pgs. 54 and 55...the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.

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.

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; 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.

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.

9 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a ^apromise, that ^binasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of 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.

10 But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in ^aunbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord—having a knowledge of the creation of the earth, 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; 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 the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, 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.

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.

13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep ^asleep, yea, even from the sleep of ^bhell, and shake off the awful ^cchains by which ye are bound, 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.

14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear 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.

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.

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.

17 My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow 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; and ye are visited by sword, and by famine, and are hated, and are led according to the will and captivity of the ^cdevil.

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.

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.

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, and be determined in ^bone mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;

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.

23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of ^arighteousness. Shake off the ^bchains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.

24 Rebel no more against your brother, 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, 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.

Note: Chapters 1-3 are Lehi's last messages to his people. In these chapters he teaches, reviews, prophecies and blesses his children.


Once again in these verses we read of Lehi telling his children how important the promised land is and how the Lord stopped other nations from discovering it and preserved it for them (verse 8.) He also tells them that if they "drop the ball" and don't fulfill the Lord's commandments that the land will be taken away (verse 11.) This reminds me of so many things in life...if we will be righteous and allow the Lord to bless us, He will. BUT, if we choose not to be righteous He can and will carry out His plan without us. Of course that means we would forfeit the blessings that could have been ours and things in life will be harder for us than they need to be (verse 20.) This basic truth seems so simple in theory but in practice it can be so hard...

pgs. 52 and 53...and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.

17 Wherefore, he will ^apreserve the ^brighteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.

18 Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must shortly come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke must come; and it must needs be upon the face of this earth; and it cometh unto men according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel.

19 For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off.

20 And the Lord will surely ^aprepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses, which he spake, saying: A ^bprophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will not hear that prophet shall be ^ccut off from among the people.

21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this ^aprophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of Israel; wherefore, he shall execute ^bjudgment in righteousness.

22 And the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall not be confounded. But it is the kingdom of the devil, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established among them which are in the flesh—

23 For the time speedily shall come that all ^achurches which are built up to get gain, and all those who are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become ^bpopular in the eyes of the world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the ^cdevil are they who need fear, and tremble, and ^dquake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be ^econsumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet.

24 And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as ^acalves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and great ^bglory.

25 And he ^agathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his ^bsheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find ^cpasture.

26 And because of the ^arighteousness of his people, ^bSatan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of ^cmany years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the Holy One of Israel ^dreigneth.

27 And now behold, I, Nephi, say unto you that all these things must come ^aaccording to the flesh.

28 But, behold, all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy One of Israel if it so be that they will ^arepent.

29 And now I, Nephi, make an end; for I durst not speak further as yet concerning these things.

30 Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written upon the ^aplates 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 ^acommandments, and endure to the end, ye shall be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.

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, and rehearsed unto them, how great things the Lord had done for them in bringing them out of the land of Jerusalem.

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.

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.

4 For, behold, said he, I have ^aseen a ^bvision, in which I know that ^cJerusalem is ^ddestroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have ^eperished.

5 But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, 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, and also all those who should be ^eled out of other countries by the hand of the Lord.


I've always loved the imagery of the Lord being our Shepherd. In the chapel I attended as a little girl there was a stained glass window in the back with the Savior holding a sheep on his neck and all surrounded by sheep. I know it is unusual for an LDS chapel to have stained glass but for some reason ours did. And I remember a lot of sacrament meetings staring at that stained glass to pass the time. I couldn't figure out then exactly why the Savior was standing with sheep. Now that I have more life experience I can see exactly why he referred to as the Good Shephard and why all of us need a Shepherd as wonderful as the Savior.

pgs. 50 and 51...and they shall know that the Lord is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.

CHAPTER 22

Israel shall be scattered upon all the face of the earth—The gentiles shall nurse and nourish Israel with the gospel in the last days—Israel shall be gathered and saved, and the wicked shall burn as stubble—The kingdom of the devil shall be destroyed, and Satan shall be bound. Between 588 and 570 B.C.

