slavery. It means being bound (in bondage) to anything from which it is difficult to escape. Bond includes those whose freedom is restricted by physical or emotional afflictions. Bond includes those who are addicted to some substance or practice. Bond surely refers to those who are imprisoned by sin-- "encircled about" by what another teaching of the Book of Mormon calls "the chains of hell" (Alma 5:7). Bond includes those who are held down by traditions or customs contrary to the commandments of God (Matthew 15:3-6). Finally, bond also includes those who are confined within the boundaries of other erroneous ideas... Our Savior "inviteth . . . all to come unto him . . . ; and all are alike unto God."

    This gives me great peace and hope for a family member who has lost her way suffering from drug addiction. All are invited to come back to the Lord.
    Desse jeito, não tem jeito.

  2. #2
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    That book looks great, SDUF. I shall be purchasing it!

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  3. #3
    May I elaborate with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's thoughts on Psalm 56:9: When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me.

    Everything He does is in support of that ultimate purpose, no matter what refinements or trials are required in the achievement of that objective. Acknowledging the dimensions of His majesty and all quantum physics of the universe, from the budding of a flower in spring to expanding realms of galaxies without number, God's singular, solitary quest is to bless and exalt His children, to save (if they will let Him) every human soul.

    So in our efforts to swim through our sea of troubles, we must master this thought; in the common parlance of our faith, we must get a testimony of it. God is for us. He is never against us.

    [Elder Holland elaborates on the distinction between opposing the sin while keeping "unyielding love" for the sinner].

    ...In, through, and around all of the human, societal, and natural difficulties in our mortal world, God always loves us. He is always for us. In His divinity He cannot do or be otherwise. He would have no reason to be if it were otherwise. It is His nature to love His children.
    -Jeffrey R. Holland, For Times of Trouble, @2012

  4. #4
    Malleus Cougarorum Solon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by San Diego Ute Fan View Post
    I'm winding my way through the Book of Mormon a very different way this time around. I'm reading "Living the Book of Mormon, Abiding by its precepts" from the 36th annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium (Deseret Book). It has a wide variety of authors.

    While reading from the chapter, "All are Alike Unto God", it referenced 2nd Nephi 26:33. Here Nephi states that the Lord welcomes all:

    ...for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and heainviteth them ball to ccome unto him and partake of his goodness; and he ddenieth none that come unto him, black and white, ebond and free, male and female; and he remembereth thefheathen; and all are alike unto God...

    Elder Dallin H Oaks expanded on this verse to explain how all-encompassing it is:

    "He invited them all." We understand "male and female." We also understand "black and white," which means all races. But what about "bond and free"? Bond--the opposite of free-- means more than slavery. It means being bound (in bondage) to anything from which it is difficult to escape. Bond includes those whose freedom is restricted by physical or emotional afflictions. Bond includes those who are addicted to some substance or practice. Bond surely refers to those who are imprisoned by sin-- "encircled about" by what another teaching of the Book of Mormon calls "the chains of hell" (Alma 5:7). Bond includes those who are held down by traditions or customs contrary to the commandments of God (Matthew 15:3-6). Finally, bond also includes those who are confined within the boundaries of other erroneous ideas... Our Savior "inviteth . . . all to come unto him . . . ; and all are alike unto God."

    This gives me great peace and hope for a family member who has lost her way suffering from drug addiction. All are invited to come back to the Lord.
    This idea of universal inclusivity is one of the great tenets of the Book of Mormon, a far cry from the Old Testament exceptionalism that marked the usual relationship between the Tribes of Israel & YHWH.

    Detractors see a marked New Testament theology in there, uncharacteristic and anachronistic for its 500 years BC Hebrew context.
    Believers might see a more hopeful message for all of God's children.

    Either way, it's a progressive sentiment of hope and brother/sisterhood among all people.

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