February 9,
2020
#22 FEBRUARY
3-9, 2 NEPHI 4-5
Comments
Sorry that I’m a little late with the last blog post for
this week (not that I expect any of you have been holding your breath waiting
for it). It’s been a busy few days. I hope to finish this and post/email it
before the end of today, Sunday, February 9. I’ve learned from the stats that
come to me from Google that more people read the blog on Sundays than any other
day. I always try to finish posting for the week before Sunday when we have
Sunday School to help you prepare. But today was a Priesthood/Relief
Society/Young Women Sunday, so I didn’t feel the same urgency.
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2 Nephi Chapter 4
Not many greater prophecies
Nephi is coming to the conclusion of his father’s last words
to his family. The last three chapters have contained powerful counsel and
admonition, stunning doctrine and remarkable prophecy. Nephi is almost finished
with what he will share of his father’s words. But first, Nephi makes some
comments about what he has just written. Speaking of the prophecies of Joseph
who was sold into Egypt (Joseph #1), Nephi says: the prophecies which he
wrote, there are not many greater.(v.2) Much of what Joseph wrote is lost
to the world. Fortunately, we have two Latter-day sources for the words and the
prophecies of our ancestor, Joseph. The first source is 2 Nephi chapter 3,
which we have just considered, the words of Lehi to his son Joseph quoting
Joseph of Egypt from the Plates of Brass. The other source is from the Joseph
Smith Translation (JST) of the Bible. The reference is in footnote 5a in the
last chapter (v. 3.5) which is a link to the JST in the Bible Appendix. Here is
a link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/jst/jst-gen/50
These
are verses revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith as he was performing his
inspired revision of the Bible soon after the Book of Mormon was published. In
these verses, the great Patriarch Joseph prophecies of his posterity, of the
branch that was broken off and of the “choice seer” who would be instrumental
in bringing the gospel to them. These prophecies are similar to those in chapter
3 when Lehi quoted from the Plates of Brass in teaching his young son Joseph. You
may want to review the JST reference. Joseph of Egypt was a remarkable patriarch
and prophet about whom the world knows very little. The following statement
about Joseph in the Millet and McConkie Commentary is instructive and
should be of interest to those of us who descend from him through Ephraim or Manasseh,
which is probably everyone or nearly everyone reading this blog.
The
stature of Joseph of Egypt as a prophet remains little known even to Latter-day
Saints. From the text restored by Joseph Smith to the book of Genesis we learn
that Joseph enjoyed the personal presence of the Lord Jehovah, who covenanted
with him relative to his posterity by way of an immutable oath (see JST,
Genesis 50:24, 34, 36). In this prophecy, quoted in part by Lehi to his son
Joseph in the preceding chapter, we learn that he knew of the destiny of Lehi
and his family and of the destiny of Joseph Smith. The detail of the knowledge
had by the ancient Joseph is remarkable. As an illustration, Joseph Smith, in
blessing Oliver Cowdery, said that Oliver would be blessed “according to the
blessings of the prophecy of Joseph in ancient days, which he said should come
upon the seer of the last days and the scribe that should sit with him, and
that should be ordained with him, by the hands of the angel in the bush, unto
the lesser priesthood, and after [he should] receive the holy priesthood under
the hands of those who had been held in reserve for a long season, even those
who received it under the hands of the Messiah, while he should dwell in the
flesh upon the earth, and should receive the blessings with him, even the seer
of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saith he, even Joseph of old.” (Joseph
Fielding Smith, “Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood,” Improvement Era,
October 1904, p. 943.)
Thus
we see that Joseph of Egypt knew not only of Joseph Smith and his role as the
great prophet of the Restoration but also of Oliver Cowdery’s role as Joseph’s
scribe in bring forth the Book of Mormon, and that Oliver would be Joseph’s
companion when the Aaronic and the Melchizedek priesthoods were restored. It
may well be that the ancient Joseph knew more of our day than we do.
