2 Nephi Chapter 13

13 The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

There seems to be quite a few high profile court cases in the news these days. I know that compared to many countries, we are extremely blessed and lucky to have the judicial system that we have. It is hard to believe, however, that justice is truly being served when some defense attorneys join a case just for the notoriety and self proclamation it will bring to themselves. Whether the client is guilty or not guilty is almost irrelevant to their desire to "win" the case and get their client freed. The same argument could go for some prosecutors also. And what about the judges? Couldn't the same be said about many of them?

Isn't it amazing that the Savior Himself, who laid down his life, and bled from every pore to pay for my sins would be the person that pleads my case for me? Then, that same perfect person is also the person that will be my judge on judgement day. No ulterior motives, no self gratifying reasons. He already paid the ultimate price and humbled himself to the lowliest of lows for me.

It is comforting to know that He will be there on judgement day...as both judge and juror....as both defense and prosecutor. I put my trust in Him and His righteousness.

I try to live my life to honor the price He paid on my behalf...and to honor the fair and merciful judgement that will beset me.

2 Nephi Chapter 12

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, when the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Nephi was so excited to share more of Isaiah with us, and he begins with Isaiah teaching us about the temple. I love the symbolism in verse 2 of us flowing upward to the mountains. This defies the natural gravitational forces set upon our earth except by a higher force. We will get very little out of temple worship if we do not believe there is a Supreme Being who has more power than any earthly being or entity.

The temple is a place of worship. A place of learning. A place of seeking direction to make sure our paths in this life are pleasing unto the Lord.

I think of a time that I was engaged to be married. I was beginning to feel that I was not engaged to the person I was supposed to marry. I had already been engaged once before, so I didn't know if I was just getting cold feet or had real reasons to call things off.We were getting our engagement pictures taken the next day, and I was feeling I needed to find out if we were doing the right thing. I decided I needed to go to the temple and earnestly seek an answer if I was following the path the Lord wanted me to take. I went to the Jordan River Temple the next day by myself to do Baptisms (this was pre-mission). I felt the Spirit during my time in the temple, but it wasn't until I was waiting to do the Confirmations that I received a clear answer come to me. I received a strong and clear voice in my mind tell me that this was not the person that I was to marry, yet I was loved very much. I consequently felt a spiritual hug of love and warmth surround my entire body that I truly can not describe in words. I then left the temple so grateful for an answer to my prayers, yet very sad (and embarrassed) at the situation I would then face in facing a second broken engagement. To keep the story accurate, he had received his own similar answer and thus it was ended in a mutual decision that we both knew was correct for both of us.

Many years later as I was happily married yet struggling with infertility issues, I would spend many times inside the temple; wishing, hoping, and praying for a specific answer to tell me which direction we should pursue... yet that answer never came.

Now when I look upon these two different events, I see the need for a quick, specific answer in the first situation and not in the second. The young man I was engaged to was a fine RM who always upheld high standards and there was no reason for me to know on my own that he was not the person for me to marry. In the second instance, I was already on the correct path, and nothing was actually needed but the courses we were already taking and time.

There is no peace in this life, I believe, than living your life on the path the Lord wants you to be on. And there is no better place to receive counsel and direction in this life than upon the mountain of the Lord's house.

2nd Nephi Chapter 11

5 And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.

Why does Nephi’s soul delighteth so much? Why is he so happy to prove the existence of Christ?

…grace of Christ Both Nephi and Jacob comment that this should “cheer our hearts” and “delight our souls”. Grace through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ - everyone who has lived will be resurrected—our spirits will be reunited with our bodies, never again to be separated. This is a free gift that we have to do absolutely nothing to obtain here upon the earth. Don’t we all love free gifts? Sometimes we take things for granted that we receive without effort. Through His grace, the Lord also enables those who live His gospel to repent and be forgiven. Jacob and Nephi want us to remember how wonderful these gifts are and how we’d never be able to progress eternally without them. I think of an analogy of college. Say you need to take College Algebra to get the degree you desire. You work really hard, you go to class, you do your homework, and you pass the class. You then earn your degree. But what if College Algebra hadn't been offered that last semester when you needed it? No matter how hard you were willing to work...if it wasn't offered...you wouldn't be enrolled in the class and you would not earn your degree. Same outcome if the class if offered, you sign up for the class, but you don't attend, you don't do the assignments, or pass the tests. Even though it's offered...you don't pass the class or earn your degree. You blew your opportunity to pass the class and earn your degree. It is through the grace of God that we are resurrected. The free gift. It is through the grace of God that we have the opportunity to live with our loved ones and Heavenly Father through all eternity. It is up to us to take advantage of that opportunity.

