For Latter-day Saints, it is acceptable to say both that there is one God, and that there is a plurality of Gods, depending on the context. [14] The first explanation features the example of the Lamb of God who showed all mankind “the straitness of the path and the narrowness of the gate by which they should enter” by humbling himself before the Father and by witnessing unto the Father by baptism that he would keep his commandments—after which the Father sent the Holy Ghost to him in the form of a dove (vv. Normally, Jesus Christ, as the Mediator, talks to the Prophets. Compare Lehi’s account in 1 Nephi 10:7–10 with Nephi’s account in 1 Nephi 11:27. 2 Nephi 27. 2 Nephi 6. But it lieth in a straight course before him. The sermon itself is presented in formally delimited sections using the technique of inclusio or envelope structure, by which an ancient writer could mark off sections of a text by repeating at the end of the passage a phrase or statement from the beginning of the passage. 2 Nephi 31 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. For an explanation of how the Book of Mormon writers use the terms “gospel” and “doctrine” of Christ interchangeably, see Noel B. Reynolds, “This Is the Way,” Religious Educator 14, no. “And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. 3. 2 Nephi 28. Jacob. 2 Nephi 6. Another advantage of the essay approach is that it frees me from the scholarly requirement of documenting the connections between my assertions and the writings of others. [28]. Second Nephi 31 is also the earliest comprehensive statement of the gospel message in the Book of Mormon—even though several previous passages make it clear that Lehi, Nephi, and Jacob knew the gospel—as it clearly sets forth all six elements of that message as it is recognized in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today, including: These same six elements are included in both of the other Book of Mormon presentations of the gospel or doctrine of Christ that were given by Christ himself.[9]. The essential elements of repentance are (1) humbling oneself before the Father, and (2) covenanting to obey him forever after. See Reynolds, “This Is the Way,” 79–91. . This section is the same as chapter 13 from the 1830 edition. 2 Nephi 31:20. [9]. A former stake, mission, and temple president, he continues here a series of studies on the various elements of the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the Book of Mormon prophets. 2 Nephi 26:31 — What Does Nephi Mean When He Says We Cannot Labor for Money? This was followed in due time by baptism and the offering of a sacrifice. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. The fact that baptism was practiced in ancient Israel might help explain why the Savior was not criticized by the orthodox Jewish people when He was baptized. The repeated emphasis on “plainness” in these passages will now be examined to show how these references play an important role in Nephi’s framing of that text. Scot . [W. Cleon Skousen, Treasures from the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2 Nephi 5. shall go from generation to generation as long as the earth shall stand;” providing for us one example of the promises alluded to by the Lord in the 1828 revelation to Joseph Smith as described above (vv. The Lord’s perspective on the Book of Mormon clearly describes it as a vehicle for restoring the fulness of the gospel and the plain and precious things that have been lost from the Bible. 2-8. 1. His brother Jacob seems to have the same image in mind when he says, “The way for man is narrow. 2 Nephi 2:4 The way is prepared from the fall of man (Illustration #1): He Offereth Himself unto Those with a Broken Heart. [20]. Jesus himself will come to the righteous Nephites after the wicked have been destroyed during the cataclysmic events attending his death. All men have been promised by the Father from the beginning that if they would repent and accept baptism sincerely, they would receive the Holy Ghost and the remission of sins. But all this is only a beginning, for the new convert has only entered into “this straight and narrow path which leads to eternal life” (v. 18). the [baptism] is only valid when performed by immersion in a natural fountain or stream or in a properly constructed [vessel]. And the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel” (2 Nephi 9:41). Alma. , ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul” (v.29). . . 2 Nephi 25. Further, they must continually exhibit this same “steadfastness in Christ” as they “press forward” and “endure to the end” (v. 20). Explain to students that the scriptures they have read in 2 Nephi 31 contain the essence of the everlasting gospel, which Heavenly Father established before the creation of the world. [26] Later, Alma also appears to take his instruction on this point directly from Nephi as he uses faith, hope, and charity to characterize the lives of the faithful (Alma 7:24). Nephi’s Christocentric reading of Isaiah becomes explicit in his own writing. [28] It is the act of repentance that binds us to him as his “covenant people.”. The requirement of endurance to the end appears consistently in context with the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. But now Nephi goes beyond the prophecies reported by Lehi, Isaiah, and even himself regarding the futures of the Nephites, Lamanites, Jews, and Gentiles. (Joseph Smith, in TPJS 370). [Tyndale House, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Vol. 1 (Spring 1991): 123. [Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, pp. 2 Nephi 31:15-21 -- LeGrand Baker -- a sacred conversation In these verses Nephi tells us part of a sacred conversation between himself, the Father, and the Saviour. Nephi was then promised that these Nephite writings would eventually come forth to both Gentiles and Jews “upon all the face of the earth” and “make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them and shall make known to all kindreds, tongues, and people that the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father and the Savior of the world and that all men must come unto him or they cannot be saved” (vv. Quoting Joseph Smith, "I have always declared [that] . In the process of telling us what the Father and the Son taught him on the original occasion, Nephi presents the basic gospel message five times using a total of twenty-three short-hand statements of the gospel. In the fifth presentation (vv. Nephi quotes the voice of the Son restating this promise: “He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me” (v. 12). Jarom. The Jewish Encyclopedia indicates that baptism was a common practice in ancient Israel: "baptism was practiced in ancient Judaism (Hasidic or Essene), first as a means of penitence . We are covering 2 Nephi 31-33 this week. For thus hath the Lord commanded me” (2 Nephi 33:11 and 15). . [Barry Robert Bickmore, Restoring the Ancient Church: Joseph Smith & Early Christianity. This chapter deals mainly with prophecies of the latter-day restoration or gathering of Israel both in the New World and in the Old World. Concerning the mode of baptism, the. See the documentation in 1999 of how Book of Mormon study and use came into its own among Latter-day Saints after the introduction of the correlated curriculum in 1972. concerning the doctrine of Christ”, The second section of Nephi’s final sermon, the focus of this essay, is also marked off as an inclusio by Nephi’s two references to “the doctrine of Christ” (2 Nephi 31:2 and 21). 