And now I, Nephi,
cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn
because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness
of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge,
when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.
And now, my beloved
brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me
that I must speak concerning this thing.
For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye
would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray,
but teacheth him that he must not pray.
But behold, I say unto
you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing
unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name
of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy
performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.
2 Nephi 32:7-9
Nephi has been writing the word of the Lord as it was
revealed to him. But he writes he “cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine
utterance” (2 Nephi 32:7).
He mourns the future because of the unbelief, wickedness,
ignorance, and stiffneckedness of mankind.
God has promised us knowledge, yet they will not search for that
knowledge. They won’t understand the
knowledge that Lord will give to us, in plainness. Peter dealt with this attitude. “For
this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were
of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water” (2 Peter 3:5).
Nephi speaks in plainness so we can understand his word and
the word of the Lord. “For my soul delighteth in plainness; for
after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding;
for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding”
(2 Nephi 31:3).
Alma2 also made it clear the word of the Lord was
given us in plain terms. “And they are made known unto us in plain
terms, that we may understand, that we cannot err; and this because of our
being wanderers in a strange land; therefore, we are thus highly favored, for
we have these glad tidings declared unto us in all parts of our vineyard” (Alma
13:23).
Hugh Nibley explains the importance of plainness in the Book
of Mormon.
If the Book of Mormon said only
what we wanted it to we wouldn't need it. But we do need it. It is written
"according to the plainness of the word of God" (Jacob 2:11),
"in plainness, even as plain as word can be" (2 Nephi 32:7). It needs
no handbook (not even this one) to explain its meaning. "I glory in
plainness," said Nephi (2 Nephi 33:6), "for my soul delighteth in
plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work, . . . for he
speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding"
(2 Nephi 31:3). So that leaves us pretty much without excuse.[1]
Nephi tells us we must listen to the Spirit that teaches us
to pray. We know we must pray; however,
the evil spirit teaches us not to
pray. His desire is to prevent us from
knowing the word of the Lord, of receiving a testimony of the truthfulness of
Nephi’s words.
Nephi’s brother, Jacob, also warned us against the works of
the devil. “BUT behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in
heart. Look unto God with firmness of
mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions,
and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your
destruction” (Jacob 3:1). He also
warned the Nephites, “remember the
awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of
yielding to the enticings of that cunning one.
Remember, to be carnally–minded is death, and to be spiritually–minded
is life eternal” (2 Nephi 9:39).
King Benjamin taught his people, “But, O my people, beware lest there shall arise contentions among you,
and ye list to obey the evil spirit, which was spoken of by my father Mosiah”
(Mosiah 2:32).
The Spirit of the Lord teaches us to pray. Nephi tells us we must pray always “that ye must not perform any thing unto the
Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of
Christ” (2 Nephi 32:9).
Alma1 taught the people to “admonish their brethren; and they were also admonished, every one by
the word of God, according to his sins, or to the sins which he had committed,
being commanded of God to pray without ceasing, and to give thanks in all
things” (Mosiah 26:39). Christ taught
the Nephites, “ye must always pray unto
the Father in my name” (3 Nephi 18:19).
Paul wrote to the Colossians, “whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).
Adam was taught by an angel to do all he does in the name of
Christ.
And
after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou
offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam
said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
And
then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of
the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
Wherefore,
thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent
and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.
Moses 5:6-8
If we pray to Christ,
“he will consecrate [our] performance …
that [it] may be for the welfare of [our] soul” (2 Nephi 32:9).
[1]
Prophecy
in the Book of Mormon: The Three Periods, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute,
accessed February 5, 2014.
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