2 Nephi 1

November 29, 2006 - Original Post

In light of September 11th’s events, this chapter has more meaning now than ever. Once again, the Lord’s words prove true.

Lehi was talking to his eldest sons, Laman and Lemuel. In verse 6 and 7 he tells them the curse and blessing of the land. No one will come to this land unless directed by the Lord. All the people of the Book of Mormon were directed by the Lord to come to this land. We also learn that the Pilgrims and other groups of people came from Europe to this land by the will of the Lord. In the next verse (7) he tells them that if the people who live in this land will serve God and keep His commandments, then they will always be a free people and they would never be brought into captivity. But if the people of the land rebel against God, then the land will become cursed. This means America will never be invaded and held captive. What I told my wife earlier is true – that if the terrorists wanted to hurt the United States, then the best thing they could have done was to leave us alone and we would have sinned ourselves to the cursing of the land.

Lehi recites the promise of the Promised Land twice in this chapter. Anyone who lives in the Promised Land must keep the commandments of God and they will prosper and be blessed. But if they do not keep the commandments of God, they will be “cut off” from the presence of God and the land will become cursed. I’ve often heard from other people (not just from the scriptures) that America will destroy itself. No one will ever invade America. Just as the Romans, the fall will come from within.

Lehi concludes his counsel to his sons with a plea – “arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity.” I’ve always liked this verse. This verse is a good reminder to stand tall and not to be a scrub which President Hinckley has said before.

We need to be united as Lehi said. Since the attack on America, we have united in such a manner as never before seen in the history of the United States. My wife's dad said that he has never seen the country so united and patriotic before. People have donated blood, food, money and time to help those victims of the attack. We are truly united at this time. Unity is a strong force.

January 7, 2012 - Addition

Desire; Anxiety

These two words struck me.  Ever since I read Elder Maxwell's and Elder Oaks' talks on "Desire", I've been taking note of the context whenever I see the word (see "According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts" and "The Desires of Our Hearts" and "Desire")

Desire and anxiety seemed to be linked.  All the things that you want (desire) are the same things that you worry about - they you think constantly of - that gnaw at you and drive you to do things.

For Lehi and just about any good parent, the desire of his heart was for his children to keep the commandments.  Therefore, what kept him awake at night (anxiety) was Laman and Lemuel's murmuring and disobedience.

What are the true desires of your heart?  What makes you do things?  What drives you?  Are those things aligned with the will of the Father?

Not only will be we judged of our works and thoughts, but we will also be judged of our desires.

Both Elder Maxwell's and Oaks' talks discuss ways to reconcile our desires with the will of the Father.

Another Word about the Promised Land Covenant

Verse 10 goes beyond that mere promise of obedience = prosperity, disobedience = cut off from the Lord ... it states that when the people reject Jesus Christ, then not only will they not prosper, but their land will be taken from them; they'll be "smitten" and "scattered" and blood will be shed.

The lesson: stay on the sunny side of life.  Keep the commandments.

Another Testament of Jesus Christ

I finished reading the Book of Mormon on April 6.  For this most recent reading, I started March 8 and read about 18 pages a day, finishing in less than a month.  I've never read the Book of Mormon that quickly before.

Jesus Christ

The one thing that stood out to me as I read it "quickly" this time was how much of it is indeed centered around Jesus Christ.  Mormon did a spectacular job compiling thousands of years of records into one book with one central theme: Jesus Christ.  All the prophets, from Lehi to Mormon, were concerned about was teaching the people about Jesus Christ.

In General Conference last week, Elder Bednar made a very interesting comment related to this.  He said, "The Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth because it centers upon the Truth (see John 14:6; 1 Nephi 13:40), even Jesus Christ, and restores the plain and precious things that have been taken away from the true gospel (see 1 Nephi 13:26, 28–29, 32, 34–35, 40). The unique combination of these two factors—a focus on the Savior and the plainness of the teachings—powerfully invites the confirming witness of the third member of the Godhead, even the Holy Ghost. Consequently, the Book of Mormon speaks to the spirit and to the heart of the reader like no other volume of scripture." ("Watching with All Perseverance")

Abinadi

As always, the one person who fascinated me the most was Abinadi.  This one man, who left Zarahemla to go to the Land of Nephi with Zeniff, seemingly comes out of obscurity to denounce King Noah and to call that subset of Nephites to repentance.  For a few days in King Noah's court, the whole remaining history of the Nephites and Lamanites would be decided.  Abinadi would die by fire.  Alma would repent and go on to be the means of organizing the church and would leave a trail of posterity from Alma the Younger to Nephi the Disciple.  The other priests of Noah, including Amulon, would become dissenters and stir up the Lamanites for decades and would be the cause of so many wars and bloodshed.  So impressed was either Mormon's dad or grandfather, that both Mormon and his father were named after the Waters of Mormon, which is where the first members of the church Alma organized were baptized.  I am truly awed whenever I think of the lasting effects of Abindi's choice to call King Noah to repentance.

3 Nephi 27 & 28

The Plain Gospel

In 3 Nephi 27:13-17, Jesus summarizes the Gospel. Christ came into the world to do His father's will. He suffered and died for men. We then have a choice to accept Jesus or reject Him. Those who accept Him and endure to the end are saved, while those who reject Him will not be saved.

Marvin J. Ashton said, "The truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ are plain, precious, and powerful. The lives of the worthy are plain, precious, and powerful." (Marvin J. Ashton, “The Power of Plainness,” Ensign, May 1977, 66)

No Unclean Thing

3 Nephi 27:19 is a very important verse to remember and to read often. “No unclean thing can enter into his (God’s) kingdom…” If we expect to live eternally with God, then we must act as he does and keep his commandments and repent.

Judged By the Scriptures

How will we know what we’ll be judged on? We read the scriptures. For out of the scriptures we find what we’ll be judged by. This life is an open book test. We have the requirements right before us and if we but read what they are and then apply them to our lives, then we’ll be saved (see 3 Nephi 27:25-26).

The Straight and Narrow

Being elite on this earth doesn’t amount to much. The only elite group that really counts is the final one that finds its way to the gate at the end of the straight and narrow path. All other "races" are nothing compared to this one. The only judge that matters is God (see 3 Nephi 27:33).

Wo unto them

3 Nephi 28:34-35 – We read of a great condemnation in these verses. If we do not receive (obey) Jesus or his servants, then it will have been better that we were never born! We will not be able to avoid the justice of an offended God.

