2 Nephi 26:1-9

Chapter 26

Christ shall minister to the Nephites—Nephi foresees the destruction of his people—They shall speak from the dust—The gentiles shall build up false churches and secret combinations—The Lord forbids men to practice priestcrafts. About 559–545 B.C.

¹ AND after Christ shall have risen from the dead he shall show himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do. ² For behold, I say unto you that I have beheld that many generations shall pass away, and there shall be great wars and contentions among my people. ³ And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them.

2 Nephi 26:1-3 (Emphasis mine)

Nephi(1) continues his prophecies in Chapter 26.  After Christ’s death, he will visit the Nephites.  They will receive signs of both his birth and death.  That day will be great and terrible for the wicked.  They will perish because of their sins.  They have cast out the prophets and saints; they have stoned and slayed them and their blood will cry out against them. 

14  I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

John 10:14-16 (Emphasis mine)

We have been studying Nephi(1)’s prophecies.  His prophecies are an important part of Mormon’s abridgement.  Steven Olsen observes:

“In addition to using Nephi's prophecies as a model to structure his historical abridgment, Mormon seems also to have used Nephi's prophecies to define the corpus of Nephite prophecy for his abridgment. Of the hundreds of individual prophecies included in the Book of Mormon, nearly all find their initial expression in Nephi's small plates.  Nephi's prophecies are further reiterated, refined, enlarged, and detailed in Mormon's and Moroni's subsequent narratives. Not surprisingly, the prophecies anticipating Christ's ministry, which find greatest attention in Nephi's record, are those that are most often repeated in Mormon's abridgment.” [1] (Emphasis mine)

⁴ Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, for they shall be as stubble.  ⁵ And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder.  ⁶ And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions, for the fire of the anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them, and they shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall consume them, saith the Lord of Hosts.

2 Nephi 26:4-6 (Emphasis mine)

Nephi(1) continues to prophesy of what will happen when Christ appears to the Nephites.  The wicked will suffer for what they have done.  Some things that will occur:

• Shall be swallowed by the Earth.
• Mountains shall cover them.
• Whirlwinds shall carry them away.
• There will be thunder and lightning.
• There will be earthquakes.
• There will be all manner of destruction.

If you read 3 Nephi 8, you learn that all these things occurred and the wicked suffered for their sins.

⁷ O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people!  For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just.  ⁸ But behold, the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not, but look forward unto Christ with steadfastness for the signs which are given, notwithstanding all persecution—behold, they are they which shall not perish.  ⁹ But the Son of righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away, and many of the fourth generation shall have passed away in righteousness.

2 Nephi 26:7-9 (Emphasis mine)

Nephi(1) suffers because of the loss of his people; even so, he cries to the Lord, “They ways are just.”  While the wicked suffer, the righteous will be spared.  They followed the prophets, accepted and looked forward to the mission of Christ, and withstood the persecution. 

Hugh Nibley comments on the wicked being burned as stubble. 

“It's interesting that every time it mentions this being consumed as stubble, [the righteous are mentioned]. That means by fire and completely—overburn. That's what it is. After the field has been cut, then you burn it over. That's the great overburn of the stubble. But the righteous are told they shall not perish. We are not told how; we have to leave that up to the Lord. The only concern with you is to be righteous; this is the point. Verse 9: ‘But the Son of righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away.’ “ [2] (Emphasis mine)

After Christ appears to them, and heals them, they will have almost four generations of peace and righteousness.

Stephen Ricks wrote about the expectation the Nephites had concerning the coming of Christ.

“The Book of Mormon, too, reveals an intense expectation of the coming of their Messiah (usually referred to in the Book of Mormon as Christ). The Nephites ‘look forward unto Christ [i.e., the Messiah] with steadfastness for the signs which are given’ (2 Nephi 26:8). Indeed, the prophets of the Book of Mormon even prophesy the year of Christ's birth: Nephi prophesies that Christ will be born ‘six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem’ (1 Nephi 10:4), while the mysterious Samuel the Lamanite tells the Nephites that he would be born in five years (Helaman 14:2).” [3] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Prophecy and History: Structuring the Abridgment of the Nephite Records, Steven L. Olsen, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 27, 2011.

