Stop Wallowing, Part 2 of lesson #7

Reading:  2 Ne 3-5

I have to start with chapter 4 in 2 Nephi, I'll get to 3 and 5 later.  This chapter has such personal meaning to me.  Whenever I am feeling down, I think of or re-read this chapter.  In this chapter, Lehi, the prophet who begins The Book of Mormon, dies.  Chapters 1-4 contain his dying word to his sons.  He passes the priesthood keys to his son Nephi, who becomes the next prophet after Lehi's death.  In his death, Nephi loses not only a prophets to whom he has looked to for direction and comfort, but likely his best friend.  Following Lehi's death and some more murmuring from his brothers, Nephi writes what he calls "the things of my soul," indicating what he has written and will write, which will become scripture, "for my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them."  While all of the writings of Nephi reflect the things of his soul, there is no other passage so soul-wrenching and yet soul-liberating, than what he writes in Chapter 4:15-35, which is sometimes referred to as 'Nephi's Psalm'.  Here's a snipet:

16 Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and myheart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.

 17 Nevertheless, 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 sorrowethbecause of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.

 18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me.

 19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have trusted.

 20 My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mineafflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

 21 He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh.

 22 He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.

 23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given meknowledge by visions in the night-time.

 24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me.

In this passage, Nephi displays the struggle that many go through: I want to do good and I know the goodness of the Lord, but I make so many mistakes!

He said he is "encompassed about because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me." I listened to a Book of Mormon Roundtable Discussion where they wondered what sins the seemingly perfect Nephi would have.  One man lightly commented that he might have been angry with his brothers, Laman and Lemual.  I thought that was funny, probably true, but funny.  Anyway, whatever sins he felt, he felt them keenly.  Even though he had seen so many great things that cause him to rejoice, at the same time he felt the pull to be better than he is and felt sorry for not being better.  But then he makes this incredibly hopeful and wise comment:

"NEVERTHELESS, I KNOW IN WHOM I HAVE TRUSTED"

Which means:  in spite of or even because of his sins/problems, he trusts in "the great goodness of the Lord."  Then in the following verses, he remembers and testifies of the wonderful things the Lord has done for him or more particularly the things the Lord has helped him feel.  Essentially, to get out of the despair he feels when he thinks about his mistakes and difficult temptation, he counts his blessings.  HE DOES NOT WALLOW IN SELF-PITY OR QUIT TRYING TO DO GOOD.

This is why I love to read this passage when I am feeling down about something or down about myself.  Because if I remember in whom I have trusted, He gives me hope that what I'm going through now will pass and if I remember Him, He can help me learn the purpose of my experiences and even feel peace and joy through them.  In fact, here is the conclusion Nephi made after remembering the goodness of the Lord:

26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

 27 And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

 28 Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul.

 29 Do not anger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

 30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation. 


Because he puts his trust in the Lord he says to himself: what's the point of letting "my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow?" "Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions."  He says this to himself.  A reminder that being in the valley of sorrow and letting his heart weep too long, slackens his strength.  On the other hand, as he recognizes who he trusts, he asks Him for help so they can work together:

31 O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul? Wilt thou deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?

 32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is contrite! O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I maywalk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road!

 33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!

 Then he ends with this:
 35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rockof my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.


I am so grateful for Nephi's example, his determined spirit and loyalty to the Lord.  He reminds me not to wallow in the hard things in my life and share my load with the Savior, which as He says: "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matt 11:28-30)

Questions about Joseph, Part 1 of lesson #7

There are two posts regarding this week's Sunday School lesson. There is a separate one for Chapter 4, because I have very strong feelings about that chapter.
2 Nephi 3-5

Every time I read 2 Nephi chapter 3, I marvel and the omniscience of God and his plan, and it reminds me that I know so little about His workings, and because of this I need to have faith in what I do know and what I can come to know.

Chapter 3 is addressed to Lehi's son Joseph.  In this chapter, Lehi talks about Joseph's namesake, Joseph of old (the one with the coat of many colors) and also a Joseph to come. I'm going to include the heading of the Chapter as a synopsis hear, and you will have to read the whole chapter yourself:

Joseph in Egypt saw the Nephites in vision—He prophesied of Joseph Smith, the latter-day seer; of Moses, who would deliver Israel; and of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

Reading this chapter with faith in God and His Son, Jesus Christ, and understanding through the Holy Spirit, helps put some puzzle pieces together and assures me that God does have a plan.  I wonder what Joseph Smith felt as he translated this chapter which ended up being about himself.  I'm sure it solidified his resolve to do what the Lord asks him to do.

