Chapter 31
Nephi
tells why Christ was baptized—Men must follow Christ, be baptized, receive the Holy
Ghost, and endure to the end to be saved—Repentance and baptism are the gate to
the strait and narrow path—Eternal life comes to those who keep the
commandments after baptism. About 559–545 B.C.
1
And now I, Nephi, make an end of my prophesying unto you, my beloved brethren.
And I cannot write but a few things, which I know must surely come to pass;
neither can I write but a few of the words of my brother Jacob.
2
Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it be a few words
which I must speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak
unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying.
3
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.
As Nephi writes his record, he informs us that he delights “in plainness.” How does God work with us? Nephi answers this question. “For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto en according to their language, unto understanding” (2 Nephi 31:3).
The
key to verse 3 is that God speaks to us in our own language, using terms,
idioms, concepts, etc. with which we would be familiar. Earlier, Nephi wrote:
“But
behold, I proceed with mine own prophecy, according to my plainness; in the
which I know that no man can err; nevertheless, in the days that the prophecies
of Isaiah shall be fulfilled men shall know of a surety, at the times when they
shall come to pass.
“Wherefore,
they are of worth unto the children of men, and he that supposeth that they are
not, unto them will I speak particularly, and confine the words unto mine own
people; for I know that they shall be of great worth unto them in the last
days; for in that day shall they understand them; wherefore, for their good
have I written them” (2 Nephi 25:7-8).
Alma2
also made the same point when contending with Zeezrom.
“Yea,
and the voice of the Lord, by the mouth of angels, doth declare it unto all
nations; yea, doth declare it, that they may have glad tidings of great joy;
yea, and he doth sound these glad tidings among all his people, yea, even to
them that are scattered abroad upon the face of the earth; wherefore they have
come unto us.
“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 13:22-23).
Moroni
testified that he had seen Christ. “And
then shall ye know that I have seen Jesus, and that he hath talked with me face
to face, and that he told me in plain humility, even as a man telleth another
in mine own language, concerning these things;” (Ether 12:39).
High
Nibley explains:
“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]
Mark
Alan Wright discusses the importance of language and how the Lord deals with
us.
“Language
is not limited to the words we use; it also entails signs, symbols, and bodily
gestures that are imbued with meaning by the cultures that produced
them. As with spoken language, symbolic and gestural languages are
culturally specific and can be fully understood only by those entrenched within
that particular culture. The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi appears to have
understood this concept and noted that the Lord ‘speaketh unto men according to
their language, unto their understanding’ (2 Nephi 31:3). This is echoed in
modern revelation, as Doctrine and Covenants 1:24 declares: ‘Behold, I am God
and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants
in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to
understanding.’ More recently, the late LDS apostle Marion G. Romney
reaffirmed, ‘Revelation comes to men in an unlimited number of ways.’”[2]
I
remember the experience I had when I first prayed about the Book of
Mormon. I was 14 years old, studying the
Book of Mormon in Seminary. I prayed and
waited for an answer. I didn’t expect a
vision, or anything like that. Still, I
expected there might be whistles and bells, and something very special. Nothing came.
I received no answer. Looking
back, it’s not surprising that I didn’t get an answer. That’s not the way the Lord works.
Of
course, I was disappointed. Why wouldn’t
the Lord answer my prayer? Was I too
young? Why? I realize now there were probably two
reasons. The first was I wasn’t
ready. I hadn’t spent much time actually
studying the Book of Mormon. I just
wanted an answer. The second reason is
that I wouldn’t have recognized anything short of something spectacular as an
answer.
As
I’ve grown and learned more about the ways of the Lord. Now I realize that random thoughts or stray
idea; recalling something at a useful time are answers. A calm, peaceful feeling is answer.
The
Lord works with me using “language” I would understand. The promise Nephi makes has been fulfilled in
my life.
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