Jeffersonian 2nd Nephi

The 2nd Book of Nephi

--------------------Chapter 1--------------------

Traditionally composing of 2nd Nephi chapter 1

1 When I, Nephi, finished teaching my brothers, our father, Lehi, spoke some great things to them about bringing them out of The Great City.

2 He talked about their rebellion on the sea, and the mercy I had when I saved their lives from the sea.

3 He also talked about the good land that we had obtained.

4 He said these things:

	5 "I believe that The Great City will ddestroy itself one day.

	6 If we had stayed there, we would have died as well.

	7 Despite all the hardships we have endured, we have obtained our own land.

	8 It is a land that is better than all other lands.

	9 It will serve us and our descendants well.

	10 This land will belong to our desendants forever.

	11 It will also belong to those who flee from other countries seeking a land to do good and are brought by the spirit of good will.

	12 This land is for all of us who want to live moral lives.

	13 It is a good land, and we will prosper in it.

	14 If we will help one another, it will be a land of liberty and we will live in harmony.

	15 No one will attack them or take away their land; and we will live safely forever.

	16 Those that live in this land will never be made slaves.

	17 But if we become an immoral people, we will be a curse to ourselves and all others in this land.

	18 If a time comes that we cease to do good, after we have had such a good life in this land, we will reap what we sow.

	19 Other nations will take advantage of our vulnerability and will take our land and kill us.

	20 I want you to listen to what I have to say and remember it:

	21 I want you to awake! Shake off the awful chains which bind you, which bind everyone. They carry you down to the gulf of misery and woe!

	22 Awake and get up! Listen to the words of your old father. Listen to me now because I only have a few more days to live:

	23 I have beheld a splendor and I am encircled in love.

	24 I desire that you should remember to be moral, help one another, and continually seek to do good. This is all I've ever wanted you to do.

	25 Your desire to turn away from morality in exchange for selfishness has made me sad over the years.

	26  Teaching your children to live in such a way would be a curse to the people in this land.

	27 You would be taken over by other countries, experience famine, and be hated.

	28 Oh, my sons, I don't want these things to happen to you, I want you to be a happy and prosperous people!

	29 But your life is your own.

	30 I tell you these things so that I can leave this world with gladness, knowing that you have listened to my advice on how to avoid grief and sorrow.

	31 Get up, my sons, and be men! Be determined in one mind and united in one heart in all things.

	32 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of morality! Shake off the chains with which you are bound, and come forth out of obscurity. Get up!

	33 Rebel no more against your brother, because he has been honorable and has served our family from the time that we left The Great City. He has been an instrumental in bringing us into our good land.

	34 If it weren't for him we would have starved to death in the wilderness.

	35 Despite these things, you wanted to kill him. He has suffered because of you.

	36 I am worried he will suffer again because of you, because you have accused him of immorally seeking power and authority over you.

	37 But I know that he has not immorally wanted power nor authority over you.

	38 He has tried to do good and looked out for your own welfare.

	39 You have complained because he has been honest to you. You say that he has been harsh. You say that he has been angry with you.

	40 That which you call anger was the truth. He did nothing but speak boldly concerning your immorality.

	41 Now my sons, Laman, Lemuel, and Sam, and also my sons who are the sons of Ishmael, if you will listen to Nephi, you will not die.

	42 If you will listen to him, I leave you a with this promise

	43 If you will not listen to him, I will take away my promise.

	44 Now, Zoram, I speak to you: you were the slave of Laban. You escaped with us from The Great City with us and I know that you are a true friend to my son Nephi and always will be.

	45 Because you have been a man of honor, your descendants will be blessed with his. They will live in prosperity on this land; and nothing, except immorality among them, will harm or disturb their prosperity.

	46 If you will help each other and strive to do good, this land has been consecrated for the security of your descendants with the descendants of my son.

--------------------Chapter 2--------------------

Traditionally composing of 2nd Nephi chapter 2

	1 Jacob, my first born in the wilderness, I speak to you:

	2 You have experienced many hardships and sorrows in your childhood because of your brothers.

	3 Despite that, I know you know what is right and what is wrong.

	4 For that resaon you will live safely with your brother Nephi; and your life will be spent in the service of your people.

