2 Nephi 28

The False Doctrines

Nephi identifies four doctrines taught by false churches in the last days.

The first one is found in verse 5. This false doctrine teaches men that "there is no God today," that He has "done his work" and that He has given his power to men. Notice the half-truths mixed with lies. I can understand where this notion that there is no God today comes from. The scriptures refer to this as a falling away … where the priesthood and the prophets were taken from the earth and men lived in spiritual darkness for a long time (2 Thes. 2:3). But what this false doctrine fails to understand is that after the Apostasy came the Restoration wherein God restored the priesthood to the earth again. God has conferred the priesthood on man, but He has not given it away to man.

The second false doctrine is found in verse 6 where Nephi warns us false churches will deny that miracles are from God. Notice that this false doctrine does not deny the existence of miracles, but it tries to take God out of the miracles. Even in the days preceding the coming of Christ to the Americas, the people widely viewed and accepted the miracles and signs, but they denied the power from whence they came (see Helaman 16:20-23, 3 Nephi 7:18-20).

The third false doctrine is explained in verse 7. This one is often quoted because it seems to be widely believed and practiced today. Many think that this life is a joyride. The doctrine of "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us," is a popular false doctrine among the Godless. If a person does not believe in God, then he thinks it will not matter what he does in this life. Sadly, today's "entertainment" news broadcasts are full of examples of this lifestyle. The reality is that it will not be well with these people when they die. They will face their Maker and realize the error of their reasoning. Yes, we can be merry in this life, but that is not the purpose of this life. Are we actively serving others? Do we care for our family? Are we drawing nearer to Christ and His teachings? These are the things we ought to focus on.

The last false doctrine that will be taught in the last days is a variant on the previous. Verse 8 sadly describes the irrational thinking of those who feel that they can live a reckless life while fearing God. The crux of this reasoning is found at the end of the verse. These people think that they will be beaten "with a few stripes, and at last … be saved in the kingdom of God." In verse 23, Nephi correctly describes the condition of those who do not truly repent. "Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment." Those who think that they can sin a little and be given a slap on the hand fail to understand the purpose of the Atonement. They do not have a broken heart and contrite spirit. Until they truly repent, "endless torment" awaits them.

The Humble Followers of Christ

Nephi also warns that “all have gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ” and they too, in many instances are led away by the precepts of men. To me, this means that no one is invincible to the false doctrines of man. We must always be vigilant in reading the scriptures, sincerely praying daily, attending our Church meetings and going to the temple and listening to the counsel of the Prophet and our ecclesiastical leaders. In doing the small and simple things (Alma 37:6, Numbers 21:6-9, 2 Nephi 25:20, Alma 33:19-22), we will become the humble followers of Christ. If we fail to do these simple things, we will become more susceptible to the false doctrines of men.

The Tactics of Satan

In my original Book of Mormon commentary journal, I wrote of three tactics Satan uses to lead the hearts of the children of men away from the straight and narrow path.

1. Contention (v. 20). Satan will rage in the hearts of men and stir them up to anger against that which is good. And we can take that a step further. Those who are defending good will fall into the trap of getting caught up in contention with others. They will get so caught up; they will forget what they are defending. I never quite understood the desire of some missionaries to "Bible bash." The spirit was hardly ever present in a Bible-bashing contest. "Only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge" (D&C 121:41-42) should we convince people of the truth.


2. Carnal Security (v. 21). The devil will tell people that “all is well” and that there is no need to be on guard. Later in verse 25, the Lord says, “wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!” I have never really understood why the Lord said that. Perhaps the response to the phrase “all is well” is, “not all is well in Zion! Are we going to sit in our comfortable home while our brothers and sisters (spiritually) perish?” This reminds me of the story of Brigham Young and the saints in Utah. The winter had come and the saints were in a conference in the tabernacle. Brigham Young got up and spoke to the congregation and told them that there was a party of saints stuck in the mountains because of the cold and they needed to be rescued. He told the saints what they needed to do and they did not wait until Monday. They went home that very night and prepared for the rescue and retrieved the stranded group of saints (to read a great article and the complete story, read James E. Faust, "Go Bring Them In from the Plains," Ensign, July 1997, 2). This is what we need to do – be vigilant in Zion. This is why we have home and visiting teachers. There is plenty of work to do in Zion. We need to be careful that we are not lulled into carnal security.


