1 AND now, behold, my brethren, I have spoken unto you, according as the Spirit hath constrained me; [ What is Nephi suggesting here? Constrained suggests that he is being compelled to doing something out of necessity. Other examples include ( 1 Nephi 4:10; Alma 14:11; 4 Nephi 1:48; D&C 63:64).] wherefore, I know that they must surely come to pass.

2 And the things which shall be written out of the book shall be of great worth unto the children of men, [ How would they know that? Becuas emany of the writers saw our day. If they saw our day and chose those things which would be of greatest worth to us, is not that how we should study the Book of Mormon? We should constantly ask ourselves, ‘Why did the Lord inspire Mormon (or Moroni or Alma) to include that in his record? What lesson can I learn from that to help me live in this day and age?’] and especially unto our seed, which is a remnant of the house of Israel. [ For additional discussion see 2 Ne 29:1-2. ]

3 For it shall come to pass in that day [1] that the churches which are built up, [ What is he implying? Built up to what? As a result of their secret combinations - see Mormon 8 ] 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—

4 And [2] they shall contend one with another; [ Who is the source of contention? The Lord say of his people if ye are not one ye are not mine. ] and their priests shall contend one with another, and they shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance.

5 And [3] they deny the power of God, [ How do they do that? It is the men or people in the church that decide what the policies of the church will be; they make no bones about it as they do not claim revelation from God; they do not believe in that. So they are churchs of the minds of the majority of its members. Is it deliberate that they deny the power of God? Do you think that tells us something about them. If you notice today how the different churchs limit the power which God has. Most churches do not claim to have any authority from God for their ministry, but would they need to have that if they believe that the work of God is completed. Satan has given tem to believe that if God is done with his part then the rest is up to use - so there would be no need to call upon God for help. so the question is if they knew they could have the power of God how would they choose? ] the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] unto us, and hear ye our precept; [4] for behold there is no God today, [ ] for the Lord and [5] the Redeemer hath done his work, [ ] and he hath given his power unto men;

6 Behold, hearken ye unto my precept; [ Or learn this. Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; [6] for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work. [ Further clarification of the principle that they deny the power of God. Such that they say that God has used his power, that his work is done, and has given that power to men. We are not talking about the priesthood either. They simple have no claim on the power of God.]

7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say:[7] Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die; and it shall be well with us. [ "Think for a moment, of the greatness of the Being who created the Universe; and ask, could He be so inconsistent with His own character, as to leave man without a law or rule by which to regulate his conduct, after placing him here, where, according to the formation of his nature he must in a short period sink into the dust? Is there nothing further; is there no existence beyond this veil of death which is so suddenly to be cast over all of us? If there is, why not that Being who had power to place us here, inform us something of the hereafter? If we had power to place ourselves in this present existence, why not have power to know what shall follow when that dark veil is cast over our bodies? If in this life we receive our all; if when we crumble back to dust we are no more, from what source did we emanate, and what was the purpose of our existence? If this life were all, we should be led to query, whether or not there was really any substance in existence, and we might with propriety say, “Let us eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die!” But if this life is all,then why this constant toiling, why this continual warfare, and why this unceasing trouble? But this life is not all; the voice of reason, the language of inspiration, and the Spirit of the living God,our Creator, teaches us, as we hold the record of truth in our hands, that this is not the case, that this is not so; for, the heavens declare the glory of a God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork;and a moment’s reflection is sufficient to teach every man of common intelligence, that all these are not the mere productions of chance, nor could they be supported by any power less than an Almighty hand; and He that can mark the power of Omnipotence, inscribed upon the heavens, can also see God’s own handwriting in the sacred volume: and he who reads it oftenest will like it best, and he who is acquainted with it, will know the hand wherever he can see it; and when once discovered,it will not only receive an acknowledgment, but an obedience to all its heavenly precepts. For amoment reflect: what could have been the purpose of our Father" Teachings Of The Prophet Joseph Smith pg 56 ]

