DAY 31 – II Nephi 3:1-50

CHAPTER 3

1 And now I, Nephi, speak concerning the prophecies of which my father hath spoken, concerning Joseph, who was carried into Egypt:
2 For behold, he truly prophesied concerning all his seed.
3 And the prophecies which he wrote, there are not many greater.
4 And he prophesied concerning us, and our future generations;
5 And they are written upon the plates of brass.
6 Wherefore, after my father had made an end of speaking concerning the prophecies of Joseph, he called the children of Laman, his sons, and his daughters, and said unto them,
7 Behold my sons, and my daughters, who are the sons and daughters of my first born, I would that ye should give ear unto my words:
8 For the Lord God hath said, That inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land;
9 And inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments, ye shall be cut off from my presence.
10 But behold, my sons and my daughters, I can not go down to my grave, save I should leave a blessing upon you:
11 For behold, I know that if ye are brought up in the way ye should go, ye will not depart from it.
12 Wherefore, if ye are cursed, behold, I leave my blessing upon you, that the cursing may be taken from you, and be answered upon the heads of your parents.
13 Wherefore, because of my blessing, the Lord God will not suffer that ye shall perish; wherefore, he will be merciful unto you, and unto your seed for ever.
14 And it came to pass that after my father had made an end of speaking to the sons and daughters of Laman, he caused the sons and daughters of Lemuel to be brought before him.
15 And he spake unto them, saying: Behold, my sons and my daughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my second son;
16 Behold, I leave unto you the same blessing, which I left unto the sons and daughters of Laman; wherefore, thou shalt not utterly be destroyed; but in the end thy seed shall be blessed.
17 And it came to pass that when my father had made an end of speaking unto them, behold, he spake unto the sons of Ishmael, yea, and even all his household.
18 And after he had made an end of speaking unto them, he spake unto Sam, saying:
19 Blessed art thou, and thy seed: for thou shalt inherit the land, like unto thy brother Nephi.
20 And thy seed shall be numbered with his seed;
21 And thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy seed like unto his seed; and thou shalt be blessed in all thy days.
22 And it came to pass after my father Lehi had spoken unto all his household, according to the feelings of his heart, and the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, he waxed old.
23 And it came to pass that he died, and was buried.
24 And it came to pass that not many days after his death, Laman and Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, were angry with me because of the admonitions of the Lord:
25 For I, Nephi, was constrained to speak unto them, according to his word.
26 For I had spake many things unto them, and also my father, before his death;
27 Many of which sayings, are written upon mine other plates: for a more history part are written upon mine other plates.
28 And upon these, I write the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass:
29 For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.
30 Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.
31 Nevertheless, the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth, O wretched man that I am; yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh.
32 My soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.
33 I am encompassed about because of the temptations and the sins which doth so easily beset me.
34 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.
35 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
36 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.
37 He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.
38 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night time.
39 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.
40 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceeding high mountains.
41 And mine eyes have beheld great things; yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.
42 O then, if I have seen so great things; if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men, hath visited me in so much mercy, why should my heart weep, and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?
43 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh?
44 Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart, to destroy my peace and afflict my soul?
45 Why am I angry because of mine enemy?
46 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin.
47 Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.
48 Do not anger again, because of mine enemies.
49 Do not slacken my strength, because of mine afflictions.
50 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say, O Lord, I will praise thee for ever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

