The Second Book of Nephi (), usually referred to as Second Nephi or 2 Nephi, is the second book of the

Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude ...

. The original translation of the title did not include the word "second". First and Second were added to the titles of The Books of Nephi by

Oliver Cowdery Oliver H. P. Cowdery (October 3, 1806 – March 3, 1850) was an American Mormon leader who, with Joseph Smith, was an important participant in the formative period of the Latter Day Saint movement between 1829 and 1836. He was the first baptized ...

when preparing the book for printing. According to the book, it was written by the ancient

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

Nephi, son of Lehi Nephi ( ) is one of the central figures described in the Book of Mormon. In Mormonism, he is described as the son of Lehi, a prophet, founder of the Nephite people, and author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon, First and Second Neph ...

, who lived around 600 BC. Originally 15 chapters in length, the book was reformatted in 1879 by

Orson Pratt Orson Pratt Sr. (September 19, 1811 – October 3, 1881) was an American mathematician and religious leader who was an original member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Christ (Latter Day Saints). He became a member of th ...

to its current length of thirty three chapters long. Unlike First Nephi, this book contains little history of the

Nephite According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites () are one of four groups (along with the Lamanites, Jaredites, and Mulekites) to have settled in the ancient Americas. The term is used throughout the Book of Mormon to describe the religious, ...

people but instead discusses

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

s and prophecies of Nephi himself and other ancient prophets, such as

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "th ...

Narrative

Lehi's last counsel

Second Nephi begins with the prophecies of Lehi concerning the future of his seed, and speaks to his posterity. As Lehi is old and will soon die, he wishes to bestow blessings upon his children.''The Book of Mormon''. . Lehi relates a vision whereby he knew that Jerusalem was destroyed, and he says that had they remained in the city they would have perished. He emphasizes that if the people are righteous, they will prosper; but if they are wicked, they will be destroyed. This is a general blessing and curse upon all peoples who inhabit the land where Lehi and his family lived. In 2 Nephi chapter 2, Lehi expounds to Jacob about the

redemption Redemption may refer to: Religion * Redemption (theology), an element of salvation to express deliverance from sin * Redemptive suffering, a Roman Catholic belief that suffering can partially remit punishment for sins if offered to Jesus * Pi ...

and

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

through

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

.. He speaks about opposites—that without evil there is no good; without sin there is no

righteousness Righteousness is the quality or state of being morally correct and justifiable. It can be considered synonymous with "rightness" or being "upright". It can be found in Indian religions and Abrahamic traditions, among other religions, as a theolog ...

; that without these things there is no God; and if there is no

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

there is no earth.. He talks about the importance of The Fall of Man and how without it, man would lose his

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to a ...

, and salvation would ultimately be impossible.. To Joseph, he talks about his namesake, which includes Joseph of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. He quotes some of the lost prophecies by Joseph. Joseph predicted that the Lord would raise up Moses to free the people of Israel. He also predicted that a seer named after Joseph, and whose father's name is also Joseph, would the Lord raise up, for the purpose of restoring Israel.. On 2 Nephi verses 23 and 24 mentions that the descendants of Joseph (Lehi's son) would not be destroyed ''"for they shall hearken unto the words of the book''" (this books seems to be The Book of Mormon). Then on verse 24, most likely referring to his posterity it says "''there shall rise up one mighty among them, who shall do much good, both in word and deed (...)''". While the references suggest he is Joseph Smith, this seems contradictory as he is not a descendant of Lehi. Therefore, it is not clear who this person may be. Lehi blesses Zoram, the servant of Laban who had thrown in his lot with Nephi, as long as he and his seed obey the commandments of the Lord. To the children of his sons Laman and Lemuel he says that if their parents teach them wickedness, that their sins will be the responsibility of the parents..

Division of the people

Nephi continues the narrative by recording the death of Lehi.. In this passage, he also records what is known as "the Psalm of Nephi", where he pleads for the Lord to forgive his weaknesses, make him strong so he can conquer his enemies, and redeem his

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The ea ...

.. After the death of Lehi, Laman and Lemuel and others rebel against Nephi and try to kill him... Warned by the Lord, Nephi leaves the area with those who listen to him and travel far away to establish another settlement.. He takes the brass plates and other records, along with the ball or compass.. They call this new place Nephi, choose Nephi to be their king, and call themselves the people of Nephi, or Nephites.. They observe the Law of Moses as it is recorded in the brass plates.. They also prosper exceedingly, and build a temple like the temple of Solomon.. Nephi also begins arming his people using the sword that Laban had as a model for production.. At this time, the people with Laman and Lemuel and others who remained behind had their skin turn dark, as a sign that the people of Nephi are not to mix with them until they repent..

Jacob preaches

Nephi ordains his younger brothers Jacob and Joseph as teachers over the people of Nephi.. The remainder of Second Nephi is a recording of their (Jacob's and Nephi's) teachings and prophecies. A speech that Jacob delivered to the people of Nephi is recorded in chapters 6-10. Jacob quotes passages from Isaiah. He prophesies that the destruction of the people in Jerusalem has already happened.. He also shows that at a future date the Lord will lift up his hand to the

Gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym fo ...

s, and set up his standard, and then gather the tribes of Israel one final time.. He reads from Isaiah 50. and 51.. Then he prophesies about the birth, life, infinite

atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

and death of Christ, calling on his people to repent and believe in the Savior.. He also explains the resurrection; that the body lies in the grave and the spirit either in torment or in a state of paradise, and that without Christ there could be no resurrection, and that because of Christ all men will be resurrected with their spirit being freed from either paradise or torment and their body raised from the grave, and then they are judged according to their works in life.. Jacob continues by teaching about the various sins, such as lying, murdering, whoredoms, idol worship. He exhorts his people to throw off their sins.. He then continues by prophesying about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. and the establishment of a free people in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

in the last days..

Nephi quotes Isaiah, gives final counsel

Nephi then records in the book more of Isaiah— chapters 2. through 14. of Isaiah. Nephi then prophesies that Christ himself will visit the Nephites in America after his death and

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

.. He prophesies the destruction of his own people due to wickedness.. He also predicts that the remainder of the people, the Lamanites and others, will be smitten by the immigrating Gentiles in the last days.. He prophesies that the Gentiles will establish many different churches and also practice priestcraft, or the practice of preaching the gospel for money rather than for the love of the gospel.. Nephi predicts the translation of the Book of Mormon and of the Three Witnesses who would testify that it was true.. He prophesies the conversation that Martin Harris has with Professor

Charles Anthon Charles Anthon (November 19, 1797 – July 29, 1867) was an American classical scholar. Anthon was a professor at Columbia College and became headmaster of it's grammar and preparatory school. He produced classical works for schools, which conta ...

.. Nephi continues by prophesying about the Gentiles' attitude towards the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

, who would accept it as the only scripture in the world.. Nephi challenges that assumption, and encourages the Gentiles to believe that God would speak to more than one nation. He also says that there will be scriptures that will come from some of the

lost tribes of Israel The ten lost tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, As ...

., The House of Israel is described as having three parts, and Nephi prophesies that one day all their writings would be restored and made known one to the other. ''"And it shall come to pass that the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews."'' Nephi ends his record by pleading with the reader to follow the Savior's example and be

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

,. but emphasizes that baptism is the beginning of the way and not the end, underscoring the need to enduring to the end.. His final words include another exhortation to

pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...

and seek the Holy Ghost, and a testimony that his words are true..

Notes

External links

''The Second Book of Nephi'' from the official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
{{DEFAULTSORT:Second Book Of Nephi Nephi2