THE FIRST
BOOK OF NEPHI
HIS REIGN AND MINISTRY
HIS REIGN AND MINISTRY
An account of Lehi and
his wife Sariah and his four sons, being called, (beginning at the eldest)
Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. The Lord warns Lehi to depart out of the land
of Jerusalem to my knowledge, Lehi is not a
prophet at this point, and has not been told by a prophet to flee. Could we also receive direction to flee
before the prophet directs it?, because he prophesieth unto the people concerning their iniquity, So, maybe he IS a prophet because he's prophesying to the people and they seek to destroy his life.This would be all the prompting I would need… He taketh three days’ journey into the wilderness with his family. Nephi taketh his brethren and returneth to the land of Jerusalem after the record of the Jews. The account of their sufferings. They take the daughters of Ishmael to wife. They take their families and depart into the wilderness. Their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness. The course of their travels. They come to the large waters. Nephi’s brethren rebel against him. He confoundeth them, and buildeth a ship. They call the name of the place Bountiful. They cross the large waters into the promised land, and so forth. This is according to the account of Nephi; or in other words, I, Nephi, wrote this record. While there were probably many “good” days in the years it took them to get to the promised land…Nephi chooses to record their sufferings…for it is how we handle life's “tests” that teach us most. Perhaps he records their sufferings so we can more easily see the "tender mercies of the Lord" in response to their trials.
before the prophet directs it?, because he prophesieth unto the people concerning their iniquity, So, maybe he IS a prophet because he's prophesying to the people and they seek to destroy his life.This would be all the prompting I would need… He taketh three days’ journey into the wilderness with his family. Nephi taketh his brethren and returneth to the land of Jerusalem after the record of the Jews. The account of their sufferings. They take the daughters of Ishmael to wife. They take their families and depart into the wilderness. Their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness. The course of their travels. They come to the large waters. Nephi’s brethren rebel against him. He confoundeth them, and buildeth a ship. They call the name of the place Bountiful. They cross the large waters into the promised land, and so forth. This is according to the account of Nephi; or in other words, I, Nephi, wrote this record. While there were probably many “good” days in the years it took them to get to the promised land…Nephi chooses to record their sufferings…for it is how we handle life's “tests” that teach us most. Perhaps he records their sufferings so we can more easily see the "tender mercies of the Lord" in response to their trials.
CHAPTER 1
Nephi begins the
record of his people—Lehi sees in vision a pillar of fire and reads from a book
of prophecy—He praises God, foretells the coming of the Messiah, and prophesies
the destruction of Jerusalem—He is persecuted by the Jews. About 600 B.C.
1 I, Nephi, having
been aborn of bgoodly cparents,
Goodly…of means, wealthy So wealth doesn't HAVE to corrupt people, because it clearly didn't corrupt Lehi (Lamen and Lemuel are a different matter) having been dtaught
somewhat I wonder if he qualifies it with “somewhat” because his
learning was interrupted by their leaving Jerusalem, or if he only occasionally
received formal learning. in all the learning of my father; what was
“all” the “learning of my father”? Was
he taught “by” his father, whatever his father knew or was he saying he had the
same “kind” of education as his father. including Lehi's trade...Or did “all” mean both? Someone suggested that it means Lehi taught him the language of the Lord and the scriptures and
having seen many eafflictions in the
course of my days, he’s writing this at an older age, I
believe, maybe 30ish, looking back… nevertheless, having been highly favored is being “favored” of the Lord something we can seek or something
the Lord chooses to do? Or is it a state of
gratitude…the way we see our lives being blessed. I would think, if God is no respecter of persons, that we become favored
by certain conditions being met. of the Lord in all my days; I hope at the end of my life, I will see that I have been
highly favored of the Lord, despite the afflictions I may have seen…
yea, having had a great
knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God the greatest man can receive..seeing Christ and having the
“world” shown him, therefore I make a frecord of my
proceedings in my days.
