Again, I’m going to quickly summarize a whole book. I really don’t like condensing something I like so much into such a short blog post, but I guess this is kind of what Mormon must have felt when he was compiling all of the records of the Nephites, spanning a thousand years, into one book of only 531 pages. Also again, if you want to get “the rest of the story,” you should read the Book of Mormon and find out for yourself.
THE SECOND BOOK OF NEPHI
Here is what happens in 2nd Nephi:
· Lehi gives counsel and blessings to his children and grandchildren. These scriptures are very enlightening, and I highly recommend them. Here are some of the passages that I liked best:
o Verse 5 of Chapter 1 says, “Notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands.” I decided to apply this scripture to myself, and insert my name, and it came out as, “notwithstanding MY afflictions, I have obtained a land of promise.” I read this right after I had hernia surgery, and I realized that this is VERY true. I had been afflicted, but I had obtained a figurative land of promise – the love of my family – and also I literal land of promise, at least to me, of being able to go to BYU. I have so many blessings in my life, but I need to realize what the Lord has given me.
o Lehi goes on to describe the blessings and safety that come from being led to the promised land of America, but he also gives some warnings for those who live in this land, but do not keep the commandments. He knows that his descendents will be destroyed because of iniquity (iniquity taught to them by their fathers Laman and Lemuel and also by the devil), despite everything he has taught them.
o Many verses talk about our need to “awake from a deep sleep” and “shake off the awful chains by which [we] are bound.” If only we were not asleep, then we could do much more good work!!!!
o “BE MEN.” I really like the description that it gives for real men. Some of the things that it talks about in this verse, and in others linked to it in the footnotes include determination, strength (mental and spiritual, as well as physical), and unity. One also says that Captain Moroni (a person who lived later in the Book of Mormon) was such an incredible man that if everyone were like him, “the very powers of hell would shake would have been shaken forever; yea and the devil would have no power over the hearts of the children of men.”
o Lehi says that his oldest sons (Laman and Lemuel) have avoided what he has said to them because they find it angry and ‘sharp;’ however, that is not the real case. The words are truth, and the wicked take the truth to be hard.
o “He shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.” I read this statement shortly after my surgery, and I was really touched me that the Lord saw to put this as the second verse of the chapter, because I was guaranteed to see it. Although I really don’t like trials while they are occurring, I can look back and know that I have been strengthened through them.
o “And men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil.” But they who choose wrong can be saved through the Atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
§ THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT IDEA!!!!!!!!! The fact that we can return and live with our Father in Heaven is amazing, and the choice by our Older Brother to give of his life so that we can live with our Father forever is incredible
o “For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.” I liked this scripture in context of my surgery, and the fact that I must have the opposition of a surgery and the resulting pain and soreness in order to appreciate the blessings that I do have, such as my family and friends who help support me, but also just the appreciation of the very healthy life that I have had so far. If I hadn’t had this experience, I would never be able to sympathize with others who have larger illnesses, even if my weakness was just for a few weeks. We need opposition in all things in order to appreciate that which we do have.
o The idea of agency – basically, the ability and blessing that people have in this life to choose for themselves – is expanded in chapter two. “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh… And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil.”
o The third chapter explains that Joseph of old (Coat of many colors, son of Israel, etc. – that Joseph) foresaw the coming forth of the Bible and of the Book of Mormon. In fact, he says that they “shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions…” The reason we need the Book of Mormon is to clarify things that are taught in the Bible. Ordinances like Baptism, which included full immersion (burying under the water) in Christ’s day (see Mark 1:9-11), have been diluted throughout the ages, and it took the Book of Mormon to allow people to look back clearly and see the correct interpretation of various aspects of Christ’s Gospel.
§ Joseph also said that the person who would bring forth the record (the Book of Mormon) would be after his name (Joseph) and also after the name of his father (Jr.). Joseph Smith Jr. was the man who received and translated the Book of Mormon.
o I get the title of my study journal from 2 Nephi 2:15, which says “And upon these I write the things of my soul and many of the scriptures.” I use my journal to write things that touch my heart, and I too write down scriptures that I find especially meaningful.
o After blessing his posterity, Lehi dies. Nephi gives a section of scripture denouncing the wretchedness of man, but glorying in the Lord and the strength that he has received from Him.” This passage is often called the Lamentations or Psalms of Nephi. Some of the scriptures that I like most from this section are below:
§ “Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.”
