friday: Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi, Chapter 2

chapter summary
Lehi's family leave their home to travel in the wilderness.

stand-out scriptures

2:4  And it came to pass that he 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.

Reading this verse always reminds me of a Family Home Evening we had when I was about 10 years old. My father sat us all down and, very seriously, told us that the prophet had asked us to sell our house, cars, toys and travel on foot to Jackson County, Missouri. I think my eyes were as big as saucers. Immediately, my mind went to my American Girl dolls. I suddenly panicked that I'd have to leave them. My dad then said that he had also been called to serve a second mission and that he would have to leave us for a few years. Dad's face was stern and unmoving. Brother and sisters all exchanged frantic looks, unsure how to react. We looked to mom. She wouldn't lie to us. But her face was unmoving as well. Dad asked something to the effect of: "So will we obey the Lord? Or stay here?" Quite terrified, we nonetheless nodded our heads and said that we would go. We would sell our toys and work hard while he was gone on a mission. Of course, it was just an object lesson and my parents quickly told us the comparison to Lehi and his family having to leave Jerusalem and everything they owned. They said they were proud of us that we had chosen to obey the Lord like Nephi and not complain and doubt the Lord like Laman and Lemuel. Though they reassured us several times that we weren't moving, I think the panic stayed with me for a few days. :) But I often think back on that FHE. If I was called today to sell everything and move, or if I was called to serve a mission and leave my husband and family, would I do it? Yes. I would. BUT...would I do it wholeheartedly with complete faith in the Lord and never once question my calling or murmur about the conditions? I hope so. I don't know if I would be as strong as Nephi. But I also know I'm not perfect, and often Nephi seems to be pretty perfect in everything. But that's always the goal: strive for perfection even though I will not achieve it on this earth. But I can achieve perfect faith while in this earthly tabernacle. One day at a time.

2:15 And my father dwelt in a tent.

I remember my Valiant 11 Primary class pretty vividly. Of course, the boys were always a little rowdy and always sarcastic. One teacher we had asked if anyone had a scripture memorized. One boy, tall and skinny with blonde haired, said, "I do! 'And my father dwelt in a tent.'" Everyone snickered, because in our minds he had outwitted the teacher by picking one of the shortest scriptures. (Oh how clever you think you are at that age.) Because of that experience, and the shortness of the verse, I've always had it memorized. But I never understood why that one sentence was so important. Couldn't it have just been added to the verse above it? Did it really need its own line? YES. In college, I learned in my Religion class that it does have a special significance.

"In the ancient Near East, to dwell in a tent was considered a great honor, especially compared to living in a house in the city. It represented living close to and trusting in the Lord. Also, the father's tent was considered the center of the whole community" (Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, 243).

2:20-24  20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; 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 cut off from the presence of the Lord.  22 And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.  23 For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also.  24 And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance.

Everything rests on keeping the commandments. It is the one principle given Lehi's family for governing themselves in the Promised Land. If they keep the commandments they will prosper, meaning they will have the Spirit of the Lord. If they do not keep the commandments and rebel then they will be cut off from the Spirit of the Lord. I grew up in the church, so I know from the stories that Laman and Lemuel will rebel. As my little cousin Collette says, "Nephi chose the right, but Laman and Lemuel chose the left." So why bring Laman and Lemuel in the first place? They were cranky to begin with. Well, 1: Lehi loved them and hoped they would change. He kept his family together. The Lord does not want to see families torn apart. 2: It was all a part of the plan. Laman and Lemuel had their free agency. And Heavenly Father knew all the possible choices they could make and all of the possible end results from those choices. Had they chosen to choose righteousness instead of wickedness then some other body of people would be brought to serve its purpose. "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11). The Lamanites (who will be the descendants of Laman and Lemuel) "shall be a scourge unto [the Nephites], to stir them up in the ways of remembrance." I can only imagine Nephi's devastation hearing this from the Lord. He must have worked with ferocity to keep his brothers on the right path and in righteousness. Lehi knows this, too. And in this chapter counsels with Laman and Lemuel individually on being firm, steadfast, and looking to Christ who is the "fountain of all righteousness" (2:9).

