2 Nephi 9 Part Two

After explaining how the atonement relates to the fall and how everyone can be redeemed from physical and spiritual death, Jacob explains how justice and mercy work. The law of justice is an eternal law and it requires that for every good thing we do in life, there should be a just reward, and for every sin there should be a just punishment. The great thing about the law of justice is no one gets away with anything. Eventually, a price has to be paid. The difficult thing about it is, good people will still have to suffer for things they have done wrong, even if it's something in the past that they overcame. The atonement allows the Savior to pay for the consequences of our sins so we don't have to. It's like someone coming in and paying off a debt that the law requires us to pay. We can't afford, but by someone else paying it, the person owed the money is satisfied. But, the Savior only pays the price demanded by justice IF we are striving to live righteously and repent of our wrongs. Another great thing about the atonement is "where there is no law given, there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him." People will not be punished for what they didn't know because they didn't have the opportunity to learn.

Finally, Jacob lists some of the pitfalls and sins that can cause people to suffer the demands of the law of justice. They are:

1. Having the commandments but not keeping them
2. Wasting the our lives
3. Allowing the false wisdom and pride to rule over us
4. Being rich and persecuting and ignoring the poor
5. Being deaf and blind to the Spirit
6. Failure to be humble and recognize our weaknesses
7. Lying, murder, idol worship

He warns us not to die in our sins and that to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life. I think that applies as much to this life as the next. I believe that when we are spiritually minded, we see more in life, we enjoy more in life and life has more purpose and meaning. When we are spiritually dead, we tend to only see the negative in life and in people, and life can become a drudgery. Jacob pleads with us to open our hearts and minds and be humble. That is when the great spiritual truths will be opened up to us.