Options for our Final State

King Benjamin talks to his people in a meeting of so many people that not all can hear his voice, so they have to write down his words and take it around to people. He speaks about service, and how we should be diligently serving others. Then, he gives some descriptions of what our experience will be like after this life.

"Therefore if that man repenteth not, and remaineth and dieth an enemy to God, the demands of divine justice do awaken his immortal soul to a lively sense of his own guilt, which doth cause him to shrink from the presence of the Lord, and doth fill his breast with guilt, and pain, and anguish, which is like an unquenchable fire, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever." (Mosiah 2: 38)

This to me is probably the best description of Hell that I can think of. The scriptures talk about an everlasting burning, which conjures up in the mind actual suffering by fire. This, I think, is not accurate. I like King Benjamin's description, because it fits with God's plan. We have been taught that where we end up after this life, whether it be the Celestial Kingdom, the Terrestrial Kingdom, or the Telestial Kingdom, we will be in a kingdom of glory. I don't think that the image of Hell portrayed by everlasting actual burning flame equates with the description of "kingdom of glory". However, I will say that I can totally understand how we might have a grave sense of our inadequacies and shortcomings in this life, so by being given a Kingdom of Glory, we feel undeserving and guilty, almost AS IF there were a flame inside of us, consuming us.

"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." (Mosiah 2:41)

This, however, sounds fantastic! Dwelling with God in a never-ending happiness? Sign me up! All you have to do to get there, as it says in the verse, is to keep the commandments, and we'll be blessed.

This resonates with me. I hope to do more of my part to be able to dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. That is my goal, and my desire. I just hope I can get there. I know the path there exists, I just need to take my journey. Having a goal and a direction always helps, especially if it helps you make good decisions along the way.

The Written Word is Critical

"3 And he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of God.

4 For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.

5 I say unto you, my sons, were it not for these things, which have been kept and preserved by the hand of God, that we might read and understand of his mysteries, and have his commandments always before our eyes, that even our fathers would have dwindled in unbelief, and we should have been like unto our brethren, the Lamanites, who know nothing concerning these things, or even do not believe them when they are taught them, because of the traditions of their fathers, which are not correct." (Mosiah 1:3-5)

King Benjamin teaches his sons about the scriptures. He explains to them the importance of having the actual scriptures to refer to. He mentions that Lehi couldn't remember everything, and would have been lost, had he not had the brass plates to refer to and to use in teaching his descendants. This kind of underscores the same reasons why Lehi's sons had such an important task to go back to Jerusalem and get the brass plates in the first place. Nephi even was prompted to go so far as to kill Laban for them.

This just happens to coincide with a talk given by the Stake Patriarch (Walt Denton) today about patriarchal blessings. He was talking about how it is your own personal scripture and you should refer to it frequently. I think this is the same kind of thing, because no matter how good of a memory we have, it will never remember everything all the time, and so it's important to refer back to our patriarchal blessings and other scriptures so we can remember old concepts and be taught new ones at the same time.

Good reminder of how important it is to read and study the scriptures often, even if you feel like you know them very well.

Peace Takes Work

"Wherefore, with the help of these, king Benjamin, by laboring with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul, and also the prophets, did once more establish peace in the land." (Words of Mormon 1:18)

Moroni writes a few words here by way of explanation. Everything up to Omni was written on the Small Plates of Nephi. They ran out of room, however, so they stopped writing in them. In the mean time, there was another set of plates, the Large Plates of Nephi, which were more of the historical record of the people. Moroni became the record keeper of all of these records, and he writes here to transition from the writings on the small plates to his abridgment of the large plates.

The phrase "with the help of these" in that verse is referring to a couple of verses before, where it said that king Benjamin taught with the assistance of the holy prophets who were among his people.

Mormon describes that there were wars, and then there was also some wickedness and dissension among the Nephites.

So I think it is impressive that King Benjamin was able to establish peace in the land. But I think it is of note how he did it: He labored with all the might of his body and the faculty of his whole soul. That is the definition of "giving it your all".

I think there's a long way to go before I put that much into what I need to do, but I want to be able to look back and know that I gave it my all. Something to work towards, for sure.

Knowing What is Right

"1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Omni, being commanded by my father, Jarom, that I should write somewhat upon these plates, to preserve our genealogy—

2 Wherefore, in my days, I would that ye should know that I fought much with the sword to preserve my people, the Nephites, from falling into the hands of their enemies, the Lamanites. But behold, I of myself am a wicked man, and I have not kept the statutes and the commandments of the Lord as I ought to have done.

