2 Nephi 4-5

2 Nephi 4

BYU Men’s Chorus singing “I Love the Lord” to the tune of “Be Still My Soul” which is based on “Nephi’s Psalm” in 2 Nephi 4 (I spotted a handful of people I know singing in the choir! I lOvE BYU Men’s Chorus—choir music doesn’t get any better than what I’ve seen/heard them do!) 

The 2nd half of this chapter is known as “Nephi’s Psalm.” He laments over his weaknesses and sins, which is great insight into the humanity and humility of Nephi who was a powerful prophet and yet still had plenty of weaknesses. But the focus of his Psalm is the hope that his weakness can be redeemed by the Lord. After expressing his sorrow and frustration with his weakness he declares:

19… Nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.

 20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

 21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.

 30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

I think the attitude expressed in this chapter is the key to life! I need to be humble and acknowledge how weak and flawed I am… and at the same time have hope and optimism knowing that the Lord will provide me with all the strength and help I need if I turn to him in humility and faith.

I should also mention that Lehi passes away in the beginning of the chapter. But before he dies he finishes blessing all his children and grandchildren. He gives a blessing to Laman and Lemuel’s children that if they are cursed because of the wicked ways they have been taught by their parents, most of the responsibility will be on the heads of their parents.

2 Nephi 5

The Big Break! Tensions get so bad between Nephi and Laman/Lemuel that the Lord warns Nephi to take everyone who wants to follow him (and follow the Lord) and take off into the wilderness to establish their own community and people. And thus, the “Nephites” and the “Lamanites” are born.

 

Nephi mentions many elements of the Nephi way of life. Look for the following, and ask yourself why these things are important, and why Nephi might say “we lived after the manner of happiness” (vs. 27)

• They did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things (vs. 10)
• They were industrious and worked hard (vs. 11, 15, 17)
• They had the scriptures and the Liahona (vs. 12)
• They prepared to defend themselves against attack (vs. 14)
• They built a temple (vs. 16)

Also I should comment on vs. 21-25. The Lord puts a “curse” on the Lamanites to differentiate them from the Nephites so that the Nephites will not want to mix with them. The curse is a “skin of blackness”—similar to what happened to Cain in the Bible to make him and his seed stand out. I do not think this means in any way that white skin is good and black skin is bad. It is simply different so that the people of God could physically recognize those who had chosen to not follow God and would stay separate. (Today God certainly doesn’t try to “divide us” by skin color anymore—and I couldn’t tell you why He did it in biblical days.)

2 Nephi 1-3

2 Nephi 1

“Arise from the dust, my sons, and be men”

In the next 3 chapters, Lehi imparts final words of counsel to his children and grandchildren before he dies. In Chapter 1, Lehi speaks with his adult children about how blessed they have been to be led out of Jerusalem (which he has seen in vision has been destroyed) and guided to this new land (the American continent). He prophesies that his posterity and anyone else who is led by God to this land will be blessed with freedom if they choose to follow God. (see verses 3-11) 

7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.

The Lord wants to bless us. But if we choose to reject Him, He can no longer bless us, and must remove his support and protection from us. This is a re-occurring theme of the Book of Mormon.

 20 And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

2 Nephi 2 - (In my opinion one of the most important chapters in the Book of Mormon!)

“Thou knowest the greatness of God; 
and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.”

In this chapter, Lehi teaches his son Jacob about the purpose of life, particularly the purpose of opposition and afflictions—and the critical role that Jesus Christ plays in the salvation of mankind. Starting at the beginning with Adam and Eve, God gave his children the chance to grow and prove themselves by choosing between conflicting options.

 11 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.

 12 Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God.

 16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.

I find myself wanting to quote every verse in this whole powerful chapter. The principles are HUGE and I wish I could share them with the whole world. I have learned that God will often allow bad or hard things to happen to me because I am here to learn and to be tested.  If everything is always pleasant, simple, or just as I ask, then there is nothing to learn and no way to grow. God loves me enough to allow me to grow, so He won't always sweep in and remove every obstacle in my path. He knows my existence would be pointless if that were the case. I am learning to better trust that there is a reason or purpose in everything.

 24 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.

 25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.

But really, life's challenges are too difficult for any of us to navigate successfully on our own. That is why we need a Savior to put the pieces back together. His sacrifice is available for anyone who chooses to accept him; but it must be your choice. God won’t force anyone… because that would defy the whole point of the test and the opportunity to learn.

 6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.

 7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

 8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.

 9 Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved.

26 And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

 27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

 I am so grateful I have the option to rely on a Savior. I know that His way leads to liberty and eternal life.

