The Passover (of the Israelites) & The Sacrament (or the Lord's Supper)

We read in the Old Testment, in Exodus chapter 12, starting in three:

Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house... Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year... and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening... And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it... And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s passover.

And then in verse 11,

And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord’s passover... (why?) For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord... And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

So, why the unleavened bread and why eat the lamb with their loins girded, shoes on their feet, and staff in their hands?

First, when you make bread, you need to let it rise before you eat it. However, without leaven or yeast, the bread won't rise. Letting the bread rise takes time. The Israelites did not have time to properly eat a meal or let the bread rise (using yeast or leven) because they needed to flee from the Egyptians. Second, get thee out of that land!

The Israelites had their "loins girded, [their] shoes on [their] feet, and [their] staff in [their] hand" so that they could flee from the Egyptians! And so, the jews would prepare for the passover in the same manner, ready to symbollically flee and the bread not raised.

The Mosaic law was a termperal law that provided temperal blessings, but it was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Mosaic law pointed the way to its fulfilling in the life, teachings, and sacrifice of He who gave the law. Abinanadi, in the Book of Mormon, asks, "Doth Salvation come by the Law of Moses?" He answers them by saying that he knows that if you keep all of the commandments, that you will be saved, but that "were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people, that they must unavoidably perish notwirthstanding the law of Moses

The Law of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the Law of Moses. Whereas, the Mosaic Law pointed a way forward to the Atonement of Jesus Christ (where Jesus Christ's suffering in the Garden of Getsemane and His sacrificing of His life on Calvary's Cross grant unto the willing followers of His Gospel an immortal body, the enabling power that comes from His infiniate and eternal Atonement, and forgiveness of sins and the possibility of living eternally with Him, and with His Father, and all those who are sealed to us through the priesthood powers activated through covenants made in His Holy Temples.

2 Nephi 31:19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path⁠, I would ask if all is done⁠? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save⁠. 20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope⁠, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life⁠. 21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way⁠; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father⁠, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God⁠, without end. Amen.

In Luke, chapter 22, verse 1, we read that “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover” and He commanded His apostles to go and ask a man if he had a room readied for He and His disciples. “And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer. For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

JPS

Temptations?

Temptations is a relative term, Neil L. Maxwell says, “We set our own thermostat as to temptations.” Was Nephi, or any prophet for that matter, not bombarded with temptations—but if their spiritual thermostat is set very, very, very high, there won’t be anything tempting about their temptations…

Although, we all are stronger and weaker in different places and someone might be more susceptible than another in certain areas…

I can’t help but think that the adversary does not have the veil of forgetfulness and remembers the pre-Earth life (but not a perfect memory... “I thought I knew you...”) and therefore he knows all of our weaknesses and who to bombard with temptations (think Sacred Grove and how Joseph Smith was singled-out and almost destroyed!). Do you think that he was jist a randomly selected target? What would have happened if Joseph Smith had fallen?

Yet, what doesn’t destroy me only makes me more complete (Nietzsche), just like Jesus, the prophets get their fair share of trials and tribulations thrown at them, too… yet, it only makes them stronger!

See 2 Nephi 5

JPS

Coincidence? I think not--there are no coincidences...

Er, wait--I suppose there might be...

So, when you read Bonds that Make Us Free you will read but may gloss-over the part where C. Terry Warner writes that "self-betrayal" is his way of talking about sin in a way that you, the reader, doesn't get offended or even come to that conclusion (because you're so interested in the stories and worried about comparing yourself to those in the story (laughing at them or laughing with them or feeling sorry for them or feeling compasion for them, etc. etc.) that every single time you are reading about self-betrayal, you are actually reading about different flavors of sin!

Wait... what?

He even tells you and me that he's doing just that! Don't believe me? Just re-read it again with that insight that he's already told you about in your first reading (it's ok if you never finished it the first time through, but you might want to read it again now, right!?!).

My point, though, is that Dr. Warner didn't mind telling you his secret because he assumes that you will finish reading the book and then will keep living your life with the insights you've just read in mind, and will become a better person--you won't betray yourself as you had previously--a sinless person? The reason why he mentions this little gem of information is that he wanted people to have a new vocabulary to be able to use in a non-offensive way--wanted people to be able to talk about situations that they've been in or that others have been in and not have it be about what it actually is...sin!

So, Our Heavenly Father put me in the perfect situation and life where most people, or almost every person that I know, doesn't feel like they need to be offended at me or permanently think that I must be the biggest jerk ever to have lived (did you hear what that guy just said to me?). They can "endure it" beause they've already heard me speak and think they know that they only need to feel sorry for me or can't take it too seriously, after all... he's special... he must have special needs... he must be retarded! there is something wrong with that guy--did you hear him talk? Did you listen to him? Boy, if someone normal had said that, I'd be mad... Goog thing that guy is not normal!

Everything that I say is in a special meta-language and you can think of it as a "self-betrayal"-type language, where you might be calling it a sin, but it's only comind-out as "self-betrayal" or worse yet, you think that it's all just "self-bertral" talk, but it actually is sin!!!

JPS

Evil in nature? Nah…

What is it that can bring a woman to give-up and willingly abandon that which is most sacred to her--her virtue? Power? Greed? No! It is a need of acceptance and desire for love! It is man who so easily and casually can abuse woman without a second thought—or even with the second thought feeling that they must or else they will fall into obscurity—as to what they are doing and what they, themselves, will end-up paying for in the end... So, Nephi isn't saying, "Look, there were women doing bad things, but, look how bad the men are that are using women like gold and silver... like fine-twined-linen! Look how man thinks of women as a commodity or as a "thing" to be traded for and bought and sold! Look how depraved the men are in that abominable church" Are men or even I different from them? How? The virtue and chastity of women are important--maybe the most important of all--but, I think God is using this type of language to say that men need to be protecting women's virtue but saying it in a way that makes men think it must be women's fault (like it's their choice alone that has brought them into prostitution)... He must be terribly disappointed in the choices of some women, but even more so in the men who are charged with their protection and care, right? How are we, the saints of God or membe