Hel 8:11-15
From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
The Book of Mormon > Helaman > Chapter 8
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Questions
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Verses 15
- What does it mean to "look upon the Son of God"?
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Lexical notes
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Exegesis
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Verses 14-15
Alma 33:18-19 teaches that the brazen serpent was a type of the Son of God.
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Verse 15
- In other scriptures describing the typology of the brazen serpent, looking to Christ and being healed is described as simple (1 Ne 17:41) and easy (Alma 37:46). However, v. 15 qualifies the conditions of looking: faith and a contrite spirit are also required to obtain eternal life. This is consistent with other scriptures that teach that simply believing in God is not sufficient (see James 2:17-26). Still, because of the atonement, it is relatively easy for us to obtain eternal life. Although we might not always consider the requirement of nurturing faith and developing a contrite heart easy, we do not have to pay the price that Christ did (cf. D&C 19:16-19). Moreover, Prov 13:15 and Alma 41:10 teach us that the sinner's path is hard and unhappy, presumably much harder than having faith and a contrite heart.
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Related links
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