DAY 30 – II Nephi 2:10-50

10 For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins.
11 Yea, Joseph truly said, Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins.
12 And unto him will I give commandment, that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers.
13 And I will give unto him a commandment, that he shall do none other work save the work which I shall command him.
14 And I will make him great in mine eyes: for he shall do my work.
15 And he shall be great like unto Moses, whom I have said I would raise up unto you, to deliver my people, O house of Israel.
16 And Moses will I raise up, to deliver thy people out of the land of Egypt.
17 But a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins;
18 And not to the bringing forth my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them.
19 Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write;
20 And that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah, shall grow together,
21 Unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins,
22 And bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in the latter days;
23 And also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.
24 And out of weakness he shall be made strong, in that day when my work shall commence among all my people, unto the restoring thee, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.
25 And thus prophesied Joseph, saying: Behold, that seer will the Lord bless;
26 And they that seek to destroy him, shall be confounded:
27 For this promise, of which I have obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of thy loins, shall be fulfilled.
28 Behold, I am sure of the fulfilling of this promise.
29 And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father.
30 And he shall be like unto me; for the thing which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation;
31 Yea, thus prophesied Joseph, I am sure of this thing, even as I am sure of the promise of Moses: for the Lord hath said unto me, I will preserve thy seed for ever.
32 And the Lord hath said, I will raise up a Moses; and I will give power unto him in a rod;
33 And I will give judgment unto him in writing.
34 Yet I will not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much: for I will not make him mighty in speaking.
35 But I will write unto him my law, by the finger of mine own hand; and I will make a spokesman for him.
36 And the Lord said unto me also, I will raise up unto the fruit of thy loins: and I will make for him a spokesman.
37 And I, behold, I will give unto him, that he shall write the writing of the fruit of thy loins, unto the fruit of thy loins; and the spokesman of thy loins shall declare it.
38 And the words which he shall write, shall be the words which are expedient in my wisdom should go forth unto the fruit of thy loins.
39 And it shall be as if the fruit of thy loins had cried unto them from the dust; for I know their faith.
40 And they shall cry from the dust; yea, even repentance unto their brethren, even after many generations have gone by them.
41 And it shall come to pass that their cry shall go, even according to the simpleness of their words.
42 Because of their faith, their words shall proceed forth out of my mouth unto their brethren, who are the fruit of thy loins;
43 And the weakness of their words will I make strong in their faith; unto the remembering of my covenant which I made unto thy fathers.
44 And now, behold, my son Joseph, after this manner did my father of old prophesy.
45 Wherefore, because of this covenant thou art blessed: for thy seed shall not be destroyed, for they shall hearken unto the words of the book.
46 And there shall raise up one mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word and in deed, being an instrument in the hands of God, with exceeding faith,
47 To work mighty wonders, and do that thing which is great in the sight of God, unto the bringing to pass much restoration unto the house of Israel, and unto the seed of thy brethren.
48 And now, blessed art thou, Joseph.
49 Behold, thou art little; wherefore, hearken unto the words of thy brother Nephi, and it shall be done unto thee, even according to the words which I have spoken.
50 Remember the words of thy dying father. Amen.

DAY 29 – II Nephi 1:101 - 2:9

101 And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven;
102 Wherefore he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God.
103 And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable for ever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.
104 Wherefore, he said, unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies; wherefore he said, Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.
105 And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit, they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth.
106 And they have brought forth children; yea, even the family of all the earth.
107 And the days of the children of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they might repent while in the flesh;
108 Wherefore, their state became a state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men.
109 For he gave commandment that all men must repent;
110 For he shewed unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of their parents.
111 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed, he would not have fallen; but he would have remained in the garden of Eden.
112 And all things which were created, must have remained in the same state which they were, after they were created; and they must have remained for ever, and had no end.
113 And they would have had no children; wherefore, they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.
114 But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things.
115 Adam fell, that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
116 And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall.
117 And because that they are redeemed from the fall, they have become free for ever, knowing good from evil;
118 To act for themselves, and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the Lord, at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.
119 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man.
120 And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil:
121 For he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.
122 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments;
123 And be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit,
124 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein,
125 Which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.
126 I have spoken these few words unto you all, my sons, in the last days of my probation;
127 And I have chosen the good part, according to the words of the prophet.
128 And I have none other object, save it be the everlasting welfare of your souls. Amen.

CHAPTER 2

1 And now I speak unto you, Joseph, my last born.
2 Thou wast born in the wilderness of mine afflictions; yea, in the days of my greatest sorrow did thy mother bear thee.
3 And may the Lord consecrate also unto thee this land, which is a most precious land, for thine inheritance and the inheritance of thy seed with thy brethren, for thy security for ever, if it so be that ye shall keep the commandments of the Holy One of Israel.
4 And now, Joseph, my last born, whom I have brought out of the wilderness of mine afflictions, may the Lord bless thee for ever, for thy seed shall not utterly be destroyed.
5 For behold, thou art the fruit of my loins; and I am a descendant of Joseph, who was carried captive into Egypt.
6 And great were the covenants of the Lord, which he made unto Joseph; wherefore, Joseph truly saw our day.
7 And he obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins, the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel;
8 Not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off; nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord,
9 That the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light; yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom.

