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Book of Mormon Commentary
2 Nephi Chapter 11
2 Ne 11:78 And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the very Christ, it must
needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also, that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God; and that he
manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost;
11:78 Earlier in this chapter (26-36) Nephi records he was shown that after "many generations"
the Jews would accept Jesus as the Messiah.
2 Ne 11:83 And after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, yet the
words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, and all those who
have dwindled in unbelief, shall not be forgotten;
11:83 The writer knew that long after the Nephites had all died, his record should come forth from
the ground in answer to the prayers which they were sending to the throne of God.
Nephi then quotes Isaiah (29:4) that their "speech shall be low out of the dust" (84). Their history
"shall be written and sealed up in a book, and those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not have
them, for they seek to destroy the things of God" (86). The sealed book refers to the Book of
Mormon. Part of the plates could not be translated for they were sealed. The book was sealed in
two ways: (1) some of the plates were fastened together and (2) the language used on these plates
was unknown, since it was neither Hebrew nor Egyptian but altered to suit the writer's purpose.
Mormon declared "none other people knoweth our language" (Mn. 4:98-100). The Jaredite record
was sealed and in "a language that, “can not be read" (E. 1:87, 88).
2 Ne 11:89 And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in unbelief, shall be smitten by the
hand of the Gentiles.
11:89 The story of the invasion of America by Europeans in the sixteenth century, is a tragic
illustration of the truth of this prophecy. Witness the appearance in Mexico of Cortes with his 450
Spaniards and 1,000 Tlascalan allies. From the very first of his contact with the natives, strife and
slaughter ensued. Cortes, having occasion to leave Tenoctlian [Tenoch- titlan] -the ancient name
of the city of Mexico -left Pedro de Alvarado in charge. The Aztecs celebrated their May festival
with the sacrifice of a handsome youth, as was their custom. This was, we may say, their
pentecost. But the sacrifice was too horrible to Alvarado. Under the impression that the Aztecs
were cowards, he fell upon the crowds of worshipers and massacred 600 of them, among whom
were prominent chiefs. When Cortes returned, he found the people excited. Montezuma,
practically a prisoner among the Spaniards, had been deposed, and his brother, Cuitlahuatzin, had
been elected ruler in his stead. They now attacked the Spaniards. Spanish cannon swept the streets
with terrible effects. Some idea of the losses of the Aztecs may be formed from the fact that the
battle and the retreat cost Cortes 750 of his 1,250 white soldiers and 4,000 of his 6,000 Tlascalan
allies.
But Cortes came back. On April 28, 1521, he began a siege of the city, which Dr. John Fiske
compares to the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, on a smaller scale, of course. On August 18, Cortes
was master of the situation. But then the city was a ruin. A new era had been inaugurated, in which
the natives lost their culture, their literature, and arts, and were practically, buried in the "dust."