KJV versus JST: Entering or not into the Lord’s Rest

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KJV Hebrews 4:3	JST Hebrews 4:3
For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.	For we who have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, If they harden their hearts they shall not enter into my rest; also, I have sworn, If they will not harden their hearts, they shall enter into my rest; although the works of God were prepared, (or finished,) from the foundation of the world.

The JST helped a lot on this particular verse to make it coherent. Without the JST, it seems like Paul is quoting something that says God makes an angry oath concerning those entering His rest, as though that is not where they (or anyone) is supposed to be. The KJV also makes it seem as though the work of salvation was finished before the world started, and a few more people trying to be saved is an awful attempt to mess things up.

All in all, a very confusing idea of God, His plans, and the significance our choices have.

On the other hand, the JST shows us Paul is paraphrasing Psalms 95:7-11 and simply collapsing the important appeals together.

7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,

8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

The important parts of those verses indicate that if someone hardens their heart against the truth, God swears they will not enter His rest.

The JST then adds the positive side of it too—those who do not harden their hearts obtain a divine oath that they shall enter the Lord’s rest. And there is no anger associated with that oath.

Also, the JST shows us that God prepares His works from the foundation of the world, not finishing them in the sense that everyone is already sorted into “saved” and “damned” groups. Rather, the divine machinery to save man is put in place with Christ’s atonement and messengers, and church, and so on. Man need only receive it and not harden their hearts against it.

So what is this rest Paul speak of, which we can enter? “For we who have believed do enter into rest.” He speaks of believers in Christ. We must believe in Christ enough to repent, and then we can have rest from the gnawing burden of sin. We must believe in Christ enough to pray for grace, and then we can have rest from the despair of our besetting weaknesses, frailties, and faults.

I had a little experience just yesterday with entering into the Lord’s rest. I had a nagging feeling at the back of my mind for about three or four days that I had done something wrong and I needed to make it right. It was such a little thing that I questioned whether it was really necessary.  But finally, I decided I needed to listen, so I fixed it and repented.  And immediately, I felt at peace.  It was real.  And just think, that peace and rest is offered to each of us if we will just respond to the Lord’s calls!

Wo to those at ease in Zion

In 2 Nephi 28, Nephi pronounces some woes upon the kingdom of the devil and those who are flattered and pacified and so on.  Then there is this quick little verse with not much explanation:

Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!  (2 Nephi 28:24)

Then next verse is sort of similar:

Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! (2 Nephi 28:25)

I’ve posted a long time ago about why our singing of “Come, Come Ye Saints” with the chorus “Allis well” does not fit this warning, so I’ll pass over that part, but I want to look at this warning to those who are at ease in Zion.

Why is being at ease in Zion so dangerous?  Is it the lack of repentance? Is it that there is danger in not being anxiously engaged? 

I notice there is a footnote for “ease” that goes to Amos 6:1, which repeats the woe to those at ease in Zion.  Nephi may have been quoting Amos, since the prophet Amos lived before Isaiah and Jeremiah, living in Judah, but prophesying to the northern tribes of Israel. If the prophetic books of the Old Testament were put in order that the prophets lived, Amos would come before Isaiah.)

But the next seven verses after Amos 6:1 elaborate on the warning with imagery that gives some clues to help us understand the danger, even if the imagery is slightly obscure.

1 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?

3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;

4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

5 That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;

6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.

7 ¶Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.

8 The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the Lord the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein. (Amos 6:1-8)

So what do we have here?  There are a few obvious things:

1)    They put far away the evil day (v3) – These people put off tricky tasks and thereby things get worse while they procrastinate.

2)    They cause the seat of violence to come near (v3)– A seat of violence is like a criminal gang’s headquarters. If criminals feel safe someplace, it is because the justice system there is weak and ineffectual.  So inaction over matters of justice causes evil and violence to proliferate to the point that it may become extremely difficult to eradicate.

3)    They are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph (v6) – This makes me think there was some sort of society affliction, but these people were so wrapped up in their pleasures that the problems weren’t bothering them, at least not enough to try to do something about it.

Now, what about the list of things they were enjoying? These seem like pretty comfortable and prosperous people. They have beds of ivory and couches (v4). They have plenty of cattle and sheep that they can afford to eat lamb and veal (v4). They have music and they have leisure time to invent new musical instruments (v5). They have plenty of wine and they have lovely ointments to use (v6). (Beauty aids? Perfume?)

The problem is they are so dang comfortable that they won’t take the trouble to deal with real problems, so those problems are going to get bigger until it disrupts their comfortable lives. But by the time that happens, they will have lost the moral force and courage to deal with their problems, and they will be the first to fly all to pieces.

