#15 JANUARY 20-26, 1 NEPHI 12-14

1 Nephi Chapter 11 revisited

            Before going on to Chapters 12-14 in First Nephi, let’s go back for a minute to Chapter 11. There was so much I wanted to write about that chapter that I sort of “ran out of gas” (or out of "petrol", as you Brits would say) in the last post.

            In response to his desire to know the meaning of the Tree which his father saw, Nephi was shown a virgin who was “exceedingly fair and white” (just like the fruit of the tree) with a Child in her arms. He was told by his angelic guide that the virgin was “the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh” and that the Child in her arms was “the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!” Then and not until then did Nephi know the meaning of the tree. “Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.” The angel added “Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.” The greatest evidence of the love of God is that He sent His Son! This is the meaning of the tree and its fruit. To partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life is to partake of the Atonement of Jesus Christ - His mercy, grace and goodness and to be succored and blessed by Him. His intimate, personal ministry individually in each of our lives is the most desirable thing in life and the source of greatest joy.

            Later in Chapter 11, Nephi sees “that he [the Son of God] was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.” If Nephi learns nearly 600 years before Christ is to be born how Christ will die, do you think that Christ knew before He was born that He would die by crucifixion, a cruel Roman form of torture and death? Of course He did! He knows the end from the beginning. Did that knowledge, initially hidden by the veil of forgetfulness which Christ, like all of us, inherited when born into mortal life, return to Him during His life and ministry? I strongly believe that it did. We don’t know at what point in life Jesus became aware that He would die by crucifixion, but surely He did! What a heavy burden to carry! Fortunately, we don’t have to go through life knowing how we will die, but He did. And yet He obediently fulfilled His earthly mission and drank out of the “bitter cup” to the end. (See 3 Nephi 11:11; D&C 19:18)

1 Nephi 11:35 Opposition from within the Church

            Notice that Nephi saw that “the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” It wasn’t the Romans who destroyed the early church. After the time of Christ and His apostles, and again in the time of Joseph Smith and yet again in our day, it is those from within (or who used to have been within) who oppose the Church and its leaders who do the most damage. Millet and McConkie have written:

The latter-day kingdom is hindered very little by those from outside the fold, persons of malevolent mentality who are bent upon the destruction of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. External persecution seems to strengthen the flock and to even interest and provoke the investigator. On the other hand, much damage is done by those who have professed to know the name of the Lord and yet have not known him, persons who blaspheme against God in the midst of his house (see D&C 112:26). There are those who claim membership in the Church who feel some need, as though by divine decree, to set the Church straight, to “steady the ark,” or to change the pace of the forward movement of the caravan of the kingdom. Unless they repent, these shall live and die weak in the faith and shall fall by the wayside with the added demands of discipleship. In the long run, as the Lord explained to Joseph Smith, “there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and if any man lift his voice against you he shall be confounded in mine own due time. Wherefore,” the Master then counsels, “keep my commandments; they are true and faithful.” (D&C 71:9–11.)

Our best defense against the growing wickedness of the world and against dissident voices from within the Church (or from those who were once in the Church) is to stay on the strait and narrow “covenant path” holding firmly to the rod of iron which is the “word of God.” These are frightening times when even “the very elect, who are the elect according to the covenant” (Joseph Smith – Matthew 1:22) are at risk of being deceived. To my children and grandchildren (and anyone else reading this), my counsel for these risky times is to stay on the covenant path and you will make it though the mists of darkness which will surely come.