	5 Because of how you have lived your life so far, I know that you are honorable and moral.

	6 You are happy when you help others. You have learned this truth in your youth.

	7 I encourage you to teach people so that they too may know the differences between morality and immorality.

	8 Laws should be established and no one should be above these laws.

	9 If someone breaks the law there must be a punishment, which is the opposite of happiness.

	10 For there must be an opposition in all things.

	11 If there weren't we would not know the difference between morality and immorality, happiness and misery, or good and bad.

	12 All things must be seen as a half of a whole.

	13 I say these things for your benefit, Jacob.

	14 I want you to be your own man.

	15 Everyone should live their own life.

	16 They don't need to be controled.

	17 We exist so that we can be happy.

	18 Be happy with your freedom.

	19 However, you are free to choose liberty and life or to choose slavery and death.

	20 Now, my sons, I want you to look to your brother and listen to him and choose life, not death.

	21 I have chosen my words carefully and spoken them to you in the last of my days.

	22 I have no other goal but to look after the welfare of my family.

--------------------Chapter 3--------------------

Traditionally composing of 2nd Nephi chapter 3

	1 Now I speak to you, Joseph, my youngest.

	2 You were born in the wilderness during our hard times as well.

	3 I give to you this land as well, which is a precious land, for your inheritance and the inheritance of your descendants with your brothers for your security forever.

	4 It will only be this way if you keep goodness in your heart.

	4 May you live a happy life, because your descendants will live here.

	5 Your descendants will write about confounding false truths, the ending of wars, and establishing peace.

	6 You are so lucky because of this: your descendants will not be destroyed if they will listen to the words of the books of their ancestors' history.

	7 Joseph, you are little. Because of this, listen to the words of your brother Nephi, and he will help you live a moral life.

	8 Remember the words of your dying father."

--------------------Chapter 4--------------------

Traditionally composing of 2nd Nephi chapter 4

1 After my father finished speaking to Joseph, he called the children of Laman, his sons, and his daughters, and said to them:

	2 "My grandsons and granddaughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my first born, I want you to listen to me.

	3 I promise you that if you strive to do that which is moral and serve your fellow man, you will prosper in this land.

	4 If you will not, you shall be dragged into misery.

	5 I cannot go down to my grave unless I leave you with a promise.

	6 I know that if you are brought up in the way you should go, you will live a happy life because of it."

7 After my father finished speaking to the sons and daughters of Laman, he had the sons and daughters of Lemuel brought to him, and he spoke to them, saying:

	8 “My grandsons and granddaughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my second son, I leave to you the same blessing which I left to the sons and daughters of Laman."

9 When my father finished speaking to them, he spoke to the sons of Ishmael and all of Ishmael's household.

10 After he finished speaking to them, he spoke to Sam, saying:

	11 “Lucky are you and your descendants! You will inherit this land like your brother Nephi.

	12 Your descendants shall be numbered with his descendants.

	13 You will be your brother's equal, and both of your descendants will be equals.

	14 You will be happy in all your days.”

15 After my father Lehi had spoken all the feelings to his whole household he died and was buried.

16 Not many days after his death, Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael were angry with me because of the advice which my father had instructed me to give,

17 I, Nephi, was compelled to speak to them, according to the will of my father.

18 I had said many things to them, as my father had before his death, many of which sayings are written upon my plates.

19 I love to write about my thoughts and feelings.

21 It makes me happy to write out my ponderings so that my desendants may read them one day.

22 My heart continually ponders on my experiences in life.

22 Regardess, my heart exclaims, "Oh, what a terrible person I am."

23 My soul grieves because of my immorality.

24 I am surrounded by temptations and the misdeeds which I could so easily give in to.

25 When I want to be happy I remember all of my misdeeds.

26 Regardless, I know in whom I have trusted. My wife has been my support.

27 She has led me through my hardships in the wilderness; and she kept me safe in the sea.

28 She has filled all of me with her love.

29 She has heard what has troubled me, and he has given me good advice.

30 Oh, then, why should my heart weep and linger in this valley of sorrow?

31 Rejoice, oh my heart, and give place no more for the these enemies.

32 Do not anger again because of my enemies.

33 Do not weaken my strength because of my hardships.

34 Rejoice, oh my heart, and cry to my wife, and say:

	34 “Oh wife, I will praise you forever.

