2 Nephi 12–15

“It Shall Come to Pass in the Last Days”

Have you found that certain prophets speak, teach, or write in a way that touches your soul? For Nephi, this was Isaiah. “For my soul delighteth in his words,” Nephi wrote (2 Nephi 11:2). You might also delight in what the Lord revealed about the last days through Isaiah. This lesson can help you understand Isaiah’s symbolic prophecies and ponder how they can help you in your life.

Understanding symbolism. A gospel symbol can be an object, event, action, or teaching that represents a spiritual truth. Symbols help us understand the things of God by pointing our minds to truths about the plan of salvation and our relationship to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We can learn and understand the meaning of symbols through our study and the power of the Holy Ghost.

Student preparation: Point out to students that Nephi wrote many chapters of Isaiah’s prophecies into his own record and that Isaiah used a great deal of symbolism. Then invite students to read 2 Nephi 12:1–3 or 2 Nephi 14:5–6 and ponder what these verses might mean.

Possible Learning Activities

The best and the worst

Invite several students to share their responses to the following statements:

• The best things about living in the last days are

• The worst things about living in the last days are

The Lord has revealed both blessings and warnings about living in the last days to many ancient prophets. One of those prophets was the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, who lived in Jerusalem a little more than 100 years before Lehi and his family. Nephi knew Isaiah was a special witness of Jesus Christ (see 2 Nephi 11:2) and delighted so much in his words that he took the time to include many of Isaiah’s prophecies in his own records.

Ponder the following questions. You will return to these questions again at the end of the lesson.

• Why might the Lord reveal blessings and warnings of the last days to us?

• What does that teach you about Him?

• How might knowing these things help you?

Seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost to help you answer these questions throughout this lesson.

Challenges of our day

Isaiah warned us of certain behaviors and attitudes in the last days. Read the following sets of verses, looking for what Isaiah prophesied.

• 2 Nephi 12:7–11 (Haughtiness refers to pride and mean refers to lacking dignity or being a lowly person.)

• 2 Nephi 13:5, 9, 15–17 (Sodom was a place of wickedness and immorality. Wanton means lustful.)

• 2 Nephi 15:20–23

• What stood out to you?

• What are some examples of these things in the world today?

• Why is it a blessing that the Lord told us to look out for these things?

As you continue your study, look for blessings the Lord has provided for the last days. Ponder how these blessings may help us as we face the challenges Isaiah foresaw.

Consider drawing a simple picture of a mountain on one side of the board with the reference 2 Nephi 12:1–3 underneath it. On the other side, draw a picture of a cloud and a pillar of fire with the reference 2 Nephi 14:5–6. Invite students to select one of the symbols and read the corresponding verses. Then ask them to share what they think the symbols mean and what principles they can learn that will help them in these last days. The following information may help.

The mountain of the Lord’s house

Isaiah used many symbols in his prophecies. Pondering what these symbols represent can help you unlock personal meaning from the scriptures.

Read 2 Nephi 12:1–3, looking for the main symbol that Isaiah used to teach what would “come to pass in the last days” (2 Nephi 12:2).

• What do you think “the mountain of the Lord’s house” could refer to? Why?

It can be useful to ponder whether a symbol, in this case a mountain, has been significant in other scriptures. For example, Moses and other prophets went to a mountain to know the Lord and receive instruction from Him (see Exodus 3; 20). At times, mountains have served a purpose similar to temples.

• How might a mountain be like a temple?

Some possible answers include that both mountains and temples can help separate us from the world and give us better perspective. They can also both be beautiful, encourage self-reflection, turn our thoughts to God, and help us open our hearts to revelation.

With the symbol identified, reread these verses and look for what the Lord does for us in His house.

One of the truths students may identify from 2 Nephi 12:3 is that as we worship in the temple, the Lord will teach us of His ways and help us walk in His paths.

• How has worshipping in the temple (or preparing to enter the temple) helped you learn of the Lord’s ways or walk in His paths?

• How can temples help us as we face the challenges of the last days?

A cloud and a fire

Isaiah gave another prophecy. Read 2 Nephi 14:5–6, looking for what the Lord will do for His people. The following information may be useful for you:

• Dwelling place is a home.

• Assemblies of Mount Zion are where the Lord’s people meet, like branches, wards, and stakes.

