Nephi's last farewell (2 Nephi 33)

Good Sabbath (today is Sunday), and welcome to the last chapter of 2nd Nephi, and the last words of a great man.  In 2 Ne 33, Nephi ends his life's work by bearing testimony that what he's been teaching since he was young and large in stature was the truth, and have been the words of Jesus Christ.  

Nephi experienced a lot of stuff in his life.  Remember that time his brothers tried to kill him?  Oh, and that other time his brothers tried to kill him.  Then there was that other time his brothers tried to kill him.  But, along with his trials of swollen wrists, broken bows, starving family members, stormy oceans and having to eat raw meat in the wilderness, Nephi had some pretty sweet moments.

• He witnessed a vision of the Mother of The Savior being big with child
• He witnessed a vision of the life, baptism, ministry and atoning sacrifice of Christ
• He witnessed a vision of the visit of the resurrected Savior to Nephi's descendants in the land Bountiful
• He witnessed a vision of Columbus sailing the ocean blue, the Mayflower bringing the pilgrims to Plymouth Rock, the Revolutionary War, the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that gospel being brought back to his posterity
• He witnessed a vision of our day

I wonder if Nephi felt a tinge (just of tinge) of envy when he saw how we can communicate today with computers and iPads and stuff instead of carving on plates.  Then again, I don't think an iPad would have lasted the 1400 years between Moroni and Joseph Smith.

Anywayz....  a scripture or 2 from chapter 33.  Watch for how much Nephi loves his people, how much he loves the Savior, and how much hope he has for his posterity.

I like that, "If ye believe not in these words, believe in Christ; and if ye believe in Christ ye shall believe in these words."  Personally, I believe Nephi spoke the words of Christ.

Next, on to Nephi's little brother, Jacob.  He's a little more stern than his big brother, but at least he speaks French.

Thanks for stopping by... Peace be with you...

Testifying Out of the Dust (2 Nephi 27)

The Prophet Moroni buries the golden plates near Palmyra, NY about 450a.d.

The coming forth of the Book of Mormon was prophesied of in several places in the Bible, Old and New Testaments, but none so clear as the one in Isaiah Chapter 29.  Nephi throws this one last Isaiah chapter into the Plates of Nephi in 2 Nephi 27.  I bet it made old Nephi glad when he read this chapter and understood that Isaiah was talking about the very plates he was writing on, that his sore fingers weren't for nuttin'.

In 2 Nephi 27, Isaiah talks quite plainly about a book containing the "words of them who have slumbered in the dust" (dead people) coming forth in the last days, which will contain revelation from God (scripture).

2 Nephi 27: 6-7

6.  And it shall come to pass that The Lord God shall bring forth unto you the words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered.

7.  And behold the book shall be sealed; and in the book shall be a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof.

It would be pretty cool to flip to the end of the Book of Mormon and see how the world ends.  Too bad that part of the plates was sealed off, and therefore not translated by Joseph Smith into the BOM we have today.

I hope I didn't miss it!

It's probably a good thing we don't have the "sealed portion" yet.  We will have it some day, and then we'll read it on top of our house.  I guess that's a good place to be alone.

Moroni delivers the plates

Moroni delivering the plates to Joseph Smith in1827

Having buried the plates in the ground on a hillside close to the future site of Palmyra, New York sometime around 450 A.D., the Angel Moroni, now a resurrected being, delivered the golden plates to 21-year old Joseph Smith on Sept 22, 1827.  The miraculous work of translation from the ancient text (written in what the BOM calls "reformed Egyptian") into English commenced, but because of persecution and multiple attempts by evil men to steal the plates, it took Brother Joseph 2 years to get the first edition to the printers.  The actual translation took a combined total of only about 90 days.  

 Professor Anthon

In this chapter, Isaiah prophesied that when this book comes forth, the unsealed portion will be delivered to a "learned man", who will reject it. 

During the early days of translating the BOM, Joseph Smith wrote down some of the hieroglyphic characters from the BOM plates and their translation, and his buddy Martin Harris took them to New York City to a Charles Anthon, a professor at Columbia University, and who was known for his "literary attainments".  Anthon studied the characters, and wrote a certificate, certifying both the authenticity of the characters, saying that they were true characters from the Egyptian, Chaldaic, Assyriac and Arabic languages, and the accuracy of the translation.  Anthon asked to see the entire set of golden plates.  He doesn't say anything about greed being his motive, but the BOM says so. 

2 Nephi 27: 15-18

15.  But behold, it shall come to pass that The Lord God shall say unto him to whom He shall deliver the book [Joseph Smith]:  Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he [Martin Harris] may show them unto the learned [Professor Anthon], saying:  Read this, I pray thee.  And the learned [Professor Anthon] shall say:  Bring hither the book, and I will read them.

