Scriptural Highlights

• Lehi exhorts his sons to repent, obey the Lord's commandments, and put on the armor of righteousness.
• Lehi testifies of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
• Lehi teaches the importance of opposition and the freedom to choose good from evil.

2 Nephi 1

1. In this chapter, Lehi, who is nearing the end of his days, speaks and counsels his family.
2. The destruction of Jerusalem.
• V4 - Lehi indicates that he has seen a vision of the destruction of Jerusalem.
• He says that "had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have perished."
• According to most Biblical scholars Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians sometime between 586 B.C. and 590 B.C.
3. A Land of Promise.
• Lehi teaches his family about having obtained a land of promise, a land choice above all other land, a land which has been consecrated by the Lord.
• READ 2 NEPHI 1:5-12.  A land choice above all others.
• WHAT DOES LEHI TEACH US ABOUT THIS PROMISED LAND IN THESE VERSES?  WHERE DO WE STAND TODAY IN RELATION TO THESE PROMISES?
• None will come unto this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord (6).
• This land is consecrated unto those whom the Lord brings (7).
• The knowledge of this land was to be kept from other nations or it would be overrun (8).
• WHAT HAPPENED/IS HAPPENING NOW THAT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THIS  LAND IS KNOWN TO OTHER NATIONS?
• People have fled to this land since its founding as a place of refuge.  This pattern continues today.  Recently, a scheme has been discovered here in Seattle, and also in Vancouver, British Columbia, of bringing in refugees via cargo containers.  These are containers about the size of a semi-truck trailer.  They are often loaded on the deck of the ship.  These refugees are paying thousands of dollars to escape their homeland, live in a cold and dark container, even risk death and possibly return, just for the chance to come to America.
• THE PROMISE:
• It will be a land of liberty to those who serve the Lord (7).
• They shall never be brought down into captivity while they remain righteous (7).
• Unto the righteous, it shall be blessed forever (7).
• Those that keep the commandments shall prosper (9).
• They shall be blessed upon the face of the land (9).
• There shall be none to molest or take away their inheritance (9).
• THE CURSE:
• If iniquity abounds, the land will be cursed (11).
• Those that dwindle in unbelief and reject the true Messiah shall have the judgments of God rest upon him (10).
• Other nations will come, and they shall be given power, and the inheritance of Lehi's seed shall be taken away, and they will be scattered and smitten (11).
• These promises were given to Lehi's family and his seed,  but as we continue to read in the Book of Mormon we find that these promises apply to any that possess this land.
• WHY HAS THIS LAND BEEN CONSECRATED AND SET APART BY THE LORD?
• Joseph Smith: "You know there has been great discussion in relation to Zion--where it is, and where the gathering of the dispensation is, and which I am now going to tell you.  The prophets have spoken and written upon it; but I will make a proclamation that will cover a broader ground.  The whole of America is Zion itself from north to south, and is described by the prophets, who declare that it is the Zion where the mountain of the Lord should be, and that it should be in the center of the land.  When elder shall take up and examine the old prophecies in the Bible, they will see it." (TPJS, p362)
• Consider the sacred history of this land:
• Garden of Eden.
• Adam-ondi-Ahman.
• Where Adam gathered his posterity together and blessed them and prophesied of their destiny to the last generation.
• Adam shall return here to visit his people.
• The city of Enoch was on this continent.
• The people of Jared were brought to this land and built a great nation.
• The people of Lehi were brought to this land and later joined by the people of Zarahemla (Mulekites) and a great nation was built.
• A Constitution was set up on this land that still is without equal in the world.
• The gospel and Lord's covenants were restored upon this land.
• One of the two centers of Millennial government to be upon this land.
• WHY IS THIS LAND SO SPECIAL AND ENDOWED WITH SUCH GREAT COVENANTS?
• The Lord needed to create a place where the righteous could gather, where His work could be carried on.
• The gospel could only be restored in a free land.
• It needed to be in a land with the wealth to build Zion and carry the gospel to the rest of world.
• He separated this land from the rest of the world and endowed it with great resources.
4. The pleading of a parent about to leave this world.
• READ 2 NEPHI 1:13-14,17-18,21-23. Shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound.
• Awake from a deep sleep and shake off the chains by which ye are bound (13).  Have you ever been in a sleep where you tried to wake up and you couldn't seem to move?  I can recall times when I knew I needed to get up, but seemed to be bound.  Though I would try, I seemed incapable of lifting an arm or a leg.  Were Lehi's sons laying around in the tents unable to get up?  What did Lehi mean?
• WHAT IS THIS DEEP SLEEP LEHI SPEAKS OF?
• Apathy.
• Being so caught up in our daily pursuits that we are asleep to the things of the spirit.
• President Spencer W. Kimball:  "[There] are Church members who are steeped in lethargy. They neither drink nor commit the sexual sins. They do not gamble nor rob nor kill. They are good citizens and splendid neighbors, but spiritually speaking they seem to be in a long, deep sleep. They are doing nothing seriously wrong except in their failures to do the right things to earn their exaltation. To such people as this, the words of Lehi might well apply: '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 woe' (2 Nephi 1:13)." (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p149)
• WHAT ARE THE CHAINS LEHI SPEAKS OF?
• Sin.
• HOW DOES SIN BIND US?
• When we choose sin, we the reduce the opportunities to choose our destiny.  The more we sin, the more we close doors behind us until we are bound by the chains of hell.
• Arise from the dust and be men (21).
• HOW DO WE RISE FROM THE DUST AND BECOME MEN?
• We do that which we know needs to be done.  Nephi is a superb example.  In the midst of difficult circumstances he arose and did that which needed to be done.  His brothers moaned and groaned (murmured) about circumstances.  Nephi chose his destiny.  Laman and Lemuel gave up their destiny.
• Be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things (21).
• Put on the armor of righteousness (23).
• Righteousness is a shield that protects us from the binding influence of the adversary.

