2 Nephi 14

Isaiah is difficult to read because he speaks so much of things related to his day. He is very poetic in his writing and prophecies which makes it harder to decipher what he is talking about. He usually talks about our day and he usually talks about the Second Coming of Christ. Given those two clues, I try to understand what he is speaking of. In this chapter, he talks about the daughters of Zion being washed clean. He also speaks of how the Lord will always be our guide and protector as we follow Him. What a comforting thought! I long to be more fully aware of the Lord's hand in my life, guiding me and protecting me in my daily struggle to become more like Him.

2 Nephi 13

24 And it shall come to pass, instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle, a rent; and instead of well set heair, baldness; and instead of a stomacher, a girding of sackcloth; burning instead of beauty.

Nephi is quoting Isaiah in Chapter 13. Here he is talking about the daughters of Zion and how they will be cursed and tormented for their worldliness. This prophecy has always hit home because I know I am far too worldly and vain. As I said yesterday, I love clothes, fine foods, a nice house and car. I really do enjoy those things and I know I put more vanity into my looks than I should. So it pains me to envision all of these horrible prophecies- burning instead of beauty??? What a horrible visual. So, how do I avoid that punishment? Perhaps I really need to put more priority into looking outward instead of in the mirror. I need to focus more on serving others and never judging others based upon their outward appearance. As I pray for and seek the gift of charity, I hope to someday be able to view everyone with Heavenly Father's eyes- to see their inner beauty without taking any note of the outward.

2 Nephi 12

4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks - nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

I am so afraid of all of the prophesied destruction that will accompany the Second Coming but imagining the scenario just described stirs such a longing in my soul. A time where there is no war, no weapons, only peace. What could be more glorious than that? The Lord will reign on the earth in all of His perfect glory and Satan will be bound. I cannot imagine a sweeter way to live.

17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

Unfortunately, I am a very prideful person in many ways. I love clothes, beautiful homes and nice cars, fine food, exotic vacations. I really, truly enjoy those things! But as I mature, I am finding more and more that, although those things are indisputably enjoyable, they do not provide true happiness. True happiness can only be found in the humble heart, when one is willing to submit to the Lord's will and serve Him all the days of one's life. Slowly, but surely, I will one day be rid of the pride that so easily distracts me from true fulfillment and happiness. The world will experience the same humbling. Unfortunately for them, it will be forced upon them because they have not done so voluntarily. In the end, the Lord will be exalted as the pride of the world bows to His perfect feet.

20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which he hath made for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats.

It will be a rude awakening for any of us who have allowed our riches and worldy idols to take precedence over spiritual things and our eternal progression. The things we thought were of so much worth, the things that we put so much priority on, will be worth nothing and we will toss them aside "to the moles and to the bats" when we finally realize it. Money, power, worldy honor and glory mean nothing- they cannot and will not ever satisfy. Service in the Lord's church, our eternal families and friends- those are the things that have real eternal value.

2 Nephi 11

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.
3 And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him...

Isaiah, Nephi, and Jacob all saw Christ! What an incomprehensible blessing to be able to see the Savior in the flesh. Someone very close to me was told in their patriarchal blessing that they would see the Savior in this life. I was astounded when I heard that. I've always wondered if the prophets all get to see Him. I always assumed so but Lance isn't so sure and has since made me wonder. Your faith would have to be so pure, so unwavering, so strong- just as the Brother of Jared's.

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.

Nephi's logic here is profound. One must have a testimony of each of the elements of which he speaks in order to follow his reasoning.

• First, if there is no Christ, then there is no God. Why is that? Why must there be a Christ in order for God to exist? Is it because a perfect being who fathers spirit children must, due to His compassionate nature, provide the means whereby His imperfect children could return to Him and not be cut off forever due to the carnal nature of their flesh? I believe that.
• Second, if there is no God, then we do not exist, for there could have been no creation. That one makes perfect sense. I am studying Nutrition for my bachelor's degree. After all of the anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, and nutrition classes I have taken, I couldn't possibly begin to imagine that our profoundly complex bodies were a result of some accident or spontaneous evolution. It seems more likely that an uneducated person, one that is so ignorant of the true miracle of the human body, would be more likely to believe in evolution or the Big Bang Theory. In fact, it is simply ironic that the more educated one becomes, the more likely it actually is that one ceases to believe in the Creator. The thought makes reason stare.

Nephi concludes with a matter-of-fact statement that there is a God and that He is Christ, and that He will come to the earth. Christ did come just as Nephi prophesied and I know that He will come again, as prophets for ages have prophesied. I would love to be able to see Him in this life but I know I will see Him in the next life and I rejoice in that knowledge.

2 Nephi 10:23-24

23: Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves-to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.

