2 Nephi 28
People in this chapter
Nephi saw our day, and in this chapter he describes it. He sees churches arguing over who belongs to the Lord, preachers who say God no longer works miracles, and a popular philosophy that a little sin is harmless because God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved (v. 8).
Tap any highlighted phrase to jump to the commentary that unpacks it.
2 Nephi 28:1-6Their Priests Shall Contend
1And now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as the Spirit hath constrained me; wherefore, I know that they must surely come to pass. 2And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great worth unto the children of men, and especially unto our seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel.
Nephi says the book that will come forth in the last days will be of great worth, especially to his own descendants.
3For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches which are built up, and not unto the Lord, when the one shall say unto the other: Behold, I, I am the Lord's; and the others shall say: I, I am the Lord's; and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches, and not unto the Lord— 4And they shall contend one with another; and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance. 5And they deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men; 6Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.
Nephi sees churches arguing, each claiming I am the Lord's. Their teachers rely on their own learning and deny the Holy Ghost.
2 Nephi 28:7-9Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
7Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.
Some people will say: enjoy yourself now, because tomorrow we die and nothing comes after. Nephi calls this a false doctrine.
8And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God. 9Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.
Others will say a little sin is fine, because God will only punish us a little and save us anyway. This makes light of sin and of what it cost the Savior.
2 Nephi 28:10-16The Humble Followers of Christ
10And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them. 11Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted. 12Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, and their churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up. 13They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.
Pride is the root. Proud churches build fine sanctuaries and wear fine clothing while the poor go without, and they look down on the meek.
14They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray save it be a few, who are the humble followers of Christ; nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men.
Even in a proud world there are humble followers of Christ. Some of them make mistakes only because they were taught by the precepts of men.
15O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo, wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell! 16Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish.
Nephi pronounces woe on the proud and on those who call good things worthless. When people are fully ripe in iniquity, they perish.
2 Nephi 28:17-23He Leadeth Them Away Carefully
17But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts. 18But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof. 19For the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;
Even in a wicked world, repentance changes everything: those who repent shall not be destroyed. Everything opposed to God will eventually fall.
20For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good. 21And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell. 22And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. 23Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
The devil has three tactics: stir people to anger (v. 20), lull them into feeling safe (v. 21), and flatter them until they believe there is no devil (v. 22).
The devil tells some people All is well in Zion. This warning is for people who are already in the Church. Feeling comfortable is not the same as being safe.
2 Nephi 28:24-29Wo Be unto Him That Is at Ease in Zion
24Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! 25Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! 26Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost! 27Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!
Woe to those who are at ease in Zion and keep saying All is well. Comfort can make us stop listening to God.
Another woe: We have received, and we need no more! No one, member or not, ever has "enough" of God's word.
28And in fine, wo unto all those who tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! For behold, he that is built upon the rock receiveth it with gladness; and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall. 29Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!
People built on the rock welcome truth with gladness. People built on sand are afraid of it, because it might knock them over.
2 Nephi 28:30-32Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept
30For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.
God teaches a little at a time: line upon line, precept upon precept. Those who receive what He gives get more. Those who say we have enough lose even what they have.
31Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Don't put your trust in people's ideas unless they come by the power of the Holy Ghost.
32Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God of Hosts! For notwithstanding I shall lengthen out mine arm unto them from day to day, they will deny me; nevertheless, I will be merciful unto them, saith the Lord God, if they will repent and come unto me; for mine arm is lengthened out all the day long, saith the Lord God of Hosts.
Research trail
Sources & further study
These references support the historical, linguistic, manuscript, and contextual notes in this chapter. Scripture remains the primary text; external sources are provided so readers can inspect the research directly.
- How Does the Devil Lead Us Astray?Scholars have catalogued dozens of the devil's tactics and false ideas described in this chapter, including the complacency of "all is well in Zion."
- Why Did Nephi Say That People Had to Learn Things Line Upon Line?Looks at verse 30, its roots in Isaiah 28:10, and the principle that God gives more to those who receive what He has already given.
- RevelationHow God continues to reveal His will to prophets and to individuals, the answer to "we have received, and we need no more."
- SatanWhat the scriptures teach about the adversary, his methods, and the power we have to resist him through Jesus Christ.
Where this echoes in Scripture
Their Priests Shall Contend
- 2 Timothy 3:5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.
- Joseph Smith—History 1:19They teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.
- Mormon 9:19He changeth not… and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
- Moroni 7:29Have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay.
- 1 Corinthians 2:13Not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
- Luke 12:19-20Eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.
- 1 Corinthians 15:32If the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
- Alma 42:24-25None but the truly penitent are saved. What, do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice?
- Alma 30:17Every man fared in this life according to the management of the creature… and whatsoever a man did was no crime.Korihor teaches a version of the same philosophy.
The Humble Followers of Christ
- Jacob 2:13Ye are lifted up in the pride of your hearts, and wear stiff necks and high heads.The same warning given to the Nephites themselves.
- 1 Nephi 11:36The great and spacious building was the pride of the world.
- 2 Nephi 9:29To be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God.
- Isaiah 5:20Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.
- Isaiah 29:13Their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.
He Leadeth Them Away Carefully
- 1 Nephi 14:10There are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil.
- Jonah 3:10God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil.
- Alma 30:53The devil hath deceived me… And he said unto me: There is no God.Korihor's confession at the end of his life.
- Helaman 12:1-2At the very time when he doth prosper his people… then is the time that they do harden their hearts.
- D&C 10:22-27He flattereth them, and leadeth them along until he draggeth their souls down to hell.
Wo Be unto Him That Is at Ease in Zion
- Amos 6:1Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.
- Matthew 7:24-27A wise man, which built his house upon a rock.
- Helaman 5:12It is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation.
- Matthew 11:28-29Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Line upon Line, Precept upon Precept
- Isaiah 28:10Precept upon precept; line upon line… here a little, and there a little.
- Matthew 13:12Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance.
- Alma 12:10He that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word.
- 3 Nephi 9:14Mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive.
- D&C 98:12He will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept.