Neither Shall They Learn War Any More

Jacob gave us these words of the Lord concerning the land in which he lived (somewhere in the Americas): “He that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words. Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.” The Lord here promised that He would cause the wicked to perish, and He stressed that this would be in the flesh (and not just after this mortal life). He continued, “Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.” Again, He emphasized that those who make themselves enemies to God and His Zion will perish. He then repeated Himself, “For I will fulfil my promises which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh” (2 Nephi 10:14-17). I am intrigued by this repetition here that He would fulfill His promises in the flesh. The context is specifically that the wicked would be punished in the flesh, meaning that the wicked as a whole will taste of the fruit of their evil deeds not just in the world to come but “while they are in the flesh” as well. But it also suggests that some of His promises of blessings to His covenant people will be fulfilled while they are in mortality.     

                There is a famous statement from Elder Holland that I have seen many times repeated, mostly recently hidden in a Piano Guys song. It was also quoted by Elder Alvarado in the October 2019 general conference, by Elder W. Mark Bassett in the April 2023 general conference, in Elder Renlund’s footnotes of his April 2019 general conference address, and in Elder David F. Evans’ footnotes of his October 2107 general conference talk. I have found it in a Seminary manual, a New Era article, an institute teacher manual, an Ensign article, and a BYU devotional speech. And those are just a handful among many references that quote this statement from Elder Holland which he originally gave in 1999. This is what he said: “Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.” As I have considered this promise in the past, I think that I have focused on the fact that all blessings will eventually come to us when we take into account all three acts of our three-act eternal play. Those who weren’t able to marry in this life will have that opportunity in the next; those righteous parents who couldn’t have children in this life will be able to in the world to come; those who have been physically impaired in this life will be fully healed and healthy in the next. That is certainly part of what Elder Holland was trying to say—that some blessings will come to us in heaven—but we shouldn’t miss the fact that some blessing do come in this life. Not all promises of the Lord are held back from us until the life to come. I believe that this statement of the Lord given to us through Jacob, and stated twice the same way, promises us that His covenants and promises will be fulfilled for His Saints “while they are in the flesh.” Of course this doesn’t mean that all blessings He has promised us will come now or in this life, but many will. We do not need to wait until the next life to have peace or feel joy or obtain that “happiness which is prepared for the Saints” (2 Nephi 9:43). We should emphasize from Elder Holland’s statement that some blessings do come soon to us in mortality as we embrace and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.