2 Nephi 9:10-13

Jacob continues to teach about the plan of salvation.

Jacob praises the goodness of God.  Through the plan of salvation, the day will come that we will be delivered from the death.  We will “escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body and also the death of the spirit” (2 Nephi 9:10).

Jacob is teaching about the spiritual death.  The spiritual death “is hell” (2 Nephi 9:12).  Death and hell will be forced to the deliver “its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies” (2 Nephi 9:12).  Our body and spirit will be reunited through the power of the resurrection, which was made possible through Christ’s resurrection.

In his vision, President Joseph F. Smith saw spirits:

… assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world, to declare their redemption from the bands of death.

Their sleeping dust was to be restored unto its perfect frame, bone to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to be united never again to be divided, that they might receive a fulness of joy.

While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful;

D&C 138:16-18

Hugh Nibley writes:

So now we have them both, body and spirit, brought together, another at-one-ment, "restored one to the other" (2 Nephi 9:12).  And how, pray, is this all done? Not by a syllogism or an argument or an allegory or even a ceremony; "it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel" (2 Nephi 9:12). Another outburst from Jacob: "O how great [is] the plan of our God!" (2 Nephi 9:13).[1]

“[T]he paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect” (2 Nephi 9:13). 

When Amulek confronted Zeezrom, he told him that our body and spirit will be brought together and will be “in its perfect form.”  When we stand before God, we will be able to recall all of our guilt.  (Alma 11:43).

Alma₂ taught his son, Corianton, that our soul we be restored to our body.  “[E]very and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame” (Alma 40:23).

He continued, explaining to Corianton:

And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.

And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil.  Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other—

The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh.

Alma 41:3-5

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[1] The Meaning of the Atonement, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 30, 2013.

2 Nephi 9:8-9

After having taught about Christ, Jacob proclaims:

O the wisdom of God,

     his mercy and grace! 

For behold,

     if the flesh should rise

          no more

     our spirits must become subject

     to that angel who fell

          from before the presence

          of the Eternal God,

and became the devil,

     to rise no more.

                                                          2 Nephi 9:8

The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith:

For man is spirit.  The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;

And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.

D&C 93:33-34

The angel who fell from the presence of God was Lucifer.  He offered a plan of salvation that would force all men to follow the commandments of God.  He also wanted to the glory to be his.  This is how he became the devil, “having sought that which was evil before God” (2 Nephi 2:17; see all Isaiah 14:12 and Moses 4:3-4).

Nephi's brother Jacob extols the wisdom, mercy, and grace of God in providing the resurrection (2 Nephi 9:8, 53). Jacob, like his brother, notes that one must first be "reconciled unto God," and then, after that, one is saved "through the grace of God" (2 Nephi 10:24). At that point "grace divine" allows one to praise God (2 Nephi 10:25). Jacob also prefigures Jesus's own teaching by noting that "the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things" (Jacob 4:7).[1]

Without the atonement, we would become subject to the devil immediately upon our death.  We would become like the one-third host of heaven, cast out and cut off from the presence of God.[2]

We would become like the devil himself, and we would remain with “the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself” (2 Nephi 9:9).  Mormon would later write that if we reject Christ, we “shall become like unto the son of perdition, for whom there was no mercy, according to the word of Christ” (3 Nephi 29:7).

Alma₂ would preach:

And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness?  Behold, what will these things testify against you?

Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white?

I say unto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from the beginning, or suppose that he is a liar from the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have place in the kingdom of heaven; but they shall be cast out for they are the children of the kingdom of the devil.

And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?

And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye?  Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this?  Behold, I say unto you, whosoever denieth this is a liar and a child of the devil.

Alma 5:22; 24-25; 39

Jacob warns us the devil can appear as an angel of light with the intent to deceive us, to lead us into “secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness” (2 Nephi 9:9).

There was a war fought in heaven.  Michael led the angels against the devil and his followers.  They were defeated and cast out of heaven.  Now Satan’s purpose is to deceive the whole world (see Revelation 12:7-9).

After Korihor was struck dumb, he would testify to Alma2:

But behold, the devil hath deceived me; for he appeared unto me in the form of an angel, and said unto me: Go and reclaim this people, for they have all gone astray after an unknown God.  And he said unto me: There is no God; yea, and he taught me that which I should say.  And I have taught his words; and I taught them because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind; and I taught them, even until I had much success, insomuch that I verily believed that they were true; and for this cause I withstood the truth, even until I have brought this great curse upon me.