• A tabernacle in Old Testament times specifically referred to a portable tent that served as the temple for the Israelites for hundreds of years. This could represent the temple or a place of worship today.

• A covert is a place of cover or shelter.

• What do you think the cloud by day and the flaming fire by night symbolize?

  Consider asking if students can think of a place in scriptures where these images were important.

• How were the cloud and fire important to Moses and the children of Israel? (see Exodus 13:21).

• With that understanding, what do you think the Lord promised He would do for His people in 2 Nephi 14:5–6?

Students might discover a principle similar to: The Lord will guide and protect us as we gather in our homes, in Church congregations, and in temples.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave a similar promise:

Our testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our homes, our families, and our membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be our personal fortresses of protection surrounding us and shielding us from the power of the evil one. (Ronald A. Rasband, “Build a Fortress of Spirituality and Protection,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2019, 110)

• How has your home, ward, or branch or the temple been a place of spiritual protection and refuge for you?

• How can these promises help us as we face the challenges of the last days?

Isaiah’s words in your life

Take some time to answer the three questions you pondered at the beginning of the lesson. Consider writing in your study journal what you learned about the Lord and how these prophecies can help you. You could include behavior or attitudes you want to avoid, as well as ways you might seek spiritual help from the Lord in your home, ward, or branch or in the temple.

Commentary and Background Information

How are Isaiah’s prophecies being fulfilled today?

President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) taught:

Ever since the Salt Lake Temple was dedicated, we have interpreted that scripture from Isaiah, repeated again in Micah (see Micah 4:1–2), as applying to this sacred house of the Lord. And of this place, since the day of its dedication, an ever-increasing number from across the world have said in effect, “Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that He might teach us of His ways, that we might walk in His paths.”

I believe and testify that it is the mission of this Church to stand as an ensign to the nations and a light to the world. We have had placed upon us a great, all-encompassing mandate from which we cannot shrink nor turn aside. We accept that mandate and are determined to fulfill it, and with the help of God we shall do it.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “An Ensign to the Nations, a Light to the World,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2003, 82–83)

Supplemental Learning Activities

Nephi helps us understand Isaiah

In a later chapter, Nephi taught skills that can help students understand Isaiah’s words:

• 2 Nephi 25:5—Become familiar with “the manner of the things of the Jews.” This could include symbolism in the Law of Moses or Levitical priesthood ordinances, traditions, history, and literary styles.

• 2 Nephi 25:3, 6—Become familiar with and look for “the judgments of God, which [have] come to pass among the Jews.” Nephi, when speaking to his brothers, provided numerous examples of this. See 1 Nephi 4:2–3; 17:23–34, 40–43. Recognize that the judgments of God could include possible fulfillment of prophecy, both in ancient and modern times.

• 2 Nephi 25:4—Be “filled with the spirit of prophecy.” In Revelation 19:10, we learn that “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

• 2 Nephi 25:6—Study about Jerusalem and “the regions round about.” This geographical and political knowledge of the area helped Nephi find meaning in Isaiah’s words.

• 2 Nephi 25:7—“In the days that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be fulfilled men shall know of a surety.” As you learn by study and by faith (see Doctrine and Covenants 88:118), the Lord will help you recognize when and how these prophecies are being fulfilled.

Ideas to discuss the warnings of the last days

The pride of the last days: 2 Nephi 12:6–12, 17. The Lord has repeatedly warned His people of pride. Invite students to look for symbols of pride and compare these verses to what the Savior taught His disciples in Luke 14:11.

Refusing to care for the poor and needy: 2 Nephi 13:13–15. Invite students to discuss the symbolism in verse 15. What could they do to care for the poor, even if the only poor they know are those poor in spiritual matters?

Vanity of the daughters of Zion: 2 Nephi 13:16–26. Although Isaiah specifically used the phrase “the daughters of Zion” (verse 16), his words can apply to all of us.

Isaiah used jewelry, clothing, and other symbols to describe behaviors and attitudes of the daughters of Zion and to reprove and warn them about the judgments that would come as a result of their vanity. How does modesty in all aspects of our lives help us represent the Lord and bring others to Him?

An additional blessing the Lord prophesied

An ensign to the nations: 2 Nephi 15:26. An ensign is a banner, flag, or standard that is typically used to identify military units, ships, or nations. What has the Lord raised up “to the nations from far” that would cause them to gather together under a single united title or name?