2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.
Nephi does a nice job here of keeping the focus on the problem rather than the people. Rather than agree that he had spoken hard things to his brethren, he says he has spoken hard things to the wicked. He’s careful to make a distinction, making the decision theirs as to whether it’s hard or not. They become their own judges, not Nephi. If they want to be among the wicked, then, yes, he has spoken hard things unto them. But if they would be numbered among the righteous, then they have been justified, and Nephi’s testimony would have been welcome. It’s clear that they have a choice of which camp they want to be associated with.
We all have this same opportunity. Truth justifies the righteous, but it condemns the wicked. The beauty of this is that we have not only the agency to decide which group we would be associated with, but we have a mechanism to warn us when we are making choices contrary to the Lord’s will. It’s called guilt. “…the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.” The word “guilty” can mean someone who deserves blame or punishment, but it also means a consciousness of guilt. I think that’s a distinction Nephi is making here. Looked at that way, this statement is a good sign for Laman and Lemuel. Moroni 7:16 says that, “the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil…” Nephi seems to be separating the wicked from the guilty, who are recognizing the difference between good and evil through the light of Christ. Otherwise, why would they take the truth to be so hard if they didn’t know what they were doing was wrong?
There’s a great example of this in Zeezrom. His story is recorded in Alma, starting in chapter 10. Zeezrom tries, unsuccessfully, to trip up Alma and Amulek. He does this willingly until when, in chapter 12, he is convinced of his guilt. So from point A to point B he was guilty, or wicked, to the same degree. He was just as guilty at point B as he was at point A. The difference between point A and point B, however, is that at point B, he feels guilty for his wickedness. At that point he took the truth to be hard, and it cut him to the very center. Before that guilty feeling, the truth had no such effect on him. The saying, “Ignorance is bliss,” definitely applies here. Once he became aware of his wickedness, he could move from point B to point C, which is repentance.
This is what Nephi sees in his brothers. They are at point B, where they can recognize their wickedness, feel guilt, and move on to repentance at point C.
Another interesting point to make on this is how it relates to the whole Armor of God, as suggested in Ephesians 6:11–18. Verse 14 says to stand, “having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” Truth and righteousness guard our vital organs and make it so we can’t be cut to the very center. But the weapon that can cut to the very center is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” This is what cut Laman and Lemuel to the very center. If they had been armed with truth and righteousness they would not have taken the truth to be hard.
- Proverbs 15:10
- Jeremiah 6:10
- John 3:20 (19–20)
- Acts 7:54
- Ephesians 6:17 (11–18)
- 2 Nephi 1:26
- 2 Nephi 9:40
- 2 Nephi 28:28
- 2 Nephi 33:5
- Mosiah 13:7
- D&C 1:3
- D&C 12:2
- Moses 6:37
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