The Lord tells Amos specifically that the Lord hates the excellency (and ease and refinement) of Jacob if it means they don’t do their duty and face their problems. Comfort without moral power is hollow and transitory.

This is a great message for our day, since we live in such comfort. If we are to escape the decay and moral rot, we must look at our troubles and duties as blessings that keep us strong.  They provide a load that helps us gain spiritual traction, like Elder Bednar taught. If we have been anxiously engaged, the period storms that roll in will  not overcome us.

Taking the Savior’s Yoke

28 ¶Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt 11:28-30)

This is more of an incremental insight, but it is precious to me anyway. 

In the past, whenever I have read this, I have wondered, “How does learning of the Savior’s meekness and lowliness help us find rest?” 

In Sunday School a few weeks ago we discussed this block of verses and someone pointed out that if you yoke a trained ox with an untrained one, it is possible for the untrained ox to learned from the trained one.

I liked that a lot.  If we are yoked to the Savior, we can learn how He does things. 

When the burden is heavy, He doesn’t shirk or refuse or fight it.  That is how His meekness and lowliness is exhibited. Also, He didn’t refuse to carry our burnden of sin when He worked out the Atonement.

Just knowing we can go to Him for help lightens our load.  I’ve found that when I take time to remember Him, somehow my spirit is renewed and my soul finds rest.  I had a few days this week when at the end of the day I just was exhausted and wondered how I could go on.  But when I sat and took some time to think about Christ and remembered and envisioned what He did for me, I felt the Spirit renewing my strength.

The sign of the jubilee years in Isaiah 37

In Isaiah 36, kingdom of Judah was confronted with an invasion by the Assyrians, who did their best to demoralize them with statements about how there was no way their God could save them, since no other gods saved the other nations the Assyrians destroyed.

In Isaiah 37, when King Hezekiah of Judah heard it, he took the national troubles to the Lord and prayed that the Lord would save Judah so that the Assyrians would know Judah’s God really was God.

Then, Isaiah came to tell King Hezekiah that the Lord would answer his prayer and he was to send a message back to the Assyrians with the following sense:  1) You’ve blasphemed against God, and we scorn you, 2) Our God got you where you are today, so of course the other nations were not strong enough to stand up to you, 3) God knows where you live and everything about you. (Implication: You’re in for it now!)

Then without warning, Isaiah shifts into a message for King Hezekiah, and this caught my attention:

And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof. (Isaiah 37:30)

What is this?

It is nothing less than a promise from the Lord that He will feed the people of Judah for 2 years with whatever crops grow all by themselves with no cultivation.  It is essentially a proclamation of a Sabbath year and a Jubilee year, one right after the other. 

If you remember, the Sabbath year was every seventh year when the land was to rest, and the Jubilee year was the 50^th year, or after 7 Sabbath years had happened, and it was meant to be a time of deliverance from debt.  So to have these two years was a message of rest and deliverance to the whole nation in a way that would could be appreciated for days and weeks and months…  It was a also a tender mercy; after all, one can’t be planting and cultivating when one’s land is under siege from invaders.   But it would also require their faith for them to experience the rest.  They had to believe that it would be all right.

What a great blessing!  The Lord through the prophet didn’t just speak assurance to the king, He also gave assurance to the common man who would be very worried about how their livelihood was being disrupted by the invasion of the Assyrians.  In an environment of tension and worries about captivity, death, and famine, God gave a promise of sustained rest and deliverance and providence.

I think the lesson from this is that if we turn to the Lord in our troubles, He will have mercy on us and help us in miraculous ways.  Sometimes through tender mercies, sometimes through great miracles, always in ways that we need.  No trouble is to great or too small.  No station is too high or too low to be blessed, whether king or commoner.

Traveling with the Liahona and afflictions in 1 Nephi 16

This is the chapter in which Nephi and his brothers marry Ishmael’s daughters, Lehi finds the Liahona outside his tent, the Liahona guides them on their journey, Nephi breaks his bow and his brothers murmur, Ishmael dies and his daughters murmur, and Laman and Lemuel are chastened by the Lord’s own voice.  I have a number of observations to make in this chapter.

Food insecurity and a can-do attitude

One of the main concerns that causes the murmuring in Lehi’s family is lack of food, and while I used to condemn those that murmured about it, I have come to the conclusion that I probably would have done the same, especially when I consider the difficulty that have sometimes had with fasting.  Fasting teaches me that it takes a lot of extra self-control to be cooperative while hungry.  But I usually know where my next meal is coming from when I’m fasting.  Lehi’s people were dealing with pretty consistent food insecurity, and I imagine that would wear on anyone.   Because of this, I think Nephi’s example is truly stellar.  Even though he must have been just as hungry as everyone else, he tried to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. 

