1 Nephi 2

(All of my own thoughts are in blue type. Red is from 4/2020 Green 1/21 orange 3/22 Brown 2023)

CHAPTER 2

Lehi takes his family into the wilderness by the Red Sea—They leave their property—Lehi offers a sacrifice to the Lord and teaches his sons to keep the commandments—Laman and Lemuel murmur against their father—Nephi is obedient and prays in faith; the Lord speaks to him, and he is chosen to rule over his brethren. Between 600 and 592 B.C. Is it significant that it says “Lehi takes his family into the wilderness” instead of “Lehi leaves Jerusalem?  Is the lesson – always look forward to where you are going, instead of where you have been? (think Lots wife who turned to a pillar of salt when she looked back; the scripture that prophesies for our day in Matt 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the ^aabomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the ^bholy place, (whoso readeth, let him ^cunderstand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judæa ^aflee into the mountains:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Hmmm… I just read in a book called “The Last Lecture” that Disneyland always says “we are open until 8” instead of “we close at 8”…and doctors with terminal patients should say “you have 3 months of good health left” instead of “you will die in 3 months.” Also the very next thing mentioned is that they left their property.  Is that a lesson for us, or an indication of how much they left, and therefore how hard it was to leave?  Perhaps the fact that Nephi opened his account (years after the fact) with “I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, supports the fact that he wants to emphasize that they were wealthy and willing to just walk away from it all. 

Now, most of us would consider leaving, without even “selling” off our wealth, a sacrifice, but three days out, Lehi offers an additional sacrifice.  Somewhere I heard there is significance to the 3 days away from the city, but I don’t recall what it was…something about Jewish tradition, I think…

Those first two points: Leave your property (don’t set your heart upon the things of the world. Leave it, figuratively, at least, though sometimes literally), sacrifice to the Lord (temporally, and spiritually) and the next two highlights – keep the commandments, pray in faith, and the Lord will speak, may be a summation of how to journey through the wilderness of this life so that we may one day be “chosen” to rule in the House of Israel. Perhaps the greatest stumbling block to progressing successfully is “murmuring”!!! (The verbal expression of a lack of faith...always due to Pride)

 1 For behold, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream, I wonder why the Lord uses dreams to communicate, when he could do so in other ways. Is it because visits by angels/pillars of fire are hard on the physical body? Is it because dreams allow for images as well, instead of just revelation by words or thoughts? It just seems that dreams open up the opportunity to question, since we often have "nonsense" dreams and they can also come from the adversary. Seems like audible talking or even clear words to the mind would be less questionable. But maybe dreams like his are clearly discernable. and said unto him: Blessed art thou Lehi, because of the things which thou hast done; and because thou hast been faithful and declared unto this people the things which I commanded thee here we learn that Lehi was “called” to preach and prophesy, behold, they seek to ^atake away thy ^blife."choose the right, let the consequence follow..."

  2 And it came to pass that the Lord ^acommanded my father, even in a ^bdream, that he should ^ctake his family and depart into the wilderness. Wish I had
dreams…I think a lot of people would find it hard to trust their dreams. ...especially if the dream told you to up and leave with no known destination or time frame.

  3 And it came to pass that he was ^aobedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him. Nephi learned by example “I will go and do what the Lord commands…”  We are blessed not for believing only what the Lord tells us, but because we act…we obey. This is faith…belief in action…Also….obeying doesn’t guarantee acceptance and safety, but it does guarantee peace and deliverance. Also, the Lord commanded Lehi to "depart".  He didn’t say, “If you are willing to go, I will lead you to a promised land."  In fact, it doesn’t say he was told anything more than to leave.  He knew Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, but it doesn’t say he had any idea that he’d be taking his family across an ocean to a new land. It also doesn’t say that he asked for details, or explanations, or assurances.  Kind of silly to question God, I guess. But you think Lehi would want to know if he was coming back, or how to prepare and for what…Great example of how the Lord gives us knowledge "line upon line". 

