2 Nephi 26

(All of my own thoughts are in red type.5/20 Green 2/21 Orange 5/22  Brown 2023)

Chapter 26

Christ will minister to the Nephites—Nephi foresees the destruction of his people—They will speak from the dust—The Gentiles will build up false churches and secret combinations—The Lord forbids men to practice priestcrafts. About 559–545 B.C.

  1 And after Christ shall have ^arisen from the dead he shall ^bshow himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the ^claw which ye shall do. This is the “new covenant” that we are to keep as well. The Lord said in the D&C that the whole church was under condemnation for not remembering this and doing it. It's also possible that he  is saying that after Christ shows himself to YOU, that the words He shall speak after that are laws unto you that you must do. 
  2 For behold, I say unto you that I have beheld that many generations shall pass away, and there shall be great wars and contentions among my people.
  3 And after the Messiah shall come there shall be ^asigns given unto my people of his ^bbirth, and also of his ^cdeath and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they perish because they cast out the ^dprophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the ^eblood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them. We have this record that shows this prophecy was fulfilled. We need to believe the prophecies about our day will all be fulfilled as well...especially Isaiah and Revelations.
  4 Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day that cometh shall ^aburn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, for they shall be as stubble.
  5 And they that kill the ^aprophets, and the saints, it seems the Lord protects His people...unless you are to be a martyr. It sounds awful, but know you are in good company and your exaltation is not cut short even though your earth life is. It would seem that the destiny of a martyr would be in their personal life plan with the Father. the depths of the earth shall ^bswallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and ^cmountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder.
  6 And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions, for the ^afire of the anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them, and they shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall consume them, saith the Lord of Hosts. This all literally happened as prophesied. It was not symbolic at all!!
  7 ^aO 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 ^bjust. Even the wicked will have to confess that His ways were just.
  8 But behold, the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not, but look forward unto Christ with ^asteadfastness for the signs which are given, notwithstanding all ^bpersecution—behold, they are they which shall ^cnot perish. This all seems a type for our day. The words the Lord speaks through the scriptures and the prophets and the Holy Spirit are our law. We must heed them. There are signs and wonders given to us to keep us looking forward to His return. The promise is that if we listen to and follow the prophets and personal revelation and look forward to Christ and the signs of His return - NOTWITHSTANDING ALL PERSECUTION - we will not perish. Having said that, there will be martyrs. Just know that if you are righteous and martyred, it was your foreordained mission. or at least that you will be healed, restored, and compensated through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
  9 But the Son of Righteousness shall ^aappear unto them; and he shall ^bheal them, and they shall have ^cpeace with him, until ^dthree generations shall have passed away, and many of the ^efourth generation shall have passed away in righteousness.I hope this is a type as well - that Christ will appear and heal us and teach us how to build Zion, before His Second Coming. We know He comes to the NJ, I just don't know if the scriptures say "when". I know He comes to AOA and that's before the NJ - so that should be sooner! And those that were taught by Christ personally must have been able to convey that teaching to others for the whole of them to live in righteousness for three generations. So if this teaching happens at AOA, then it’s okay if we are not all there. We’ll still be taught. 
  10 And when these things have passed away a speedy ^adestruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for naught; for, for the reward of their pride and their ^bfoolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield unto the devil and ^cchoose works of ^ddarkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to ^ehell. I am praying for millions to come in to the church after this pandemic. I also know, per BOM patterns and testimony that destruction can come speedily, even after conversion.
  11 For the Spirit of the Lord will not always ^astrive with man. And when the Spirit ^bceaseth to strive with man then cometh speedy destruction, and this grieveth my soul. I am seeing how “speedy” destruction could come. There are so many on the left that are so full of hatred and blindness that could be incited to destroy themselves and others with just one spark. They seem to be without feeling or reason. Truly men are depraved when devoid of the light of Christ. Perhaps destruction that is speedy is merciful because of the children who are born to parents without light and truth, thus having no chance to exercise their agency.
  12 And as I spake concerning the ^aconvincing of the ^bJews, that Jesus is the ^cvery Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the ^dEternal ^eGod; Have the Gentiles been convinced that Jesus is the Christ yet? Is this what Pres. Nelson is referring to when he says, "we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen." What will we see that convinces all Gentiles that Jesus is the Christ? Did the Jaredites receive a convincing witness before their destruction?   
  13 And that he ^amanifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the ^bHoly Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty ^cmiracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their ^dfaith. Can this be right around the corner?  When the brethren asked God "what can we do to increase faith in the members", was this WHY they were asking? Because they knew this needed to come, but would only come by our faith? Don't take this lightly. Jesus, I believe, wants to manifest himself to you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. He wants to work mighty miracles for you, but it is according to your faith.