8 And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God— [8] he will justify in committing a little sin; [ 1) Satan realizes that the person who claims to be a ‘victim’ will never progress spiritually. The rationalization to break the commandments will often lie in the ‘victim mentality:’ “It’s not my fault, I can’t help it, the devil made me do it, God made me this way." As long as the finger is pointed at someone else there can be no responsibility, and in the mind of the victim, there should be no condemnation. Nephi warned that a sign of apostasy among members of the Church in the Last Days would be a trust in the love of God rather than the Redemption of God. 2) Or The OLD LAW OF JUSTIFICATION. YOu can really if you try justify anything that you would like to do. After all God never intended us to be perfect that is why he put the atonement in place right. So live a little then apply the atonement - what is wrong with that? Do we ever us that logic or something of that nature to justify doing what we want? Do we ever say I know that so and so did this or that, they went to the temple without telling the bishop - and they are ok now. Elder Neal A Maxwell said "This is a cynical and shallow view of God, of self, and of life. God never can justify us ‘in committing a little sin’ (v. 8). He is the God of the universe, not some night-court judge with whom we can haggle and plea bargain! “Of course God is forgiving! But He knows the intents of our hearts. He also knows what good we might have done while AWOL [absent without leave]. In any case, what others do is no excuse for the discipline from whom much is required (see Alma 39:4). Besides, on the straight and narrow path, there are simply no corners to be cut (see D&C 82:3)” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1988, 40; or Ensign, Nov. 1988, 33). “God . . . will justify in committing a little sin” (v. 8). The Doctrine and Covenants is clear: “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven” (D&C 1:31–32). Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles commented on the foolishness of thinking that we are better off for having sinned for the experience of it: “The idea that one is better off after one has sinned and repented is a devilish lie of the adversary. Does anyone here think that it is better to learn firsthand that a certain blow will break a bone or a certain mixture of chemicals will explode and sear off our skin? Are we better off after we have sustained and then healed such injuries? I believe we all can see that it is better to heed the warnings of wise persons who know the effects on our bodies” (“Sin and Suffering,” in Brigham Young University 1989–90 Devotional and Fireside Speeches [1990], 151)." ] yea, lie a little, [ President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) admonished us to resist the temptation to lie a little: “Nephi so describes the people of his day, as he also describes so many of our day. How easy it is for us to say, ‘We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent’ (Articles of Faith 1:13). But how difficult for so many to resist the temptation to lie a little, cheat a little, steal a little, bear false witness in speaking gossipy words about others. Rise above it. . . . Be strong in the simple virtue of honesty” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1992, 74; or Ensign, Nov. 1992, 52).] 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, [ President James E. Faust (1920–2007) of the First Presidency spoke against this falsehood: “[One deception] is what some erroneously call ‘premeditated repentance.’ There is no such doctrine in this Church. This may sound subtly appealing, but it is in fact pernicious and a false concept. Its objective is to persuade us that we can consciously and deliberately transgress with the forethought that quick repentance will permit us to enjoy the full blessings of the gospel, such as temple blessings or a mission. True repentance can be a long, painful process. This foolish doctrine was foreseen by Nephi: “‘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; . . . 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’ [2 Nephi 28:8]. “. . . All of our covenants must not only be received through ordinances but, to be eternal, must also be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. This divine stamp of approval is placed upon our ordinances and covenants only through faithfulness. The false idea of so-called premeditated repentance involves an element of deception, but the Holy Spirit of Promise cannot be deceived” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2000, 61; or Ensign, Nov. 2000, 46).] and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

9 Yea, and [9] there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, [ To this point Nephi has already outlined 4. Each one of these philosophies provides a spiritual pattern that will take us away from the truth. Why will they do that? Teach what ever will bring them the most followers. the most power, the most money. ] and shall be puffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep [ "deep" is associated with reference to hell; Isa. 29:15 ] to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark. [ When our works are in the dark what does that suggest? Satan usually trys to get men to hide what they are doing, with the idea that they can hide from God - remember Adam. So if we are doing something in the darke it is usually something that we do not want to be seen doing, hidden or in the dark. Darkiness is the opposite or the absebce o]

10 And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.

11 Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.

12 [10] 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.

13 They [ These false teachers - Isa 28. ] rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; [ ('fine' being a word exclusively used in the OT to describe the tabernacle materials and priestly clothing), so is there a reference here that they are mimicing God's sacred order, and of course, to lead many into pride, temptations, and 'strange paths.' So in essence they do this to lift themselves up as they are not under acting under proper priesthood authority, and are not lifted up by the Lord. ] and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up.

