pgs. 114 and 115...ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men.

14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should ^adeny me, it would have been ^bbetter for you that ye had not known me.

15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the ^awords of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that ^bendureth to the ^cend, the same shall be saved.

16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall ^aendure to the end, in following the ^bexample of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.

17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and ^abaptism by water; and then cometh a ^bremission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.

18 And then are ye in this ^astrait and narrow ^bpath which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which ^cwitnesses of the ^dFather and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.

19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow ^apath, I would ask if all is ^bdone? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken ^cfaith in him, ^drelying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to ^esave.

20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a ^asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of ^bhope, and a ^clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and ^dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have ^eeternal life.

21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the ^away; and there is ^bnone other way nor ^cname given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the ^ddoctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the ^eFather, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is ^fone God, without end. Amen.

CHAPTER 32

Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost—Men must pray and gain knowledge for themselves from the Holy Ghost. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts?

2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had ^areceived the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the ^btongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?

3 ^aAngels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, ^bfeast upon the ^cwords of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will ^dtell you all things what ye should do.

4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ^aask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will ^ashow unto you all things what ye should do.

6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall ^amanifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.

7 And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the ^aunbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the ^bstiffneckedness of men; for they will ^cnot search ^dknowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in ^eplainness, even as plain as word can be.

8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the ^aSpirit which teacheth a man to ^bpray ye would know that ye must ^cpray; for the ^devil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must ^apray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall ^bpray unto the Father in the ^cname of Christ, that he will ^dconsecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the ^ewelfare of thy soul.

Yesterdays, today's, and tomorrow's pages all include Nephi's final teachings to his people. I guess because he knew it was his last chance to teach his people in this life he packed these chapters full of great wisdom and doctrine. There are so many wonderful admonitions that apply to us today just as they did to his people then. Probably one of the most quoted and beautiful verses in the entire Book of Mormon is verse 20 of chapter 31. I recently read an explanation of "enduring to the end" that changed my perspective on it's meaning. For some reason I had always thought of it as surviving through lifes challenges and trying to stay faithful. Now I realize that it is living life experiences with the peace and comfort that gospel truths bring. It is also taking every step of our journey through life, no matter how difficult, with wonder and strength, knowing the amazing purpose our time on this earth serves in our eternal progress.

pgs. 112 and 113...For my soul delighteth in plainness.

6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall ^aknow that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their ^bscales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a ^cdelightsome people.

7 And it shall come to pass that the ^aJews which are scattered also shall ^bbegin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people.

8 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the ^arestoration of his people upon the earth.

9 And with righteousness shall the ^aLord God ^bjudge the poor, and reprove with equity for the ^cmeek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

10 For the ^atime speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great ^bdivision among the people, and the wicked will he ^cdestroy; and he will ^dspare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must ^edestroy the wicked by fire.

11 And ^arighteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.

12 And then shall the wolf ^adwell with the lamb; and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling, together; and a little child shall lead them.

13 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

14 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.

15 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy ^amountain; for the earth shall be full of the ^bknowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

16 Wherefore, the things of ^aall nations shall be made known; yea, all things shall be made ^bknown unto the children of men.

17 There is nothing which is secret save it shall be ^arevealed; there is no work of darkness save it shall be made manifest in the light; and there is nothing which is sealed upon the earth save it shall be loosed.

18 Wherefore, all things which have been revealed unto the children of men shall at that ^aday be revealed; and Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men ^bno more, for a long time. And now, my beloved brethren, I make an end of my sayings.

CHAPTER 31

Nephi tells why Christ was baptized—Men must follow Christ, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end to be saved—Repentance and baptism are the gate to the strait and narrow path—Eternal life comes to those who keep the commandments after baptism. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 And now I, Nephi, make an end of my ^aprophesying unto you, my beloved brethren. And I cannot write but a few things, which I know must surely come to pass; neither can I write but a few of the ^bwords of my brother Jacob.

2 Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it be a few words which I ^amust speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying.

3 For my soul delighteth in ^aplainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the ^bunderstanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their ^clanguage, unto their understanding.

4 Wherefore, I would that ye should remember that I have spoken unto you concerning that ^aprophet which the Lord showed unto me, that should baptize the ^bLamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world.

5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being ^aholy, should have need to be ^bbaptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be ^cbaptized, yea, even by water!

6 And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?

7 Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be ^aobedient unto him in keeping his commandments.

8 Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the ^aform of a ^bdove.

