{"id":27107,"date":"2024-01-18T14:49:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T20:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/?p=27107"},"modified":"2024-01-18T15:17:30","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T21:17:30","slug":"27107","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/2024\/01\/27107\/","title":{"rendered":"A Close Embrace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Prodigal Son from churchofjesuschrist.org<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

[This post is something I have shared before, but I discovered more on the topic that I want to share in the final quote at the end of the post. My personal testimony of the Book of Mormon doesn’t hang on academic evidence. Still, I smile to see that Joseph Smith’s translation of these concepts in the Book of Mormon align with Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic meanings for atonement.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, we were taught by a visiting leader in a stake conference that every major writer in the Book of Mormon used the imagery of a hug <\/strong>to teach the Atonement of Christ, with words such as clasped<\/em> or encircled<\/em>. He challenged us to search for these passages. As I have studied, I have found other words, including clothed<\/em> to convey the effects of the Savior’s Atonement. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Nephi, in a time of grief, pleads with the Lord to \u201cencircle<\/em> [him] in the robe of righteousness.\u201d (2 Nephi 4:33)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Lehi tells his family just before his death that he is \u201cencircled<\/em> about eternally in the arms of [God\u2019s] love.\u201d (2 Nephi 1:15)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Jacob teaches that the \u201crighteous\u2026are clothed<\/em> with purity, even with the robe of righteousness.\u201d (2 Nephi 9:14)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Alma quotes Ammon, about those who repent, \u201cThey are encircled <\/em>about <\/em>with <\/em>the matchless bounty of his love.\u201d Ammon also says that the repentant are  \u201csnatched<\/em> from their awful, sinful, and polluted state.\u201d (Alma 26:15, 17)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Alma, quoting Amulek, \u201c[God\u2019s mercy] Encircles<\/em> them in the arms of safety.\u201d (Alma 34:16)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Mormon writes that if the people had repented, they would have been \u201cclasped<\/em> in the arms of Jesus.\u201d (Mormon 5:11)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    I don’t think it trivializes the Atonement of Christ to liken it to an embrace, being snatched from ruin, clothed with righteousness, or being held during a difficult time. The more I think about it, the more I want to share it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Rich meaning is found in study of the word atonement in the Semitic languages of Old Testament times. In Hebrew the basic word for atonement is kaphar, a verb that means “to cover over” or “to forgive.” Closely related is the Aramaic and Arabic word kafat meaning “a close embrace.”<\/p>\nRussell M Nelson, Daily Joy: A Devotional for Each Day of the Year, p. 178<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [This post is something I have shared before, but I discovered more on the topic that I want to share in the final quote at the end of the post. My personal testimony of the Book of Mormon doesn’t hang on academic evidence. Still, I smile to see that Joseph Smith’s translation of these concepts … Continue reading A Close Embrace<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-of-mormon","category-jesus-christ"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27107"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27117,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27107\/revisions\/27117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.angelaross.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}