We all know what conservation of energy is, right?
"In physics, the law of conservation of energy states that the total energy of an isolated system cannot change—it is said to be conserved over time. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can change form; for instance, chemical energy can be converted to kinetic energy." -- Wikipedia ("conservation of energy")
So, what is the Lord's conservation of energy? Well, it parallel's man's physical law in more ways than one, but I want to talk about one aspect: The Lord conserves His spiritual power in not duplicating things that He has already done before (i.e. He doesn't reveal the same scripture for the first time, over and over, but simply has it kept safe or conserved and then revealed or translated).
For example, in the Book of Mormon, in the Book of 1 Nephi, chapter four, verses 14 and 15 and 16, we read about how Nephi was commanded to return with his brothers to the land of Jerusalem and to retrieve the Brass Plates. We read:
"14 And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.
15 Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law.
16 And I also knew that the law was engraven upon the plates of brass."
And so, instead of re-revealing the same Law of Moses to Lehi and his family, the Lord conserves His power and they retrieve the plates from Laban, thus conserving God's energy. It's not that God is afraid that He'll run out or run low of His power, because He can't. He won't. Don't be silly! God, though, is perfect. He also is perfectly efficient and effective in the way that He does things.
Another case-in-point, instead of re-revealing the words and revelations of the Brother of Jared (Mahonri Moriancumer), the Lord simply had Mosiah translate the engravings from Adamic--the pure language of God that all the world spoke before the confusing of the languages at the Tower of Babel-- the original language, into reformed Egyptian and from there, had Moroni add them to the end of his record before his few final words (see Mosiah 28:12).
So, I could go on and on just about the Book of Mormon and God's Conservation of Power. Need I remind you of Martin Harris and the lost Book of Lehi and that Nephi's writing already covered the more spiritual parts in that Book?
God's power and energy is conserved and we have the proof of that in His scriptures.
JPS
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