Nephi’s can-do attitude and focus on solutions reminds me of a little lesson I learned in the last house that we rented.  That house had some pretty consistent leaks through the front window when it rained, and at the beginning of our time staying in that house, I regret to say that when I called the landlord to tell him about them, I complained and blamed him.   Naturally, this did not go over very well.  Eventually I learned to report the problem with out complaining or blaming and to focus on finding solutions.  Once I learned that, repairs happened more quickly!  (Surprise, surprise!) 

Hypocritical criticism

I think it is odd that Laman and Lemuel got so torked at Nephi for breaking his bow when their bows had lost their springs.  Their bows were just as useless, so why are they getting down on Nephi?  It seems like hypocritical criticism.  It shows us something we need to be careful we don’t do—get angry at others for something we have done too.  (In my life, one of the things I get kinda picky about is keeping the house picked up.  I have to be careful to put away my stuff at the same time that I get after my husband for leaving things out.)

Carrying Capacity and seeking higher nourishment

Something else I noticed in this chapter is where Nephi finally finds food after the crisis of the broken bow:

 30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the directions which were given upon the ball.

 31 And it came to pass that I did slay wild beasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families. (1 Nephi 16:30-31, emphasis added)

The Liahona directed Nephi to the top of the mountains, a completely different place than where they usually got food, which was “slaying food by the way” (v15).  It makes me think that maybe staying in one place may have caused them to exceed the carrying capacity of the land and they had killed all the animals in the valley where they were traveling. 

I also think there’s a little lesson here for us about getting spiritual nourishment.  Sometimes the spiritual food we get in the normal course of our day is not going to be enough for the challenges we face.  So we have to follow the Lord’s directions and go to the top of the mountains—the temple—to get the strength we need.  We will have to seek it out, rather than just letting it come to us.  Yes, it is nice when it comes, but the Lord does not intend for us to always go through life as passive consumers of spiritual things, taking only what insight is conveniently found.  Rather, He wants us to learn to use our agency and search for what we need.

Nearly there…

Another observation I have is about the course they took in the wilderness.  In the beginning when they have the Liahona, Nephi notes that:

…we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea….And we did follow the directions of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness. (1 Nephi 16:14, 16)

After all the trouble with the hunger and broken bow is cleared up, they start moving again and we something different—“we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the beginning” (v33)  It wasn’t exactly the same course, but it was nearly the same course.  I really wonder about that.  Suppose Nephi was nearly following the Liahona, but not completely?  Actually, he probably was following the Liahona carefully and still making it through the most fertile parts of the wilderness, but imagine what would have happened if they began deviating even a little bit from the course the Lord marked out for them?  As it was, they suffered a lot of hunger, thirst, and fatigue.  If they had almost followed, but not completely, they probably would have found themselves in much worse predicaments than they had.

This suggests a lesson to us.  How much blessing can we expect if we nearly keep the commandments, but not completely?  I suppose we can expect nearly to be blessed, but not quite.  But who wants a near-blessing when they can have a full blessing?  Or what if we nearly follow the prophets, but not completely?  Or what if we nearly fast (but not totally), or almost pray, or nearly keep the Sabbath day holy, but not completely, or almost have FHE, or get really close to having family prayer and scripture study, but not exactly?  We’d be ALMOST blessed… but not quite.  And just as Lehi’s family would have been in a bad way if they had wandered slightly off course, we will also be in a bad way, possibly suffering spiritual famine in our lives, if we wander slightly off course from the commandments.

Faith, diligence, and heed

http://propnomicon.blogspot.com/2011/01/mormon-props.html

Some of the best verses in this chapter are Nephi’s realization about how the Liahona works. 

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them. (1 Nephi 16:28)

Faith, diligence, and heed are important qualities to cultivate.  ‘Faith’ happens when you believe that the source is good and will give good counsel that will really help.  ‘Heed’ happens when you try it out.  ‘Diligence’ is about following the counsel consistently over time. 

Sometimes we may be really good at one or two of these qualities, but not all of them.  We may be good at faith and heeding, but not so great at diligence.  Or we may be good at faith, but never quite make it to heeding and diligence.  In many aspects of the gospel, I’m pretty good at all three, but in some areas I haven’t quite got the diligence down yet.  To have consistent blessings, we have to have all three—faith, heed, and diligence—at work.

