“…I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” (1 Nephi 11:17)
v. 1-5: The whole plan of salvation, as well as the gospel, are designed to allow us to use our agency, our freedom to choose. I think this is why the angel asked Nephi these questions in the beginning of his vision: to give Nephi the chance to make the choice, to say out loud, to be given the opportunity to change his mind if he wanted. The angel already knew that Nephi wanted to see the things His father saw, the angel already knew that Nephi believed his Father.
v. 7: At this point the angel tells Nephi that after this vision he will be a special witness of Christ. The vision of Christ was given him as a sign, a sign that followed his belief on the son of God. (Mark 16:17)
v. 8-11: Nephi sees many of the same things in vision as his father saw, but his vision was much different. For one thing he got to have a Q & A with the angel as the vision unfolded.
v. 12-23: Nephi asks the angel to know the interpretation of the tree. Instead of simply telling the answer (Jesus Christ), he shows Nephi another vision, and lets him figure it out for himself. Along the way the angel is asking questions to make sure Nephi understands what is going on as the vision unfolds.
v. 15: In Jewish tradition, virgin’s typically wore a special sash or other article to indicate their availability. This is how Nephi could know just by looking at Mary that she was a virgin.
v. 24-25: Nephi sees the vision of the Savior’s ministry and understands that the rod of iron represents the word of God (Christ John 1:1-14). This seems to be the pattern of Nephi’s vision: He sees the symbol given in Lehi’s dream, then shown the real life events that correspond with that symbol.
v. 27: Again special mention is made of John the Baptist. I guess that makes sense, because Jesus did claim that none greater than John was ever born of mortal parents (Matt 11:11, Luke 7:28).
v. 27-33: It would seem that Nephi was able to see all of the Savior’s ministry: the high points, the low points, perhaps some sort of “highlights” reel. Special mention is made of the ministry of angels, not particularly highlighted in the Bible. Of course, not all of the Savior’s ministry would be very fun to watch. Certainly to witness the crucifixion of the Savior would not be a pleasant experience.
v. 34-36: The multitudes of the earth (represented by the great and spacious building) gather to fight against the 12 apostles of the lamb and Nephi witnesses of their fall. I thought this was kind of an odd place to testify of that, seeing as the world did overcome the church led by those apostles, but a quick glance in a history textbook will show you that every one of those nations and powers ended in utter ruin.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
1 Nephi 10
“For he is the same yesterday, today, and forever…wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.” (1 Nephi 10:18-19)
v. 3: This echoes many of the prophecies of the Old Testament, particularly Isaiah, whom Lehi possibly was old enough to have if not personally met Isaiah, then surely knew people who knew Isaiah.
v.4-6: This is the most fascinating prophecy EVER because Lehi is told specifically when the Savior would come. How often does that happen? Especially in our day, knowing so much about what is to come in the future, except for the date of its happening. It is possible that although not indicated in our Old Testament there were other prophets or records that contained this prophecy, we simply do not know. But this much we do know, the Jews were very aware of the fact that a redeemer was promised to deliver ALL mankind from their lost and fallen state. The symbolism of the many sacrifices they offered was not lost on the faithful.
v.7-10: Lehi was so struck with the story of John the Baptist, Nephi said that “much spake my father concerning this thing.” He must have had some personal connection, perhaps gained some great insight through reading of him. This is also interesting because the Book of Mormon prophets speak very plainly of baptism long before the time of Christ. This is because the ordinance of baptism has been in place since the foundation of the world. It was not a “new” doctrine introduced by Christ. Although nearly all references to baptism have been lost from our Old Testament it is clear that not just the Book of Mormon Jews practiced baptism. If the doctrine was not understood by the Jews in Jerusalem why then would the multitudes in Isreal have flocked to John for baptism (and this before Christ began his ministry)?
v. 11: Lehi knew, even at this early date, the fate that awaited the Messiah. He knew that he would be killed by the Jews, resurrected, and that through his spirit (not personally) the gospel would be preached to the Gentiles, all events which confused and astounded even some of Christ’s most trusted disciples.