I also wonder, when I read this chapter, what the perspective of a person who does not have faith in God, Christ or guidance by the Holy Spirit sees.  I can see that this chapter, without spiritual aid and testimony of the restored Gospel, can be seen as an attempt of Joseph Smith to authenticate his prophetic role by making connections to the scriptures and prophets of old.  I can see that.  But I can't seem to feel it. I know Joseph Smith had weaknesses, as do most leaders of churches or other organizations do (excepting Jesus Christ).  But I believe his intentions were good and he tried to be as obedient as he could while still living in the world around him and put upon him.  I also know the Savior intervenes for Joseph's weaknesses as He does for mine.  If I refuse to believe that the Savior would intervene for Joseph's weaknesses, than I would have to refuse that power in my life too.  I suppose if you believe that Joseph Smith's weakness was to help restore the church of Jesus Christ, or purporting that he restored it by himself, then that is just focusing on the person of Joseph Smith.  So, the question to ask I guess, is what you believe about God and do you believe he has a plan for the world in general and also a personal plan for you.

So, like I said in the beginning, when I read this chapter I marvel at God and His Son and the Holy Spirit first, their united purposes and plan.  Then I marvel at the players in his plan: Joseph of old, Moses and his helpers, those who brought forth the Bible and The Book of Mormon, and yes, Joseph Smith.  And then I wonder about my purpose.

Choose liberty and eternal life

2 Nephi 1
2 Nephi 2

I love the doctrines of agency and opposition.  I feel that they are both empowering doctrines that by reading about them and experiencing them give us power and perspective and therefore wisdom, if we choose.

Chapters 1-3 and some of four cover the last words of Lehi to his sons, as he puts it in ch. 1:14 - “hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return.”

The first chapter is addressed to Laman and Lemuel and has to do with the blessing of the promised land and blessings they will receive if they are faithful in keeping the commandments.  

The second chapter is addressed to Jacob, who is more spiritually mature than Laman and Lemuel, and is ready to receive the doctrine of opposition, agency and the purpose of life.  He can tell Jacob these things, knowing he will receive them readily because Jacob has a consistent belief and witness that God exists.  Lehi begins with testifying that all the affliction Jacob has experienced will be consecrated for his gain (v 2).

2 Ne 2:2-4 reveals to us that Jacob has " "beheld that in the fullness of time he (Christ) cometh to bring salvation unto men" and that he “hast beheld in thy youth his glory.” Jacob has a special witness of Christ and the salvation he brings.  Having established Jacob’s belief in God, Lehi teaches about the necessity of opposition by using a thought chain.  

2 Ne 2:11-13  Logic chain

No law – no sin – no righteousness – no happiness – no punishment – no misery – no God – no us! – no earth – no creation – to acting or acting upon

Lehi works backward to prove this and adds in some information to support it and make it clear, but I call this one a testimony chain:

2 Ne 2:14-21

There is a God – created all things – eternal purpose (to act and be acted upon) – there is opposition (forbidden fruit v tree of life) – God gave agency – enticement/enticer – life is probation/test – all men are lost – need a Savior.

If you are to understand the purpose of life you must acknowledge God.  This is the reason Laman and Lemuel could not or would not grasp the meaning of life because “they knew not the dealings of that God who had created them”

You can explain the connection between many of these things singly. But doing so means we define these things ourselves, with our limited minds and experience, which would “destroy the wisdom of God” (v 12).  To understand it as a whole requires an understanding of the author of everything.

Why is it important to know that everything has it's opposite?  I particularly love this doctrine because I think it is empowering.  To have a definition of what is right and what is wrong, or even more basic, to know that I have the power to make a choice because there are choices, is exhilarating!  but what makes it empowering is my belief in God - just as Lehi stated.  If I believe in God and his creations and purposes and that He cares what I choose, I can make some really great and powerful decisions regarding my life and my family and others I associate with.

Side note before I continue on this subject: 2 Ne 2:21-23 contains some of those plain and precious truths that The Book of Mormon restores concerning Adam and Eve and their choice in the garden. 