…and in his justice Why do infants die? Why do righteous people have terrible things happen to them? Why? Why? Why? Isn’t this the universal question? Isn’t this the question that really puts doubt in some people’s minds about the existence for a Supreme Being when unrighteous people seem to reign unbridled while the righteous suffer trials and tribulations? How can this be right? Nephi wants our souls to delight in the knowledge that the Day of Judgment has not come yet! Christ’s justice will prevail. No human judge or jury. No human prosecutor or defense attorney...but an All Knowing God who will judge in perfect righteousness. Isn’t that wonderful? Isn’t that something to be excited about? Nephi thinks so.

….and power How? How? How? This is very hard for some people to comprehend…that humans don’t know or understand how everything about how the universe works. That there are some things which are hidden mysteries that we cannot comprehend completely in this life. That God holds knowledge and power that we can’t even wrap our brains around. Now this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to learn and find out all we can, but that we should be able to accept that there is a Supreme Being that has power to be able to do and create things that we can’t explain the “how” to. I tell my students that teachers lie to their students all the time. "What???" they say. You mean on purpose? Yes! I tell them. On purpose. You learn to count and like my 2 year old, you start with 1,2,3. Then someone teaches you about 0.Then, you learn 0 isn’t the first number either, and that each counting number (whole numbers) has an opposite (the integers). You go several years with this information, and then all of a sudden a teacher teaches you about numbers in between counting numbers (rational numbers) and you go quite a while thinking there couldn’t be anything else. Then what happens? You get to high school and your math teacher teaches you about a whole other realm of numbers called irrational numbers, and then about numbers that don’t exist on a number line (complex numbers). How do you think that would go over in kindergarten class sitting Indian style around the rug, as the teacher tells Johnnie that he’s wrong and the number 1 is not the first number? She then begins to talk about these complex (or imaginary) numbers with a negative in the radicand and how there’s also an infinite number of real numbers between 0 and 1. “What do you think about that Johnnie?” the teacher asks. Can you imagine the blank stares she’d be receiving around that circle rug about now? Nephi says we should delight in the knowledge of how powerful God is and all that he can do that we can’t even comprehend. Yet. Line upon line…precept upon precept.

…and mercy Haven’t you ever heard someone say they wish they could be baptized again to be clean and pure again like the day of their baptism? Yes… that would be a nice experience to go through again…but we can! Every Sunday! Too many of us don’t understand the true meaning or significance of the sacrament that we take each Sunday. To renew our covenants we made on our baptism day. To relive our baptism ordinance each Sunday. To repent of our sins, faults, weaknesses of the week and promise to re-commit ourselves to live the gospel and be examples of Christ in all we do. I think if we truly were aware of how many ways we are imperfect and fail to live up to our covenants each week, we would truly weep at the mercy of Christ and the opportunity to be forgiven each week. And that’s just for the day-to-day sins! When we realize our weaknesses and how merciful Christ is in giving us the opportunity to become clean again is when our soul truly rejoices.
I feel a true kinship to Nephi as he geometrizes his proof of Christ by using The Law of Syllogism. It’s so sad when people look upon religion as restrictions and limitations. It’s freedom from the bondage of sin! It’s learning that when we are serving others we find true happiness! It’s learning that through the true Priesthood of God, we can gain exaltation.

See just some of the ways our souls have to be delighted? So does Nephi. And he’s so excited to have Isaiah teach us even more…

2nd Nephi Chapter 10

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.
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.

See? Cheer up! It's so easy! Or is it?

