What a great man Nephi must have been... His people loved him. They called him their king and protector. He had great spiritual manifestations and taught many important truths in the things he wrote.
There are many things in these chapters that I could bring up, but I will only touch on a couple of things that interested me:
2 Ne 29: 3-4 "...gentiles shall say: A Bible! A Bible! We have a Bible and there cannot be any more Bible. ...they shall have a bible and it shall proceed forth from the Jews... And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them?". We do have a bible and it is full of truth and great treasures of spiritual wisdom. But the Lord (through Nephi) says that His words have been given to more than just one people. His word is the same to one nation like unto another nation and is the same yesterday today and forever. For those who say they don't need any more scripture than the bible, the Lord had two words: "Thou fool". I say how sad, because the Book of Mormon is such a great testament of Christ. For those who say that the Book of Mormon was copied from the Bible, please know that these words of Nephi are true. The Lord spoke to his prophets of the Book of Mormon just as he did to the prophets of the Old Testament. If His word is the same to all people and all time, is it any wonder that they sound alike? This is known as the testimony of 2 and 3 witnesses establishing the word of truth. ""And it shall come to pass that the Jews 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 lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews" (2 Ne 29:13).
Nephi foreshadows the destruction of his people: "For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy..." (2 Ne 30:10). This happened in the Nephite civilization at least twice: Think of the destruction just before the Savior visited the Nephites. Think of the Nephites final destruction. Now think of this day; are the wicked separating themselves from the righteous?
Obedience of the Savior was seen by Nephi and he discusses this in Chapter 31. Jesus would be baptized by John, in Nephi's vision, even though he was the holy Son of God. Nephi explains: "And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized... ... 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 obedient unto him in keeping his commandments" (2 Ne 31: 5,7). A question for each of us: Is it easier for Jesus to be obedient to Heavenly Father's commandments than for us? I suggest that it is just as easy for us to be obedient, if we approach the commandments in the proper attitude. Certainly Jesus had the right attitude.
When you're not feeling like praying, look to 2 Ne 32: 8, and if you will "...hearken to the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; fo r the evil spirit teacheth him that must not pray". If feel like you can't or shouldn't pray, that is when you need it the most. Find the courage to start the prayer, then proceed from there. Nephi says to do it.
I have to admire Nephi's black or white outlook. In ending his writings, he speaks in Nephi-fashion: "...I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his kingdom at that great and last day. And now, my beloved brethren...Farewell until that great day shall come. And you that will not partake of the goodness of God... I bid you an everlasting farewell, for thes words shall condemn you at the last day..." (2 Ne 33: 12-14). May we heed Nephi's words and meet indeed in the Lord's kingdom.
Don
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