Further, we are aware that Joseph of Egypt was the author of a scriptural
record which will some day be restored to those of the house of faith (see
Messenger and Advocate, Winter 1835, p. 236). We anticipate that the
prophecies of Joseph contained therein will have much to say about the roles of
Ephraim and Manasseh in the gathering of Israel in the last days. (Emphasis added)
Blessings for the children of Laman
and Lemuel
Lehi,
the loving grandfather that he is, now has blessings and counsel for his grandchildren
who are children of Laman and Lemuel. He begins by reminding them of one of the
central themes of the Book of Mormon: Inasmuch as ye shall keep my
commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my
commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence (v. 4). He then leaves
them this remarkable blessing: if ye are cursed, behold, I leave my blessing
upon you, that the cursing may be taken from you and be answered upon the heads
of your parents. Wherefore, because of my blessing the Lord God will not
suffer that ye shall perish; wherefore, he will be merciful unto you and unto
your seed forever (v. 6-7).
Our
2nd Article of Faith reads We believe that men [and women] will
be punished for their own sins and not for Adam’s transgression. And we
would add “and not for their parents’ transgressions either.” Children may be
disadvantaged, seriously hurt physically or emotionally or even killed by the
transgression of a parent, such as in the case of physical, mental or sexual
abuse or homes and marriages broken by transgression of one or both parents.
But children are not punished, meaning not accountable to God in their eternal
progression, for those transgressions. If Laman and Lemuel choose to rebel
against their father and brother Nephi and even want to kill them and if they
harden their hearts such that the Lord and His teachings are not a part of
their lives, their children are not responsible for those transgressions of
their parents. Yes, the children will suffer. Their parents are choosing for
them and they will pay a price, but they will not be condemned because of their
parents’ choices. The Lord will be merciful, as Lehi promised to his
grandchildren, to them and give them adequate opportunity to choose for themselves.
Unfortunately, as Elder Maxwell once pointed out:
All
are free to choose, of course, and we would not have it otherwise.
Unfortunately, however, when some choose slackness, they are choosing not only
for themselves, but for the next generation and the next. Small
equivocations in parents can produce large deviations in their children! Earlier
generations in a family may have reflected dedication, while some in the
current generation evidence equivocation. Sadly, in the next, some may choose
dissension as erosion takes its toll.
“Settle this in your Hearts”, General Conference, October
1992, emphasis added
And this was the case with the
children of Laman and Lemuel, they followed the footsteps of their parents away
from the covenant path. In their case, only now in our dispensation are they
beginning to return to the path that leads to the Tree of Life. But the Lord
has promised that because of the blessings and prayers of righteous fathers,
mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, like Lehi and Sariah, He will watch
over them. Lehi promised the children of Lemuel wherefore, thou shalt not
utterly be destroyed; but in the end thy seed shall be blessed. (v.9)
Blessing for Sam
Even though Lehi included Sam in counsel in chapter 1, he
now turns to his third son and blesses him with these words: Blessed art
thou, and thy seed; for thou shalt inherit the land like unto thy brother
Nephi. And thy seed shall be numbered with his seed; and thou shalt be even
like unto thy brother, and thy seed like unto his seed; and thou shalt be
blessed in all thy days (v. 11).
I’ve often
wondered about Sam. He is senior in the family to Nephi and he remains
faithful. Why do we hear so little about him? And yet, as I’ve pointed out
before, Sam is a good model for us. Not many of us will be like Nephi – leader,
prophet and king – but we can all be like Sam – obedient, loyal, faithful,
humble, not needing to be in the spotlight, but always supportive. Good for
Sam! We will never read about the “Samites” because his posterity are numbered with
those of Nephi. From all we know, Sam remains faithful for the rest of his life
and so do his children. One small insight from the Book of Mormon videos is
when in chapter 5 the followers of Nephi name their new home “Nephi”, in the
movie it is Sam who suggests the name. It is a really humble gesture on his
part and a nice touch by the director! Nephi modestly agrees.