Alma 30:53

Jacob makes it very clear to the Nephites (and us as well), the devil will do all he can to deceive us and make us his.

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[1] The Grace of Christ, John Gee, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 27, 2013.

[2] The Literary Structure and Doctrinal Significance of Alma 13:1–9, James T. Duke, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 27, 2013.

2 Nephi 9:5-7

Jacob tells the Nephites Christ will appear in Jerusalem.  He will be subject to them and die. Through His death, all men will become subject to Him.  Nephi would later write, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw ^call men unto him.  Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2 Nephi 26:24).

Christ would tell the Nephites:

And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me, that as I have been lifted up by men even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil—

And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.

3 Nephi 27:14 - 15

It was appropriate that Jacob was a priest and teacher.  “Jacob was particularly qualified to serve [as a priest and teacher] because, as Lehi noted, he had seen the glory of the Redeemer and knew of his ministry in the flesh and of the salvation he would bring (2 Nephi 2:3—4; cf. 11:3; Jacob 2:11).⁵.”[1]

Death comes upon all men.  Why?  To fulfill the plan of salvation.  There has to be a resurrection.  This comes about because of Adam’s fall.  The fall came about because of transgression.  Through transgression, we are cut off from the presence of the Lord.  In Ecclesiastes we read:

Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him.

For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?

There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

Ecclesiastes 8:6 - 8

John Tvedtnes continues:

The fall of Adam resulted in two types of death, both required under the law of justice. The physical or temporal death separates the spirit from the body, while the spiritual death separates us from God (see D&C 29:40—43). Lehi declared that, "By the law men are cut off ... by the temporal law ... and also, by the spiritual law ... and become miserable forever" (2 Nephi 2:5). Jacob put it this way: "For as death hath passed upon all men ... because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord" (2 Nephi 9:6; cf. verse 9).[2]

The plan of salvation is an infinite atonement.  Were it not, “corruption could not put on incorruption” (2 Nephi 9:7).  Through the first judgment, we di and our flesh will “rot and … crumble to its mother earth to rise no more” (2 Nephi 9:7).  Alma2 and Amulek both confronted Zeezrom over this issue (first Amulek). 

Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body.  I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.

Alma 11:45

Next, Alma₂.

And now, my brethren, behold I say unto you, that if ye will harden your hearts ye shall not enter into the rest of the Lord; therefore your iniquity provoketh him that he sendeth down his wrath upon you as in the first provocation, yea, according to his word in the last provocation as well as the first, to the everlasting destruction of your souls; therefore, according to his word, unto the last death, as well as the first.

Alma 12:36

Alma₂ would explain to his son, Corianton:

But behold, it was appointed unto man to die—therefore, as they were cut off from the tree of life they should be cut off from the face of the earth—and man became lost forever, yea, they became fallen man.

Therefore, as the soul could never die, and the fall had brought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal, that is, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord, it was expedient that mankind should be reclaimed from this spiritual death.

And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.

Alma 42:6, 9, 14

The plan of God, therefore, was for Adam and Eve to become mortal or imperfect, in order that they and their offspring might gain experience unavailable to them in their perfect condition. But there was a problem to be overcome. Since the penalty for disobedience is death, it was necessary to forestall the judgment in order to give mankind the opportunity to repent. In the eternal plan, this meant (1) providing a savior whose death would satisfy the demands of justice, and (2) establishing a probationary period during which Adam's family could be tested and learn obedience to the plan of mercy.[3]

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[1] The Influence of Lehi's Admonitions on the Teachings of His Son Jacob, John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 25, 2013.

[2] Ibid.

[3] ^[3] Ibid.

2 Nephi 9:1-4

After reading from Isaiah, Jacob continues his sermon.  The portion of the sermon in Chapter 9 is one of the most powerful sermons in the Book of Mormon. 

Chapter 9

Jews shall be gathered in all their lands of promise—Atonement ransoms man from the fall—The bodies of the dead shall come forth from the grave, and their spirits from hell and from paradise—They shall be judged—Atonement saves from death, hell, the devil, and endless torment—The righteous to be saved in the kingdom of God—Penalties for sins set forth—The Holy One of Israel is the keeper of the gate. About 559–545 B.C.