Where much is given, much is required. (D&C 82:3)

Translated Beings (Transfigured)

A translated being is a person who is changed so that he does not experience pain or death or even temptation until his resurrection to immortality (see "Guide to the Scriptures" Translated Beings).

3 Nephi 28:39 states, "there was a change wrought upon them, insomuch that Satan could have no power over them … the powers of the earth could not hold them." They were beyond this world, yet in it.

3 Nephi 20

Cease Not to Pray in Your Hearts

In 3 Nephi 20:1, Jesus commands the people to cease not from praying in their hearts. We ought to pray formally every day (individually and as a family), but we also ought to keep a prayer in our hearts. What that means is that we should constantly involve our Father in Heaven in the details of our lives.

For example, a few years ago, I had a small project at work that I was assigned to do. The project was creating a database of contacts for our hundreds of servers. To me, it was somewhat of a big project and I had to learn new things. I distinctly remember sitting at my desk at the onset of my project and wondering how I was going to create the complex code and design. But I took it step by step and along the way, I said plenty of little prayers in my heart. A few weeks later I finished and was praised by many of my peers.

The New Jerusalem

3 Nephi 20:22 talks about the New Jerusalem. My patriarchal blessing says "you will be involved in the gathering of Israel and in the preparation for the building of the New Jerusalem here upon the earth." I don't know if that is a "generic" statement meaning that I (along with every other member of the Church) am involved in the missionary work or if it means something more specific with the logistics of preparation for the building of the New Jerusalem. But whenever the scriptures refer to the New Jerusalem, my ears perk up. This verse says that the powers of heaven will be with the New Jerusalem.

D&C 45:66-75 says, " And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God;

"And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion.

"And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety.

"And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.

"And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand.

"And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy.

"And now I say unto you, keep these things from going abroad unto the world until it is expedient in me, that ye may accomplish this work in the eyes of the people, and in the eyes of your enemies, that they may not know your works until ye have accomplished the thing which I have commanded you;

"That when they shall know it, that they may consider these things.

"For when the Lord shall appear he shall be terrible unto them, that fear may seize upon them, and they shall stand afar off and tremble.

"And all nations shall be afraid because of the terror of the Lord, and the power of his might. Even so. Amen."

Moses: Foreshadow of the Millennial Christ

In 3 Nephi 20:23, Christ declares, "I am he of whom Moses spake, saying: A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me"

Moses not only was a type of the Mortal Christ, but he was a type of the Millennial Christ in the Last Days.

The following table is from http://www.gospeldoctrine.com/3Nephi20.htm

Plagues of Egypt	Apocalyptic Destruction of Wicked
Waters of Egypt turned to blood. (Ex. 7:20)	The rivers and fountains of waters…became blood. (Rev. 16:4)
Frogs covered the land of Egypt. (Ex. 8:6)	Three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon. (Rev 16:13)
Plagues of lice and flies. (Ex. 8:17,24)	God will send forth flies and maggots. (DC 29:8)
All the cattle of Egypt died. (Ex. 9:6)	Desolation upon the cattle and sheep. (Joel 1:15-20)
Plague of boils upon man and beast. (Ex. 9:10)	There fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men hich had the mark of the beast. (Rev. 16:2)
Plague of hail and fire (Ex. 9:23)	Men scorched with fire and a plague of great hailstones. (Rev. 16:8,21)
Locusts covered the face of the whole earth. (Ex. 10:14-15)	There came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth. (Rev. 9:3-10)
A thick darkness in all the land for three days. (Ex. 10:22)	The Sun became black as sackcloth. (Rev. 6:12)
The firstborn males are killed. (Ex. 12:29-30)	The third part of men are killed by fire, smoke, and brimstone. (Rev. 9:18)
Pharaoh’s army destroyed by water. (Ex. 14:28)	Saint’s enemies destroyed by fire. (1 Ne. 22:17)

Be Ye Clean

In 3 Nephi 20:41 Jesus commands us: “be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.” This is referring to personal purity.

President Hinckley just spoke of this subject in the April 2007 General Priesthood session (Gordon B. Hinckley, “‘I Am Clean’,” Ensign, May 2007, 60–62). He related the dream Joseph F. Smith had and how in that dream he was reproved by the Prophet Joseph for being late. But Joseph F. Smith confidently responded, "Yes, but I am clean - I am clean!" He then counseled us to be clean in our language, our thoughts and our body and our dress.

His Visage Was so Marred

While in his mortal ministry, Christ suffered and was lowly in appearance. As Isaiah wrote, " He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Mosiah 14:3) But when He comes again, we will see Him in glory and dominion.

Bruce R. McConkie wrote, " In these words we see a triumphant millennial Christ -- one whose visage was marred and whose form was mangled when he dwelt among men -- we see him in glory and dominion, in whose presence kings remain silent and before whom their mouths are shut. We see his cleansing blood sprinkle all nations, with devout men everywhere turning to the saving truths that they have not before heard and to the words of truth that they have not theretofore considered.” (The Mortal Messiah, p. 344)"

3 Nephi 19

Christ Ministers

The chapter begins with the people preparing for the next arrival of Jesus. Christ ascended into heaven and left the people to ponder the things he had taught them. They prepared for his next arrival.

After the people had gathered, the Apostles prayed to God and then assembled the people into several groups and then taught them the same things that Jesus had taught them. The Nephite apostles did just as the modern day apostles do – they teach the same teachings of Christ.

After they ministered, they prayed for the Holy Ghost. After that, they all were baptized as Jesus had commanded them. After all the apostles were baptized, fire came down from heaven and angels ministered to them. Shortly after, Jesus himself came down and was with them. The rest of the chapter is about how Jesus and the multitude prayed. Mostly it was about how Jesus prayed for them.

They Prayed to Christ

A few key things to note – in 3 Nephi 19:22, we learn from Jesus that the people prayed to him rather than God because Christ was in their presence. As was noted earlier in the chapter, the people were praying to God as is normally the case. But we learn from this chapter that it is appropriate to pray to Christ when he is physically present.

Desire

In Christ's presence, the people prayed. As 3 Nephi 19:24 notes, "they did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire."

The Nephites knew what to pray for because they desired what God desired. So it is with us … we must train our desires so that they are aligned with God's desire. In other words, we must seek and do God's will.

Neal A. Maxwell gave a wonderful talk on desires (Neal A. Maxwell, “‘According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts’,” Ensign, Nov 1996, 21). There are a couple of quotes from this talk that I found insightful.

