Textual: Chapter 32 is a new chapter in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon, which appears to follow some means of breaking chapters that was indicated on the plates. As we have noted in the extensive citations of Isaiah, there are breaks in chapters, but they do not follow the KJV breaks, but rather greater textual breaks in Isaiah’s work.
Assuming that breaks between chapters (as well as between 1 and 2 Nephi) had some reason in Nephi’s narrative, we must now ask why this chapter is separate from the previous one (our current chapter 31.) As noted, I suggest that both chapters 31 and 32 are recorded speeches of Nephi. Chapter 31 has a very clear end. Chapter 32 picks up on a theme of chapter 31, and “feels” like a continuation of that discourse.
The introduction to chapter 32 given in verse one also suggests that this is a continuation, as Nephi continues to directly address an audience. Perhaps a key to the division between chapters 31 and 32 is the reference Nephi makes to the audience “pondering.” Nephi has presented information on the Holy Spirit in chapter 31, and now he perceives that they are “pondering.” This may suggest some time has passed between the speech in chapter 31 and the speech in chapter 32.
A very clear example of an address covering more than a single day comes from Jacob (note specifically: “2 Ne. 9:54 And now, my brethren, I would speak unto you more; but on the morrow I will declare unto you the remainder of my words.”). The clear division in events in chapters 31 and 32, and the proposed oral context make the best argument for the division a difference in days. Just as with Jacob, Nephi would be giving a speech to his people, and closing the first day, but picking up on the second day with a topic related to the previous day’s discourse.
Rhetorical: Nephi begins his discourse with a question. In this case, this is no idle rhetorical question, but very clearly an elaboration of a topic that is on his audience’s mind. The entire discourse captured in 2 Nephi 32 depends upon Nephi’s understanding of a real problem in Nephite society.
Sociological: The problem as Nephi states it, is: “I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way.” Of course this is transitional from the previous day’s discussion of baptism, but it presents a profound social problem. The problem is that Nephi’s people apparently do not know what to do after baptism. Before any answer can be understood, we must understand the background of the problem. How can Nephi’s people not know what to do?
The first important point is that we need to understand the contexts of question. First, how does anyone know what to “do”? We learn most of the modes of operating in our society by discerning the rules as we grow up on the society. All societies have both stated and unstated ways of learning. The most obvious stated modes are laws that govern behavior. Nevertheless, there are other social ways of learning that still define a society.
A simple example of a unconsciously learned behavior is the way men cross their legs. Oddly enough, this appears to have cultural/regional differences. American men will use the “four-square” mode of crossing legs, where the ankle of one leg is placed over the knee of the other. In European countries, however, the more common mode is “knee-over-knee” - a method American men would associate with women rather than men. Of course there is no obvious “right” way to cross one’s legs, and men are not overtly taught how they should do it. Nevertheless, the mass of example provides the instructional device.
Between these two extremes of unstated and codified rules are the wide range of presumptions and habits that are part of any culture. Why is any of this important? We are dealing with a society that has roots in the Old World, and easily 30-40 years of independent existence. That society must have included social, moral, and legal codes with which Nephi’s audience was amply familiar.
Nephi’s question comes the context of religion. Ancient societies did not make the distinction between religious/secular that modern society does. Religion informed all of life, being virtually the same thing as we might term “science” today. As such an integral part of life, particularly with the divine origins of Nephite society, one must assume that the “rules” of living would have become engrained in Nephite society during its 30-40 year independent history.
Here, then, is the problem. We may assume that the Nephites were taught in all of the “rules” of their society, from the unconscious ways to dress, act, and gesture, to the most stringent of the legal and moral laws. With the clear emphasis on religious principles in Nephite society (with Nephi as king and Jacob as main priest, how could they not be emphasized?) we have a very interesting situation. We have Nephi expecting that his people don’t know what to do! How is it possible that they would not know what to do if they had been taught religion from their youth, and at the very least, the modes of action should be subconsciously dictated by imitation of the social norms (such as the knee-crossing example). The only possible way that they could not know what to do is if this is new information to them!
Unquestionably, Nephi has known of Christ and his future mission since his experience with the Spirit and interpreting his father’s dream. That experience took place in his youth (almost certainly before he reached 20 years of age - Nephi appears to be around 70-75 when writing this) and the vision included information about Christ’s baptism my John. The information about Christ’s baptism should not be new information to Nephi. We may safely assume that with Nephi’s clear emphasis on the coming Messiah and the evidence of Jacob’s sermon included in 2 Nephi, that the subject of the Messiah’s salvific mission was taught among the Nephites. What, then is new?