Jacob is an optimist. He tells us to cheer up our hearts, or to be happy, because we are free to act for ourselves. We have the freedom to choose whether we will find spiritual death or eternal life at the end of mortality. Neither one will be forced upon us. I love that! My destiny is in my hands. I do not have to fear Satan. He has no power over me but what I give to him. So as long as I cling to the iron rod and continually mend my crooked ways, constantly bringing my life back into alignment with God's will, I will be certain to have eternal life as my reward at the end of this mortal existence. I am not a victim of an arbitrary assignment or an unconquerable force. I am free to act for myself and I will choose the Lord.

24: Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.

reconcile (Webster):
1 a : to restore to friendship or harmony; b : settle, resolve; 2 : to make consistent or congruous

Our lives, actions, and own will should be in harmony with the will of God. I can determine if my will is reconciled to the will of God or Satan (and my flesh) be examining my actions. If my actions are in harmony with the teachings of the gospel, then my will must be in harmony with the Lord's will. If my actions are not in harmony with the teachings of the gospel, I must quickly repent and renew my commitment, reconciling myself to the will of God. I like how Jacob ends on the reminder that even after we have worked to reconcile ourselves to God, it is still only through the grace of God that we are saved. It takes a lot of work, diligence, and sometimes suffering to reconcile ourselves to God. We cannot allow that to make us prideful. We must always maintain humility, recognizing that no matter how strong we are (or think we are), we would never be able to be saved without God's grace. We would always fall short.

2 Nephi 6

6:17 For thus saith the Lord: I will contend with them that contendeth with thee...

The Lord is on our side. When we follow him, we are enlisting His help in our own personal war against Satan- the prize for victory being our very soul.

The Time is Far Spent (Hymn):

Be fixed in your purpose, for Satan will try you;
The weight of your calling he perfectly knows.
Your path may be thorny, but Jesus is nigh you:
His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose.

I read this passage in a conference talk this morning and it really touched me. There is no question- Satan will try us. No one is safe from his buffetings- no one. I kind of always thought that really righteous people- stake presidents, apostles, bishops, relief society presidents, etc., were somehow immune to temptation. It seemed to me that Satan didn't even try to get to them because of who they were. Sadly, I have seen from real-life situations, people I know, that is not the case. Satan has unlimited time on his hands and he would love nothing more than to see those in leadership positions fall because of the devastating ripple-affects it would have on everyone around them. Therefore, he works that much harder on the righteous, the strong. He doesn't have to do much to make someone who is weak fall. "The weight of your calling he perfectly knows." He is very intelligent and skillfully cunning. Yet, we have the Lord's promise that He will contend with those that contend with us. Satan is one that fights with our righteous desires and actions. As we obey the Lord, He will help us fight our battles against evil. "His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose." No matter what Satan can throw our way, Christ is stronger, and His grace sufficient to save us.

2 Nephi 5

31 Wherefore, I, Nephi, to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord, went and made these plates upon which I have engraven these things.
32 And I engraved that which is pleasing unto God. And if my people are pleased with the things of God they will be pleased with mine engravings which are upon these plates.

Nephi describes how he has been keeping a record of his people and then the Lord tells him to go and make new plates to engrave things that are pleasing unto Him. He frankly states that he did just that- went and made new plates "to be obedient to the commandments of the Lord". I wonder if he felt for a moment that the Lord was not accepting of his offering- his first record, that it wasn't good enough. I know that I am far too sensitive and too easily offended. Not necessarily when it comes to spiritual things but from other people. So I just wonder. I know I need to not be so sensitive and easily offended. I need to be humble.

I love how he said that if his people are pleased with the things of God then they will be pleased with the words he has written in the Book of Mormon. I guess that is a good test for all of us. Are the scriptures (the things of God) pleasing unto us? I know that when I am earnestly seeking the Spirit in the scriptures, I really do delight in them. The more consistent I am, the more I feel the spirit more fully in my life.

2 Nephi 4

2 Nephi 4 is sometimes called Nephi's psalm because it is so poetically written and Nephi is so passionate and emotional. He describes how wretched he feels about his weaknesses and sins. Then he describes all of the reasons he has to rejoice- for all of the blessings he has been given. Next, he pulls himself up by the bootstraps with renewed determination to win the war against Satan for his own soul. "Awake , my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul." Finally, he calls on the Lord for the strength and the aid he will need to endure to the end.

I've mentioned this before but I absolutely love this chapter because I relate so well to it. It is powerfully comforting to me that a prophet of God shares the same view of his own personal weaknesses. He gets discouraged and can't understand why he can be so weak at times when he has such great desires to do what is right and he has been given so many blessings. If a prophet feels to sorrow over his weaknesses, then I know it is only normal for me to do it. Of course, I'm certain that his sins aren't even remotely in the same ballpark as mine but he feels pain for the separation from the Spirit due to his sins just as I feel it. For any sin, no matter how small or large causes the Spirit to shrink from us in some degree. Of course, serious sins have greater repercussions. Yet as we get closer to the spirit and become more edified, we are more keenly aware of offending it. So now I call on my soul to awake and arise, no longer drooping in sin! I know that the Lord can and will help me; that with his help I can do all things. With the Lord's help, I can and I will overcome this world and qualify for one that is far better.