Death of Lehi
In one verse (v.12) Lehi waxes old, dies and is buried.
Isn’t that how end of life is? After a remarkable life, Lehi modestly and
quietly bows out of mortality. We don’t know how long it took the process to
happen, but it doesn’t sound like it took very long. I wonder if it was hard
for Lehi to realize that his time was over and others would need to carry on.
That can be hard for some of us. I wonder if sometimes he felt useless or like
he wasn’t carrying his share of the weight in the family. Even prophets “wax
old”, decline and pass away. We have seen great prophets in our lifetime suffer
from Parkinson’s Disease, senility, complications of treatment for heart
disease and other effects of old age. None of us is immune. If something else
doesn’t get us first, old age eventually will. It doesn’t look fun.
Lori and I
visited with our good friend, Joe Brubaker, last Sunday. Joe will be 102 years
old next month and lives alone in the independent living area of a nearby retirement
facility. (His second wife is in a
memory care center nearer to her daughter.) That day, it being Sunday, Joe had
been to church services held in the LDS branch in his facility, had blessed the
sacrament and greeted other members. He spoke fluently and comfortably about
his life and activities. His only complaint about aging was that he had trouble
sometimes getting nouns off the end of his tongue and that his legs “gave out”
a year or so ago so it’s harder now for him to walk his dog three times a day. He
is amazing! But “waxing old” will not be like that for all of us. Good for you,
Joe! Keep going!
“Upon these [plates] I write the things of my soul”
Soon after his father dies, Nephi’s world falls apart. It
didn’t take long. Not many days after his death, Laman and Lemuel and the
sons of Ishmael were angry with me because of the admonitions of the Lord. (v.
13) We will soon see that his older brothers want to kill him and so the Lord
tells him to leave. But first Nephi, writing years later, allows himself a
reflective few moments in the plates. After referring to his “other plates” on
which he records some of the things he’s had to say to his older brothers, he
tells us that on these plates he writes “the things of my soul.” He will
shortly go on to bare his soul on the plates. With his father gone, this is the
best place for him to open his heart and share what is happening inside.
Referring to the scriptures, Nephi
says: my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and
writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children. Behold, my soul
delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon
the things which I have seen and heard.(v. 15-16) Notice the role of
pondering in Nephi’s love for the scriptures, a good example to us. The
scriptures aren’t just to be read or listened to, but we need to let them
inside of us. The Children of Israel were told by the Lord to:
Therefore shall ye lay up these my
words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand,
that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your
children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou
walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou
shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: That
your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which
the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the
earth. Deuteronomy 11:18-21.
How many of us feel that way about
the scriptures? Perhaps, if we gave as much time to the scriptures as we do to
social media, watching sports or TV, maybe they would come to mean more to us. Don’t
miss in this quote the part about teaching them to our children.
The Psalm of Nephi
We’ve talked about how Sariah “lost it” when she thought
she’d lost her boys on their errand to get the plates and complained against
her husband. We’ve also talked about how Lehi “lost it” when Nephi’s bow broke
and he couldn’t feed his family. Lehi joined others in murmuring against the
Lord and had to sorely repent. We have no record that Nephi ever “lost it” in
the same way. We never read of his murmuring or complaining against his father
or the Lord. But the death of his father is Nephi’s greatest test. Lehi was
such a strength to Nephi. And as long as Lehi was alive, his older brothers
were held somewhat in check. Now that Lehi is out of the way, Nephi is in real
danger from his brothers, as we will see. As strong as he is, Nephi really
struggles at this time. In a masterful piece of literature which is masterfully
written in the well-established tradition of ancient psalms (see https://knowhy.bookofmormoncentral.org/knowhy/is-nephis-psalm-really-a-psalm)
(a tradition of which Joseph Smith could have had no
knowledge) Nephi bares his soul in one of the most powerful, tender and moving
passages in the whole Book of Mormon.
