KnoWhys

Recommended Resources

Learn about the Book of Mormon with verse by verse commentaries from renowned Book of Mormon scholars like John W. Welch and Brant A. Gardner in the ScripturePlus app. Read this week's KnoWhy connected with the Come Follow Me curriculum, and watch a video elucidating an insight in this week's scripture reading.

John W. Welch Notes

Come Follow Me - 2 Nephi 6-10

Come Follow Me (Feb 10–16) for 2 Nephi 6–10

Book of Mormon Central

February 11, 2020

4 Gospel Truths We Can Learn from Jacob’s Speech

KnoWhy 549

Why Did Jacob Condemn “Deliberately” Killing?

Reading Plan

Structure your personal scripture study by following a multimedia, day by day plan. Each day's assignment includes the required scripture passages from the Come Follow Me curriculum, as well as suggestions for additional resources to bring context and understanding to your study.

Monday

• 2 Nephi 6:1–18
• KnoWhy 32: Did Jacob Refer to Ancient Israelite Autumn Festivals?
• KnoWhy 277: Why Does Jacob Describe God as a Divine Warrior?

Tuesday

• 2 Nephi 7:1–3
• Quote: “However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” Holland, Jeffery R. "The Laborers in the Vineyard." General Conference April 2012.
• 2 Nephi 7:4–11
• Quote: “Two classes of people are contrasted in these two verses. One class consists of those who fear the Lord and obey his servant. They will not walk in spiritual darkness but will have spiritual light . . . The other class consists of those who seek to be spiritually self-sufficient, relying on themselves instead of on God. They attempt to create their own light but their efforts produce no more than sparks . . . when compared to the bright light that comes from God. Those in this group will eventually receive judgments from the Lord, resulting in sorrow.” Parry, Donald W., Jay A. Parry, and Tina M. Peterson. Understanding Isaiah. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1998.

Wednesday

• 2 Nephi 8:1–10
• Quote: "Abraham is the rock, and Sarah is the quarry. We must live up to the covenant called after Abraham. Ultimately, the covenant is centered on the Rock of our Salvation, which is Jesus Christ. Just as a rock will have the same physical properties and composition as the mountain from which it is taken, so we have the potential to become like our Father and his Son, our only sure foundation." Ogden, D. Kelly, and Andrew C. Skinner. Verse by Verse: The Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2011.
• Quote: "The 'dragon' is easily identified as Satan. The identity of 'Rahab' is a little more difficult. Some scholars suggest Rahab represents Egypt while others say it is a sea monster representing Satan. Footnote reference 'c' in [2 Nephi 8:9] cites Isaiah 27:1 as a cross-reference, which speaks of 'leviathan that crooked serpent.' The footnote identifies 'leviathan' as 'a legendary sea-monster representing the forces of chaos that opposed the Creator.'" Brewster, Hoyt W. Isaiah Plain & Simple: The Message of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1995.
• 2 Nephi 8:11–25
• Quote: "Their ministry will take place after the latter-day temple has been built in Old Jerusalem, after some of the Jews who dwell there have been converted, and just before Armageddon and the return of the Lord Jesus. How long will they minister in Jerusalem and in the Holy Land? For three and a half years, the precise time spent by the Lord in his ministry to the ancient Jews. The Jews, as an assembled people, will hear again the testimony of legal administrators bearing record that salvation is in Christ and in his gospel. Who will these witnesses be? We do not know, except that they will be followers of Joseph Smith; they will hold the holy Melchizedek Priesthood; they will be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is reasonable to suppose, knowing how the Lord has always dealt with his people in all ages, that they will be two members of the Council of the Twelve or of the First Presidency of the Church.
  How will their witness be received by the people? This we do know. It will be with these two witnesses as it was with their Lord some two millenniums before. The righteous will believe their words, and the wicked will thirst for their blood. 'And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.' It will be with them as it was with Elijah, who both called down fire from heaven to consume his enemies and sealed the heavens that there was neither dew nor rain for three and a half years. And it will be with them as it was with Moses, who turned the rivers and waters of Egypt into blood and who smote the Egyptians with many plagues." McConkie, Bruce R. The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1982.

Thursday

• 2 Nephi 9:1–9
• Quote: “Verses 1-3 constitute a doctrinal bridge to verse 4 and the verses following. Jacob moved from talking about the scattering and gathering of Israel to a discussion of physical death, and then to resurrection, because they are parallel. Death is the scattering of elements, and resurrection is the gathering or restoration of those elements. To Jacob and other Book of Mormon prophets, the doctrines of the gospel or plan of salvation are all interconnected – one seamless web.” Ogden, D. Kelly, and Andrew C. Skinner. Verse by Verse: the Book of Mormon. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2011.
• Quote: “The phrase ‘infinite atonement’ or ‘infinite sacrifice’ may refer to an atonement or sacrifice by a God, a being who is infinite in knowledge, power, and glory. Amulek makes that connection when he observes that the ‘great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.’ Accordingly, the Atonement is ‘infinite’ because its source is ‘infinite.’ But the Atonement is infinite in other ways as well.” Callister, Tad R. The Infinite Atonement. Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2000.
• KnoWhy 33: When Does the Book of Mormon First Talk About the Plan of Salvation?
• Video 754: What Does the Book of Mormon Teach Us about the Resurrection? (2:50)

Friday

• 2 Nephi 9:10–15
• Quote: “The most important doctrine I can declare, and the most powerful testimony I can bear, is of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. His atonement is the most transcendent event that ever has or ever will occur from Creation’s dawn through all the ages of a never-ending eternity. It is the supreme act of goodness and grace that only a god could perform. Through it, all of the terms and conditions of the Father’s eternal plan of salvation became operative. Through it are brought to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” McConkie, Bruce R. “The Purifying Power of Gethsemane.” General Conference May 1985.
• KnoWhy 34: Why Does Jacob Choose a “Monster” as a Symbol for Death and Hell?
• 2 Nephi 16–26
• KnoWhy 446: Why Does the Book of Mormon Warn that a Lake of Fire and Brimstone Awaits Sinners in the Afterlife?

Saturday

• 2 Nephi 9:27–54
• KnoWhy 487: What Role Should Scholarship Play in Studying the Book of Mormon?
• 2 Nephi 30–54
• KnoWhy 35: Why Does Jacob Declare so Many “Woes”?

Sunday

• 2 Nephi 10:1–25
• KnoWhy 36: Why Does an Angel Reveal the Name of Christ to Jacob?

Additional Resources