2 Nephi 3

Lehi talks about 4 different Josephs in this chapter. The first is Lehi’s youngest son, Joseph, to whom he is giving his final fatherly counsel. The second is Joseph from the Old Testament—Jacob’s favorite son (the one with the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat J), also known as Joseph of Egypt. Lehi is a descendant of Joseph of Egypt, and he quotes prophecies from Joseph about a great prophet that the Lord will raise up in the future whose name is also Joseph, and whose father’s name is Joseph (see vs. 15). He is referring to Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (whose name is actually Joseph Smith, Jr. because his father is Joseph Smith, Sr.). I think this is a very cool chapter. The more you learn about Joseph Smith’s life and teachings, the more you see how it fits this prophecy. It would take much too long to elaborate on that in a blog post, but you can read Joseph Smith’s personal account here: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp/js-h/1?lang=eng

1 Nephi 22

This chapter probably won't make much sense without some basic translation. Nephi is prophesying of things to come (actually, he is just expounding on what he just read out of the Brass plates, which are a portion of the Old Testament)—most of the events are in the future for him, but in the past for us. Here are some foundational things to notice/understand:

V. 3-5 The Scattering of the House of Israel: Jacob in the Old Testament, whose name was later changed to Israel, had 12 sons and all together the 12 sons and their descendants are known as the House of Israel. The 12 sons divided into two kingdoms in 925 B.C. Ten tribes formed the northern kingdom; they were known as Israel, or the northern kingdom. The southern kingdom, consisting of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, was headquartered at Jerusalem.

The northern kingdom soon went into apostasy and adopted the practice of worshiping idols, and the kingdom was captured by the Assyrians and the people carried away captive into Assyria. They have therefore become known as the “lost ten tribes.”

Since their captivity they have never yet returned to their homeland, but extensive promises and prophecies speak of the time when they of the “north countries” shall return when they are ready to obey the gospel. The gathering of the lost tribes is to be a more spectacular event than the children of Israel coming out of Egypt in Moses’ day. Prophecies of their return include: Isa. 11:10–16; Jer. 3:18; 16:14–21; 1 Ne. 22:4–12; 2 Ne. 10:21–22; 3 Ne. 15:13–15; 16:1–5

(let's be honest, I stole most of that definition from another source--I'm not that smart)

V. 6-7 The Gentiles: In the scriptures, Gentiles are basically all people who aren’t of the House of Israel (or since most of the House of Israel is lost, it is anyone who is not a Jew since that is the only tribe that was not lost). 

V. 7 the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the Gentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land; and by them shall our seed be scattered. The mighty nation among the Gentiles that Nephi is prophesying about is the United States of America (“even upon the face of this land”--remember the Book of Mormon takes place on the ancient American continent). The Native American Indians are Nephi’s descendants hundreds of years down the road, and here Nephi is prophesying that the settlers of the American nation will scatter his seed (and indeed, the American settlers scattered the Indians around the country and kicked them out of their homes). 

V. 8 And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which shall be of great worth unto our seed; The marvelous work is the restoring of the full church and gospel of Jesus Christ through the modern-day prophet, Joseph Smith, in the 1820’s. This is a whole other lesson but an important one (it’s the story of why, when, and how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came about). This is a pretty good resource if you are interested (about 2-3 pages long): http://www.lds.org/topics/church-organization/the-church-of-jesus-christ?lang=eng

V. 9-12 When it talks about “In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed” and “the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel” and “they shall be brought out of obscurity and out of darkness; and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel”—this refers to the missionary work of the church and the spreading of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ across the earth.

V. 13-14, 23 refers to the fall of any church, kingdom, or nation that fights against the work of God in the latter-days (Latter-days=the time between the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the early 1800's until the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ)

V. 15-19 refers to the 2^nd Coming of Jesus Christ

V. 20-21 This is a prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ. If it is a prophecy of the 1^st coming of Jesus Christ then this jumps backward in chronology, but I suppose it could also be a prophecy of the 2^nd coming.

These verses wrap up the chapter well. Amen!

 30 Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the plates of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of God.

 31 Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only ones that have testified, and also taught them. Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the commandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.

 Congratulations on finishing the first book in the Book of Mormon!!

1 Nephi 19-21

 1 Nephi 19

This chapter is full of prophecies and testimony about the coming of Christ (still nearly 600 years away). Some of my favorite verses:

 7 For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at naught and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel do men trample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words—they set him at naught, and hearken not to the voice of his counsels.

 8 And behold he cometh, according to the words of the angel, in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem.

 9 And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.

And these verses are a great insight into why Nephi is writing this record. Everything he does is to draw people to Jesus Christ:

 18 And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer.

 23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.