2 Yea, I make a record in the alanguage of my father, which
consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians. So Lehi, a Jew, was educated as a
Jew, but also learned Egyptian. Was that because he was a merchant? Was Nephi’s education the same via his father or from the
Egyptians? Earlier he says he was taught somewhat in all the learning of his father, and now he says he makes a record in the language of his father, which consists of the "learning" of the Jews and the "language" of the Egyptians. Might mean that the earlier reference to "learning" wasn't just language. Also might mean he wrote how the Jews wrote but used Egyptian words/characters.
3 And I know that the record which I make is atrue Already in verse 3 we have a testimony, a witness that
this record is true. Read it with faith
that it is so and that you can know it as well; and I make it with mine own hand; and I
make it according to my knowledge. We could
have the same words in our own journal record. Certainly my record would acknowledge that "my knowledge" was limited or subject to limitations of my understanding or memory. Could this be what Moroni meant when he said "if there are mistakes they are the mistakes of men"?
4 For it came to pass in the commencement of the first year
of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at Jerusalem in all his
days);born and raised, then? and in that
same year there came
many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the
great city Jerusalem must be destroyed.
5 Wherefore it came
to pass that my father, Lehi, as he
went forth prayed unto
the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people
The first thing to note here is that
some of the motivation for Lehi’s concern for Jerusalem was that it was his
HOME…he grew up there; knew it well; knew and loved the people, the places,
etc. The thought of it and them being
destroyed probably aroused great emotion, and it is EMOTION that is the impetus
for faith. (moving forward in action…)
The second thing to note is the fact
that there were MANY prophets telling the people to repent or the city would be
destroyed. and they all seemed to have appeared "in that same year". What a scene that would cause to suddenly have these prophets all appear preaching repentance! This must have created a
feeling of urgency and anxiety that time was running short to repent…so short,
in fact that it says “Lehi,
AS he went forth prayed unto the
Lord.” Did he pray AS he went about,
feeling there was either no time to stop and pray, or to cease praying? Either way, he did so “even with ALL HIS HEART”. What does it mean to pray “with all your
heart” as opposed to not praying with all your heart? To me, it suggests emotion added to words…a
critical component to praying with FAITH.
The third thing to note, is that
Lehi was not prophesying to the people at this point. He was just a citizen of the community who
was troubled by the prophecies that he was hearing. He wasn’t praying to know if they were true,
or if he should join the preaching, it just says that he was praying “in behalf
of his people” suggesting that he was praying they would soften their hearts
and repent and change so they and the city would NOT be destroyed. I also wonder what happened to the “many prophets” who were
preaching repentance. Were their lives
not also in danger? Did the Lord take them and their families away? There was
only one record, or were there more copies? so what would they have taken with them? Why did the Lord not
have them join Lehi’s group? I guess it
just shows that we each have a “mission” and it’s different for everyone. I
suppose those prophets still have the same reward, even if they were killed, or
left, or remained and were taken captive or destroyed with the wicked…And under what form of church organization or lack thereof, does
the Lord call “many” prophets? We have ONE prophet, yet the apostles are also
prophets. Were these men with the “gift of prophecy” or did they have a
position and official “calling”?
6 And it came to pass as he prayed sometimes
answers come while we are still praying unto the Lord, there came a apillar
of fire what other times in scripture do we
find a pillar of fire? There was Moses and the Egyptians when it served as a
barrier between the army of Pharaoh and the children of Israel, In this
instance, it sounds like the Lord looks on the Egyptians through the pillar, so
it sounds like it’s hiding Him from them. Nephi and Lehi were encircled by a
pillar of fire and conversed with angels and it caused their faces to shine.
When the Lamanites prayed to have faith and repented, they too were encircled
by a pillar of fire which protected them and allowed them to hear/see
wonderful things as well. Christ says that He and his Apostles will come forth
in a pillar of fire at the last day. Joseph Smith says the Father and the Son
appeared to him in a pillar of light above the brightness of the Sun. I suppose
he could have called it a pillar of fire as well. He says it fell upon him, so
we could assume he was “in” the pillar of fire too. The common thread here
seems to be that when mortal man comes in contact with the divine, the pillar
of fire surrounds him and for man to converse with him, he must be included in
that circle. This could be the first reference to "fire" which could represent the "baptism of fire" that we are ALL to receive. Is it called "fire" because, as these records show, it brings us into the presence of the Divine? and dwelt
upon a rock before him; Although Lehi says the
pillar was before him, not upon him. But maybe since he only saw and heard, and
did not converse he was not included in the pillar of fire. and he saw and heard much; what did he see, how was it shown to him and who was
talking to him? What was the significance of the “pillar”? Was it hiding a
heavenly presence? Was it the means of showing him what he saw? In any case, the manifestation was indisputably and
undeniably real. and because of the things which he saw and heard he did bquake
and tremble exceedingly.