"The absence of any keen desire—merely being lukewarm—causes a terrible flattening (see Rev. 3:15). William R. May explained such sloth: 'The soul in this state is beyond mere sadness and melancholy. It has removed itself from the rise and fall of feelings; the very root of its feelings in desire is dead. … To be a man is to desire. The good man desires God and other things in God. The sinful man desires things in the place of God, but he is still recognizably human, inasmuch as he has known desire. The slothful man, however, is a dead man, an arid waste. … His desire itself has dried up' (“A Catalogue of Sins,” as quoted in Christian Century, 24 Apr. 1996, 457)."

So firstly, we must have desire … we must at least be active and we must at least be striving. If we are not, then we are apathetic and as the quote states, we are an 'arid waste.' If we are at least moving, then God can do something with us. Saul was active in his persecution of the saints. God was able to use Saul's desires and redirect them for good.

We too must channel our desires towards God's will. If we but have a desire to change - to repent, God will take that desire and help it to grow. The challenge for us, therefore, is to decide to desire righteousness.

The second quote from Neal A. Maxwell says, "It is up to us. Therein lies life’s greatest and most persistent challenge. Thus when people are described as “having lost their desire for sin,” it is they, and they only, who deliberately decided to lose those wrong desires by being willing to “give away all [their] sins” in order to know God (Alma 22:18)."

One With Christ and God

Another thing that is interesting to me, is that Jesus prayed to the father that the people might be one with him (Jesus) as he is one with God. To me, this presents a concrete image of the “chain of command” if you will. If we are to become like God, as he has intended us to be, then we must follow Christ and his example. For Christ knew God and did nothing but the will of the Father. In a very literal sense, his purpose was one and the same with God. And so our lesson from this chapter is that our purpose should be one and the same of Christ’s purpose. How do we accomplish this? We live the teachings of Christ. We do his will. We keep his commandments. As we do his will, in essence we are doing the will of the Father.

The entire chapter is a great example of how a people, in just a few days, came to a oneness with Christ. Christ came into their midst and taught them his teachings. The people loved him and desired to be more like him. After he left, they prayed for the Holy Ghost to guide them and to teach them the will of Christ. When he returned, he continued to teach them through words and example. He showed them how to pray to God and to obtain a knowledge of the will of God. By the end of the chapter, the people had become (perfectly?) one with Christ that they understood what Christ was praying for, yet they could not utter it with words. They understood with their hearts.

2 Nephi 32 & 33

The Tongue of Angels

What does speaking with the tongue of angels mean? In 2 Nephi 32:3, Nephi explains that angels speak the words of Christ. And angels speak the words of Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost and they know the words of Christ by feasting on his words. Just as Jesus said that we must do the things we have seen him do, so we ought to read his teachings and they too will tell us of the things which we must speak and do.

Prayer

Besides feasting on the words of Christ, we are commanded to pray. In this manner also we speak with a tongue of angels. Nephi reminds us that we must not do anything save we start with a prayer that our performance will be consecrated unto the Lord. No matter how we feel, we need to pray.

I will never forget the words of Brigham Young when he said, “It matters not whether you or I feel like praying, when the time comes to pray, pray. If we do not feel like it, we should pray till we do.” He goes on, “My doctrine is, it is your duty to pray; and when the time for prayer comes, John should say, ‘This is the place and this is the time to pray; knees bend down upon the floor, and do so at once.’ But John said, ‘I do not want to pray; I do not feel like it.’ Knees get down, I say; and down bend the knees, and he begins to think and reflect. Can you say anything? Can you not say, God have mercy on me a sinner? Yes, he can do this, if he can rise up and curse neighbor for some ill deeds. Now, John, open your mouth and say, Lord, have mercy on me. ‘But I do not feel the spirit of prayer.’ That does not excuse you, for you know what your duty is” (“Chapter 6: The Communication between God and Man,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, 41).

Nephi taught us that we need to pray at all times and not faint. I think this means that we must not become weary or tired of praying. Repetition in our prayers begins to creep in when we do not stop and think and ponder the blessings the Lord has given us. If we do not stop and think of our true needs and desires, then we will fall into repetitious petitioning. The only way we will not faint from praying is by taking the time to pray sincerely every day. And just as Brigham Young instructed, if we don't feel like praying, then we should remain on our knees until we feel the need to pray.

Believe in Christ

In chapter 33, Nephi concludes with his simple counsel to “believe in Christ.”

I think that verses 10 and 11 serve as the other book end to Moroni's promise. Nephi tells us to believe his words. But if we don't believe his words, then we should believe in Christ. And then comes Nephi's challenge. "And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye - for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory, that they are his words, at the last day."

I am thankful for Nephi and his great life and teachings. His life was spent entirely in the service of God. He did so much to help his family cross the seas and to establish a nation of God on this continent. I still remember reading Nephi’s teachings while I was a missionary in the MTC. I learned then, as I still understand now, that Nephi was a man of great character, courage, and charity. I hope that my children will value Nephi’s teachings very much and try their hardest to live his teachings. Nephi truly spoke with a tongue of an angel – his words were the words of Christ. Never forget his example.

2 Nephi 31

Christ is the Way

In this chapter, Nephi teaches that Jesus did what he did to show us the way of happiness. Christ baptized to show us that everyone must be baptized. Even though he did not need it, he still did it to show us that all men must be baptized to enter in the Kingdom of God. He simply states in verse 12, “follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.”

Nephi lists what we must do to follow Christ. We must:
· follow with full purpose of heart
· not act hypocritical
· not deceive God
· intently repent of our sins
· witness to the Father that we are willing to take upon us the name of Christ
· be baptized

If we do these things, then we will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and be baptized by fire and have the ability to speak with the tongue of angels.

Then after all that, we must endure to the end.

Enduring to the End

Only after we repent and begin to follow Christ by being baptized have we entered the gate to the straight and narrow path. Next, Nephi poses a question in verse 19, "after ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path, I would ask if all is done?" He answers his own question, "nay."

To endure to the end, we must:
· press forward with a steadfastness in Christ
· have a perfect brightness of hope
· have a love of God
· have a love of all men
· feast on the words of Christ

Press forward with a Steadfastness in Christ
When I read the words "press forward," I am reminded of those people in Lehi's dream who pressed forward "that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree." Or those people who pressed forward, caught hold of the rod and then press forward even more through the mist of darkness "clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. (1 Nephi 8:21, 24, 30) Pressing forward is not walking or striding. To me it means that a person is advancing forward only with effort … that if that person did not make a concerted effort to move, he would fall back.