DAY 28 – II Nephi 1:55-100

55 And now, Zoram, I speak unto you: Behold, thou art the servant of Laban; nevertheless, thou hast been brought out of the land of Jerusalem, and I know that thou art a true friend unto my son Nephi, for ever.
56 Wherefore, because thou hast been faithful, thy seed shall be blessed with his seed, that they dwell in prosperity long upon the face of this land;
57 And nothing, save it shall be iniquity among them, shall harm or disturb their prosperity upon the face of this land for ever.
58 Wherefore, if ye shall keep the commandments of the Lord, the Lord hath consecrated this land for the security of thy seed with the seed of my son.
59 And now, Jacob, I speak unto you: Thou art my first born in the days of my tribulation in the wilderness.
60 And behold, in thy childhood thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren.
61 Nevertheless, Jacob, my first born in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain.
62 Wherefore thy soul shall be blessed, and thou shalt dwell safely with thy brother Nephi; and thy days shall be spent in the service of thy God.
63 Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer: for thou hast beheld, that in the fullness of time, he cometh to bring salvation unto men.
64 And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore, thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh:
65 For the Spirit is the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever.
66 And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free.
67 And men are instructed sufficiently, that they know good from evil.
68 And the law is given unto men.
69 And by the law, no flesh is justified, or, by the law, men are cut off.
70 Yea, by the temporal law, they were cut off; and also by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable for ever.
71 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the holy Messiah: for he is full of grace and truth.
72 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.
73 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the holy Messiah,
74 Who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit,
75 That he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.
76 Wherefore, he is the first fruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men;
77 And they that believe in him, shall be saved.
78 And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God;
79 Wherefore, they stand in the presence of him, to be judged of him, according to the truth and holiness which is in him.
80 Wherefore, the ends of the law which the Holy One hath given, unto the inflicting of the punishment which is affixed, which punishment that is affixed is in opposition to that of the happiness which is affixed, to answer the ends of the atonement;
81 For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.
82 If not so, my first born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass; neither wickedness; neither holiness nor misery; neither good nor bad.
83 Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one;
84 Wherefore, if it should be one body, it must needs remain as dead, having no life, neither death nor corruption, nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
85 Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of nought;
86 Wherefore, there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation.
87 Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God, and his eternal purposes; and also, the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God.
88 And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin.
89 And if ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness.
90 And if there be no righteousness, there be no happiness.
91 And if there be no righteousness nor happiness, there be no punishment nor misery.
92 And if these things are not, there is no God.
93 And if there is no God, we are not, neither the earth, for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.
94 And now, my son, I speak unto you these things, for your profit and learning:
95 For there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them is;
96 Both things to act, and things to be acted upon;
97 And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition;
98 Even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter;
99 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man, that he should act for himself.
100 Wherefore, man could not act for himself, save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.

DAY 27 – II Nephi 1:18-54

18 Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land;
19 And they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves.
20 And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments, they shall be blessed upon the face of this land,
21 And there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely for ever.
22 But behold, when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in unbelief, after they have received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord; having a knowledge of the creation of the earth, and all men, knowing the great and marvelous works of the Lord from the creation of the world; having power given them to do all things by faith; having all the commandments from the beginning, and having been brought by his infinite goodness into this precious land of promise;
23 Behold, I say, If the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true Messiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is just, shall rest upon them;
24 Yea, he will bring other nations unto them, and he will give unto them power, and he will take away from them the lands of their possessions, and he will cause them to be scattered and smitten.
25 Yea, as one generation passeth to another, there shall be bloodsheds and great visitations among them;
26 Wherefore, my sons, I would that ye would remember; yea, I would that ye would hearken unto my words.
27 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and wo!
28 Awake! and rise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days, and I go the way of all the earth.
29 But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell: I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.
30 And I desire that ye should remember to observe the statutes and the judgments of the Lord: behold, this hath been the anxiety of my soul, from the beginning.
31 My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow from time to time; for I have feared, lest for the hardness of your hearts, the Lord your God should come out in the fullness of his wrath upon you, that ye be cut off and destroyed for ever;
32 Or that a cursing should come upon you for the space of many generations; and ye are visited by sword, and by famine, and are hated, and are led according to the will and captivity of the devil.
33 O my sons, that these things might not come upon you, but that ye might be a choice and a favored people of the Lord!
34 But behold, his will be done: for his ways are righteousness for ever; and he hath said that, Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.
35 And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you; that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave,
36 Arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind, and in one heart united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity; that ye may not be cursed with a sore cursing;
37 And also, that ye may not incur the displeasure of a just God upon you, unto the destruction, yea, the eternal destruction of both soul and body.
38 Awake, my sons: put on the armor of righteousness.
39 Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.
40 Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been glorious, and who hath kept the commandments from the time that we left Jerusalem, and who hath been an instrument in the hands of God in bringing us forth into the land of promise;
41 For were it not for him we must have perished with hunger in the wilderness;
42 Nevertheless, ye sought to take away his life; yea, and he hath suffered much sorrow because of you.
43 And I exceedingly fear and tremble because of you, lest he shall suffer again;
44 For behold, ye have accused him that he sought power and authority over you;
45 But I know that he hath not sought for power nor authority over you; but he hath sought the glory of God, and your own eternal welfare.
46 And ye have murmured because he hath been plain unto you.
47 Ye say that he hath used sharpness; ye say that he hath been angry with you.
48 But behold, his sharpness was the sharpness of the power of the word of God, which was in him;
49 And that which ye call anger, was the truth, according to that which is in God, which he could not restrain, manifesting boldly concerning your iniquities.
50 And it must needs be that the power of God must be with him, even unto his commanding you, that ye must obey.
51 But behold, it was not him, but it was the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, which opened his mouth to utterance, that he could not shut it.
52 And now my son Laman and also Lemuel and Sam, and also my sons who are the sons of Ishmael, behold, if ye will hearken unto the voice of Nephi, ye shall not perish.
53 And if ye will hearken unto him, I leave unto you a blessing, yea, even my first blessing.
54 But if ye will not hearken unto him, I take away my first blessing, yea, even my blessing, and it shall rest upon him.