Mosiah 4:21-25

From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
Revision as of 10:17, 13 June 2009 by RobertC (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search

The Book of Mormon > Mosiah > Chapter 4

Previous (Mosiah 4:16-20)             Next (Mosiah 4:26-30)

Questions

Verse 21

  • "In faith, believing that ye shall receive." Who is exercising faith here, God or the recipient of the blessings? How does this decision affect our understanding of this verse and the underlying theme in the greater context? If the recipient is the one exercising faith, then this seems to make God's gifts contingent on faith being displayed by the recipient. This would seem to counter the theme of unqualified grace—that we should give to anyone who asks, without judgment. Or, perhaps this reading could be taken to emphasize the sense in which the beggar who asks is displaying a sincere kind of faith, analogous to those who ask God and beg for blessings, "in faith, believing that [they] shall receive." The other possible reading here is that God himself is exercising faith that the recipient will receive the blessings that God bestows (cf. D&C 88:33).

Lexical notes

  • Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes


Exegesis

Click the edit link above and to the right to add exegesis

Related links

  • Elder Dallin H. Oaks said this about vs. 24-25: "The law of God can reward a righteous desire because an omniscient God can discern it. As revealed through the prophet of this dispensation, God 'is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.' (D&C 33:1.) If a person refrains from a particular act because he is genuinely unable to perform it, but truly would if he could, our Heavenly Father will know this and will reward that person accordingly." (From "The Desires of our Hearts," Ensign June 1986).



Previous (Mosiah 4:16-20)             Next (Mosiah 4:26-30)