God Swears Faithful Shall Be Saved

Hebrews 6:10; 10. God remembers and rewards the work of his ministers.

Hebrews 6:11-12; 11-12. 'Endure to the end, as did the saints of old, and ye shall have eternal life.'

Hebrews 6:12; 12. The promises] The repeated promise of eternal life which God gives to his saints—when they receive his everlasting covenant (D&C 132:6), in connection with their baptism (2 Nephi 31:11-21), through magnifying priesthood callings (D&C 84:31-41), as part of celestial marriage (D&C 132:19), as part of patriarchal blessings (D&C 124:91-93, 124), and when their calling and election is made sure. (D&C 131:5; D&C 132:19.)

Hebrews 6:13; 13. God made promise to Abraham] For all his seed, plus all who by obedience are adopted into his house, Abraham is the prototype of salvation. Abraham received the promise of eternal life and eternal increase. "This promise is yours also," the Lord says to all who obey the full gospel law, "because ye are of Abraham, and the promise was made unto Abraham; and by this law is the continuation of the works of my Father, wherein he glorifieth himself. Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved." (D&C 132:31-32.)

Hebrews 6:13; 13. He sware] 16. An oath for confirmation] "In ancient dispensations, particularly the Mosiac, the taking of oaths was an approved and formal part of the religious lives of the people. These oaths were solemn appeals to Deity, or to some sacred object or thing, in attestation of the truth of a statement or of a sworn determination to keep a promise. These statements, usually made in the name of the Lord, by people who valued their religion and their word above their lives, could be and were relied upon with absolute assurance. (Num. 30.)

Hebrews 6:13; "Oaths were common among the Nephites, prior to the ministry of the resurrected Lord among them. Nephi guaranteed the freedom of Zoram, for instance, by using in his oath the solemn language, 'as the Lord liveth, and as I live.' (1 Nephi 4:32-33; Alma 44.) Abraham took an oath of his servant to gain assurance that a proper wife would be selected for Isaac. (Gen. 24.) Joseph bound the children of Israel with an oath to carry his bones out of Egypt. (Genesis 50:24-26.)" (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed., pp. 537-538.)

Hebrews 6:13; He sware by himself] "By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord," was the language used by Deity in giving the promise of eternal life "unto Abraham." (Genesis 22:15-16.) That is, God swore with an oath in his own name that Abraham would be saved, which divine assertion absolutely guaranteed the eventuality. Abraham's calling and election was thus made sure.

Hebrews 6:14; 14. The Lord's oath to Abraham was: "In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore. . . And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 22:17-18.) By way of interpretation, the Lord said to Joseph Smith: "Abraham received promises concerning his seed, and of the fruit of his loins—from whose loins ye are, namely, my servant Joseph—which were to continue so long as they were in the world; and as touching Abraham and his seed, out of the world they should continue; both in the world and out of the world should they continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them." (D&C 132:30.)

Hebrews 6:15; 15. He obtained the promise] He gained eternal life. "Abraham . . . hath entered into his exaltation and sitteth upon his throne." (D&C 132:29.)

Hebrews 6:17; 17. Heirs of promise] Abraham's seed, the house of Israel, the children of the prophets, those who are natural inheritors of the promises made to Abraham. (3 Nephi 20:25-26.) These heirs have the "right" to the priesthood. Speaking of this the Lord said to Abraham concerning his seed: "I give unto thee a promise that this right shall continue in thee, and in thy seed after thee (that is to say, the literal seed, or the seed of the body) shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal." (Abraham 2:11.)

Hebrews 6:17; The immutability of his counsel] God never varies; under the same circumstances he always acts in the same way. Hence, his decree: "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (D&C 82:10.) And his promise is that if the saints will do the works of Abraham, they shall inherit the reward of Abraham.

Hebrews 6:18; 18. By two immutable things] God swore a dual oath; that is, twice in the same promise he swore in his own name that Abraham and his seed should be blessed.

Hebrews 6:18; We might have a strong consolation] As heirs of promise, the saints find great comfort in the promises the Lord made to them through Abraham their father.

Hebrews 6:18; Fled for refuge] Fled from Babylon; forsook the world; joined the Church.

Hebrews 6:18; The hope set before us] Eternal life, the promise made to Abraham and his seed.

Hebrews 6:19-20; 19-20. As the high priest in Israel passed through the veil into the holy of holies on the day of atonement, as part of the cleansing rites which freed Israel from sin (Lev. 16), so Jesus has entered into heaven to prepare the way for those who through obedience to his laws become clean and pure.

Hebrews 6:20; 20. An high priest forever] See Hebrews 7:18-22.