In this chapter we see a family rejoicing at discovering one's familial connections through genealogy. A desire to belong, and to know where one belongs, seems to be an innate characteristic of the human condition: witness the longing of adoptive children to find their biological parents; the formation of gangs in fatherless inner city neighborhoods; the statistical probability of psychological well-being if raised by one's own two married parents. This longing, I believe, is God-given, a call for us to become sealed to and linked to the great family of God, through temple covenants, which connect us and seal us to the family of Abraham, and the family of Noah, and the family of Adam, as God's children and sons and daughters.
Of all the hundreds of stories about their ancestors which the family of Lehi learns about as they study the brass plates, they seem to focus their attention and find it to be of particular importance to remember that their family was "led out of captivity" by God. 1 Nephi 5:15.
Remembering when one's ancestors were in captivity, and remembering that they were led out of captivity, seems to be a recurrent theme throughout the Book of Mormon. (See for example Alma 36:2, and Alma 36:29, in which the remembrance of captivity and of being led from captivity, is incorporated into the early and latter portions of the chiasmus of Alma the Elder's repentance-focused serrmon to his son.)
I believe the key and primary reason for this focus is because of its symbolic value in emphasizing and reemphasizing the central message of the Book of Mormon: that Christ has delivered us from the captivity of death and sin. It is this message, and what we must do to benefit from that deliverance, which should be our focus when we read the scriptures, as it seemed to be for Lehi's family.
Sunday, July 16, 2017
First Nephi Chapter 4
I've always struggled with some of the theological implications of this Chapter, as with some of the Chapters in the Bible, in which the Lord commands violence for His divine purposes. I don't know that I will fully resolve those struggles in this lifetime, though I take note that people die every day and if the Lord wants to delay that death, or hasten it, these things are out of our hands in any event. Whenever I might die, I will be responsible for the life I have lived up until that point.
On this reading, I focused on another issue, the sequence of events which, per Nephi's reasoning, could cause a nation to dwindle and perish in unbelief (1 Nephi 4:13-27). That sequence apparently involves:
- A nation being deprived of its scriptures.
- A nation therefore losing its knowledge of the law and commandments of God;
- That nation then being unable to follow the commandments of God.
We know that the Savior's atonement is infinite and extends to the benefit of all men, so that the individual members of a nation which has so fallen may still be saved. Why then the concern in the interim? The rational answer to this question, in my mind, is that having the Gospel in our lives is a blessing to us in THIS lifetime. We are living part of our own eternity right now. Today. The atonement can improve and bless our lives, not just in the eternities and in the hereafter. But right now, today. If we let it.
Sunday, January 29, 2017
1st Nephi Chapter 3
Synopsis: Lehi's sons go to Jerusalem to retrieve the Brass Plates of Laban containing Old Testament scriptures. Their attempts fail, so they beat up Nephi with a stick, until an angel of the Lord stops them and tells them to try again.
A WORD / THE SAVIOR
Lord. When Nephi returns from his own revelatory experience, he describes it as speaking to the Lord. It is clear that the English text of the Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith in King James English, so that both its earliest and its later readers, would recognize it as a companion to the Bible, written in similar reverential language, which was not the actual vernacular of 1820s America, or 1600s England either. We know that one of the choices made by the King James translators, in order to avoid too frequent use of holy names, was to translate the Hebrew JHWH, not into the English, Jehovah, but into the word Lord. It is likely that Nephi's original usage has been similarly modified. The Jerusalem Bible, which reinserts "Jahweh" in lieu of Lord throughout the Old Testament, provides some interesting insights, such as in Genesis 4:26, which in the English KJV makes no sense (not until Enosh's day did people first begin to call upon the Lord?) but which in the New Jerusalem Bible informs us that Enosh "was the first to invoke the name of Yahweh" in calling upon God (which leads me to the incredibly irresponsible but highly intriguing speculative inquiry: was this the point in time when, having overseen the creation of earth by His son, participated directly in the creation of man, and watched over the events of the fall, God's divine investiture of authority upon His son Jehovah first took place?) https://www.lds.org/ensign/2002/04/the-father-and-the-son?lang=eng
In any event, it is helpful, I believe, to remember that Lord refers to a specific being, Jehovah, speaking with divine investiture on behalf of His and our Father, and is not a generic honorific for deity, but is the name of a named member of the Godhead.