§ “Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.”
o Nephi receives a warning from the Lord to take his family and all who will go with him and flee into the wilderness, because his brothers (Laman and Lemuel, again) are going to keep trying to kill him. Thus begins the separation of the people for the majority of the rest of the Book of Mormon. Those who choose to follow Nephi (Sam, Zoram [the servant of Laban who helped Nephi get the plates of brass], Jacob and Joseph [Nephi’s little brothers who were born during the journey from Jerusalem], and their families) are collectively called Nephites, and their enemies are called Lamanites.
o The Nephites are industrious, and they start building cities, but the most important buildings in the entire city is the temple. It is built similar to the temple of Solomon because as members of the House of Israel, the people of Nephi still practice the Law of Moses. However, the Nephites know that the focus of the symbolism in the Mosaic Law is Jesus Christ, and the purpose of the rituals is to prepare the people for the Last and Great sacrifice of their Savior.
o Nephi then hands over much of the responsibilities of teaching and record keeping to his younger brothers, Jacob and Joseph. Jacob and Nephi both really like the teachings of Isaiah. Isaiah mainly tells us of things to come, especially the life of the Savior (still a future event for him and the Nephites), and the times before His Second Coming.
o Chapters 6 – 10 are from a sermon that Jacob gave to the people, in which he quotes Isaiah. Chapters 11-24 are quotes from Nephi from Isaiah, and chapters 25-30 are Nephi expounding on and clarifying the words of Isaiah. I do not claim to understand all of Isaiah, but I think that as I read his words more and more, I am able to find meanings I never knew. I will share some (but not all for the sake of space) of my favorite scriptures from this section of chapters 6 – 30.
§ “For the Lord shall comfort Zion… Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”
§ “Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light for the people.”
§ “My salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”
§ “Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord.”
§ “But I am the Lord thy God, whose waves roared; the Lord of Hosts is my name.”
§ “Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee… the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”
§ “For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfill the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord. Wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement.”
§ “O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace!”
§ “O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law must be fulfilled.”
§ “O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and these is not anything save he knows it.”
§ And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men.”
§ “And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.”
§ “For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them.”
§ O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves.”
§ “But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.”
§ “Remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.”
§ “And also my soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which he hath made to our fathers; yea, my soul delighteth in his grace, and in his justice, and power, and mercy in the great and eternal plan of deliverance from death.”
§ “And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
§ “Come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord”
§ “For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant.”
§ “And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth; and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly; none shall be weary nor stumble among them.”
§ “I will wait upon the Lord… and I will look for him.”
§ “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
§ “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”
§ “His hand is stretched out still”
§ “And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame, and shall burn and shall devour his thorns and his briers in one day.”
§ “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.”
§ “Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion; for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.”
§ “I will make a man more precious than fine gold.”
§ “And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall give thee rest, from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.”
§ “In the days that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be fulfilled men shall know of a surety, at the times when they shall come to pass.”
§ “And the Lord will set his hand again the second time to restore his people from their lost and fallen state. Wherefore, he will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men.”
§ “I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err.”
§ “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”
§ “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
§ “And after Christ shall have risen from the dead… the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do.”
§ “And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many church; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain.”
§ “Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness?”
o Chapter 28 is what my Book of Mormon teacher called the Devil’s Playbook. It tells of many of his tricks and things that he will do to try to get us to turn away from our Father, and think that we can never turn back.
o Chapter 29 is a good explanation for why we need the Book of Mormon as well as the Bible. One of my favorite reasons (although many others are included) is that the Lord loves his children all over the world equally, and the Book of Mormon proves that he loves his children in the Americas as well as in Israel.
o Chapter 30 talks about the conversions that will come as “the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.”
o Chapters 31 – 33 are the final teachings of Nephi. There are many wonderful teachings in this section, including why Christ was baptized, the steps for Eternal Life, the purpose of the Holy Ghost, and his final testimony of Christ.
o The last recorded words of Nephi are in the last verse of the 33rd chapter. He says, “For thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey.” Obedience pretty much sums up his entire life, so it is fitting that these are Nephi’s parting words to us.
Thank you(: I loved this and enjoyed your insights!
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