1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things which were engraven upon the ^aplates of brass, my brethren came unto me and said unto me: What ^bmeaneth these things which ye have read? Behold, are they to be understood according to things which are ^cspiritual, which shall come to pass according to the spirit and not the flesh?

2 And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were ^amanifest unto the prophet by the voice of the ^bSpirit; for by the Spirit are all things made known unto the ^cprophets, which shall come upon the children of men according to the flesh.

3 Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both ^atemporal and spiritual; for it appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be ^bscattered upon all the face of the earth, and also ^camong all nations.

4 And behold, there are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem. Yea, the more part of all the ^atribes have been ^bled away; and they are ^cscattered to and fro upon the ^disles of the sea; and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that we know that they have been led away.

5 And since they have been led away, these things have been prophesied concerning them, and also concerning all those who shall hereafter be scattered and be confounded, because of the Holy One of Israel; for against him will they ^aharden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be scattered among all nations and shall be ^bhated of all men.

6 Nevertheless, after they shall be ^anursed by the ^bGentiles, and the Lord has lifted up his hand upon the Gentiles and set them up for a standard, and their ^cchildren have been carried in their arms, and their daughters have been carried upon their shoulders, behold these things of which are spoken are temporal; for thus are the covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also all our brethren who are of the house of Israel.

7 And it meaneth that the time cometh that after all the house of Israel have been scattered and confounded, that the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation among the ^aGentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land; and by them shall our seed be ^bscattered.

8 And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a ^amarvelous work among the ^bGentiles, which shall be of great ^cworth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the ^dGentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.

9 And it shall also be of ^aworth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but ^bunto all the ^chouse of Israel, unto the making known of the ^dcovenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy ^eseed shall all the kindreds of the earth be ^fblessed.

10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make ^abare his arm in the eyes of the nations.

11 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the ^anations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel.

12 Wherefore, he will ^abring them again out of ^bcaptivity, and they shall be ^cgathered together to the lands of their ^dinheritance; and they shall be ^ebrought out of obscurity and out of ^fdarkness; and they shall know that the ^gLord is their ^hSavior and their Redeemer, the ⁱMighty One of Israel.

13 And the blood of that great and ^aabominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall ^bwar among themselves, and the sword of their ^cown hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.

14 And every ^anation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall ^bfall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that ^cfight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the ^ddust and great shall be the fall of it.

15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as ^astubble; and the day cometh that they must be ^bburned.

16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the ^awrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.


These pages are part of Nephi's explanation of Isaiah 48 and 49. All of Christianity who believes in the Bible can read these chapters in Isaiah but only those of us who study the Book of Mormon get the benefit of Nephi's interpretation. There are so many wonderful promises here for the children of Israel. It lifts my spirits to read verse 15 where we are told "the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men." I know we all look forward to that day!

pgs. 48 and 49...I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

CHAPTER 21

Messiah shall be a light to the Gentiles and shall free the prisoners—Israel shall be gathered with power in the last days—Kings shall be their nursing fathers—Compare Isaiah 49. Between 588 and 570 B.C.

1 ^aAnd again: Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out because of the wickedness of the pastors of my people; yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, who are of my people, O house of Israel. Listen, O ^bisles, unto me, and hearken ye people from ^cfar; the Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.

2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;

3 And said unto me: Thou art my ^aservant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.

4 Then I said, I have labored in ^avain, I have spent my strength for naught and in vain; surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.

5 And now, saith the Lord—that ^aformed me from the womb that I should be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him—though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my ^bstrength.

6 And he said: It is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the ^atribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a ^blight to the ^cGentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth.

7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nations abhorreth, to servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful.

8 Thus saith the Lord: In an acceptable time have I heard thee, O isles of the sea, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee ^amy servant for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages;

9 That thou mayest say to the ^aprisoners: Go forth; to them that sit in ^bdarkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their ^cpastures shall be in all high places.