 4 And it came to pass that ^ahe departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness  I wonder if the Lord told him not to take any of his wealth. If Lehi thought he was just relocating to a new town, surely he would want to take some gold and silver to get re-established. Nephi is reminding us again of how very much they were walking away from; perhaps to soften our hearts toward Laman and Lemuel a bit so we can at least understand where their murmuring was coming from. Even Nephi tells us he was struggling with it as well…meaning there was probably very little explanation about where they were going or what was going to happen next to explain why they would leave so much. Also, I think inheritances were a big thing in their day. All they left was what those boys were to inherit someday... The children of Israel, on the other hand, took wealth from Egypt that was given to them by the Egyptians when they left. Why was it different for them? They ended up making a golden calf with it, so maybe it was a different kind of test for them... Or they didn't want to repeat the test the Israelites failed. Another possible lesson that Lehi teaches us here is acknowledgment that “all things come from the Lord”.  If he believed that the Lord had provided him with his inheritance, and gold, and silver, and precious things, then surely the Lord could, even would provide them again.  Also, Lehi was a learned man, so perhaps he had confidence he could establish himself somewhere else. The bottom line, however, was probably his faith that the Lord would not “save” him from being destroyed in Jerusalem, or from being taken captive, just to die in poverty or in the wilderness.  He must have had great faith that the Lord would lead them along. I wonder too, if leaving it “all” is symbolic of Lehi’s “total” trust in the Lord and a “total” offering on his part. Or was it a realistic function of weights and load…they could really only take what they needed to survive? (When my Dad and Mom moved out of their house last April for the umpteenth time, I joked that the reason Lehi left everything behind is that Sariah refused to pack it all up and move it…haha)

  5 And he came down by the borders near the shore of the ^aRed Sea; I think I heard that these would have been well traveled routes because of the water…except I  think it’s a salt water sea.  Maybe where the rivers feed into it is fresh?…and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam.

  6 And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days I had said before, that there may have been significance to the “three days out” before offering a sacrifice (according to Jewish custom), but it also seems like it wasn’t until they arrived here (in a valley…) that it was a good place to stop and set up camp.  So…coincidence? Or did Lehi know of this spot and pushed to make it here in 3 days? in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a ^avalley by the side of a ^briver of water. Just read a piece about “thank offerings” being for petitioning the Lord for a safe journey. (Psalm 107) Another piece points out that it was 3 days travel AFTER he reached the Red Sea, not from Jerusalem… If you think I have a lot of questions…check out this commentary in the Sept 6 Ensign http://www.lds.org/ensign/1976/09/in-search-of-lehis-trail-part-1-the-preparation

  7 And it came to pass that he built an ^aaltar of ^bstones, and made an ^coffering unto the Lord, and gave ^dthanks unto the Lord our God. Perhaps there is some Jewish tradition going on here. If this is so, then Lehi made an offering just as soon as he could. (another important lesson) And he gave thanks. For what?
There was plenty to think about for the last three days…what you were leaving, how you were going to survive, etc.  But…Lehi knew he would need to keep is eye focused on faith, and express gratitude for what he did know…that the Lord had commanded them to leave, that he had seen a vision, that the Lord had led his people through the wilderness before. Since he was preaching "Jerusalem would be destroyed", the greatest blessing would be deliverance, which is played out over and over through the scriptures, pointing to the Savior, Jesus Christ and the "deliverance" he offers us, from sin and death. I think there may be a principle of the gospel…a law with a blessing attached, that can’t be received if not obeyed…that when you are obeying God’s word, but seeking guidance, that the “way” to receiving is through gratitude AND a sacrifice.  We don’t build alters of stone, and I don’t know what, if anything Lehi put on that alter…what was his “offering”?  I know Christ said the replacement for the sacrifices and offerings of Moses were a broken heart and and contrite spirit.  But if you are offering that…what do you have to place on the alter of sacrifice?  Your pride? Your laziness? Your selfishness?  Your time?  I think we have to “offer” up another piece of our natural man in sacrifice when we are asking for special blessings…and we do it in a spirit of gratitude…which can be a natural expression of “faith” that the Lord will bless us with our desire.  We thank Him in advance for what “will be” for us, but for “what already is” for Him…as all things are “present” before God. I want to make these kinds of offerings each week at the Sacrament Table. Working on "intentional" change!

  8 And it came to pass that he called the name of the river, Laman, At first I thought he was doing the “naming thing” by birth order…the boys would take it as an honor and hopefully as counsel as well…but I don’t think he ends up naming anything Nephi or Sam…and it emptied into the Red Sea; and the valley was in the borders near the mouth thereof.

  9 And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the ^afountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying: O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness! We are about “eternal progression” and must be “continually running” into goodness…I'm impressed that he taught by speaking of what they could become and not specifically calling out their weaknesses.

 10 And he also spake unto Lemuel: O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, ^afirm and ^bsteadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord! If we are not firm, steadfast, and immovable, we will be carried about by “every wind of doctrine”. 