1 Nephi 12-14

            Nephi’s remarkable vision goes on for three more chapters. We don’t have time or space to consider and comment on all that he saw. What he wrote is remarkably clear and plain to understand. It’s easy, even for us 2600 years after he received this vision, to understand the prophecies of Nephi. (I wish I could say the same for the books of Isaiah and Revelation!) Here is a bullet list of the major events/people/things that the angel showed to Nephi in this remarkable vision:

Chapter 11

·      The Tree of Life

·      A virgin (Mary) in the city of Nazareth with a Child (Jesus) in her arms

·      The Lamb of God (The name Christ had not yet been revealed at the time of this vision)

·      John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus

·      The earthly ministry of the Savior

·      Twelve who followed the Savior (His apostles)

·      Angels ministering among men

·      Christ crucified and slain for the sins of the world

·      Multitudes of the earth gathered to fight against the Apostles (and other members of Christ’s church)

Chapter 12

·      Multitudes of people in the land of promise (the Americas)

·      Wars and slaughter among the people in the land of promise

·      Great destruction prior to the appearance of the Lamb of God

·      The Lamb of God appears to the multitudes who survive the destruction

·      Twelve apostles in the land of promise. The Holy Ghost is upon them.

·      Three generations and part of the fourth generation pass in righteousness

·      The seed of his brethren (the Lamanites) overpower his own seed (the Nephites)

·      Many generations pass away and the surviving Lamanites dwindle in unbelief and become a degenerate people

Chapter 13

·      The nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles

·      Formation of a great and abominable church among the Gentiles

·      Many waters separate the seed of his brethren (the Lamanites) from the Gentiles

·      The Spirit influences a man among the Gentiles (Christopher Columbus) to cross the many waters to the promised land

·      Guided by the Spirit, many Gentiles come out of captivity to the promised land

·      The power of God is with the Gentiles who come to the promised land because they humble themselves before the Lord

·      The Gentiles who have gone out of captivity to the Promised Land fight against their mother Gentiles (Revolutionary War). They are delivered by the power of God.

·      The Gentiles bring a book (The Bible) with them to the promised land

·      The book is of great worth to the Gentiles

·      The book came forth from the Jews (Israelites) in purity, but was later changed and many plain and precious things were taken out of the book (The Bible)

·      Many stumble and Satan has great power because of the things taken out of the book

·      The Gentiles will not completely destroy the Lamanites or the remnants of the Nephites who are mixed with them

·      The Lord will manifest Himself to those on the Promised Land and they will bring forth His gospel in a book (The Book of Mormon)

·      The Lord will bring forth His gospel to the Gentiles in the latter days

·      Other books (Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, and others) will also come forth

·      The last books (Book of Mormon and other modern scriptures) will establish the truth of the first (the Bible)

·      All kindreds, tongues and people will come to know that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father

·      All the records will be brought together in one

·      Christ will manifest himself to the Gentiles and then to the Jews

Chapter 14

·      The Gentiles will be converted and numbered among the House of Israel

·      There will be a great division between the good and the evil

·      There will be two “churches” – the church of the Lamb of God and the great and abominable church

·      The church of the Lamb of God [the saints]will be relatively small compared to the other church

·      The saints of the Lamb of God will be armed with power

·      The wrath of God will be poured out on the great and abominable church

·      Nephi sees the remainder of the history of the world leading up to the Second Coming of the Savior. However, he is forbidden to write about it.

·      Nephi is told that John, the Apostle, will also see these things. He will write about them and seal them up in their purity to come forth at some later time.

·      Nephi is forbidden to write more.

What a vision! Incredible!

            Let’s go back now and look at each of these three chapters individually.

1 Nephi Chapter 12

            In this chapter, Nephi sees 1000+ years of history of his people. He sees multitudes of people on the Land of Promise who are as numerous as the sands of the sea.

1 Nephi 12:1  Many multitudes on the Land of Promise

For many years, it was generally believed in the Church that the Book of Mormon peoples (descendants of Lehi and Mulek) were the only or the primary ancestors of the Native American indigenous peoples – the “American Indians.” However, this belief has changed in the past several decades. This subject is dealt with in one of the Gospel Topic Essays titled “Book of Mormon and DNA Studies.” (You can find these essays - which are on many different subjects and are very well written – at ChurchofJesusChrist.org or on the Gospel Library App.) I’ll quote a few parts from that essay:

The Book of Mormon provides little direct information about cultural contact between the peoples it describes and others who may have lived nearby. Consequently, most early Latter-day Saints assumed that Near Easterners or West Asians like Jared, Lehi, Mulek, and their companions were the first or the largest or even the only groups to settle the Americas.

