“I Esteem It as of Great Worth, and Especially Unto My People”

Brant Gardner

Nephi confirms that he has been talking about his own writings. Like the introductory colophon of 1 Nephi 1, which provided a testament of the writer, Nephi here concludes by also declaring his authorship. Poignantly, he weeps for those of his people whom he had characterized in his most recently recorded sermon, those whom he sees as too “unbeliev[ing]” and “wicked” to understand this new covenant of baptism and the spirit (2 Ne. 32:7). Nephi’s prophetic visions have shown him his people’s eventual destruction, but he weeps here for his current congregation. Nephi has led them and taught them, but many (perhaps most) do not understand the things Nephi would love to have them understand. This early division in righteousness will widen in the book of Jacob. Indeed, this early apparent apostasy from the principles that Nephi has taught will become extremely important in understanding the events Jacob records.

Second Witness: Analytical & Contextual Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Vol. 2

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