v. 12-15: Lehi recognizes that their journeying from Jerusalem are a part of the Lord’s scattering of the House of Israel over all the earth. Why is there so much on this topic in the Book of Mormon and why did the writers of the Book of Mormon care so much about it? It is because, first and foremost, the scattering was something that was happening to them as they were writing! It is because they knew that the coming forth of the Book of Mormon was the sign that the great gathering had finally begun, and that we, the reader, would need to know about it because we would take part in it! But most of all, the scattering and gathering is so important because that is the medium the Lord chose to employ to spread the covenant to all the nations of the earth and their dead, thus blessing all of His children with the fullness of the gospel.
v. 16-19: This is just the best passage ever on how we gain a testimony. I like it better, even, than Moroni 10:3-5. Nephi had just gotten an earful, much of it probably confusing. Parts of it may even had been hard for Nephi to accept. But it was information of such importance that Nephi could not ignore it, he had to know, and he did come to know. And so can anybody.
v. 20-21: This sounds kinda scary, I suppose: no unclean can dwell in the presence of God and all of that. But what does he say: “if ye have sought to do wickedly…then are ye found unclean.” This is a warning to those who would choose to do evil. Don’t ever choose to do evil. That’s just stupid. If you do it on accident, okay, whatever, repent, it happens. But to go actively looking and seeking to do wicked is just dumb. So reading into this then, if we are going to be judged on our doings it would be in our interest to have some good ones for God to look at, huh? The test of life is about much more than a checklist of things to not do, it is a test of what we become, what we DO with our life.
v. 3: This echoes many of the prophecies of the Old Testament, particularly Isaiah, whom Lehi possibly was old enough to have if not personally met Isaiah, then surely knew people who knew Isaiah.
v.4-6: This is the most fascinating prophecy EVER because Lehi is told specifically when the Savior would come. How often does that happen? Especially in our day, knowing so much about what is to come in the future, except for the date of its happening. It is possible that although not indicated in our Old Testament there were other prophets or records that contained this prophecy, we simply do not know. But this much we do know, the Jews were very aware of the fact that a redeemer was promised to deliver ALL mankind from their lost and fallen state. The symbolism of the many sacrifices they offered was not lost on the faithful.
v.7-10: Lehi was so struck with the story of John the Baptist, Nephi said that “much spake my father concerning this thing.” He must have had some personal connection, perhaps gained some great insight through reading of him. This is also interesting because the Book of Mormon prophets speak very plainly of baptism long before the time of Christ. This is because the ordinance of baptism has been in place since the foundation of the world. It was not a “new” doctrine introduced by Christ. Although nearly all references to baptism have been lost from our Old Testament it is clear that not just the Book of Mormon Jews practiced baptism. If the doctrine was not understood by the Jews in Jerusalem why then would the multitudes in Isreal have flocked to John for baptism (and this before Christ began his ministry)?
v. 11: Lehi knew, even at this early date, the fate that awaited the Messiah. He knew that he would be killed by the Jews, resurrected, and that through his spirit (not personally) the gospel would be preached to the Gentiles, all events which confused and astounded even some of Christ’s most trusted disciples.
v. 12-15: Lehi recognizes that their journeying from Jerusalem are a part of the Lord’s scattering of the House of Israel over all the earth. Why is there so much on this topic in the Book of Mormon and why did the writers of the Book of Mormon care so much about it? It is because, first and foremost, the scattering was something that was happening to them as they were writing! It is because they knew that the coming forth of the Book of Mormon was the sign that the great gathering had finally begun, and that we, the reader, would need to know about it because we would take part in it! But most of all, the scattering and gathering is so important because that is the medium the Lord chose to employ to spread the covenant to all the nations of the earth and their dead, thus blessing all of His children with the fullness of the gospel.
v. 16-19: This is just the best passage ever on how we gain a testimony. I like it better, even, than Moroni 10:3-5. Nephi had just gotten an earful, much of it probably confusing. Parts of it may even had been hard for Nephi to accept. But it was information of such importance that Nephi could not ignore it, he had to know, and he did come to know. And so can anybody.
