For My Profit and Learning

As Lehi shares his final counsel with his son, Jacob, he explains "I have  chosen the good part" ( 2 Nephi 2:30 ). The doctrines he teaches about the importance of opposition, the creation and fall of Adam and Eve, and the role of Christ in the plan of salvation truly are some of the best parts of the Book of Mormon, and are among the most foundational doctrines of the gospel.  Jacob's Righteousness While we have not heard much about Jacob to this point, it is clear that he was a righteous person, and Lehi highlights some of the blessing's Jacob has received as a result. First, because Jacob had come to "know the greatness of  God", Lehi promises Jacob that God " shall consecrate thine  afflictions  for thy gain" ( 2 Nephi 2:2 ). One of the blessings of knowing God (through reading His word, communicating with Him, and trying to live like Him) is that the challenges you face, including your own sins, can be moments of learning and growth. In...

This is Lehi's last impassioned plea to his wayward sons Laman and Lemuel. It seems fitting a couple days after Father's Day to think about the range of emotions Lehi surely felt for his children and the deep concern he held for their well-being. What makes his plea so deeply heartbreaking is  that  ( SPOILER ALERT) Laman and Lemuel reject his counsel.  Throughout First Nephi there are numerous examples of Lehi and Nephi teaching, persuading, encouraging, and pleading with Laman and Lemuel, who go through fits and starts of wickedness, repentance, righteousness, complaining, slothfulness, and obedience. In so many stories in the scriptures, extreme trials, pain, and uncertainty eventually lead to victory and joy. These faith-promoting examples can motivate us to keep working and to have hope and patience. But what are we supposed to do with accounts that seem to lack a silver lining? Lehi labored his entire life in righteousness and...

"Pertaining to Things Both Temporal and Spiritual" When Nephi's brothers wonder aloud if the prophesies of Isaiah are literal or figurative, Nephi explains that they are both. Speaking of the scattering and gathering of Israel he says,  " Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual" ( 1 Nephi 22:3 ).  As the Jesuit priest and philosopher  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin  explains, “We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.”  When pursued mindfully, we can learn spiritual lessons from our daily tasks, whether we are washing dishes, filing financial reports, dressing a child, playing softball, studying mammals, or fixing a washing machine. These things can become a highly-personal metaphorical language that God will use to teach us eternal truths.  Jesus taught in parables and used the daily objects and sy...

Nephi quotes  Isaiah 49  to teach about the faithfulness and long-suffering of Christ in saving his people and fulfilling the covenants made to the  house of Israel . Isaiah refers to a "servant" believed by some to represent Israel in general terms, and by others to represent Christ.  Andrew C. Skinner, a Hebrew scholar and professor of ancient scripture at BYU, identified 12 characteristics of the "servant" described in 1 Nephi 21 (for more information read  this article  at Book of Mormon Central) that apply to both Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith. The servant is “called … from the womb” (1 Nephi 21:1; Isaiah 49:1);  ( 2 Nephi 3:7–9, 14–15 ). His “mouth [was] like a sharp sword” (1 Nephi 21:2; Isaiah 49:2);  ( D&C 6:2 ). He was hidden “in the shadow of [the Lord’s] hand” (1 Nephi 21:2; Isaiah 49:2);  ( D&C 86:9 ). He was “made … a polished shaft” tucked away in the Lord’s quiver (1 Nephi 21:2; Isaiah 49:2). He will feel t...

Nephi quotes extensive passages of Isaiah and applies them to himself and his family "t hat I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer"  ( 1 Nephi 19:23 ).  One of the main themes of chapter 20 (see also Isaiah 48 ) is the nature and mission of Jesus Christ. We learn that  Christ created the world ( 1 Nephi 20:13 ). He taught his people and performed miracles from the beginning of time to convince them of his power and divinity (1 Nephi 20:3). He invites all to " Come ye near unto [Him]" and emphasizes "I have not spoken in secret; from the beginning, from the time that it was declared have I spoken; and the Lord God, and his Spirit, hath sent me" ( 1 Nephi 20:16 ). His mission is to "teacheth [us] to profit," and "leadeth [us] by the way [we] shouldst go" ( 1 Nephi 20:17 ). We also get a glimpse into His patience with the House of Jacob (i.e. House of Israel, or Hebrews), which  refers to members of t...

Nephi explains his intent in keeping a record of his people is to preserve and share sacred things. He also offers an important caveat about his writings, and the writings of other prophets before him: "Nevertheless, I do not write anything upon plates save it be that I think it be sacred. And now, if I do err, even did they err of old; not that I would excuse myself because of other men, but because of the weakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself" (1 Nephi 19:6). Nephi implies that he would make mistakes, and that prophets before him had also made errors. This runs counter to most of our thinking about prophets and scriptures. I know that God speaks his will through divinely appointed prophets who have authority to teach the truth about God and his plan for us. Following the council of living prophets and the teachings of the scriptures is one of the most important things we can do for our own happiness and eternal salvation. So how should ...