Jacob read from Isaiah so the Nephites would know about the covenants the Lord made with the house of Israel.  They needed to understand that, even though they were separated from the main body, they were still a branch of the house.

John Lindquist and John Welch explain the purpose of Jacob’s sermon.

Jacob's ensuing speech is a covenant speech: "I have read these things that ye might know concerning the covenants of the Lord" (2 Nephi 9:1). Jacob's purpose was to purify the people, to shake his garments of all iniquities and have his people turn away from sin (see 2 Nephi 9:44-45), to motivate them to act for themselves—"to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life" (2 Nephi 10:23). His words compare closely with the covenant text of Joshua 24, where the Israelites were given the same choice as they established their new religious and social order under Joshua.[1]

The Lord spoke to the Jews through his prophets throughout history.  This will continue until they day they are “restored to the true church and fold of God” (2 Nephi 9:2).  At that day, they will again be gathered and establish their lands of promise.

Hugh Nibley explains Jacob’s role and contribution to the words of the Lord.

Since all the prophets tell the same story (2 Nephi 9:2), any prophet is free to contribute anything to the written record that will make that message clear and intelligible. The principle is illustrated throughout the Book of Mormon and indeed by the very existence of the book itself—a book that shocked the world with its revolutionary concept of scripture as an open-ended production susceptible to the errors of men and amenable to correction by the spirit of prophecy.[2]

Why does Jacob speak the words?  That they may rejoice because of the blessings their children will receive from the Lord.  In Psalms, David wrote:

Lift up your heads, O ye generations of Jacob; and be ye lifted up; and the Lord strong and mighty; the Lord mighty in battle, who is the king of glory, shall establish you forever.

And he will roll away the heavens; and will come down to redeem his people; to make you an everlasting name; to establish you upon his everlasting rock.

Lift up your heads, O ye generations of Jacob; lift up your heads, ye everlasting generations, and the Lord of hosts, the king of kings;

Even the king of glory shall come unto you; and shall redeem his people, and shall establish them in righteousness. Selah.

Psalms 24:7-10 (Joseph Smith Translation in bold)

The day will come, Jacob says, when our flesh will decay and die; yet, in our bodies we will see God.  In spite of all that happened to him, Job would testify, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:26). 

When confronting Zeezrom, Amulek would tell him:

Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that ^ball shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.

Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.

The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt.

Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.

Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body.  I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.

Alma 11:41 - 45

Samuel the Lamanite taught that Christ must die for there to be salvation.  His death would bring forth the resurrection and bring us into the presence of God.  The resurrection saves all mankind from the spiritual death we suffered through the fall of Adam.  Christ will bring all men back into the presence of God.  Whoever does not repent, however, will suffer a second death, a spiritual death.  They will be forever cutoff from God (see Helaman 14:15-18).

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[1] Kingship and Temple in 2 Nephi 5-10, John M. Lundquist, and John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 22, 2013.

[2] The Bible in the Book of Mormon, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 22, 2013.

2 Nephi 6

Nephi shares a sermon he directed Jacob to give to the Nephites.

Chapter 6

Jacob recounts Jewish history: Their Babylonian captivity and return; the ministry and crucifixion of the Holy One of Israel; the help received from the gentiles; and their Latter-day restoration when they believe in the Messiah. About 559–545 B.C.

Nephi gave Jacob a command to preach to Nephites, giving him the topic of Isaiah 50 and 51.  This was not the first time Jacob had preached to the Nephites.  “[Y]ou know I have spoken unto you exceedingly many things” (2 Nephi 6:2). 

Jacob begins by declaring his authority to preach to the people.  “I, Jacob, having been called of God, and ordained after the manner of his holy order, and having been consecrated by my brother Nephi” (2 Nephi 6:2).  Then, he adds an interesting statement about Nephi’s kingship.  He said they looked to Nephi “as a king or a protector, and on whom ye depend for safety” (2 Nephi 6:2).  According to Noel Reynolds, Jacob tells us Nephi was not a king.

Another sentence that might seem to be an indication of Nephi's kingship occurs in Jacob's first recorded address to the Nephites. Jacob provides bona fides for his sermonizing by citing his own ordination and his "having been consecrated by ... Nephi, unto whom ye look as a king or a protector, and on whom ye depend for safety" (2 Nephi 6:2). But even here Jacob does not say Nephi was king, only that he was looked upon as a king. The ambiguity of the characterization is further emphasized by Jacob's provision of an alternate characterization—"or a protector."[1]

Jacob preaches to them for the welfare of their souls.  He has, with all diligence, taught them the words of Lehi and “concerning all things which are written from the creation of the world” (2 Nephi 6:3).

