This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers 2 Nephi 26-30, which includes Nephi’s teachings about the last days.
Following are a few quotes from past and present Church leaders about these chapters.
2 Nephi 26
“God’s children are invited to come to the Savior and be perfected in Him. In the scriptures, we find the invitation for us to come to the Lord repeated over 90 times, and more than half of these are personal invitations from the Lord Himself. Accepting the Savior’s invitation means partaking of His ordinances and keeping our covenants with Him. Jesus Christ is ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6), and He invites us ‘all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him’ (2 Nephi 26:33).”
— Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran, April 2022 general conference, “The Covenant Path: The Way to Eternal Life”
“The purpose of mortal life and the post-mortal growth that can follow it is for the offspring of God to become like He is. This is Heavenly Father’s desire for all His children. To achieve this joyful destiny, eternal laws require that we must become purified beings through the Atonement of Jesus Christ so we can dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son and enjoy the blessings of exaltation. As the Book of Mormon teaches, He invites ‘all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God’ (2 Nephi 26:33).”
— President Dallin H. Oaks, April 2020 general conference, “The Great Plan”
“Youth of all ages, even infants, can and do respond to the distinctive spirit of the Book of Mormon. Children may not understand all of the words and stories, but they certainly can feel the ‘familiar spirit’ described by Isaiah (Isaiah 29:4; see also 2 Nephi 26:16). And the questions a child asks, the observations a child shares, and the discussions that occur provide crucial spiritual early warning signals. Importantly, such conversations can help parents to discern what their children are learning, thinking, and feeling about the truths contained in this sacred volume of scripture, as well as the difficulties they may be facing.”
— Elder David A. Bednar, April 2010 general conference, “Watching with All Perseverance”
2 Nephi 27
“The moment we begin to remember [the Lord] and keep His commandments every day — and not just on the Sabbath day — is when the remission of our sins begins to gradually take effect and His promise of having His Spirit with us begins to be fulfilled.
“Without the proper obedience that must accompany our intent, the effect of remission may disappear before long and the companionship of the Spirit begins to withdraw. We will run the risk of honoring Him with our lips while removing our hearts from Him (see 2 Nephi 27:25).”
— Elder Francisco J. Viñas, October 2015 general conference, “The Pleasing Word of God”
“How can the temporal affairs of an organization as large as the restored Church of Jesus Christ possibly operate throughout the entire world using such succinct instructions? To me the answer is quite straightforward: this is the Lord’s work, He is able to do His own work (see 2 Nephi 27:20), and the Savior inspires and directs His servants as they apply His directions and labor in His cause.”
— Elder David A. Bednar, October 2013 general conference, “The Windows of Heaven”
“Along with losing the Spirit, pornography users also lose perspective and proportion. Like King David, they try to conceal their sin, forgetting that nothing is hidden from the Lord (see 2 Nephi 27:27). Real consequences start to accumulate as self-respect ebbs away, sweet relationships sour, marriages wither and innocent victims begin to pile up. Finding that what they have been viewing no longer satisfies, they experiment with more extreme images. They slowly grow addicted even if they don’t know it or they deny it, and like David’s, their behavior deteriorates as their moral standards disintegrate.”
— Elder L. Whitney Clayton, October 2007 general conference, “Blessed Are All the Pure in Heart”
2 Nephi 28
“The Lord teaches us individually according to our capacity to learn and how we learn. Our growth is dependent on our willingness, natural curiosity, level of faith and understanding.
“Nephi was taught what Joseph Smith would learn in Kirtland, Ohio, over 2,300 years later: ‘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’ (2 Nephi 28:30).”
— Elder Vaiangina Sikahema, October 2021 general conference, “A House of Sequential Order”
“The Lord has always revealed His will to us ‘line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little’ (2 Nephi 28:30). Therefore, we should not be surprised by what may seem like small things because of their simple and repetitive nature, for the Lord has already counseled us, telling us that ‘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’ (2 Nephi 28:30).
“I testify that by learning ‘line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little’ and by hearkening to our leaders’ counsel, we will have oil for our lamps that will enable us to give light unto others as the Lord commanded us.”
— Elder Benjamín De Hoyos, April 2017 general conference, “That Our Light May Be a Standard for the Nations”
“Learning to fully understand the doctrines of the gospel is a process of a lifetime and comes ‘line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little’ (2 Nephi 28:30). As children learn and act upon what they learn, their understanding is expanded, which leads to more learning, more action, and an even greater and more enduring understanding.
