Thursday, November 13, 2014

Mosiah 2:36 - 2:41

Mosiah 2:36 And now, I say unto you, my brethren, that after ye have known and have been taught all these things, if ye should transgress and go contrary to that which has been spoken, that ye do withdraw yourselves from the Spirit of the Lord, that it may have no place in you to guide you in wisdom’s paths that ye may be blessed, prospered, and preserved—

Now if there should be a time that the people reject the scriptures and their prophets, if they should turn their backs on the Spirit of the Lord and rebel to the point that the Spirit can no longer have any influence so that the people will be kept safe from their enemies.

Mosiah 2:37 I say unto you, that the man that doeth this, the same cometh out in open rebellion against God; therefore he listeth to obey the evil spirit, and becometh an enemy to all righteousness; therefore, the Lord has no place in him, for he dwelleth not in unholy temples.

The same is in open rebellion and knows that he is. He knows he is listening to satan and is now an enemy to God and he knows it. When that happens the Spirit withdraws for it will not remain with people in that state.

Mosiah 2:38 Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever.

If a man does not straighten up his life and live as he knows deep down in his soul he should live, it will happen that when he comes face to face with God he will know that he has willfully rebelled against God and will not want to face Him. His conscience will now bother him so much that it will forever prick him and him will never have a relief from his remorse.

Mosiah 2:39 And now I say unto you, that mercy hath no claim on that man; therefore his final doom is to endure a never-ending torment.

A man in this state cannot make any claim for mercy from God. His options are gone and he will be on his own to pay for his own sins.

Mosiah 2:40 O, all ye old men, and also ye young men, and you little children who can understand my words, for I have spoken plainly unto you that ye might understand, I pray that ye should awake to a remembrance of the awful situation of those that have fallen into transgression.

King Benjamin wants all who are capable of understanding his words to think of those persons who are now in this situation, that is, of not being able to claim God’s mercy because they have not tried to repent of their sins.

Mosiah 2:41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

And he wants them to now reflect on the state of those who have repented of their sins and the happiness they feel. For now only are they blessed spiritually but temporally as well. And if they will hang in there until they are dead, they will enter heaven and be able to remain in that state for eternity. King Benjamin testifies to this doctrine as it has been taught him by the scriptures and the Spirit.

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