Book of Mormon 2020 - 2 Nephi 11-25

I originally wrote a post about the Isaiah chapters in 2 Nephi back in 2016. You can read this at: https://gospeldoctrine2016.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-of-mormon-9-my-soul-delighteth-in.html

I had to read the chapters from Isaiah several times before gaining a true appreciation of their value. In the video, Isaiah National Forest (see below), Brother John Bytheway counteracts the old expression, “You cannot see the forest for the trees”. He explains that there are only four types of trees in the Isaiah National Forest (all starting with the letter C): Christ – so many of the Isaiah chapters provide a Messianic view and allow us to develop our understanding of Jesus Christ; Covenants – he speaks to covenant Israel, to warn them that they need to live up to who they are; Current events – and these events often foreshadow the fourth type of tree; Coming events.

2 Nephi 15 has an interesting image. In verse 18 we read, “Wo unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope.” I could not find any references to this verse. However, it did make me think of an object lesson I used once in an old Sunday School lesson. I tied a class member’s hands together with a single thread. It was quite easy to break. Then I twisted several strands of the thread together and re-tied his hands. This time, the class member could not break free. This was likened to sin. It seems easy when only one sin has been committed, but the more sins, the harder it is to repent and forsake sin. The ‘cords of vanity’ made me think of the cords used in jewellery to hold trinkets and beads. The ‘cart rope’ is like the strands threaded together, like much tougher, more ingrained sin. 

This also made me think of a book called The Cords on Vanity: A Comedy of Shirking by James Cabell. The main character in this novel is not just lazy, but selfish and evil. It seems that the more he takes advantage of other people, the worse he gets. Alexander Pope’s famous quote speaks to the truth of this (see below). It also reminds me of how you boil a frog, “The boiling frog is a fable describing a frog being slowly boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death” (Wikipedia). There is no such thing as a little sin.

In 2 Nephi 19 (Isaiah 9) and 2 Nephi 20 (Isaiah 10), the same phrase is repeated three times. 2 Nephi 19:17 speaks about the young men, “…for every one of them is a hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.” Then in 2 Nephi 19:21, after stating that the people of Judah will turn against each other, it states, “For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.” And then, in 2 Nephi 20:4, we read, “Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.” The Lord is mercy and love. He will always be there if we just repent and turn to Him.

I love the way Isaiah describes the conditions that will prevail in the Millennium. Amongst my favourite scriptures are four verses, 2 Nephi 21:6-9 (Isaiah 11:6-9). I can picture these scriptures so vividly, “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 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. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” I love animals, all animals, and I would love to see this. Imagine the full knowledge of the Lord allowing complete harmony between all living creatures!

Nephi provides us with four keys to help us understand Isaiah’s writing in 2 Nephi 25.

1.       In 2 Nephi 25:1, we learn that we need to understand the way of prophesying of the Jews; a different way of prophesying using complex symbols.

2.       In 2 Nephi 25:4, we are told that we need the spirit of prophecy, which we know to be a testimony of Christ (Revelations 19:10).

3.       In 2 Nephi 25:6, we discover that we need to appreciate the geography of the time. Here is where a map can be valuable.

4.       In 2 Nephi 25:8, we find that we can understand Isaiah’s words as we live in the days he described. We will be able to see Isaiah’s words fulfilled all around us.

Later, in 2 Nephi 25:23, we learn one of the major reasons for reading and studying the words of Isaiah, “For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ.” The emphasis on our Saviour Jesus Christ in the words of Isaiah and in the Book of Mormon is summarised perfectly in 2 Nephi 25:26, “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”