This has
been called “The Psalm of Nephi”. It is found in chapter 4 verses 17-35. These
verses are wonderful and must be read or listened to without interruption. I
suggest you take time to read them in a quiet place, maybe even read them out
loud or to each other, if you are studying with someone. Or touch the audio
icon in Gospel Library app and let the brother or sister there read to you in
their lovely male or female voice. I’d like to make a few comments (actually
not many) about these verses but not until you have had time to read them for
yourselves.
When we
came to this point in the Book of Mormon in our reading group in the Chester
Ward of the Chester England Stake in North Wales where Lori and I served as
missionaries for 18 months, I asked one of the members of our reading group, a
relatively new convert and a former stage entertainer and singer with a rich
Welsh voice to read this passage for our group. He could hardly get through it because
of emotion and neither could the rest of us in the group. I hope to never
forget that moment. In anticipation of this blog post, I asked him, our good
friend and brother, Christopher Deponeo, if he would record Nephi’s Psalm and
send it to me so that you can hear it with his Welsh accent and lovely voice. I’ll
attach his recording to this blog post. I hope it works for you. There is a
slight pause near the middle. Don’t quit listening. He reads all of the way to
the end. Thanks, Chris! This is a treasure!
O wretched man that I am!
In his feelings of despair, Nephi exclaims:
Notwithstanding the great goodness
of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth:
O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul
grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the
temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.
How can Nephi, this great prophet
who has seen angels, visions and the Lord Himself, call himself wretched? If he
is wretched, then what am I? Nephi was not wretched by the world’s standards.The
nearer a man or woman gets to God, the more sensitive he or she becomes to temptations
and minor indiscretions. Actually, the closer he came to becoming like the
Savior, the more he was aware of his faults. The Prophet Joseph Smith said:
We consider that God has created man
with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in
proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from
heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the
clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the
evils of his life and lost every desire for sin; and like the ancients, arrives
at that point of faith where he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker,
and is caught up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to
which no man ever arrived in a moment.
Even Joseph Smith struggled with
“the natural man” (Mosiah 3:19). He wrote in his history about the period of
approximately 3 1/2 years between his First Vision and the first appearance of
Moroni:
I was left to all kinds of
temptations; and, mingling with all kinds of society, I frequently fell into
many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of
human nature; which, I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations,
offensive in the sight of God. In making this confession, no one need suppose
me guilty of any great or malignant sins. A disposition to commit such was
never in my nature. But I was guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with
jovial company, etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be
maintained by one who was called of God as I had been. But this will not seem
very strange to any one who recollects my youth, and is acquainted with my
native cheery temperament. In consequence of these things, I often felt condemned
for my weakness and imperfections; (Joseph
Smith History 1:28-29)
Joseph wasn’t perfect and never
claimed to be. Even in his First Vision, he was tempted. In one of the
accounts, he records in describing the attack by the Adversary on him before
the vision occurred: my mind filled with doubts and all manner of
inappropriate images (See 2017 film Ask of God: Joseph Smith’s First
Vision. Here is the link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/video/2017-01-0100-ask-of-god-joseph-smiths-first-vision?lang=eng) Even (and perhaps
especially) prophets are tempted. Is it any surprise then that the closer we
draw to the Lord the more we are tempted and the more we become aware of our
failings?
But Nephi
doesn’t wallow in despair. He exclaims: nevertheless, I know in whom I have
trusted (v. 19). He then goes on to list examples of how the Lord has blessed
him and witnesses his trust in the Lord with words like:
O Lord, I will praise thee forever;
yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.(v. 30)
O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and
I will trust in thee forever. (v.
34)
I will cry unto thee, my God, the
rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee,
my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen (v.
35).
