Jewish Captivity in Babylon

Nephi writes the words of his father in 1 Nephi 10:3:

"3 That after they should be destroyed, even that great city Jerusalem, and many be carried away captive into Babylon, according to the own due time of the Lord, they should return again, yea, even be brought back out of captivity; and after they should be brought back out of captivity they should possess again the land of their inheritance."

This statement by Lehi is both a prophecy and a lesson about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

Prophecy
Lehi foresees that although many will be destroyed in Jerusalem, there will also be many who are captured and taken to Babylon.  Eventually, they will be restored to Israel to the original land of their inheritance.

Historically, Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar besieged and then destroyed much of Jerusalem, and took many prisoners back to Babylon. Later when the Persian Empire conquered Babylon, Cyrus decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem.

Atonement
All of us during our lives sin and fall captive to the influence of the adversary just like the Jews fell captive to the Babylonians. Babylon often represents worldliness, and as the lure of the world and its enticements are often the cause for our sins, this is quite fitting. However, we have been blessed with a supernal gift to deliver us from captivity and sin - the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Because of our Savior, we are able to repent, change, figuratively flee Babylonian captivity, and be restored to our land of inheritance. I find it interesting that the term "land of their inheritance" is used rather than just saying Jerusalem. Our loving Father in Heaven intends for us to inherit all that He has, but no unclean thing can dwell in his presence. Therefore, we must rely on the Atonement to leave Babylon behind and receive our eternal inheritance.

Mosiah 3:19 - How to Overcome the Natural Man

One of my favorite scriptures is from King Benjamin's address in Mosiah 3:19 where he teaches:

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

This is a powerful lesson in how to overcome the desires of the flesh and work towards perfection. He breaks it down into three things we must do:

(1) Yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit

After baptism, we are confirmed and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This gift entitles us to the constant companionship of the Spirit as long as we remain worthy, for the Spirit cannot dwell in an unholy tabernacle. The Spirit warns us of danger and is influential in showing us a way to escape temptation because the Lord always prepares a way for our escape (see 1 Cor 10:13) so that we are able to use our agency in overcoming the temptation. We must listen to the still small voice.

(2) Put off the natural man, becoming a saint through the Atonement

To me "putting off" the natural man is about commitment. We must commit to ourselves and to God that we are going to do better, think better, speak better and be better. But it is not usually possible to just "put off" the natural man with one firm commitment because we're human and we slip up from time to time. This is why the Atonement of Jesus Christ is an essential element in overcoming the flesh. As often as we sincerely repent, the Lord will forgive us. This step is really a continuous cycle of commitment, effort, falling short, repenting and being forgiven through the Atonement. The goal should be to do a little better each time - we must constantly be improving and progressing, but perfection is not expected of us the first time.

(3) Become as a child

We must develop childlike attributes such as those listed by King Benjamin: "submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father." These attributes lead to us being able to see the big picture of God's will and accept his will. They also lead us to become more like our Savior, full of charity - a pure love - for everyone around us. As we are filled with charity, we cannot help but want to serve our fellowman, and in this service there is no place for selfishness and the natural man, for they have been pushed out of our lives and replaced with an attitude of service.

Avoiding Sin

Let's see what Helaman taught to his sons, Nephi and Lehi, in the Book of Mormon. Specifically, I'll study this from the passage Helaman 5:5-13 to see how Helaman taught his sons to avoid sin.

First we must have a firm testimony of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. Helaman lived before the Savior came. He taught his sons: "remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world" (Helaman 5:9).

Then comes the powerful teaching that we should apply into our lives to avoid sin:

"12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." (Helaman 5:12)

We must build our testimonies on the rock of Jesus Christ because the storms of temptations and sin will without doubt attack us. The promise is that if we build our foundation on Christ, we cannot fall. This is the message that Heleman sought to instil within his sons. I believe it is a recipe for success in life and freedom from sin.

Why Do People Sin When They Know It's Wrong?

After a short period of righteousness among the Nephites, they began to become wicked again. This verse describes their actions:

"Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them; therefore they did wilfully rebel against God."
3 Nephi 6:18

Why do people sin when they know it is wrong to do so? I would love to hear any thoughts that readers of this blog might have- feel free to leave a comment!

I know there are dozens of reasons. Pride, for example, could cause someone to do something wrong knowingly because he or she has a reputation to keep. Someone may justify sins as he or she seeks for power, riches, or prestige.

Satan is a tricky devil, a very good devil at that. He has been doing what he does for a long time, and he has learned how to put attractive wrapping paper and flashy ribbons on the most dangerous packages. One may think that a single pornographic image is harmless, one drink of alcohol won't hurt, or a few slots at the casino is "just for fun". However, any of these actions would allow Satan to tie a small, weak string around your wrists. It is easy enough to break free at any time, so it doesn't worry you. When you take another look at that picture, go out for another drink, or move to the poker table, another small, weak string is added. You know you can break free of those weak strings so you disregard them. As this pattern continues, you find yourself trapped, imprisoned to the father of all lies, the devil. Though it's easy to break free of a couple weak strings, it is near impossible when it becomes a rope.

I guess to summarize that story in a way that answers the question, we too often underestimate "little sins" because we underestimate the devil who is working full time to bring us into captivity to himself.

This reminds me of what the prophet Nephi taught:

"And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell."
2 Nephi 28:21

Too often we have a sense of false security and allow ourselves to be led "carefully down to hell." We don't realize it until it's almost too late.

It is never completely too late, unless we die in our sins, because Jesus Christ atoned that we might be forgiven of our sins if we will repent and follow His gospel.

We can never say "the devil made me do it" but most of the time we can say "the devil convinced me to do it, but I made the choice." Satan won't pay the price of justice for the sins we commit, we will.

Let us open our eyes and realize what little things we may be doing in our lives that put small, weak strings around our wrists. Let's discover the tricks that Satan uses to deceive us and "convince" us to sin.