Isn't it interesting that just before he begins his thought experiment about the necessity of opposition, Lehi describes the opposition that ACTUALLY exists for us. It is indeed his first use of the word opposition-
"Wherefore the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed, which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement" (v. 10).
Happiness is not presented here as the result of ever more intensive efforts to perfect ourselves by keeping the law. The law can only deliver punishment and misery and perishing from good, those are its "ends." Lehi takes great pains to make sure that his son understands that happiness and goodness only answer the "ends of the atonement."
And how do we get the ends of the atonement? How is choosing "the good part" (v.30) different than just trying with all of our own might to answer the ends of the law? Lehi actually gives a complete and detailed answer, but we may find it hard to recognize at first, because when we talk about the elements of his answer we tend to focus on externals, while Lehi is much more concerned with their content. Lehi tells us that we take advantage of the atonement through Faith, Repentance, Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
No. Really. It's all there.
Those who are saved are those who believe in the Holy Messiah (v. 9). We choose eternal life by looking to the great Mediator (v. 28). In other places the Book of Mormon urges us to put our faith in Christ, to trust Him and to rely upon Him, but believing and looking to Him are clear enough to indicate what needs to be done.
Lehi also tells us that in the days of our probation the Lord has sent out a commandment to all of the children of men that they must repent (v. 21), for they (and we) are lost. That repentance is not an attempt to modify a few behaviors and set better goals for self improvement. Those activities could never answer the ends of the law (v. 5-7). Repentance is a whole hearted turning towards Christ with a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" (v. 7). In several places the Book of Mormon speaks of it as repenting of all of our sins. We aren't so much preoccupied with one specific thing that needs to be fixed, we have (like the people of King Benjamin) viewed ourselves in our own carnal state and are conscious of our separation from God. We offer up the sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit to Christ in the hope that he will have mercy and apply his atoning blood that the appalling separation might be ended (3 Nephi 9:20, Mosiah 4:2).
We might have especial trouble seeing baptism because we are so preoccupied with the physical ordinance. Lehi, like all other Book of Mormon writers, is much more concerned with the content of the covenants that we make. Those who make this covenant promise to hearken to Christ's commandments and to be faithful to His words (v. 28). They commit to spend their days in the service of their God (v. 3). Notice that this is not a promise to deliver some of kind of perfection we could never follow through on. What it IS is a decision to surrender to God. We are no longer proudly holding the reigns in the driver's seat of our life. We have relinquished the "will of the flesh" with its inevitable proneness to Satanic manipulation (v. 29). We are going to order our lives now according to the will of the Holy Spirit (v. 28) who brings us the words of our new Master, Jesus Christ (2 Nephi 32:3). In King Benjamin's words we are going to "yield" to the spirit's enticings. That is going to involve us learning to become as a child, submissive, meek and humble, willing to submit to the Lords will. Elder Maxwell would have called this decision embarking upon the path of discipleship. President Benson would have called it being "captained by Christ" or "putting God first." A decision he warned us that if we made it seriously would cause everything else in our lives to either drop out or take its proper place.
And the result? Our decision to come unto Christ, to look, hearken to and obey the Great Mediator brings the Baptism of Fire and of the Holy Ghost. Lehi describes it as finding liberty and eternal life according to the will of the Holy Spirit (v. 27-8). he also describes it as being redeemed, justified and saved (v. 3, 5, 9). He reminds us that those who receive the Holy Ghost KNOW the greatness and the glory of God (v. 2, 4). That is because their sins have been forgiven and their hearts changed (see Mosiah 4:11). The "words of Christ" the Holy Ghost brings enables them to enjoy the same intimacy with the Savior as those who walked as his disciples down the dusty roads of Palestine, because the "spirit is the same, yesterday, today and forever" (v. 4).
Lehi does not imply that this is done in a single event. It fills all of the "days of our probation." The decision involves a lifetime of letting the will of the Holy Spirit work in us to enable us to grow stronger in our ability and desire to hearken and be faithful to our Master. It is only at the end that one could speak confidently of having "chosen the good part" (v. 30). Though Jacob has come to Christ and beheld His glory in his youth, he is still in need of being exhorted to "look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit." It is a theme sounded frequently by Book of Mormon prophets. Alma makes it clear that it is NOT enough to have once experienced a change of heart and felt to sing the song of redeeming love. We must ask ourselves if we can feel so now? As Nephi said, we must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, enduring to the end with unshaken faith in Him, relying wholy upon the merits of Him who is mighty to save.
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