Thank you, Nephi, for opening your
heart and soul to us so that we can see you as a real person with real feelings
and real struggles, not just as an icon of obedience and strength. You inspire
and comfort us. You give us hope in our trials and in our “wretchedness.” Thank
you for showing us the path.
2 Nephi Chapter 5
Let us slay him!
Because of his admonitions to them, Nephi’s older brothers
Laman and Lemuel want to kill him. The spirit of Satan, the same spirit that
inspired Cain to kill his brother Abel, has entered into their hearts. They
breathe out threatening against their brother with words such as: Our
younger brother thinks to rule over us; and we have had much trial because of
him; wherefore, now let us slay him, that we may not be afflicted more because
of his words. For behold, we will not have him to be our ruler; for it belongs
unto us, who are the elder brethren, to rule over this people (v. 3). This
is their all-too-familiar lament. Once again, they are more worried about power
and authority than about keeping the commandments of God.
Nephi is
warned of the Lord to leave and to take with him those who will follow him. With
his father gone, Nephi is now the leader of the family. When the Lord needs
something done, He gives the message to Nephi, just as He did to his father
Lehi before him. Notice the similarities between Nephi’s situation and that of
his father who was warned of the Lord to leave Jerusalem to avoid being killed
by the wicked Jews. Laman and Lemuel have now taken the place of those wicked
Jews with the same murderous apostate spirit. They are definitely “past
feeling” so the Lord can’t work with them. Instead He commands Nephi to leave
and save his life.
The Book of
Mormon video for this chapter is excellent! I highly recommend you take time to
watch it. You can click on the icon at the first of Chapter 5 in the Gospel
Library app or follow this link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/video/2-nephi-5/2019-10-0200-the-nephites-separate-from-the-lamanites-2-nephi-5-1080p-eng.
The video is about 8 minutes. Don’t miss
elderly Sariah leaving with the group and being helped by her family or Sam (as
I previously mentioned) suggesting that they name their new home “Nephi.”
Notice those who go with Nephi: it
came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also Zoram and his family,
and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger
brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me. And all
those who would go with me were those who believed in the warnings and the
revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words (v. 6).
Nephi, Zoram and Sam each have wives
and children who go with them. There is no mention of Sariah, but it is
presumed that she also goes, unless she has also “waxed old and died.” The Book
of Mormon video shows Sariah with the family. Jacob and Joseph don’t have wives
or children. Nephi says that “my sisters” were also in the group. Did he have
sisters who hadn’t yet married? But I thought they were older sisters and were
married to sons of Ishmael. If so, did their husbands and children go with
them? If that were the case, why didn’t Nephi say “my sisters and their
families?” Did they have to leave their husbands who were now also possessed of
murderous spirits toward Nephi? I ask these questions so you will see these
people, not as names on a page, but as real people. This was a very painful
parting for them. The wives of Nephi, Zoram and Sam had to say goodbye to their
sisters and brothers and, perhaps, their mother. Cousins had to say goodbye to
cousins. The video shows some touching goodbyes even among the children. These
are real people and this was their real life.
Notice the most important defining
characteristic of those who followed Nephi – they “believed in the warnings and
revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words.” They accepted
and followed Nephi as a prophet. This becomes the operational definition of a
“Nephite.” It is more than just lineage; it is faith and obedience. Can the
same be said of us? Are we “Latter-day Saints” because of lineage or tradition?
Or do we believe the warnings and revelations of the Lord and follow His
prophet? Regardless of the sacrifices required, sometimes even painful
separations, do we follow the Lord’s prophet? This is the only path of safety
in this wicked world, as we will see with this family.
The Land of Nephi
The people leave the land of their first inheritance, as it
will come to be known, and travel “many days” in the wilderness. They come to a
good place to establish themselves and call it “Nephi” and they become known as
“the people of Nephi.” This will be their home until hundreds of years later
when Mosiah I is commanded of the Lord to leave with those who will follow him
to save his life and go from there to the land of Zarahemla. (See Omni 1:12).