  14 But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the ^alast days; concerning the days when the Lord God shall ^bbring these things forth unto the children of men. Sounds like the "these things" is in verse 13!! and verse 12. We were just told it will happen in OUR DAY!
  15 After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have ^adwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea, after the Lord God shall have ^bcamped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the ^cprayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have ^ddwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten. Is this not the prophesied gathering?
  16 For those who shall be destroyed shall ^aspeak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power, that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust. God gives the dead power to convince their seed This sounds like the dead are given power to whisper to the seed of Nephi - ministering angels. Or, maybe he's calling the Book of Mormon the voice from the dust...
  17 For thus saith the Lord God: They shall ^awrite the things which shall be done among them, and they shall be written and ^bsealed up in a book, and those who have dwindled in ^cunbelief shall not have them, for they ^dseek to destroy the things of God.
  18 Wherefore, as those who have been destroyed have been destroyed speedily; and the multitude of their ^aterrible ones shall be as ^bchaff that passeth away—yea, thus saith the Lord God: It shall be at an instant, suddenly—
  19 And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in unbelief shall be ^asmitten by the hand of the Gentiles.  
  20 And the Gentiles are lifted up in the ^apride of their eyes, and have ^bstumbled, because of the greatness of their ^cstumbling block, that they have built up many ^dchurches; nevertheless, they ^eput down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own ^flearning, that they may get gain and ^ggrind upon the face of the poor.
  21 And there are many churches built up which cause ^aenvyings, and ^bstrifes, and ^cmalice. Are the "many churches" speaking of the different denominations, or could it even apply to the many "wards" we have in our own church? Maybe "churches" means "congregations" of any denomination. I think we are guilty in our church of "putting down the power and miracles of God" because we do not have very many faith healings and turn to man for our healing. And we certainly do alot of our own preaching through books and podcast and videos...not sure how that directly follows with "that they may get gain and grind the face of the poor". I suppose the "gain" received from their "preaching" should be used to help the poor, since it's God's truths they say they are teaching, and it is priestcraft to preach for gain and profit?
  22 And there are also secret ^acombinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the ^bdevil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and ^cworks of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever. This is one of the greatest warnings of the Book of Mormon for our day and yet it is ignored by so many who want to say, "All is well in Zion"
  23 For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in ^adarkness. Does this mean he doesn’t work in secret or just that He works not evil works? If it’s the first, then the theory that the prophet is having to “appear” as being on the side of the main stream narrative to avoid persecution for the church does not seem to be supported by this verse. Isaiah 48:16  Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I:  
  24 He doeth not ^aanything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he ^bloveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw ^call men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.
  25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: ^aCome unto me all ye ^bends of the earth, ^cbuy milk and honey, without money and without price.
  26 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should ^adepart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
  27 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his ^asalvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath ^bgiven it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to ^crepentance. Could be another reference to preaching the gospel "without price". There are lots of things, like Education Week, Women's Conference, Deseret Book events, where the gospel is preached for a price, and the "poor" are not able to come hear. Perhaps this is what verse 20 is referring to?
  28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but ^aall men are privileged the one ^blike unto the other, and none are forbidden.
  29 He commandeth that there shall be no ^apriestcrafts; for, behold, priestcrafts are that men preach and set ^bthemselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get ^cgain and ^dpraise of the world; but they seek not the ^ewelfare of Zion.
  30 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, the Lord God hath given a commandment that all men should have ^acharity, which ^bcharity is ^clove. And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.
  31 But the ^alaborer in ^bZion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for ^cmoney they shall perish. This could just mean that we serve in the church without pay. But I'm feeling like it is more about what I have said already...we are not to charge for our "labors in Zion". We teach and serve without pay, so all may come and partake "without price". Charity is the reason we do this.
  32 And again, the Lord God hath ^acommanded that men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they should not ^bsteal; that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in ^cvain; that they should not ^denvy; that they should not have ^emalice; that they should not contend one with another; that they should not commit ^fwhoredoms; and that they should do none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall perish. This should be our warning to the LGBTQ crown
  33 For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he ^ainviteth them ^ball to ^ccome unto him and partake of his goodness; and he ^ddenieth none that come unto him, black and white, ^ebond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the ^fheathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile. The law of this land is the Ten Commandments. God counters the wickedness of Satan with his invitation to "come" and receive His everlasting charity.