On to joy as a product of opposition:

2 Ne 2:24-28 , specifically verse 25 is a verse that we hear often quotes in the LDS church regarding our purpose: that we might have joy.  As we read on in the following verses, we have joy by knowing about redemption, that we are free forever, knowing good and evil, that we are to act and NOT be acted upon (at least try), we can expect consequences for our choices, and that we can choose (agency).  All these things are a part of having joy and truly being liberated.

I read an enlightening talk by President Marion G. Romney, entitled "The Perfect Law of Liberty" given in General Conference, October of 1981.  He says this of agency:

While perhaps it is seldom, if ever, contended that either political independence or economic freedom alone brings perfect liberty, it is not, however, uncommon for free agency to be considered as synonymous with freedom of the soul. And it is true that the God-given right to choose one’s course of action is an indispensable prerequisite to such freedom. Without it we can scarcely enjoy any type of liberty—political, economic, or personal. It is one of our greatest heritages. . . . Free agency, however, precious as it is, is not of itself the perfect liberty we seek, nor does it necessarily lead thereto. As a matter of fact, through the exercise of their agency more people have come to political, economic, and personal bondage than to liberty. While political independence, economic freedom, and free agency may contribute to liberty of the soul, they do not guarantee it.

What kind of liberty then, guarantees liberty of soul?  The kind that comes in a belief in God, Jesus Christ and their plan and purpose for us.  There are three people that I can think of and have read about that exhibited this liberty of soul.  The first is Christ, whom Elder Boyd K. Packer talks about:

During all of the taunting, the abuse, the scourging, and the final torture of crucifixion, the Lord remained silent and submissive. Except, that is, for one moment of intense drama which reveals the very essence of Christian doctrine.

That moment came during the trial. Pilate, now afraid, said to Jesus: “Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?” (John 19:10).

One can only imagine the quiet majesty when the Lord spoke. “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above” (John 19:11).

What happened thereafter did not come because Pilate had power to impose it, but because the Lord had the will to accept it.

“I lay down my life,” the Lord said, “that I might take it again.

“No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (John 10:17–18).

He, by choice, accepted the penalty for all mankind for the sum total of all wickedness and depravity; for brutality, immorality, perversion, and corruption; for addiction; for the killings and torture and terror—for all of it that ever had been or all that ever would be enacted upon this earth.

The second is Joseph Smith, who during and after all the abuse he endured, while on the way to his death said: "I am going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am as calm as a summer's morning."

The third is Paul, who at the end of his ministry full of abuse and jail time said: 

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:6–8.)

Surely Paul, in his soul, enjoyed perfect freedom.  The Apostle’s conclusion that the reward won by him is to be available to others suggests that there must be a pattern of living by which each of us may attain it.  This is true liberty of soul.

Why not?

1 Nephi 17-22
"Hearken to the Truth and Give Heed"

I remember reading chapter 17 from first Nephi in college and having a light bulb moment.  It's one of those moments when you realize something you've been taught all your life is really true.

In chapter 17, the Lord asks Nephi to build a ship to transport his family to the promised land. Nephi had never built a ship before, but when he was instructed to do so, he didn't hesitate in response, which was: where should I go to get the tools?  His faith and testimony earlier of "the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." shines through here.  His brothers, Laman and Lemual, also didn't hesitate in their response of opposite nature: "Are you crazy?"  To which Nephi replies with a rehearsal of all the Lord has provided for them up to this point and also all that the Lord had done for their fathers and generations before, inciting especially Moses parting the red sea and leading the children of Israel to the promised land.  After he rehearses all these experiences to his brothers he says this in ch 17:51


And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot ^ainstruct me, that I should build a ship?


This was my light bulb moment!  It may be rather obvious to you, but at that time in my life, it was phenomenal and even as I think back on it I get the same feeling - which is a good thing since I'm required to do more and different things each day!  This, to me, is one of the main reasons that we have scriptures: evidence of the workings of the Lord in the lives of other people to help convince us that he can have the same miraculous effects in our lives today.  So, in order to avoid despair and loneliness, read the scriptures to remind you that there is hope for life and companionship and much, much more!


In Chapter 16 Lehi wakes up one morning to a surprise at his tent door.  He finds an instrument that we later learn is called the Liahona, which is a ball that works according to their faith and when it works it provides direction.  Direction is comfort and provide purpose and meaning.  The scriptures are just like our liahona.  They are literally at our tent door every morning (see your ipad, itouch, cell phone, computer, CD's, and other devices. . . oh and the actual book).  How often to we check it for direction?  For hope for companionship? For love? To correct or maintain our course?  You don't have to be a scholar or take enormous amounts of time to receive the benefits, you just have to read a little with the faith that you will receive guidance.