A DOCTRINE
Nephi is sure if the Lord gives a commandment, He will find a way to ensure it can be fulfilled. The brothers then come up with a plan, which fails miserably; followed by another plan, which fails even more miserably. The interesting point here is that they don't pray to know what to do, nor seek the Lord's confirmation that their plans will work, before either of these failed attempts. In the next chapter, when Nephi goes back in a third attempt to obtain the plates, knowing not beforehand how he will do so, but being led by the spirit, things work out. Reliance on our own wisdom won't always get us very far, it seems. This reminds me of the many times in my own life (starting with an event on my mission that has long been seared into my memory, but too frequently forgotten when most needed) when I have, perhaps in some priesthood leadership capacity, been called upon to advise others, and how often I have failed to give any advice or counsel which was worth anything, until I prayed for guidance, and let the Spirit tell me what to say. And thus we learn that we aren't alone down here, and we don't have to figure everything out for ourselves.
A WORD / THE SAVIOR
Lord. When Nephi returns from his own revelatory experience, he describes it as speaking to the Lord. It is clear that the English text of the Book of Mormon was given to Joseph Smith in King James English, so that both its earliest and its later readers, would recognize it as a companion to the Bible, written in similar reverential language, which was not the actual vernacular of 1820s America, or 1600s England either. We know that one of the choices made by the King James translators, in order to avoid too frequent use of holy names, was to translate the Hebrew JHWH, not into the English, Jehovah, but into the word Lord. It is likely that Nephi's original usage has been similarly modified. The Jerusalem Bible, which reinserts "Jahweh" in lieu of Lord throughout the Old Testament, provides some interesting insights, such as in Genesis 4:26, which in the English KJV makes no sense (not until Enosh's day did people first begin to call upon the Lord?) but which in the New Jerusalem Bible informs us that Enosh "was the first to invoke the name of Yahweh" in calling upon God (which leads me to the incredibly irresponsible but highly intriguing speculative inquiry: was this the point in time when, having overseen the creation of earth by His son, participated directly in the creation of man, and watched over the events of the fall, God's divine investiture of authority upon His son Jehovah first took place?) https://www.lds.org/ensign/2002/04/the-father-and-the-son?lang=eng
In any event, it is helpful, I believe, to remember that Lord refers to a specific being, Jehovah, speaking with divine investiture on behalf of His and our Father, and is not a generic honorific for deity, but is the name of a named member of the Godhead.
A DOCTRINE
Nephi is sure if the Lord gives a commandment, He will find a way to ensure it can be fulfilled. The brothers then come up with a plan, which fails miserably; followed by another plan, which fails even more miserably. The interesting point here is that they don't pray to know what to do, nor seek the Lord's confirmation that their plans will work, before either of these failed attempts. In the next chapter, when Nephi goes back in a third attempt to obtain the plates, knowing not beforehand how he will do so, but being led by the spirit, things work out. Reliance on our own wisdom won't always get us very far, it seems. This reminds me of the many times in my own life (starting with an event on my mission that has long been seared into my memory, but too frequently forgotten when most needed) when I have, perhaps in some priesthood leadership capacity, been called upon to advise others, and how often I have failed to give any advice or counsel which was worth anything, until I prayed for guidance, and let the Spirit tell me what to say. And thus we learn that we aren't alone down here, and we don't have to figure everything out for ourselves.
Friday, January 20, 2017
First Nephi Chapter 2
THE SAVIOR
This Chapter reminds us that God is our creator. 1 Nephi 2:12 It is commonly said that Jesus Christ's birth combined divinity with mortality, as His mother, Mary was mortal, and the Son of God's Father was God. But perhaps that's not a 50%-50% combination. Through Mary, Christ also inherited something of the divine, as do we all, our bodies ultimately being the creation of our Heavenly Father as well.
A WORD
I'm interested in the word immovable (1 Nephi 2:10), which Lehi hopes Lemuel will become: "steadfast and immovable" like unto the Valley which Lehi names after him (one of the ancient Near East cultural points the Book of Mormon gets right, according to Nibley in Lehi in the Desert). The word immovable suggests that we should be different from the type of Saints which Paul describes in Ephesians: "tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine." And yet, that's what is interesting to me, because often, entirely opposite metaphors, metaphors of movement rather than immobility, are used to describe religious devotion. For example, the word most observant, devout, practicing Latter-day Saints use to describe themselves is not "observant" or "practicing" or "devout" but "active." Even in this chapter, we see Lehi using a movement metaphor for Laman, who is told to be like unto a river, which is constantly "running" into a source of spirituality.
