#16 JANUARY 20-26, 1 NEPHI 15

#16 JANUARY 20-26, 1 NEPHI 15

Before you read more . . .

            Before you begin reading this latest blog post, let me suggest that, if you didn’t receive or haven’t taken time to read post #14 about 1 Nephi Chapter 11, you go back and read that first. (You can always access previous posts on the Blog Archive in the right column on the blog pages at https://dadsblog.boyerfamilybookofmormonstudyclass.org/.)

Chapter 11 is a remarkable chapter! The whole book of First Nephi is a chiasm or chiasmus, i.e. it repeats itself in reverse order like the letter X with the most important part being at the center. Chapter 11 is the center of the chiasmus of the 22 chapters in First Nephi. And at the center of Chapter 11 is Nephi’s vision of the precious Virgin with a Child in her arms. Chapters 11 through 14 are the vision of Nephi when he asks to see the things his father saw, but Chapter 11 is the most important. The chapter we will consider now (Chapter 15) is important, but not as important as Chapter 11.

            Let me also take this chance to apologize if some of you are frustrated trying to access this blog or receive it by email. I’m a little frustrated, as well. The blog is hosted by Google on a platform called “Blogger.” This is my first experience using this program. It is a little hard to work with but I’m learning.

            If you are not receiving the blog by email and would like to, just let me know. I can send each post to you by email if it doesn’t come from Google (FeedBurner). I’ll send out a separate email about this later today. Thanks!

1 Nephi 15:5-6 Nephi is overcome because of his afflictions

            After the conclusion of his remarkable panoramic vision (Chapters 11-14), Nephi returns to the tent of his father in the valley of Lemuel. We’ll talk about his interaction with his brothers in a minute but first notice his state of mind. He says “I was overcome because of mine afflictions . . .” He has just witnessed the separation of his father’s family into two major divisions, watched his own descendants fall into great wickedness and watched those who descended from his brothers, Laman and Lemuel, destroy his own descendants and then themselves degenerate into a “loathsome” people. That would be enough to make anyone depressed!

            But Nephi is also exhausted by his spiritual experience with the angel and the vision. Dealing with the Spirit is physically draining. Remember the experience of Moses on the mountain (Moses 1:9-10). When the Lord withdrew His spirit from him, Moses fell to the earth for several hours. At the conclusion of Joseph Smith’s First Vision in the Sacred Grove, he said “When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home.” (Joseph Smith – History 1:20)

            Laboring with the Spirit to bear testimony, give talks, teach lessons, conduct meetings, interview or counsel with others, serve others, give priesthood blessings, etc. is exhausting. On a much smaller scale than Nephi, Moses or Joseph Smith, I recall many times coming home from a full Sunday in priesthood leadership exhausted by the important work in which I was engaged and the wonderful things in which I was allowed to participate. I remember more than once falling asleep at the Sunday dinner table exhausted by the “day of rest” that had preceded dinner. One time, Lori looked across the table at my drooping head and began to sing, “Rock-a-bye Bishop!” I think we can all relate to or, at least, understand Nephi’s exhaustion when he returned to his father's tent.

1 Nephi 15:2-4, 7-11 “Have ye inquired of the Lord?”

            To make it worse, when Nephi gets back to his father’s tent, his brethren (this probably means Laman and Lemuel and also the sons of Ishmael) were “disputing one with another” about the meaning of the olive tree and other things Lehi had taught them. Nephi asks them the obvious question, “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” Duh! Have you prayed about it? Nephi just finished having an incredible visionary experience because he inquired of the Lord. He can’t believe that his brothers are content to argue with each other rather than humble themselves and ask the Lord. Their answer is a classic, “We have not, for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.” How is that for faith? In speaking about this interchange, Elder Dale G. Renlund said:

Nephi exercised faith in God to accomplish what he was asked to do. In contrast, Laman and Lemuel, “being hard in their hearts, … did not look unto the Lord as they ought.” They seemed to feel that the Lord was obligated to provide answers to questions that they had not posed. “The Lord maketh no such thing known unto us,” they said, but they did not even make the effort to ask. This is the scriptural equivalent of derisive skepticism.    

