2 Nephi 33

 

In 2 Nephi 33, we read: 

"1 And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I ^amighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man ^bspeaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.

2 But behold, there are many that ^aharden their ^bhearts against the ^cHoly Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught.

3 But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great ^aworth, and especially unto my people. For I ^bpray continually for them by day, and mine ^ceyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry.

4 And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it ^apersuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life ^beternal.

5 And it speaketh ^aharshly against sin, according to the ^bplainness of the truth; wherefore, no man will be angry at the words which I have written save he shall be of the spirit of the devil.

6 I ^aglory in ^bplainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath ^credeemed my soul from hell.

7 I have ^acharity for my people, and great faith in Christ that I shall meet many souls spotless at his judgment-seat.

8 I have charity for the ^aJew—I say Jew, because I mean them from whence I came.

9 I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of ^athese can I hope except they shall be ^breconciled unto Christ, and enter into the ^cnarrow ^dgate, and ^ewalk in the ^fstrait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of ^gprobation.

10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also ^aJew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and ^bbelieve in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall ^cbelieve in Christ ye will believe in these ^dwords, for they are the ^ewords of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they ^fteach all men that they should do good.

11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with ^apower and great ^bglory, that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things, notwithstanding my weakness.

12 And I pray the Father in the name of Christ that many of us, if not all, may be saved in his ^akingdom at that great and last day.

13 And now, my beloved brethren, all those who are of the house of Israel, and all ye ends of the earth, I speak unto you as the voice of one ^acrying from the dust: Farewell until that great day shall come.

14 And you that will not partake of the goodness of God, and respect the words of the ^aJews, and also my ^bwords, and the words which shall proceed forth out of the mouth of the Lamb of God, behold, I bid you an everlasting farewell, for these words shall ^ccondemn you at the last day.

15 For what I seal on earth, shall be brought against you at the ^ajudgment bar; for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must ^bobey. Amen."

And here's the commentary from the "Come, Follow Me" Manual entitled: "The Book of Mormon persuades us all to believe in Christ":

"In 2 Nephi 33, as Nephi concluded his writings, he explained why he was writing in the first place. What reasons do you find in this chapter? Reflect on the stories and teachings you’ve read so far in 1 Nephi and 2 Nephi. Which have influenced you and your faith in Christ the most?"

The story of Nephi which has influenced me the most and my faith in Christ is the one when he acknowledged his own father, Lehi, as the head of their family and as God's chosen prophet when Nephi approached Lehi and asked him where to go to obtain food after Nephi accidentally broke his bow made of brass and he made a new one made of wood. Nephi simply and humbly acknowledged his father by asking him for guidance. Nephi looked past his father's momentary display of weakness--complaining about the difficult situation they were in. And because of Nephi's initiatives did melt his father's heart.

Just as Nephi did, I acknowledge my own father as the head of our family. I also looked past his weaknesses myself. And while I was dating, I would consider whether my father would approve of the person I was dating. And I did eventually marry the youngest son of someone whom my father looked up to (even though my father was no longer around long before I got married). Since I was a little kid I would hear my father excitedly saying a name whenever that person was visiting our place, my hometown. (My father and that person would meet from time to time as part of their duties and responsibilities as leaders of the church.) My father would be pacing the floor as he was saying that name. So, that name got stuck in my head. Little did I know then that the same person would eventually become my own father-in-law.