9 And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the ^agate, by which they should enter, he having set the ^bexample before them.

10 And he said unto the children of men: ^aFollow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we ^bfollow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?

11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.

12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father ^agive the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, ^bfollow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.

13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall ^afollow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no ^bhypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real ^cintent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are ^dwilling to take upon you the ^ename of Christ, by ^fbaptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the ^gbaptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the ^htongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.

There has been much discussion among theologians in and out of the church about what it actually means for the Holy Ghost's to descend in the shape of a dove, as mentioned in verse 8. I like this explanation from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, not just for it's explanation of the Holy Ghost but also for it's teachings about John the Baptist.

The question arose from the saying of Jesus--"Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." How is it that John was considered one of the greatest prophets? His miracles could not have constituted his greatness.First. He was entrusted with a divine mission of preparing the way before the face of the Lord. Whoever had such a trust committed to him before or since? No man.Secondly. He was entrusted with the important mission, and it was required at his hands, to baptize the Son of Man. Whoever had the honor of doing that? Whoever had so great a privilege and glory? Whoever led the Son of God into the waters of baptism, and had the privilege of beholding the Holy Ghost descend in the form of a dove, or rather in the sign of the dove, in witness of that administration? The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not confine itself to the form of the dove, but in sign of the dove. The Holy Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 275

pgs. 110 and 111...because that ye have a Bible, ye need not suppose that it contains all my words.

4 But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a ^aBible; and it shall proceed forth from the ^bJews, mine ancient covenant people. And what ^cthank they the ^dJews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?

5 O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have ^acursed them, and have ^bhated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.

6 Thou fool, that shall say: A ^aBible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?

7 Know ye not that there are more ^anations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the ^bisles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the ^cearth beneath; and I bring forth my ^dword unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?

8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the ^atestimony of ^btwo nations is a ^cwitness unto you that I am God, that I remember one ^dnation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two ^enations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.

9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the ^asame yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my ^bwords according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one ^cword ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my ^dwork is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.

10 Wherefore, because that ye have a Bible ye need not suppose that it contains all my ^awords; neither ^bneed ye suppose that I have not caused more to be written.

11 For I command ^aall men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall ^bwrite the words which I speak unto them; for out of the ^cbooks which shall be written I will ^djudge the world, every man according to their works, according to that which is written.

12 For behold, I shall speak unto the ^aJews and they shall ^bwrite it; and I shall also speak unto the Nephites and they shall ^cwrite it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto ^dall nations of the earth and they shall write it.

13 And it shall come to pass that the ^aJews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the ^blost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews.

14 And it shall come to pass that my people, which are of the ^ahouse of Israel, shall be gathered home unto the ^blands of their possessions; and my word also shall be gathered in ^cone. And I will show unto them that fight against my word and against my ^dpeople, who are of the ^ehouse of Israel, that I am God, and that I ^fcovenanted with ^gAbraham that I would remember his ^hseed ⁱforever.

CHAPTER 30

Converted gentiles shall be numbered with the covenant people—Many Lamanites and Jews shall believe the word and become a delightsome people—Israel shall be restored and the wicked destroyed. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 And now behold, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you; for I, Nephi, would not suffer that ye should suppose that ye are more righteous than the Gentiles shall be. For behold, except ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall all likewise ^aperish; and because of the words which have been spoken ye need not suppose that the Gentiles are utterly destroyed.

2 For behold, I say unto you that as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the ^acovenant people of the Lord; and as many of the ^bJews as will not repent shall be ^ccast off; for the Lord ^dcovenanteth with none save it be with them that ^erepent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel.

3 And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall ^abelieve the words which are written; and ^bthey shall carry them forth unto the ^cremnant of our seed.

4 And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.

5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among ^athem; wherefore, ^bthey shall be restored unto the ^cknowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.

These verses are such a powerful witness of the power of the Book of Mormon and it's far reaching effects. I sometimes wonder what it would be like to discover the Book of Mormon as an adult. I also wonder what it would feel like to be the "remnant of seed" who read the Book of Mormon and realize that they are descendants of Lehi that Nephi mentions in verse 4. I think it must be amazing for them.
I come from Scandinavian ancestors who discovered the Book of Mormon in Europe and came to America in search of Zion. I am thankful that they were willing to accept that the Bible is not the only record of Jesus Christ on the earth. I am thankful they believed the Book of Mormon and taught it to their children so that I could live my whole life with these truths.

pgs. 108 and 109...I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.

