Contentions arise among the people concerning the validity of Nephi’s statements. Nephi responds by appealing to Moses for support.
…and also the words which were spoken by this man, Moses, who had such great power given unto him, yea, the words which he hath spoken concerning the coming of the Messiah.
Verse 13
The Flawed Logic of the Wicked
In the responses of the men who were judges to Nephi’s word, I see several errors:
First, they are afraid to take action themselves, so they use words to try and accomplish their objectives by trying to compel others to take action. It’s the weaselly-ness of that type of behavior that is repulsive.
Then, in their claims of stability they are prideful and presumptuous, assuming that the way things are, they cannot change.
Furthermore, the railing accusation that these men had against Nephi was that he could not have power to know of their sins and iniquities. The claim to knowledge from God that ended the last chapter drove these men to anger and to make false assertions of power within themselves (vs. 6).
This is the following day. I have struggled to focus this morning in my studies. There is a great truth contained in these verse, even a powerful witness of Christ, which Nephi uses the names of several prophets, some of which are unknown to the modern world, except that they appear here in the Book of Mormon: Zenos, Zenock, and Eziah are the three mentioned here that are unknown. Nephi groups their testimonies with that of Isaiah and Jeremiah.
And behold, he is God, and he is with them, and he did manifest himself unto them, that they were redeemed by him; and they gave unto him glory, because of that which is to come.
Verse 23
Finally, in verse 25, there is a summary of Nephi’s accusations against the wicked. Instead of seeking for truth and those treasures which are incorruptible, instead of developing a relationship with God, they were “heaping up for yourselves wrath against the day of judgment.” Whose wrath? God’s wrath. Where there needed to be a relationship with Him, confidence with God, if we do not receive of his kindness, then are we to receive of his wrath.
Dios da poder a los hombres, si los hombres buscan a Él para su fuerza.