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Annotations |
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Chapter 10
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1 And now I, Jacob, speak unto you again, my beloved
brethren, concerning this righteous branch of which I have spoken.
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2 For behold, the promises which we have obtained are
promises unto us according to the flesh; wherefore, as it has been shown unto
me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief,
nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be
restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge
of their Redeemer.
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3 Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be
expedient that Christ—for in the last night the angel spake unto me that
this should be his name—should come among the Jews, among those who are
the more wicked part of the world; and they shall crucify him—for thus it
behooveth our God, and there is none other nation on earth that would crucify
their God.
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Though “Christ” was used as part of the name “Jesus
Christ” in the New Testament, “Christ” is not a name. It comes from the Greek
“Christos” which is a title meaning “anointed” or “anointed one.” And, notice
how “Christ” is used in verse 7 of this chapter: “they shall believe . . .
that I am Christ.” I doubt anyone is seriously claiming that this says there
will come a day when they believe he is the guy with this name. It seems
obvious that the verse means there will be a day when they believe in his
divinity, in his role as Messiah.
But, according to this verse, an angel provided to an ancient Jew this Greek
title as a name of the Messiah. To argue that he really meant “title” instead
of “name” would be to argue that the title “anointed one” was unknown to
Jacob until the night before when the angel told him this. The problem would
be that the word “Messiah” is used often prior to this point in the book. See
Lehi’s preaching to Jacob of the Messiah in 2 Ne 2:6.
Another problem is that the 1830 version of the Book of
Mormon actually uses the term or name “Jesus Christ” in 1 Ne 12:18 – at least
33 years before the “name” of Christ is revealed to Jacob according to the
time frame indicated in the chapter summaries (p. 28, Book of Mormon, 1830).
How does this happen when the translation process provides
Joseph the Book of Mormon text word-for-word as described by Emma Smith:
“When my husband was translating the Book of Mormon, I
wrote a part of it, as he dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he
came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them
out, and while I was writing them, if I made any mistake in spelling, he
would stop me and correct my spelling (A Treasured Testament by Elder Russell M. Nelson).
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4 For should the mighty miracles be wrought among other
nations they would repent, and know that he be their God.
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5 But because of priestcrafts and iniquities, they at
Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him, that he be crucified.
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6 Wherefore, because of their iniquities, destructions,
famines, pestilences, and bloodshed shall come upon them; and they who shall
not be destroyed shall be scattered among all nations.
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7 But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh
that they shall believe in me, that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with
their fathers that they shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, unto
the lands of their inheritance.
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8 And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in
from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four
parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the
eyes of me, saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their
inheritance.
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9 Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers
unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the
promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and
who can dispute?
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10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of
thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.
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11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the
Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto
the Gentiles.
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12 And I will fortify this land against all other nations.
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13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith
God.
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14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish,
for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a
light unto them forever, that hear my words.
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15 Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be
fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto
them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of
darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.
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16 Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and
Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are
they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are
against me, saith our God.
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17 For I will fulfil my promises which I have made unto
the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh—
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18 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I
will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles; nevertheless, I will
soften the hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to
them; wherefore, the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the house
of Israel.
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19 Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed,
and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their
inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other
lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall
worship me, saith God.
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2 Ne 10:19-22
All these people of the House of Israel brought to the Americas and the isles
of the sea who have left no trace—nothing!
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20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful
God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember
him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast
off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance;
but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our
path, and we are upon an isle of the sea.
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Annotation for 2 Ne 10:19-22 above
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21 But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who
are upon the isles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs
be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren.
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Annotation for 2 Ne 10:19-22 above
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22 For behold, the Lord God has led away from time to time
from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And now behold,
the Lord remembereth all them who have been broken off, wherefore he
remembereth us also.
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Annotation for 2 Ne 10:19-22 above
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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.
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2 Ne 10:23, 25
The qualifier for death here is “everlasting.” One is left
to wonder what that means exactly since according to D&C 19:6-12 the
words “endless” and “eternal” do not mean without end when it comes to
“endless torment” or “eternal damnation”. These verses in the D&C explain
that “endless” and “eternal” are used because, “it is more express than other
scriptures, that it might work upon the hearts of the children of men.” When
people read these words in the Book of Mormon, how do they likely understand
the words “endless” and “eternal”? Is this honest communication if D&C 19
reveals the actual meaning of these words? Does “everlasting” also not mean
without end?
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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.
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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.
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Annotation for 2 Ne 10:23, 25 above
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