Jacob tells them that, as they hear the words of Isaiah, that he spoke many things “which may be likened unto you, because year of the house of Israel” (2 Nephi 6:5).  Here, he was following the example of Nephi – “did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning” (1 Nephi 19:23).

At the beginning of his discourse, Jacob stated that he read to his people the words of Isaiah that "they may be likened unto you, for ye are the house of Israel" (2 Nephi 6:5). Today, the same advice could be given of Jacob's speech. Though separated by 2,600 years, we can liken his words to us and in so doing "cheer up" our hearts, remembering that, thanks to the Divine Warrior, we too "are free to act for ourselves."[2]

Jacob reads the following words of Isaiah:

Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their faces towards the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.

2 Nephi 6:6–7 (See also Isaiah 49:22-23)

Jacob added his testimony to that of Lehi that Jerusalem had been destroyed (see 2 Nephi 1:14).  Nephi would later add his testimony that he people had been carried captive into Jerusalem (see 2 Nephi 25:10).  But, the Jews will return to Jerusalem (2 Nephi 6:9).  The day would come when the Savior would appear to them, but they would reject him, scourging and crucifying him. 

The Jews will be scattered throughout the world as a consequence of their actions.  They will suffer afflictions and be hated by the people.  The day will then come that they will be brought to a knowledge of their Redeemer and gathered again “in the land of their inheritance” (2 Nephi 6:11).

The Lord will bless then gentiles if they repent and not fight against Zion.  Jacob was referring back to Nephi’s vision. 

AND it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—

And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.

And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.

For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him.

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish.

1 Nephi 14:1-5

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[1] Nephite Kingship Reconsidered. Noel B. Reynolds, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 20, 2013.

[2] "I Will Contend with Them That Contendeth with Thee": The Divine Warrior in Jacob's Speech of 2 Nephi 6-10, Daniel Belnap, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 20, 2013.

2 Nephi 5:26-34

Life in the land of Nephi is becoming normal.  One of the first things Nephi did was consecrates his brothers Jacob and Joseph to be priests over the land.

Consecration of priests is an essential part of the gospel.  Jacob would later tell us that he and Joseph “did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day” (Jacob 1:19). 

We see from Jacob’s words, they took their responsibility and trust seriously.

When Alma₁ established the church in Zarahemla, he consecrated priests.  Mormon tells us that “none received authority to preach or to teach except it were by him from God.  Therefore he consecrated all their priests and all their teachers; and none were consecrated except they were just men” (Mosiah 23:17). 

We see that the promises made to Jacob by Lehi came to pass.

Lehi further promised that Jacob's days "shall be spent in the service of thy God" (2 Nephi 2:3). Indeed, he and Joseph had been consecrated as priests and teachers by Nephi (2 Nephi 5:26). In both of his discourses, Jacob spoke of his ordination by Nephi (2 Nephi 6:2; Jacob 1:18) and of his role as a teacher (2 Nephi 9:44, 48; Jacob 1:17—19; 2:2—3; 4:1). Jacob was particularly qualified to serve in this capacity because, as Lehi noted, he had seen the glory of the Redeemer and knew of his ministry in the flesh and of the salvation he would bring (2 Nephi 2:3—4; cf. 11:3; Jacob 2:11).⁵  [1]

Things were going well and they were a happy society. 

Alan Goff explains how the separation of the family led to this level of happiness.

After breaking with his brothers, Nephi organizes his people and achieves a level of righteousness they were not able to attain before there were Lamanites and Nephites. He states that "it came to pass that we lived after the manner of happiness" (2 Nephi 5:27). This passage is alluded to at least three times. A later prophet named Nephi engages in nostalgia for that earlier time: "Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to iniquity" (Helaman 7:7).[2]

Hugh Nibley goes into detail explaining what Nephi meant.

