2 Nephi 1

(All of my own thoughts are in blue type.4/20 Green 1/21 orange 4/22 Brown 2023 )   

THE SECOND BOOK OF NEPHI

An account of the death of Lehi. Nephi’s brethren rebel against him. The Lord warns Nephi to depart into the wilderness. His journeyings in the wilderness, and so forth.

CHAPTER 1

Lehi prophesies of a land of liberty—His seed shall be scattered and smitten if they reject the Holy One of Israel—He exhorts his sons to put on the armor of righteousness. Between 588 and 570 B.C.

  1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of teaching my brethren, our ^afather, Lehi, also spake many things unto them, Okay…if this were my house, there would be some complaining about how “long” this FHE was taking…. in our church the one presiding always speaks last and rehearsed unto them, how great things the Lord had done for them in bringing them out of the land of Jerusalem. Lehi wants his children (and us) to learn and understand and believe that God is watching over them; that He has a divine plan for them; and that He desires to bless them in righteousness. Another thought...how often do you sit down with your children and "rehearse" the great things the Lord has done for you so far in your life? This would be a great New Year's tradition! This would be a great New Year's tradition! Never done it. Think I'll have a family zoom and try this? Haven't done it, but am writing it on my master list of things to do right now! Still didn't do it. Just wrote it on my day planner for Dec 31 (should I wait that long?)
  2 And he spake unto them concerning their ^arebellions upon the waters, and the mercies of God in sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in the sea. The emphasis here is not on their sins, but on God's mercy. Another great thing to review with your children...But he DID bring up their sins. Very risky with those 2 boys...
  3 And he also spake unto them concerning the land of promise, which they had obtained—how ^amerciful the Lord had been in ^bwarning us that we should flee out of the land of Jerusalem. Again...God's mercy. A gentle "see, I told you so..."
  4 For, behold, said he, I have ^aseen a ^bvision, in which I know that ^cJerusalem is ^ddestroyed; a blessing of being obedient…you get the witness after the trial of your faith. What witnesses have you received after the trial of your faith? Have you shared that with your family? and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have ^eperished. It appears that the Lord took Lehi's family out of Jerusalem about 12 years before it was indeed destroyed by the Babylonians. Not that Laman and Lemuel are thinking they could ever return to Jerusalem now that they had crossed an ocean... but Lehi puts that idea to rest once and for all as he testifies that Jerusalem's destruction is no longer in the future, but has come to pass. Would you complain if God removed you 12 years before destruction came? Or would you want to maintain your current life "in the world" as long as possible?
  5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, Through God's mercy, we can obtain all that God promises, even if as we stumble and fall...we have obtained a ^aland of promise, a land which is ^bchoice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath ^ccovenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath ^dcovenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, What promises did the Lord make to you in your Patriarchal Blessing that you could testify to your children have come to pass?  and also all those who should be ^eled out of other countries by the hand of the Lord. The pilgrims, early pioneers….not just Lehi's family….Mulekites, Jaradites This promise of lands goes back to Abraham. Ownership of property is fundamental to liberty, and liberty is fundamental to the gospel. 
  6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall ^anone come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord. Clearly, the Lord brought specific groups of people to the Eastern edge of the America's to gather just the sort of "believing blood" that, combined, would be able to create and establish the most correct form of government on earth at the time. How does this statement apply to illegal aliens? Drug lords that sneak in to do harm? Are they brought by the hand of the Lord? That could also be "allowed" just as Laman and Lemuel's people were God's hand of judgment on the Nephites. Isaiah prophesies that 'Assyria' a rod in the hand of the Lord in destroying the wicked, so that may answer the question about illegals.
  7 Wherefore, this ^aland 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 ^bliberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; Americans…THIS IS YOUR PROMISE!! We must also remember, that the gospel brings a kind of liberty that can be exercised even if political liberty is limited or denied. if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound ^ccursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever. Is it all or nothing? Or are the righteous blessed even if the majority are wicked? I am hearing the latter. If I (and my ancestors) were brought here by the Lord then the land is consecrated unto me if I keep the commandments, it will be a land of liberty to me and the promise is I will never be brought down into captivity. Even being martyred is not being taken captive. Even if the land of America is cursed right now because of the wickedness of so many and our leaders, if I am righteous it is blessed unto me forever. That is a comforting thought! 