	35 You make me happy and are the rock of my life.

	36 You deliver me out of the hands of my enemies.

	37 You continually help me shut the gates of misery before me.

	38 Oh wife, do not shut the gates of your morality before me.

	39 Oh wife, will you encircle me around in the robe of your morality.

	40 Oh wife, you help make a way for me to escape my enemies.

	41 Will you continue to help me?

	42 Oh wife, I have trusted in you, and I will trust in you forever.

	43 I will not put my trust in another, because I know that you are moral, honorable, and lovely.

	44 I would be cursed if I did not have you, because I know that you will help me in any way I ask you to.”

--------------------Chapter 5--------------------

Traditionally composing of 2nd Nephi chapter 5

1 I, Nephi, chose my words carefully because my brothers were angry.

2 Even so, they still became angrier with me. So angry that they wanted to kill me and complained about me by saying:

	3 “Our younger brother wants to rule us

	4 We have had many hardships because of him.

	5 Because of these things, let's kill him so that we wont be bothered by him anymore.

	4 We will not have him be our ruler

	5 The title of ruler belongs to us because we are the older brothers.”

6 I wrote write everything they complained about me, but suffice it to say that they wanted to kill me.

7 After they said this, I realized I needed to flee into the wilderness with everyone who would go with me.

8 I, Nephi, took my family, Zoram, Sam, Jacob, Joseph, my sisters, and all of their families, and anyone else who would go with me.

9 We took our tents and whatever else we could carry, and journeyed in the wilderness for many days.

10 After we had journeyed for many days, we pitched our tents.

11 My people wanted to call the name of the place Nephi, so we did.

12 We lived a moral and honorable life by doing good and serving one another.

13 We lived in peace and we prospered

14 We planted seeds and harvested an abundance.

15 We began to raise flocks, and herds, and animals of every kind.

16 I, Nephi, had also brought the records which were engraved upon the plates of brass

17 I, Nephi, also brought the liahona, which was a ball-shaped compass, which was prepared by my father.

18 And we began to prosper exceedingly and to have children.

19 I, Nephi, took the sword of Laban and made many swords that looked like it.

20 I did this so we could protect ourselves if the people who know called themselves the Lamanites were to come and try to destroy us.

21 I knew of their hatred toward me, my children, and those who were called my people, which were called Nephites.

22 I taught the Nephites to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, iron, copper, brass, steel, gold, silver, and of other precious ores, which were in great abundance.

23 And I, Nephi, built a temple out of the things I could find in the land. It was a very fine building for meditation like what our ancestors used to build.

24 I, Nephi, helped my people to be industrious and to labor with their hands.

25 The Nephites wanted me to be their king.

26 However, I didn't want the Nephites to have a king.

27 I still did everything in my power for them.

28 The words of my father had been fulfilled to my brothers, which he spoke concerning them, that I should be their ruler and their teacher.

29 I had been their ruler and their teacher until the time they wanted to kill me.

30 The word of our father was fulfilled when he told us that if we strive to do that which is moral and serve your fellow people, we would prosper in this land.

31 The Nephites prospered while the Lamanites floundered.

32 They became a lazy, mischievous people that hunted in the wilderness for food.

33 They would be a scourge to my people.

34 They would remain so until they stopped living immoral lives and started helping each other.

35 I, Nephi, encouraged Jacob and Joseph to be leaders and teachers to the Nephites.

36 We lived happy lives.

37 30 years had passed away from the time we left The Great City.

38 During that time, I, Nephi, had kept the records my people so far on my plates.

39 I realized that I needed to make more plates so we could keep more records so that my descendants could learn from us.

40 I went and made more plates so we could do this.

41 I have only written the things that are important to me.

42 If my descendants enjoy our writings, it will be important to them as well.

43 If my people want a more detailed history of their history, they must search these other plates.

44 40 years have now passed  and we had already had wars and fights with our brothers.