The Book of Mormon itself, however, does not claim that the peoples it describes were either the predominant or the exclusive inhabitants of the lands they occupied. In fact, cultural and demographic clues in its text hint at the presence of other groups. At the April 1929 general conference, President Anthony W. Ivins of the First Presidency cautioned: “We must be careful in the conclusions that we reach. The Book of Mormon … does not tell us that there was no one here before them [the peoples it describes]. It does not tell us that people did not come after.”

Joseph Smith appears to have been open to the idea of migrations other than those described in the Book of Mormon, and many Latter-day Saint leaders and scholars over the past century have found the Book of Mormon account to be fully consistent with the presence of other established populations. The 2006 update to the introduction of the Book of Mormon reflects this understanding by stating that Book of Mormon peoples were “among the ancestors of the American Indians.”

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/book-of-mormon-and-dna-studies?id=p5-p6#p5

1 Nephi 12:11  Mini-Millennium in the Promised Land

            Nephi see multitudes on people on the promised land. He sees the people divide into Nephites (his descendants as well as those of Sam, Zoram and Mulek) and Lamanites (descendants of his brothers Laman & Lemuel.) He sees their wars and conflicts. Imagine his joy, when he sees the Savior descend out of heaven and minister to them! He rejoices in 200 years of peace when there were no “ites” – a virtual mini-Millennium. But imagine his grief as we watches the people divide again into warring factions and sees first the Lamanites and then the Nephites become wicked. Eventually, he witnesses the annihilation of his descendants by the Lamanites. He is overcome with grief. When he returns to the tent of his father at the end of this marvelous vision, he says I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall. (1 Nephi 15:5)

1 Nephi 12:22-23  Lamanites become a loathsome people

This chapter concludes with Nephi’s seeing the Lamanites fight against each other and degenerate into a “loathsome” people. How tragic!

1 Nephi Chapter 13

1 Nephi 13:3  Who are the Gentiles?

            This is a long chapter in which Nephi sees in vision the events leading up to the Restoration of the Gospel. He sees the “Gentiles” separated from the Lamanites by many waters (the Atlantic Ocean). It is important in reading this chapter and in other places in the Book of Mormon to understand how the word Gentile is used in the Book of Mormon context. From the Millet & McConkie Commentary:

For the Nephites, “Jews” are nationals, persons from the kingdom of Judah. (see 2 Nephi 30:4; 33:8.) “Gentiles” are persons from elsewhere. In this sense, the Latter-day Saints are called Gentiles (see D&C 109:60). In this vision [Nephi’s vision] the “nations and kingdoms of the Gentiles” are the European nations.

1 Nephi 13:5  What is the great and abominable church?

Nephi sees the “nations and kingdoms” of the Gentiles, i.e. the nations of Britain and Europe. In these nations a church arises after the death of the apostles of Christ. Nephi calls this a “great and abominable church” and sees that the devil was the founder of it. In the early centuries after Christ, this term appears to apply to apostate Christianity. However, the term is again used later in the vision and refers to a much broader concept of those who oppose the Church of the Lamb of God. In Mormon Doctrine, Elder McConkie wrote:

The “great and abominable church” or “church of the devil” are expressions “used to identify all churches or organizations of whatever name or nature—whether political, philosophical, educational, economic, social, fraternal, civic, or religious—which are designed to take men on a course that leads away from God and his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of God.” Further: “Any church or organization of any kind whatever which satisfies the innate religious longings of man and keeps him from coming to the saving truths of Christ and his gospel is therefore not of God.” (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 137–38, emphasis added)

1 Nephi 13: 12  A man wrought upon by the Holy Ghost

Nephi sees a man who was wrought upon by the Holy Ghost to cross the waters to the land of promise. This undoubtedly has reference to the voyages of Christopher Columbus and, perhaps, to other seafaring explorers. From Millet and McConkie:

Columbus felt himself to be an “emissary of the Holy Ghost.” There can be no doubt that the Lord moved upon this noble soul, directed his thinking, and prompted his actions—all as a part of the lengthy preparation for the Restoration in a land of freedom and promise. 