I imagine a person trying to walk into a strong wind. Without an anchor or something to hold on to in order to move forward, that person would not advance. Holding onto that anchor or rod of iron is what Nephi meant when he said "with a steadfastness in Christ." We may make an individual effort to move forward, but without that anchor or without Christ in our lives, our efforts are in vain. We would constantly be blown off course without an anchor.

Elder Ballard gave a good analogy when he referred to this scripture.

"Have you ever watched a large ship weigh anchor? It is fascinating to see and hear the massive links of chain screeching against the metal bow of the ship as the anchor is raised. Now, the metal links of the anchor chain are incredibly heavy, but their weight is slight when compared to the total weight of the ship. Still, if an anchor is placed properly on the bottom of the sea, it can a hold a giant ship fast, even in rough seas.

"Just as ships need anchors to keep them from drifting away on the open seas, people need spiritual anchors in their lives if they are to remain steadfast and not drift into the sea of temptation and sin. Faith in God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the main anchor we must have in our lives to hold us fast during times of social turbulence and wickedness that seem to be everywhere today." (“Steadfast in Christ,” Ensign, Dec 1993, 50)

A Perfect Brightness of Hope
Without hope, there is despair. When despair creeps into our lives, we become less and less motivated to move forward until at last we stop and die. Entering into the straight and narrow path means difficult times are ahead … temptations. This is why Christ tells us we must enter the path with full purpose of heart and why we are constantly reminded to endure to the end. In order to endure to the end, we must have hope that we will arrive at our destination.

We must always hope. We must never give up on the Gospel of Christ.

President Hinckley gave a wonderful talk to those who have entered the path. In it, he referred to three things that everyone in the Church needs. 1) A friend, 2) an assignment and 3) constant nourishment by the good word of God (Moroni 6:4). ("A Perfect Brightness of Hope: To New Members of the Church,” Ensign, Oct 2006, 2–5)

Don't ever be afraid to offer hope to others. There are plenty of people who offer the seeming realities of despair. We must fight these depressing opinions and be a light to all those around us. Offer a positive and bright testimony of the gospel the next time you have a chance to share your testimony in fast and testimony meeting or wherever you feel inspired to do so. Be hopeful!

A Love of God and all Men
The first great commandment is to "love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all they soul, and with all thy mind" (Matthew 22:37).

The second commandment is to "love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:39).

We must strive to develop charity as Moroni taught us, then we will love God and all men (Moroni 7:44-47).

Feast on the Words of Christ
In today's society, it seems as though we feast on food for our bodies yet fast from food for our souls. Not only should we feast on the words of Christ, but we should "delight in fatness" (2 Nephi 9:51).

One of the counselors in our stake (Riding) spoke in our ward, one Sunday, about reading the scriptures. I have always remembered one point he made during this talk. He prefaced his point by saying that he didn't want us to feel guilty about not reading the scriptures. Yes, we ought to feel guilt for not reading the scriptures, but he wanted us to set that aside for the moment. He gave an example of how sometimes we catch the end of a favorite song on the radio and we only hear the last 20 seconds of it. We might think, "shoot, I just missed my favorite song." He compared that to missing opportunities to read the scriptures. I think what he was trying to say is that we shouldn't feel guilty for missing our scripture study time, but we should feel let down that we missed an opportunity to read the scriptures … it is a subtle difference and I hope I'm making sense in describing his point.

In that subtle difference lays the difference between reading the scriptures and feasting. We should want to read and study the scriptures.

2 Nephi 29

Chapter 29 largely deals with the writing of other books of scripture other than the Bible. Nephi quotes the Lord as saying that the testimony of two nations shall run together and testify that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I think that two testimonies of God’s work on the earth is significant. Many people believe that God is different and that as Nephi stated in the last chapter, God has left His work in the hands of men. This is not so. God is still very active in His work and glory (Moses 1:39). He wants us to know that he is the same, so he has commanded the prophets throughout the world to write and testify of him.

A Bible, A Bible!

I've always found it interesting how some Christian religions know the Bible is from God yet deny that the Book of Mormon comes from the same divine source. The logic and arguments for and against the Book of Mormon are numerous. But at the heart of every argument against the Book of Mormon is the question of authenticity. Many believe the Joseph Smith wrote it instead of translating it … many believe that the Book of Mormon doesn't come from God. But those same people believe that the Bible is inspired of God. They are stuck on the question of Joseph Smith being a prophet or not. Thankfully Moroni saw this dilemma and instructed everyone who reads the Book of Mormon to ask God if it is true or not. Those who have a sincere desire to know the truth will receive a personal witness of the truth of the Book of Mormon (Moroni 10:3-9).

Let me also address the question of authenticity in another way. At church this Sunday, the counselor in the Elder's quorum shared a missionary experience with us. He is a convert to the Church. He had gone on a few visits with the missionaries the previous week. One of the people they visited was this young man who questioned everything the missionaries taught him. He kept asking them, "how do you know for sure Joseph Smith is a true prophet? How do you know for sure the Book of Mormon is true?" He wanted solid proof that the Church is true. At this point, the counselor began addressing this young man. He said, "you believe in Jesus Christ, correct?" The young man replied, "yes." Then the counselor said told said, "I assume you've not seen Jesus Christ, but you know he lived and did what the Bible tells us he did. Is that correct?" The young man again said, "yes." Then the counselor said that believing the Book of Mormon and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God is similar to believing Christ is real. You must gain that testimony for yourself through study and prayer.

I think that those who forcefully argue against the Book of Mormon (those who say there is no more word of God besides the Bible) love the Bible and think the Book of Mormon detracts from it. In reality, if these people were really searching the truth, they would prayerfully consider the Book of Mormon after reading it and studying its teachings.

“The argument is, as the Lord suggests, most foolish. It is our modern counterpart to those of Jesus' day who rejected him in the pretense of being loyal to the Law of Moses, the irony being that loyalty to the Law of Moses demanded acceptance of Jesus as the Christ. The purpose of the Law of Moses was to teach and testify of Christ. Such is also the purpose of the Book of Mormon, it being the most Christ-centered book ever written. Yet it is rejected in the name of loyalty to the Bible. The logical extension of such reasoning would be to reject the Gospel of Mark in the name of loyalty to Matthew or to reject the witness of Peter in the pretense of loyalty to Paul and his teachings.” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 347)

Out of the Books Will We be Judged

A warning also comes with this doctrine. We will be judged according to that which is written in the books written by the prophets (v. 11). Since we have the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, we will be judged according to that which is written in those books. Also, we will be judged according to the word of the modern-day prophets. Their words are found in the Ensign and other Church materials.