We are told in 2 Nephi 5:27 that the people "lived after the manner of happiness." Does that mean in a world without change? Times and seasons, conveniences and techniques inevitably change, but there is something that does not need to change, and that is that state of mind we call happiness. Nephi's people made adjustments and did not depend on the adamantly immovable euphoria of such jubilant spirits as Pippi and Pollyanna; those moppets had a point—the irrepressible sprites made their own happiness. This point was not lost among the well-to-do who advised the unemployed and the hungry to rejoice in their adventurous situation and examples of life on the brink.[3]

Nephi tells us he is writing this part of the record thirty years after they departed from Jerusalem (or twenty-two years after they arrived in the Promised Land).  We don’t exactly when the family separated, but it was very early on. 

In 1 Nephi, Nephi tells us “I, Nephi, do not give the genealogy of my fathers in this part of my record; neither at any time shall I give it after upon these plates which I am writing; for it is given in the record which has been kept by my father; wherefore, I do not write it in this work” (1 Nephi 6:1). 

He expounds on that comment later. 

And now, as I have spoken concerning these plates, behold they are not the plates upon which I make a full account of the history of my people; for the plates upon which I make a full account of my people I have given the name of Nephi; wherefore, they are called the plates of Nephi, after mine own name; and these plates also are called the plates of Nephi.

Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people.

Upon the other plates should be engraven an account of the reign of the kings, and the wars and contentions of my people; wherefore these plates are for the more part of the ministry; and the other plates are for the more part of the reign of the kings and the wars and contentions of my people.

Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not.

1 Nephi 9:2 - 5

It is at this time that Nephi is commanded to make this second set of plates.  “[I]t came to pass that the Lord God said unto me: Make other plates; and thou shalt engraven many things upon them which are good in my sight, for the profit of thy people” (2 Nephi 5:30).

Nephi describes that he had made a record of the things that had occurring during their journey in the wilderness, prophesies, and other sacred things.  This record was kept before they arrived in the Promised Land.  This record is as much a historical account as it is a religious record.  (These plates would later become known as the large plates of Nephi.)

After he received the commandment from the Lord, he began to make his second set of plates.  (These plates would alter become known as the small plates of Nephi.)  This is the sacred record of the Nephites, with little history.[4]  The large plates contain genealogies as well as accounts of war and destruction. 

When the plates were passed on after his death, Nephi instructed Jacob to continue with the large plates as a history and the small plates be “the more sacred things that may be kept for the knowledge of my people”  (see 1 Nephi 19:1-6 for Nephi’s full explanation).

At the beginning of Jacob’s record, he tells reiterates the commandment Nephi gave him “that I should write upon these plates a few of the things which I considered to be most precious; that I should not touch, save it were lightly, concerning the history of this people which are called the people of Nephi” (for the full account, see Jacob 1:1-4).

Melvin Thorne and John Welch write:

Nephi made the small plates even later, after he had left the land of first inheritance and moved to the land of Nephi. The Lord instructed Nephi to make these plates so he could “engraven many things . . . which are good in my sight, for the profit of thy people” (2 Nephi 5:30). Thus the small plates should be understood as having been written after the death of Lehi, after the separation of Nephi from his brothers Laman and Lemuel, after the small Nephite party knew of the life-threatening animosity of the Lamanites against them, after Nephi knew that he would eventually accept the role of king, and after the temple of Nephi had been constructed.[5]

In verse 28, Nephi tells us thirty years have passed since they left Jerusalem.  Six verses later, he tells us forty years have passed.  Noel Reynolds writes:

It took Nephi ten years to write the first twenty-seven chapters (1 Nephi, plus the first five chapters of 2 Nephi). In 2 Nephi 5:34, he says, "Forty years had passed away." So Nephi gives us a time period in which this was written. He is looking backward. Nephi is already aware of the big contention that has developed between the Nephites and the Lamanites, and this is what he is dealing with in his record. This is not his journal being written by the campfire at the side of the trail as his family went through the Arabian Peninsula. This is something he is writing very carefully, very deliberately, thirty years later, looking back. He is using his first record as a resource and writing with very clear, mature, reflective purposes.[6]

Nephi makes one last historical observation in verse 34.  Over the ten years Nephi was making the small plates, “we had already had wars and contentions with our brethren.”  With this comment, Nephi ends historical observations.  The remainder on 2 Nephi is devoted to sacred things as well as things that we “good in [Nephi’s] sight, for the profit of [his] people.”

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[1] The Influence of Lehi's Admonitions on the Teachings of His Son Jacob, John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 17, 2013.