10 They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them; for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.

11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my ^ahighways shall be exalted.

12 And then, O house of Israel, behold, ^athese shall come from far; and lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.

13 ^aSing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; for the feet of those who are in the east shall be established; and ^bbreak forth into singing, O mountains; for they shall be smitten no more; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his ^cafflicted.

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 ^awoman forget her sucking child, that she should not have ^bcompassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may ^cforget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.

16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the ^apalms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

17 Thy children shall make haste against thy destroyers; and they that made thee ^awaste shall go forth of thee.

18 Lift up thine eyes round about and behold; all these ^agather themselves together, and they shall come to thee. And as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on even as a bride.

19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants; and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.

20 The children whom thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the first, shall ^aagain in thine ears say: The place is too strait for me; give place to me that I may dwell.

21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart: Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am ^adesolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? And who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where have they been?

22 Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the ^aGentiles, and set up my ^bstandard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their ^carms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

23 And ^akings shall be thy ^bnursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that ^cwait for me.

24 For shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the ^alawful captives delivered?

25 But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.

26 And I will ^afeed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; they shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh shall ^bknow that I, the Lord, am thy ^cSavior and thy Redeemer, the ^dMighty One of Jacob.

I feel so inadequate to comment on this chapter. There is SO MUCH SYMBOLISM! I have been trying to reach my mom and she isn't available so I've been reading in a few Book of Mormon study guides about this chapter (and yesterday's chapter as well.) These are some of the things that I have learned in my study....

1. pastors in verse one probably refers to leaders or teachers.
2. isles in verse one and later verses refers to all far away nations and lands.
3. the expression "from the womb" is referring to foreordination.
4. in verse 8 servant = prophets, i.e Joseph Smith.
5. in verse 9 the prisoners are those who are in spiritual darkness.
6. in verse 9 the "pastures in high places" means the gospel of Christ.
7. in verse 11 "mountains" are symbolic of temples
8. in verse 12 it is thought that the word Sinim refers to inhabitants of southern China.
9. in verse 16 the Savior's hands being "engraved" shows that the atonement is his work, just as blisters or callouses would show the work of a carpenter.
10. in verse 16 the "walls" would represent a persons house so the Savior is saying "I know where you live and what help you need."
11. in verse 17 the phrase "thy children shall make haste against the destroyers" is thought to mean "your descendants will over take your enemies."
12. in verse 21 Isaiah is saying that in the last days Israel will ask "where did all these Israelites come from...I thought we were all destroyed?" and the Lord answers them in verse 22 when he says "Gentile nations will help gather Israel."
13. some think verse 23 was partially fulfilled when Great Britain helped establish a homeland for the Jews in Palestine after World War 1 and helped them become a member of the United Nations.
14. verse 26 says those who oppress Israel "shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine" which is thought to mean that the enemies of Israel will turn against each other and destroy themselves.

I hope some of these "crib notes" help you as much as they have helped me. They mostly came from "The Book of Mormon Made Easier" by David J. Ridges. In tomorrows pages Nephi will summarize these 2 chapters from Isaiah and that should help us understand more too.

If you have any other input or knowledge about the symbolism or meanings in these pages please leave it in a comment! You don't have to have a google account to leave a comment...you just click on the word "comments" and then select "anonymous" or "name." It's easy! =)

pgs. 46 and 47...I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.

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

19 Wherefore, I speak unto all the house of Israel, if it so be that they should obtain ^athese things.

20 For behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth ^aweary me even that all my joints are weak, for those who are at Jerusalem; for had not the Lord been merciful, to show unto me concerning them, even as he had prophets of old, I should have perished also.

21 And he surely did show unto the ^aprophets of old all things ^bconcerning them; and also he did show unto many concerning us; wherefore, it must needs be that we know concerning them for they are written upon the plates of brass.

22 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the ^aplates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old.

