BOM Exam 2 Study Guide

HOMEWORK QUESTIONS 07. Introduction to Isaiah in the Book of Mormon (July 17) 1. 2. In Nephi’s introduction to the Isaiah chapters at the end of 1 Nephi (1 Nephi 19:22–24), why does Nephi say he read to his brethren from the writings of the prophet Isaiah? To teach them and help them know concerning the doings of the Lord. 3. Nephi says that in reading Isaiah, “I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.” What is the dictionary definition of the verb “liken”? To compare or to represent as similar 4. Nephi invites his family, “Hear ye the words of the prophet [Isaiah 48–49], which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves.” Nephi is acknowledging that, in its original context, Isaiah 48–49 is not about Lehi’s family, but Nephi wants his family to compare their situation to the one described in Isaiah 48–49 so they can find the similarities. For Nephi, this process of likening is not just an intellectual scripture-study activity: he says they should liken the scriptures so they can have what? So they can have hope and that they might have profit and learning 5. 1 Nephi 20 is a quotation of Isaiah 48. What is Isaiah 48 about in its original context? (Just give a one-sentence summary.) It speaks to the Jews exiled in Babylon, announcing they will soon be able to go home 6. In 1 Nephi 21:1–5 (= Isaiah 49:1–5), captive Israel complains about their exile in Babylon. In v.6, Jehovah responds that it would be too “light” (easy) just to get Israel out of captivity. Instead, Jehovah will also make Israel “a light” to whom? By being a light, exiled Israel will bring Jehovah’s salvation to what places? All this should remind you of the Abrahamic covenant: Israel may have forgotten their purpose, but Jehovah can use even their exile to help them fulfill their mission. The gentiles 7. Isaiah 49 (quoted in 1 Nephi 21) in its original context describes the Israelites who had been exiled to Babylon [insert country name] back in 586 BC. The chapter also promises that the Israelites will be allowed to go free, an event fulfilled when persia [insert country name] conquered the previous empire in 539 BC and King Cyrus allowed the captive people to return home and rebuild Jerusalem. 8. **In Nephi’s introduction to his first quotation of Isaiah (1 Nephi 19:22–24), Nephi had said that he read these chapters to his family in order to “more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer.” Now that you’ve read these chapters yourself, can you think of any ways in aswhich these chapters show Jehovah acting as a redeemer? Whom does He redeem and how does He redeem them? Jehovah redeems both the Gentiles and the Israelites. He does so through the Gentiles. He makes them carry his emblem and preach to the rest of the world. He acts like a redeemer because he helps his people time and time again, even after they have failed him. He continues to compensate for their mistakes and guides them to do better

9. **As Dr. Spencer teaches, Nephi says that he sees Isaiah’s prophecies “as having an ancient and a latter-day fulfillment.” 10. 11. 12. After the Israelites did not repent of their wickedness and were exiled to Babylon, they may have felt the Lord no longer loved them. Likewise, you (or someone you know) may have worried that you’ve done something so wrong or for so long that you cannot be forgiven. How might Jehovah’s message in 2 Nephi 7:1–3 // Isaiah 50:1–3 respond to that worry? He responds with how he has never taken his hand back or sold you. He has never given up on you. 13. President Nelson teaches that “ Everything we believe and every promise God has made to His covenant people come together in the temple.” He then refers to a title that the resurrected Christ used when He taught the Nephites and Lamanites at the temple: “children of the covenant” (3 Nephi 20:26). Children of the covenant , President Nelson explains, are “those who make covenants with God and keep them…. Thus, in the house of the Lord, we can make the same covenants with God that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob made. And we can receive the same blessings!” 14. President Nelson teaches that “the ultimate objective of the gathering of Israel is to bring” what blessings to “God’s faithful children”? Bring the blessings of the temple 15. 08. 2 Nephi 9–15 (July 19) 1. Jacob’s teachings that “there must needs be a power of resurrection” (2 Nephi 9:6) is one of the many places in the Book of Mormon that discusses this fundamental doctrine. Watch this short video . Some Christians do not believe that everyone will be resurrected; what does the Book of Mormon say about that? In addition, some people think that the physical body is unimportant or even inherently evil, and that a literal bodily resurrection is therefore unimportant; what does the Book of Mormon teach about that? The book of mormon teaches that everyone will be resurrected and that our bodies are important 2. According to Jacob, after death people experience conditions that he calls “hell” and “the paradise of God.” Does this happen before or after resurrection and judgment? Before 3. Jacob laments that “learned” people often “think they are wise” and turn their own wisdom into “foolishness.” This is not an anti-intellectual sentiment, however: Jacob says that “to be learned is good ” as long as a learned person does what? remains humble and hearkens unto the lord 4. **As a group of native American Gentiles help and support the Nephites, the everlasting covenant that the Nephites have brought with them will be a blessing to these Gentiles in return, as they “shall be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel.” “Wherefore,”

