Whose voices cry from the dust? 2 Nephi 26:16

Whose voices cry from the dust? 2 Nephi 26:16

Nephi is talking to his children before he dies. He prophecies about what will happen in the last days, meaning the time before the second coming of Jesus Christ when the Book of Mormon will be translated and shared around the world ("when the Lord God shall bring these things forth unto the children of men" - there "these things" are Nephi's words).

Nephi talks about two different groups of people:

Nephi's descendants (the Nephites)
Nephi's brother's descendants (the Lamanites)

He also differentiates between the righteous/faithful and "those who have dwindled in unbelief." Note that he does not label these on the basis of which "-ites" they are.

He promised that the words of the righteous/faithful will be written and come forth eventually, and goes on to prophecy more specifically how that will happen. He is prophesying about the translation of the Book of Mormon and the restoration of the gospel.

Something that I remember noticing this last read-through of the Book of Mormon was how Nephi's words were not only for us in these latter days, but also for his own descendants. The words which Nephi wrote down were read by his descendants before they were destroyed by the Lamanites.

I like that Nephi is ambiguous about who are the "righteous/faithful" because it leaves plenty of room for Lamanites to be faithful. We know that many of them were some of the most faithful people in the entire Book of Mormon, actually (the Anti-Nephi-Lehites, King Lamoni, King Lamoni's father, and Samuel the Lamanite come to mind).

Being righteous/faithful is not something you inherit. You choose it. Inheriting a heritage of faithful parents, grandparents, etc. certainly helps influence your choices, but in the end, faith is a personal thing and it comes from within.

Answer: the righteous descendants of Nephi and his brothers.