7 And it came to pass that he
returned to his own house at Jerusalem;
and he cast himself upon his bed, being aovercome
with the Spirit and the things which he had seen. Does he share later what he saw/heard that caused him to
quake and tremble? What physical effect does being so fully in the presence of
the Spirit do to our bodies? Why do they become weak?
8 And being thus overcome with the
Spirit, he was carried
away in a avision, was this vision a
repeat of what he just saw and heard? even that he saw the bheavens
open, and he thought interesting expression…”thought”…was he not sure?
he csaw God
sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the
attitude of singing and
praising their God some religions believe this
is what we do in heaven forever…just sing and praise God. Sounds silly to me…so he must be seeing a
celebration or an event of some kind?…. or
perhaps, we are in a continual attitude/state of praise and gratitude, but not
always manifesting it outwardly?
9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the
midst of heaven perhaps this is what they were
singing for…in anticipation of the arrival of Christ, and he beheld that
his aluster was above that of the sun at noon-day. Was this not Joseph Smith’s description. We’ll assume this
meant he was in a pillar of light again.
10 And he also saw atwelve
others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the
firmament. Notice they shown as well, but not as
bright as Christ. This makes it sound like the light emanates FROM the person,
not something that is “put upon” them…
11 And they came down and went
forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and astood before my father, and gave unto him a bbook, and bade him
that he should read. Interesting that they would
appear to him and have him read out of a book instead of talking to him or
showing him what they wanted him to know….Does this teach the importance of the scriptures? Christ taught from the scriptures as well, even though He was scripture personified!
12 And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with
the aSpirit of the Lord. Is this a key to revelation? Is this a key to being filled
with the Spirit of God? READ THE SCRIPTURES? What if it is just that literal?
13 And he read, saying: Wo, wo,
unto Jerusalem,
for I have seen thine aabominations! Yea, and
many things did my father read concerning bJerusalem—that
it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the
sword, and many should be ccarried
away captive into Babylon.
14 And it came to pass that when
my father had read and
seen was this a separate thing from reading or
were his spiritual eyes opened to “see” in his mind what he was reading…much
like you and I do when we read a book.. many great and marvelous things,
he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy
works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy apower,
and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; After seeing the destruction of Jerusalem, he must have seen good things or he would not have ended with praise. What "great and marvelous things" did he see? Why didn't he write what those were? and, because thou art merciful, thou
wilt not suffer those who bcome
unto thee that they shall perish! “Perish”
must be more spiritual than temporal, for we know that many honest, believing
people perish at the hands of wicked men… Does it have something to do with the phrase "come unto me"? There could be many "believing" people who do not fully "come" unto Christ and enter through the gate where "he employeth no servant there" and are baptized by fire and the Holy Spirit. Are we promised deliverance no matter what if we "come unto Christ" in this full manner?
15 And after this manner was the
language of my father this reference to the "language" of his father was more about what he was saying than what dialect he was saying it in in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice,
after the first vision, Lehi trembled and quaked because of what he had
seen. Now his soul rejoices. Perhaps this second vision was a “part 2”…where
he saw how it all fit into the grand plan and how the atonement reached into
the lives of those who believe and his whole heart was filled, because
of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him. Or he saw his family’s deliverance from the destruction.
That would surely cause you to rejoice!
16 And now I, Nephi, do not make
a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things
which he saw in avisions and in bdreams; Here we are given validity to the reality and importance of visions and dreams...and he also hath written
many things which he cprophesied
and spake unto his children, Does this mean
before his call to preach to Jerusalem, just for his own family’s benefit?
of which I shall not make a full account.
