Mosiah 15

(Below is a list of questions and quotes that help me think about each verse as I read it. The numbers represent the verses in the chapter.)

Jesus Christ satisfies the demands of justice for all who will repent. The righteous will be redeemed from death in the first resurrection and the wicked must wait to be resurrected until after the Millenium.

1.  Which member of the Godhead is this verse referring to?

2-5. What does the statement in green below mean? How is Jesus Christ both a son and a father? (See Mosiah 15:1-4, Alma 11:38-30)

"All fathers are sons, but not all sons are fathers."

From " Christ and the New Covenant" by Jeffrey R Holland

Examples of How Christ is the Father

1.     Christ is the heir of all that the Father has.

2.  Christ created the earth and is thus the Father of creation.

3.  Christ atoned from our sins and thus becomes the spiritual Father of the redeemed.

4.  Christ was the first resurrected and thus becomes the Father of the resurrection.

From "The Articles of Faith" by James E Talmage

Examples of How Christ is the Father

1.     He is the Creator of all things and is therefore referred to in many scriptural passages as “the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth”

2.  He is the Father of all who accept His atoning sacrifice and covenant with Him to obey His everlasting gospel.

3.  He is the Father by “divine investiture of authority.” This means that the Savior is the fully authorized and commissioned representative of His Father, that whatever He does as executor of the Father’s will has permanent and binding effect since it is performed by the Father’s chosen agent.

"There are ways in which Christ is so united with his Father that in some assignments he rightfully plays a fatherly role and rightfully bears the title of Father in doing so." - Jeffrey R Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 183

"As Abinadi taught, Christ was conceived by the power of God and therefore has the powers of the Father within him. In addition to that divine lineal relationship, Christ also ask as the Father in that he is the Father of our spiritual rebirth and salvation, and is faithful in honoring – and therefore cleaning the power of – the will of his Father above that of his will." – Jeffrey R Holland, Christ and the New Covenant [2007], 183-84

"The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one God in a sense far greater than merely being one in purpose. … In the exalted family of the Gods, the Father and the Son are one. They have the same character, perfections, and attributes. They think the same thoughts, speak the same words, perform the same acts, have the same desires, and do the same works. They possess the same power, have the same mind, know the same truths, live in the same light and glory. To know one is to know the other; to see one is to see the other; to hear the voice of one is to hear the voice of the other. Their unity is perfect. The Son is in the express image of his Father’s person; each has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; and both reign in power, might, and dominion over all the creations of their hands” -Bruce R McConkie, The Promised Messiah, 5, 9

6-13. What does bread and water have to do with your baptism? What covenants did you make at baptism? What does Christ do for those who take upon themselves his name? 

"When we embrace the gospel and are baptized, we are born again. We take upon ourselves the sacred name of Jesus Christ. We become as his sons and daughters and are known as brothers and sisters. We become members of his family; he is the Father of our new life." - Russell M Nelson, Ensign, February 1997

7-9. What are the consequences of breaking God's laws? How does the Saviors Atonement satisfy the demands of justice?

"Justice... requires that every broken law be satisfied. When yo uobey the laws of God, you are blessed, but there is no additional credit earned that can be saved to satisfy the laws that you break. If not resolved, broken laws can cause your life to be miserable and would keep you from returning to God." -Richard G Scott, GC, October 2006

10. What does it mean, he shall see his seed? What does it mean to you to have a Redeemer who has seen and knows you personally?

"The prophet Abinadi... states that 'when his soul has been made an offering for sin he shall see his seed.' Abinadi then identifies the Saviors seed as the prophets and those who follow them. For many years I thought of the Savior's experience in the garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin was heaped upon Him. Through the words of Alma, Abinadi, Isaiah, and other prophets, however, my view has changed. Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, it was a long line of people, as Jesus filled our infirmities, bore our griefs, carried our sorrows and was bruised for our iniquities. The Atonement was an intimate, personal experience in which Jesus came to know how to help each of us." -Merrill J Bateman, GC, October 2005

11-13. What two groups of people does Abinadi say are Christ's seed?
12. What do you think it means to become the seed of Jesus Christ? What are you doing to make sure that you are numbered among the seed of Jesus Christ?

13-14. Who are those who have published peace? How is teaching the gospel like publishing peace?

15. How are the feelings you have for those who teach you the gospel like Isaiah saying "How beautiful upon the mountains are their feet." How would you like to have someone feel that way about you?

16. Who are those who are publishing peace now?

17. Who will be publishing peace in the future?

19. What would have happened if this message had not been published? How do new converts feel about the missionaries who taught them the gospel? How do you feel about the current prophet? 

21-25. What is the first resurrection? What people will be part of the first resurrection?

"To those who lived before the resurrection of Christ, the day of his coming forth from the dead was known as the first resurrection. Abinadi and Alma, for instance, so considered it. To those who have lived since that day, the first resurrection is yet future and will take place at the time of the Second Coming. We have no knowledge that the resurrection is going on now or that any persons have been resurrection since the day in which Christ came forth excepting Peter, James and Moroni, all of whom had special labors to perform in this day which necessitated tangible resurrected bodies." - Bruce R McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 639

26. What are the consequences of someone refusing to be redeemed? What will happen to those who refuse to accept the Savior's redeeming act through repentance? (See Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-17)