Concerning his preparation, Columbus explained: “From my first youth onward, I was a seaman and have so continued until this day. . . . The Lord was well disposed to my desire, and He bestowed upon me courage and understanding; knowledge of seafaring He gave me in abundance, of astrology as much as was needed, and geometry and astronomy likewise. Further, He gave me joy and cunning in drawing maps and thereon cities, mountains, rivers, islands, and harbours, each one in its place. I have seen and truly I have studied all books—cosmographies, histories, chronicles, and philosophies, and other arts, for which our Lord unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and gave me fire for the deed. Those who heard of my emprise called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed. But who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired me?” (From Jacob Wassermann, Columbus, Don Quixote of the Seas, pp. 19–20, 46; italics added).

1 Nephi 13:17  Our “Mother Gentiles”     

Nephi sees many multitudes leave the lands of their inheritance and cross the waters to the land of promise to “escape their captivity.” He sees a great nation grow up on the land of promise and, in obvious reference to the Revolutionary War fought by the American colonists against England, sees the “Gentiles” who had gone out of captivity “delivered by the power of God” in their battle against their “mother Gentiles.”

            Knowing that some of those who will read this blog are our brothers and sisters in England and Wales whom we grew to love while serving among them, I need to comment on this.

Why was the Gospel restored in America?

The Lord needed a place where He could restore His true church to the earth, a place of religious liberty with the resources and people to make it possible. Obviously, the Lord can do anything, but it would be much harder to restore His church in a land with state owned and run churches. America was the obvious place to organized a “new” church (actually an “old” church restored.) I don’t believe it is because He loved His people in America more than He loved His people in England, but he helped the colonists win their war against England because He needed an independent, free nation to cradle the Restoration.

Ironically, less than 20 years after the organization of the Church in America, it was the faithful Saints gathered principally from the “Gentile” nations of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Denmark, Scandinavia and Europe who immigrated to America after accepting the restored gospel in their native lands who saved the Church in its time of crisis after the persecution and apostasy in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois.

            As Lori and I lived and served in England and Wales for 18 months, visiting the ancestral villages of several of our relatives who were first generation members of our church there before immigrating here to the U.S. and walking in the footsteps of our great, great grandfathers Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, who were missionary companions among the first 7 missionaries to go to England in 1837, we felt like we were definitely in our “mother land.” The Lord may have helped the little band of colonists in their war of independence against the super power of England, but there is no question that for most of the Latter-Day Saints who became members or were born into the church in its 100 years, those countries across the Atlantic were definitely our “mother Gentiles.” We love those good people and their lovely lands for what they have given to us.  

1 Nephi 13:23  The Record of the Jews

            As this vision continues to unfold, Nephi sees that the Gentiles who came to the promised land brought a book with them, a book which is a “record of the Jews” and “contains the covenants of the Lord.” This is obviously the Bible. The Old Testament and New Testaments, though coming forth at different times and written in different languages by different peoples, both came from the Holy Land where the people are considered by those half way around the world in the promised land to be “Jews” regardless of which tribe of Israel they may be from. Therefore, the book is the “record of the Jews” from the perspective of the Nephites.

            Further, Nephi sees that, when the book came forth from the Jews, “it contained the fullness of the Gospel” and it came forth in “purity.” What happened to the book? Those in the “great and abominable church” took away (1) “the gospel of the Lamb”, (2) “many plain and precious parts” and (3) “many covenants.” Because of the things that were removed, the people, having only the Bible to rely on, “stumbled” and Satan had “great power over them.” John Welch, writing in Book of Mormon Central said:

How would this happen? In what order were things lost? Reading these verses carefully we learn what was lost first. The gospel—the basic principles of the gospel were lost first: “they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious” (1 Nephi 13:26). And once a basic knowledge of the Atonement and repentance was lost, what else was consequently lost? The Plan of Salvation.

