Monday, March 25, 2024

2 Nephi 9: 6-15, 22l; Alma 11: 42-46; 40: 21-25 and 3 Nephii 26: 4-5





Here are the passages: 

For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.

Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.

O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.

And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.

10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.

11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.

12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.

13 O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.

14 Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness.

15 And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal, they must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they be judged according to the holy judgment of God.

22 And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day." (2 Nephi 9: 6-15, 22)


"42 Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

43 The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.

44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.

45 Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption." (Alma 11: 42-46)


"21 But whether it be at his resurrection or after, I do not say; but this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

22 Yea, this bringeth about the restoration of those things of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets.

23 The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.

24 And now, my son, this is the restoration of which has been spoken by the mouths of the prophets—

25 And then shall the righteous shine forth in the kingdom of God." (Alma 40: 21-25)


"4 And even unto the great and last day, when all people, and all kindreds, and all nations and tongues shall stand before God, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

If they be good, to the resurrection of everlasting life; and if they be evil, to the resurrection of damnation; being on a parallel, the one on the one hand and the other on the other hand, according to the mercy, and the justice, and the holiness which is in Christ, who was before the world began." (3 Nephi 26: 4-5)


And here's the commentary from the "Come, Follow Me" Manual entitled: "Because of Jesus Christ, I will be resurrected."


"It’s traditional at Easter to ponder the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but what exactly does it mean to be resurrected? What insights does the Book of Mormon offer about resurrection? Perhaps this Easter season you could list truths about resurrection that you find in 2 Nephi 9:6–15, 22Alma 11:42–4540:21–253 Nephi 26:4–5.

You could also record how these truths about resurrection influence your actions and the way you live. For example, consider how you would complete these sentences: If I did not know these things … and Because I know these things …"

What exactly does it mean to be resurrected for me? What insights does the Book of Mormon offer about resurrection? Here that truths about resurrection that I found from the passages I'm sharing in this post: 

1. Under God's plan, the power of resurrection overcomes death--both physical and spiritual, brought about by the fall (the fall of Adam and Eve which is actually a necessary part of God's plan).

2. An infinite atonement is necessary to overcome death through the power of resurrection.

3. Physical and spiritual death became temporary through God's wisdom, mercy and grace. 

4. Physical death is separation of physical body and spirit. A person's physical body and spirit reunites during the resurrection. 

5. When a righteous person dies, his spirit goes to paradise in the spirit world and stays there until the day of resurrection. 

6. Immortality is achieved when the spirit and the physical body are restored or are reunited through resurrection. 

7. Immortality is a free gift to all men. (The Bible says, "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." - 1 Corinthians 15: 22 )

8. The physical body will be perfect (all disabilities, infirmities and imperfections are gone) and immortal or die no more after the resurrection. 

9. After the resurrection, a person will have a perfect knowledge of all his thoughts, words and deeds during his earthly existence. 

10. Earthly existence is a probationary period -- a time when children of God are born into this life and live temporarily away from God's presence. (We existed before as God's spirit children living with God prior to coming down here on earth. God provided a plan for us to obtain our physical bodies and experience life here on earth so we could reach our full potential, become more like Him and have eternal life and boundless joy.) This life is a test. After resurrection, all men will face God and will be judged according to their works and the desires of their hearts or how they chose to live their lives here on earth. So, if our choices proved that we did continue to obey God's will while we were here on earth, we will be able to return to God's presence and live with Him and our families forever or inherit eternal life, overcoming spiritual death (our separation from God's presence forever). Unlike immortality, eternal life is not free. 

Because I know these things, it's clear to me that all my choices have consequences -- in this lifetime on earth and also in the eternities. And I understand that if I make the choice now to repent of my sins, transform and align my decisions with God's will, I will be rewarded abundantly now and especially on judgement day. God did not take away my personal responsibility with what He did during His atonement. Because of what my Savior, Jesus Christ did, I am empowered to rise above all my challenges during this lifetime and become my better version -- the person He wants me to be, even as He is.  

And because I know these things, it's been bringing me a lot of peace and comfort knowing that death did not take away my own earthly father forever. I know where his spirit is at the moment just as I know where his physical body lies. And I know that after his physical body and his spirit get reunited in resurrection just as all of our physical bodies will after death, if I did my part -- all that I could, I'll be able to see my father again and will be able to live with him again and with our family members and with God together forever. 







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