Feasting on the Words of Christ and Praying Always: Principles for All Times - Second Book of Nephi, Chapter Thirty-Two (2 Nephi 32)

You can read the entire chapter at the following link: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/32?lang=eng  

In the previous chapter, Nephi lays out a vision of the steps to take on the pathway leading us to the Lord. This chapter builds on the inspiring rhetoric Nephi uses of pressing forward with a “perfect brightness of hope” after we have received the initial ordinances of baptism and confirmation.

Nephi senses that his audience is interested in a more detailed explanation of the types of practices that will keep them on the pathway and help them feel close to God. Kind of a “how-to” guide to important steps.

Although Nephi wants to oblige the audience’s wishes, we detect an undercurrent of concern. In both verses 1 and 8, Nephi appears to be quizzical about why his audience (both the people from his day and we in ours) needs more specific guidance, remarking on how they “ponder in their hearts” the things he is sharing. Nephi seems to feel as though he has already told them everything they need. In noting this, Nephi seems to be communicating that he won’t be able to hold their (or our) hands the entire way. At some point, we will need to become self-reliant in the steps necessary for our happiness and salvation.

But, Nephi does bring himself to share two extremely important principles with us. It is important for us to recognize that these are the final points of admonition Nephi is making on the plates he created decades earlier for the purpose of transmitting sacred information across generations. Information that he knows will prove critical in bringing to pass the climactic events in God’s relationship with the world. So it stands to reason that we carefully and seriously reflect on these two principles.

The first principle is to feast on truth. Truth, as Nephi explains, is interchangeable with the “words of Christ.” The more we study these teachings, the more they will become a part of us. In the same way that our physical body will come to reflect what we eat, how we exercise, and when we rest, our thoughts-words-actions will surely reflect the ideas we take in and the heed we give to them. Nephi says that the words of Christ “will tell you all things what ye should do” (verse 3). He tells us that angels speak the words of Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost, and that we can speak with the tongue of angels as well once we have received the Holy Ghost. So Nephi, in laying out this principle for us, is showing that what we do can help us become something greater than we are now. We can be more like the angels who are God’s most trusted messengers.

The second principle is to pray always (verse 9). This is a concept that is simple to understand, but extremely challenging to put into practice. Praying “always” literally means that our faith and our capacity to accomplish the challenges before us will be stronger if we can remember all the time to call out in some way to the Lord—whether it be with our heart, our mind, or our voice. I know that when I follow this principle more closely, my level of concentration increases, and I find myself elevated in capacity and in the ability to perceive how the Lord is communicating with me in my thoughts. So I have learned why Nephi pleads with us to hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, and to reject the evil spirit which “teacheth him he must not pray” (verse 8).

There is another aspect of this second principle that is just as important as constancy. It is connecting the words of Christ that are for all of us to feast upon with an understanding of how we as individuals are supposed to act on those words. Constant prayer includes the process of asking the Lord or “knocking” at His door in order to know the specific application of truth to my life right here and right now. It is perhaps the most miraculous thing there is—that ages-old wisdom can be made totally relevant in our present circumstances through direct revelation. And then, once we have prayed to know what to do, prayer further fortifies us (as mentioned in the previous paragraph) to have the strength to follow through.