[2] Positivism and the Priority of Ideology in Mosiah-First Theories of Book of Mormon Production, Alan Goff, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 17, 2013.

[3] Change out of Control, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 17, 2013.

[4] The verses in 1 and 2 Nephi are around 15% historical in nature and 85% religious in nature.

[5] When Did Nephi Write the Small Plates? Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s , Melvin J. Thorne, and John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 17, 2013.

[6] Book of Mormon, Teachings, Noel B. Reynolds, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 17, 2013.

2 Nephi 21-25, Part II

In the first post, we looked at the curse that was placed upon the Lamanites.  That curse was being cutoff from the presence of the Lord.  Other things occurred, including a skin of blackness.  But, that was not a part of the curse; that was one of the many consequences of the curse.

How does the Book of Mormon itself treat the Lamanites?  You would expect a racist book to minimize them and tear them down whenever possible.  To determine if the Book of Mormon is racist, we need to understand how the Lamanites were treated in the Book.

From the beginning of the Book of Mormon, we learn the Lamanites will “be a scourge unto [Nephi’s] seed, to stir them up in the way of remembrance” (1 Nephi 2:24).  We also read the Lamanites will be a scourge to the Nephites in 2 Nephi 5:25 and Jacob 3:3.  We must keep in mind that the Lamanites will be this scourge only when the Nephites have become a wicked people. 

Of course, there was hatred towards the Lamanites by many of the Nephites.  We would expect this record to portray them in a negative light.

Shortly after Nephi’s death, Jacob was preaching to the Nephites.  Even this early in their history, the Nephites had turned away from God.  The Nephites had more than one wife and concubines.  Jacob uses the Lamanites as his example.  You hate the Lamanites “because of their filthiness and the cursing which hath come upon their skins” (Jacob 3:5).  Jacob then informs the people that the Lamanites are more righteous than the Nephites. 

They only have one wife and no concubines.  Husband and wives love each other.  They love their children.  While the Lamanites hate the Nephites, they do so “because of the iniquity of their fathers” (Jacob 3:7).  In fact, they are held in higher esteem by the Lord.  Unless the Nephites repent, “[the Lamanites] skin will be whiter than yours when ye shall be brought before the throne of God” (Jacob 3:8).  (For a full account of Jacob’s words, see Jacob 3:5-9.)

Towards the end of Jacob’s life, “many means were devised to reclaim and restore the Lamanites to the knowledge of the truth” (Jacob 7:24).  It wasn’t successful, but the effort was made. 

When Jacob’s son, Enos, wrestled with the Lord in prayer, part of his prayer dealt with the Lamanites (see Enos 1:11-20).  He desired “that if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm, that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation—“ (Enos 1:13). 

The missionary effort to the Lamanites continued during the time of Enos; however, “our labors were vain; their hatred was fixed … and they were continually seeking to destroy us” (Enos 1:20).

Enos’s son, Jarom, tells us that the small plates of Nephi “are written for the intent of the benefit of our brethren the Lamanites” (Jarom 1:2).

Why was their so much hatred between the Lamanites and Nephites?  A Nephite, Zeniff, presents the Lamanite perspective (see Mosiah 10:12-17). 

He lists the following traditions that had been passed down to each generation:

• They were driven out of Jerusalem because of the inequities of their fathers (v. 12).
• They were wronged in the wilderness and while crossing the sea (v. 12).
• They were wronged in the Promised Land by Nephi (v. 13).
• They were angry because they claimed Nephi had taken the right to rule out of the hands of Laman and Lemuel (v. 15).
• When Nephi departed into the wilderness, he robbed Laman and Lemuel by taking the brass plates with him.

Zeniff, a Nephite, gives us a fair and objective look at the Lamanite perspective.

When Mosiah stepped down as king, none of his sons would accept the kingdom.  These royal sons “thought upon the Lamanites, who were their brethren, of their sinful and polluted state, they were filled with pain and anguish for the welfare of their souls” (Mosiah 25:11). 

The sons of Mosiah asked their father to allow them and their group to preach the word of God to the Lamanites.  “[T]hey were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble” (Mosiah 28:3).

They were allowed to preach to the Lamanites.  The account of their amazing missionary efforts is found in Alma 17-26. 

Alma₂ would use the Lamanites as an example in his teachings.  For example, he taught the Nephites that ” here are many promises which are extended to the Lamanites; for it is because of the traditions of their fathers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their existence in the land” (Alma 9:16).