 11 Now this he spake because of the ^astiffneckedness of Laman and Lemuel So this was his motivation…counsel more than honor…; for behold they did ^bmurmur
in many things against their ^cfather, because he was a ^dvisionary man, and had led them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave the land of their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and their precious things, if you read the word “precious” with a patronizing tone…it becomes a blantant warning to not let any of our “things” become “precious” to us…only people and love and charity should be precious to us to perish in the wilderness. And this they said he had done because of the foolish imaginations of his heart. Remember lesson one? LEAVE the stuff…focus forward…be grateful for what you DO know… Why do they suppose Lehi would leave all his security to wander in the desert if he was not certain about what he had to do? Hopefully, when it becomes our turn to “leave”, the Lord will give such an assurance to at least two in our company, and that we will be able to either “be” one of those people, or be blessed with the faith to believe on their words.  Lehi and Nephi had zero doubt about the Lord’s plan for them.  Now…at this point, it was still just Lehi, although Nephi had received a confirmation about his father’s dreams, but no literal knowledge for himself.  But they were only three days out…so they were not past the point of no return. They could go back.

 12 And thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur against their ^afather. And they did ^bmurmur because they ^cknew not the dealings of that God who had ^dcreated them. Want to stop murmuring?  Seek to understand the dealings of God, who created you.  Where do we find a record of his dealing with man? In the scriptures, of course.  And how do we understand them?  Through the spirit and prayer. Direct all “murmurers” to God for understanding…but we know light and truth cometh through obedience. (D&C 93:28 He that ^akeepeth his commandments receiveth ^btruth and ^clight, until he is glorified in truth and ^dknoweth all things.)

 13 Neither did they ^abelieve that Jerusalem, that great city, could be ^bdestroyed according to the words of the prophets. Seems like there are a lot of members who don’t believe that our great country could be destroyed, although it too has been prophesied…This is the part they should have focused on…that it was said by prophets…NOT that what was said was unbelievable. And they were like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of my father. Never understood the concept… ”believe what I do…stop believing what you do...OR DIE!” if the belief doesn’t take away their agency... I believe this part is still coming in our day …"stop believing what you believe or die"…which is why it makes sense to me that the Lord will help the believers escape or lead them to places of safety.

 14 And it came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the ^avalley of Lemuel, with ^bpower, being filled with the Spirit, every parent who needs to “correct” a child should want to know they are speaking under the influence of the Spirit and not in anger or pride… until their frames did ^cshake before him. This experience of Lehi confounding Laman and Lemuel to the point of causing them to quake would certainly give Nephi the faith that the Lord could do it again if needed…which he did for Nephi later. And he did confound them, that they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them. Why these experiences had no long term effect on these boys, I can’t figure…Was it that all they focused on/felt was the “fear”? Yet, they were old enough to just run back home. They knew their house and all their stuff and gold etc. was still there. Why didn’t they just take off? Perhaps the thought, “what if dad is right?” was enough to keep them there, and the inexplainable way their bodies quaked to the point where they dared not say anymore.

 15 And my father dwelt in a ^atent.

James Ferrell’s book, “The Holy Secret” spends a third of its pages on this one verse…why it is significant.  But again, it could be an emphasis by Nephi, that his father, a man of means, was now humbly dwelling (a word suggesting something more like “living” than “traveling”) in a tent. Someone also suggested that tents are/can be temples by proxy. We know that the Israelites have used tents as temples in the wilderness for years. Tent imagery appears in gospel context frequently (ie. "stakes of Zion") Some believe that Nephi was telling us that Lehi was dwelling in a sacred place as he continued to receive revelation for his family as they journeyed in the wilderness. Hence, if the day comes that we "dwell" in tents in the wilderness they will serve as sacred spaces for us and our families as we are refined by both the elements and the truth of "Zion" and what it takes to become a "Zion" people." I am also hoping that my home can be a temple when I need it to be.  I can’t make it to the temple every day (actually, I can)…but I can pray to Heavenly Father in my home. Other ponderings on this verse: Why did Nephi say only his father dwelt in a tent, instead of “we” dwelt in a tent. Why did he say it at this certain place in his writing, right after his account of his father speaking with power to Lamen and Lemuel? Remember how some experiences with the Spirit have a weakening effect on the body? Maybe Lehi was so full of the Spirit that he had to “dwell” in his tent for a bit to gain his strength back...  Perhaps it meant Lehi spent a lot of time in his "sacred space" with the Lord.