3. “I am no devil” (v. 22). Satan will try to persuade men that there is no devil. Once people think there is no devil, they will begin to think there is no evil, no law and no punishment. They will also be lulled away into carnal security. They will think nothing is wrong or amiss and they will let down whatever guard they had.

Line Upon Line

In verse 30, the Lord tells us that we will receive line upon line, precept upon precept. This is how we will receive revelation. God will give us a small thought here and there. Once we understand, he will add a little more. This repeats until we have received the full light and knowledge God has prepared for us. The Gospel is wonderful!

The Lord's Mercy

Continuing with the references to the Lord's endless mercy, we read in 2 Nephi 28:32, "I will be merciful unto them, said the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts."Again, the Lord will always forgive those who repent. But Satan will show no mercy. Unless we "speedily repent," (Alma 30:57) Satan will weave his flaxen cords around our necks until they are too strong to break (2 Nephi 26:22) at which point he will "speedily drag [us] down to hell" (Alma 30:60).

2 Nephi 26

Nephi's Prophecies Continued

Nephi continues with a few prophecies in this chapter. He tells of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection. He also tells that Christ will visit the Nephites in America. I have watched a few Discovery Channel specials on Nostradamus. He was also a prophet in that he foresaw things to happen. From what I have seen and heard, he prophesied about doom and gloom. Compare him to Nephi and other Book of Mormon prophets and you will find that Nephi also prophesied about destruction, but not all of his prophesies were about war and destruction. He also prophesied about glorious things to come such as the birth of Christ as well as the resurrection.

Christ is the Law

In 3 Nephi 1:24, we read that certain people were trying to convince everyone else that the Law of Moses was fulfilled. But they did not understand the scriptures. Nephi plainly explains that when Christ would manifest himself to the children of Lehi, then they should heed "the words which he shall speak unto [them]" and that those words "shall be the law which [they] shall do" (2 Nephi 26:1).

Sell Themselves for Naught

In verse 10, Nephi says that his people will “sell themselves for naught; for, for the reward of their pride and their foolishness they shall reap destruction.” The question I pose is, “what do you sell yourself for?” Do you sell your time to things that have no worth? Do you give more of your time to work, hobbies and other people than you do your family or the Church? This is an interesting concept to think about – that of selling yourself. You must not think of this in terms of money, although you can. For greater applicability, you must think of selling yourself in terms of time, talents and means. I think what Nephi is saying here is that you shouldn’t sell yourself for nothing of value in return. If you sell all your time to playing games or to your career or your hobby, you will receive nothing of eternal value in return. What you will receive is an empty home, a saddened wife, dysfunctional children and ultimately eternal misery – all because you sold yourself for nothing. Look at the opposite – if you sell your time to your family, the Church and service, your reward will be great. And when you compare the amount of yourself you sell to your family, the Church and service to the reward you will receive, you will know that you are getting the better end of the deal. For what you will receive will far outweigh what you will sell yourself for.

Flaxen Cord

The temptations of Satan are ever so subtle. They begin innocently and sometimes hardly register on our spiritual RADAR. But if we do not watch ourselves and our thoughts and our words and our deeds (Mosiah 4:30), then Satan will ever so gently cast his flaxen cord around our neck unnoticed. Then that cord begins to thicken until we are bound "with his strong cords forever" (2 Nephi 26:22).

C.S. Lewis penned in The Screwtape Letters, "The safest road to Hell … is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

The Atonement

The next part Nephi talks about is what Christ gave to us. You can think in terms of selling oneself in this instance too. Christ sold himself to the will of his Father. Christ then offered the Atonement to everyone. In verse 25 he says, “Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.” In verse 27 Nephi states that Christ has given us the Atonement for free. Clearly Nephi is talking in monetary terms here as he did in verse 25. The Atonement is not free in the sense time and sacrifice. One must use (spend) his or her time on this earth to repent, obey the commandments of God and keep the covenants they have made. He must give the Lord a contrite heart and broken spirit (3 Nephi 9:20).

Priestcrafts Defined

2 Nephi 26:29 defines priestcrafts as thus: "that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion."

Obviously there are many religions and churches whose founder's purpose is to gain money. Just here in the metroplex where I live there are "mega-churches." I'm sure that many of the members use the donations to help the poor, but I wonder how much money the clergy make.