This is also the land that Zeniff will try to reclaim beginning in Mosiah 9. It
later becomes known as the land of Lehi-Nephi, presumably lumping the land of
their first inheritance (the land of Lehi) with this new location (the land of
Nephi.) Even though they are “many days” apart, they must be close enough to
each other relative to other distances to be called by one hyphenated name, the
land of Lehi-Nephi.
The people of Nephi were
industrious, obedient and hard working. Notice the different characteristics of
a successful family and society represented by these people. In the Come,
Follow Me For Individuals and Families this week, there is a good
suggestion for a family discussion.
As your family reads
2 Nephi 5, you could discuss the things the Nephites cared about:
family (verse 6), the commandments (verse 10), the scriptures
(verse 12), education (verse 15), temples (verse 16), work
(verse 17), and Church callings (verse 26). One way to do this is to
find objects that represent some of these things and talk about how we show
that we, like the Nephites, value these same things.
Symbols of authority
Notice three symbols of authority
which Nephi brings with him – the Liahona, the Plates of Brass and the Sword of
Laban. He is definitely their leader. They want to make him their king. He will
never refer to himself as king, even though it was prophesied that he would be
their “teacher and ruler.” He is too modest to call himself a king. But after
he dies, the next king is called “Second Nephi” in his honor. (See Jacob 1) The
most that Nephi will admit is: I, Nephi, was desirous that they should have
no king; nevertheless, I did for them according to that which was in my power
(v. 18).
Steel swords
Nephi says that they made swords out
of steel after the pattern of the Sword of Laban (v. 14-15), which was also
made of steel. Critics of the Book of Mormon have claimed that Joseph Smith was
wrong because, they say, there have been no steel implements found in
pre-Columbian America. Hardened steel implements have been found in the region
of Jericho, near Jerusalem from where the Lehi colony came, dating to 648 BC.
The Sword of Laban was made of steel (see 1 Nephi 4:9). There is no reason that
the Lehi colony could not have brought with them the knowledge of how to make
steel. It’s clear that Nephi is skilled in metal work. I’m confident that it is
only a matter of time until steel implements will be recovered from
archeological sites in America dating from the period when these people came to
America.
Temple
Just as the Children of Israel in
the desert of Sinai had the tabernacle and would later build a temple in
Jerusalem and just as the Latter-day Saints would build temples in Kirtland,
Nauvoo, St. George, Logan, Manti and Salt Lake City, the people of Nephi build
a temple in the place of Nephi. They were industrious, had abundant natural
resources and the ability to use them and built a temple the manner of the
construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof
was exceedingly fine (v. 16). They will later go on to build temples in
Zarahemla and Bountiful.
What ordinances did they perform in
those temples? We know from Exodus 40 that they performed washings, anointing
and that they were clothed in “holy garments.” Since their temple was built like
the temple of Solomon, it would have three levels of sanctuary, representing
three degrees of glory, with the inner holy of holies separated from the holy
place by a curtain or veil. These people had the Melchizedek Priesthood but we
did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of
the Lord in all things, according to the law of Moses (v. 10). Jacob and
Joseph were ordained priests and teachers (v. 26), but these were not
offices in the Aaronic Priesthood, as they are today. They held the Melchizedek
Priesthood, so these terms describe their ministerial roles.
A cursing on the Lamanites
The Lamanites degenerated and become an idle people, full
of mischief and subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beasts of prey (v.
24). In order that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God
did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them (v. 21). This appears to
have been an autosomal dominant trait as cursed shall be the seed of him
that mixeth with their seed; for they shall be cursed even with the same
cursing (v. 23).
