We finished last week at the end of chapter 25 of 2 Nephi, having just begun a marvelous prophecy made for the benefit of a generation that struggled to understand Isaiah. In chapter 26 Nephi begins talking about what will happen after Christ comes. The Nephites are promised that they will be able to see him and be taught personally by him.

The coming of Christ isn't going to be a big party for all of them, though. I've chosen verse 4 to sum it up: "Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day cometh that shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, for they shall be as stubble." Sounds sort of like the last days, doesn't it? In a sense, many of the great prophets lived in time periods they were able to consider as the last days. Enoch, for example, was preparing people for the end of the world, which came in Noah's day. The death of the Messiah heralded much destruction and the end of wickedness (for a while) among the Nephites. After the death of Christ the Apostles spoke as if in the last days, anticipating the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of their people. Mormon and Moroni lived in what was the last days to their people and their nation. We live in the latter days, literally the last dispensation of the gospel in anticipation of the Millenium and the personal reign of Christ upon the Earth.

Well, Nephi doesn't like all of it too much. This is a good lesson for us. There may be some aspects of the gospel, or some teachings of the prophets that make us uncomfortable. We need to be willing to accept all truth, and follow the Lord in all aspects of our lives. Nephi gives us the example in verse 7: "O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just." President Harold B. Lee said in General Conference in 1970: "You may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory.'" Likewise, Nephi said in verse 8: "But behold, the righteous that would hearken until the words of the prophets... behold, they are they which shall not perish."

After the Nephites had been taught by the savior, they would live in peace for a while. Eventually, however, they would descend into wickedness again and be destroyed. This is Mormon and Moroni's day Nephi is forseeing. But he doesn't stop there. We'll be coming into the picture as well.

Starting with verse 19: "And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in unbelief shall be smitten by the hand of the Gentiles." But the state of the Gentiles isn't all that great. "And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor." We have these same problems, even among members of the Church. I've met many to whom the concept of seeing an angel is unacceptable -- as Nephi would put it, "they put down the power and miracles of God." And there still is a vast dichotomy between rich and poor, even among members of the Church. We have the fulness of the gospel, a prophet of God in charge, and the priesthood. We have many righteous people among us, and miracles do occur daily among the members of the Church, but we still have a long way to go if we are to prepare for the second coming.

Nephi is seeing a lot of these things among us, and telling us what we need to do and to avoid. It's very clear stuff: Everyone's invited to take part in salvation, we need to respect others, we need to repent, money isn't the most important thing in the world, don't seek the praise of the world, don't lie, don't steal, etc. The commandments are simple and straightforward, but at times we go to great lengths to excuse or justify ourselves.

Isaiah chapter 29 contains some marvelous predictions related to the restoration of the gospel and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. I mention this because in 2 Nephi 27, Nephi gives us a version of this prophecy that's a little clearer and easier to understand. This is absolutely fantastic. I'm going to read verses 11 and 12 of Isaiah 29. You get a much more vivid and detailed picture in verses 15 through 22 of 2 Nephi 27, but this will suffice for the present. "And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned."

In 1828 Martin Harris took a copy of some of the characters from the golden plates to show to various scholars and linguists. One of the people he brought them to was a renowned classical scholar named Charles Anthon. The Church History institute manual has the story of what happened: "According to Martin Harris, Professor Anthon examined the characters and their translation and willingly gave him a certificate stating to the citizens of Palmyra that the writings were authentic. Anthon further told Martin the characters resembled Egyptian, Chaldean, Assyrian, and Arabic, and expressed his opinion that the translation was correct. Martin put the certificate in his pocket and was about to leave when Anthon called him back and asked how Joseph Smith found the gold plates in the hill. Martin explained that an angel of God revealed the location to Joseph, whereupon Charles Anthon asked for the certificate, which Martin gave to him. "He took it and tore it to pieces, saying, that there was no such thing now as ministering of angels, and that if I [Martin] would bring the plates to him, he would translate them. I informed him that part of the plates were sealed, and that I was forbidden to bring them. He replied, 'I cannot read a sealed book.'"" This story is also told in the Pearl of Great Price, in Joseph Smith History 1:63-65.

In the Book of Mormon it talks about a sealed portion of the book that won't be translated at this time. Moroni gives us some detail in Ether 4:4-5: "Behold, I have written upon these plates the very things which the brother of Jared saw; and there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared. Wherefore the Lord hath commanded me to write them; and I have written them. And he commanded me that I should seal them up; and he also hath commanded that I should seal up the interpretation thereof; wherefore I have sealed up the interpreters, according to the commandment of the Lord." This is a similar situation to the Book of Joseph, in that it hasn't been permitted to be circulated generally among members of the Church yet.

