BOOK OF MORMON


2 Nephi - Chapter 28 Critique

 

Setting: Nephi supposedly began his second record in the Americas during 588 BCE about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and continued to 545 BCE. This would have covered the time of the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel who were prophesying in Babylon during the captivity.

 

Verses 1-2: AND 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. And 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.

Note: The remnant was in the Middle East not America in the past.

Ezra 9:8-9 "And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem."

Note: The remnant will be in the Middle East not America in the future.

Zechariah 14:2-3 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.

 

Verses 3-4: For 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-- And 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.

Note: Sidney Rigdon hated the churches of Christendom.

Acts 9:31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

 

Verses 5-6: And 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; Behold, 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.

Note: Sidney Rigdon did not think that the work of Jesus Christ was sufficient for salvation.

Hebrews 9:12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

 

Verse 7: Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us.

Note: Joseph Smith was guilty of the accusations Sidney Rigdon leveled at the clergy of Christendom.

The ministers and professional men of Palmyra were alike uncharitable. The Reverend Jesse Townsend in a letter to Phineas Styles, December 24, 1833, wrote: "I begin with the leader, "Joe," as he is and always has been called here. For the ten years I have known anything of him, he has been a person of questionable character, of intemperate habits..." Hearts Made Glad, p 59.

 

Verse 8: And 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.

Note: Joseph Smith was guilty of the accusations Sidney Rigdon leveled at the clergy of Christendom.

Chauncey G. Webb, a wagon-maker whose daughter Ann Eliza (the famous "Wife No. 19") had for several years been a plural wife of Brigham Young, made this statement in 1885: "I have been thoroughly acquainted with the Mormon Church for over fifty years. I attended grammar school with Joseph Smith in Kirtland, Ohio, in the winter of 1834 and 1835, and assisted in teaching Joseph Smith, the prophet, English grammar. I witnessed the history of the Church in Kirtland, Ohio, in Caldwell and Davies counties, Mo., in Nauvoo, Ill., and in Salt Lake City. I was intimately acquaited with Joseph Smith and his family for eleven years; also with all the leading men of the Church down to the present time." After remarking that good wiskey could be purchased in Kirtland for only twenty-five cents a gallon(!), Webb added, "No wonder that Joseph sometimes went to bed with his boots on, or that he slept, as he sometimes did, in a ditch. He was a right jolly prophet. No sanctimonious humbug about him." Hearts Made Glad, p 94-95.

 

Verses 9-10: Yea, 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. And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.

Note: Sidney Rigdon was vain and puffed up in his heart.

And after having received the record of the Nephites, yea, even my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., might have power to translate through the mercy of God, by the power of God, the Book of Mormon. Doctrines and Covenants 1:29.

 

Verse 11: Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.

Note: Sidney Rigdon plagiarized the old King James version of the Holy Bible.

Psalm 14:3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt;

 

Verse 12: Because 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.

Note: Sidney Rigdon established a corrupt church to support his vanity.

And now I say unto you, as pertaining to my boarding house which I have commanded you to build for the boarding of strangers, let it be built unto my name, and let my name be named upon it, and let my servant Joseph and his house have place therein, from generation to generation. For this anointing have I put upon his head, that his blessing shall also be put upon the head of his posterity after him. Doctrines and Covenants 124:56-57.

 

Verse 13: They 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.

Note: Sidney Rigdon robbed people through false prophecies.

Now, behold, because of the thing which you, my servant Oliver Cowdery, have desired to know of me, I give unto you these words: Behold, I have manifested unto you, by my Spirit in many instances, that the things which you have written are true; wherefore you know that they are true. And if you know that they are true, behold, I give unto you a commandment, that you rely upon the things which are written; For in them are all things written concerning the foundation of my church, my gospel, and my rock. Wherefore, if you shall build up my church, upon the foundation of my gospel and my rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you. Doctrines and Covenants 18:1-5

 

Verse 14: They 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.

Note: Joseph Smith practiced whoredoms through false prophecies.

And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood--if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else. And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified. Doctrines and Covenants 132:61-62.

 

Verse 15: O 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!

Note: Sidney Rigdon preached false doctrines through false prophecies.

Verily I say unto you, the keys of this kingdom shall never be taken from you (Joseph Smith), while thou art in the world, neither in the world to come; Nevertheless, through you shall the oracles be given to another, yea, even unto the church. Doctrines and Covenants 90:3-4.

 

Verse 16: Wo 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.

Note: Joseph Smith did not live to be 40 years old.

The rapid growth of Nauvoo, and the important part Mormons played in state politics made non-Mormons suspicious and hostile again. One faction set up a newspaper to fight Smith, who had become a candidate for President of the United States. The paper was destroyed, and Smith was blamed for it. He, his brother Hyrum, and other leaders were arrested and jailed. On June 27, 1844, a mob attacked the jail. Smith and his brother were shot and killed. World Book 2001.

 

Verse 17: But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Note: Evil people in the future will not repent of their sins.

Revelation 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.

 

Verse 18: But behold, that great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof.

Note: All false religions promoting abominations and false doctrines will be destroyed.

Revelation 17:4-5 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

 

Verses 19-21: For 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; For 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. And 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.

Note: The LDS church has a temporal security plan based on the enthronement of work.

The Church Security Plan, a centrally directed welfare program, was announced at the April 1936 general conference. At the next conference, in October 1936, the First Presidency made the following statement about the plan: "Our primary purpose was to set up, in so far as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of the dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self-respect be once more established amongst our people. The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership." LDS Church News, Deseret News 5/11/96.

Note: Christians have eternal security based on Jesus Christ enthroned in their hearts.

 

Vs. 22-23: And 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. Yea, 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.

Note: The LDS church teaches that eternal punishment is not necessarily eternal.

As explained in D&C 19, such punishment is referred to as "eternal" or "endless" in the sense that the law of justice is always operating, and thus the possibility of suffering or payment of broken law is always present. It does not necessarily mean that the punishment of any one person will be endless, eternal, or everlasting in its duration. Ludlow, Daniel H. A Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, Volumes 1 & 2. Salt Lake City, Utah: Desert Book, 1978.

 

Verses 24-27: Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of the Holy Ghost! Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!

Note: Wo unto them who follow the false prophecies of Joseph Smith.

Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

 

Verses 28-30: And 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. Wo 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! For 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.

Note: Wo unto them who follow the false prophecies of Joseph Smith.

Jude 1:3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

 

Verse 31: Cursed 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.

Note: Sidney Rigdon plagiarized the old King James version of the Holy Bible.

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD."

 

Verse 32: Wo 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.

Note: Is Jesus Christ the light of your life? Are you saved from eternal punishment?

Isaiah 49:6 "Indeed He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, that You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'"

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