During their missionary efforts, the sons of Mosiah converted a group of Lamanites who covenanted with the Lord that they would not take up arms against their enemies lest they return to their bloodthirsty ways.  Many of these faithful Lamanites did suffer death rather than take up arms again.  These people were known as the Anti-Nephi-Lehis (later Ammonites). 

It was soon realized that they needed to return to the land of Zarahemla with the Ammonites and ask for Nephite protection.  The Ammonites feared the Nephites would see them as enemies and kill them, but they placed their faith in the sons of Mosiah.

The chief judge heard the request and went to the people asking them what they would do.  “And it came to pass that the voice of the people came, saying: Behold, we will give up the land of Jershon … and this land Jershon is the land which we will give unto our brethren for an inheritance. And behold, we will set our armies between the land Jershon and the land Nephi, that we may protect our brethren in the land Jershon; and this we do for our brethren, on account of their fear to take up arms against their brethren lest they should commit sin; and this their great fear came because of their sore repentance which they had, on account of their many murders and their awful wickedness” (Alma 27:22-23). 

Nephi₂ and Lehi₃ preached to the Lamanites, baptizing 8,000 Lamanites.  As the Lamanites were converted, they laid down their weapons of war and rejected the traditions of their fathers. (Helaman 5:18 – 19; 50-51).

One of the greatest prophets in the Book of Mormon shows up in Helaman 13-15.  This prophet was Samuel, the Lamanite.

Here are other references about the Lamanites.

• Helaman 6:1 - 4
• Helaman 6:20
• Helaman 6:34 - 37
• Helaman 7:23 - 24
• 3 Nephi 2:11 - 14
• 3 Nephi 10:18
• Moroni 1:4
• Moroni 10:1

 There are many accounts of wars and problems with the Lamanites.  Yet, the Nephites were taught that the Lord would be more understanding of the Lamanites because of the traditions of their fathers.  The Lord always expected more from the Nephites because they had the gospel.  

You would think if the Lamanites were nothing more than evil villains, the Book of Mormon would constantly condemn them.  Yet, this doesn’t happen.  One of the purposes the Book of Mormon record was preserved was to go to the descendants of the Lamanites to bring them to Christ and the gospel. 

No, the Book of Mormon is not a racist Book.  The critics claim fails badly.  It is shown to be nothing more the political correctness at its worst.

2 Nephi 5:21-25

The modern definition of 'racist' is someone who's winning an argument with a liberal.

-Peter Brimelow

Laman and Lemuel had been warned about the consequences that would fall on them if they rejected the word of the Lord.  Nephi was told, “in that day that [your brethren] shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also” (1 Nephi 2:23).

Lehi warned them:

My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow from time to time, for I have feared, lest for the hardness of your hearts the Lord your God should come out in the fulness of his wrath upon you, that ye be cut off and destroyed forever;

Or, that a cursing should come upon you for the space of many generations; and ye are visited by sword, and by famine, and are hated, and are led according to the will and captivity of the devil.

And he hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;

That ye may not be cursed with a sore cursing; and also, that ye may not incur the displeasure of a just God upon you, unto the destruction, yea, the eternal destruction of both soul and body.

2 Nephi 1:17-18; 20 - 22

After Lehi’s death, Laman, Lemuel, and their followers became a serious threat to the safety of Nephi and his followers.  This time, their threats were serious enough that the Lord told Nephi to take those that would follow him and flee for their safety.  This Nephi did. 

Laman, Lemuel, and their followers refused to accept the words of Lehi.  Thus, the promised curse came upon them.

Critics of the Book of Mormon have accused the Book of Mormon of being a racist record because of the curse placed upon the Lamanites.  Is this true?  When all else fails, look at the record.

The claims of the critics begs the question – “What was the curse?”  According to the record, we learn the curse is:

• Being cut off from the presence of the Lord (see 2 Nephi 1:17-18; 20-22).  This is the ultimate curse any one could face.  Those cut off from the Lord fall under the eternal influence of the devil.
• Their hearts had become “like unto a flint.”  Even though they had been cut off from the presence of the Lord, they still could have repented and returned to that presence.  They hardened their hearts to the point where the Spirit could not communicate with their sole.
• The Lamanites became an idle people.  Rather than settle down and farm, they hunted wild beasts.  We seldom read of large Lamanite societies doing much farming.
• They were full of mischief and subtlety.  The Lamanites would cause trouble for the Nephites.  They would damage crops, steal animals, and disturb the Nephites.  They became crafty and devious.  They would operate in ways that harmed the Nephites.

