2 Nephi 26 to 30 – “A Marvelous Work and a Wonder”
Nephi prophesies that Lehi’s descendants, the Jews, and the Gentiles will all fall away from the truth (2 Ne. 26–30). He foretells of the Savior’s mercy to them through the restoration of the gospel and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.
“We Labor Diligently to Persuade Our Children to Believe in Christ: 2 Nephi 25:21 to 26:11,” Rex C. Reeve Jr., The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, the Doctrinal Structure
By revelation, the Lehites knew that in the future their seed would at times reject their testimony of Christ. Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, and others labored diligently to persuade their children as well as future generations to come unto Christ (2 Nephi 25:23; Jacob 1:5-7).
“Nephi’s Message to the Gentiles,” S. Michael Wilcox, The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, the Doctrinal Structure
Chapters 25 through 33 of 2 Nephi contain Nephi’s final messages, directed to three main groups of people: the Jews, the descendants of Lehi, and the Gentiles. His commentary can be read as a whole, unified discourse which serves as Nephi’s final testimony; much of it contains an explanation of the Isaiah chapters he has just quoted. There is a logic and organization which flows from chapter to chapter.
“Pattern and Purpose of the Isaiah Commentaries in the Book of Mormon,” Garold N. Davis, Mormons, Scripture, and the Ancient World, posted at Book of Mormon Central
Davis goes through the various commentaries of Isaiah found throughout the Book of Mormon and discusses their role in the text. Nephi finds Isaiah pertinent for both his generation and generations to come because of Isaiah’s keen insight into the fate of the Jews and the Gentiles.
“Nephi’s Convincing of Christ through Chiasmus: Plain and Precious Persuading from a Prophet of God,” David E. Sloan, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 6:2
One of the principal themes of Nephi’s writings on the small plates is his desire to convince others of Christ. A second, related theme is his desire to write plain and precious things on those plates. Some of the most plain and precious writings of Nephi are those instances in which he used the name Christ in chiasmus or other forms of poetry. Perhaps more than any other portion of his words, Nephi intended these plain and precious writings to convince both Jew and gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the one true Messiah.
Familiar Spirit (2 Nephi 26:16)
These three resources offer information about Nephi and Isaiah’s use of “familiar spirit,” used to compare the Book of Mormon rising from the dust to the practice of speaking with the dead.
- “The ‘Familiar Spirit’ in 2 Nephi 26: 16,” Paul Y. Hoskisson, Insights, page 7
- KnoWhy #491 – How Are the Words of the Book of Mormon Like “One That Hath a Familiar Spirit”? (2 Nephi 26:16), at Book of Mormon Central
Synagogues (2 Nephi 26:26)
These three resources tell what “synagogue” meant in the Bible and Book of Mormon.
- “Synagogues in the Book of Mormon,” William J. Adams, Jr., Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9:1
- “Synagogues in the Book of Mormon,” John W. Welch, Reexploring the Book of Mormon
- “Nephite Insights into Israelite Worship Practices before the Babylonian Captivity,” A. Keith Thompson, Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture 3
Chart 79: “The Ways of the Devil,” Charting the Book of Mormon
This chart gives modern names for the tactics that Nephi lists in 2 Nephi 28, tactics that lead people away from God.
“The Enemies of Christ: 2 Nephi 28,” Dennis L. Largey, The Book of Mormon: Second Nephi, the Doctrinal Structure
Second Nephi chapter 28 is a prophetic writing opening to full view important truths concerning several of the chief enemies of Jesus Christ and the restored gospel as follows: (1) false doctrines, identified as the precepts of men; (2) false teachers; (3) pride; and (4) Satan himself. The objective of this study is to show how, as President Benson taught, the Book of Mormon reveals the enemies of Christ.
“White or Pure,” FAIR Mormon Answers
Critics of the Book of Mormon have lambasted how “white and delightsome” was changed to “pure and delightsome” in subsequent editions of the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 30:6). While some have pointed this out as trying to excise racist overtones from the Book of Mormon, FAIR sets out how this change was not a recent change to the text, and how the reading reflects the original intent of the translation.
