Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Truth Shall Set You Free: Knowing Good From Evil

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32 )
What does it mean to be "free"?
" 26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever [past tense -> redeemed = free forever], knowing good from evil [ past tense redeemed = Knowing GOOD FROM EVIL]; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon [Learned how to choose between good and evil instead of being acted upon or being brought into captivity], save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given. " (2 Nephi 2:26)
So what does it mean to be free forever?
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the FLESH[Is this why we are created in tabernacle?]; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. (vs 27)
Choose captivity and Eternal deaths (D&C 132)
Choose liberty and Eternal Lives

The definition of being taken captive by the devil is to “know nothing concerning [God’s] mysteries.” (Alma 12:9-11) Therefore liberty being the opposite of captivity is to know of God's mysteries. To choose liberty is to choose knowledge or choosing to "know God".

Why is redeemed, knowing good from evil, makes one able to be "free forever" whereas without being redeemed you are merely"free to choose liberty and eternal life"? Why is it when one has been redeemed, choosen eternal life, they are now "free forever"?

Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Free from WHAT?
“… A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist us, and give us knowledge of the things of God.” ( Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 217)
Could it be possible that you are not free because you lack knowledge? And if you lack knowledge you will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world (evil spirits)? And if you are bound by them you are not "free forever" but merely free here and NOW to choose eternal life (to KNOW god), to gain the knowledge that is required to KNOW him? Doesn't it mean to know someone not just knowing about but to be LIKE Him? For two beings unlike each other cannot both be saved for whatever constitutes the salvation of one will constitute the damnation of the other? (See Lectures on Faith) 

What is this "other world"? When is this world experienced? Is it physical? Does it have glory? What do we do there? Is it spirit world? Or is it some future world? A new earth and a new heaven?

Why do we have a greater advantage in the world to come with more knowledge?
“Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.”(D&C 130:18-19:)
Is this why you finally become free? Not only are you brought back into the presence of God but you have learned the knowledge required for you to break free from captivity? From evil spirits? You will no longer be held captive? When they are taken captive by their ignorance, they are then bound “by the chains of hell.” (See Alma 12:9-11) Can we be saved in ignorance? Does redeemed or being saved merely suggest we know good from evil and able to break the bonds of death? The chains that bring us back down to the "world which ye now reside" (paraphrased Temple Narrative)?

We won't be perfect yet but we will be free? Free from having to come back into captivity?

Re-read these verses.
26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever , knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
27 Wherefore, men are free according to the FLESH; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. (2 Nephi 2:26-27)

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