15 O the ^awise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the ^bpride of their ^chearts, and all those who preach ^dfalse doctrines, and all those who commit ^ewhoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, ^fwo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!

16 Wo unto them that ^aturn aside the just for a thing of naught and ^brevile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are ^cfully ripe in iniquity they shall perish.

17 But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts.

18 But behold, that great and ^aabominable church, the ^bwhore of all the earth, must ^ctumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof.

19 For the kingdom of the devil must ^ashake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the ^bdevil will grasp them with his everlasting ^cchains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;

20 For behold, at that day shall he ^arage in the ^bhearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

21 And others will he ^apacify, and lull them away into carnal ^bsecurity, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the ^cdevil ^dcheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

22 And behold, others he ^aflattereth away, and telleth them there is no ^bhell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful ^cchains, from whence there is no deliverance.

23 Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be ^ajudged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a ^blake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.

24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ^aease in Zion!

25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!

26 Yea, wo be unto him that ^ahearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost!

27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we ^aneed no more!

28 And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are ^aangry because of ^bthe truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the ^crock ^dreceiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.

29 Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we ^aneed ^bno more of the word of God, for we have enough!

30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon ^aprecept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn ^bwisdom; for unto him that ^creceiveth I will give ^dmore; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

31 Cursed is he that putteth his ^atrust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the ^bprecepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.

32 ^aWo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and ^bcome unto me; for mine ^carm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.

CHAPTER 29

Many gentiles shall reject the Book of Mormon—They shall say: We need no more Bible—The Lord speaks to many nations—He will judge the world out of the books thus written. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 But behold, there shall be many—at that day when I shall proceed to do a ^amarvelous work among them, that I may remember my ^bcovenants which I have made unto the children of men, that I may set my hand again the ^csecond time to recover my people, which are of the house of Israel;

2 And also, that I may remember the promises which I have made unto thee, Nephi, and also unto thy father, that I would remember your seed; and that the ^awords of your seed should proceed forth out of my mouth unto your seed; and my words shall ^bhiss forth unto the ^cends of the earth, for a ^dstandard unto my people, which are of the house of Israel;

3 And because my words shall hiss forth—many of the Gentiles shall say: A ^aBible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.

One of the concepts that jumped out at me from this reading is in verse 22 where Nephi warns us that in the latter days Satan will tell us "I am no devil, for there is none and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance." At first I wondered why it would benefit Satan to convince people that he does not exist. Then I read this quote:

“A corollary to the pernicious falsehood that God is dead is the equally pernicious doctrine that there is no devil. Satan himself is the father of both of these lies. To believe them is to surrender to him. Such surrender has always led, is leading now, and will continue to lead men to destruction.

“Latter-day Saints know that there is a God. With like certainty, they know that Satan lives, that he is a powerful personage of spirit, the archenemy of God, of man, and of righteousness.

“The reality of the existence of both God and the devil is conclusively established by the scriptures and by human experience” (Marion G. Romney in Conference Report, Apr. 1971, p. 22; or Ensign, June 1971, p. 35).

I can now understand why Satan would want us to think he doesn't exist because then we wouldn't know how to protect ourselves from him. And we wouldn't know the difference between being under his influence or the influence of the Spirit. We also wouldn't be prepared for the tricky way that he sneaks into our lives, as taught in this message:

In a general conference address, Elder George Albert Smith quoted 2 Nephi 28:21 and said: “Now, I want you to note that: ‘And thus the devil cheateth their souls and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.’ And that is the way he does it, that’s exactly the way he does it. He does not come and grab you bodily and take you into his territory, but he whispers, ‘Do this little evil,’ and when he succeeds in that, another little evil and another, and, to use the expression quoted, ‘He cheateth their souls.’ That’s what he does. He makes you believe that you are gaining something when you are losing. So it is every time we fail to observe a law of God or keep a commandment, we are being cheated, because there is no gain in this world or in the world to come but by obedience to the law of our heavenly Father. Then again, that peculiar suggestion, ‘And he leadeth them carefully away down to hell’ is significant, that is his method. Men and women in the world today are subject to that influence, and they are being drawn here and there, and that whispering is going on and they do not understand what the Lord desires them to do, but they continue in the territory of the evil one, subject to his power where the Spirit of the Lord will not go” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1918, p. 40).

pgs. 106 and 107...I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, yea, a marvelous work and a wonder.