v. 20-21: This sounds kinda scary, I suppose: no unclean can dwell in the presence of God and all of that. But what does he say: “if ye have sought to do wickedly…then are ye found unclean.” This is a warning to those who would choose to do evil. Don’t ever choose to do evil. That’s just stupid. If you do it on accident, okay, whatever, repent, it happens. But to go actively looking and seeking to do wicked is just dumb. So reading into this then, if we are going to be judged on our doings it would be in our interest to have some good ones for God to look at, huh? The test of life is about much more than a checklist of things to not do, it is a test of what we become, what we DO with our life.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
1 Nephi 9
“But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words.” (1 Nephi 9:6)
v. 1: There were probably many prophets of whom we have no record at all, in addition, for the prophets that we do have a record of, we only have a tiny fraction of what they wrote, and prophesied during their lives. Just do the math! This should increase our gratitude for the words that we do have recorded, but we should remember that God’s word is not limited.
v. 2-4: If you read the Old Testament, you will notice that the Nephi is following the pattern of the ancient Hebrew writings in separating the temporal and the spiritual history into two separate records which run parallel to each other. There is much overlap in the Old Testament as well, especially in the area of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and the “minor” prophets.
v. 5: Nephi says the same thing that Mormon later says: “I don’t know why these small plates are supposed to be here, cause this story is written on the other ones.” But turns out thousands of years before Joseph Smith ever lost the 116 pages that God knew it was going to happen. Nothing is better proof that not even our own weaknesses can bring down the plans of God.
v. 1: There were probably many prophets of whom we have no record at all, in addition, for the prophets that we do have a record of, we only have a tiny fraction of what they wrote, and prophesied during their lives. Just do the math! This should increase our gratitude for the words that we do have recorded, but we should remember that God’s word is not limited.
v. 2-4: If you read the Old Testament, you will notice that the Nephi is following the pattern of the ancient Hebrew writings in separating the temporal and the spiritual history into two separate records which run parallel to each other. There is much overlap in the Old Testament as well, especially in the area of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, and the “minor” prophets.
v. 5: Nephi says the same thing that Mormon later says: “I don’t know why these small plates are supposed to be here, cause this story is written on the other ones.” But turns out thousands of years before Joseph Smith ever lost the 116 pages that God knew it was going to happen. Nothing is better proof that not even our own weaknesses can bring down the plans of God.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
1 Nephi 8
“And as I partook of the fruit therof it filled my sould with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also…” (1 Nephi 8:12)
v. 1: You know, the parallels between this and the exodus from Egypt are very interesting. They apparently gathered seeds as they went or brought some with them from Jerusalem (or both), but they did not use them in the Wilderness. Nephi tells us later (1 Nephi 17:2-4) that the Lord provided for their needs, allowing them to survive off of raw meat. Perhaps they would have had time to plant and harvest some (after all, they wandered in the wilderness for eight years before they even got around to building boats) but it seems as if they lived off of hunting.
v. 2-4: Lehi has yet another dream, or, night vision. It is clear that it is a highly symbolic dream, from which Lehi learns much of life in general, but also specifics about the future of his family. The thing about this vision which is sometimes confusing but really awesome is that it appears to be a mix of both symbols and reality. This becomes much clearer in chapter 11 when Nephi is shown the same vision but gives a lot in the way of interpretation. It may be that Lehi retold the vision in symbolic terms. But the most likely answer is that Nephi only recorded the most important symbols as he is summarizing (see v. 29).
v. 5-9: So here’s the thing: apparently Lehi and his family did not follow the iron rod in order to get to the tree of life. Lehi was led by an angel and Lehi lead his family. Now don’t get confused, there’s only one way to Salvation, and that is Jesus Christ (the tree of life). But people find their way to Christ in many different ways: some are led by revelation, even angels, as Lehi; Some are led by family members; and others must grope in the darkness and find their way alone.