“That I Might Draw all Men unto Me”, Ensign, May 2016

            “Derisive skepticism” is one of the opposites of faith and that was the attitude of Nephi’s brethren. Nephi then goes on to give them a formula for how they, too, can get answers from the Lord. He reminds them that Lord has told them (This maybe in scripture that we do not have or may have been on the Plates of Brass.) that if they will (1) not harden their hearts, (2) ask Him in faith believing that they will receive and (3) keep His commandments with diligence “surely these things shall be made known unto you.”

That’s a good formula for all of us. Sometimes we ask but we don’t have faith. We ask to test the Lord. If He gives us an answer or grants the request of our prayer, then we will really believe in Him. But that’s not how it works. We have to believe first, or at least “desire to believe” (see Alma 32:27), to open the windows of heaven.

Notice that we also need to keep the commandments with diligence. Some get it backwards and say, “If the Lord will make Himself manifest to me and show me the truth, then I will keep the commandment to (whichever commandment we are struggling with). This requires a willing heart which is not hardened. We cannot be selectively obedient. Millet and McConkie have written:

This marvelous promise of personal revelation—which is the province of the children of God in all ages—was predicated upon their having a willing heart and upon their obedience to all the commandments of God. It is falsely supposed by some that certain of the commandments can be lived in isolation of the others and the blessings appended to them obtained. While it is true that there are particular blessings that come from living particular commandments, to obtain the fulness of the blessings we must live those commandments in concert with all that the Lord has asked us to do. One cannot be selectively obedient.

Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon

            Nephi knows that keeping the commandments is a challenge for his brethren. He asks them, “How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?” He then goes on to give the formula described above.

           

1 Nephi 15:12-20 Nephi teaches and testifies to his brethren

            Having gotten their attention, Nephi now proceeds to answer their question about the olive tree and the branches being grafted in. These are wonderful verses of good doctrine from Nephi. He teaches that

·      The olive tree represents the House of Israel

·      They are a branch of the olive tree (the House of Israel) that has been broken off

·      In the latter days, when their posterity has dwindled in unbelief, the fullness of the gospel will be brought to their posterity by the Gentiles

·      Their posterity will come to know that they are the covenant people of the Lord

·      They will come to know the gospel of their Redeemer

·      They will know how to come to Him and be saved

·      They will come into the true fold of God

·      They will be remembered and grafted back into the true olive tree

·      Not just their seed, but all of the House of Israel, including the Jews, will be grafted back into the true olive tree.

Notice that the way to be grafted back into the true olive tree is to “come to the knowledge of [the] Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that [we] may know how to come unto him and be saved.” To be gathered into the House of Israel is to come to the God of Israel, Jesus Christ. There is no other way. In commenting on these verses, the Millet and McConkie Commentary is very instructive.

The expressions “true vine” and “true fold,” as used by Nephi, were metaphorical references to Christ and, through Christ, to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (see John 15:15; 2 Nephi 9:2). Israel is scattered and lost primarily in a spiritual sense. Until they have united again with the Church, no true gathering has taken place.

It is a doctrinal restoration that is promised. The possession of lands is of little importance when compared to the possession of the truths of salvation. The Lamanites are to have restored to them the knowledge that they are of the house of Israel and as such are rightful heirs of the promises made to the fathers. Of even greater importance, they are to come to a knowledge of Christ and the saving principles of his gospel as he himself preached those principles to their fathers in this choice land.

Through the waters of baptism these descendants of ancient Israel became again a covenant people. Having come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, they now took upon themselves his name.

It is the same for all of the House of Israel. To be gathered is to come to Christ. It is to accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ as found in the Book of Mormon and other modern day scriptures. It is to accept the message of the Restoration as taught by his servants. It is to have faith in Jesus Christ, repent, come into the fold of Christ by accepting baptism by one who holds authentic priesthood authority, as did John the Baptist, and receive the Holy Ghost: And it is to endure faithfully, obediently, cheerfully and productively to the end of our mortal lives. That is what it means on an individual basis to be “gathered.”

1 Nephi 15:20-35 Nephi’s brothers are humbled and ask good questions

            Nephi’s explanation and testimony pacify his brethren and they “did humble themselves before the Lord.” They are not past hope (yet). Now that they are humble, they become teachable. They begin to ask good questions and Nephi can teach them.