  8 And behold, it is wisdom that this land should be ^akept as yet from the knowledge of other ^bnations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance. I'm wondering if this is an answer to my question of why the Church is going along with what seems to me as blatant corruption in our government. Is it "wisdom that this [church] "be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations [meaning that the church has knowledge of what is going on] "for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance [meaning we would be so persecuted that we would not be able to carry out our mission of preparing the New Jerusalem, which is our 'place of inheritance'.  Now, this "wisdom" could be:
a. God is letting the church continue with their "generational" understanding of vaccines because it is wisdom in God to not set them straight yet. It can also be wisdom in God that the church, with or without understanding, go along with the deep state agenda for God's purposes, among which could be: a. to 'cleanse' the temple of unworthy temple recommend holding lds so the angels could occupy the temples for their learning and preparation for the Lord's coming and their mission in relation to that
b. to close the churches so we could break with our cultural traditions and dependence on programs to define our membership and activity.
c. to 'trial run' the "bringing the missionaries home" to see how quickly it could be accomplished
d. to unplug families from all their extra-curricular programming to see what they will choose instead.
e. to give the saints "time" they've never had before to hasten their own personal work to sanctify themselves and their homes.
f. to give His children a reason to evaluate their temporal preparedness and time to make progress.
SO, possibly...the mask mandates, closing of businesses, social distancing has been allowed by God for our benefit. The vaccine (mistake) is being allowed to continue because it's not time to correct it? 
  9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a ^apromise, This phrase suggest that Lehi was concerned about other people discovering their land and possibly taking it over. He must have prayed mightily with his concern to have now "obtained" this promise. Have you ever tried to obtain promises for your posterity?  that ^binasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem that would be them? the Mulekites also came from Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall ^cprosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall ^dkeep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their ^einheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever. This is the only real military plan we need to have. Guns and bullets are considered a necessary form of self-defense, but our greatest protection comes from God, which we secure with our own righteousness. That's a pretty great motivator...especially as we move forward and the forces of evil gather against us. I think it's interesting, that even though the American Indians were scattered and persecuted, they are separated into tribes and been given lands within this land to be a sovereign nation unto themselves. It truly is their inheritance to dwell safely in forever! 
  10 But behold, when when...not if? the time cometh that they shall dwindle in ^aunbelief, Lehi and Nephi have just reviewed with their family all the blessings, mercies, fulfilled promises, and future prophecies from the Lord. It is now their choice to believe and remember or stop believing and forget. We have the same choice today. It is so important that we connect what is happening to us in our daily lives with the hand of God in our life, either as blessings or judgments for our choices. (Trials can be blessings or judgments...can you discern the difference?) after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord—having a knowledge of the creation of the earth, from the brass plates? and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world; having power given them to do all things by faith; Do you believe in this power? Can you really do all things by faith? Does this refer somehow to their having been born again but then turning away? Is that one of the gifts of this Baptism by fire? having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness into this precious land of promise—behold, I say, if   okay..."if"...for we always have a choice! the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, there are many ways to reject Christ. Every time we go against what we know we should do; every time we ignore a prompting, we are, in essence, rejecting Him. the true ^bMessiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is ^cjust shall rest upon them.
  11 Yea, he will bring ^aother nations unto them, and he will give unto them power, and he will take away from them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause them to be ^bscattered and smitten. No righteousness…no promise..
  12 Yea, as one generation passeth to another there shall be ^abloodsheds, and great visitations among them; wherefore, my sons, I would that ye would remember; yea, I would that ye would hearken unto my words. Remember and then believe! Help your families do this! This is the great promise to all who inherit this "promised land" and it was passed down from generation to generation...until today. It's promise and curse are still in force. We need to review it...remember it...and believe it...and act in harmony with that knowledge.