16.  And now, because of the glory of the world and to get gain will they say this, and not for the glory of God.

17.  And the man [Martin Harris] shall say:  I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed.

18.  Then shall the learned [Professor Anthon] say:  I cannot read it.

When Martin Harris said, "I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed," to the professor, Anthon replied, "I cannot read a sealed book."  He then tore up the certificate that he'd written, and said that angels do not appear to man in our day. 

But of course he now denies it; you'd expect that of a con.  But he couldn't run forever, not even Charles Anthon.

Joseph Smith

Isaiah then says that the book will be delivered to an "unlearned man", who will do the marvelous and wondrous work of God.

2 Nephi 27: 19-21

19.  Wherefore it shall come to pass, that The Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned [Joseph Smith]; and the man that is not learned shall say:  I am not learned.

20.  Then shall The Lord God say unto him:  The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee.

21.  Touch not the things which are sealed, for I will bring them forth in mine own due time; for I will show unto the children of men that I am able to do mine own work.  

With only 3 or so years of formal education, Joseph Smith was an "unlearned man".  One of the criticisms against Joseph in his day was that he was an uneducated farmer, and yet professed to be a prophet of God.  Goodness knows, The Lord should never, would never, could never use a poor commoner to share His words...

Oh, except for David the shepherd

Oh, and Peter, James, John and Andrew; they were fishermen

Oh, and except for Jesus Christ; He was a carpenter

Twelve Witnesses

A certain number of people were given the chance to be witnesses of the plates of Nephi, which was talked about in this chapter as well.

2 Nephi 27: 12-13

12.  Wherefore, at that day when the book shall be delivered unto the man of whom I have spoken, the book shall be hid from the eyes of the world, that the eyes of none shall behold it save it be that three witnesses shall behold it, by the power of God, besides him to whom the book shall be delivered; and they shall testify to the truth of the book and the things therein.

13.  And there is none others which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men; for The Lord God hath said that the words of the faithful should speak as if it were from the dead.

The Three

The 3 witnesses testified to the world that they had seen the angel Moroni and the golden plates.  You can read their account in the first few pages of the BOM.  These 3 men all eventually left The Church, but none of them ever denied this witness.

Oliver Cowdery and Martin Harris both returned to The Church eventually.  David Whitmer did not return to The Church, but gave a strong testimony on his deathbed, swearing to the truth of his vision of the angel Moroni and the golden plates.

The Eight

The Eight Witnesses testified that they saw the golden plates.  These 8 did not see the angel Moroni, but they saw and "hefted" the plates.  The testimony of the eight witnesses is found at the beginning of the BOM.

The 8 witnesses were:  Christian Whitmer, Jacob Whitmer, Peter Whitmer Jr, John Whitmer, Hiram Page, Joseph Smith Sr, Hyrum Smith, Samuel H. Smith.

But, Three + Eight = Eleven

The 12th witness to whom I referred when I says there'd be 12 witnesses is yours truly.  I saw no plates, nor angels, but I know that there were angels in the room on January 24, 1987, when I had the light and warmth and love and gratefulness of the Holy Ghost drill a hole into my heart and deposit there, underneath untold layers of fat and cholesterol, a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and the marvelous and wonderful story of its coming about.  Tears sprung from my face like a shook up Sprite, and in that unforgettable and most important moment I received the following treasures:

• God lives
• God is my Father in Heaven
• Heavenly Father loves me
• I am worth Heavenly Father's time to answer
• Jesus Christ lives
• Jesus Christ loves me
• Joseph Smith was visited by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
• The angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith and delivered the golden plates to him
• Joseph Smith translated the golden plates into the BOM
• The Book of Mormon is the Word of God
• The Priesthood that was given to me by Richard Barney, and to him by Mike Barney, and to him by Dale Pelo, and to him by Alvin R. Dyer, and to him by Joseph Fielding Smith, and to him by Joseph F. Smith, and to him by Brigham Young, and to him by the 3 Witnesses, and to them by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and to them by Peter, James and John, and to them by Jesus Christ is real
• I'm glad I went on a mission

JB at the MTC, Jan 1987

And I'll here repeat what was and has remained the most important one to me on this list....

• I am worth Heavenly Father's time to answer!

Peace be with you...

Lamanites Grinded to Powder (2 Nephi 26)

Up yonder is a photo of a toy fort set.  I dreamed about having a set of Lincoln Logs when I was a kid, and would most definitely have built me a fort with 'em.  I was a deprived child, however, and had to make due with my beloved Tonka Trucks.

