2 Nephi 9:1
And now, my beloved brethren, I have read these things that ye
might know concerning the covenants of the Lord that he has
covenanted with all the house of Israel—
2 Nephi 9:2
That he has spoken unto the Jews, by the mouth of his holy
prophets, even from the beginning down, from generation to
generation, until the time comes that they shall be restored to
the true church and fold of God; when they shall be gathered home
to the lands of their inheritance, and shall be established in
all their lands of promise.
2 Nephi 9:3
Behold, my beloved brethren, I speak unto you these things
that ye may rejoice, and lift up your heads forever, because of
the blessings which the Lord God shall bestow upon your children.
2 Nephi 9:4
For I know that ye have searched much, many of you, to know of
things to come; wherefore I know that ye know that our flesh must
waste away and die; nevertheless, in our bodies we shall see God.
2 Nephi 9:5
Yea, I know that ye know that in the body he shall show
himself unto those at Jerusalem, from whence we came; for it is
expedient that it should be among them; for it behooveth the
great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto
man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become
subject unto him.
2 Nephi 9:6
For as d**h hath pa**ed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful
plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of
resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by
reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression;
and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence
of the Lord.
2 Nephi 9:7
Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it
should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on
incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man
must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this
flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother
earth, to rise no more.
2 Nephi 9:8
O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the
flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that
angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and
became the devil, to rise no more.
2 Nephi 9:9
And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become
devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of
our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like
unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents,
who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and
stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of
murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.
2 Nephi 9:10
O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for
our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that
monster, d**h and hell, which I call the d**h of the body, and
also the d**h of the spirit.
2 Nephi 9:11
And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy
One of Israel, this d**h, of which I have spoken, which is the
temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which d**h is the grave.
2 Nephi 9:12
And this d**h of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual
d**h, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual d**h is hell;
wherefore, d**h and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell
must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver
up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will
be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the
resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
2 Nephi 9:13
O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the
paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and
the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit
and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become
incorruptible, and immortal, and they are living souls, having a
perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our
knowledge shall be perfect.
2 Nephi 9:14
Wherefore, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our
guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous
shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their
righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe
of righteousness.
2 Nephi 9:15
And it shall come to pa** that when all men shall have pa**ed
from this first d**h unto life, insomuch as they have become
immortal, they must appear before the judgment-seat of the Holy
One of Israel; and then cometh the judgment, and then must they
be judged according to the holy judgment of God.
2 Nephi 9:16
And a**uredly, as the Lord liveth, for the Lord God hath
spoken it, and it is his eternal word, which cannot pa** away,
that they who are righteous shall be righteous still, and they
who are filthy shall be filthy still; wherefore, they who are
filthy are the devil and his angels; and they shall go away into
everlasting fire; prepared for them; and their torment is as a
lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and
ever and has no end.
2 Nephi 9:17
O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth
all his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his
law must be fulfilled.
2 Nephi 9:18
But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of
Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they
who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame
of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared
for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be
full forever.
2 Nephi 9:19
O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of
Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the
devil, and d**h, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone,
which is endless torment.
2 Nephi 9:20
O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all
things, and there is not anything save he knows it.
2 Nephi 9:21
And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they
will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains
of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men,
women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.
2 Nephi 9:22
And he suffereth this that the resurrection might pa** upon
all men, that all might stand before him at the great and
judgment day.
2 Nephi 9:23
And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be
baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of
Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God.
2 Nephi 9:24
And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be
baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned;
for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it.
2 Nephi 9:25
Wherefore, he has given a law; and where there is no law
given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment
there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation the
mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because
of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him.
2 Nephi 9:26
For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon
all those who have not the law given to them, that they are
delivered from that awful monster, d**h and hell, and the devil,
and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and
they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the
Holy One of Israel.
2 Nephi 9:27
But wo unto him that has the law given, yea, that has all the
commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them,
and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his
state!
2 Nephi 9:28
O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the
frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned
they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel
of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves,
wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not.
And they shall perish.
2 Nephi 9:29
But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels
of God.
2 Nephi 9:30
But wo unto the rich, who are rich as to the things of the
world. For because they are rich they despise the poor, and they
persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures;
wherefore, their treasure is their God. And behold, their
treasure shall perish with them also.
2 Nephi 9:31
And wo unto the deaf that will not hear; for they shall
perish.
2 Nephi 9:32
Wo unto the blind that will not see; for they shall perish
also.
2 Nephi 9:33
Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their
iniquities shall smite them at the last day.
2 Nephi 9:34
Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell.
2 Nephi 9:35
Wo unto the murderer who deliberately k**eth, for he shall
die.
2 Nephi 9:36
Wo unto them who commit who*edoms, for they shall be thrust
down to hell.
2 Nephi 9:37
Yea, wo unto those that worship idols, for the devil of all
devils delighteth in them.
2 Nephi 9:38
And, in fine, wo unto all those who die in their sins; for
they shall return to God, and behold his face, and remain in
their sins.
2 Nephi 9:39
O, my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in
transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of
yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be
carnally-minded is d**h, and to be spiritually-minded is life
eternal.
2 Nephi 9:40
O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the
greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have
spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile
against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I
know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness;
but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are
not shaken.
2 Nephi 9:41
O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy
One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for
man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and
the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he
employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it
be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is
his name.
2 Nephi 9:42
And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and
the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of
their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are
they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things
away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in
the depths of humility, he will not open unto them.
2 Nephi 9:43
But the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from
them forever—yea, that happiness which is prepared for the
saints.
2 Nephi 9:44
O, my beloved brethren, remember my words. Behold, I take
off my garments, and I shake them before you; I pray the God of
my salvation that he view me with his all-searching eye;
wherefore, ye shall know at the last day, when all men shall be
judged of their works, that the God of Israel did witness that I
shook your iniquities from my soul, and that I stand with
brightness before him, and am rid of your blood.
2 Nephi 9:45
O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off
the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God
who is the rock of your salvation.
2 Nephi 9:46
Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall
be administered unto the righteous, even the day of judgment,
that ye may not shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember
your awful guilt in perfectness, and be constrained to exclaim:
Holy, holy are thy judgments, O Lord God Almighty—but I know my
guilt; I transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine;
and the devil hath obtained me, that I am a prey to his awful
misery.
2 Nephi 9:47
But behold, my brethren, is it expedient that I should awake
you to an awful reality of these things? Would I harrow up your
souls if your minds were pure? Would I be plain unto you
according to the plainness of the truth if ye were freed from
sin?
2 Nephi 9:48
Behold, if ye were holy I would speak unto you of holiness;
but as ye are not holy, and ye look upon me as a teacher, it must
needs be expedient that I teach you the consequences of sin.
2 Nephi 9:49
Behold, my soul abhorreth sin, and my heart delighteth in
righteousness; and I will praise the holy name of my God.
2 Nephi 9:50
Come, my brethren, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters; and he that hath no money, come buy and eat; yea, come
buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Nephi 9:51
Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth,
nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently
unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come
unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth
not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in
fatness.
2 Nephi 9:52
Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God;
pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks unto his holy
name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.
2 Nephi 9:53
And behold how great the covenants of the Lord, and how great
his condescensions unto the children of men; and because of his
greatness, and his grace and mercy, he has promised unto us that
our seed shall not utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh,
but that he would preserve them; and in future generations they
shall become a righteous branch unto the house of Israel.
2 Nephi 9:54
And now, my brethren, I would speak unto you more; but on the
morrow I will declare unto you the remainder of my words. Amen.