Since I'm an IT person, I kind of view reading the scriptures and the latest General Conference material like anti-virus software. In order to protect your personal computer (or your soul) you should install a base version of some anti-virus software (read the scriptures). Then in order to guard against the most recent virus attacks (or Satan's temptations), you must subscribe to an anti-virus update service (or listen to and read the latest General Conference).

More Scripture to Come

We have been taught from the scriptures that more scriptures will be revealed. We've discussed earlier that some sealed scriptures will be revealed to the world. And now in 2 Nephi 29:13 we learn that not only will we have the Bible and Book of Mormon, but we will have the scriptures of the Lost Tribes of Israel.

“Lost books are among the treasures yet to come forth. Over twenty of these are mentioned in the existing scriptures. Perhaps most startling and voluminous will be the records of the lost tribes of Israel (see 2 Nephi 29:13). We would not even know of the impending third witness for Christ except through the precious Book of Mormon, the second witness for Christ! This third set of sacred records will thus complete a triad of truth. Then, just as the Perfect Shepherd has said, ‘My word also shall be gathered in one’ (v. 14). There will be ‘one fold and one shepherd’ (1 Nephi 22:25 in a welding together of all the Christian dispensations of human history (see D&C 128:18).” (Neal A. Maxwell, "God Will Yet Reveal," Ensign, Nov. 1986, p. 52)

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.

2 Nephi 25

The Prophecies of Nephi

To begin, here is a list I composed when I was a missionary. This list numbers all of Nephi’s prophesies concerning Christ, the Jews and Gentiles and the Lamanites and Nephites.

1. In the Last Days, when Isaiah's prophecies begin to be fulfilled, men will know of a surety when they come to pass (25:7).
   
2. Jews carried away captive by Babylon, then return to Jerusalem and are restored to their lands of inheritance (25:11).
   
3. Jews reject and crucify the Christ and he is resurrected after 3 days (25:12-13).
   
4. Jerusalem is destroyed again after the Messiah (25:14).
   
5. The Jews are scattered among all nations and Babylon is destroyed (25:15).


6. Jews are restored and gathered again a 2nd time (25:17).
   
7. Christ will come 600 years after Lehi left Jerusalem (25:19).
   
8. Christ will manifest himself to the Nephites (26:1-9).
   
9. The Nephite destruction (26:10).
   
10. The coming forth of the Book of Mormon (26:16-17).
    
11. The rise of false churches and secret combinations among the Gentiles (26:20).
    
12. Darkness and apostasy in the last days (27:1-5).
    
13. Sealed portion of the Book of Mormon will be read from housetops (27:11).
    
14. Three witnesses of Book of Mormon (27:12).
    
15. Martin Harris takes characters to Dr. Anthon and other professor (27:15-20).
    
16. A marvelous work and a wonder – the restoration of the Gospel (27:26).

The Law of Moses is Dead

Nephi truly understood the purpose of the Law of Moses. He understood that everything they did in the Law of Moses was the typifying of Christ and was to help the people remember Christ. He taught his people the deadness of the law meaning that once Christ would come, the law would no longer be needed. I also like the part where Nephi says, “after the law is fulfilled in Christ, they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away” (v. 27). This was one of the problems in Jerusalem when Christ came. The people still clung to their old traditions (the Law of Moses) and did not accept the teachings of Christ. Nephi and the Book of Mormon prophets were prepared and taught the people to repent and live the higher law, but they still obeyed the lower Law of Moses.

After All We Can Do

In verse 23, Nephi talks about reconciliation again. He writes in order to persuade his children and 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.” I think this is the source of the saying “we are saved by grace after all we can do.”

A few years ago (around 2004), a co-worker invited me to lunch on a rainy day. At the time, I did not know why he was taking me to lunch, but I had a premonition as to what his purpose was. After beginning our lunch, we began to chat about work. Then he launched into a religious discussion. What he wanted was that I read a prayer from a Billy Graham pamphlet that in essence "saved me." After further discussion, I summarized to him that what he believed was that once a person read aloud this prayer, he would be saved no matter what he did the rest of his life. I could commit sin and still be saved without true repentance … theoretically. To me, this represented a serious flaw in his understanding of the Atonement. As Nephi teaches us, no matter how "good" we are, we still cannot be saved by our actions alone. We need the Atonement in order to be "saved." We must strive to keep the commandments and truly repent and prepare ourselves to be judged of God and Christ. If we choose not to even try to keep the commandments, then the Atonement will be ineffective in our lives.

A Voice from the Dust

Just as a general comment – when I was reading this part of the chapter (beginning in verse 24) I could feel Nephi’s words. In other words, the Spirit was testifying to me the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. What I felt was the love Nephi had for the Savior. And after reading this part of the chapter, I felt an intense desire to study the teachings of Christ, namely the New Testament. Nephi would have loved the New Testament as it contains the teachings of Christ. His heart would have rejoiced in learning the true law of God. Living the law of Christ would not have been difficult for Nephi, however. He was already living the higher law.

(Heart), Might, Mind and Strength

In verse 29, you can especially feel Nephi’s words, “And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.”

There are several references in the scriptures that include the phrase "might, mind and strength" (Mosiah 2:11, Moroni 10:32, D&C 4:2, D&C 11:20, D&C 33:7, D&C 59:5, D&C 98:47). In essence, Nephi is telling us the first great commandment … to "love the Lord thy God" (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30). And not only should we love the Lord, but we need to love Him with all our heart and mind and might. In other words, we should not hold back any of our love for him. And how do we love him? We love him by keeping his commandments (John 14:15, D&C 124:87) with all our hearts, minds, might and strength.

2 Nephi 21 & 22

A Rod, a Stem, a Branch and Roots

Verses 1 and 10 are very interesting verses. We learn from D&C 113:2 that the stem of Jesse is Christ. The rod is a servant of Christ who is a descendent of both Ephraim and Jesse "on whom there is laid much power" (D&C 113:4). We also learn from section 113 verse 6 that the "root of Jesse" is a descendent of Jesse as well as Joseph (Ephraim) who rightly possess the priesthood and the keys of the kingdom to be an ensign and gatherer of God's people in the last days. The branch is not specifically mentioned in section 113, but the author at gospeldoctrine.com, through some deductive reasoning, postulates that the branch is Christ.