[2] Lecture 21: 2 Nephi 25-28, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 27, 2011.

[3] The Book of Mormon and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Stephen D. Ricks, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 27, 2011.

Alma 16:18-21

18  Now those priests who did go forth among the people did preach against all lyings, and deceivings, and envyings, and strifes, and malice, and revilings, and stealing, robbing, plundering, murdering, committing adultery, and all manner of lasciviousness, crying that these things ought not so to be—

19  Holding forth things which must shortly come; yea, holding forth the coming of the Son of God, his sufferings and death, and also the resurrection of the dead.

20  And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come; and they were taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection; and this the people did hear with great joy and gladness.

21  And now after the church had been established throughout all the land—having got the victory over the devil, and the word of God being preached in its purity in all the land, and the Lord pouring out his blessings upon the people—thus ended the fourteenth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi.

Alma 16:18-21 (Emphasis mine)

The priests went out among the people, preaching against all forms of wickedness.  But, the highlight of their message was the coming of Christ, his sufferings, death, and resurrection.

They also told them that, after his resurrection, he would appear unto them.  That had to be exciting, the knowledge that the Savior of the world would appear to them. 

The church gained a major victory over the devil.  The people were righteous and the Lord poured out his blessing on the people.

I like the choice of words Mormon made.  The people didn’t just receive blessing from the Lord, the Lord poured them out upon them.  The pouring of blessings paints a vivid image about the workings of the Lord.

If I were to select the most important point in this set of scriptures, it would be the prophecy that Christ would come appear to the Nephites after his resurrection.  This was very important to the people. 

Hugh Nibley commented that:

“They naturally wanted to know since the coming of Christ was the big thing. Where would he come and when would he come? Will we get to see him? ‘And they were taught that he would appear unto them after his resurrection.’ Well, that satisfied them. He wouldn't appear to them here, but after the resurrection he would, they were told.” [1] (Emphasis mine)

Richard Dilworth Rust wrote:

“Righteous Nephite people anticipated two great events: the mortal birth and ministry of Jesus and his promised visit to the Nephites after his resurrection. Just as Nephite Saints knew the approximate time of Jesus's birth (e.g., through prophecies by Lehi and Samuel the Lamanite), so they knew in advance when and where the resurrected Savior would visit them in the New World. Those who gathered at the temple in Bountiful had long anticipated and prepared for their experience, having been taught that Jesus ‘would appear unto them after his resurrection’ (Alma 16:20). One can imagine a continuing heritage of anticipation among the faithful. For instance, Mormon connects some righteous members of the church described in Alma 16 with persons 112 years later who continued their ancestors' belief system and were carefully prepared in advance to be at the Bountiful Temple and meet the Savior when he came.” [2] (Emphasis mine)

Matthew Roper commented:

“Alma wants to prepare the people in his land, so that they will prepare their children for Christ's coming among them. So Alma appears to know that Christ will not come in his lifetime, but in the lifetime of at least some of the rising generation, information which, it is reasonable to assume, he learned from the records in his possession. So when Mormon states a few years earlier, ‘And many of the people did inquire concerning the place where the Son of God should come; and they were taught [why not by Alma who would already have known from the scriptures in his possession?] that he would appear unto them after his resurrection; and this the people did hear with joy and gladness’ (Alma 16:20).” [3] (Emphasis mine)

Richard Dilworth Rust writes about the victory over the devil as the church grew.

“… in Alma 16 the Nephites win a physical victory over the desolating Lamanites who have made incursions into the land of the Nephites. But there is another battle as well—the battle of righteousness. First, the wicked people of Ammonihah, who had imprisoned Alma and Amulek and burned the wives and children of their followers, are destroyed at the hands of the Lamanites; second, Alma and Amulek go forth to preach the word throughout all the land and get ‘the victory over the devil’‘ (Alma 16:21).” [4] (Emphasis mine)

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[1] Lecture 50: Alma 14-17, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed November 11, 2011.

[2] Letters (Richard Dilworth Rust), Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture: Volume - 20, Issue - 1, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed November 11, 2011.

[3] A More Perfect Priority? Matthew Roper, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed November 11, 2011.

[4] "Great Things the Lord Hath Done" - Epic Elements, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed November 11, 2011.