 16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, How young is “exceedingly”? nevertheless being large in stature, must have been big for his age and also having great desires to know of the ^amysteries of God, this sounds like a type of Joseph Smith…exceedingly young, having great desires to know the mysteries of God.  I wonder if Joseph was large for his age as well? Wait…why did he put his age and stature in there instead of just starting out, “I had great desire to know of the mysteries of God”? I understand the "being young", to teach us that we don’t have to be a certain age to ask for understanding or go along with our older siblings if they are in the wrong. But how does the stature play in there? Maybe it gave him confidence? wherefore, I did cry is this different than just praying? unto the Lord; and behold he did ^bvisit me, is this literal? and did ^csoften my heart does this mean Nephi was struggling a little bit with leaving and believing? Maybe he thought his father was being too hard on Laman and Lemuel and he was a little scared of his father? that I did ^dbelieve all the words which had been spoken by my ^efather; wherefore, I did not ^frebel against him like unto my brothers. Always helps when you can do the “all or nothing” since if you only take part, then you always have a part of you that’s unsure.

 17 And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which the Lord had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. I’ve heard it said that when the Spirit witnesses the truth of something to you that it is the greatest witness you can have.  If that is so, then Nephi had a “rock solid” testimony of his father’s call. It also seems to be saying that the Lord did not literally visit him at this time, but he received a witness of the Spirit. And it came to pass that he believed in my words It doesn’t say if Sam was struggling too, but we can assume they all were to some degree.  We also don’t know if Sam had asked the Lord like Nephi and just received his answer through Nephi.  If so, it could be an example of the “gifts of the Spirit” where it says “to some it is given to believe on the testimony of others”….

 18 But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; So he shared his experience with them too. Did he share to the group or
individually? and being ^agrieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them. Instead of feeling contempt for them, he felt compassion… He had just finished conversing with the Lord, and immediately returns to him with his concern for his brothers. 

 19 And it came to pass I wonder how long had passed… that the Lord spake unto me this is the second time he uses the word “cried” and both times the Lord seems to visit him immediately. Is there something significant to this “crying”?, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy ^afaith, for thou hast sought me diligently, maybe he had to pray many times before this answer came…and that’s why he starts with “and it came to pass”…it took some time to get a response…His faith then, would be, knowing the Lord would answer him at some point. Nephi’s faith moved him to seek the Lord diligently…the seeking was evidence of his faith. Could he have done other things to show his faith? with lowliness of heart. Perhaps because of his young age he was lowly in heart. But the Lord tells him it is because of his faith that he is blessed to receive not only a visit from the Lord but some great promises…they are conditional…

 20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall ^aprosper, and shall be led to a ^bland of promise; this is the first time a “land of promise” is mentioned in the scriptures. Did Lehi receive this information as well and if so…was it before or after Nephi did? yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

 21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be ^acut off from the presence of the Lord. Hearkens back to Adam and Eve...the consequence of sin/transgression is being cut off from God.

 22 And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ^aruler and a teacher over thy brethren. Nephi must have been thinking…”yeah…that’s going to go over well…” Sounds like Joseph, son of Jacob and the experience with his brothers. Nephi knew this story. Did he think of it as well? Laman and Lemuel would know this story too. You would think they would know how it turns out and learn from the past!

 23 For behold, in that day that they shall sounds like a prophesy that that will ^arebel against me, I will ^bcurse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall ^crebel against me also.

 24 And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a ^ascourge unto thy seed, to ^bstir them up in the ways of remembrance.  Recap….keep commandments equals prosper, rule, teach; Rebel equals cut off, cursed, become a scourge to stir people to remember. REMEMBER….Pres. Kimball says it’s the most important word in the scriptures.  Notice how many times in the Book of Mormon people are told to “remember”. At first, I hear the warning to Laman and Lemuel, but then I notice Nephi is warned that if his seed rebel, the Lord will use the seed of his own brothers as a means to “stir them up in the ways of remembrance”.  So there’s double motivation to keep working to convert his brothers…his love for them and to protect his own children.  Also, the wickedness of others can be directed at us FOR THE PURPOSE of humbling us to repentance. What are the “ways” of remembrance? Prayer? Scripture study? Love? Patience? Charity? Just had the thought, that Laman and Lemuel wanted to "rule over" Nephi and Sam. The Lord gave them what they wanted when the Nephites rebelled and the Lamanites were allowed to rule over them at times. It was not given to them to rule in righteousness, though. Satan also wants to rule and reign, and because of our unrighteousness, he is getting what he wants, for a time, only to stir us up in the ways of remembrance. Are we responding? Are we changing our "ways" to keep us in "remembrance? What is it we are to remember? God? Our dependence on Him? Gratitude? Our need for the Savior? Forgetting all these things leads to selfishness and spiritual laziness.

* verse 4 (600 B.C.).