1 Nephi 11

(All of my own thoughts are in blue  red 4/20 Green 1/21 Orange 4/22 Brown 2023)

 

CHAPTER 11

Nephi sees the Spirit of the Lord I don't know that I have read of someone seeing the "spirit" of the Lord before...is this the Lord? the Holy Ghost? and is shown in vision the tree of life—He sees the mother of the Son of God and learns of the condescension of God—He sees the baptism, ministry, and crucifixion of the Lamb of God—He sees also the call and ministry of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Between 600 and 592 B.C.

  1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, Nephi and his quintessential (defined: pure and concentrated in nature; a perfect example of a quality) faith! He is teaching us that desire is not the same as faith. An oft repeated phrase I hear is, "I know the Lord can, I just don't know if he will...for me." To me it sounds like he said "can" and "will". This is the same faith Joseph Smith had when he went into the grove to pray. as I sat ^apondering He knew what he wanted; he believed he could have it; and he waited for it…expected it…thought about it... in mine heart I was ^bcaught away in the Spirit of the Lord, so far he hasn't said he has seen the Lord, just that he's been "caught away" IN the Spirit of the Lord. Is this the Holy Ghost conversing with him in his thoughts? To be "caught away" sounds like he was transported "in spirit" to another place. Assuming his physical body remained where it was, but his mind or spirit was taken elsewhere. yea, into an exceedingly high ^cmountain, mountains are symbolic of temples. You can go there to be "caught away in the Spirit of the Lord" and to receive answers to your prayers as well. which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.

  2 And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what ^adesirest thou? I think it is significant that the Spirit asks him to say what he wants, when surely, the Spirit must already know what he desires. Nephi could think, "but I have asked already when I prayed. But he is being asked to say it again. There is something important that happens when we can verbally express our desire in words; plead our case. As a mom, I always made my little children ask for what they wanted with their words. They couldn't just cry; they couldn't just point; they had to "say" it. And then, depending on their ability, I might refuse to do it for them when they were capable of doing themselves. But I would encourage, and support them as they acted for themselves. Why would our perfect Father in Heaven do less?  Also wondering if only God hears our unspoken prayers/thoughts, and if He sends a "messenger", then perhaps that messenger needs to hear it from our lips...(3 Nephi 14:7; also in Matthew and Luke) ^aAsk, and it shall be given unto you; ^bseek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

8 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? The promise is ASK, and ye shall find, not DESIRE it and ye shall find. Desire is just the beginning. Is this sequential or 3 ways of saying the same thing? Oilver Cowdrey was chastised because he only "asked" and didn't "seek" (study). Maybe after we have done the first two we can "knock" again and have the door opened.

  3 And I said: I desire to behold to see, not just understand or know of...the things which my father ^asaw. Is he asking for his own born again experience? to know for himself what his father knows? 

  4 And the Spirit said unto me: ^aBelievest thou that thy father saw the ^btree of which he hath spoken? Is this asking if he believes his father saw Christ (which the tree represents) Or just to "taste"/experience the "love of God"?

  5 And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I ^abelieve all the words of my father. Does he say this because Nephi understands that the Lord knows all the thoughts of our hearts?

  6 And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the ^aearth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou ^bbelievest in the Son of the most high God; faith preceeds the miracle… specifically faith in the Savior, Jesus Christ. All blessings follow this foundational belief. Once you know who he is and what that means, you can believe that in His strength you can do/have/experience all things! wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.

  7 And behold this thing shall be given unto thee for a ^asign, that after thou hast beheld the tree which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; to “witness” is to see something, but it also means to “testify” of something and after ye have witnessed him ye shall ^bbear record testify that it is the Son of God. With great privilege comes great responsibility… So far, it doesn't sound like the Spirit talking here is Jesus Christ. This may be his official "call" to be a prophet.

  8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! When the Spirit gives you a direction...do it! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the ^atree which my father had seen; and the ^bbeauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the ^cwhiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow. Does Nephi know what snow is? Does it snow in Jerusalem? Answer:Yes

  9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is ^aprecious above all.

 10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou? He only asked initially to “see” (behold vs 3) what his father saw. Perhaps the Spirit is asking him to think again. "Nephi...what do you really want? To just "see" what your Father saw?" Nephi thinks some more and says....

 11 And I said unto him: To know the ^ainterpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the ^bform of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; Could it have been the Holy Ghost? and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.

 12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence. I would be like, "don't leave me!"
 13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of ^aNazareth I beheld a ^bvirgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. as in skin color... or purity?

 14 And it came to pass that I saw the ^aheavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou? So is this someone else? An angel now? If so, why someone new? Again, he is begin asked to verbalize what he sees. Makes me think this is one of the reasons we are asked to keep a journal; it forces us to verbalize with words our experiences. Something must happen to us, for good, when we do that.

 15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

 16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the ^acondescension of God?

 17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. Sometimes, our knowledge that God loves us is all we have to cling to.  We do not know the meaning of all things, but we can always learn more than we now know if we ask.

 18 And he said unto me: Behold, the ^avirgin whom thou seest is the ^bmother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. Maybe referring to the fact He has a mother in heaven "after the manner of the spirit"?

