2 Nephi
32 verses
Now, my brothers, I have spoken to you as the Spirit has directed me; so I know that these things must surely happen.
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.
The things written from the book will be very valuable to everyone, and especially to our descendants, who are a remnant of the house of Israel.
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.
In that day, the churches that are built up but not to the Lord will each say to one another, “I am the Lord’s, ” and others will also say, “I am the Lord’s. ” In this way, everyone who has built up churches not to the Lord will claim to belong to Him.
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—
They will argue with each other, and their priests will argue with each other. They will teach using their own knowledge and deny the Holy Ghost, who gives inspiration to speak.
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.
They deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel, and they say to the people, “Listen to us and hear our teaching, for there is no God today. The Lord and the Redeemer has finished his work and has given his power to men. ”
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;
Listen to my teaching: if they say a miracle has been done by the hand of the Lord, don’t believe it; because today he is not a God of miracles; he has finished his work.
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.
There will be many who say, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and everything will be fine for us.
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.
There will also be many who say, “Eat, drink, and be merry; but still fear God—he will justify committing a little sin; lie a little, take advantage of someone because of his words, dig a pit for your neighbor; there’s no harm in this; do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if we are guilty, God will punish us a little, and in the end we’ll be saved in the kingdom of God. ”
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.
There will be many who teach in this way—false, empty, and foolish doctrines. They will be proud in their hearts and will try hard to hide their plans from the Lord, and their actions will be done in secret.
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.
The blood of the saints will cry out from the ground against them.
And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.
They have all gone astray; they have become corrupted.
Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.
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 arrogant.
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.
They take from the poor to pay for their fancy churches; they take from the poor to buy expensive clothes; and they mistreat the humble and those with pure hearts because their pride has made them arrogant.
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.
They are arrogant and prideful; and because of pride, wickedness, abominations, and sexual immorality, everyone has gone astray except for a few who are humble followers of Christ. However, even they are sometimes led astray and make mistakes because they are taught by the teachings of men.
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.
The wise, the learned, and the rich who are full of pride, and all those who teach false doctrines, those who commit sexual sins, and those who twist the Lord’s way—woe to them, says the Lord God Almighty, for they will be cast down to hell.
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!
Sorrow awaits those who reject the righteous for something worthless and speak against what is good, claiming it has no value. The day will come when the Lord God will quickly visit the people of the earth; and when they are completely consumed by wickedness, they will be destroyed.
Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that 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.
If the inhabitants of the earth repent of their wickedness and abominations, they will not be destroyed, says the Lord of Hosts.
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.
That great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must fall to the ground, and its fall will be great.
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.
The kingdom of the devil will be shaken, and those who belong to it must be prompted to repent, or the devil will hold them with his everlasting chains, and they will be stirred up to anger and be destroyed.
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;
On that day, he will rage in the hearts of the children of men and stir them up to anger against what is good.
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.
He will pacify others and lull them into a false sense of security, so they say, “All is well in Zion; Zion is prospering, all is well”—and in this way, the devil deceives their souls and carefully leads them down to hell.
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.
He flatters others and tells them there is no hell. He says to them, “I am no devil, for there is none. ” In this way, he whispers in their ears until he traps them with his terrible chains, from which there is no escape.
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.
They are seized by death and hell; and death, hell, the devil, and all who have been taken by them must stand before the throne of God and be judged according to their works. From there, they must go into the place prepared for them—a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
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.
So, sorrow will come to anyone who is complacent in Zion!
Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!
Woe to those who say, "All is well!
Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well!
Sorrow will come to those who listen to the teachings of men and deny the power of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
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!
Woe to those who say, “We have received, and we don’t need anything more! ”
Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!
In summary, sorrow awaits all those who tremble and become angry because of God's truth. Those who are built on the rock receive it with gladness, but those who are built on a sandy foundation are afraid they will fall.
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.
Woe to those who say, “We have received the word of God, and we don’t need any more of it, because we have enough! ”
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!
This is what the Lord God says: I will give people knowledge little by little, teaching them one principle at a time. Those who listen to my teachings and pay attention to my guidance are blessed, because they will gain wisdom. To those who accept what I give, I will give even more; but those who say, "We have enough, " will lose even what they have.
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.
Anyone who puts their trust in man, relies on human strength, or listens to the teachings of men—unless those teachings are given by the power of the Holy Ghost—is cursed.
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.
The Lord God of Hosts says, “Woe to the Gentiles! Even though I reach out to them day after day, they will deny me. Still, I will show them mercy if they repent and come to me, for my arm is extended all day long, ” says the Lord God of Hosts.
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.