1 Nephi 20-21 (Isaiah Chapters)

As Nephi said in the previous chapter that he “did read unto [his people] that which was written by the prophet Isaiah,” the next two chapters are direct inserts or transcriptions of the writings of Isaiah that Nephi had on the plates of brass. Nephi felt very strongly that the writings of Isaiah were powerful and important teachings of Jesus Christ, so you will find more full chapters of Isaiah writings in the 2^nd book of Nephi as well.

When it comes to Isaiah writings, they are very symbolic, heavy, and full of Jewish cultural and historical allusions which makes it very hard for most modern Americans and Britts to understand. If I tried to explain all that was going on in these two chapters, this blog post would be monstrous! Plus… let’s be honest, I don’t understand it all anyway. So I recommend reading over the chapter and just look for snippets that speak to you—especially verses that are teaching or prophesying something about Jesus Christ. These are some of my favorites:

21:14 But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not. 15 For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

20:18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments—then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. 

1 Nephi 17-18

1 Nephi 17

I never noticed before that Nephi and his family spend eight years wandering around in the wilderness!—wow! Eight years of camping; eight years of eating raw meat; eight years of the women giving birth while camping. It’s almost like the people of Israel who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before they were ready for the Lord to  give them their promised land. I love Nephi’s cheerful and faithful attitude in the meantime—which can totally be applied to modern-day life (v 3):

And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.

After 8 years of wandering, Nephi’s group arrives at the sea shore and he is commanded by the Lord to build a ship. Nephi has never built a ship in his life, but his attitude is “I will go and do what the Lord has commanded.” He has a difficult time enlisting the help of his brothers, though, and a big argument ensues. Laman and Lemuel get so riled up that they want to throw Nephi into the sea and drown him, and the Lord gives Nephi power to shock them by his touch.

1 Nephi 18

I am very fond of this chapter. There have been many times in my life where I have felt overwhelmed with responsibilities on my plate, or perhaps uncertain about big decisions I needed to make, and the first 5 verses of this chapter really spoke to me and gave me courage. Nephi is commanded to build a ship—just think what a daunting task that would be if you have no training or experience (and your whole family has to travel safely across the ocean in that thing!). We tend to think it’s no big deal for prophets to get instructions from the Lord because... well, they are prophets! God just gives prophets the answers, right? But if you read closely, that’s not how it happens. Notice in verse one, Nephi says that the Lord gives him instructions from “time to time” on how to build the ship. He must take one step at a time, and then the Lord will show him the next step. He is never given the grand vision or the master plan.

 1 ...we did work timerbs of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship. 

2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men. 

 3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things. 

 4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.

I’ve found that is how the Lord works in my life. I can rarely see all the “steps” I should make or how everything is going to turn out. But as I move and take one step at a time, I am directed. And whenever I am directed by the Lord, it always turns out well—and even Lamans and Lemuels can “behold that is was good (v 4)” in the end.

And so the family embarks and shoves off into the Atlantic Ocean! Enroute, the most dramatic conflict between Laman/Lemuel and Nephi occurs, and they tie him up on the ship for days, despite the violent storms the Lord sends that threatens everyone’s lives and the pleadings of Nephi’s wife, children, and parents. I am baffled by Laman and Lemuel—they swing so dramatically from one spectrum to the other and their heads and hearts are as hard as rock. Think of all the miracles, signs, and lessons they have received.

In the end, the family arrives safely in the promised land! The promised land is the American continent—although we don’t know exactly where (not even sure if they originally landed on the South, Central, or North American continent, although eventually their posterity will spread out across all three). It is important to catch this geography shift! The rest of the Book of Mormon takes places in the American continent!

1 Nephi 16

Lehi wakes up one morning in the wilderness and finds a gift from God sitting outside his tent! It is described as a “round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.” Basically it is a fancy brass compass. We will learn later that they called the compass the Liahona, but in this chapter they just call it “the ball.” The most important thing to remember about the ball is that this gift from God did only “work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto it.” (Kind-of like every gift that God gives.)

While Lehi’s family continues their journey deeper into the wilderness with the guidance of the Liahona, Nephi breaks his steel bow, which is the best bow the family has. They aren’t able to hunt/catch any food for days and everyone starts to panic. Nephi teaches everyone a strong lesson in how to best react to difficult and scary situations—I’ll let you read it yourself. How do you think the principles of this story apply to civilized life in 2013 when we aren’t out hunting our dinner or traveling in the wilderness? 

Nephi faces more trouble when Ishmael dies, and a large portion of his party (you guessed it—Laman and Lemuel included) get very upset and want to return to Jerusalem. They even start talking about killing Nephi and their father, Lehi. The voice of the Lord interjects and “chastens” them, and they calm down for the time being.