14 They wear stiff necks and high heads; yea, and because of pride, and wickedness, and abominations, and whoredoms, they have all gone astray [ Chosen a path different from the covenant path. So it does not matter what path they did choose if it was not the covenant path. ] save it be a few, [ How small is that few I assume that it is closely related to the 1 out of 7. Remember 6 out of 7 son's of God are destroyed. ] who are the humble followers of Christ; [ This is the small subset. ] nevertheless, they are led, that in many instances they do err because they are taught by the precepts of men. [ Those that are lead astray most likely are following along the same path as the daughters of Zion, only instead of being the ones wearing the apparel and dress immodestly they are the ones who are looking (pornography). The Lord chastised the early saints for their lust in D&C 101:2&6. I think that we have reached new levels. ]

15 O the wise, [ Those who think that they are wise - wise unto themsleves. ] and the learned, [ Those who think or understand that things of the world and cannot be taught anything - at least of a spiritual nature. ] and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, [ Not just any rich but the ones who flaunt it; the ones that are better than everyone else because they are rich. Or at least they think that they are. ] and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord, [ Those who do not do things his way. ] wo, wo, wo [ Symbolic of the most or the greatest wo that can be offered. Holy Holy Holy is the most holy the same applies here as well. ] be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!

16 Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing of naught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God [ Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish.

17 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 [ What exactly does “host” mean? The phrase “Lord of Hosts” is the same as the “Lord of Sabaoth.” “The Lord of Sabaoth was a title of Jehovah; the hosts were the armies of Israel (1 Sam. 17:45), but also included the angelic armies of heaven” (Bible Dictionary, “Sabaoth,” ] .

18 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.

19 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 ^cchains,[ Those bound by the power of Satan because they have hardened their hearts, they are given a lesser part of the word, which causes them to harden their hearts even more - receiving even less. (Alma 12: 11) ]and they be stirred up to anger, [ Elder Marvin J. Ashton (1915–94) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles identified the danger that comes from following Satan’s temptations to take advantage of each other: “It should come as no surprise that one of the adversary’s tactics in the latter days is stirring up hatred among the children of men. He loves to see us criticize each other, make fun or take advantage of our neighbor’s known flaws, and generally pick on each other. The Book of Mormon is clear from where all anger, malice, greed, and hate come from. “. . . By the looks of what we constantly see depicted in the news media, it appears that Satan is doing a pretty good job. In the name of reporting the news, we are besieged with sometimes graphic depictions—too often in living color—of greed, extortion, violent sexual crimes, and insults between business, athletic, or political opponents” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1992, 24–25; or Ensign, May 1992, 19). ] and perish;

20 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.

21 And others [ Zion. Christ is not waiting for a Zion people to be prepared for him to come a second time, he comes just as he did the first time, because there isn't a Zion people. He comes to establish this. ] will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, [ The "he" here is Satan. Apathy is the first step to apostasy. This then is the sign to apostasy in the last day. Bishop Richard C. Edgley commented on the carnal desires so prevalent in today’s world: “Nephi describes [Satan’s] sales techniques as pacifying, flattering, and lulling as he declares, ‘All is well’ (2 Nephi 28:21–22). Among other things Satan would have us put in our bags is immorality in all its forms, including pornography, language, dress, and behavior. But such evil deeds bring emotional distress, loss of spirituality, loss of self-respect, lost opportunity for a mission or temple marriage, and sometimes even unwanted pregnancy. Satan would enslave us by having us put drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and other addictive behaviors into our bags” (in Conference Report, Oct. 2000, 57; or Ensign, Nov. 2000, 43). ] that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, [ How then does the devil cheateth them? He will get them to believe that everything is ok, no matter how bad it may be. The cheat is that Satan has taught them to reason not from Gods reasoning, but from Satan's. ] and leadeth [ One slow step at a time, Every time we give into the whisperings of Satan we get one step closer to him and one step further away from God. ] them away carefully down to hell.

22 And behold, [11] others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; [ He tells them that everyone is going to be in a place where they will be happy, so don't worry. What are the ramifications of this false doctrine? If there is not hell there is not punishment or reward. One of the greatest lies perpetuated is that there is no devil. President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988) of the First Presidency affirmed the reality of Satan with this testimony: “A corollary to the pernicious falsehood that God is dead is the equally pernicious doctrine that there is no devil. Satan himself is the father of both of these lies. To believe them is to surrender to him. Such surrender has always led, is leading now, and will continue to lead men to destruction. “Latter-day Saints know that there is a God. With like certainty, they know that Satan lives, that he is a powerful personage of spirit, the archenemy of God, of man, and of righteousness. “The reality of the existence of both God and the devil is conclusively established by the scriptures and by human experience” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1971, 22; or Ensign, June 1971, 35). ] and he saith unto them: I am no devil, [ This is his plan if you do not believe that there is a devil then you in a way give power to all of the tactics that he uses to influence man. If there is no devil then there is no one trying to disrupt the truth and Gods plan. ] for there is none—and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains,[ Chains denotes the loss of agency, the principle that Satan has used since his argument with God that he would force everyone back. Those bound by the power of Satan because they have hardened their hearts, they have lost their agency they are given a lesser part of the word, which causes them to harden their hearts even more - receiving even less... see Alma 12: 11 How does Satan bind us with his chains? As a Bishop I have come to recognize a very consistent pattern - it starts like this: someone makes a mistake; one that they can repent of; they may need to go see the bishop but don't. The first straind of chain was placed on them by themselves when they committed the sin. However; satan puts the secong strand on really quickly with something like - that was just a little sin - you are ok you do not need to see the Bishop for that! It does not take long and he puts on another strand of chain further weighting the person down as satan convinces them that they are no good; then that they cannot ever get forgiven; then that nobody would ever want them after what they have done; each time putting on more chain; each time limiting what they can do - until they are weighed down and cannot move. Then Satan piles on a little more with the idea that they should now give up hope; they should despair; they should be depressed....then without hope they sink even deeper. ]from whence there is no deliverance.