Laman and Lemuel’s suspicion

I suppose once Nephi figured out the Liahona was fueled by faith, diligence, and heed he worked hard to follow those pointers and put all his energy into that.  It is possible that he took possession of the Liahona and became the navigator for the journey.  If so, considering Laman and Lemuel’s tendency to suspicion, it would certainly make Nephi’s older brothers nervous to see Nephi with it all the time.  I think they thought he was manipulating the Liahona somehow, making it do what it wasn’t supposed to do, just to have control over where the whole group went.  Eventually their suspicions come out—

….he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. (1 Nephi 16:38)

There are modern Laman and Lemuels today who suspect that prophets are just making it up about what is important to do.  They think the prophets just want the pleasure of being in charge and telling people what to do and where to go.  We need faith today in what the prophets warn us about, just as Lehi’s family had to have faith that the Liahona was really giving guidance from God and was not being meddled with by man.

Stopping places

A final observation I have is that it seems like Lehi’s party usually gets into trouble when they stop for a while to rest.  In 1 Nephi 16, it happens twice.  I can’t really see that the Liahona would tell them to stop; I think it would keep pointing the way, but that they decided to stop when they didn’t have faith to continue, and that’s when the Liahona wouldn’t work anymore. 

We kind of do the same thing to ourselves, I think, when we decide to stop following the guidance we get; when we do that, we don’t progress and we are more likely to get into a complaining frame of mind, and (strangely) that’s when the guidance doesn’t seem to do any good.  But it isn’t because there was anything wrong with that guidance; it is because we have ceased to move our feet.

What are your favorite verses in this chapter and why?

"All is well" - a license to relax, or a reason to get to work?

And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell…. Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! (2 Nephi 28:21, 24)

Have you ever noticed that the LDS Hymn “Come, Come Ye Saints” has the words “All is well” in it? For a while I was troubled about that, and I wondered how that hymn could be reconciled with this scripture.

Some words that stick out to me in the above scripture are the following:
pacify
lull them away
carnal security
cheateth their souls
leadeth them away carefully down to hell
at ease in Zion

Now, compare these words to some of the phrases in the hymn:
no toil nor labor fear
though hard
tis better…to strive
gird up your loins
fresh courage take
shout praises

The feeling conveyed is completely different. What matters is the spirit in which the words are said and the intent behind them and then the actions that follow

The hymn conveys the idea that even when things are in turmoil, “all is well” and advocates work to assuage grief and worry, promising that someday rest will come.

The scripture warns how Satan tries to tempt us into inactivity with the argument that things are already going fabulously and our efforts aren’t needed in Zion. The effect of this if we listen to it is our souls will be cheated of the temporal and spiritual blessings of giving our service.

So what is it we stand to gain by laboring for Zion?

And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me. (D&C 59:4)

This scripture shows us that diligence in keeping the commandments prepares us not only for blessings and revelations, but also more commandments. So it seems that commandments are also a blessing. (I still remember the day when my dad pointed this out in family scripture study; it was totally shocking to me.) I suspect it is because blessings are attached to commandments so inseparably that to refer to one is to refer to the other. The ability to keep some commandments requires keeping other commandments first as preparation, like how the Law of Tithing prepares us for the Law of Consecration.

28 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.
29 And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.
(1 Nephi 16:28-29)

In this scripture we see that diligence brings understanding about the ways of the Lord. This is such a precious thing, to know why the Lord does what He does. It introduces us to the exalted reasoning of our God and little by little we start to think like He does.

Diligence also brings more guidance to us, indicating that we have progressed. It is additional light that saves us from ignorance, confusion, and temptation.

And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day. (Jacob 1:19)

In this scripture we see that teaching the gospel with diligence clears us.

And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding their hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation; for we have a labor to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay, that we may conquer the enemy of all righteousness, and rest our souls in the kingdom of God. (Moroni 9:6)

In this scripture, laboring diligently allows us to conquer Satan and eventually rest in the kingdom of God, even if our labors don’t produce the effect that we desire to have on others. Working is good for us.

My husband and I have church on Sunday starting at 2pm and we get home at 5pm. I came home yesterday juggling a mental list of things I had to do for church. I had a new cub scout joining my den that I had to inform my assistant of. I had to call the parent of the scout to let them know about den meeting times and places and email them a schedule of our plans. I needed to make appointments to go visiting teaching. I needed to write in my journal. I wanted to do a blog entry. I wanted to call one of my friends and tell her the end result of one of my challenges that worked out. The mental list just didn’t seem to end! And I was expecting a call at some point from at least one of my siblings just to talk.

I thought about this list of mine and I wondered, “Do I REALLY need to do this today? Can’t it wait for another day? Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest!” I didn’t want to do any of it. I wanted to lay back and digest my food after breaking my fast. But it kept bugging me, so I thought, “Well, none of these things is really for myself and Sunday is for serving the Lord, so.. I guess I’ll do it… And because I didn’t feel like it, I prayed from help to want to start and the Lord reminded me of how good it felt to serve and that gave me the motivation to start.

(Image credit - Ann Kapp Anderson, www.annkappandersen.com/index1.htm)