23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the ^abooks 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 ^bIsaiah; for I did ^cliken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our ^dprofit and learning.

24 Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a ^aremnant of the house of Israel, a ^bbranch who have been broken off; ^chear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for after this manner has the prophet written.

CHAPTER 20

The Lord reveals his purposes to Israel—They have been chosen in the furnace of affliction and are to go forth from Babylon—Compare Isaiah 48. Between 588 and 570 B.C.

1 ^aHearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of ^bbaptism, who ^cswear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear ^dnot in truth nor in righteousness.

2 Nevertheless, they call themselves of the ^aholy city, but they do ^bnot stay themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the Lord of Hosts; yea, the Lord of Hosts is his name.

3 Behold, I have declared the ^aformer things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did show them suddenly.

4 And I did it because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy ^aneck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

5 And I have even from the beginning declared to thee; before it came to pass I ^ashowed them thee; and I showed them for fear lest thou shouldst say—Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image hath commanded them.

6 Thou hast seen and heard all this; and will ye ^anot declare them? And that I have showed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

7 They are created now, and not from the beginning, even before the day when thou heardest them not they were declared unto thee, lest thou shouldst say—Behold I knew them.

8 Yea, and thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and wast called a ^atransgressor from the womb.

9 Nevertheless, for my ^aname’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off.

10 For, behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of ^aaffliction.

11 For mine own sake, yea, for mine own sake will I do this, for I will not suffer my ^aname to be polluted, and I will ^bnot give my glory unto another.

12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called, for I am he; I am the ^afirst, and I am also the last.

13 Mine hand hath also ^alaid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens. I ^bcall unto them and they stand up together.

14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; who among them hath declared these things unto them? The Lord hath loved him; yea, and he will ^afulfil his word which he hath declared by them; and he will do his pleasure on ^bBabylon, and his arm shall come upon the Chaldeans.

15 Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I have spoken; yea, I have called ^ahim to declare, I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.

16 Come ye near unto me; I have not spoken in ^asecret; from the beginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his ^bSpirit, hath sent me.

17 And thus saith the Lord, thy ^aRedeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I have sent him, the Lord thy God who teacheth thee to profit, who ^bleadeth thee by the way thou shouldst go, hath done it.

18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my ^acommandments—then had thy ^bpeace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.

19 Thy ^aseed also had been as the sand; the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.

20 ^aGo ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the ^bChaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter to the end of the earth; say ye: The Lord hath redeemed his ^cservant Jacob.
21 And they ^athirsted not; he led them through the deserts; he caused the waters to flow out of the ^brock for them; he clave the rock also and the waters gushed out.

22 And notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater also, there is no ^apeace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.

In chapter 20 Nephi starts to share from the record that he took from Laban. Chapter 20 and 21 are both his recap of two Isaiah chapters to his family. It is possible that they couldn't read so maybe this is the only way they would hear the message. Nephi clearly thought that this was important information if he decided to record it again. I know there is a lot of symbolism in these verses. I don't understand all of it. The following description of the term babylon helped me understand this chapter a little better.

"Babylon," as used in verse 20, is very symbolic. Anciently, it was an actual country and city, basically where Iraq is today. Isaiah as well as many other prophets use "Babylon" to symbolize wickedness, and to represent Satan's kingdom. The imagery is fascinating, because Babylon was a fearsome enemy of Israel. The huge city of Babylon was so enormous that is took 56 miles of walls to surround and protect it. These walls were 335 feet high and 85 feet wide (see Bible Dictionary, pg 618). It was a center of wickedness, and thus came to symbolize general wickedness and the devil's domain in many scriptures. In fact, part of the imagery of Babylon is that it seemed indestructible, just as Satan's kingdom and domain on earth seems powerful and indestructible. However, Babylon fell in 538 B.C. and was never rebuilt, just as Satan's kingdom will eventually fall, and never be rebuilt as he and his evil followers are cast into outer darkness."
(David J. Ridges, The Book of Mormon Made Easier, pg.155)

pgs. 44 and 45...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.