"And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things." 1 Ne 16:29

Great and Abominable Church . . . and other stuff

Reading: 1 Ne 12-14

These chapters are a continuation of the dream/vision that Nephi had, which is in response to the dream that his father, Lehi, had about the tree of life.  This portion of the dream has some similarities with the information that John the Revelator gave in the book of Revelations, and is, in fact, apocalyptic, or having to do with the history and future of the world.

Before I proceed further I must send you to a really, really, really great article written by Stephen Robinson, a professor of Ancient Scripture at BYU.  His article changed the way I thought about how I view religious events in history and the future:

"Warring against the Saints of God,"  found in the Ensign, January 1988

1 Ne 13:4-9 states some of the characteristics of the great and abominable church.  The context is Jerusalem, right after the death of the Savior and the death of the set apart 12 apostles. Stephen Robinson compares the words Nephi uses to describe the great and abominable church, to the words John uses to describe Babylon (I copied and pasted from his article for brevity) :

1. It persecutes, tortures, and slays the Saints of God. (See 1 Ne. 13:5, Rev. 17:6; Rev. 18:24.)

2. It seeks wealth and luxury. (See 1 Ne. 13:7–8, Rev. 17:4; Rev. 18:3, 11–16.)

3. It is characterized by sexual immorality. (See 1 Ne. 13:7, Rev. 17:1–2, 5.)

4. It has excised plain and precious things from the scriptures. (See 1 Ne. 13:26–29.)

5. It has dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. (See 1 Ne. 14:11, Rev. 17:15, 18; Rev. 18:3, 23–24.)

6. Its fate is to be consumed by a world war, when the nations it incites against the Saints war among themselves until the great and abominable church itself is destroyed. (See 1 Ne. 22:13–14, Rev. 17:14–16; Rev. 18:23.)

The one difference is that Nephi sees that the great church takes away plain and precious things from the Bible, which Brother Robinson says makes sense, since John was actually writing some of the things that would be taken out.

Brother Robinson also concludes that the church mentioned in Capter 13 is actually a real entity, but it's name or really anything about it other than they were anti-Christ is not known.  Here is what I shared with my class concerning the subject:

"In 1 Nephi 13, the great and abominable church is one specific church among many. Nephi’s description of it as “most abominable above all other churches” (1 Ne. 13:5, 26) does not make sense otherwise. Moreover, the great and abominable church in chapter 13 has a specific historical description: it was formed among the Gentiles after the Jews transmitted the Bible in its purity to the Gentiles. (1 Ne. 13:26.) It is also the specific historical agent responsible for excising plain and precious truths from the scriptural record.

This period might be called the blind spot in Christian history, for it is here that the fewest primary historical sources have been preserved. That different [church] can accurately be described as hellenized Christianity.

The hellenization of Christianity is a phenomenon that scholars of Christian history have long recognized. Hellenization refers to the imposition of Greek culture and philosophy upon the cultures of the East. The result was a synthesis of East and West, a melting pot of popular culture that was virtually worldwide. In the realm of religion, however, synthesis means compromise, and when we speak in terms of the gospel, compromise with popular beliefs means apostasy from the truth.

When Jewish Christianity and Greek culture met head-on in the gentile mission field in the middle of the first century, a great battle of beliefs and life-styles arose. The Greeks’ world-view eventually won, and Jewish Christianity was revised to make it more attractive and appealing to a Greek audience.

In order to satisfy the Gentiles steeped in Greek philosophy, Christianity had to throw out the doctrines of an anthropomorphic God [a God with a body] and the resurrection of the dead, or reinterpret them drastically."  Which is what Paul fought against so forcefully.

Nephi sees a number of other things including the settlement of the Americas by a man (later identified as Columbus) and the revolutionary war and that the immigrants brought with them the Bible that had plain and precious truth missing from it's doctrine.

Those truths are restored with the coming forth of The Book of Mormon and it's doctrines.

What truths are restored?