As to the rod and root of Jesse, the same author thinks that both of these represent Joseph Smith. I did a search on the lds.org gospel library and found only three results for "root of Jesse." One result agrees that the rod and root represent Joseph Smith. The other search result returns an article whose author is a Jew who converted to the Church. In that article, he alludes that the root of Jesse is person who is yet to come. He learned this from "various Latter-day prophets." Every time I read this chapter, I've always assumed that the root is not Joseph Smith, but another prophet who is yet to come.

The Knowledge of the Lord

In verses 6-9, we read that the Earth will be "safe" so that the hunter and the hunted will lay down side by side without bloodshed. "They shall not hurt or destroy … for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord" (v. 9).

Joseph Smith once admonished his fellow saints when some attempted to kill rattlesnakes.

"In pitching my tent we found three massasaguas, or prairie rattlesnakes, which the brethren were about to kill, but I said, 'Let them alone, don't hurt them! How will the serpent ever lose his venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition, and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless, before the brute creation; and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the suckling child can play with the serpent in safety.' The brethren took the serpents carefully on sticks and carried them across the creek. I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird or an animal of any kind during my journey unless it became necessary in order to preserve ourselves from hunger. (History of the Church, vol. 2, pp. 71-2)"

The Gathering of Israel

As prophesied so many times before, Isaiah yet again prophesies that the lost tribes will return in the Last Days. In D&C 133 we learn more of this "highway for the remnant of his people" (v. 16). D&C 133:26-32 says,

"And they who are in the north countries shall come in remembrance before the Lord; and their prophets shall hear his voice, and shall no longer stay themselves; and they shall smite the rocks, and the ice shall flow down at their presence.
And an highway shall be cast up in the midst of the great deep.
Their enemies shall become a prey unto them,
And in the barren deserts there shall come forth pools of living water; and the parched ground shall no longer be a thirsty land.
And they shall bring forth their rich treasures unto the children of Ephraim, my servants.
And the boundaries of the everlasting hills shall tremble at their presence.
And there shall they fall down and be crowned with glory, even in Zion, by the hands of the servants of the Lord, even the children of Ephraim."

God is my Salvation

In chapter 22, we read that we will rejoice that Christ will reign on the earth.

Verse 2 is my favorite verse in this chapter.

"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."

In verse 6, we are reminded that Christ will personally reign on the earth as he will be "in the midst" of Israel.

2 Nephi 19

A Great Light

Isaiah prophesies the location of Christ's ministry. After this prophesy, he says, "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" (v. 2). Christ is that great light. Without Christ, the world would be in complete darkness with no hope of having light. But Christ is our light and our hope. If we believe him, then we will never have to walk in darkness.

Unto us a child is born

Later on, Isaiah writes of the birth of Christ and some of the titles he will take upon himself.

The government shall be upon his shoulder - when Christ comes to reign upon the earth, he will be the government.

Wonderful - is not the Savior of all mankind wonderful?

Counselor - his whole life is dedicated to counseling us and showing us the way of happiness.

The Mighty God - self-explanatory

The Everlasting Father - he is the father of the Earth, the universe and our spiritual rebirth.

The Prince of Peace - if we all truly lived Christ's teachings, then Satan would have significantly less power and the world would be at peace. Indeed, when Christ reigns on the earth, we will have peace for a thousand years.

2 Nephi 18

Waters of Shiloah

The metaphor used here (v. 6-8) contrasts the peaceful waters of Shiloah (Christ) to that of the destructive Euphrates (Assyrians). Instead of choosing Christ and having peace, Israel will be destroyed for choosing evil.

“Isaiah describes and then contrasts two forms of waters—the soft, rolling waters of Shiloah, located near the temple mount of Jerusalem, and the waters of the Euphrates, a great river that often floods out of control. The waters of Shiloah are controlled and inviting, whereas the Euphrates is dangerous and destructive. The waters of Shiloah bring life to those who drink them; the Euphrates brings death to those who are swept up in its flood. Isaiah's images of the two waters are symbolic: the former represents Jesus, the King of Heaven, who is likened to the waters of life; the latter is the king of Assyria, who leads his great, destructive armies and ‘cover the earth [like a flood . . . and] destroy the inhabitants thereof’ (Jer. 46:8). Inasmuch as the inhabitants of Judah had rejected Jesus, or the waters of Shiloah, the Lord set
upon them the king of Assyria, or the strong and mighty waters of the river that would overflow their banks and cover the entire land with its destruction.” (Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry, and Tina M. Peterson, Understanding Isaiah [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1998], 83 as taken from Commentaries on Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, ed. by K. Douglas Bassett, [American Fork, UT: Covenant Publishing Co., 2003], 137)

The message we are to receive from these verses is that if we choose Christ, we will be protected and blessed. We will be happy and content with the manageable and predictable waters of Shiloah. But if we choose to go down forbidden paths, then our agency is taken away and we cannot control the destructive forces that rage in our lives.

Neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid

The Lord promised Israel that he would fight their battles for them (as demonstrated in Joshua 10:10-11, 25) and that they should not form alliances with other countries … they should form an everlasting alliance with God. But they grew wicked and formed alliances with neighboring countries and were cursed.

In verse 9, the Lord warns them that if they associate themselves with these countries, they will be “broken in pieces.” He also tells Israel in verse 12, “neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid.” What I find interesting about this statement is that the Lord doesn’t say, “fear not,” he says fear not their fear. Sometimes I get caught up in the worries of the world. I worry about finances; I worry about work; I worry about other things. In other words, I worry about things that a person who is not spiritually inclined worries about. Instead, what I ought to worry about is if I am doing what is right; am I keeping the commandments. If I obey the Lord, then all these other worries will take care of themselves (or the Lord will help me take care of them … he will fight my battles). I need not form an alliance with worldly ideas. The only alliance I need to make is with the Lord.

The reason this is significant to me is because as I lay in my bed this morning, I began to think of all the things I needed to do. I have some real concerns with regards to buying our new home and how will be able to meet the new financial demands. We’ve felt that buying this new home is the right thing to do. My wife has not really had any concerns, while I, on the other hand, have been worried about it. I also was thinking about my job at work and some concerns in that area. While I was worrying about these things, I was about to begin a prayer in my mind asking Heavenly Father for help with all these worries. Then these words came to my mind, “count your blessings.” I stopped and began to count my blessings. Then I knew that everything would be fine. After all that, I got up and began to read the scriptures and this chapter when I came across these verses (v. 9-13). It was so clear now … I simply need to trust in the Lord. That calm reassurance that the Lord had given me before (D&C 6:22-24) came to me again. I need not fear their fear (or the world’s fear). I simply need to trust in the Lord.

