Near the end of his life, Lehi declares to his sons that "the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love" (2 Nephi 1:15). According to Hugh Nibley, the idea of being encircled about by the Savior's arms has parallels in the celebration of Yom Kippur. The root is kpr, and kippur is the "act of atoning." . . . The kapporet [the thing that covers] is where God appeared to forgive the sins of the people [like that which covers the mercy seat]. In [Yom Kippur] it was the front curtain or the veil of the tabernacle. After the people had completed all the rites and ordinances of atonement, then the veil was parted and God (the Savior) was supposed to speak from the tabernacle and tell the people that their sins were forgiven and they were welcomed to his presence. That's this idea of being taken back into his embrace again, "encircled about eternally in the arms of his love." . . .
"The keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there" (2 Nephi 9:41). He will receive you personally, take your hand, and give you the signs and tokens himself when you come, as he did to the Nephites when he visited them after his resurrection (see 3 Nephi 11:13-17). Every one of them he received individually, even the children (see 3 Nephi 17:11-25). One by one, he blessed them and received them. He called each person by name and identified himself to each one. This is what we do here in the rite of the Atonement in Israel. It's very clear as a matter of fact. Exodus is where it is set forth in the Old Testament, and then in all the books of Moses you have the rite of the Atonement. It's very important.
We have a section on this in the Egyptian writing on embracing at the veil. Here is a picture from the twenty-fifth dynasty. This would be the last king of the Taharkan Dynasty. . . . The king is being embraced by his father after obtaining all things. . . . The two arms are embracing, and they are embracing the djed symbol, which represents the marrow in the bones. This is called "health and stength." He says here, "I give thee all life and power." This is a picture of the symbol for life--actually the umbilical cord, the navel. The other is was, which is always rendered as "power in the priesthood, authority to speak for priesthood, etc." Also, this is the embrace. These are the symbols of embracing. The two fans protected the king when he went forth according to Moet. They embraced him on either side. The kings always had those two fans called the shuit or the khaibit. This is the counterweight which hangs on the breast to impart breath and life. Here we have the process going on from a famous picture in the temple of Karnak where he is washed here and then clothed. He is anointed and then he is introduced into the presence of the king. Then the king is going to embrace him. The final step is this embrace. So there's this idea of being one. You can't be closer to a person than when you embrace. [Hugh W. Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, pp. 250, 253-254, 257] [See the commentary on Enos 1: 2]
Note* The word "encircle" appears 18 times in the Book of Mormon, almost always in a situation connoting good or evil, salvation or destruction. It might be wise to study the parallels. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes]
[2 Nephi 1:21-24] My Sons . . . Be Men, and Be Determined in One Mind and in One Heart:
[See the commentary on 1 Nephi 1:1]