Here again Nephi draws from Isaiah’s words to certify his own words. His brothers should hearken to Nephi as they should to any inspired teacher or prophet sent from God. They did not. Similarly, these words are a resounding call to us to heed teachings which originate from God, but get delivered by an inspired teacher.
In our own day we are oftentimes no better at recognizing and accepting truths sent us than were Laman and Lemuel. We tend to accept truth from what we regard as “bona fide” sources, even when those sources are corrupt or uninspired. And we tend to reject truths from sources which are not considered bona fide, even when their words are certified by and accompanied with the willing witness of the Holy Ghost. Some of us accept the opinions, teachings and writings of the faculty from BYU without hesitation. We act as if the BYU faculty were immune from practicing “priestcraft.” Abinadi, whose genealogy and authority are conspicuously absent from the Book of Mormon record (for a wise reason, which gives us warning in our day about dismissing such characters), would fare little better among us than he did among the Nephites of his day. Since he wasn’t “bona fide,” we would dismiss him as did they. Religion without inspiration cannot save in any time period, including our own.
These words Nephi is quoting are relevant to us, and taken in their proper light, are upsetting. They challenge us. They confront us. They demand we practice true religion, and not a counterfeit form based upon traditions from our fathers. Even if those traditions are only four generations old as in our day, false traditions are no better among us than in Book of Mormon times. The Book of Mormon goes to great lengths to warn us against such false traditions from our fathers. Inspired words, like these from Nephi, are designed to stir us up, trouble us and make us repent. Using them to comfort or justify ourselves is to miss the point. We all need to repent. None of us is above the need to repent, change, grow, stretch and reach upward. To use this verse to make us proud of ourselves, as we often do, is entirely missing the point. Claiming “all is well in Zion” (as Nephi will later write in 2 Ne. 28) is a strong indication of spiritual darkness. It has never been well in our Zion. Nor will it be until the Lord returns and dwells in Zion. We should be preparing for that day by individually seeking the Second Comforter. Until then, we need to repent, reform, and offer a broken heart and contrite spirit to our God.