  13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep ^asleep, "awake; awake" - can't you hear the pleading in his voice? the pleading of one who has seen far, far into the future. What seems like such "here and now" problems and contention are the very seeds of future destruction. Laman and Lemuel have no idea the consequences of their choices yea, even from the sleep of ^bhell, and shake off the awful ^cchains by which ye are bound, why is this "sleep" equated with hell and chains? Because knowledge is freedom and freedom is power. When we are "asleep" as to the things of God, we lose sight of the choices that must be made, thinking the "war" is won and there is nothing left to choose. But....we are soooooooooo far from perfection; so far from Zion; so far from being prepared to welcome the Savior, that we must constantly be on our guard; constantly choosing to be more faithful; more loving; more trusting; more forgiving; more prayerful; more learned....there is nothing over which we can afford to be "asleep" which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal ^dgulf of misery and woe. nothing is more devastating than yielding our agency to the wrong master. Satan binds you in chains; carries you captive; promises only misery and woe even though he may take you through short paths of ease, selfishness, "do whatever you want", money and entertainment. The Savior only leads; there are no chains; you are always free to leave Him; He promises you eternal joy and happiness even though He may take you through paths of sacrifice and persecution and discipline. See how Satan turns the ways of God upside down? Ease first, misery last. God does testing first, rest last.

  14 Awake! I mean it! Wake up! and arise from the dust, "dust" can refer to our mortal, natural man condition and hear really hear, with your heart and then your actions the words of a trembling ^aparent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent ^bgrave, from whence no traveler can ^creturn; a few more ^ddays and I go the ^eway of all the earth. If there is ever a time to listen to your parents, it's when they are about to die. In that moment, they love you with the most unconditional love they have ever felt; they only want your happiness; they feel no fear in talking to you plainly and honestly; they have no expectations or conditions. Record their words on your heart; hear them and act!

  15 But behold, the Lord hath ^aredeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his ^bglory, and I am encircled about eternally in the ^carms of his ^dlove. How wonderful! Is there a pattern or sequence here? First we recognize our condition - that we are doomed to hell without a Savior. Then we accept the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repent and enter into a covenant to love and serve him forever. And finally, after we have proven that we will never leave Him, He takes us into in loving arms with a promise we can dwell with Him forever. Isn't this the definition of being Born Again? Get to a "broken heart" state, recognizing your lost and fallen condition; approach the Savior with that broken heart and a contrite spirit, which is to covenant to love and serve and obey Him forever. Then He gives you a remission of your sins and a new heart/birth and redemption.

  16 And I desire that ye should remember to observe the ^astatutes and the judgments of the Lord; behold, this hath been the anxiety of my soul from the beginning. All a parent could want for their children is that they understand the power of obedience and the reality of God's justice. There is no other way. It begins as we teach our young children to trust us and obey our family rules and accept the consequences for breaking those rules. But that is only a type of another parent they must learn to trust and obey and accept the consequences for breaking His rules. A wise parent would do well to continually tie their child's experience with obedience to them as a parent to their desire that they yield the same obedience (or greater) to their Heavenly Father. We must be sure to focus on the blessings of good choices from both parents - mortal and Heavenly, not just the punishments. But each must come to understand and choose for themselves and so the hardest God-like attribute to develop is the one that comes from watching your children wander from His protecting love, knowing you cannot force their obedience. They have to choose to give it...just like you did. All we can do is what Lehi did...invite, entice, persuade, testify...love.

  17 My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow Unless or until you are a parent, you will never know the sorrow your are capable of bringing into your parent's hearts. It can be so intense that it can literally affect their health. from time to time, for I have feared, lest for the hardness of your hearts the Lord your God should come out in the fulness of his ^awrath upon you, that ye be ^bcut off and destroyed forever;

  18 Or, that a ^acursing should come upon you for the space of ^bmany generations; The argument that "It's my life; I can do what I want; I'm not hurting anyone else" is a lie. Our choices have generational consequences...this works for both good choices and bad ones and ye are visited by sword, and by famine, and are hated, and are led according to the will and captivity of the ^cdevil Lehi saw, in vision, the generational consequences of his sons choices.