This is
hard for us to read about in our day when we esteem all men and women the same
regardless of race, skin color or ethnicity. These two paragraphs from the
Gospel Library app version of Come, Follow Me are instructive:
The Book
of Mormon also states that a mark of dark skin came upon the Lamanites after
the Nephites separated from them. The nature and appearance of this mark are
not fully understood. The mark initially distinguished the Lamanites from the
Nephites. Later, as both the Nephites and Lamanites each went through periods
of wickedness and righteousness, the mark became irrelevant as an indicator of
the Lamanites’ standing before God.
Prophets affirm in our day that dark
skin is not a sign of divine disfavor or cursing. The Church embraces Nephi’s
teaching that the Lord “denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond
and free, male and female” (2 Nephi 26:33). President Russell M.
Nelson declared: “The Lord has stressed His essential doctrine of equal opportunity
for His children. … Differences in culture, language, gender, race, and
nationality fade into insignificance as the faithful enter the covenant path
and come unto our beloved Redeemer” (“President Nelson Remarks at Worldwide
Priesthood Celebration” [June 1, 2018], newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).
Note that these two paragraphs are a
revision of that which is written in the paper copy of Come, Follow Me
and should be used in discussing this principle.
There is also an excellent video in
the online version of Come, Follow Me with an African-American brother
discussing this issue. The link is:
We lived after the manner of happiness
Nephi concludes this portion of his record by saying that
thirty years had passed away and the Lord commanded him to make these Small
Plates, as we have previously discussed. And forty years had passed away (he
must be nearly 60 years old) and they have already had wars with the Lamanites.
Despite all
his trials, Nephi says we lived after the manner of happiness (v. 27)
What an interesting phrase! Were they really happy? Or did they just live like
they were? Interesting question!
At the
conclusion of his record, Nephi’s brother Jacob writes: the time passed away
with us, and also our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream, we
being a lonesome and a solemn people, wanderers, cast out from Jerusalem, born
in tribulation, in a wilderness, and hated of our brethren, which caused wars
and contentions; wherefore, we did mourn out our days (Jacob 7:26). It
doesn’t sound like they were very happy in his day.
What did
Nephi mean? I’m not sure, but I think he meant something like, “Life was tough
and we had many afflictions, but we tried to be faithful to our covenants and
do the things that bring happiness into our lives. The Lord was good to us. Despite
our trials and heartaches, life is good.” Perhaps, we could say the same today.
Life is not always easy or fun. We are not always happy. Life has good days and
bad days. As Lehi told Jacob, there is opposition in all things. But, if we
“live after the manner of happiness”, meaning if we do the things that bring
happiness into our lives, life will be fulfilling and good. We will learn the
lessons we came to this life to learn and we will move forward on the covenant
path. One thing of which we can be certain is that wickedness never was
happiness (Alma 41:10). Happiness is found in trying to be good, not
perfect, but doing our best to follow the commandments and live a life as much
as possible like that of our perfect example, Jesus Christ. Happiness is found
in obedience, loving relationships, service, forgiveness, repentance, patience
and trusting in our loving Father in Heaven, in the Atonement of His Beloved
Son and in Their promises to the faithful. Life is good for those who sincerely
try to live after the manner of happiness. May the Lord bless us as we endeavor
to do so.
Thanks for reading!
Richard
I'm having trouble uploading the audio file of Christopher Deponeo reading the Psalm of Nephi. Until I figure it out, if you'd like to listen to the file, send me an email address and I'll send it to you. rsboyer46@gmail.com. Thanks!
2/20/2020
PS
I was able to upload the voice file of Christopher Deponeo reading the Psalm of Nephi to our group page on FaceBook. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/722078864986795/
If you aren't a member of that group but are on FaceBook, send me a message or email (rsboyer46@gmail.com) and I'll send you an invitation to the group.
Thanks!
2/20/2020
PS
I was able to upload the voice file of Christopher Deponeo reading the Psalm of Nephi to our group page on FaceBook. The link is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/722078864986795/
If you aren't a member of that group but are on FaceBook, send me a message or email (rsboyer46@gmail.com) and I'll send you an invitation to the group.
Thanks!
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