- Christmas – “He Shall Come into the World to Redeem His People”
- Moroni 10 – “Come unto Christ, and Be Perfected in Him”
- Moroni 7 to 9 – “May Christ Lift Thee Up”
- Moroni 1 to 6 – “To Keep Them in the Right Way”
- Ether 12 to 15 – “By Faith All Things Are Fulfilled”
- Ether 6 to 11 – “That Evil May Be Done Away”
- Ether 1 to 5 – “Rend That Veil of Unbelief”
- Mormon 7 to 9 – “I Speak unto You As If Ye Were Present”
- Mormon 1 to 6 – “I Would That I Could Persuade All … to Repent”
- 3 Nephi 27 to 4 Nephi – “There Could Not Be a Happier People”
- 3 Nephi 20 to 26 – “Ye Are the Children of the Covenant”
- 3 Nephi 17 to 19 – “Behold, My Joy Is Full”
- 3 Nephi 12 to 16 – “I Am the Law, and the Light”
- 3 Nephi 8 to 11 – “Arise and Come Forth unto Me”
- 3 Nephi 1 to 7 – “Lift Up Your Head and Be of Good Cheer”
- Helaman 13 to 16 – “Glad Tidings of Great Joy”
- Helaman 7 to 12 – “Remember the Lord”
- Helaman 1 to 6 – “The Rock of Our Redeemer”
- Alma 53 to 63 – “Preserved by His Marvelous Power”
- Alma 43 to 52 – “Stand Fast in the Faith of Christ”
- Alma 39 to 42 – “The Great Plan of Happiness”
- Alma 36 to 38 – “Look to God and Live”
- Alma 32 to 35 – “Plant This Word in Your Hearts”
- Alma 30 to 31 – “The Virtue of the Word of God”
- Alma 23 to 29 – They “Never Did Fall Away”
- Alma 17 to 22 – “I Will Make an Instrument of Thee”
- Alma 13 to 16 – Enter into the Rest of the Lord
- Alma 8 to 12 – Jesus Christ Will Come to Redeem His People
- Alma 5 to 7 – “Have Ye Experienced This Mighty Change in Your Hearts?”
- Mosiah 29 to Alma 4 – “They Were Steadfast and Immovable”
- Mosiah 25 to 28 – “They Were Called the People of God”
- Mosiah 18 to 24 – “We Have Entered into a Covenant with Him”
- Mosiah 11 to 17 – “A Light … That Can Never Be Darkened”
- Mosiah 7 to 10 – “In the Strength of the Lord”
- Mosiah 4 to 6 – “A Mighty Change”
- Mosiah 1 to 3 – “Filled with Love towards God and All Men”
- Easter – “He Shall Rise … with Healing in His Wings” continued
- Easter – “He Shall Rise…with Healing in His Wings”
- Enos to Words of Mormon – “He Works in Me to Do His Will”
- Jacob 5 to 7 – “The Lord Labors with Us”
- Jacob 1 to 4 – “Be Reconciled unto God through the Atonement of Christ”
- 2 Nephi 31 to 33 – “This Is the Way”
- 2 Nephi 26 to 30 – “A Marvelous Work and a Wonder”
- 2 Nephi 11 to 19 – “His Name Shall Be Called . . . the Prince of Peace”
- 2 Nephi 6 to 10 – “O How Great the Plan of Our God”
- 2 Nephi 3 to 5 – “We Lived After the Manner of Happiness”
- 1 Nephi 16 to 22 – “I Will Prepare the Way Before You”
- 1 Nephi 11 to 15 – “Armed with Righteousness and with the Power of God”
- 1 Nephi 6 to 10 – “Come and Partake of the Fruit”
- 1 Nephi 1 to 5
- Introductory Pages of the Book of Mormon – “Another Testament of Jesus Christ”
- 2 Nephi 1 to 2 – “Free to Choose Liberty and Eternal Life, through the Great Mediator”
- 2 Nephi 20 to 25 – “We Rejoice in Christ”