v. 10-11: The tree of life represents Jesus Christ (see chapter 11) and partaking of the fruit represents eternal life. I LOVE all the tree symbolism in the scriptures. It may be a little nerdy, but I think it’s great. This is a particularly interesting symbol because the tree is representing Jesus Christ, but there is also apparently a literal tree of life, such as in the Garden of Eden and the one mentioned in the book of Revelation.
v. 12: Once you get a taste of eternal life, you can’t but help want to share it with others.
v. 13-18: Lehi beckons to his family to come partake of the fruit but Laman and Lemuel will not.
v. 19-20: The iron rod (representing the word of God) runs along a straight and narrow path (sound familiar, anyone?) leading to the tree of life. I like this, because you don’t just have to try and follow the path, you have something to hold on to while you go. You don’t have to stare at the ground the whole time, and if your vision becomes obscured, if you can’t see the way, you can still go forward.
v. 21-22: This continues my train of thought surrounding v. 5-9: Lehi sees “numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led to the tree.” This is so profound I can’t even stand it. It’s hard enough for these people to get to path, let along make it to the tree of life, but the good news is that many are looking! I read into this that many moved in groups for support, for help to find the path. Is that not most people’s problem? What is the truth? What is the path? How different of a place would the world be if everyone knew where to turn for truth? In the end only those who “pressed forward” make it to the rod of iron to begin their journey to Christ.
v. 23: Then the opposition comes. How many millions have gotten started on the right path, only to be discouraged or shaken by the first round of opposition that comes. This is why only the honest seekers of truth are able to gain a testimony, because the others eventually give up, fall away. But here’s the other big truth of this verse: not everybody who fails to make it to the tree of life end up in the great and spacious building: many more are they who wander off and simply become lost.
v. 24-28: It is not enough to cling to the iron rod, you have to follow it, walk the path. The clingers made it to the tree, but then lost their faithfulness and become ashamed while they yet have the taste of the fruit in their mouth. They must not realize the value of what they have just obtained. These, which heeded the scorn of the world, not only wandered off, but “fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.” When we reject the truth after having received it we cannot go back to neutral ground, for better or for worse. The consequences of our choices, good and bad, will always stay with us.
v. 30: But there were also many who made it to the tree and were faithful. There were many who sought directly to the great and spacious building (representing the pride of the world) ignoring the tree of life altogether. There were also sadly many who drowned in the depths of the fountain (filthiness- see chapter 15) and still others wandering in strange paths. There may be nothing we can do about those who seek after the great and spacious building, but maybe we can save a few from drowning, you know? Save a few from spending their lives wandering, lost, on strange paths. That’s why we preach the gospel. For them.
v. 37-38: It may be that Laman and Lemuel had more spiritual experiences, heard more prophecy, and felt the love of family and the spirit more than any other wicked people who ever lived. It just goes to show you that you can’t force change, no matter how good you are.
v. 1: You know, the parallels between this and the exodus from Egypt are very interesting. They apparently gathered seeds as they went or brought some with them from Jerusalem (or both), but they did not use them in the Wilderness. Nephi tells us later (1 Nephi 17:2-4) that the Lord provided for their needs, allowing them to survive off of raw meat. Perhaps they would have had time to plant and harvest some (after all, they wandered in the wilderness for eight years before they even got around to building boats) but it seems as if they lived off of hunting.
v. 2-4: Lehi has yet another dream, or, night vision. It is clear that it is a highly symbolic dream, from which Lehi learns much of life in general, but also specifics about the future of his family. The thing about this vision which is sometimes confusing but really awesome is that it appears to be a mix of both symbols and reality. This becomes much clearer in chapter 11 when Nephi is shown the same vision but gives a lot in the way of interpretation. It may be that Lehi retold the vision in symbolic terms. But the most likely answer is that Nephi only recorded the most important symbols as he is summarizing (see v. 29).
v. 5-9: So here’s the thing: apparently Lehi and his family did not follow the iron rod in order to get to the tree of life. Lehi was led by an angel and Lehi lead his family. Now don’t get confused, there’s only one way to Salvation, and that is Jesus Christ (the tree of life). But people find their way to Christ in many different ways: some are led by revelation, even angels, as Lehi; Some are led by family members; and others must grope in the darkness and find their way alone.