Forts were pretty common back in the old days.  In all of the old cowboys and Indians movies, the cavalry usually stayed safe inside the walls of their forts until they were called on to mount up and move out, usually to save some poor, helpless idiots trying to farm in Monument Valley, Utah and Arizona.

American Indians used to be portrayed on the big screen as murdering, barbarous savages who deserved a good butt kickin'.  We have at least a somewhat better idea of the true history nowadays (Gnadenhutten massacre).

The Book of Mormon peoples known as the Lamanites are the ancestors of the modern indigenous people of North, Central and South America.  Nephi talks about them in 2 Nephi 26.

2 Nephi 26: 14-15

14.  But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days; concerning the days when The Lord God shall bring these things forth unto the children of men.

15.  After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; yea after The Lord God shall have camped 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 prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten. 

I think it's interesting that Nephi used the word "forts".  Anywayz, these verses make it sound like the atrocities committed against these Native peoples was The Lord's will.  I do not.  Once again, just like back when I wrote in a blog post about the persecution of the Jews, these are prophecies of things that were to happen to his people, not God's wrath come shooting out of the sky. That's how I see it, anywayz.

Poor Nephi was shown the future of his people, and it didn't look good.  It must have been heartbreaking for him to know such beautiful truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to know that Jesus Christ Himself will visit his people shortly after he is crucified for them, and then also know that they will nearly all be destroyed within 400 years of that miracle, all because of their thick skulls.

2 Nephi 26: 1-3, 7, 9, 24

1.  And after Christ shall have risen from the dead He shall show Himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which He shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall 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 signs given unto my people of His birth, and also of His death 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 prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them.

And just to emphasize his point about the Nephites destruction, verse 7 is one of my favorite quotes from the BOM:

7.  And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith The Lord of Hosts; and mountains 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.

9.  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.

I feel bad for Nephi.  But, Nephi is blessed with Eternal Perspective, the light of the Gospel, and an understanding of The Lord's plan of salvation.

24.  He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for He loveth the world, even that He layeth down His own life that He may draw all men unto Him.  Wherefore, He commandeth none that they shall not partake of His salvation.

I actually have a friend who, about 20 years ago, told me that he thought that God wouldn't want him in His heaven.  It was a low point for the poor fella.  Good thing I knew about a nice scripture in the BOM that ridiculocized his self deprecating thoughts.  My buddy is doing great now.  You can always find answers in the scriptures, though not always so clear as that one was.

POP QUIZ

A.

B.

Have faith, and go with option B.

See you in chapter 27 where Nephi goes back to Isaiah...

(Back to Isaiah)

Peace be with you...

Back to the plain words of Nephi (2 Nephi 25, part 1)

With 2nd Nephi 25, we leave Nephi's Isaiah obsession and come back to Nephi's own words.  Nephi is much plainer, and easier to comprendo than Isaiah.  So Welcome back to...

Right off the bat, Nephi admits that Isaiah is a tough cookie to understand...

2nd Nephi 25: 1

1.  ...for behold, Isaiah spoke many things which were hard for many of my people to understand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews.

&then down at the bottom of this same column, Nephi says that, even though he loves the words of Isaiah (vs. 5), his soul delights in plainness unto his people, that they may learn (vs. 4).  

Any questions about that?

Then why in the name of Jonathon Livingston Seagull did Nephi just spend 12 chapters of precious room on the Plates of Nephi quoting Isaiah, when he knew his people wouldn't really understand it?  And if it is more for our day than Nephi's day that he quotes Isaiah, didn't he know that we would have all of those chapters in our Old Testament?

2 Nephi 25: 8

8.  Wherefore, they [the words of Isaiah] are of worth unto the children of men, and he that supposeth that they are not, unto them will I speak particularly, and confine the words unto mine own people; for I know that they shall be of great worth unto them the last days; for in that day shall they understand them; wherefore, for their good I have written them.

Mine own people:  Who's Nephi's own people?  I got 2 possible answers... The Jews that Nephi knows will be scattered and smitten for generations to come, and his own descendants, the Nephites and Lamanites.  And here's the horcrux of the matter...

2 Nephi 25: 16-17

16.  And after they have been scattered, and The Lord God hath scourged them by other nations for the space of many generations, yea, even down from generation to generation until they shall be persuaded to believe in Christ, the Son of God, and the atonement, which is infinite for all mankind -and when that day shall come that they shall believe in Christ, and worship The Father in His Name, with pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another Messiah, then, at that time, the day will come that it must needs be expedient that they should believe these things.