Namely the ones that were taken by hellenized Christianity: that there was in fact a Christ, and that he was resurrected.  Two essential truths to understanding the plan of God for us. In addition to those things, there are other plain and precious truths restored in the pages of and because of the doctrines in The Book of Mormon: proper baptism with proper authority, more detail of the atonement, what happens after this life, how to live the commandments in this life, how to live the higher law that Christ gave during his earthly ministry, that one can receive personal revelation, service, charity and much more.

This does not mean the Bible does not contain these doctrines, it does and we would know Christ without it, obviously.  But The Book of Mormon, as it says on the cover, is "Another Testament of Jesus Christ."  It does testify of Christ and it does this via the inhabitants on the American continents.  Same doctrine, but different people and experiences bring different perspective and in some cases, more clarity to Christian doctrines.

1 Ne 13:40-41 states the purpose of The Book of Mormon (vs 26-41 gives the whole picture)

In chapter 14, Nephi again recognizes a great and abominable church, but in a more general manner.  Same characteristics, but not narrowed down to a specific church.  It's pretty much anything that is evil or leads someone to do evil and the founder is the Devil, who by the way, doesn't care one stitch for your true happiness.

Verses 8-14 say that the Devil's church is over all the earth and that there are little pockets of Saints throughout the world.  

"It came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were ^aarmedwith ^brighteousness and with the ^cpower of God in great glory."

The way to protect ourselves from the power of the Devil is to be a covenant people, that is, we make promises to God and He makes promises to us and acting upon those promises will provide protection during and after it's all over.

Brother Robinson stresses again, that this is more a matter of your heart than it is what church you are a member of

"In either the apocalyptic sense or the historical sense, individual orientation to the Church of the Lamb or to the great and abominable church is not by membership but by loyalty. Just as there [are] Latter-day Saints who belong to the great and abominable church because of their loyalty to Satan and his life-style, so there are members of other churches who belong to the Lamb because of their loyalty to him and his life-style. Membership is based more on who has your heart than on who has your records."

It seems to me that Lehi, Nephi, John and other have visions such as these to encourage us to be prepared for opposition.  We need to know the characteristics of opposition, so that we can choose between right and wrong.  We also need be ahead of the game with our spiritual strength, knowledge and faith so that when opposition comes (in all it's many, many general and personal forms), we are not caught clinging to what we have heard or may have been taught, but that we know where to find our strength, having had experiences with it beforehand, are "continually holding fast" (as Lehi says) to the doctrines of eternal truths.

A vision of directions

Reading 1 Nephi 8-11: 12:16-18; 15  (This link starts at chapter 8, you can flip throught chapters as you like)

We are going to talk about two visions today, both have the same subject matter but they give different information regarding the subject.  As I studied these chapters a verse from the book of John kept coming to me. It is after the resurrection of the Lord, one of the times he showed himself to his apostles.  Thomas, who at first didn’t believe it was the Lord, felt the prints in his hands and side and was assured of the Christ.

John 20:29

29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Although we have not seen the vision ourselves, like Lehi and Nephi, they paint a clear enough picture for us to be able to feel the spirit, so that we may believe on their words.

Here is a quick review of the components of the visions and their meaning:

These components are found in Ch 8 of 1 Nephi from around v 7 – v 26, there are a few other components in other chapters and I will make sure we include those.

V 7 – dark and dreary waste (film before clarity in the dream)

V 9 – large and spacious field (world – the chalkboard)

V 10 – tree and fruit (love of God 11:22, but partaking of the fruit is “receiving of the ordinances and covenants whereby the atonement can become fully efficacious in our lives”– Elder Bednar, “Lehi’s Dream: Holding Fast to the Rod”)

V 13 – river of water, along the tree, 1 Ne 12:16 indicates filthy water that begins with a fountain and extends into a river, 8:17 indicates that the head of the river is away from the tree

V 19 – rod of iron that led to the tree (by the bank of the river), 11:25 - the word of God, scriptures, personal revelation, words of the prophets.

V20 – straight and narrow path, by the iron rod, going to the tree, “by the head of the fountain, unto a large a spacious field, as if it had been a world.”  Can you go beyond the tree? Yes.  I believe this is what the scriptures refer to as "adding to or taking away from" the doctrine of Christ.  There is no interpretation for the straight and narrow path, it is self-explanatory.  2 Ne 31:18 indicates that there is a gate to the path and it is following the Savior’s example in baptism.