2 Nephi 2

1. Chapter 1 is a warning given by Lehi, not only to his sons, but to his posterity and the modern generation.
• This was followed in Chapter 2, a great doctrinal discourse on the purpose of life, the creation of the earth, the fall of man, and the atonement of Christ.
• The things which "...Lehi taught contradict many false teachings and philosophies prevalent in our generation.  Accepting these false ideas can lead us to lose faith in the validity of the scriptures, which leads to a disregard for the commandments" (LaMar E. Garrard in Studies In Scripture, 7:87).  Thus, this chapter compliments the warning given in chapter 1.
• In Chapter 2 Lehi is speaking to his son Jacob, his firstborn in the wilderness.
• Some of the following thoughts are a summary of an essay by LaMar E. Garrard titled Creation, Fall, and Atonement in Studies In Scripture, 7:86-102.
2. The Creation.
• Modern philosophies & teaching:
• Many discount the special creation account in the Bible.
• The trend: to accept a "naturalistic" or "mechanistic" view of the origins of the earth, our solar system, and the universe.
• This view proposes that these things came into existence by chance - by the strict operation of natural law.
• There is no allowance for a divine or supernatural power.
• This view eliminates the spiritual realm in the universe.
• "This assumes that spirit matter does not exist, people, animals, and plants do not have spirits; there is no such thing as a God with a spirit; and there is no influence   whatsoever from God to the spirits of people or to anything else in the universe" (Ibid., p88).
• "Such a view relegates man (and other living creatures) to a position of being mere physical machines with no agency or freedom to act for themselves.  They can only be acted upon, since all actions or events are determined completely by preceding physical events and subsequent operation of natural law" (Ibid., p88).
• Bertrand Russell explained three ingredients to this mechanistic approach:
• Statements of fact should be based on observation, not on unsupported authority.
• The inanimate world is a self-acting, self-perpetuating system, in which all changes conform to natural laws.
• Man is not the purpose for the creation of the earth and the universe.  In fact, this concept is scientifically useless.
• IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE MIGHT ADD TO THE TEACHINGS OF MAN REGARDING THE CREATION?
• Consider what Lehi taught, in contrast to modern teachings and philosophies:
• Lehi declared that he had gained his knowledge not from observation, but through other than the natural senses.
• HOW DID LEHI GAIN HIS KNOWLEDGE?
• 2 Nephi 1:4 - "I have seen a vision".
• 2 Nephi 1:6 - "I...prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit".
• 2 Nephi 2:17 - "according to the things which I have read" (the scriptures).
• HOW DO WE GAIN OUR KNOWLEDGE?
• Might we sometimes be guilty of trying to take the teachings of men and trying to fit them over the teachings of the scriptures?
• Lehi declared that there is a God who created the heavens and the earth and had a purpose for so doing.
• READ 2 NEPHI 2:14-16. God created all things to act and be acted upon.
• Lehi wanted his sons to understand that we can act for ourselves, which implies that we have spirits.
• We are compound beings - we have a physical body that is spiritually activated.
• A physical body, as the naturalist contends, is subject only to natural law and could not act for itself.
• READ 2 NEPHI 2:11-12.  There must be opposition in all things.
• The Lord has revealed that he created or organized this earth for a definite purpose: A place where our spirits could come down and obtain physical bodies and grow and progress while being tested or proven to see if we would obey God's commandments while in these bodies.
• Such an earthly probation could not be possible if we were strictly physical, subject only to natural law.
• The commandments of God (law) come from God by revelation and can be either accepted or rejected by our spirits.
• The physical body is influenced by spiritual forces as well as natural forces because we are a dual or compound being.
• Consider what Lehi says regarding this naturalist or mechanistic philosophy.  Remember the source of the law is God.
• 2 Nephi 2:13:  "And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. 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."
• Because of Lehi's great perspective provided through study of the scriptures and revelation, he could not even begin to view life from naturalistic ideas.
• Lehi understands that the source of life and happiness is God and his law.  Any other answer does not make logical sense to Lehi.
• The Fall of Man.
• Fitting in with the naturalistic philosophies above, many people today view the fall as mythological and thus to not be taken seriously.