“We can know our children are beginning to understand the doctrine when we see it revealed in their attitudes and actions without external threats or rewards. As our children learn to understand gospel doctrines, they become more self-reliant and more responsible. They become part of the solution to our family challenges and make a positive contribution to the environment of our home and the success of our family.”
— Sister Cheryl A. Esplin, then the second counselor in the Primary general presidency, April 2012 general conference, “Teaching Our Children to Understand”
“As in the days of Nehor and Korihor, we live in a time not long before the advent of Jesus Christ — in our case, the time of preparation for His Second Coming. And similarly, the message of repentance is often not welcomed. Some profess that if there is a God, He makes no real demands upon us (see Alma 18:5). Others maintain that a loving God forgives all sin based on simple confession, or if there actually is a punishment for sin, ‘God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God’ (2 Nephi 28:8). Others, with Korihor, deny the very existence of Christ and any such thing as sin. Their doctrine is that values, standards and even truth are all relative. Thus, whatever one feels is right for him or her cannot be judged by others to be wrong or sinful.
“On the surface such philosophies seem appealing because they give us license to indulge any appetite or desire without concern for consequences. By using the teachings of Nehor and Korihor, we can rationalize and justify anything. When prophets come crying repentance, it ‘throws cold water on the party.’ But in reality the prophetic call should be received with joy. Without repentance, there is no real progress or improvement in life. Pretending there is no sin does not lessen its burden and pain. Suffering for sin does not by itself change anything for the better. Only repentance leads to the sunlit uplands of a better life. And, of course, only through repentance do we gain access to the atoning grace of Jesus Christ and salvation. Repentance is a divine gift, and there should be a smile on our faces when we speak of it. It points us to freedom, confidence and peace. Rather than interrupting the celebration, the gift of repentance is the cause for true celebration.”
— Elder D. Todd Christofferson, October 2011 general conference, “The Divine Gift of Repentance”
2 Nephi 29
“Joseph’s original English translation, except for a few minor grammatical and textual emendations, remains the text that we use today and is the standard for all other language translations of the Book of Mormon throughout the world. As Nephi of old prophesied, his ‘words shall [whisper] forth unto the ends of the earth, for a standard unto [his] people” (2 Nephi 29:2).
“Could any one of us today produce such a work? Could a thousand of the world’s best theologians and scholars of ancient languages or antiquities write a similar book of such supernal, transcendent value?
“No other person with such limited education and facility as Joseph has single-handedly translated in such a short period of time from ancient writings over 500 pages of scriptural text.”
— Elder Robert K. Dellenbach, April 1995 general conference, “The Translation Miracle of the Book of Mormon”
“Lost books are among the treasures yet to come forth. Over 20 of these are mentioned in the existing scriptures. Perhaps most startling and voluminous will be the records of the lost tribes of Israel (see 2 Nephi 29:13). We would not even know of the impending third witness for Christ except through the precious Book of Mormon, the second witness for Christ! This third set of sacred records will thus complete a triad of truth. Then, just as the Perfect Shepherd has said, ‘My word also shall be gathered in one’ (2 Nephi 29:14).”
— Elder Neal A. Maxwell, October 1986 general conference, “‘God Will Yet Reveal’”
“Then there are the words of the Lord to the prophet Nephi when he said: ‘For my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever’ (2 Nephi 29:9). Now that should enable us to comprehend and realize that there will never be a time when God will cease to do his work to bring to pass, as we read in the Pearl of Great Price, the glory that will be added upon their heads forever and ever.”
— Elder LeGrand Richards, April 1974 general conference, “What after Death?”
2 Nephi 30
“How can we, as individual members of the Church, survive spiritually if we do not honor our covenants? How can we survive spiritually if we break outright the covenants made at the time of baptism or in the holy temples? How can we be on the Lord’s side during the ‘great division’ if we mirror the world’s materialism and selfishness (see 2 Nephi 30:10)?”
— Elder Neal A. Maxwell, April 1988 general conference, “‘For I Will Lead You Along’”
“Judgment of worthiness is made by the bishop, and ultimately by the Lord, as taught by Nephi: ‘With righteousness shall the Lord God judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth’ (2 Nephi 30:9).
“Ours is not to judge; ours is a covenantal obligation to care for the poor and the needy, to prepare for their rejoicing when the Messiah shall come again.”
— Then-Elder Russell M. Nelson, April 1986 general conference, “In the Lord’s Own Way”