CHAPTER 19

Nephi makes plates of ore and records the history of his people—The God of Israel shall come six hundred years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem—Nephi tells of His sufferings and crucifixion—The Jews shall be despised and scattered until the latter days, when they will return unto the Lord. Between 588 and 570 B.C.

1 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the ^arecord of my people. And upon the plates which I made I did ^bengraven the record of my ^cfather, and also our journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my father; and also many of mine own prophecies have I engraven upon them.

2 And I knew not at the time when I made them that I should be commanded of the Lord to make ^athese plates; wherefore, the record of my father, and the genealogy of his fathers, and the more part of all our proceedings in the wilderness are engraven upon those first plates of which I have spoken; wherefore, the things which transpired before I made ^bthese plates are, of a truth, more particularly made mention upon the first plates.

3 And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon ^athese plates; and that the things which were written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who should possess the land, and also for other ^bwise purposes, which purposes are known unto the Lord.

4 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did make a record upon the ^aother plates, which gives an account, or which gives a greater account of the wars and contentions and destructions of my people. And this have I done, and commanded my people what they should do after I was gone; and that these plates should be handed down from one generation to another, or from one prophet to another, until further commandments of the Lord.

5 And an account of my ^amaking these plates shall be given hereafter; and then, behold, I proceed according to that which I have spoken; and this I do that the more sacred things may be ^bkept for the knowledge of my people.

6 Nevertheless, I do not ^awrite anything upon plates save it be that I think it be ^bsacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the ^cweakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself.

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

8 And behold he ^acometh, according to the words of the angel, in ^bsix 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 ^aspit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving ^bkindness and his ^clong-suffering towards the children of men.

10 And the ^aGod of our fathers, who were ^bled out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the ^cGod of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, ^dyieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of ^ewicked men, to be ^flifted up, according to the words of ^gZenock, and to be ^hcrucified, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a ⁱsepulchre, according to the words of ^jZenos, which he spake concerning the three days of ^kdarkness, which should be a sign given of his death unto those who should inhabit the isles of the sea, more especially given unto those who are of the ^lhouse of Israel.

11 For thus spake the prophet: The Lord God surely shall ^avisit all the house of Israel at that day, some with his ^bvoice, because of their righteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and others with the ^cthunderings and the lightnings of his power, by tempest, by fire, and by ^dsmoke, and ^evapor of ^fdarkness, and by the opening of the ^gearth, and by ^hmountains which shall be carried up.

12 And ^aall these things must surely come, saith the prophet ^bZenos. And the ^crocks of the earth must rend; and because of the ^dgroanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.

13 And as for those who are at Jerusalem, saith the prophet, they shall be ^ascourged by all people, because they crucify the God of Israel, and turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs and wonders, and the power and glory of the God of Israel.

14 And because they turn their hearts aside, saith the prophet, and have ^adespised the Holy One of Israel, they shall wander in the flesh, and perish, and become a ^bhiss and a ^cbyword, and be ^dhated among all nations.

15 Nevertheless, when that day cometh, saith the prophet, that they ^ano more ^bturn aside their hearts against the Holy One of Israel, then will he remember the ^ccovenants which he made to their fathers.

16 Yea, then will he remember the ^aisles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will I ^bgather in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth.

17 Yea, and all the earth shall ^asee the salvation of the Lord, saith the prophet; every nation, kindred, tongue and people shall be blessed.

It is nice to read Nephi's explanation to all of us in verse 6 asking us to excuse him if we don't agree with his definition of what is sacred. To me it shows humility and makes him seem more human and real. I'm sure it must have been hard for him to decide what to write in which set of plates. I think all of us struggle with that in our own journal writing. We want to record the things that will be most beneficial to us and our posterity in the future but sometimes it is hard to know what those things will be when we are actually living them. I am thankful to Nephi...I think he did a great job and I hope to never "trample his teachings under my feet!"