2 Nephi 9:7 - 9 The Importance Of The Resurrection As Part Of The Atonement

A couple things stuck with me during my reading and study of the scriptures this week. Even before this week I have been thinking about and working on figuring out how Jesus actually did the atonement. I have a few of the pieces but not as much as I want. I'll get more as I continue to focus on this.

One place that gave me more information is in 2 Nephi 9:7 - 9. Here it speaks of an infinite atonement and that if it were not then we could not be resurrected. I don't think I quite put things in such a light before. This seems to tie Jesus paying for our sins with our being able to be resurrected. My understanding was(is?) that because God is the father of Jesus body this allowed Jesus to raise himself from the dead and so too me this could have been done even if Jesus had not been able to pay for our sins. This scripture says otherwise and makes me ask the question why is resurrection linked with the rest of the atonement in this way? I don't have the answer yet and would love hearing from anyone who has thoughts on this question.

Another thing I noticed which I don't remember ever noticing before is in verse 8 where it says "... 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 verse 9 goes on to explain more about this. I get that if there were no resurrection that we would be miserable because our progression would be halted. But to say that we must become subject to Lucifer just because there is no resurrection seems to be a bit much. We are taught that who we are, including our attitudes and inclinations to do good or evil will be with us when we die because it is who we are. So if we desired to do good continually and lived an exemplary life I do not see how that would mean we must become subject to Lucifer if there were no resurrection. We would still be good people and we would not do as Satan does. Surely God would be able to provide a barrier between us and Satan and his followers just as it is written that during the millennium Satan will be bound. So why would this have been possible if there were no resurrection? There is probably a lot about this I don't understand yet.

I realize there is no need to worry because Jesus did complete the atonement which means we will be resurrected. But it seems to me this fits into how the atonement works and so is of interest for me.

I testify that Jesus paid for all our sins. He died for us. And he raised himself from the dead for us so that we would not be subject to Satan due to a lack of a body after death. Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ we will all be resurrected and if we repent we will be forgiven and thus ensure that Satan does not gain us as his subjects. It is imperative that we follow Jesus Christ to the best of our ability.

In the lesson this week I watched a talk by Elder David A Bednar titled The Spirit of Revelation. In it he discussed the different forms of revelation to include dreams, visions, messengers, and inspiration. About these forms of revelation he indicated that there are two primary ways they come to us.

The first way is that the revelation is received immediately similar to how a room is completely lit up as soon as we turn the light on. He said that this form of revelation is rare.

The second way revelation is received is more gradual. He compared this way to the gradual increase of light as the sun rises in the morning. He said this form of revelation is more common.

In class we have a project called the becoming project which helps us learn more about a Christ like attribute and to incorporate that attribute into our lives. I chose an attribute that is not in the common list of attributes. Mine is Christs perfect communication with Godhead. He always understood communications from God perfectly and he knew how to pray. I feel a lack of this in my life and so made this my becoming project.

After hearing this talke from Elder Bednar I realized that the real focus of my becoming project was on receiving and understanding immediate revelations. The type he said was rare. I have not and will not abandon my project simply because he says what I seek is rare.

This leads me to question. Why is it rare? Is it rare simply because it is supposed to be? Or is it rare because few people do what is required to get it? I am of the opinion it is that latter question. It requires a lot of time, study, practice, faith, and desire to get to the point where you can receive immediate revelation.

Nephi in the Book of Mormon achieved this before becoming a prophet. This tells me it is not reserved just for prophets. I have had two such incidents in my life with one of them happening a week or two ago. For me, for now, it does seem rare. I believe that I am close to making it be not so rare for me. Close being the operative word here and too me, meaning within a year or two. Possibly months.