These are the curses placed upon the Lamanites.

So, was the “skin of blackness” a part of the curse.  It’s clear from Nephi’s writing it was not.  The “skin of blackness” was to identify those that fell under the curse.  The Nephites would not want to intermingle with them.  If they did, the curse would fall upon them. 

We see that the dark skin was not a part of the curse.  Does having the bad guys having a darker skin indicate racism?  Understanding the record clearly contradicts this claim.

Steven Olsen writes:

One of the persistent contrasts between the Nephites and Lamanites concerns physical appearance. While Nephites are described as "fair," "white," and "delightsome," Lamanites are described as being "black," "dark," and "loathsome" (1 Nephi 12:23; 13:15; 2 Nephi 5:21-22). While these descriptors may be understood in an empirical sense (i.e., describing the physical appearance of their bodies), the Book of Mormon also allows for a metaphorical interpretation (i.e., symbolizing the spiritual condition of their souls).

Nephi's own account introduces the possibility of a metaphorical interpretation. In the same context as his reference to the curse of a "skin of blackness," Nephi uses human anatomy in a metaphorical sense to further describe the Lamanites' wicked condition: "because of their iniquity . . . they had hardened their hearts . . . that they had become like unto a flint" (2 Nephi 5:21). Elsewhere, Nephi describes the spiritual transformation of Lehi's latter-day descendants in terms of another anatomical metaphor. "And then they shall rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales 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 delightsome people" (2 Nephi 30:6).[1]

Hugh Nibley points out that Mormon prays for the Lamanites to again become a delightsome people (Words of Mormon 1:8, Mormon 5:17).  Then he tells us Nephi wrote that, as they Jews accept Christ, they will become a “delightsome people” (2 Nephi 30:7).  Nibley then asks (about the Jews), “Are they black?”[2]

Richard L. Bushman presents a different way to look at the dark skin.

The purpose of the sign accompanying the curse, the dark skin, was to prevent the Nephites from mixing with the Lamanites … But in a later incident, we learn more about the inner meaning of the curse. In the time of Alma a group of dissident Nephites called Amlicites joined the Lamanites in an attack on the Nephites. The Amlicites marked their foreheads with red paint to distinguish friends from enemies in battle. The marking led Mormon (presumably the editor of Alma's records) to … [explain] the reason why the Lord did not wish the Lamanites and Nephites to mix. It was not because of their contrasting skin colors … At issue was the story of their founding, deeply embedded as it was in Lamanite culture. The danger was not a mixture of races or skin colors but a mixture of false traditions with true ones. Mormon said the very identity of the Nephites lay in their acceptance of the true history of origins.[3]

Hugh Nibley explains how skin color was a part of the Arab tradition. 

With the Arabs, to be white of countenance is to be blessed and to be black of countenance is to be cursed … And what of Lehi's people? It is most significant that the curse against the Lamanites is the very same as that commonly held in the East to blight the sons of Ishmael, who appear to the light-skinned people of the towns as "a dark and loathsome, and a filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations, . . . an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety," etc. (1 Nephi 12:23; 2 Nephi 5:24). It is noteworthy that all the descendants of the Book of Mormon Ishmael fall under the curse (Alma 3:7), as if their Bedouin ancestry predisposed them to it. The Book of Mormon always mentions the curse of the dark skin in connection with and as part of a larger picture: "After they had dwindled in unbelief they became a dark, and loathsome, and a filthy people," etc. "Because of the cursing which was upon them they did become an idle people . . . and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey" (2 Nephi 5:24). The statement that "God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them" (2 Nephi 5:21) describes the result, not the method, which is described elsewhere.[4]

In the next post, we’ll examine the attitude of the Nephites towards the Lamanites.

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[1] The Covenant of the Chosen People: The Spiritual Foundations of Ethnic Identity in the Book of Mormon, Steven L. Olsen, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 13, 2013.

[2] "Forever Tentative…" Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 13, 2013.

[3] The Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History, Richard L. Bushman, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, August 13, 2013.

[4] Desert Ways and Places, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 13, 2013.