24 And again it shall come to pass that the Lord shall say unto him that shall read the words that shall be delivered him:

25 ^aForasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do ^bhonor me, but have removed their ^chearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the ^dprecepts of men—

26 Therefore, I will proceed to do a ^amarvelous work among this people, yea, a ^bmarvelous work and a wonder, for the ^cwisdom of their wise and ^dlearned shall perish, and the ^eunderstanding of their ^fprudent shall be hid.

27 And ^awo unto them that seek deep to hide their ^bcounsel from the Lord! And their works are in the ^cdark; and they say: Who seeth us, and who knoweth us? And they also say: Surely, your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the ^dpotter’s clay. But behold, I will show unto them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I ^eknow all their works. For shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?

28 But behold, saith the Lord of Hosts: I will show unto the children of men that it is yet a very little while and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field; and the ^afruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest.

29 ^aAnd in that day shall the ^bdeaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.

30 And the ^ameek also shall increase, and their ^bjoy shall be in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

31 For assuredly as the Lord liveth they shall see that the ^aterrible one is brought to naught, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off;

32 And they that make a man an ^aoffender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the ^bgate, and ^cturn aside the just for a thing of naught.

33 Therefore, thus saith the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall ^anot now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale.

34 But when he ^aseeth his children, the work of my hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.

35 They also that ^aerred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall ^blearn doctrine.

CHAPTER 28

Many false churches shall be built up in the last days—They shall teach false and vain and foolish doctrines—Apostasy shall abound because of false teachers—The devil shall rage in the hearts of men—He shall teach all manner of false doctrines. Between 559 and 545 B.C.

1 And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as the Spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely come to pass.

2 And the things which shall be written out of the ^abook shall be of great ^bworth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which is a ^cremnant of the house of Israel.

3 For it shall come to pass in that day that the ^achurches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord’s; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord’s; and thus shall every one say that hath built up ^bchurches, and not unto the Lord—

4 And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their ^alearning, and deny the ^bHoly Ghost, which giveth utterance.

5 And they ^adeny the ^bpower of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is ^cno God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men;

6 Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of ^amiracles; he hath done his work.

7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: ^aEat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

8 And there shall also be many which shall say: ^aEat, drink, and be ^bmerry; nevertheless, fear God—he will ^cjustify in committing a little ^dsin; yea, ^elie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a ^fpit for thy neighbor; there is ^gno harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, ^afalse and vain and ^bfoolish ^cdoctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.

10 And the ^ablood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.

11 Yea, they have all gone out of the ^away; they have become ^bcorrupted.

12 Because of ^apride, and because of ^bfalse teachers, and ^cfalse doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.

13 They ^arob the ^bpoor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their ^cpride they are puffed up.
14 They wear ^astiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and ^bwhoredoms, they have all ^cgone astray save it be a ^dfew, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are ^eled, that in many instances they do ^ferr because they are taught by the precepts of men.

In the commentary on chapter 28 from the Book of Mormon Student Manual there is a great summary and question focusing on verses 2-14. It caused me to think a lot about the far reaching impact of the Book of Mormon on religion today and on many other aspects of life in our culture. I am including it here because I hope it will do the same for you!

The book mentioned in 2 Nephi 28:2 is the Book of Mormon, described by Nephi in 2 Nephi 27. Nephi said the book would be of great worth because of conditions in the last days. The “for” in 2 Nephi 28:3 means “because.” In other words, the Book of Mormon will be of great worth in our day because of the following conditions:

1. Churches will be built up that—

a. Claim to be the Lord’s but really are full of contention (see vv. 3–4;compare with Joseph Smith—History 1:5).

b. Teach with their own learning and deny the Holy Spirit (see 2 Nephi 28:4).

c. Deny the power of God by denying priesthood authority, and by denying God still operates in the lives of men in the same way (see vv. 5–6).

d. Teach that sin and wickedness are excusable (see vv. 7–8).

2. There will be many who teach false doctrines, are puffed up in their pride, work in darkness, and become corrupted (see vv. 9–12).

3. Pride, false teachers, and false doctrines will lead to many evils (see v. 12):

a. Exploitation of the poor (see v. 13).

b. Persecution of the humble (see v. 13).

c. Widespread apostasy (see v. 14).

d. Deception of the humble followers of Christ (see v. 14).

How does the Book of Mormon help counteract these conditions in our time? Sincerely pondering the answer to this question will broaden our perspective about the impact of this book and why it plays such a central role in the restoration of the Church and gospel of Jesus Christ.