A Stone of Stumbling

I had never really thought of what a stumbling block or stone is before. This morning, after reading from gospeldoctrine.com, I had a much better understanding. This is what I read:

A man who stumbles on a rock falls on his face. He may get up again, curse, and kick the offending stone, but in doing so he only further bruises himself. The rock is never injured; the man has neither the power nor the strength to destroy the rock. His misfortune has come by looking beyond the mark, whereby he misses the rock completely, stumbles clumsily, and falls spiritually. For the Israelites, the path of righteousness was obstructed by just such a ‘stone of stumbling’ and ‘rock of offense.’

The Lord of Hosts became a stumbling block for the Jews both in the days of Isaiah and in the days of his mortal ministry. They were offended with by the wisdom, power, and authority of Jesus of Nazareth. This stumbling came because they did not understand the reason the Law of Moses was given. As Paul explained ‘Because they (the Jews) sought it (the law of righteousness) not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed’ (Rom 9:32-3).

‘But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And because they desired it God hath done it, that they may
stumble.’ (Jacob 4:14)

Neal A. Maxwell

“A stumbling block is defined as involving ‘something repugnant to one's prejudices’ (The Oxford English Dictionary)…A stumbling block of the Jews of Jesus' day, for instance, was their expectations about what the Messiah would do, such as emancipating them politically. To them, Jesus was not an emancipator, and his death was an unfulfilling stumbling block. This irony had been prophesied. The Greeks, on the other hand, regarded the whole idea of a resurrecting messiah as foolishness. (See Isaiah 8:14; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 1 Peter 2:8; 2 Nephi 18:14.)” (A Wonderful Flood of Light [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1990], 71.)

I will wait upon the Lord

Going back to the commentary on forming an alliance with the Lord, we learn that when we form that alliance, we must “wait upon the Lord” and the Lord will protect us. Elder Hales referred to this verse in his October 1998 General Conference talk when he said, “The Lord is the ultimate caregiver. We must surrender ourselves to the Lord. In doing so, we give up whatever is causing our pain and turn everything over to Him…When pain, tests, and trials come in life, draw near to the Savior. ‘Wait upon the Lord,…look for him’ (Isa. 8:17; 2 Ne. 18:17). ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint’ (Isa. 40:31). Healing comes in the Lord’s time and the Lord’s way; be patient.

“Our Savior waits for us to come to Him through our scripture study, pondering, and prayer to our Heavenly Father….As we are strengthened and healed, we can then lift and strengthen others with our faith.” (Ensign, November, 1998).

Seek unto their God

The last part of this chapter warns Israel against seeking after “wizards that peep and mutter” (v. 19). Just as we should not seek alliances with the world to solve our troubles, neither should we seek spiritual counsel from other sources other than the Lord.

2 Nephi 16 & 17

There are two points I wish to discuss in this chapter. First, we cannot take our own sins away. Second, are we prepared to accept a call when we are called?

Thy Sin Purged

In verse 5, Isaiah laments that his lips are not clean and that his sins prevent him from being worthy to be in the presence of God. Therefore, in verses 6 & 7, a seraph takes a hot coal and places it on Isaiah's lips thus cleansing him from his sins. The seraph says, "thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." Similarly, Enos begged for forgiveness and received this reply from God, "thy sins are forgiven thee" (Enos 1:5).

The lesson learned here is that we cannot take away our own sins. No matter what we do and how much we serve, we will still remain sinners. It is only through the Atonement that we can obtain a forgiveness of our sins.

Whom Shall I Send?

In verse 8, Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Isaiah responds, just as the Messiah did, "Here I am; send me." In Abraham 3:27, the same question is posed and the Lord responds in like manner.

What can we learn from it? We can ask ourselves if we are willing to respond in the affirmative when we are asked to serve. If we are worthy, the we will be able to say yes. If we are not worthy, then we must change those things in our lives that will enable us to serve worthily.

We ought to always be prepared to serve when called upon.

A Virgin Shall Conceive

Chapter 17 is very difficult to understand if you do not know the history behind it. I recommend reading an Institute of Religion study manual or a site like gospeldoctrine.com to gain some understanding of the history behind King Ahaz. The gospeldoctrine.com entry for this chapter can be found here.

The most important part of this chapter is when Isaiah prophesies to Ahaz the coming of Christ. He prophesies that Christ will be born of a virgin.

2 Nephi 11

Chapter 11 is short and is an introduction to the remainder of the Isaiah chapters.

There are just a couple of points I wish to discuss regarding chapter 11.

First, in chapter 11, Nephi establishes the importance of witnesses (v. 3). Just as missionaries (used to) teach in the discussions, in the mouth of two or three witnesses is the word of God established (2 Cor. 13:1). To me it is ironic that some people who say they want “proof” or a sign, when given three or more valid testimonies, they reject the message completely. God will always establish His word with witnesses whether those witnesses be books of scripture, prophets or other testimonies.

The other point that I really like from chapter 11 is in verse 4. Jacob explains that “all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of [Christ].” I have this verse cross-referenced to Moses 6:63 which basically states the same thing, namely that all things in heaven and on earth are made to bear record of Christ.

Here is a short list of things that I consider that typify Christ:

• The seasons typify Christ's death and resurrection.
• Our solar system ... the center of our system is the source of our light just as Christ ought to be the center and source of light for all our souls.
• The atom is designed similiarly ... nucleus, etc.
• The North Pole and North Star are both constant and help us in navigation just as Christ's teachings are constant and if followed will guide us to His presence.

GospelDoctrine.com also has a list of things with regard to the Law of Moses that typify Christ.

I also remember reading a post from another blogger (Blogger of Jared) about a talk he had listened to that discusses the parallels be Christ and the Book of Mormon. A follow-up post is also a very good read. (*Update - this blog is defunct.  Not sure what happened.  I found some cached pages on waybackmachine, but not the entire posts).

A search through the gospel library at lds.org proves useful. Symbols from the Scriptures That Testify of Christ, All Things Testify of Him: Understanding Symbolism in the Scriptures, Moses: Witness of Jesus Christ, (one of the authors is Todd B. Parker ... the author of the talk the Blogger of Jared refers to.)

