2 Nephi 3-5 - Come Follow Me with Sam

 Welcome! 


2 Nephi 3 - Lehi looked forward to our day with eager expectation!!!


Lehi knew about the happenings of the dispensation of the fullness of times, which is happening now! He knew the words would go out to everyone. He knew that his words, and the words of the bible would come together as a testimony to the world of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He knew about Joseph Smith. So cool.


2 Nephi 4 - Nephi's soul cry.


Whitaker Chambers, in Witness, said that there was once a dedicated communist who would do anything for the communist U.S.S.R. Then 'one night he heard screams.' In a simple moment described by 5 words, his entire universe unraveled and changed.
This is soul cry. It wasn't the screams. It was a soul speaking to a soul that made this happen. Well, in chapter 4, we have Nephi's soul cry. The words of his soul speaking directly to ours. He is really hurting. He writes this to let us know how he overcame that hurt.
My favorite verse is v32:

May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my aheart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may bwalk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

Nephi shares a very personal moment with us so this chapter is best understood on a personal level. Nephi is teaching us how to process very hard things. 



2 Nephi 5 - The manner of happiness


Nephi describes some interesting things in his society, the biggest of which is probably that he built a temple patterned after Solomon's temple, but not as fancy. This raises the question: under what authority did Nephi, his dad, and others, perform ordinances? 2 Nephi 6 v2 hints that it is the Melchezidek Priesthood. This is the answer that President Joseph Fielding Smith gives in Answers to Gospel Questions.
Nephi also says a fascinating line - 

And it came to pass that we lived after the manner of ahappiness.

This is really something. I think it ties all of lehi's teachings and Nephi's cry together. It doesn't mean that Nephi's problems went away, but it means he was still able to surmount them. Do you think he would say his existence was justified and that he had joy? I think he would answer yes. 

created 2/2/2020

updated 2/11/2024

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