2 Nephi 6

(July 27, 2015)

                When there are absolute words (none, all, every, and so forth) used in the scriptures, my metaphorical ears perk up.  After all, there is something important being said when something is given universal significance.  Thus when this chapter has language that none shall be destroyed that believe in Him, this is something that is important to consider.

                At first glance, it is difficult to see how this is true.  After all, we see any number of people seemingly being destroyed that believe in Him.  What about the Coptic Christians in the Middle East, for example?  We can consider it a metaphor and take the long view on the subject, but I have discovered in my life that oftentimes the deeper doctrine amounts to nothing more than taking the words of God at face value.

                As I considered this, my mind rested on one particular concept – destruction requires a diminishment of some kind.  When we believe in Christ, even our trials do not diminish or destroy us, but rather we are built more and faster than we are destroyed.  We may be damaged in the flesh but we are quickened in the spirit.  In aggregate, so long as we believe in Him, we will find ourselves progressing towards what we need to become and when something is taken away in one aspect of our lives we will find a corresponding blessing such that our trust in Him will be rewarded.