If you can think of anything to add to this list, please leave a comment.

2 Nephi 10

A Chosen Land

Jacob testifies in this chapter, like his brother Nephi and his father, about the promises made to the people who live on this land (the American Continent). He talks about how it will be a land of liberty to the Gentiles (the immigrants to America). He also states that this land is a choice land above all other lands and that those who possess it must worship God.

If we fail to worship God, then we will be brought into captivity (2 Nephi 1:7). President Marion G. Romney gave a talk in October of 1975 entitled America's Destiny. He began the talk with a question, "Can we maintain our basic freedoms, peace and prosperity for another 200 years?" The nation, at that time, was preparing to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Later in that talk he said something very noteworthy,

"The tragic fate of the Jaredite and the Nephite civilizations is proof positive that the Lord meant it when he said that this “is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fulness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fulness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity” (Ether 2:9).

If we are to maintain our freedoms, then we, as a nation, must worship God and live rightesously.

Reconciliation with God

The other point in this chapter that Jacob makes is about reconciliation. The definition of reconciliation is, “to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent.” I think a synonym could be “align.” In verse 24, Jacobs counsels us to reconcile ourselves to the will of God and not to the will of the devil. As I thought about this verse, it simply made sense to me. I have reconciled our bank statement to our own records many times. At work, I've reconciled our records with our actual inventory. It is not an easy process. It involves consistent comparing of what really is to what I think there is and then if there is a disagreement, a change is required. And always, the change will be made to the records, not the actual inventory. In spiritual terms, I need to compare what the will of the Father is to what my will is. If there is a disagreement, then it is I who needs to change. This will not happen just once. As with the bank statement and the inventory count, the reconciliation should be done regularly and often.

Salvation and Grace

In the second half of verse 24, Jacobs then counsels that only after we have reconciled ourselves to the will of God will we qualify for the grace of God to take over. We have heard many times that “we do all that we can do – however insufficient it may be – then will God take over and save us.” It is his grace that saves us. At the same time, if we did not do our part, we would not be saved either. We benefit from this deal, for what God requires is far more insignificant to what we will inherit if we do our part. But, if we truly reconcile ourselves to God’s will or align our will to God’s will, then we will be saved by His grace.

I am grateful for the Gospel and the atonement. I know that I am nothing. I truly stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me. I have sinned many times in my life and I need the atonement to rectify what I have done wrong. I hope and pray that I will remember this verse at all times. This teaching is a powerful teaching and if I but remember it and think about it, I will not go astray as often as I do.

2 Nephi 9

In this chapter, there are many verses which if not meditated and passed over lightly, one will miss a tremendous amount of knowledge, not to mention the feelings one will receive from the Spirit. Many of these verses seem to contain common knowledge, but as you read them over and over again and ponder them, you will begin to see the deeper meaning. I still don’t clearly understand all of what the verses say. I pray that as I read them over again, I will understand a little more.

Hope

In verse 3, Jacob explains to the people that he is telling them these things that they may rejoice and lift up their heads. Once we realize what our fate is if Christ had not fulfilled his mission, we become very grateful for what he has done. The Nephites were grateful for the mission of Christ. They realized their position better than we do because Christ had not yet come and they had to believe that he would come. As for us, we know that he came and it now becomes our duty to find out for ourselves that what Christ taught really is true. We must gain a testimony for ourselves that the resurrection will come and that if we repent we can be forgiven of our sins and return to God’s presence. Not all is lost! We have much to hope for and look forward to.

Christ's Sacrifice

In verse 5, Jacob explains the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. Christ subjected himself to men in order that men may be subject unto him. Christ showed his charity to all men by sacrificing himself for our salvation. He provides for us an escape from the everlasting chains of hell. We no longer have to be subject to the devil and his misery. We can choose to obey Christ and live.

Our Eternity Equals the Sum of Our Actions

We will not achieve righteousness in one day, nor will we become all evil and miserable in one day. Our daily actions are the sum of our individual. Sow your thoughts, reap your actions, sow your actions, reap your habits, sow your habits, reap your character, sow your character reap your eternity. Just as verse 16 states, those who are righteous will still be righteous and those who are wicked will still be wicked for the eternities. I heard a saying that has reference to this concept. I believe I heard it from watching the movie Gladiator. It says, “What we do in this life will echo in the eternities.” It is true with all of us. What we choose to think and consequently do will eventually be the outcome of our eternity.

God is Consistent

As I have written before, one of the characteristics of God is that he does what he says he will do. This is one of the attributes I am trying to develop. Call it responsibility, honesty, discipline or whatever; doing what you say you will do is powerful. Jacob recognizes the significance of doing what you say you will do. In verse 17 he says, “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.”

Carnally Minded vs. Spiritually Minded

Verse 39: What does it mean to be carnally minded? What does it mean to be spiritually minded? To be carnally minded is to think like the world does. At work, some people are constantly cracking jokes that are crude. Sometimes I don’t understand them and I hope that the reason I don’t understand them is because I am not thinking like they do. To be carnally minded is to have your mind in the gutter. The only way to counter act this is to be spiritually minded or in other words to constantly think of spiritual things. This is not as hard as it sounds. If you delight in the scriptures like Nephi did, then your mind will naturally be thinking of the Lord’s words. You will derive great joy from being spiritually minded and you will not fear. As you think of the scriptures and the teachings of the prophets during the day, you will become more confident in doing what is right and you will be truly happy. “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven” (D&C 121:45). This is a prime example of trying to be spiritually minded. I have memorized most of section 121. As I was writing this, I remembered that part of section 121. When we have the scriptures and teachings of the prophets written on our hearts, we will remember them and we will be spiritually minded.

Spending Time and Money

Jacob’s counsel in verse 51 is timeless. He admonishes, “do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.” What is of true worth? Everything we buy and acquire on this earth will not come with us to the eternities. Our home, our books, our possessions – we cannot truly keep with us. The only thing that we can keep with us is our character, our testimony, our knowledge, our family relationships. Yet, why do we spend our money and time on things which we cannot keep? We need to spend our time and money on developing our character, our testimony and family and also on building up the kingdom of God on the Earth. Consequently, we need to labor on building up the kingdom of God and our family. I work to provide for my family. When I am not at work, I spend my time studying the scriptures, playing with my kids and talking with my wife. These are the things which are most important.

Remember to Pray

Lastly, Jacob counsels us to pray continually and to thank God for all that we have.