2 Nephi 1:13-14, 21, 23

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 1:13-14

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Reference Search: 2 Nephi 1:23

13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.

14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of all the earth.

21 And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;

23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.

Quotes for Discussion

Awake

The chains of habit are too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.

Samuel Johnson, International Dictionary of Thoughts, p. 348, see also Elder Marvin J. Ashton, “Shake Off the Chains with Which Ye Are Bound,” Ensign, Nov., 1986, p. 13

We have discussed elsewhere that other class of people who are basically unrepentant because they are not “doing the commandments.” They are Church members who are steeped in lethargy. They neither drink nor commit the sexual sins. They do not gamble nor rob nor kill. They are good citizens and splendid neighbors, but spiritually speaking they seem to be in a long deep sleep. They are doing nothing seriously wrong except in their failure to do the right things to earn their exaltation. To such people as this, the words of Lehi might well apply.

Spencer W. Kimball, Miracle of Forgiveness, 211-12

How can we “awake,” “shake off the awful chains,” and “arise”?

What makes a man a man? Let’s turn to the Book of Mormon….for an answer….

The challenge to “arise from the dust” means to overcome evil behaviors that destroy character and ruin lives. Physical appetites must be controlled.

“Awake from a deep sleep,…even from the sleep of hell” suggests a process of learning and becoming aware of God’s holy purposes. No sleep is deeper or more deadly than the sleep of ignorance.

“Shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound” indicates the need to overcome bad habits, even the seemingly little habits that grow into strong “chains of hell.” (See 2 Nephi 26:22; Alma 5:7.)

“Be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things” requires full commitment to righteousness and a singleness of purpose so that one’s will is made compatible with the will of God.

“Put on the armor of righteousness” reminds us of the need to wear the helmet of salvation, pick up the sword of truth, use the shield of faith, and accept the full protective coverings of the Lord.

Carlos E. Asay, Ensign, May 1992, 40-41

When I was a little boy, somebody gave me a cucumber in a bottle. The neck of the bottle was small, the cucumber large. I wondered how it got there. Then, out in the garden one day, I came upon a bottle slipped over a little green fellow. Then I understood. The cucumber had grown in the bottle. Often I see men with habits I wonder how any strong, sensible man could form. Then I reflect that likely they grew into them when young, and cannot now slip out of them. They are like the cucumber in the bottle.

Anonymous, Jewels of Thought, p. 85

Who among us hasn’t felt the chains of bad habits? These habits may have impeded our progress, may have made us forget who we are, may have destroyed our self-image, may have put our family life in jeopardy, and may have hindered our ability to serve our fellowmen and our God. So many of us tend to say, “This is the way I am. I can’t change….” Lehi warned his sons to “shake off the chains” because he knew that chains restrict our mobility, growth, and happiness. They cause us to become confused and less able to be guided by God’s Spirit….Samuel Johnson wisely shared, “The chains of habit are too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken” (International Dictionary of Thoughts, p. 348)….Living a life of righteousness is a chainbreaker. Many of us today are shackled by the restrictive chains of poor habits. We are bound by inferior self-images created by misconduct and indifference. We are chained by an unwillingness to change for the better….Shaking off restrictive chains requires action….It requires commitment, self-discipline, and work. Chains weigh heavily on troubled hearts and souls. They relegate us to lives of no purpose or light. They cause us to become confused and lose the spirit….These chains cannot be broken by those who live in lust and self-deceit. They can only be broken by people who are willing to change. We must face up to the hard reality of life that damaging chains are broken only by people of courage and commitment who are willing to struggle and weather the pain….To change or break some of our chains even in a small way means to give up some behavior of habits that have been very important to us in the past….Even if our present way of life is painful and self-destructive, some of us…become comfortable with it. Those who are committed to improvement break chains by having the courage to try.

Marvin J. Ashton, Ensign, Nov. 1985, pp. 13-15

Some foolishly try and justify conduct they know is wrong with, “It’s such a little sin; it won’t matter.” While it may be true that the particular conduct is not at the top of the scale, the more dangerous part is the road that it puts you on. “Little wrongs” just seem to have a way of leading into “bigger wrongs.” The words of the American clergyman Harry Emerson Fosdick provide further instruction here: “The tragic evils of our life are so commonly unintentional. We did not start out for that poor, cheap goal. That aim was not in our minds at all….Look to the road you are walking on! He who picks up one end of [a] stick picks up the other. He who chooses the beginning of a road chooses the place it leads to” (Living Under Tension, 1941, pp. 110-111).

W. Eugene Hansen, Ensign, May, 1996, p. 39

Just as a man does not really desire food until he is hungry, so he does not desire the salvation of Christ until he knows why he needs Christ.

No one adequately and properly knows why he needs Christ until he understands and accepts the doctrine of the Fall and its effect upon all mankind. And no other book in the world explains this vital doctrine nearly as well as the Book of Mormon.

Ezra Taft Benson, A Witness and a Warning, p. 30