            Before we summarize what Nephi teaches them in the remainder of this chapter, let me just ask each of us, who are we more like, Nephi or Laman and Lemuel? I know that we are trying to be like Nephi, but aren’t we more often like Laman and Lemuel? Don’t we often doubt, get upset and offended, lack faith, and lose spiritual focus? Instead of just reading about them and saying to ourselves, “I’m glad I’m not like those losers!” maybe we ought to be asking ourselves, “How am I like Laman? What can I learn from Lemuel?” When we are struggling with questions, challenges, disappointments, frustrations – when we are having a “faith crisis” – we can be like they are in these verses and be “pacified” and “humble ourselves before the Lord.” When we do, we, like these “losers” we will start asking the right questions and we will become teachable again. It’s just too bad that this teachable attitude doesn’t last for them.

            Good questions are the key to good learning. Laman and Lemuel start asking the right questions and they start getting good answers and learning good things. Here some questions they asked and what they learned:

·      What is the meaning of the tree?

o   It is the Tree of Life (see below).

·      What is the rod of iron?

o   It is the word of God.

o   If they will hold fast to it, they will never perish.

o   The fiery darts (see below) of the Adversary will not overpower them unto blindness.

·      What is the river of water?

o   It is filthiness and an awful gulf that separates the wicked from the righteous.

This question prompts Nephi to go on with a more extensive discussion of the justice of God and the awful hell that awaits the wicked. We won’t spend more time on that, but they are good verses to review.

1 Nephi 15:24 Fiery darts of the Adversary

            The term “fiery darts of the Adversary” is found only once in the Bible (Ephesians 6:16) and twice in the Doctrine and Covenants (D&C 3:8, 27:17) but it is also found in my patriarchal blessing, so is of interest to me.

            There is an interesting video about this phrase in Book of Mormon Central that I suggest you review. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/iKrn9zSFv6s

1 Nephi 15:36 The Greatest of all the Gifts of God

            It is appropriate (and undoubtedly no accident) that Nephi comes back to speaking of the Tree of Life as he concludes talking about his father’s dream and his own vision. He affirms once more that “the tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits . . . is the greatest of all the gifts of God.”

            The image of the Tree of Life is powerful! It is found in many places in the scriptures. (It is also found in secular literature, art and even in movies. Remember the movie Avatar? There is a great representation of the Tree of Life in that movie.)

            We first encounter the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. We learn in all three creation accounts in the scriptures as well as in sacred temple text that there were two trees in the Garden, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life is a powerful metaphor of the Love of God, our Heavenly Father, and of His Son, Jesus Christ. Lehi and Nephi both saw and wrote about this tree, as did Moses, Abraham and (I presume) Adam.

            The Tree of Life is also taught in Alma’s profound sermon to the poor among the Zoramites where the word (that Christ will come to redeem His people and salvation is in Him) is compared to a seed that, if nourished by faith, will grow up to a living tree “a tree springing up unto everlasting life . . . the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure.” (Alma 32:41-42)

            The Tree of Life, though not the same, is also closely related to the Olive Tree described in the Zenos allegory found in Jacob Chapter 5. It is loved and carefully tended by the Lord of the Vineyard and the Tree of Life represents the love and careful attention (the condescension) of the Father and the Son (the Lords of the Vineyard).

           

Conclusion

            This chapter concludes a powerful and instructive portion of the Book of Mormon. Surely, the accounts of these vision-dreams by Lehi and Nephi and their commentaries were among the “prophesyings and revelations” which Mormon read and caused him to say that “they are choice unto me; and I know they will be choice unto my brethren.” (Words of Mormon 1:6) That is one of the reasons why he appended the Small Plates of Nephi to his own record.

            I agree with Mormon, these writings are “choice unto me.” I love the Book of Mormon! I cherish the writings of Nephi and through him of his father. These were great prophets! They were good men! These are the real words of real people who preserved them for our day. I’m grateful to Lehi, Nephi, Mormon and Moroni as well as to Joseph Smith and his scribes who made it possible for us to have these words today. My witness is that, for me, the Book of Mormon is true today, in the present tense, in real time. I love it and thank our loving Father for preserving this sacred record for our day. I feel to shout with the Spirit, “Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God!” (1 Nephi 11:6)

Thanks for reading!