v. 10-11: The tree of life represents Jesus Christ (see chapter 11) and partaking of the fruit represents eternal life. I LOVE all the tree symbolism in the scriptures. It may be a little nerdy, but I think it’s great. This is a particularly interesting symbol because the tree is representing Jesus Christ, but there is also apparently a literal tree of life, such as in the Garden of Eden and the one mentioned in the book of Revelation.
v. 12: Once you get a taste of eternal life, you can’t but help want to share it with others.
v. 13-18: Lehi beckons to his family to come partake of the fruit but Laman and Lemuel will not.
v. 19-20: The iron rod (representing the word of God) runs along a straight and narrow path (sound familiar, anyone?) leading to the tree of life. I like this, because you don’t just have to try and follow the path, you have something to hold on to while you go. You don’t have to stare at the ground the whole time, and if your vision becomes obscured, if you can’t see the way, you can still go forward.
v. 21-22: This continues my train of thought surrounding v. 5-9: Lehi sees “numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led to the tree.” This is so profound I can’t even stand it. It’s hard enough for these people to get to path, let along make it to the tree of life, but the good news is that many are looking! I read into this that many moved in groups for support, for help to find the path. Is that not most people’s problem? What is the truth? What is the path? How different of a place would the world be if everyone knew where to turn for truth? In the end only those who “pressed forward” make it to the rod of iron to begin their journey to Christ.
v. 23: Then the opposition comes. How many millions have gotten started on the right path, only to be discouraged or shaken by the first round of opposition that comes. This is why only the honest seekers of truth are able to gain a testimony, because the others eventually give up, fall away. But here’s the other big truth of this verse: not everybody who fails to make it to the tree of life end up in the great and spacious building: many more are they who wander off and simply become lost.
v. 24-28: It is not enough to cling to the iron rod, you have to follow it, walk the path. The clingers made it to the tree, but then lost their faithfulness and become ashamed while they yet have the taste of the fruit in their mouth. They must not realize the value of what they have just obtained. These, which heeded the scorn of the world, not only wandered off, but “fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.” When we reject the truth after having received it we cannot go back to neutral ground, for better or for worse. The consequences of our choices, good and bad, will always stay with us.
v. 30: But there were also many who made it to the tree and were faithful. There were many who sought directly to the great and spacious building (representing the pride of the world) ignoring the tree of life altogether. There were also sadly many who drowned in the depths of the fountain (filthiness- see chapter 15) and still others wandering in strange paths. There may be nothing we can do about those who seek after the great and spacious building, but maybe we can save a few from drowning, you know? Save a few from spending their lives wandering, lost, on strange paths. That’s why we preach the gospel. For them.
v. 37-38: It may be that Laman and Lemuel had more spiritual experiences, heard more prophecy, and felt the love of family and the spirit more than any other wicked people who ever lived. It just goes to show you that you can’t force change, no matter how good you are.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
1 Nephi 7
“...the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him…Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.” (1 Nephi 7:12)
v. 1: It would make sense that while Lehi is prophesying about his seed that he would receive a revelation that his children are to marry before they leave. He sons can’t have posterity by themselves after all. I think it also very interesting that Lehi is commanded to bring Ishmael and his family. This is just speculation, but I assume that two families would already know each other fairly well. I may be wrong, but my guess is that all the righteous people hung out. Who knows? Ishmael may even have been a prophet with Lehi crying repentance to the people? Brigham Young taught that Ishmael was of the tribe of Ephraim, and we know that Lehi is of the tribe of Manasseh (Alma 10:3) so now the prophesies concerning the seed of Joseph and their inheritance can be fulfilled.
v. 2: It would be just as dangerous for Nephi and his brothers to return to Jerusalem this time, if not more dangerous, because of the death of Laban and the impact that it may have had on the city, in addition to the regular dangers of the wilderness.