Priestcrafts can also be found in the Church. Whenever a Sunday School teacher seeks to be a light unto himself, he is practicing priestcraft. He seeks not the welfare of his students but rather he seeks the glory of being viewed as intelligent. There is a fine line between "gospel scholarship" and priestcrafts.

I don't know what the Prophet's stance is on marketing the Gospel, but I've always been leery of conferences and merchandising that members pay for. I know that what some of these companies and conferences do is good, but should we pay to have the Gospel (or parts of the Gospel) taught to us? That is just my personal opinion.

Charity

One of the greatest commandments we are to obey is to have charity “which charity is love. And except [we] should have charity [we are] nothing” (2 Nephi 26:30). We are not to labor or sell ourselves for money; rather we are to sell ourselves to charity. If we “labor for money” (meaning all our life is consumed in the pursuit of money), we will be nothing. If we labor for charity, we will inherit the Kingdom of God.

One of my favorite quotes about charity I first heard while I was in the MTC as a full-time missionary in June 1995. This quote is by Marvin J. Ashton who was in the Quorum of the Twelve. He said,

“Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses and shortcomings, having patience with someone who has let us down, or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other” ("The Tongue Can be a Sharp Sword," Ensign, May 1992, 18).

I am trying to develop charity in my life. There are things that upset me, but I am trying hard not to let those small things get to me so much. I think that the truest form of charity you can practice is in marriage. In marriage, everything is magnified.

I hope whoever is reading this will sell them selves to the will of the Father. Give yourself to charity which is the true love of Christ. Understand that the true love of Christ is giving your self to others – serving and loving others. Also, remember that the most important people you will serve and love will be those closest to you – your family, your spouse, and your children.

The Mercy of the Lord

In my commentary on 2 Nephi 24, I had a section entitled "The Shepard vs. The Prison Keeper" wherein I contrasted the mercy of the Lord to that of Satan's. Chapter 26 has several other support references to this thought.

In verse 15 towards the end of the verse it reads, "and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten." The Lord warns the Nephites and Lamanites that if they do not repent, they will become scattered by the Gentiles. But even after all of that, the Lord is still merciful and does not let them dwindle forever. One of the reasons the Lord prepared the Book of Mormon was to help those who dwindled in unbelief.

In verse 24 we read that the Lord loves the world and he does not do "anything save it be for the benefit of the world." Satan, on the other hand, desires nothing more than the destruction and eternal damnation of the world.

Lastly, in the final verse of the chapter (33), Nephi tells us that the Lord denies nobody from partaking of the Atonement. In God's eyes, everyone has equal access to the Atonement regardless of race or status.

Sins of Commission

Verse 32 summarizes seven sins we must not commit: lying, stealing, taking the name of God in vain, envying, having malice, contending with others and committing whoredoms. These are somewhat similar to the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments are:
Thou shalt have no other God before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Thou shalt not covet.

1 Nephi 12

In this chapter, Nephi continues to see the history of his people.

He sees his people multiply and he sees many cities. He also sees the many wars between the Nephites and Lamanites. Next he sees the great destruction in the land as related in 3 Nephi 8. After the great destruction, he sees Christ minister among those who survived. He sees the Twelve called among the Nephites and Lamanites. And finally he sees four generations pass away in peace and righteousness before the great fall of Nephi’s people. From there, he sees the Lamanites survive and then dwindle in unbelief.

Nephi clarifies more symbolism in this chapter.

The Fountain of Filthy Water = Depths of Hell
Mists of Darkness = Temptations of the Devil

Living the Gospel requires precision and balance. Because the path back to our Father in Heaven is so straight and clear, Satan is left with every other path to tempt us and sway us from the true path to happiness.

If we are not careful, the temptations of Satan will lure us away from our true goal. Just as darkness can guide us away from our path, so can the teachings and desires of the World lead us away from the Gospel.

I remember hiking up to Mount Timpenogus Cave in Utah when I was a young boy. It was a hot day outside, but in the cave, it was cool. The guide led us along a path that was lit by electric light bulbs. Once we were deep in the cave, he shut the light off. The darkness was thick. Absolutely no light could be seen anywhere. I can only imagine the extreme danger one would face if he attempted to journey in the cave in complete darkness. So too are many in the world today … they go day by day blinded by the teachings of men. All too often they fall prey to temptation and end up living an unhappy life.

I am grateful for the scriptures and teachings of a living prophet. They are my light in a dark world. I cannot imagine journeying through life without the light they provide me.