2 Nephi 4:1 - 4:5

2 Nephi 4:1 And now, I, Nephi, speak concerning the prophecies of which my father hath spoken, concerning Joseph, who was carried into Egypt.

These were the words of Lehi concerning Joseph of Egypt to his son Joseph.

2 Nephi 4:2 For behold, he truly prophesied concerning all his seed. And the prophecies which he wrote, there are not many greater. And he prophesied concerning us, and our future generations; and they are written upon the plates of brass.

These prophecies of Joseph of Egypt were on the brass plates. Joseph wrote them down and there are no more detailed information of the fate of his descendents. They contain prophecies concerning Lehi and his civilization in the promised land and his descendents in the last days.

2 Nephi 4:3 Wherefore, after my father had made an end of speaking concerning the prophecies of Joseph, he called the children of Laman, his sons, and his daughters, and said unto them: Behold, my sons, and my daughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my firstborn, I would that ye should give ear unto my words.

Now Lehi speaks to his grandchildren. Laman's children are spoken to first. Lehi wants them to listen to him very carefully as to what he has to say. (Lehi does not address his two oldest sons directly.)

2 Nephi 4:4 For the Lord God hath said that: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

Lehi tells them if they have not already heard it that if they will keep the commandments they will prosper in the land of promise. If they don’t they will be cut off from the influence of the Lord and suffer accordingly.

2 Nephi 4:5 But behold, my sons and my daughters, I cannot go down to my grave save I should leave a blessing upon you; for behold, I know that if ye are brought up in the way ye should go ye will not depart from it.

Lehi tells them that he just can’t go to his grave and not leave a blessing on them because he knows that their parents (Laman) will not teach them correct principles. Lehi knows that if they were taught properly they would be as righteous as Nephi children.

One would wonder why the Lord would allow these children of Laman and Lemuel to be raised under these conditions and not where they could be taught righteous principles so they could achieve their full potential? Since each of us has a custom plan set up for our progression, I can only assume that there is a reason for these children to grow up in the environment of not having the gospel in it at least a family setting. It maybe that it will be for their best to be subject to the leadership of their unrighteous parents so to be teach them of the difference between what they saw and what they will learn about at some future time perhaps in the spirit world.

There are all kinds of speculations that one could come up with, but I can only think of what my daughter Jeni once said about my grandson Luca who was born in Kenya of African parents, he was to be her child, but he had to be black for whatever reason. So these children of Lehi will be saved at the last day but they had to be raised by unrighteous parents and live their depraved life style while in mortality.