v. 3: So why did Nephi and his brothers have to make this trip twice? Why didn’t they just grab Ishmael and his family when they got the plates, or even when they left the first time? This is one of my favorite little gems of the Book of Mormon. When Lehi and his family first left Jerusalem they did not have Zoram with them. We learn later that Zoram also took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife. These things had to happen in the order that they did because if not, one of Ishmael’s daughters would have been without a husband! Maybe the family would not have come if one of the daughters was to be left out, and then everybody would be out of luck!
v. 4: Again, we don’t know if they already knew Ishmael and his family, we don’t know how long they were there. I like to think that Nephi and his brothers dated Ishmael’s daughters during this time, so it wasn’t this awkward matching up thing in the wilderness.
v. 6: It mentions the two sons of Ishmael and their families. So we can read into this that Ishmael’s family also included in-laws. It seems likely then that Lehi’s daughters were already married and brought their families with them in the wilderness.
v. 7: Laman and Lemeuel (with their girlfriends, now) rebel and try to convince everyone to go back to Jerusalem (abandoning their parents and sisters in the wilderness). Again, this makes me think that the reason Lehi was able to convince them to make the dangerous trip back in the first place was that they thought maybe they could convince the others to change their minds once they were back.
v. 8-15: Nephi chews them out hard-core. He’s pulling out all the guns on this one: you’ve seen an angel, we’ve been delivered from Laban, if you stay with us you will inherit a land of promise, if you go back, you’ll die, and the guilt trip of: you’re the older brothers it’s you who should be an example and not me.
v. 14: (As a side note, Nephi mentions that Jeremiah is case into prison-which helps us with the time frame of what’s going on-but also reveals the fact that they knew him and he was an important figure in their lives. Lehi may even have prophesied with Jeremiah. Who knows?)
v. 16-18: Laman and Lemuel are not happy with this conversation and decide to tie Nephi up, kill him, and leave his corpse to be eaten by animals. Nice guys, huh? They succed in tying him up, and Nephi prays for the strength to “burst his bands.” His prayer is answered, but not in the way that he had asked for. Instead of breaking his bands, they simply fall off. I think this experience gives us insight into the character of Nephi, he wasn’t like: “God do this for me.” He was like: “God give me the strength to do this.” But in this case, God was happy to do the work for him, it was apparently not necessary for him to break his own bonds. (Perhaps to show that it was God that did it, and not him?)
v. 19: This is proof that anger makes you stupid. Don’t be angry. Laman and Lemuel just watched Nephi pray, be miraculously released from bonds, then stand up and start to preach to them again, and what’s their response? Oooh, Let’s try to kill him again! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. But this time one of the daughters of Ishmael (I’m gonna go ahead and say that it’s the same one who ends up marrying Nephi) and her mom and brother stepped in and managed to talk some sense into them. A great example of the power women can have that men do not.
v. 20-21: The women get to them, Laman and Lemuel ask Nephi (apparently very sincerely) for forgiveness and Nephi “frankly forgave them,” a term I think suggests immediately and unconditionally. Which is really amazing seeing as Nephi knows exactly how wicked his brothers’ hearts are, but you can’t but hope that people will change. Often it takes many failed attempts before people finally succeed in changing.
v. 1: It would make sense that while Lehi is prophesying about his seed that he would receive a revelation that his children are to marry before they leave. He sons can’t have posterity by themselves after all. I think it also very interesting that Lehi is commanded to bring Ishmael and his family. This is just speculation, but I assume that two families would already know each other fairly well. I may be wrong, but my guess is that all the righteous people hung out. Who knows? Ishmael may even have been a prophet with Lehi crying repentance to the people? Brigham Young taught that Ishmael was of the tribe of Ephraim, and we know that Lehi is of the tribe of Manasseh (Alma 10:3) so now the prophesies concerning the seed of Joseph and their inheritance can be fulfilled.
v. 2: It would be just as dangerous for Nephi and his brothers to return to Jerusalem this time, if not more dangerous, because of the death of Laban and the impact that it may have had on the city, in addition to the regular dangers of the wilderness.
