Armed with righteousness

[Avatar4321]

Listening to the Book of Mormon where Nephi sees the power of God descend upon the saints. He says we will be armed with righteousness.

what does that mean? How does being righteous arm us?

[Duncan]

I think it says covenant people of the Lord, IIRC 

[CV75]

6 hours ago, Avatar4321 said:

Listening to the Book of Mormon where Nephi sees the power of God descend upon the saints. He says we will be armed with righteousness.

what does that mean? How does being righteous arm us?

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory." (1 Nephi 14:14). That He "arms" us means there is a work do do with the tools God extends to us for temporal and spiritual salvation, which are many, and are both "defensive" and "offensive" in nature. Being a saint and part of the covenant people grants us to be armed with those two gifts from God.

Edited April 28, 2018 by CV75

[Avatar4321]

It’s the concept they righteousness is the weapon or shield rather than what we do to get the weapon or shield that I find intriguing

[snowflake]

On 4/28/2018 at 10:06 AM, Avatar4321 said:

Listening to the Book of Mormon where Nephi sees the power of God descend upon the saints. He says we will be armed with righteousness.

what does that mean? How does being righteous arm us?

Read Ephesians 6:

¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

¹⁸ Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

¹⁹ And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

²⁰ For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

²¹ But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:

²² Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts.

²³ Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

²⁴ Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.

[RevTestament]

On 4/28/2018 at 1:42 PM, Avatar4321 said:

It’s the concept they righteousness is the weapon or shield rather than what we do to get the weapon or shield that I find intriguing

It's simply metaphorical talk using common imagery of war to apply it to God's war against the adversary. Obviously, a sword is not going to do one much good against an adversary who is merely an evil spirit. So how does one defeat the adversary? Being righteous allows us access to God. Learning to wield the sword of His truth slays the evil deeds of others. His word reveals the true way to happiness - causing others to no longer want to do evil deeds. The parts of the armor are just indicators or reminders of what one needs to do in order to be righteous before God - the shield of faith covers up weakness in our armor, etc. Trying to divorce the armor from what God wants us to learn to do, I think is an exercise in futility. I think the armor of God is God's protection over us. I think what we do to gain that protection is more intriguing, since how God does things is not well understood... or at all.

[nuclearfuels]

President Hinckley said: Obedience is the crux of the matter.

I think the armor of righteousness means that even if we lose the physical battle on earth, we will still win eternally and spiritually if we are faithful