Second Nephi

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Home > The Book of Mormon > Second Nephi

Subpages: Chapters 1-5 Chapters 6-10 Chapter 11 Chapters 12-30 Chapters 31-33

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Summary

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Relationship to Book of Mormon. The relationship of Second Nephi to the Book of Mormon as a whole is discussed at Book of Mormon: Unities.

Story. Second Nephi consists of five major sections:

  • Chapters 1-5: Lehi's last words. Lehi leaves his final blessing on all who have followed him to the promised land. Nephi, in his "psalm," laments his own weakness and glories in the strength of the Lord. Following Lehi’s death, those who follow Nephi flee from the Lamanites and establish themselves as the Nephites.
  • Chapters 6-10: Jacob quotes and explains Isaiah 49:22-52:2. The Jews have now been carried away, will return to Jerusalem, will be scattered again following Christ's ministry, and will then be gathered again in the last days. Through the atonement of Christ, all mankind will be raised from the dead to be judged by Christ.
  • Chapter 11: Nephi explains that he delights in the words of Isaiah because Isaiah teaches people to believe in Christ and teaches about the Lord's covenants made to his fathers.
  • Chapters 12-30: Nephi quotes and explains Isaiah 2-14. He provides keys for understanding Isaiah. He also provides his own "plainer" prophecy regarding the Jews at Jerusalem, his descendants the Nephites, the Gentiles in the last days, and Christ’s second coming. Nephi talks especially about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in the last days.
  • Chapters 31-33: Nephi’s last words. Nephi teaches the Fourth Article of Faith: faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, plus enduring in righteousness to the end. He urges his readers to pray for a testimony of what he has written.

Message. Themes, symbols, and doctrinal points emphasized in Second Nephi include:

Historical setting

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Discussion

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Editorial comment

Outline

I. Lehi's last words (Chapters 1-5)
II. Jacob quotes and explains Isaiah (Chapters 6-10)
III. Nephi's purpose in writing (Chapter 11)
II. Nephi quotes and explains Isaiah (Chapters 12-30)
I. Nephi's last words (Chapters 31-33)

Complete outline and page map

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I. Lehi's last words (Chapters 1-5)

• Lehi exhorts and blesses his children (1:1-32)
• Lehi's blessing to Jacob (Chapter 2 / Verses 1-5 • 6-10 • 11-15 • 16-30) (2:1-30)
• Lehi's blessing to Joseph (3:1-25)
• Lehi exhorts and blesses his children (4:1-12)
• "Nephi's Psalm" (4:13-35)
• Arrangements for the the people of Nephi (5:1-34)


II. Jacob quotes and explains Isaiah (Chapters 6-10)


III. Nephi's purpose in writing (Chapter 11)
a. Nephi quotes Isaiah, Jacob, and himself as witnesses who have seen Christ (11:2-3)
b. Nephi delights in proving that Christ will come (11:4)
c. Nephi delights in the Lord's (i) covenants to the fathers and (ii) plan of deliverance from death (11:5)
b. Nephi delights in proving that all would perish if Christ did not come (11:6-7)
a. Nephi quotes Isaiah so that all who read can rejoice for all men (11:8)


II. Nephi quotes and explains Isaiah (Chapters 12-30)
● Isaiah's prophecy (Chapters 12-25a)
• Nephi quotes Isaiah's prophecy (12:1-24:32)
• keys to understanding Isaiah (25:1-8)
● Nephi's prophecy (Chapters 25b-30)
• Events: Israel: Babylonian captivity, return, rejection of Christ, Roman scattering, second gathering (25:9-19)
• Exhortation: be reconciled in Christ because there is no other name for salvation (25:20-30)
• Events: Nephites: warfare, Christ's visit, four righteous generations, destruction (26:1-11)
• Events: Gentiles: Book of Mormon will come forth to gentiles in the last days (26:12-19)
• Conditions: last days: conditions of exclusion, but God invites all (26:20-33)
• Events: Gentiles: Isaiah's prophecy of the Book of Mormon coming forth (27:1-35)
• Conditions in the last days (28:1-30:18)
• false doctrines taught about God (28:1-9)
• pride and false doctrine corrupt churches so humble are led astray (28:10-14)
• strategies to ensnare people (28:15-32)
• Bible contains only a portion of God's word (29:1-14)
• Events: Gentiles: Book of Mormon will teach of Christ, division between righteous and wicked (30:1-11)
• Events: Millennium (30:12-18)


I. Nephi's last words (Chapters 31-33)

• __ (31:1-21)
• __ (32:1-9)
• __ (33:1-15)

Unanswered questions

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Prompts for life application

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Prompts for further study

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Resources

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Previous editions.

The original 1830 edition of Second Nephi was divided into only seven chapters (I-XV). For the 1879 edition Parley Pratt further divided those seven into the thirty three chapters (1-33) still used today. • I: 1-2 • II: 3 • III: 4 • IV: 5 • V: 6-8 • VI: 9 • VII: 10 • VIII: 11-15 • IX: 16-22 • X: 23-24 • XI: 25-27 • XII: 28-30 • XIII: 31 • XIV: 32 • XV: 33

References cited on this page.

Other resources.

Notes

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves (such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word). In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources (such as Strong's Bible Concordance or the Joseph Smith Papers) are preferable to footnotes.



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