 19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; This is the same expression Nephi used in verse 1 except he says "caught" away instead of "carried" away. Is there a difference? We know, for Mary, her being "caught away" resulted in something to her physical body. So when one is "caught or carried away" is it literal? Are they physically transported? and after she had been carried away in the ^aSpirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

 20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a ^achild in her arms.
 21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the ^aLamb of God, yea, even the ^bSon of the Eternal ^cFather! He just explained the "condescension" of God - God, the Son, voluntarily descending below his God status to take on mortality. Knowest thou the meaning of the ^dtree which thy father saw?

 22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the ^alove of God, which ^bsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; In answer to his question, "what is the meaning of the tree" he was shown the Son of God coming to earth, born of a mortal mother. That he understood the love of the Father, that he would send his Son; and that the love of God and light of Christ are given to every man, was either revealed to him by the Spirit of revelation or something his father taught him. wherefore, it is the ^cmost desirable above all things. I desire a lot of things in this life. Do I desire to feel the love of God above all things? And it's not just "feeling" the love of God, but receiving it fully through following and worshiping His Son. I think "experiencing" the love of God is more than just "feeling" it...I think it's the "born again" experience.

 23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most ^ajoyous to the soul. "Men are that they might have joy" and that "joy" comes from understanding God's love for you as manifest through the atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ, who died that you might have eternal life! To be born again is to experience this "joy" to your soul

 24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God ^agoing forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.

 25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the ^arod of iron, which my father had seen, was the ^bword of God, the word of God is the scriptures, the words of living prophets (when moved upon by the Holy Ghost), and personal revelation. We must hold fast to ALL three "in the beginning was the "word" and the "word" was with God and the "word" WAS God. So maybe the iron rod is Jesus Christ Himself! which ^cled to the fountain of ^dliving waters, or to the ^etree of life; The tree may also be Christ. Does that mean only Christ can lead you to Him...which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God. How did he “see” this; that the tree was a representation of the love of God?  Did it look different? Or does "see" mean "Understand" So both the water and the tree represented the love of God

 26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the ^acondescension of God!

 27 And I looked and ^abeheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; I hope my children will have moments in their life when they say, "oh, my mother spoke of that"...and I also beheld the ^bprophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was ^cbaptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a ^ddove. Just as his father had told him he had seen…

 28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in ^apower and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them. Why did some not hear Him in spite of His preaching "in power and great glory"? 

 29 And I also beheld ^atwelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were ^bcarried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

 30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw ^aangels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them. When was this? It is inserted between the calling of the twelve apostles and Christ's ministry, but is this a specific event? A specific place, time or people? Hmmm...the footnote only takes you to the topical guide "angels". Was this account removed from the Bible? Can angels minister to us and we not be aware of it? 

 31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were ^asick, and who were afflicted means "tormented" with all manner of diseases, and with ^bdevils and ^cunclean spirits; what does it mean to be tormented with devils and unclean spirits? Are they two different things; a devil and an unclean spirit? Is this unrelated to sinning? Found this interesting blog that explores this subject. uncleanspirits.blogspot.com and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were ^dhealed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out. This leads me to believe, even more, that being afflicted with devils and unclean spirits was not about sinning. If it were, then the way for relief is repentance. But the Savior "cast them out". My thinking now is that we are afflicted by devils (spirits cast to the earth with Satan) and unclean spirits (those who once lived on the earth, but are in Satan's power in the spirit world) in the form of temptation. When we yield to temptation, they are "in" us. They have to be cast out so we can be left to our own agency again to fully repent. Brigham Young said,"You never felt a pain and ache, or felt disagreeable, or uncomfortable in your bodies and minds, but what an evil spirit was present causing it. Do you realize that the ague, the fevers, the chills, the severe pain in the head, the plurisy, or any pain in the system, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, is put there by the devil? You do not realize this, do you? I say but little about this matter, because I do not want you to realize it. When you have the rheumatism, do you realize that the devil put that upon you? No, but you say, “I got wet, caught cold, and thereby got the rheumatism.” The spirits that afflict us and plant disease in our bodies, pain in the system, and finally death, have control over us so far as the flesh is concerned. But when the spirit is unlocked from the body it is free from the power of death and Satan; and when that body comes up again, it also, with the spirit, will gain the victory over death, hell, and the grave. … When we have done with the flesh, and have departed to the spirit world, you will find that we are independent of those evil spirits. But while you are in the flesh you will suffer by them, and cannot control them, only by your faith in the name of Jesus Christ and by the keys of the eternal Priesthood.¹   How does this teaching fit in with the scripture that says, "for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, will have power to possess your body in that eternal world."(Alma 34:34)? What "spirit" is being referred to here. Our own? An evil spirit?
 32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was ^ataken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was ^bjudged of the world; and I saw and bear record. By writing it down?

 33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was ^alifted up upon the cross and ^bslain for the sins of the world.  

 34 And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to ^afight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord. The apostasy and/or the last days?

 35 And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they
were in a large and spacious ^abuilding, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to ^bfight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. So the house of Israel was in the building?

 36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the ^apride of the world; and it ^bfell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. Stay away from the pride of the world. It is doomed to fall! And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Remember, this was written for our day. This is a modern day warning! If you are guilty of the "pride of the world" you are fighting against God. If you ignore the words of his "watchmen on the tower" you are fighting against God and you will not stand!