In 2 Nephi 28 we are given warnings about false churches and false doctrines. This is the value of the Book of Mormon; it provides a guide to the correct principles and the correct Church. President Ezra Taft Benson said: "The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention. It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day. The type of apostates in the Book of Mormon are similar to the type we have today. God, with his infinite foreknowledge, so molded the Book of Mormon that we might see the error and know how to combat false educational, political, religious, and philosophical concepts of our time." The Book of Mormon is the guide given us in the latter days to find and recognize truth. Of the people I've seen join the Church, I have never seen one fall away if the Book of Mormon played a significant role in his conversion. And where the Book of Mormon did not play a significant role in conversion, I have never seen a person remain faithful to the Church for long.

In chapter 29 Nephi mentions that many gentiles would reject the Book of Mormon. Look how they do it (verse 3): "And because my words shall his forth -- many of the Gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." The vast majority of those who reject the Book of Mormon do so before reading it. They refuse to touch something that claims to contain the word of God if it isn't the Bible. The first nonmember I met after being called as a full time missionary was a Baptist Minister. He had some awful things to say about supposed false doctrines perpetrated by the Book of Mormon. When asked if he had read it, he replied sheepishly that he'd only read a little bit here and there. These people can't read the Book of Mormon, you see, because they have to remain in darkness so that their conscience doesn't bother them.

Well, that's a problem, you see. Nobody's forcing you to read the Book of Mormon, but on the other hand you can't be saved in ignorance. Verse 11: "For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them; for out of the books which shall be written I will judge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written." Along those lines, I hope you're keeping a journal. And if you have a testimony, write it in your journal so that it can be of benefit not only to your posterity, but to you at judgement day.

Chapter 29 ends with the house of Israel being gathered, and chapter 30 starts of by letting us know where the Gentiles stand in all of this. In verse 2 Nephi tells us: "For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel." In verse 3 we find out that it is by the Gentiles that the Book of Mormon will come forth, carrying the words of the Nephites to the remnant of Lehi's seed. The chapter is then finished with a millenium-related prophecy reminiscent of Isaiah.

We get into some good stuff in these last three chapters of 2 Nephi. Nephi doesn't have a lot of opportunity to write much more, so he's going to make these last words count. 2 Nephi 31 talks about the doctrine of Christ, but first Nephi wants to give us a few words about the nature of prophecy. In verse 3 he tells us: "For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding." That's why Nephi doesn't talk like Isaiah, and why Thomas S. Monson doesn't talk like Nephi or anybody else in the scriptures. Each prophet talks in a way that his own people can understand. They don't use some mysterious cryptic phrases like Hollywood might have you expect: God wants the gospel to be accessible to all.

Now Nephi gets into some important stuff. He mentions John the Baptist and poses the question of why Jesus needed to be baptized. He set the example for us by being obedient to the commandments, and then the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.

That's the example we're to follow. Verse 13 explains by giving us the Faith - Repentance - Baptism - Gift of the Holy Ghost thing: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism -- yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel."

But don't turn back, we're warned. There's that last step we need in order to secure eternal life: Endure to the end. Verse 15: "And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved."

Chapter 32 is very familiar. "Feast upon the words of Christ," we are told in verse 3. Read the scriptures, use the Holy Ghost. It's just like in General Conference, when the talks teach us the same things we were taught last year. There's a lot of repetition throughout the scriptures. "Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, that's the doctrine of Christ" we are told in verses 5 and 6. If we get any more information, it has to come through the Holy Ghost. Nephi tells us why in verse 7: "And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be." Well, that's a stunning rebuke. "The gospel is easy to understand, yet you still don't get it." The message is 'quit sinning,' and Nephi is amazed that we're baffled by that message. Well, "pray always" is his advice to us, and hopefully we can make something of ourselves.

In chapter 33 Nephi bears us his testimony. He expresses his deep concern for his people, and hopes to persuade them to believe in Christ. He bids farewell to his readers, hoping to see many of them saved in the Kingdom of God at the last day. He also leaves us with a strict warning in verse 14: "And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the Jews, and also my words, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall condemn you at the last day."

As his final words to us, Nephi writes verse 15: "For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the judgement bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen." Again, as we heard in chapter 29, we will be judged "out of the books which shall be written." The hope is that we believe the testimony of Nephi and act accordingly so that we might ultimately be saved in the Kingdom of God.

Further Reading

Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Part 1 (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2004).

Church Educational System, Book of Mormon Student Manual (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1996).

Hugh Nibley, Figure 6 of Facsimile 2 (Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies).

Conference Report, 1970.

Ezra Taft Benson, Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet (Brigham Young University, 1980).