And second, once a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation was lost, then “many covenants of the Lord” were lost (1 Nephi 13:26). The covenantal nature of baptism, the covenantal renewal in the sacrament, the covenant of marriage, and all other temple covenants were lost. With the understanding of covenants lost, so too was the oath and covenant of the priesthood. It is not as if a few, small, unimportant truths were lost. The very foundation of the gospel was somehow taken or fell away.

Third, once the very foundation of the gospel and its covenantal nature had disappeared, what was lost next? Only then were things “taken away from the book” (1 Nephi 13:28). With the foundation missing, the text and doctrine that was left needed to be justified and explained. Because of this, certain writings (like some texts in the Dead Sea Scrolls) were no longer seen as necessary, or became an embarrassment. If you believe that God is without a body and is now dwelling in the heavens, then you cannot have scripture that conflicts with that. You must take it out and remove it from the Bible. Things were removed and then even more was taken out to account for the holes. But often, the words of the Bible remained, but their meanings were shifted. Things can be taking out of an ancient text simply because their meanings are not preserved and become lost due to lack of memory when no one remembers what they originally meant.

https://archive.bookofmormoncentral.org/content/1-nephi-11-15

1 Nephi 13:34-42  The Lord will be merciful to the Gentiles

            Seeing that the “Gentiles stumble exceedingly because of the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church”, the Lord in His mercy visits the Gentiles through the Holy Ghost and brings forth to them His gospel and a book [the Book of Mormon] which establishes the truth of the Bible. The gospel is preached first to the Gentiles and then taken by them to the Jews “and the last [the Gentiles] shall be first, and the first [the Jews] shall be last.”

1 Nephi Chapter 14

            In this final chapter of this remarkable vision, which takes four chapters for Nephi to record, he sees the restoration of the gospel – “a great and marvelous work among the children of men” – and the growth of the church in our day. His vision extends to the end of the world, i.e. the destruction of the wicked and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, but Nephi is stopped from writing about all that he saw.

           

1 Nephi 14:1 The Lamb of God will manifest himself in that day

            The angel tells Nephi that the Lamb of God will manifest himself to the Gentiles in “that day” (our day), if they will hearken unto Him. He will take away their stumbling blocks. The remnants of Lehi’s family who are on the promised land “shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever.”

            Since the creation of the first stakes outside of the US and Canada in the 1950’s, the “promised land” for faithful Latter-day Saints has become wherever they live in the world. Speaking in General Conference in 1977 and referring to a talk he had given earlier in Lima, Peru, Elder Bruce R. McConkie said:

We are living in a new day. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is fast becoming a worldwide church. Congregations of Saints are now, or soon will be, strong enough to support and sustain their members no matter where they reside. Temples are being built wherever the need justifies. We can foresee many temples in South America in process of time.

Stakes of Zion are also being organized at the ends of the earth. In this connection, let us ponder these truths: A stake of Zion is a part of Zion. You cannot create a stake of Zion without creating a part of Zion. Zion is the pure in heart; we gain purity of heart by baptism and by obedience. A stake has geographical boundaries. To create a stake is like founding a City of Holiness. Every stake on earth is the gathering place for the lost sheep of Israel who live in its area.

The gathering place for Peruvians is in the stakes of Zion in Peru, or in the places which soon will become stakes. The gathering place for Chileans is in Chile; for Bolivians it is in Bolivia; for Koreans it is in Korea; and so it goes through all the length and breadth of the earth. Scattered Israel in every nation is called to gather to the fold of Christ, to the stakes of Zion, as such are established in their nations.

Israel shall be gathered one by one, family by family, unto the stakes of Zion established in all parts of the earth so that the whole earth shall be blessed with the fruits of the gospel.