17 But I shall make an account of
my proceedings in my days. Behold, I make an aabridgment
of the record of my bfather,
upon cplates which I have made with mine own hands;
wherefore, after I have
abridged the record of my dfather then will
I make an account of mine own life. Nephi must
have known that we would not have Lehi’s full record, so he included a summary,
at least to the degree that we would understand how Nephi had been influenced
by Lehi’s teachings. Or maybe he thought we WOULD have Lehi's record, so he didn't need to repeat everything...
18 Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown
so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction
of Jerusalem, behold he
went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto
them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.
It seems that Lehi’s experience with
the pillar of fire; all that he saw and heard there, as well as what he saw and
read in a vision upon returning home, became the basis for his call as a
prophet. He was given two witnesses of
what he was to preach. There would be no
doubt in his mind and heart as to what he was saying. Perhaps he was hoping that his standing in
the community, his long time associations with others would give him the
credibility to be heard and listened to.
“These people know me…surely they will listen” he might have said. How
wrong he was. Were the others who prophesied
granted the same experience as Lehi?
19 And it came to pass that the aJews did bmock him because of the things which
he testified of them; for he truly testified of their cwickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the
things which he saw and heard, beyond their wickedness and abominations?…and
also the things which he
read in the book, Two witnesses…manifested plainly of the coming
of a dMessiah,
and also the redemption of the world. Here
we are told more about what was in the book…and perhaps what he saw in the
pillar of fire (so it would indeed be a second witness…) and it was this part
that caused Lehi’s heart to rejoice…for he saw a way for his people to repent
and be saved. Don’t focus on the wicked
part…rejoice that a Savior has been provided to make you clean again so you can
live with God forever! I often picture prophets
of old just crying repent or be destroyed…focusing on their wickedness…yet in
reality, they probably focused on the message and hope of the Atonement. But
the people never got past the accusations to hear the real message.
20 And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as
with the prophets of old, whom they had acast
out, and stoned, and slain; and they also bsought his life, that they might take it away. here is the ultimate pride…to be so steeped in your ways,
yet so bothered by your conscience that you feel the only way to silence that
conscience is to silence the one “pricking” it…I have never understood why
people get so riled up over someone’s belief that they demand it be silenced. If
it is not true (and it’s belief only causes the believer to be kind and
charitable) what is the harm in that? It is such an obvious admonition of
guilt! But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender cmercies
of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto
the power of ddeliverance. The Lord chooses us because of our faith, not because He just chooses us. And He needs to make us mighty unto deliverance, because when we choose Him, others may turn against us in dangerous ways. Perhaps once He chooses us we are asked to do things that will require great faith...and thus deliverance! Perhaps a type of the "ultimate" deliverance! How sad and frustrating to know so
much that could help your friends and neighbors and associates and to be met
with mocking, anger, and hatred to the degree that they would want to KILL
you! Surely you would ask the Lord why
he had picked you to share these things, only to be met with such rejection! But Nephi teaches us this important
truth. When you are chosen by the Lord,
the Lord has “tender mercies” in store for you, BECAUSE of your FAITH, and He
will make you mighty and deliver you by His power. The word “mercies” is plural, suggesting that
you can expect more than one. The word
“all” suggests that He has chosen MANY…even you, maybe. The key ingredient
however, is FAITH! “Deliverance” can be from the wicked in this world, while
remaining in the world, or literal deliverance from this world altogether. I have to believe that the prophets who are
allowed to be slain, instead of removed from the wicked, like Lehi, also
received the tender mercies of the Lord in perhaps “not tasting of death” as
their lives were taken from them. If the people were ALL so wicked that no one believed him, it makes me wonder if Lehi had any real friends. It's pretty hard to be close friends with someone who believes the opposite of you and does bad things while you are trying to do good. The purple highlights are a point I
learned from Brother James Ferrell, author of “The Peacegiver” and “The Holy
Secret” Lehi was inspired by the words
of a prophet(s), he went out somewhere to pray, he was shown a book, and his
life was in jeopardy because of what he said he saw. A type of Joseph Smith.