v. 3: So why did Nephi and his brothers have to make this trip twice? Why didn’t they just grab Ishmael and his family when they got the plates, or even when they left the first time? This is one of my favorite little gems of the Book of Mormon. When Lehi and his family first left Jerusalem they did not have Zoram with them. We learn later that Zoram also took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife. These things had to happen in the order that they did because if not, one of Ishmael’s daughters would have been without a husband! Maybe the family would not have come if one of the daughters was to be left out, and then everybody would be out of luck!
v. 4: Again, we don’t know if they already knew Ishmael and his family, we don’t know how long they were there. I like to think that Nephi and his brothers dated Ishmael’s daughters during this time, so it wasn’t this awkward matching up thing in the wilderness.
v. 6: It mentions the two sons of Ishmael and their families. So we can read into this that Ishmael’s family also included in-laws. It seems likely then that Lehi’s daughters were already married and brought their families with them in the wilderness.
v. 7: Laman and Lemeuel (with their girlfriends, now) rebel and try to convince everyone to go back to Jerusalem (abandoning their parents and sisters in the wilderness). Again, this makes me think that the reason Lehi was able to convince them to make the dangerous trip back in the first place was that they thought maybe they could convince the others to change their minds once they were back.
v. 8-15: Nephi chews them out hard-core. He’s pulling out all the guns on this one: you’ve seen an angel, we’ve been delivered from Laban, if you stay with us you will inherit a land of promise, if you go back, you’ll die, and the guilt trip of: you’re the older brothers it’s you who should be an example and not me.
v. 14: (As a side note, Nephi mentions that Jeremiah is case into prison-which helps us with the time frame of what’s going on-but also reveals the fact that they knew him and he was an important figure in their lives. Lehi may even have prophesied with Jeremiah. Who knows?)
v. 16-18: Laman and Lemuel are not happy with this conversation and decide to tie Nephi up, kill him, and leave his corpse to be eaten by animals. Nice guys, huh? They succed in tying him up, and Nephi prays for the strength to “burst his bands.” His prayer is answered, but not in the way that he had asked for. Instead of breaking his bands, they simply fall off. I think this experience gives us insight into the character of Nephi, he wasn’t like: “God do this for me.” He was like: “God give me the strength to do this.” But in this case, God was happy to do the work for him, it was apparently not necessary for him to break his own bonds. (Perhaps to show that it was God that did it, and not him?)
v. 19: This is proof that anger makes you stupid. Don’t be angry. Laman and Lemuel just watched Nephi pray, be miraculously released from bonds, then stand up and start to preach to them again, and what’s their response? Oooh, Let’s try to kill him again! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. But this time one of the daughters of Ishmael (I’m gonna go ahead and say that it’s the same one who ends up marrying Nephi) and her mom and brother stepped in and managed to talk some sense into them. A great example of the power women can have that men do not.
v. 20-21: The women get to them, Laman and Lemuel ask Nephi (apparently very sincerely) for forgiveness and Nephi “frankly forgave them,” a term I think suggests immediately and unconditionally. Which is really amazing seeing as Nephi knows exactly how wicked his brothers’ hearts are, but you can’t but hope that people will change. Often it takes many failed attempts before people finally succeed in changing.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
1 Nephi 6
“Wherefore, I shall give commandment unto my seed, that they shall not occupy these plates with things which are not of worth unto the children of men.” (1 Nephi 6:6)
v. 1-6: I guess the biggest thing that I got out of this chapter is the fact that Nephi is writing this record towards the end of his life. He’s not interested in writing about himself, nor is he interested in writing what the world would find entertaining, but rather the things of God that would be most valuable to mankind. He’s already planning on handing these plates down from generation to generation, and I assume that these plates were also to be used by his people, unlike those written by Moroni hundreds of years later.
v. 1-6: I guess the biggest thing that I got out of this chapter is the fact that Nephi is writing this record towards the end of his life. He’s not interested in writing about himself, nor is he interested in writing what the world would find entertaining, but rather the things of God that would be most valuable to mankind. He’s already planning on handing these plates down from generation to generation, and I assume that these plates were also to be used by his people, unlike those written by Moroni hundreds of years later.