So how are we to understand these seemingly opposite metaphors? In what way is righteousness based on active participation and running towards our goals, and in what way is it akin to steadfast immobility? I think the key is in personal choice, and the exercise of our agency. A person who is "tossed" to and fro is being tossed by an outside source, being acted upon instead of acting. A person who stands firm for what she believes in, not willing to be swayed by peer pressure or the currents of popular opinion, is choosing to be steadfast, to act and not be acted upon. A person who actively attends his meetings and magnifies his calling is choosing to do so. It is how we choose to exercise our moral agency that matters.
A DOCTRINE
It's fascinating to me that Nephi, always steadfast and immovable, says that upon crying unto the Lord, his heart was softened, so that he believed in the words of his father Lehi. Is it possible that Nephi, perfect in so many things, left Jerusalem with a hard heart, not any more excited upon his family's departure from their comfortable dwelling in Jerusalem than his murmuring elder brothers were? That his heart had to be softened? Apparently. If so, perhaps the main difference between Nephi and Laman and Lemuel was not that he was born more perfect than they, but that he was willing to cry unto the Lord for answers to his questions, and for help in softening his hardened heart. After that, the differences between them, which might not have been that large at first, grew exponentially, as Nephi's choices led him gradually in one direction, and Laman and Lemuel's sent them in another. Again, it's about how we exercise our moral agency. It's all about our choices.
Sunday, January 15, 2017
First Nephi Chapter 1
I have started this blog to make my own scriptural study more meaningful, by putting some of my pondering into writing, so I'm sure that I've actually done some such pondering. Cuz otherwise, . . . .
The format may change with time, but for now, when I finish a chapter I'll try to write down something I have learned about the Savior, and sometimes also identify and discuss any particular word and/or symbol and/or doctrine, that intrigued me or stood out to me as I read.
All thoughts in this blog are my own, written solely in my personal capacity, and not on behalf of any other person or group. All doctrinal assertions are based on my own personal understanding, and are not intended as a statement of the official doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All doctrinal speculations are probably wrong.
THE SAVIOR
We learn a beautiful doctrine about the Savior in the last verse of this first Chapter of the Book of Mormon, that it is His mission to make those who have faith in Him "mighty even unto the power of deliverance." 1 Nephi 1:20.
This calls to mind Elder David A. Bednar's many references to "the enabling power of the Atonement" which "stengthens us to do and be good and serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity." https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/david-a-bednar_strength-lord/
The verse suggests to me something about the nature and purpose of the Atonement, and of what we need to do to participate in obtaining its full blessings. Through the grace of Christ's Atonement, we can, and are asked to be, transformed into the type of person who is mighty. How mighty? Apparently mighty enough to play some part in our own deliverance, by repenting for our prior sins, and by obtaining strength to overcome our ongoing weaknesses, at least to the extent possible in this lifetime.
Or maybe that interpretation puts too much emphasis on the works side of the grace and works process, and maybe the "mighty even unto the power of deliverance" phrase is meant to help us see our own power to lead others to the deliverance that ultimately only the Savior offers. A person could spend a lot of time thinking through all the implications of verse 20, but there's my start.
A WORD
A word that intrigued me in this chapter, which discusses one of Lehi's earliest visions, as recounted to, and then by, his son Nephi, was the word "thought" in verse 8: ". . . and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne."
What does this mean exactly? Did Lehi see someone who looked like a divine being, sitting on a throne, and think it was probably God, but he wasn't sure if he was interpreting what he saw correctly? Or was he not sure what it was he saw?
It seems an odd word to use in the context of a visionary experience. But I assume this is what Lehi told Nephi. Apparently, when a Prophet has such an experience, he is shown certain images, but (unless there is some angelic being along his side, to explain to him the meaning of what he is seeing, such as Nephi gets later in this book) it is up to the Prophet to interpret the meaning of what he is seeing.