• Many Christians who accept the Biblical account feel that the transgression of Adam and Eve was a terrible sin or disaster that should not have occurred.
• What Lehi taught:
• 2 Nephi 2:24: "But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things."
• 2 Nephi 2:15: "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; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter."
• READ 2 NEPHI 2:19-23.  The necessity of the fall.
• 2 Nephi 2:25: "Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they might have joy."
• As indicated in verse 24,  if Adam and Eve had not fallen they would have remained in the garden and they would have had no children.
• The idea that the fall was necessary to inaugurate reproduction among living organisms is incompatible with Darwin's theory of organic evolution and the claims of the naturalists.
• Brother Garrard: "Since most modern theories of organic evolution still depend upon chance mutation (which of necessity depends upon the birth process), the survival of the fittest (which of necessity depends on the death process), and millions of years for these processes to have been taking place, it is very difficult to retain one's belief in the doctrines taught in 2 Nephi 2 (and other modern scripture) and at the same time accept purely 'naturalistic' explanations of the origin of man" (Ibid., p93).
• God is a God of Law and Justice.
• Those that adhere to the 'naturalistic' philosophy believe that "what is morally right or wrong is not determined by God's will but by a consensus of society.  To achieve a better world to live in, they propose that we manipulate our environment until our behavior coincides with this consensus" (Ibid., p93)
• Lehi's teaching: Lehi reminds us that the terms God, law, and sin are bi-conditional to each other (see v13).
• Lehi says (v5): "and men are instructed sufficiently that they know good from evil.  And the law is given unto men."
• The Effects of the Atonement of Christ.
• READ 2 NEPHI 2:5-9. The necessity of the atonement.
• The atonement made it possible for us to be free to follow either God or Satan.  It gave us a choice.
• READ 2 NEPHI 2:26-27. Men are redeemed from the fall & free to choose.
• WHAT FREEDOM DID WE HAVE TO CHOOSE PRIOR TO THE REDEMPTION?
• We were condemned by the law and had no options without a Savior.
• After the promise of the atonement, we then had to agency to "act" for ourselves and not be "acted upon" by natural law.
• This freedom to choose makes it possible for us to experience either happiness or misery, depending on which master we follow.
• 2 Nephi 2:10: "And because of the intercession for all, all men come unto God; wherefore, they stand in the presence of him to be judged of him according to the truth and holiness which is in him.  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-"
• Happiness would not be possible without the possibility of its alternative, misery.
3. The teachings of Lehi to his son Jacob are profound and ring through the ages.  Mormon included these writings among the plates for "a wise purpose".  The Lord knew we would need these vital teaching in our day to counteract the teachings of unbelieving men.  As Lehi pointed out so eloquently, if there is no law or commandments there is no sin.  How can we break something that does not exist?  There may be changeable morals in society, but still there is no sin.  If there is no sin, how can we choose to do good.  If there is no sin, there is no God.  If there are no sins, laws, or God, what is the purpose of life?

    Years ago, a friend and I went made a trip from Utah to the San Francisco Bay area and down the central coast.  As we came into the crowded freeways around San Francisco (many more cars than we were accustomed to back in Utah County), we wondered where so many people could be heading.  It was the afternoon rush hour, so most of them were returning home after a day at work.  Still, we wondered what their ultimate destination might be?  Were they just driving up and down the freeway with no purpose other than making a living and looking forward to the weekend?  As we continued our discussion, we talked about our eternal destiny.  We do have a Heavenly Father who created this world.  It was created as a school of sorts, to help us prepare for eternal life.  We have been given the agency to choose how we would like to spend our eternity, but it is dependent on the choices we make.  Knowing that we would make some wrong choices, our loving Father provided a sacrifice to pay for our mistakes.  In order to activate the Atonement in our life, we are required to choose to repent, change our ways, and then choose to obey the laws and commandments.  Otherwise, we will be bound by "awful chains" and we will no longer be able to choose our eternal destiny.  As Lehi stated, let us "arise from the dust...and be men [and women], and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things".

Next Week

Lesson 7: 2 Nephi 3-5