Book of Mormon Commentary CofC - Odessa, Missouri Community ...

Book of Mormon Commentary
2 Nephi Chapter 6
"falling from grace" and feared lest having "preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (I
Cor. 9:27). Jesus taught the necessity of endurance: "He that endureth to the end shall be saved”
(Matt. 10:19; 24:9-11).
2 Ne 6:51 Wherefore he hath given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment;
6:51 Sin is the willful disobedience of divine law (I John 3:4), and the wages of sin is death (Rom.
6:23). But until the law has been given and taught, there can be no transgression or no penalty
assessed (Rom. 4:15).
There is a complete and satisfactory answer to those who ask, "What will become of those who
have never heard the gospel?"
God is merciful and his justice is infinite. In latter-day revelation we are told, " And then shall the
heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection"
(D. and C. 45:10a). Thus those who have not obeyed the gospel because they have not heard it,
will have an opportunity in the spirit world or during the millennium under Christ's reign on earth.
This will be a thousand years before they face the final judgment.
2 Ne 6:56 But wo unto him that has the law given; yea, that has all the commandments of God, like
unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation; for awful is his state!
6:56 Luke records Jesus' statement on another occasion, "And that servant who knew his Lord's
will, and prepared not for his Lord's coming, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes" (Luke 12:56).
2 Ne 6:61 But to be learned is good, if they hearken unto the counsels of God.
6:61 This statement by Jacob is often quoted and is profound. He lamented the vanity of men who
have trained their minds in some respects, and think they do not need divine help (58, 59). His
conclusion: “Their wisdom is foolishness, and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish" (60).
He encourages men to study and learn, for it "is good”; he condemns only those who are wise in
their own conceits.
2 Ne 6:66 Wo unto the blind, that will not see: for they shall perish also.
6:66 Jacob pronounces a series of eight more woes: The rich who despise the poor (63); the deaf
who will not hear (65); the uncircumcised of heart (67); the liar (68); "the murderer, who
deliberately killeth" (69); those "who commit whoredoms" (70); and "those that worship idols"
(71). He summarizes by saying, "In fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins: for they shall
return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins" (72).
These ten woes (56-72), are a catalogue of man's well-known vices and the penalties which follow
them. Perhaps the most difficult to understand is the last. How can these wicked ones see God's
face? John declared, "No man hath seen God at any time" (I John 4:12). This seems to contradict
the testimony of Moses (Exod. 3:6; 6:3; 33:11,23), Abraham (Gen. 12:6; 17:1; 18:1), Isaiah (Isa.
6: 1), and many others. The Inspired Version explains John's statement by an exception: "No man
hath seen God at any time, except them who believe" (I John 4:12).