 3 And it came to pass that two hundred and seventy and six years had passed away, and we had many seasons of peace; and we had many seasons of serious war and bloodshed. Yea, and in fine, two hundred and eighty and two years had passed away, and I had kept these plates according to the commandments of my fathers; and I conferred them upon my son Amaron. And I make an end." (Omni 1:1-3)

I actually think this is a great example of the Lord preserving the plates as He was asked to do by earlier writers. Enos talked a lot about how he wanted to protect and pass down the plates, and the Lord told him that Enos was not the first person to wish for that.

Here is the part that I think is interesting. Omni, the son of Jarom, was not the greatest guy. He did recognize (with help from the Holy Ghost) that he was wicked, but yet he still knew what he needed to do and followed that.

Protection Through Keeping the Commandments

"7 And it came to pass that they came many times against us, the Nephites, to battle. But our kings and our leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord; wherefore, we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of our lands, and began to fortify our cities, or whatsoever place of our inheritance." (Jarom 1:7)

The Lamanites came to battle often against the Nephites. Often, when you get a defending country talking about their enemies, the conversation is about preparations, such as weapons, training, etc. In this case, however, the first thing that is mentioned by way of preparing the people for war with the Lamanites was that they were taught the ways of the Lord. They won some battles, and then continued to make additional preparations for other wars.

The Lord blesses those that keep His commandments. In fact, it's mentioned several times in the Book of Mormon:

"...the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that:Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land." (Jarom 1:9)

Everyone who has been led by God to the "promised land" (wherever that might be for whatever group of people you are referring to) abides by the same covenant: that if we keep the commandments we will prosper in the land.

Out of all the messages Jarom could have shared in his relatively few writings, he chose to share that one. This tells me that it must have been a very important topic for him to share.

I also believe that this teaching is in force today. Those that live in a land as their promised land must keep the commandments, or they would lose what they already had.

Jarom goes on to explain how the prophets and others constantly went around, reminding people to keep the commandments.

"And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land;" (Jarom 1:12) 

Faith and Spiritual Growth

"1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it—

 2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.

 3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart." (Enos 1:1-3)

Enos didn't write very much of his history. He didn't really have to. I think his entire message is about spiritual growth. He basically tells the story about how he went from leaning on the testimony of others to something much more. As we read about in this first passage, Enos was taught the important things by his father. I think it's clear that he heard what his father said, but didn't necessarily gain his own conviction of those truths. 

When he went out hunting, I'm picturing Enos setting up a spot for hunting, and there's a lot of patience and waiting involved in this. I'm thinking that he probably thought about a lot of different topics, and at some point, his curiosity was piqued, and he started to really think about the words his father had taught him. This is no different from anyone who is raised with the gospel in their homes. We learn it from our parents, from our church teachers, from our friends and neighbors. It isn't until we let these things "[sink] deep into [our] heart[s]" that we begin to learn for ourselves. It isn't the easiest process, and sometimes it even feels like a wrestle, to use Enos' description. But let's see what happens to Enos when he takes the time to go through it.

Enos famously prayed through the day and night, to this result:

"5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

 6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away." (Enos 1:5-6)

Guilt from sin, whether great or small, weighs us down. Enos prayed for faith, and for forgiveness. He got it, and his conversion was powerful. He even asked God how he could be forgiven, and it was answered that it was because of his faith. He had the faith, and he repented and was forgiven.

The very next step is a repeated pattern throughout the scriptures.

"Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them." (Enos 1:9)

The first thing that you want to do when you have something as amazing as forgiveness and conversion happen is that you want to share it with others who are close to you. It happened with Lehi in his dream about the tree of life (as soon as he partook of the fruit, he wanted to share it with his family). It happened with the righteous who survived the destruction at the time of the coming of Christ to the Nephites (as soon as they heard Christ teach that first day and told them He would be back the next day, people traveled through the night to bring those they cared about to the temple to be there the next day when He came). 

God tells Enos that he would bless the people according to their obedience, as a reminder that agency must remain in force. No matter how many people prayed for the Nephites, each of them had to make a choice to be obedient to the commandments.

Then, the circle gets wider.

Enos starts to pray for the Lamanites. It's worth noting here that Enos describes how throughout his life, the Lamanites and the Nephites fought a lot of wars, and were pretty hardcore enemies, yet Enos was praying for them.