3 Nephi. He or she must now “press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ and endure to the end,” in order to receive eternal life (v. 20). 2 Nephi 31: 13: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by … Continue reading 2 Nephi 31: 13 → 2 Nephi 15:1-2 A winepress (Illustration): An ancient winepress. While these chapters do contain some commentary on the prophecies of Isaiah, we soon notice that their principal content is based largely on what Nephi (and Lehi) had learned in that great vision given at the first camp in the wilderness. 2 Nephi 3. This was followed in due time by baptism and the offering of a sacrifice. I, under "Baptism"). But what exactly does it mean … Nephi quotes Father in Heaven who urges us “Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son” (2 Nephi 31:11). Let’s carefully look at 2 Nephi chapter 31. Rather than proceeding directly to a presentation of the basic gospel elements, Nephi begins with a question—why did the sinless Lamb of God need to be baptized in order “to fulfill all righteousness”? Receiving the promise of eternal life (2 Nephi 31:20). 2 Nephi 31:17 The phrase “repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins” is similar, to Mark 1:4. While space constraints will not allow exploration of all those connections, I will delineate below the basic structural features of this text. 2. Angela Crowell noted the following in her article entitled "Hebraisms in the Book of Mormon": The Prophetic Perfect is a common usage in the language of the prophets. . Second Nephi 31 is clearly the most authoritative and unfiltered statement of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Father anywhere in known scripture. Other evidence exists, in the scriptures and elsewhere, that baptism was also performed by other groups before the birth of Christ. We begin our journey by acting on faith and entering the sacred space. Several terms are used interchangeably to refer to the gospel of Jesus Christ, including “the doctrine of Christ,” “the way,” “the straight and narrow path,” and “the word.”. 2 Nephi 10. For the first demonstration of these six elements as definitional in these three presentations, see Noel B. Reynolds, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ as Taught by the Nephite Prophets,” BYU Studies 31, no. (John 14:26; see also Acts 13:2), Naturally, these propositions present a problem. Helaman. See 1 Nephi 15:14 and Jacob 7:6, where Nephi and Jacob respectively include explicitly interchangeable use of the two terms in their records. Nephi quotes each one of them three times! Are we done once we’ve entered the path? 11–12). (Joseph & Moses)] (Joseph & Moses)] According to Richard D. Anthony, somewhere along the line, somebody, be it scribe, translator, or mischief maker, did not want the world to have the "key of knowledge" even a "fulness of the scriptures." And only in this fifth formulation are all six gospel elements made explicit. For the baptism, each candidate was taken to "a pool, in which he stood up to his neck in water, while the great commandments of the Law were recited to him. (1) First, is that the Bible contains several strongly monotheistic statements. This passage may have served the Nephite dispensation in much the same way that Joseph Smith’s first vision has served this last dispensation by providing the highest possible authority for its central claims—including the prophetic claims of the first leader. [Daniel H. Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, , pp. 3 (2013): 82–83. In Jesus' great Intercessory Prayer (see John 17), He asked that His disciples would be made one in Him as He was one in the Father. the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; have they been shown unto me that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter" (2 Nephi 31:17). But is this chapter devoid of prophecy? Since 2005 the Church has officially recognized this warning and promise as an articulation of a fifth basic gospel principle.[15]. This year’s Mutual theme helps us see how we can move forward while standing firm. 2 Nephi 31. Jesus Christ is the Way to Eternal Life (2 Nephi 31-32) In 2 Nephi 31, we learn we need to follow Christ’s example and doctrine. Part of the Hebrew language was a style of writing called "prophetic perfect." See Noel B. Reynolds, “The Gospel of Jesus Christ as Taught by the Nephite Prophets,” BYU Studies 31, no. 2 Nephi 32. The prophet so transports his mind ahead that he describes a future event as if it had been already seen or heard by him. ^ 2 Nephi 28:32 The phrases “saith the Lord God of hosts!” is the same in Jeremiah 50:31, and “I shall lengthen” is the same in 1 Kings 3:14, and “I will be merciful” is the same in Hebrews 8:12. We also learn here that the covenant Nephi sees binding men to God is the covenant they make at the time they individually repent, turning to God and accepting the covenant he has offered to all men and women from the beginning. But none of the revelations given to him contain a similar account. . By taking this approach, I will be able to present a comprehensive interpretation of 2 Nephi 31 in a single paper and refer those desiring more detailed discussions of certain points to other readily available articles. See Noel B. Reynolds and Royal Skousen, “Was the Path Nephi Saw ‘Strait and Narrow’ or ‘Straight and Narrow?’” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 10, no. Nephi emphasizes with quintuple redundancy that the Father’s decision to send the baptized person the Holy Ghost depends on the sincerity of their repentance and baptismal witness: “If ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ by baptism, yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost” (v. 13; emphasis added). 2 Nephi 12. Alma. 2 Nephi 31:20 by LDS Scripture of the Day | posted in: Book of Mormon | 0 …Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. Church has officially 2 nephi 31 meaning this warning and promise as an articulation of a Fifth basic gospel.. 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