  19 O my sons, that these things might not come upon you, but that ye might be a choice and a ^afavored people of the Lord. But behold, his will be done; for his ^bways are righteousness forever. Always…”Thy will be done.” I am curious though as to the insertion of this phrase right here. It almost makes it sound like Laman and Lemuel's choices are "God's will"...and yet we know that can't be right. So it makes more sense to me that Lehi's reference to God's will has to do with agency. It is God's will that Laman and Lemuel get to choose...even if it leads to a cursing for Lehi's posterity; even if Lehi suffers much sorrow over it. Agency is God's will and His eternal plan of happiness must be chosen and not forced.  Unfortunately, many will not choose it and the loved ones of those who choose out will have "hearts weighed down with sorrow". It also sounds like he's seen the outcome. He knows they have choice, but he's seen they don't choose correctly, so he's resigned to that when he says, "his will be done"...meaning it's not how I want it to end for my family, but, (sigh)...His will be done." And what is that "will"? Agency. Not the outcome of the agency...

  20 And he hath said that: ^aInasmuch as ye shall keep my ^bcommandments ye shall ^cprosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence. The promise…again! We work sooo hard on our own to prosper, and yet, if we would trust in the Lord; His ways would bring the very prosperity we desire. No earthly wealth can compensate for being cut off from the blessings of the Lord.

  21 And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be ^amen, of Christ and be determined in ^bone mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity; Quit arguing and fighting for power! Zion will ever be the goal of those that are righteous. But we must be "determined" to achieve it, to become it. It will not just "happen". Lehi is trying to persuade his children to make a quick shift. He doesn't have many days left to live, but believes that this shift is possible and that he could see and feel it in a very short time. In the book "The Noticer Returns" it says:

"Most people live under the misconception that it takes a long time to change...This is not true. It can take a long time to prepare to change or to decide to change or even to want to change.  Change itself, however, happens in a heartbeat.  True change - the kind of change that lasts - can be dramatic, but it is totally, one hundred percent predictable...There are two elements that must be present for a person to change his or her thinking on a matter.  (It is the thinking, remember, that is our foundation.)  Okay, two things...One, what's in it for me? The first element that must be present for a person to change is an understanding of how that change benefits him or her...what's in it for me?...the second element that must be in place for a person to execute an immediate and lasting change is ...proof beyond a logical doubt...this does not have to be mathematical proof or some kind of formula; it only needs to be the kind of proof that makes sense to the person."

Lehi and Nephi both, believed in this kind of immediate and lasting change and in their countless "speeches" tried to offer their rebellious family members a personal motivation and plenty of proof that God should be trusted and that they should and can change...today!  How about you?

  22 That ye may not be ^acursed with a sore cursing; and also, that ye may not incur the displeasure of a ^bjust God upon you, unto the destruction, yea, the eternal destruction of both soul and body. Needs to be a little "fear of God" in our heart, at least in this mortal existence, to keep us on the right path

  23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of ^arighteousness. This armor helps to keep you from giving in to the fiery darts of Satan Shake off the ^bchains Once a person wakes up to the reality of the Spiritual world instead of being "asleep" to it, unbinding the chains that have kept you prisoner is as easy as just "shaking" them off. This also reminds me of when the bands Nephi was bound with were loosed. Then he could just 'shake them off'. The point being that God loosed them after Nephi asked. It is by God's power through the Atonement of Jesus Christ,  that we are able to shake off the chains of hell. with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, It is silly to think that we can ever "hide" from God, but here, Lehi invites his older sons to leave their places/ways that keep them in hiding from the blessings and power of God and come out into the light; into full fellowship with Christ and arise from the dust. Great phrases! Awake; put on; shake off; come forth; arise - all are faith words - actions of choice. Praise God for the gift of agency!

  24 Rebel no more against your brother, Lehi will now contrast the results of Laman and Lemuel's choices with Nephi's. Surely, he knows they will not be easy words for them to hear. Nevertheless, he speaks them. Remember, he is a dying man and the Spirit is telling him to speak honestly, hoping that this tender time will help to soften their hearts, or at the very least, leave an impression that they can recall through the coming years, leaving them accountable for having been taught whose views have been ^aglorious, and who hath kept the commandments from the time that we left Jerusalem; and who hath been an instrument in the hands of God, in bringing us forth into the land of promise; for were it not for him, Lehi tries to tie Nephi's choices with his motivation to save his brothers lives, even as they seek to take his we must have perished with ^bhunger in the wilderness; nevertheless, ye sought to ^ctake away his life; yea, and he hath suffered much sorrow because of you.