I think this shows a level of spiritual maturity to realize that even your mortal enemies are really just misguided brethren, and you would love to see as many as can make it to live in the mansions in heaven prepared for them. Obviously, it's up to each person's individual choice, but to want everyone to receive the gospel and be converted, even your enemies, shows that you understand the gospel. You understand God's plan, and you want to share it with as many as you can.

Enos sums up his conversion very well:

"26 And I saw that I must soon go down to my grave, having been wrought upon by the power of God that I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world.

27 And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen." (Enos 1:26-27)

It's what I want to be able to say at the end of my life. There is no doubt in Enos' mind at this ending point of his life that he has been faithful and will live with God again. I want to have that same confidence in my efforts as well. I think I've got a long way to go, but as I learn from the experiences that Enos had, I can get there, it just takes time and effort.

Pouring His Spirit

At this point, Sherem comes around, preaching against Christ. In fact, he actively went around trying to lead people away from Christ:

"2 And it came to pass that he began to preach among the people, and to declare unto them that there should be no Christ. And he preached many things which were flattering unto the people; and this he did that he might overthrow the doctrine of Christ.

 3 And he labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people, insomuch that he did lead away many hearts; and he knowing that I, Jacob, had faith in Christ who should come, he sought much opportunity that he might come unto me.

 4 And he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil." (Jacob 7:2-4)

The first thing I noticed about Sherem is that "he preached many things which were flattering unto the people". This possibly was spreading messages like "God is good, He won't give you eternal punishment", or as it is put elsewhere in the scriptures, "Eat, drink, and be merry". One thing about living the Gospel is that there are restrictions and guidelines that must be followed. I can see how it would be tempting to hear someone tell you that you didn't have to live by those rules.

Something else I noticed about Sherem is that he "labored diligently that he might lead away the hearts of the people". This is saying that the reason for his hard work, or his purpose, was to lead away the hearts of the people.

The last thing I noticed about Sherem was that he was learned and knew the language very well, so he could convince people of the things that he was teaching them. I think that this is a pretty key point. The people were being led away by an "expert". I'm sure it would have been easy to believe the things that Sherem was teaching, because they sounded logical, and intelligent.

Jacob knew better, though. When Sherem came to try to lead him away, this is how the conversation went:

"But behold, the Lord God poured in his Spirit into my soul, insomuch that I did confound him in all his words." (Jacob 7:8)

I think that this probably surprised Sherem. He was probably used to doing the convincing, winning the arguments, and all of that when he was teaching his message. However, I think it's worth noting that the way that Jacob confounded Sherem was by the Spirit. Too often, we rely on our own intellect, our own knowledge, and our own experience, to ward off these kinds of very real attacks on our beliefs.

I can see why Jacob shared this story in his relatively brief writings. Sherem is representative of the world here. So often, there are many things that try to lead us away from Christ. They vary greatly, from religious people trying to tear down our beliefs ("Mormons aren't Christians"), to what is popular in the world in the media, as well as attempts to destroy good family values. As in the account told by Jacob, where Sherem did all that he did according to the power of the devil, this is the same instigator now. The one who goes about trying to thwart the plan of God. We need to recognize those for what they are, and choose instead to follow Christ.

In the end, Sherem recognized what he had done, and it literally killed him. He was able to share with the people that he had been led astray, and had led them astray, but then he died. I think this is something that is important to recognize, that the devil will never support his followers in their time of need. Not only that, but there are real consequences to following him. This is not unlike the world of today. In keeping with the analogy, where Sherem represents the world and Satan's attempts to lead us away, we need to remember that God will always win. God's plans cannot be thwarted. God will support and sustain His people. And even at times, when it seems like there is no way that good will triumph over evil, it will. Because God side always wins. Yet sometimes, we don't stick to His side the way we should. I am reminded of a quote by Jeffrey R. Holland:

"The future of this world has long been declared; the final outcome between good and evil is already known. There is absolutely no question as to who wins because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard. The only really strange thing in all of this is that we are still down on the field trying to decide which team's jersey we want to wear!"

I love this, because the sooner we decide which "team" we will be on, or which side to follow, whether it be good or evil, the more firm and steadfast we will be. The more we follow Christ, the more we will strengthen ourselves, and we will have more spiritual experiences to draw from. Eventually we, like Jacob, can say this about ourselves (what I want to say about myself):

"...wherefore, I could not be shaken." (Jacob 7:5)