Monday, July 26, 2010
1 Nephi 5
“And it came to pass that thus far I and my father had kept the commandments wherewith the Lord had commanded us.” (1 Nephi 5:20)
v. 1-10: It’s too bad the only Sariah story we have in the Book of Mormon is her doubting. I bet she was a really cool lady. Nephi and the boys must have been gone a really long time otherwise she wouldn’t have freaked out so much. Maybe much of their time was taken up in the journey, which, in all honesty was probably just as dangerous as confronting Laban. The other thing is, I bet that Lehi and Sariah was familiar with who Laban was since he was such a powerful man, which would only add to her anxiety. My guess is part of the reason the Lord made them take an extra trip back to Jerusalem is so that Lehi and Sariah could go through this experience which greatly strengthened their faith. This is also a very interesting family because nowhere else in the scriptures can I think of a father/son prophet combination like this. Both of them had their separate trials they needed to face. Poor Lehi all alone in the wilderness with his wife and daughters and no football to distract him…
v. 11-13: The plates contained a different version of the Old Testament which went from Genesis part-way through Jeremiah. It’s important to remember that these are the scriptures that all the Nephite prophets have to refer to and to teach the people. It also demonstrates the truth that it’s not the amount of scripture that is important, if you have the living oracles of God. They only had maybe half of the scriptures we have today, yet it was enough to give them the gospel.
v. 14-16: Lehi learns his genealogy, another reason for why having the plates was necessary, I don’t know how much of his genealogy Lehi knew, but apparently the fact that he was a descendant of Joseph was news to him. It’s interesting to think about the value that they put on knowing their family history, I mean, they had to kill a man to get it! (Also, I wonder how closely Lehi and Laban were related, since they were both descendants of Joseph.)
v. 18-19: These plates of brass were blessed to never dim with age, and will one day be revealed to the world in their entirety.
v. 21: They needed a copy of the scriptures in order to preserve the commandments for their children. Imagine trying to pass down the Law of Moses by word of mouth. Not so easy to do.
v. 1-10: It’s too bad the only Sariah story we have in the Book of Mormon is her doubting. I bet she was a really cool lady. Nephi and the boys must have been gone a really long time otherwise she wouldn’t have freaked out so much. Maybe much of their time was taken up in the journey, which, in all honesty was probably just as dangerous as confronting Laban. The other thing is, I bet that Lehi and Sariah was familiar with who Laban was since he was such a powerful man, which would only add to her anxiety. My guess is part of the reason the Lord made them take an extra trip back to Jerusalem is so that Lehi and Sariah could go through this experience which greatly strengthened their faith. This is also a very interesting family because nowhere else in the scriptures can I think of a father/son prophet combination like this. Both of them had their separate trials they needed to face. Poor Lehi all alone in the wilderness with his wife and daughters and no football to distract him…
v. 11-13: The plates contained a different version of the Old Testament which went from Genesis part-way through Jeremiah. It’s important to remember that these are the scriptures that all the Nephite prophets have to refer to and to teach the people. It also demonstrates the truth that it’s not the amount of scripture that is important, if you have the living oracles of God. They only had maybe half of the scriptures we have today, yet it was enough to give them the gospel.
v. 14-16: Lehi learns his genealogy, another reason for why having the plates was necessary, I don’t know how much of his genealogy Lehi knew, but apparently the fact that he was a descendant of Joseph was news to him. It’s interesting to think about the value that they put on knowing their family history, I mean, they had to kill a man to get it! (Also, I wonder how closely Lehi and Laban were related, since they were both descendants of Joseph.)
v. 18-19: These plates of brass were blessed to never dim with age, and will one day be revealed to the world in their entirety.
v. 21: They needed a copy of the scriptures in order to preserve the commandments for their children. Imagine trying to pass down the Law of Moses by word of mouth. Not so easy to do.
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