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Annotations |
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Chapter 15
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1 And now Abinadi said unto them: I would that ye should
understand that God himself shall come down among the children of men, and
shall redeem his people.
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Mosiah 15:1-5
This seems very Trinitarian.
Some defend some seemingly Trinitarian Book of Mormon references as not
contradicting current Mormon godhead doctrine (see The Doctrine of God the Father in the Book of Mormon),
but in context of doctrine taught in the “Lectures on Faith” how sound is
this defense?
From the “Lectures on Faith” that used to be in the Doctrine and Covenants
until the 1921 edition:
“The Father being a personage of spirit, glory, and power,
possessing all perfection and fulness. The Son, who was in the bosom of the
Father, is a personage of tabernacle . . . He is called the Son because of
the flesh . . . He, possessing the same mind with the Father, which mind is
the Holy Spirit that bears record of the Father and the Son.”
“Questions and Answers for Lecture 5
3. Q—How many personages are there in the Godhead?
A—Two: the Father and Son (Lecture 5: 1).
13. Q—Do the Father and the Son possess the same mind?
A—They do . . .
14. Q—What is this mind?
A—The Holy Spirit”
(Lecture 5).
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2 And because he dwelleth in flesh he shall be called
the Son of God, and having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father,
being the Father and the Son—
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Annotation for Mosiah 15:1-5 above
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3 The Father, because he was conceived by the power of
God; and the Son, because of the flesh; thus becoming the Father and Son—
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Annotation for Mosiah 15:1-5 above
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4 And they are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of
heaven and of earth.
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Annotation for Mosiah 15:1-5 above
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5 And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit, or
the Son to the Father, being one God, suffereth temptation, and yieldeth
not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and
cast out, and disowned by his people.
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Annotation for Mosiah 15:1-5 above
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6 And after all this, after working many mighty miracles
among the children of men, he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a
sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
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7 Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the
flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed
up in the will of the Father.
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8 And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained
the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the
children of men—
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9 Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy;
being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt
them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their
iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands
of justice.
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10 And now I say unto you, who shall declare his
generation? Behold, I say unto you, that when his soul has been made an
offering for sin he shall see his seed. And now what say ye? And who shall be
his seed?
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11 Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the
words of the prophets, yea, all the holy prophets who have prophesied
concerning the coming of the Lord—I say unto you, that all those who have
hearkened unto their words, and believed that the Lord would redeem his
people, and have looked forward to that day for a remission of their sins, I
say unto you, that these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom
of God.
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12 For these are they whose sins he has borne; these are
they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions. And now,
are they not his seed?
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13 Yea, and are not the prophets, every one that has
opened his mouth to prophesy, that has not fallen into transgression, I mean
all the holy prophets ever since the world began? I say unto you that they
are his seed.
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14 And these are they who have published peace, who have
brought good tidings of good, who have published salvation; and said unto
Zion: Thy God reigneth!
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15 And O how beautiful upon the mountains were their feet!
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16 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of those that are still publishing peace!
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17 And again, how beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of those who shall hereafter publish peace, yea, from this time
henceforth and forever!
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18 And behold, I say unto you, this is not all. For O how
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that is the founder of peace, yea, even the Lord, who has redeemed his
people; yea, him who has granted salvation unto his people;
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19 For were it not for the redemption which he hath made
for his people, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, I say
unto you, were it not for this, all mankind must have perished.
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20 But behold, the bands of death shall be broken, and the
Son reigneth, and hath power over the dead; therefore, he bringeth to pass
the resurrection of the dead.
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21 And there cometh a resurrection, even a first
resurrection; yea, even a resurrection of those that have been, and who are,
and who shall be, even until the resurrection of Christ—for so shall he be
called.
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22 And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all
those that have believed in their words, or all those that have kept the
commandments of God, shall come forth in the first resurrection; therefore,
they are the first resurrection.
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23 They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed
them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of
death.
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24 And these are those who have part in the first
resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ came, in
their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them. And thus the
Lord bringeth about the restoration of these; and they have a part in the
first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord.
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But, the LDS Church does ordinances for the dead, even
though according to this those who die in ignorance have eternal life, and
according to Moroni 8:22-23, those who have not the law need not baptism.
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25 And little children also have eternal life.
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26 But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye
ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and
die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever
since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have
known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that
have no part in the first resurrection.
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27 Therefore ought ye not to tremble? For salvation cometh
to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord
redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it
has its claim.
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28 And now I say unto you that the time shall come that
the salvation of the Lord shall be declared to every nation, kindred, tongue,
and people.
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29 Yea, Lord, thy watchmen shall lift up their voice; with
the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the
Lord shall bring again Zion.
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Mosiah 15:29-31
This is a quote of Isaiah 52:8-10. There seems to be a
consensus among serious biblical scholars that this passage from Isaiah was
written during the Babylonian exile, in other words, it appears to have been
written after Lehi left Jerusalem.
“Modern scholarship considers the Book of Isaiah to be an
anthology, the two principal compositions of which are the Book of Isaiah
proper (chapters 1-39, with some exceptions), containing the words of the
prophet Isaiah himself, dating from the time of the First Temple, around 700
BCE, and Second Isaiah (Deutero-Isaiah, chapters 40-66), comprising the words
of an anonymous prophet, who lived some one hundred and fifty years later,
around the time of the Babylonian exile”
(RationalWiki: Book of Isaiah).
It is also interesting to note that these verses were quoted just three chapters earlier in Mosiah 12:22-24.
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30 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of
Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed
Jerusalem.
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Annotation for Mosiah 15:29-31 above
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31 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all
the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our
God.
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Annotation for Mosiah 15:29-31 above
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