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FAIR Resources for Come, Follow Me – Book of Mormon
2 Nephi 11–19
Week 9: February 26-March 3, 2024
“His Name Shall Be Called … The Prince of Peace”
“His Name Shall Be Called … The Prince of Peace”
FAIR Faithful Resources for Come, Follow Me 2024 February 19-25. 2 Nephi 11-19: “O How Great the Plan of Our God”. These trusted sources can help you find answers to difficult questions and help you in your learning and teaching.
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Main Points to Ponder
The chapters we’re studying this week are notoriously hard to understand; yet Nephi asserts that the words of Isaiah are plain unto those who are filled with the spirit of prophecy (2 Nephi 25:4). Consider these additional strategies for understanding Isaiah:
2 Nephi 11:2 – Nephi says that he likens Isaiah’s words to his own people. How can we follow that example? How can these words be likened to our own situations and lives?
2 Nephi 11:4 Nephi uses the words of Isaiah to prove the coming of Christ to his people. What symbols of Christ do you see in Isaiah’s words? How do these scriptures prove Christ?
Seek to be “filled with the spirit of prophecy.” As you pray for the spirit to be with you, you can receive guidance to understand and make plain the messages God would have you know.
Faithful Answers to Difficult Questions
Chapter Summaries
2 Nephi 11
2 Nephi 12
2 Nephi 13
2 Nephi 14
2 Nephi 15
2 Nephi 16
2 Nephi 17
2 Nephi 18
2 Nephi 19
2 Nephi 11
1-8: This is Nephi’s preface as he begins to teach using the words of Isaiah. He bears a powerful testimony of the reality of Jesus Christ and the importance of His mission.
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2 Nephi 12
(compare to Isaiah 2)
1-5: In the last days God’s word will flow to His people from the temple(s). Israel is invited to learn of His ways and walk in His light.
6-9: Israel is chastised for having put their trust in materialism and the arm of flesh; also for having been influenced by idols.
10-22: However, all those worldly things, powers and influences will be brought low during the “day of the Lord.” Israel is admonished to “cease ye from man” and instead to put their full faith and trust in the Lord.
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2 Nephi 13
(compare to Isaiah 3)
1-12: Isaiah describes the collapse of political and cultural structures in store for the Jews due to their rejection of God.
13-26 and 2 Nephi 14:1: The Lord chastises the house of Israel for many of their sins. The “Daughters of Zion” is a metaphor for the Lord’s covenant people. They have completely neglected Him by focusing on other priorities. Trials and unhappiness are in their future.
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2 Nephi 14
(compare to Isaiah 4)
2-6: However, in a coming day, God will redeem and cleanse His people. They will enjoy guidance and direction similar to what was experienced during the time of Moses, with God as their refuge and salvation.
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2 Nephi 15
(compare to Isaiah 5)
1-7: Isaiah gives the parable of the grape vine. The Lord has planted the grape vine (Israel) and though He has cared for it, it has become wild. He removes those supports that are protecting it, exposing it to briars and thorns.
8-30: Isaiah describes the sins of the House of Israel. “Wo unto” them for a multitude of reasons, including laziness, excessive frivolity, pride and other types of sins. The Lord’s disappointment will be manifest through their tribulations.
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2 Nephi 16
(compare to Isaiah 6)
1-8: Isaiah is called to be a prophet by the Lord. Isaiah beholds God’s glory and his sins are forgiven. He is prepared to be a messenger for God.
9-13: The Lord warns Isaiah that Israel will reject the message he shares with them. They will be scattered, though a remnant will return. That remnant will contain “substance” and “a holy seed.”
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2 Nephi 17
(compare to Isaiah 7)
1-9: Syria and Israel (the kingdom of Ephraim) are preparing to go to war against Israel (the kingdom of Judah.) Isaiah warns Ahaz (the king of Judah) of the coming trouble, but tells him not to fear, but to trust in God.
10-16: As a sign, a pure woman will conceive a son (perhaps Isaiah’s son) who will be a savior to the kingdom of Judah. This event is a type and shadow of Jesus, who will come in the meridian of time.