  25 And I exceedingly fear and tremble because of you, Lehi is telling them that he is pretty sure that Laman and Lemuel will not change and that they will continue their pattern of behavior based on their faulty thinking. lest he shall suffer again; for behold, ye have ^aaccused him that he sought power and ^bauthority over you; but I know that he hath not sought for power nor authority over you, but he hath sought the glory of God, and your own eternal welfare. Christ was accused of the same thing by those who really DID seek for power and authority over people. All they really refused to accept was God's power and authority, but they take it out on the messenger. well...Christ was God too...Christ knew this about the natural man and warned his disciples by saying, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

  26 And ye have murmured because he hath been plain unto you. Ye say that he hath used ^asharpness; ye say that he hath been angry with you; Lehi lets his sons know that he has heard and understood their grievances against Nephi, but that he does not agree with their interpretation of Nephi's intentions. It is interesting to me that, while Lehi must have received the same reactions from these two sons through the years, he only focuses on Nephi right now...perhaps it is because he is dying and it is their continued reaction to Nephi and its effect on them that matters now.  but behold, his ^bsharpness was the sharpness of the power of the word of God, which was in him; and that which ye call anger was the truth, people “hear” what they want to hear, not necessarily what “is”… according to that which is in God, which he could not restrain, manifesting boldly concerning your iniquities.

  27 And it must needs be that the ^apower of God must be with him, even unto his commanding you that ye must obey. But behold, it was not he, but it was the ^bSpirit of the Lord which was in him, which ^copened his mouth to utterance that he could not shut it. There is a lesson here for both sides...Nephi has consecrated his life to the Lord, therefore he "must" do as the Lord commands...whether to open his mouth and chastise his older brothers (even though against tradition of the day) or to withhold speaking out. Nephi only seeks to communicate to them what God would have him say...not what he feels like saying of himself. He understands that he "must" have the power of God with him, especially when correcting his brothers, so that he doesn't have to fear their reaction and then regret having said anything. Laman and Lemuel must have understood the difference between someone speaking of themselves versus speaking under the power and influence of the spirit. Surely the words Nephi would have used if he were seeking the power and authority they accuse him of, would have been different than the words the Spirit really gave him.

  28 And now my son, Laman, and also Lemuel and Sam, and also my sons who are the sons of Ishmael, behold, if ye will hearken unto the voice of Nephi ye shall not perish. And if ye will hearken unto him I leave unto you a ^ablessing, yea, even my first blessing. You can only have your “inheritance’ if you promise to listen to Nephi. Lehi clearly states his approval of Nephi as the "spiritual" head of the family. The oldest sons may retain their temporal right of inheritance...but only if they yield their spiritual authority to Nephi. They are so temporally motivated, perhaps Lehi felt like they might listen to this condition in order to get what they want.

  29 But if ye will not hearken all blessings are conditional according to our own faithfulness...unto him I take away my ^afirst blessing, yea, even my blessing, and it shall rest upon him.

  30 And now, Zoram, I speak unto you: Behold, thou art the ^aservant of Laban; nevertheless, thou hast been brought out of the land of Jerusalem, Even though Zoram was brought along under rather forced conditions, he has learned to accept the spiritual leadership of Nephi and I know that thou art a true ^bfriend unto my son, Nephi, forever. Even though Zoram has the same agency as Laman and Lemuel, he has demonstrated sufficiently that his friendship will be lasting.

  31 Wherefore, because thou hast been faithful thy seed shall be blessed ^awith his seed, that they dwell in prosperity long upon the face of this land; and nothing, save it shall be iniquity among them, shall harm or disturb their prosperity upon the face of this land forever. Though I only have three grandchildren, (now 15!) (now 2 more on the way!) Now 18! I can already see how precious this blessing is for the welfare of your posterity. In a world of agency, one can never choose for others. But...there is a way to protect yourself from the choices of others...and that is to have received the promise that if YOU choose to be faithful and keep the commandments that God will protect you. I wonder if this promise, specific to Zoram, is different than the collective promise to all who possess this land?

   32 Wherefore, if ye shall keep the commandments of the Lord, the Lord hath consecrated this land for the security of thy seed with the seed of my son. If you are looking for a "why, what's in it for me" reason...security is a huge one. "Keep the commandments....keep the commandments. In THIS, there is safety and peace."