“He That Will Not Hear My Voice, the Same Shall Ye Not Receive into My Church”

Brant Gardner

Now Yahweh begins to answer Alma’s question. The ultimate answer is not part of the immediate world, but of the eternities. That is why Yahweh has explained eternal consequences. Understanding those eternal consequences makes the temporal consequences more clear. Since these dissenters “will not hear my voice,” they are not Yahweh’s “sheep” and therefore are not part of the church. The Abrahamic and Benjaminic covenants have been relocated to the authority of the church rather than assigned to the entire community, but these dissenters are not part of the covenant and receive none of the covenantal blessings, even though they are part of the community.

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 3

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