He then writes a lamentation psalm, telling us how very disappointing we are because so many of us will doubt: "And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be." (2 Nephi 32: 7.) Nephi, who is filled with light through his obedience, has a difficult time relating to those of us who fail to seek for and gather in the light by our own obedience. We prefer disobedience to light and truth. He saw this in vision, and is left astonished by our choice.
His frustration is driven by the shortcomings of those who listen to him, yet fail to leave behind what he calls "wickedness" and "ignorance" and "stiffneckedness." If we disappoint His prophet, how must we disappoint the Lord? Among our chief defects is we "will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto [us] in plainness." We are much like the later Nephites who, standing in the presence of the resurrected Lord are unprepared to be taught by Him. Christ had to cut short His first day's ministry because the audience was not ready to be taught. We are wrong to think this lamentable condition is confined to the ancients. Nephi writes for us in our day. We are similarly unable to absorb light, and fail to search knowledge when it is offered. These sobering words about our condition are one of the themes of the Isaiah texts Nephi uses. Nephi's commentary makes this clear. He intends us to notice these themes in his excerpts from Isaiah.