            This fountain is referred to in Ch. 11:25 as the fountain of living waters and is synonymous to the tree

 V 23 – mist of darkness (around the rod/path) – 12:17 – the temptations of the devil

V 26 – great and spacious building (across the river of water, in the air, above the earth, filled with people) – 11:35-36, pride and wisdom of the world

After Lehi told his family about the vision he had, Nephi wanted to see it for himself and to know a little more about it.  To do so, he employed three forces:

READ 1 Nephi 11:1

1.     He desired

2.     He believed

3.     He pondered (many instrumental revelations have come by taking the time to ponder)

It was during his pondering that he was caught away on a high mountain where the angel engaged Nephi in an instructive exercise agency.  The questions the angel asks Nephi are question we can ask ourselves daily:

Vs 2 “What desirest thou?

Vs 3 Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?

Nephi assured the angel (whom he later indicates was the Spirit of the Lord – v. 11) that he believed all the words of his father.  After some rejoicing, Nephi was shown the tree which his father saw and was asked again in vs 10 “What desirest thou?” He responded that he wanted to know the interpretation – what does it all mean?

Instead of just telling Nephi the definitions of all the components of the tree of life, he lets Nephi interpret the components of his dreams by experience and feelings.  With the help of my wonderfully supportive and technologically adept husband, we are going to view just a little of what Nephi saw.

He begins by viewing Jerusalem and the city of Nazareth. Then the angel asks him what he saw next:

At this point in my lesson I showed video of the birth of the Savior to help the class understand a little of what Nephi may have experienced and felt.  You can view here:

New LDS Church Bible story video

After seeing or understanding the condescension of both God the Father, and also Jesus Christ, the angel asks him what the meaning of the tree was.  His answer is in vs 22-23:

READ 1 Ne 11:22-23

At this point in the vision, Nephi has not witnessed any deeds or services by the Savior, but he has witnessed the deeds and service of God the Father, which fits perfectly with John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Elder Bednar: “Thus, the birth, life, and atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ are the greatest manifestations of God’s love for His children.” “Lehi’s Dream: Holding Fast to the Rod.”

Then the angel shows his the next component of the vision, another part of the Savior’s life to give explanation:

READ 1 Ne 11:24-26  – as we watch this clip, keep in mind that it represents the iron rod, or the word of God.

This is a 30 minute video clip, but it covers the events in that that angel showed Nephi the second and third reading

Second video clip

Nephi feels and beholds that the rod of iron represents the word of God, by witnessing “the Son of God going forth among the children of men,”  by being baptized by Johm, that there were 12 men who followed him, that Jesus healed multitudes of people both spiritually and physically.  All incidents that are recorded in the Bible – one of the volumes of the word of God.  

Then the angel helps Nephi feel the oppositional component in the vision by showing him the end of the Savior’s life.

READ 1 Ne 11:35-36 – there are certain words in this passage of Jesus’ and the apostles experience that indicate the great and spacious building

           

            Vs 32 - judged (by the wisdom of the world)

            Vs 34 – gathered together to fight

These words were used in describing Christ's arrest and death.

Then in describing the great and spacious building, he used similar words:

            Vs 35 – the wisdom of the world

            Vs 35 – gathered together to fight

            Vs 36 – all of the above happens because of pride

Evaluate for a moment the two visions. 

In the beginning of class we constructed the elements of Lehi’s vision on the chalkboard and gave everything definitions.  Defining scriptural symbols is extremely important and must be done in order to understand what the Lord wants us to know.

While we watched some of the Savior’s life, we felt the definition of the components of the dream, which is the driving force behind action.  Action that leads to a wise use of agency.

Elder Packer also talks about how to hold fast to the rod:

The mist of darkness will cover you at times so much that you will not be able to see your way even a short distance ahead. You will not be able to see clearly. But you can feel your way. With the gift of the Holy Ghost, you can feel your way ahead through life. Grasp the iron rod, and do not let go. Through the power of the Holy Ghost, you can feel your way through life. (See 3 Nephi 18:25; D&C 9:8.) “Lehi’s Dream and You” BYU devotional address delivered on 16 January 2007.

If you have felt a stirring in you heart, or felt hope or felt light or inspired or peaceful while reading or watching the clips, that is the Spirit of the Lord.  If you felt direction to do something good or change something in your life or to continue doing good things you are doing now, that is the Lord's will for you.  This is how the Spirit of the Lord communicates with you.  If you listen to that Spirit and act on the inspiration you receive you will progress toward eternal life and have joy in this life.