23 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.

24 Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! [ One of the halmarks of a prophet's to declare repentance unto the people. We all can repent, we can all do better and when we think not we are in trouble. (Alma 5) ]

25 Wo be unto him that crieth: All is well! [ The purpose is to decieve the people into belief that everything is just fine; another approach at the eat drink and be merry philosophy. ]

26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearkenenth which means they "listened to" and "obeyed". ] unto the precepts of men, [ They will also trust in the arm of the flesh ] and denieth the power of God, [ They will not rely on the arm of the Lord. ] and the gift of the Holy Ghost!

27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more! [ Why would anyone not want more of the word of God? Well if you feel that there are already too many rules; to much for you being told what to do and you want to do your own thing then you certainly do not want any more. They do not want to be further condemned by the words of God. That is to put limitations on God - they define what he can and cannot do. President James E. Faust explained the need for modern revelation: “Does God love us less than those led by the ancient prophets? Do we need his guidance and instruction less? Reason suggests that this cannot be. Does he not care? Has he lost his voice? Has he gone on a permanent vacation? Does he sleep? The unreasonableness of each of these proposals is self-evident” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1980, 16; or Ensign, May 1980, 13). ]

28 And in fine, wo unto all those who [12] tremble, and are angry because of the truth of God! [ 1 Ne. 16:1-2 why because it cuts them to the core; they feel it ; they know it and they refuse to live it - so they become angry with themselves; and with those that do try to live it. Those who get mad and say well God is a God of love and because he loves us so much he is not going to kick us out(verse 8), it is going to be well with us. People get mad at others who expect them to honor and keep the commandments of God. ] For behold, he that is built upon the rock [ ( Matt. 7:24-27, in the OT, Proverbs 10:25) indicates: As the whirlwind passeth, so [is] the wicked no [more]: but the righteous [is] an everlasting foundation. (KJV) When the storm passes the wicked man is gone, But the righteous is an everlasting foundation. (JPS) For the foundation of rock, cf. Num. 24:21-22, 2 Sam. 22:2-3, 1 Kings 5:15-17, Ps. 31:2-3, Ps. 62, Ps. 87:1, Isa. 28:16. For the unstable foundation swept away by the flood, cf. Gen. 6:17, Job 22:15-16, Isa. 28:22, Jer. 46:6-8, Amos 8:8, Nahum 1:8. Note Jacob uses the language and symbolism of Isa. 28:16 and equates the corner stone of Christ with the only sure and safe foundation, cf. Jacob 4:15-17. Also compare Hela. 5:12. ] receiveth it with gladness; [ How could Joseph Smith have known? Hebrew has fewer adverbs than English. Instead, it often uses prepositional phrases with the preposition meaning in or with. The English translation of the Book of Mormon contains more of these prepositional phrases in place of adverbs than we would expect if the book had been written in English originally—another Hebraism, in this case"with gladness" instead of gladly. (The Maxwell Institute - Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon - http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=72&chapid=862) ] and he that is built upon a sandy foundation trembleth lest he shall fall.

29 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!

30 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; [ Why does God just not give it all to us at once? ] and blessed are those who hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] 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. [ Compare with Isa. 28:13 this theme will continue forward until 2 Ne 29:14. ]

31 Cursed is he that putteth his trust in man, [ How is man cursed that puts his trust in man? Well if your trust is with man and not God then God cannot help you, you have your agency and you are exercising it in such a way as to withhold the blessings that God would be willing to give you if you were humble and would ask. So by not trusting in God, by not asking for Gods help, by not recognizing him you have given yourself a curse. ] or maketh flesh his arm, or shall hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] unto the precepts of men, save their precepts shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost.

32 Wo be unto the Gentiles, saith the Lord God [ Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] 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.