2 Nephi 31

 
1 And now I, Nephi, make an end of my prophesying unto you, my beloved brethren. And I cannot write but a few things, which I know must surely come to pass; neither can I write but a few of the words of my brother Jacob.
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2 Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it be a few words which I must speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly, according to the plainness of my prophesying.
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3 For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.
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In 2 Nephi 25:1 Nephi says that "Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to understand".

And in 2 Nephi 25:4 he says "the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you".

If "[God] speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding", then was Isaiah not speaking for god?

-Korihor
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If God works after the manner of plainness, why would he * use passages from Isaiah, * use language that tries to imitate King-James-Version biblical language, * indicate horses or other animals that were not in the Americas at the time were actually there, * speak of a curse of dark skin if it didn’t actually mean that dark skin was a curse, etc.?
4 Wherefore, I would that ye should remember that I have spoken unto you concerning that prophet which the Lord showed unto me, that should baptize the Lamb of God, which should take away the sins of the world.
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5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!
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6 And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?
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7 Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.
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8 Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.
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9 And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.
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10 And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
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11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.
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12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.
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13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism--yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.
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14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came the voice of the Son unto me, saying: After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.
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This verse contains phrases similar to those found in 1 Corinthians 13:1 and 1 Corinthians 14:2. Both this verse, verse 13, and 1 Corinthians 13:1 mention speaking "with the tongue of angels". This verse also mentions speaking "with a new tongue" which is similar to speaking "in an unknown tongue" as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:2. Note that glossolalia, or speaking in unknown tongues, was part of LDS worship practices during most of the 1800's - even Brigham Young did it (see this Gift of Tongues article on the CoJCoLdS website). Only in modern LDS practice is the gift of tongues relegated to only speaking in a foriegn language.

This verse also parallels 2 Peter 2:20-21. Compare "After ye have repented of your sins" to "after they have escaped the pollutions of the world". Also compare "it would have been better for you that ye had not known me" to "it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness".

-auricularis_posterior
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Do the Saints see former Mormons like this?
15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.
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This verse is a mashup of part of Revelation 21:5 and also Matthew 24:13.

-auricularis_posterior
16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
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17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
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18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.
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19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
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20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
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21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen.
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This verse mentions the phrase "doctrine of Christ", which only occurs twice in the KJV bible, in Hebrews 6:1 and 2 John 1:9. Note that both 2 Nephi 31:21 and 2 John 1:9 contain not only "doctrine of Christ" but also "the Father" and "the Son". It should also be noted that numerous Protestant theologians wrote pre-1828 books that specifically addressed their interpretation of the "doctrine of Christ".

-auricularis_posterior