God says, “I will consecrate this land unto thy [the Nephites’] seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever.” Father Abraham would be so proud. 5. **Though Lehi’s family may feel forgotten, “the Lord remembereth all them” (10:22). Because God will be so “merciful,” Lehi’s family can know that “we are not cast off [two words]” (10:20). Knowing that God’s relationship with covenant peoples parallels His relationship with covenant individuals , what can Jacob’s words to the Nephites teach you about your own future trails and mistakes? 6. **As Dr. Givens teaches, Christians often use the verb “to atone” to focus on the mechanism of what Christ did instead of directing our attention to what His sacrifice was meant to achieve. What does Christ’s act of at-one-ing accomplish for us? (p.69) reconciling and having a joyful reunion with god 7. **In helping us understand Christ’s Atonement, Lehi, Jacob, and other Book of Mormon prophets try to give us a renewed sense of awe and gratitude for what universal gift? (pp.69–70) the atonement 8. **Regarding Christ’s Atonement, “As we might expect in a text that was not filtered through a traditional Christian lens,” Terryl Givens writes, “ abundant life [two words], not forgiveness, is the focus [of] the Book of Mormon.” (p.73) 9. **Repentance and change make it so that God can honor what we choose to become, but it is our ultimate choices—the trajectory we create over a lifetime and beyond—that are validated and honored, not the ignorant and inexperienced choices we make early on in the journey. In this way, we are “raised to happiness according to [our] desire of happiness, ... and the other to evil according to his desire of evil” (Alma 41:5). (pp.75–77) 10. **By helping us persist eternally as the kind of beings we choose to be, Christ creates the conditions in which “they who are righteous [or who choose righteousness] shall be righteous still, and they who are filthy [or who choose filthiness] shall be filthy still” (2 Nephi 9:16). 11. 12. Nephi says that as we read “some of the words of Isaiah,” we “may liken them unto” whom? Unto you and unto all men 13. Following his general introduction (2 Nephi 11), in Nephi’s first section of Isaiah material (2 Nephi 12–15, which quote Isaiah 2–5), what is the “main story” being told? Israel is wicked, and judgment and destruction are coming 14. 2 Nephi 12:1–4 // Isaiah 2:1–4 opens the Isaiah material with a glorious depiction of what the world will be like when the Abrahamic covenant is finally fulfilled. What will things be like religiously? What will things be like politically/socially? they will learn from the lord. no war 15. In the same way that Isaiah speaks of the “Lord’s house” being “exalted above the hills” (12:2), he speaks of many other elevated items and people. What will happen to these items and people? What does their “height” represent? (12:11–17)

16. Those with political and economic power in Judah are condemned for “eat[ing] up the vineyard” of, exploiting “the spoil” of, and “grinding the faces” of what segment of society? (13:14–15) The poor 17. 18. **Know the three reasons Elder Christofferson gives for why the first commandment is first, the higher priority. The first commandment is foundational, without it there would be deviations from the path of happiness and truth, and attempts at love that are not grounded in God risk harming others. 19. **As Christ hung upon the cross, our fate, our immortality, and our eternal life hung in the balance. What was the thing that tipped the scale, that enabled Jesus to finish what He had to do? His love for God. 20. People often ask a question that begins, “Does the Lord really care if I...?” You can stick in anything—drink coffee, skip church today, tell a lie, watch an inappropriate show. Almost anything can seem relatively minor if we frame the question that way. Elder Christofferson notes, however, that this is the wrong question. It is not whether the Lord cares but whether we will do what? Whether we will do what we promised. 21. **Elder Christofferson teaches that accountability to God is not meant to be burdensome or weigh you down. Rather, being accountable to Him is an acknowledgment of what? Of a wise, interested, and caring Father who knows the path to fulfillment and ultimate joy. 09. 2 Nephi 16–22 (July 26) 1. What is the “main story” being told in 2 Nephi 16–22, which quote Isaiah 6–12? God will use the coming destruction to reduce Israel to a righteous remnant 2. As Isaiah 6 opens, who and what does Isaiah see? What are the heavenly creatures called, and what are they doing? (2 Ne 16:1–4) seraphim 3. **How does Isaiah react to his experience seeing the Lord and why? What does a seraph do to calm him down? (2 Ne 16:5–7) fiery things, or angelic beings 4. The Lord tells Isaiah about a coming desolation in which the people of Judah will be both killed (“without inhabitant,” “without man”) and carried away into exile (“removed men far away”). What percentage of the people will remain as a remnant? (2 Ne 16:13) 10% 5. **In the Syro-Ephramite War, two kings, King Pekah of Israel and King Rezin of Syria, decide to invade Jerusalem because King Ahaz of Judah refuses to join their coalition against __________ of Assyria. (You will only be asked to match names and descriptions, not come up with the names from memory.) 6. **What does Isaiah prophesy about the outcome of the Syro-Ephraimite War—will Syria and Israel (called “Ephraim” here, after the dominate northern tribe) be successful, or will Judah come out okay? Judah will come out ok