This then is the counsel of the Brethren: Build up Zion, but build it up in the area where God has given you birth and nationality. Build it up where he has given you citizenship, family, and friends. Zion is here in South America and the Saints who comprise this part of Zion are and should be a leavening influence for good in all these nations.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1977/04/come-let-israel-build-zion

            Think of how the Church has grown in the nearly 43 years since that talk was given! At the time of that conference, church membership was 3.7 million organized in 798 stakes and there were 11 temples, none of which were in South America. Church membership is now over 16 million in over 3400 stakes and there are 217 temples! Amazing! The words of the angel to Nephi are literally being fulfilled. It is a marvelous work!

1 Nephi 14:12  Its numbers were few

            Despite the remarkable growth of the Church which the angel prophesied to Nephi and which we are witnessing in our day, the number of members in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compared to the rest of the world is “few.” According to “Hey, Siri”, the current population of the world is 7.6 billion. Siri calculates that members of our Church represent about 0.2% of the world’s population or about one in 500 people in the world is a Latter-day Saint. Truly, our “numbers [are] few” compared to the rest of the world. But Nephi’s account of his vision ends on a hopeful note.

1 Nephi 14:14-17  The Saints are armed with the power of God

            Nephi closes his account of this remarkable vision by telling us that he sees the “power of the Lamb of God” and that it descended “upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”

            He goes on to see that the “wrath of God” is poured out on the wicked and that “the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people.”

            We know who will win in the end. We are on the right team. We chose well!

1 Nephi 14:18-27 John, the Apostle, will finish the story

The Father will keep His promises to His faithful Saints. They will prevail. Satan will be bound, the wicked will be destroyed and evil will disappear from the earth in preparation for the Second Coming of the Lord. But the details of how that will all unfold, though seen by Nephi, were forbidden to be shared. The Lord had “ordained” an apostle of the Lamb, John, to also see the events of the Last Days and write about them. When John writes the Book of Revelation, “the things which were written were plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all men.” But what he wrote, like the gospel, covenants and other plain and precious parts of the Bible, has been corrupted so that it is now a mystery to understand. Millet and McConkie have written:

Having prophetic vision and a seer’s insight, Joseph Smith said: “The book of Revelation is one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written” (Teachings, p. 290). Such, however, is seldom the consensus today of those of the household of faith who seek to extract meaning from the book. Not only is John’s apocalyptic style (with numbers, beasts, plagues, demons, angels, and astral phenomena) difficult for us to comprehend, but, as Nephi’s guide explains, the book of Revelation has been subject to the same scriptural conspiracy as the rest of the canon; the corruption of the text through planned and intended removal of precious parts has rendered John’s work “a sealed book” at best to the religious world. If indeed the book was “easy to the understanding of all men” before the removal of certain parts, one can but imagine how vital and significant those things removed must have been!

1 Nephi 14:29-30  Nephi’s testimony

            In concluding his account of this panoramic vision of much of the history of the world, Nephi attests, “I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw” and that “if all things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are true.”

            I can’t help but add my humble testimony to that of our good brother Nephi. The Spirit witnesses to me even as I write that these things are true. Nephi saw the things he said he saw. The Lord is in charge. None of what Nephi saw unfold is a surprise to the Lord. He has a plan and those who choose to follow Him by keeping His commandments and staying on the covenant path will be blessed and protected despite the growing wickedness of the world around us. Thank you, Nephi! I hope to meet you one day in person and express my love and gratitude to you for preserving the sacred record of this truly amazing vision.

1 Nephi 14:30  Amen

            A good friend and faithful brother, Merrill Norman, once suggested that chapters in the Book of Mormon which end with the word Amen are especially important. He called them the “Amen Chapters.” I have tried to notice chapters which conclude with Amen since he pointed that out. This is the second chapter so far in the Book of Mormon to conclude with Amen. (The first was 1 Nephi 9.) If I have counted correctly, there are a total of 37 “Amen Chapters” in the Book of Mormon. Watch for them. Most conclude major visions or prophecies (as this one), sermons and teachings or other important messages in the book. It would even be a profitable short read of the Book of Mormon to just read the “Amen Chapters.” Maybe I’ll do that someday.

Thanks for reading!