Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Lesson 9: 2 Nephi 11-25

Main Theme: "My Soul Delighteth in the Words of Isaiah"

Introduction

     •  There once was an LDS soldier who was sent off to war.  During a fire fight, he took a bullet in the chest and went down.  The medics immediately went over to check him out, but as they removed his jacket and shirt, they couldn't find a bullet wound anywhere on him.  Checking his jacket pocket they found a serviceman's edition of the Book of Mormon with the bullet embedded in it.  Amazed that a little book like that would stop a bullet, the serviceman simply replied, "That just goes to show that nothing can get through 2 Nephi."

     •  Joking aside, 2 Nephi is notoriously difficult to read for one reason: Isaiah

     • Elder Packer has even suggested merely skimming through the Isaiah chapters until you get back to the plain teachings of Nephi

     •  If you are willing to put in the time and effort, you can come to understand and appreciate why Nephi would quote so much from Isaiah

Why Isaiah?

     •  Why is Isaiah so difficult to understand?

          •  It is written in a poetic style, and poetry in general can be very hard to understand

          •  Poetry is filled with imagery and allusions

          •  Poetry is usually dense with meaning and must be understood on many different levels

          •  Living in a different time and culture, it seems to us to be written in code

          •  Requires the Spirit to correctly interpret (2 Nephi 25:4)

     •  Despite its difficulties, why did Nephi still believe it was important to preserve the words of Isaiah?

          •  To "more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord" (1 Nephi 19:23)

          •  To provide another witness of Jesus Christ (2 Nephi 11:2-4)

          •  To help us rejoice (2 Nephi 11:5-6, 8)

          •  To reveal God's judgments (2 Nephi 25:3)

How Isaiah Fits into 2 Nephi

     •  After Nephi has recorded the establishment of the land of his people, he turns to recording three witnesses of Christ and His dealings with mankind (2 Nephi 11:2-3)

          •  He starts with the teachings of his brother Jacob (2 Nephi 6-10)

          •  He then turns to the writings of Isaiah (2 Nephi 12-24)

          •  He finishes with his own testimony (2 Nephi 25-33)

     •  Jacob not only spoke of how the atonement applies to us individually (2 Nephi 9) but how it also applies to Israel as a people (2 Nephi 10)

     •  Isaiah prophesies about the Lord's dealings with the world generally, and the people of Israel specifically

          •  2 Nephi 12—The Grand Overview

               •  The triumph and glory of the Lord on earth (2 Nephi 12:2-5)

               •  The current situation in the world (2 Nephi 12:6-12)

               •  The Lord to cleanse the world (2 Nephi 12:13-22)

          •  2 Nephi 13-15—Judah and Israel as Examples

               •  Judah's apostasy, pride, cleansing, and redemption (2 Nephi 13; 14)

               •  Israel to be broken and scattered, but then restored (2 Nephi 15)

          •  2 Nephi 16—Isaiah's call as a prophet

          •  2 Nephi 17-22—Israel to be destroyed, then redeemed by the Lord

               •  Israel to be destroyed by Assyria, but Judah spared (2 Nephi 17; 18)

               •  As a sign that God is in control, a virgin to give birth to a son (2 Nephi 17:14-16)

               •  The Lord to be a light to a darkened world (2 Nephi 19)

               •  Assyria to be destroyed for its pride (2 Nephi 20)

               •  The gathering of Israel and the reign of the Lord (2 Nephi 21; 22)

          •  2 Nephi 23-24—The fate of Babylon and the triumph of the Savior over Lucifer

               •  Destruction of the wicked of the world (Babylon) (2 Nephi 23)

               •  The fall of Lucifer and the triumph of the Savior (2 Nephi 24)

     •  Nephi describes the destruction of the Jews and their eventual restoration (2 Nephi 25:9-19)

          •  Jews to return from the Babylonian exile (2 Nephi 25:11)

          •  Christ to be born among the Jews (2 Nephi 25:12-13)

          •  Jews to be destroyed and scattered again (2 Nephi 25:14-15)

          •  When the Jews come to accept Jesus as the Christ, they will be restored (2 Nephi 25:16-18)

     •  Just as the destruction of the nations of Israel and Judah was true, so is their eventual redemption

How Isaiah Applies to Us Today

     •  Even though Isaiah lived a long time ago and wrote specifically to a different people, much of his writings still directly apply to us today

     •  Temples (2 Nephi 12:2-3; 14:6)

          •  God's laws and ordinances are found in the temple (2 Nephi 12:3)

          •  Temples serve as a place of refuge (2 Nephi 14:6)

     •  An ensign to the nations (2 Nephi 15:26; 21:12)

          •  An ensign is a banner of flag—it's used to rally people to a certain place at a certain time

          •  The Church today is to serve as an ensign (D&C 64:41-43; 105:39; 115:4-6)

     •  The gathering of Israel (2 Nephi 20:20-21)

          •  A major purpose for missionary work (D&C 110:11)

Nephi's Testimony of Christ (2 Nephi 25:20-30)

     •  Nephi glorifies in Christ just as Isaiah did (see 2 Nephi 22)

     •  Christ is the only name by which we can be saved (2 Nephi 25:20)

     •  After all we can do, it is only by the grace of Christ that we can be saved (2 Nephi 25:23)

     •  Preaching, teaching, and writing are all to bring people to Christ (2 Nephi 25:23, 26)

     •  The only true path for salvation is to believe in Christ (2 Nephi 25:28)

     •  The necessity to worship Christ with all our might, mind, strength, and whole soul (2 Nephi 25:29)

Conclusion

     •  Isaiah is a powerful witness of Christ and how it is necessary to come to Him

     •  It is our responsibility and privilege to participate in the Lord's long promised gathering of Israel

     •  May the central goal of everything we do be to bring people to Christ