2 Nephi 1:14, 23 – “Awake, my sons”

14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of all the earth.

23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust (2 Nephi 1:14, 23).

The phrase, “awake and arise” or some variation of it, appears several times in the scriptures. Isaiah uses it as a symbol of the resurrection. To awake is to become spiritual alert and to arise is to be physically alive.
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isaiah 26:19)

Paul uses it as a summons to those who will not hear the gospel.

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light (Ephesians 5:14).

Lehi uses it in somewhat the same way, to invite his children to be redeemed.

14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of all the earth…

23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust (2 Nephi 1:14, 23).

Moroni uses it as a part of the temple text at the conclusion of the Book of Mormon. This is also an invitation to come unto Christ and accept the blessings of the covenant of the Father.

31 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled. (Moroni 10:31)

The Lord uses it in the D&C to invite people to get on with doing the things they have covenanted to do.

2 Let them awake, and arise, and come forth, and not tarry, for I, the Lord, command it. (D&C 117:2)

And finally, the Lord uses it to invite the people to come to the temple.

10 Yea, let the cry go forth among all people: Awake and arise and go forth to meet the Bridegroom; behold and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord.

11 Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.

12 Let them, therefore, who are among the Gentiles flee unto Zion.
13 And let them who be of Judah flee unto Jerusalem, unto the mountains of the Lord’s house.(D&C: 133:10-13)

Even though each of these appear to be different on the surface, they are, in fact, all the same. Each is a different facet of the invitation to BE—to be one who acts rather than one who is acted upon—to be alive—to come unto Christ and partake of the covenants and ordinances of eternal life in this world and in the continuation of lives in the world to come.

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