2 Nephi 2:16 teaches us that we couldn't act for ourselves save it should be that we are enticed by the one or the other. Satan is real. He is as real as Christ. His enticings are as real as the promises of Christ. We must accept this truth and be prepared to be tempted as much as we rely on the promptings of the Holy Ghost. "If we are prepared...we shall not fear."

As we learn to recognize the temptings of Satan, we will be able to see the distinction between thoughts put into our minds through Satan and his followers, our own thoughts, and those impressions by the Holy Ghost. As we familiarize ourselves with these 3 distinct entities...we gain power in our life and in the ability to recognize the promptings we should heed and those that we must shun.

And this....is what Jacob is teaching us will give us true happiness that will cheer our hearts in this life and in the life hereafter.

2 Nephi Chapter 9

1 And now, my beloved brethren, I have read these things that ye might know concerning the covenants of the Lord that he has covenanted with all the house of Israel—
50 Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.
(also Isaiah 55:1-2)

Isn't one of the most common questions in the church....why is Isaiah quoted so much in the Book of Mormon? Why is it there, as a "brick wall" to some... hard to get past?

Jacob tell us why! He quotes Isaiah to teach us the covenants of the Lord that He has made with us. And then, after he so beautifully testifies of the truthfulness of the great plan of our Creator, he quotes Isaiah at the end to solidify his teachings.

Isn't that how we're taught to teach a given gospel topic? Relate the topic with a personal story or experience, teach audience about the topic, give scriptural references on given topic by the prophets, and bear our testimony about said topic?

Jacob warns us of Satan's plan to try to defeat us. He warns us of our own weaknesses and carnal desires, yet he ends with the beautiful hope and reassurance that nothing in this life is sweeter or more fulfilling than the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing we can buy will give us the happiness in this life or the next that we can gain through the Abrahamic Covenant of salvation through baptism and exaltation through Celestial Marriage.

2nd Nephi Chapter 8

also Isaiah Chapter 51:3

3 For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

Thanksgiving is upon us. A time for traditional comfort food, comfortable clothes, comfy snuggling on the couch blankets and loved ones. We watch traditional football, basketball, or movies, and give thanksgiving for the blessings that we have.

The Lord wants us to feel this sense of comfort and thanksgiving all the time. Even when life is full of trials and tribulations, we can feel His comfort in our lives when we are on His path and working towards our eternal goals. Even if we're still in debt...if we've begun the process of spending less and cutting back...we will feel the comfort of being on the right path. Even if we still lose our temper, or are battling with addictions, we will be comforted if we are taking steps towards breaking those addictions and resolving to have more peace and harmony in our lives.

As we leave Thanksgiving and head towards Christmas, may our hearts be on drawing our lives and relationships closer to our Heavenly Father and His Son, and not farther away towards debt, gluttony, addictions, and selfishness.

2nd Nephi Chapter 7

also Isaiah Chapter 50

10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light?
11 Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand—ye shall lie down in sorrow.

The Lord is always there for us. It is us that leave the closeness and oneness that we can feel with Him. It is us that decide to live our lives in ways that pushes out the time needed to talk to our Heavenly Father and listen to His answers.

Some people show their decision to be far from Heavenly Father overtly...by how they dress, what they do on Sundays, or by things they say. Others, it is not as easy to know how they are doing and what they are feeling on the inside.

I think there are many callings in the church which we can opt to spend a ton of time, run around like a mad person on Sundays,be a perfect administrator of our callings and yet we may not have had a spiritual moment for weeks on end. Being good at callings in church does not, in my opinion, always correlate with how close we are feeling with our Savior.

I do not feel it is an accident that the two most common answers on how to draw closer to our Heavenly Father are things that are done where others do not know if we are doing them or not... praying and reading our scriptures. We get no fame, glory, praise at church for the awesome job we did that week on our personal prayers and our personal scripture study.

I feel this chapter is teaching us that we are never alone. He is always there for us. It is us that leave Him. We can work ourselves to a frazzle in callings or in life in general, but if we're trying to do it without the Lord's help....we are just giving off sparks of fire, while He's there wanting us to have the entire bonfire that He has to offer us.

But we must ask. We must humble ourselves, plead for His forgiveness of our misdeeds and ask for His help. We must listen to His servants and heed their counsel. We must serve.

...and we will never be cold.