2 Nephi 29 and 30 teach us that God “command[s] all men [everywhere]…that they shall write the words which I speak unto them” so that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” The Lord says “I am God…I remember one nation like unto another…and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it.” The Lord’s word which He declared to the Jews is contained in the Bible (see 2 Nephi 29:4-5, 12). Nephi was commanded to “write of the things of God” (1 Nephi 6:3). His father, Lehi, also kept a record (see 1 Nephi 6:1). Nephi instructed his brother, Jacob, to write any “preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying” and “preserve these plates and hand them down…from generation to generation” (see Jacob 1:3-4). The Lord refers to this record as “the words of the Nephites.” This record is the Book of Mormon. The Lord taught Nephi that He would “also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it.”
The Lord doesn’t limit His words, His covenants, and His blessings to only one nation or people. “Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?” (2 Nephi 29:7). When “the Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews” then “the testimony of the two nations shall run together” that we may know that God is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Thus, the Lord also doesn’t limit His words, covenants, and blessings to only one dispensation of time. The word of the Lord to the Nephites was preserved to “come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles” and is carried forth in the Book of Mormon “unto the remnant of [Nephi’s] seed” and unto the Jews (see 2 Nephi 29:13, 30:7). “And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ” (2 Nephi 30:5).
Many people are content with the words of the Jews and say: “A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible.” Heroes, however, want to “receive more of [God’s] words.” Heroes know that knowledge is power. The more knowledge they can receive of God’s commandments, covenants, prophesies, and doings among the children of men the more power heroes have to do good and fight evil. “Noah was a perfect man, and his knowledge or revelation of what was to take place upon the earth, gave him power to prepare and save himself and family from the destruction of the flood.” (“Knowledge is Power,” Times and Seasons editorial, 15-Aug-1842.) Likewise, the records Nephi had of God’s dealings with Moses and the children of Israel gave him “great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 1:1) giving him the faith and power necessary to build a ship and save himself and family from the destruction of Jerusalem.
One revelation or one commandment is not enough. One example of God’s power and protection is not enough to build sufficient faith and action to get us to the promised land. We need new revelations. We need current revelations. We need revelations from prophets. We need personal revelation from the Holy Ghost. Otherwise, we will be filled with doubt and dread or “puffed up with self-sufficiency” (“Knowledge is Power). “Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God, and we need no more of the world of God, for we have enough!” (2 Nephi 28:29).
The Lord has promised that He will instruct us “line upon line, precept upon precept.” (2 Nephi 28:30). As we “receive more of [God’s] words” we will “remember [the] covenants which [He has] made unto the children of men.” We will “remember the promises which [He has] made.” We will know that the words of God, His commandments, are “a standard” for us to follow because we will understand that they provide us with protection against evil and power to do good. We will “rejoice; for [we] shall know that [the word of God] is a blessing unto [us]…and [the] scales of darkness shall begin to fall from [our] eyes” as we recognize light from dark, truth from error.
Receiving and knowing God’s word is important. Doing God’s word is vital. Once we receive God’s word, we must act. “Every doctrine has its associated duty,…every truth has its task. The gospel when the Master first proclaimed it, was not intended primarily for preaching—it was intended for action” (“Service,” Hugh B. Brown, quoted in “Learning for Eternity,” James E. Faust, BYU Speech, Nov 1997). We must “keep the commandments of God” or else we shall perish. This knowledge of light and truth combined with righteous action gives us power over Satan so that he no longer has “power over [our] hearts.” When we receive God’s word and revelations of what will take place as he “bring[s] about the restoration of his people upon the earth,” we will have power to prepare ourselves and our families in righteousness that we may be spared (see 2 Nephi 30:10) and receive our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, when He comes again to reign.
*How have you been blessed by receiving more of God’s word?
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