2
Ne 9:20 O how great the holiness of our God! For he
knoweth all things
The
1981 Institute Manual on the Book of Mormon states:
¡°As
one reads 2 Nephi 9 one notices the interesting way that Jacob approaches each
of his subjects: always in terms of God¡¯s goodness and greatness. For instance
verse 8 begins, ¡®O the wisdom of God, his mercy and
grace!¡¯ Verse 10 begins, ¡®O how great the
goodness of our God.¡¯ Look also at verses 13, 17, 19, and 20. Each item
Jacob mentions is an attribute of God: God is full of wisdom, goodness justice,
mercy, and holiness.
The
prophet Joseph Smith has said:
¡®By
a little reflection it will be seen that the idea of the existence of these
attributes in the Deity is necessary to enable any rational being to exercise
faith in Him; for without the idea of the existence of these attributes in the
Deity men could not exercise faith in Him for life and salvation; seeing that
without the knowledge of all things, God would not be able to save any portion
of His creatures; for it is by reason of the knowledge which He has of all
things, form the beginning to the end, that enables Him to give that
understanding to His creatures by which they are made partakers of eternal
life; and if it were not for the idea existing in the minds of men that God had
all knowledge it would be impossible for them to exercise faith in Him.¡¯ (Lectures
on Faith, fourth lecture, v. 11, p. 43)