The context of this sermon is a baptismal covenant that uses the example of the Messiah’s baptism as a model for a baptismal covenant that an individual will make. After the receipt of that baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost is received. Modern Christians immediately recognize this as the context for a Christian baptism, with the appropriate associations of cleansing and the accompanying Spirit. While this may be common for modern Christians, it appears to have been new to the Nephites.
We have already examined the nature of the cleansing nature of ritual washings, and noted that the Nephites would have brought that conception with them to the New World. What appears to be different in this case is that there is a widespread movement to baptism that has been presented to the Nephites. Nephi’s comments make the most sense in the context of the introduction of a new commitment for the people, a new rite of baptism that has moved from the Old World ritual cleansing context for converts into a more “Christian” flavored baptism that may be undertaken by all men and women. In this context of the new commitment, Nephi must explain not only the covenant, but the nature of the path they are on. In the context of this new religious commitment, the question of what to do after baptism becomes very real.
The religious context of the Nephite community is an Old World Jewish religious culture that has had an influx of revelatory information about the coming Messiah that has focused the direction of some of their teachings. Nevertheless, ritually they remained Jewish (2 Nephi 5:10; 2 Nephi 25:24). The performance of religion was dictated by the Law of Moses, in spite of the new emphasis on the Messiah (2 Nephi 25:24). This performance is precisely the “what to do.” The actions of religion were dictated by the performances of the Law of Moses. These performances were the embodiment, the physical enactment, of the ethical/religious teachings.
Using this information to reconstruct a religious history of the Nephites, we can hypothesize several stages in the development of religion during Nephi’s lifetime:
Stage 1; Individual: Nephi’s religious foundation and practices are Jewish, but they have been informed by personal revelation. Nephi as a young man in the Old World uses his revelatory experiences to develop personally, and also to inform his teachings to his brothers. This constitutes an important development for Nephi, but does not have any discernable effect on the religious practices of the group. Lehi is the patriarch, and builds altars. Their religion is still Jewish, but both Lehi and Nephi (and those who would listen and understood) had their understanding of principles deepened.
Stage 2: Incipient Society: The next major developmental phase of Nephite religion occurs when the Nephites are split from the Lamanites. This division is along religious bounds. While there are certainly internal family pressures, Nephi saw the differences between his brothers and his own people as a fundamental difference in the willingness of the two groups to follow the Lord. Thus religious understanding became the foundational underpinning of Nephite society. At this point in time, we may expect that the pattern established by Lehi would be continued. They would be a Jewish community in public and private ritual, with a diversified theological emphasis. The absolute necessity of establishing a functioning society with the means of self support dictates that the majority of the innovations of this early period related to secular life, not religious life.
Stage 3; Stability: The establishment of economic and social stability (and certainly the all important area of food production) gives the Nephites time to develop their society. At this point we have social differentiation occurring, with Nephi marked as King, and Jacob as the main religious teacher. Such specialization bespeaks of a relatively stable society - but also one with sufficient numbers to support specialization. As was noted in the context of Jacob’s sermon that Nephi records, the most logical reason for that sermon, and for the numbers sufficient for the social stability was the influx of outside population into Nephite society. Certainly this influx of people required an integrative effort, which appears to have hit a fairly stable mode. We get little of the social history from Nephi, but Jacob’s sermon is the only indication of any integration problems.
Stage 4; Prophetic innovation: After a number of years as an independent city, a number of years with sufficient population and means to maintain independence (and have to deal with questions of wealth, as Jacob noted in his sermon) the social complications of establishing a new and viable people have been met and conquered. Once the society was at a sufficiently stable point, Nephi was able to introduce a new ritual into their religious life. In addition to the performances of the Law of Moses, Nephi has added a baptism as a covenant of acceptance of the mission of the Messiah. What is interesting is that Nephi appears to introduce this baptism of water and of fire (meaning the Holy Ghost) with a near fatalism. As this discourse proceeds, it becomes clear that while this new rite is added to the catalog of religious ritual, Nephi despairs of its general effectiveness for his population. He apparently sees it as not becoming important among the people of his congregation (see 2 Nephi 32: 4,7).