Moro 7:46-48
From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
The Book of Mormon > Moroni > Chapter 7
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Contents |
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Questions
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Verse 48
- What does it mean to be a true follower of Jesus Christ? How does one attain this status?
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Lexical notes
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Verse 47
- Love of Christ. According to Webster's 1828 Dictionary, the primary meaning of the word of is to denote the genitive case which means "produced by" or "out of." In other words "the love produced by Christ" or "the love coming out of Christ." Of indicating possession, i.e. "love of Christ" meaning "Christ's love," seems to have derived from this primary meaning. In the Merrian-Webster OnLine Dictionary, there are 12 different meanings listed. All of them seem to have been derived from the primary meaning listed above.
- Possessed of it. Surprisingly, the only other time the phrase "possessed of" is used in the LDS version of scriptures is Matt 8:33 and Luke 8:36 in reference to being possessed of devils. See exegesis below for discussion.
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Exegesis
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Verse 47
- Posessed of the pure love of Christ. See lexical notes above. The connotation here seems to be that Christ is the original producer of love (see 1 Jn 4:19) which we are to become possessed with. This is consistent with verse 48 where we are instructed to pray to be filled with his love. It is not our love that we are to develop, but rather Christ's love which we are to be given.
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Related links
- Joseph F. Smith said: "Charity, or love, is the greatest principle in existence. If we can lend a helping hand to the oppressed, if we can aid those who are despondent and in sorrow, if we can uplift and ameliorate the condition of mankind, it is our mission to do it, it is an essential part of our religion to do it" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1917, 4).
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