17-25: However, destruction awaits the Jews if they make an alliance with Assyria instead of relying on God.
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2 Nephi 18
(compare to Isaiah 8)
1-4: Isaiah speaks prophetically of his son, whose name refers to the coming destruction.
5-8: Israel has rejected the living waters of God’s word and will thus be confronted with a “flood” of angry waters from Assyria.
9-15: Instead of looking to other nations or alliances for their rescue, Israel only needs to rely on God. Though He provides sanctuary to those who have faith, He is a stumbling block to those without.
16-22: Though destruction is coming (the Lord will hide His face), the House of Israel needs to rededicate their efforts to study the words of the prophets instead of false prophets or deceivers.
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2 Nephi 19
(compare to Isaiah 9)
1-5: Continuing on the message from the previous chapter, Isaiah promises wonderful blessings if the House of Israel will turn to God.
6-7: One source of hope is the promised Messiah. This prophecy may refer to both His first mission and when He will come again.
8-21: The rest of the chapter again references the displeasure of God with the choices being made and the consequences of those choices.
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Digging Deeper
Lesson Devotional
“The Prince of Peace”
By Craig Lindquist, Contributor
The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” These powerful words adorning the front covers of this book are a declaration of what we will find within its pages and a profound testimony that Jesus is indeed the Christ, all before we even open the book. Within a short span of reading we find the unimpeachable testimony of Nephi, a prophet of God. He invoked the ancient law of witnesses laid down by Moses and then by Christ Himself, wherein God has declared that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1; see also Deuteronomy 17:6 and 2 Nephi 11:3). By the witness of a sacred three, Nephi bore a powerful testimony of Jesus Christ: “For [Isaiah] verily saw my Redeemer, even as I have seen him. And my brother, Jacob, also has seen him as I have seen him” (2 Nephi 11:2–3).
As we study the Book of Mormon this year we will be confronted, again, with the writings of Isaiah. Knowing that he is “the most quoted of all prophets,” and perhaps the most difficult to understand, what will we think as we read these words of Nephi? “The words of Isaiah . . . are plain unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy” (2 Nephi 25:4).
If your head hangs a little lower as you read those words, just remember these words from Wilford Woodruff: “The object of Christ’s mission to the earth was to offer himself as a sacrifice to redeem mankind from eternal death.” He later affirmed, “There is no being that has power to save the souls of men and give them eternal life, except the Lord Jesus Christ, under the command of His Father.” In perfect and simple language, Wilford captured the essence of the writings of Isaiah and Nephi. Jesus is the Christ! He alone can save us. He is the God Isaiah knew and the God we know. He has come to claim His rightful place among men as the King of Kings.
Read Isaiah’s words as recorded by Nephi: “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (2 Nephi 19:6). Rarely have more profound words ever been written. Ponder carefully the language Isaiah used. It is unto us, for us, that a child, even the Eternal Father’s own child, was given! His names testify of His character. He is wonderful! He is mighty! He is indeed the Prince of Peace!
Let us study this additional testament of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, with a renewed determination to learn and spiritually grow as never before. Let us not hang our heads low because of the difficulties of understanding Isaiah. While we may not grasp all that he wrote, we can grasp what is most needed—Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. He brings peace that can be found nowhere else (see John 14:27). What a wondrous gift!
Endnotes
1 Bible Dictionary, “Isaiah,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
2 Discourse by Wilford Woodruff, October 1, 1845, p. 6, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
3 Discourse by Wilford Woodruff, February 13, 1898, p. 1, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/discourse/1898-02-13.
Craig Lindquist
Craig Lindquist is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, happily married to his wife, Dianna, for the past 46 years. By trade he is a cabinetmaker, actor, and writer. He lives in Henderson, Nevada, except when he travels to film or to work on the construction of temples
Lesson devotionals are provided by the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation. Its mission is to digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ from 1833 to 1898. It seeks to make Wilford Woodruff’s records universally accessible to inspire all people, especially the rising generation, to study and to increase their faith in Jesus Christ. See wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.
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