***

picture 1: Lehi's Family Leaving Jerusalem, by Scott Snow
picture 2: Lehi Building an Altar of Stones in the Valley of Lemuel, by Clark Kelley Price

thursday: Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi, Chapter 1

chapter summary
Nephi describes his father's visions while in Jerusalem.

stand-out scriptures

1:1  I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

 Often, it seems, we focus on the phrase "born of goodly parents." I, myself, was born of goodly parents, but also born of goodly grandparents, aunts, uncles and ancestors in general. Each member, each ancestor, that makes up my family contributes to this "goodly" legacy that created the parents I was born to. More and more I realize the importance of knowing our ancestors, knowing their goodly attributes, and how their trials and triumphs make me goodly. A little over a year ago, my great-grandmother, Virginia Kartchner Larkins, passed away. She was 89 years old. More than two years ago, my other great-grandmother, Ella Watterson Smith Getty, passed away. She was 96 years old. I count my blessings that I enjoyed the company of my two great-grandmothers and knew them. It is a sobering thought that my own children will not know them here on this earth. I wrote this the weekend of Grandma GG's (Larkins) funeral: 

After dinner Sunday night we went to the Kaysville Cemetary. We looked at both the Larkins and Smith sides. My grandma Trudy bounced around with a passion telling everything she could about our dear ancestors. She so greatly wants us to remember them. Remember that they lived. Remember their importance as our forbears.

I feel "highly favored of the Lord" because of my family. We are told that one of the most important words in the scriptures is remember. Not only do we need to remember our Savior, remember the commandments, and remember that we are children of God, but we need to remember our ancestors and turn our hearts to them.

It seems like Nephi is saying towards the end of this verse that since he has been favored and since he has a knowledge of God, he must make a record. When you are blessed to have the gospel, you are commanded to share it. It is a written testimony.

1:2  Yea, I make a record in the language of my father, which consists of the learning of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.

This scripture had never stood out to me before. It seems pretty self-explanatory. But I did a little research on it and found that this verse is much more interesting when you know the differences in length between Hebrew and Egyptian. The gold plates were written in reformed Egyptian which was a type of shorthand. In Mormon 9:32-33, Mormon explains, "that if the plates had been larger they would have been written in Hebrew, and then the record would have been without imperfections" (Book of Mormon Student Manual, 4). But the plates weren't larger and writing on them was difficult enough to begin with. The interesting thing is that Hebrew is already a very compact language. "A typical English sentence of fifteen words will often translate into seven to ten Hebrew words...if they rejected Hebrew because the plates were not 'sufficiently large' then reformed Egyptian must have been a language remarkable for its ability to convey a lot of information with few words" (4). My testimony of Joseph Smith and his translation of the gold plates just swells with that simple fact. He "translated the Book of Mormon from hieroglyphics, the knowledge of which was lost to the world" (History of the Church 6:74).

1:12  And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.

Another simple scripture. But powerful in its promise. I think that's why daily scripture study is so vital. If we are filled with the Spirit daily, we will draw closer to him, and like Lehi be spiritually prepared to receive counsel and guidance from the Lord.

1:20  And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance.

What an awesome promise. If we are faithful we will have those tender mercies from the Lord bestowed upon us. I've noticed that the phrase "tender mercies" has become more commonly used in church since Elder Bednar gave his talk, "The Tender Mercies of the Lord" in General Conference April 2005. And that's wonderful! It is the small things that sometimes matter the most when we desperately need assurance from on high. Elder Bednar explains in his talk that as a new apostle he was nervous about his calling and felt inadequate. But right before he came to the pulpit to give his talk, the congregation sang "Redeemer of Israel." That simple but powerful hymn assured Elder Bednar that he was called of God.

He says, "My mind was drawn immediately to Nephi’s phrase 'the tender mercies of the Lord,' and I knew in that very moment I was experiencing just such a tender mercy. A loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance through a hymn selected weeks previously. Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them."

It is a wonderful talk and can be read in its entirety here.

***

And so the chapter ends with Lehi desperately trying to warn the people of their imminent destruction and captivity. Even though countless other prophets warned the people as well, they would not listen. Jeremiah, the "head prophet" you could say, was imprisoned for his warnings. "The declaration that God would turn against his chosen people and allow his sacred temple and his holy city to be destroyed was considered an outrage...Had Lehi remained in Jerusalem, he likely would have received a similar fate or worse" (5). Jerusalem was ripe in both spiritual and political corruption. It was only a matter of time. And so, Lehi will be called to leave and start anew.