" . . . yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.
"For those who shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power, that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust." (2 Ne. 26:15-16.)In A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, Daniel H. Ludlow pointed out that Nephi was evidently quoting from a statement found in Isaiah 29:4 when he referred to a destroyed people whose record would come "out of the ground. . . . "
Brother Ludlow wrote: " . . . a careful reading of this scripture, particularly when read together with Nephi's explanation, would indicate that the term it hath a familiar spirit' means that this record (the Book of Mormon) would speak with afamiliar voice' to those who already have the Bible. In other words, Nephi is evidently saying here that the doctrinal teachings of the Book of Mormon would seem familiar to people who had already read and accepted the Bible."
