"Redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah"

I have read 2 Nephi 2 over a dozen times, but this morning the ordering of verses four, five, six, and seven really stood out to me, and I wanted to talk just a little bit about it.

Verse four simply tells us that the salvation of our souls is possible. Sounds basic enough, right? It's verse five that starts to make everything sound a little more muddled, though. It reads:

"And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law no flesh is justified; or by the law men are cut off." (Emphasis added.)

Wait... what? We were just promised a verse earlier that salvation is free! Now we're told that by the law no flesh can be justified? The verse goes on to tell us that by both the temporal and the spiritual laws, we will fall short.

Then we remember that that was well known from the beginning. When Christ proposed his Plan of Salvation, it was known that we, as mortals, would unquestionably fall short. Moses 6:62 shows that the Plan of Salvation would be impossible for us, save it were the blood of Christ.

This is where verses six and seven come in:

"Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth. Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit."

In Matthew 5:48, we are commanded to be perfect. How can we though, since Nephi makes it very clear that we will fall short of the law? Moroni says it well: "By his grace, ye may be perfect in Christ."

Remember, while we need to keep the commandments, it is out of faith and love for our Savior, who has "offer[ed] himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law." Remember, "redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah," and from nowhere else.

That is why I love Him so incredibly much. That is why I am willing to give two years to serve Him and "feed [His] sheep."

"They that be with us are more than they that be with them."

I am one of the only people I know whose favorite scripture is actually out of the Old Testament, but yet I can't find a single scripture elsewhere that is as encouraging as 2 Kings 6:16.

To really understand the importance of Elisha's statement here, we need to look at the whole story - why Elisha is saying not to fear.

The king of Syria had continually tried to kill the king of Israel, but Elisha, the Lord's prophet at that time, warned the king of Israel multiple times. Understandably, the king of Syria wasn't pleased. When the king finally found out that Elisha was in Dothan, he sent his men to kill Elisha.

Elisha's servant then woke up one morning to find the city completely surrounded with Syrian warriors and horses and chariots. In a clear panic, he yells, "Alas, my master! how shall we do?"

This is where my favorite scripture comes in: Elisha calmly and faithfully replies, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."

I just picture here the young servant trying to add this all up in his head. Here they are in this little city of Dothan, known primarily for its pastures. Not much defense there. He could look and count "Well there's Elisha... that's one.... and me.... soooo two?" then look up at the king of Syria's army sent out to kill him. Elisha's statement seems absurd!

But, no worries, the Lord always has a better plan, and His prophets understand that plan much better than we do. Elisha, noticing his servant's panic, prays that he will better understand his statement.

"And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."

Point of this story: we don't need to worry! Remember, 2/3 of the host of heaven sided with Christ's plan. That means literally twice as many souls are rooting for us as are trying to tear us down. No matter what kind of ridiculously challenging scenarios might confront us, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them."

"Think on these things"

Well, I'm new to this blog thing, but I figure that every morning I study the gospel for two to four hours; I'd better be able to come up with some thing worthy of praise or full of virtue - the subjects Paul counseled us to "think on these things" in Philippians 4:8.