17.  And The Lord will set His hand again the second time to restore His people from their lost and fallen state.  Wherefore, He will proceed to do a marvelous work and a wonder among the children of men.

Ya see, kids... 

The restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon through the Prophet Joseph Smith is the marvelous work and a wonder Nephi is talking about.  The Book of Mormon is the means by which the gathering of Israel will be accomplished in the last days.  The Isaiah chapters in the BOM have a GREAT deal to do with that, at least that's my take on it.

And now...

And so I face...

So this concludes our show for today.  2 Nephi 25 is a significant chapter in the BOM.  I'm going to do 2 posts on it.  Tune in next time when we talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, preach of Christ, prophesy of Christ and discuss what worshiping Christ with all of our mind, might, strength and whole souls means.  I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with having clean hands and a pure heart.

Peace be with you....

I Witness of Christ (2 Nephi 11)

Eye-witness testimonies always weigh heavily in courts of law.  The believability of a witness is key to one side or the other of the debate.  And, the more witnesses one particular side has, the more groovy for them.

When the debate is over which religion is true, or whether there is even a God or not, opinions and beliefs can really heat up, even become violent (a weird paradox to me).

Jesus Christ carries our burdens to Golgotha, -by Angela Johnson

My personal belief is centered in Christianity as a member of and a believer in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon.  Now, when I say I respect others, their religion or lack thereof (as long as it is based in good principles), I am telling the truth, but my belief in my own beliefs precludes any belief in other beliefs which are contrary to mine.  But, why are my beliefs my beliefs, and how did I arrive at them?

I wanted to talk about witnesses of truth in the Book of Mormon, specifically, witnesses of Jesus Christ.

Christ in Gethsemane, -by Angela Johnson

I'm in 2 Nephi chapter 11.  It's a short chapter (yippee!!!), just 8 verses.  We have several witnesses of Christ in this little chapter.

Verse 2, Isaiah and Nephi:

2.  And now I, Nephi, write more of the words of Isaiah, for my soul delighteth in His words.  For I will liken His words unto my people, and I will send them forth unto all my children, for he verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen Him.

Verse 3, Jacob:

3.  And my brother, Jacob, also has seen Him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true.  Wherefore, by the words of three, God hath said, I will establish my word.  Nevertheless, God sendeth more witnesses, and He proveth all His words.

Verse 4, Moses:

4.  Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of Him.

These men of long ago gave accounts of seeing and hearing The Savior, and bore their sacred witnesses that they were speaking the truth.  I never met Nephi, Jacob, Isaiah or Moses, so why should I believe them? Why do I believe the Book of Mormon and The Bible to be the word of God?

In an earthly court of law where one witness says so and so did it, and another says he didn't do it, we may not know who to believe.  In the debate about whether God is real and Jesus is The Christ, there is a way to know the truth.

It's the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit.  A dove is a symbol of peace, and is often used to represent the Holy Ghost, because of the New Testament accounts of Jesus' baptism....

Matthew 3: 16-17

16.  And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw The Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17.  And lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Anudder from The Bible:

John 14:26

26.  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

And...

John 15:26

26.  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Christ walks on water, by Angela Johnson

So, when Nephi says this...

2 Nephi 11: 6

6.  And my soul delighteth in proving unto my people that save Christ should come all men must perish.

7.  For if there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation.  But there is a God, and He is Christ, and He cometh in the fulness of His own time.

... I don't believe Nephi thinks the argument he presented in verse 7 is so strong that the debate is over and done with, I think he is bearing his strong testimony about The Savior, and expects the Holy Ghost to teach us what The Lord would have us know.


A sculpture of the visitation of The Father and The Son to Joseph Smith in 1820, -by Angela Johnson

It is how I feel, in my chest, in my lungs, in my toes, in my mind, when I read the Book of Mormon and The Bible, when I hear the speakers at The Church's semi-annual General Conference, and they testify that God lives, Jesus is His Christ, and that They together visited a young Joseph Smith and restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ again to the earth, that gives me my belief.  When I looked at these sculptures yesterday at a Thanksgiving Point garden exhibit, I felt peace, love, joy, purpose, meaning, sense, strength, burning in my chest.  Angela Johnson's sensitive artistry really touched me.  That and many other experiences are why I believe in the existence of God the Father, in His Son, Jesus Christ, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. The Holy Ghost has told me that it is true, and I believe deeply.

Someone Hath Touched Me, -by Angela Johnson

 Amen.





Stay tuned for Isaiah.  And remember Nephi's purpose in putting Isaiah in the BOM:  to prove to us that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World.

Peace be with you...