Cracking the Code

Come Follow Me - 2 Nephi 1-2

I love 2 Nephi with all my little girl heart.  I think of it as headwaters in the Book of Mormon; the purest doctrine flows from this counsel to Jacob, Lehi’s son born in the wilderness.

One verse is packed with gems, and in that verse, there’s one word that was like a Rosetta Stone for a better understanding of who - and how - God… IS.

“And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God; wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him. Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed, which punishmentthat is affixed is in opposition to that of the happinesswhich is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement—“ (2 Nephi 2:10)

The Rosetta Stone word in that verse is affixed. The day I played with that word, I swear:  if I’d been a cartoon character, a light bulb bubble would have appeared over my head.

This was about the time I had started to study natural law and divine law. I was learning that the natural laws of the universe are fixed and cannot be altered. The likes of gravity, velocity, and entropy are predictable and unchanging in their ever-present reality.

What I was also learning was that divine law - the laws of the universe that govern human behavior - are just as fixed and unchanging. Things like chastity, generosity, kindness, and charity are just as unfailing in their attendant consequences.

And then I saw it. The word that provided scriptural proof of the seedling of such an idea: affixed.

Both punishment and happiness are affixed to our behavior. So - God doesn’t simply mete out blessings or punishment out of anger or spite, but because He must.

So - you know when you buy a Toyota, suddenly all you seem to see everywhere are Toyotas? Suddenly, after having started to connect this doctrinal dot - all I saw was this principle. Everywhere.

Neal A. Maxwell said it this way:

"It is important to understand that obedience is not simply a requirement of a capricious God who wants us to jump hurdles for the entertainment of a royal court. It is really the pleading of a loving Father for you and me to discover, as quickly as we can, that there are key concepts and principles that will bring happiness in a planned but otherwise cold universe."

- A Time to Choose, pp. 13-14

A “planned but otherwise cold universe” suggests that Father is not passing out harsh judgments willy-nilly, but rather, that His commandments are warnings about consequences which even He cannot avoid.

"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated -

"And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."      

- Doctrine & Covenants 130:20-21

Affixed.

Natural law teaches us that if we plant an apple seed, we’ll eventually get an apple tree. Which is absolutely wonderful…

Unless you wanted oranges.

So it is with the divine laws for human behavior.

The more I’ve studied natural law, the more I’ve come to know God - nature's God - as a Father of natural consequences.  Few are the times He actively punishes His children for disobedience, and it's generally for widespread disobedience - think: flood. More often, He warns about natural consequences attached to our choices, and allows us to feel the realities of those choices with those consequences.

The moral equivalence of gravity, velocity, or entropy looks something like this:

Stop worshiping God... and you will eventually worship stuff and stop feeling a duty to anything higher than your own needs, pleasures, and whims.

Stop worshiping God...and you will no longer feel a brotherhood with your fellow man, or feel a need to treat others as you would be treated.

Stop treating others as you would be treated...and you eventually see them not as brothers, but as objects - either in your way, or as tools  to help you further your own desires.

The Old Testament prophets warned that people who turned away from God would be part of nations which would suffer war, famine, and pestilence. Those three consequences are nearly always mentioned in that order.

If God is, in fact, a natural consequence Father - is it possible that those three scourges on humanity are not consequences imposed on us by an angry Parent, but rather, the natural consequences of nations who have become completely self-absorbed and self-centered?

Selfishness always leads to contention because of seeing others as in your way.  Contention left unchecked and turned chronic will always lead to war. War is the largest drain of a people's resources and always leads to massive hunger. Hungry people get sick.  War...famine...pestilence.  What if God doesn't "zap" us for disobedience at all, but rather...that we "zap" ourselves with the very real, affixed consequences of our choices?

If that is true, then one of our reasons for being on this earth must be to learn about the "irrevocable decrees" of heaven - the fixed principles and their attending blessings...or punishments.

Which leads to the phrase in verse 10 which states we will be judged by God “according to the truth and holiness which is in Him.”

If God’s plan works in us, we will learn this lesson of fixed consequences. We will also learn to not simply recognize the goodness and truth and holiness of God - but we will also learn to prefer it. Want it. Choose it above all else, because we love it.

We will be judged by the truth and holiness God possesses, and here’s the very best part: because He knew we were 100% incapable of this level of truth and holiness on our own, He sent His perfectly obedient Son - the Lamb without spot - to qualify for all of us. If we prefer it - choose it - and love it.

Lehi’s teaching of this generous plan is exquisite. It isn’t taught in any other book of scripture with such stark clarity and plainness. It is precious. It is delicious.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in this chapter.