It is, of course, the nature of our mortal experience, to see through a glass darkly, and to develop faith in a place of uncertainty, and perhaps this verse demonstrates that this remains true for Prophets to the same extent as for the rest of us. Or perhaps Lehi didn't want to speak overly confidently of something that approached that level of sacredness, and his reticence to declare with firmness exactly what he (knew? he) had seen has more to do with reverence than with uncertainty.
In either event, the word shows a remarkable degree of humility on Lehi's part. He has had a visionary experience. He has been compelled to share it with others. But even in doing so, he is not willing to divulge more than he feels he can, in confidence, and with certainty, express. It's an interesting insight into Lehi's character. And a level of appropriate humility worth keeping in mind when we share our own spiritual experiences with others.
A SYMBOL
I've always been intrigued by the idea of Lehi being given a book to read in the middle of this vision. He's having a vision! Why isn't he just shown what the Lord wants him to learn instead of having him read about it in a book within the vision? I'm really not sure, but I think there's a great symbol here of the importance of seeking out knowledge on our own. Even in the midst of a vision, Lehi is not allowed to be passive, but is required to be a participant. He is asked to learn something by doing something. And the effect of reading the scriptures is demonstrated by what happens next: "as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord." And then when he awakes, he shares what he has seen and what he has learned. This is a compelling pattern, mirrored in much of what we do in the Church today: learn, feel the spirit, act, feel the spirit, grow, become, feel the spirit, share with others to help them feel the spirit (see, e.g., the Duty to God Program).
There is something about reading, putting into your mind a line of thought which was first thought by someone else, which has always fascinated me. It's an incredible process when you think about it, which works across time. I believe there is something about the act of reading written words that transforms us. I'm fascinated by those studies which have shown that when we read something in a physical form (on a piece of paper, or in a physical book) we are more likely to remember it than when we read the same information on a computer screen (though I still love my Kindle). I loved the recent movie Arrival, where learning to read the aliens' language alters the main character's sense of time. I wonder if reading the scriptures has a similar effect, transforming the synapses in our brains in a way that has a real world effect on those brains, and therefore the bodies connected to those brains, making us more apt to lean towards spiritual things and service to others.
A (SPECULATION ON) DOCTRINE
I may be wrong, but it seems to me there are at least two types of revelatory experiences which we use the word "vision" to describe. One such type, the kind that Lehi seems to be have experienced in this chapter, might be called a "Harry Potter Type Vision" (for that great line in the final HP book when Dumbledore says, "of course this is all happening in your head Harry, but why on earth should that make it any less real" or words to that effect). I may be wrong, but it seems to me that no actual beings appear, in physical tangible form, to Lehi, in this vision. Rather, he has seen images in his mind, or been given an experience, in his mind, which he now remembers as though he had lived through it, with respect to events and persons which are symbolic in nature, or which will happen in some (to Lehi) future time frame. The best analogy would be to a dream (and indeed Lehi and Nephi sometimes use this word to describe what he has experienced) although I imagine the experience would be much more vivid, much easier to remember, and much more certainly brought into our mind by an outside source, than a dream.
By contrast, other visionary experiences might be called "tangible visions." For example, it is my understanding and belief that when Joseph Smith had what we now call his "First Vision" that God the Father and Jesus Christ were in fact physically and tangibly present ("in reality" to use Joseph Smith's phrase from his account in the Pearl of Great Price), occupying the same geographical space and time as Joseph Smith was occupying, in that same moment, in that same grove, a few feet above his head. Ditto for other appearances of resurrected beings to Joseph Smith, especially when they interacted with him, such as at the restorations of the Priesthoods, though other visions, like that of Doctrine and Covenants 76, might be more of the HP type.
But here's the thing: whether a Prophet is having a tangible or an HP vision, he's still experiencing it "in his mind" in the sense that our senses ultimately transmit all of our experiences into our mind, where we in fact experience them. Joseph Smith compares his experience to Paul's who had in fact "seen a light and heard a voice" Joseph Smith History 1:24. Joseph too saw certain things with his eyes and heard certain things with his ears, which eyes and ears would then have transmitted that information to his mind, just as our senses do with all of our experiences. Thus, the experience of an objectively occurring "in reality" vision, such as the First Vision, might not be materially or significantly different than a vision such as Lehi was having in First Nephi 1. A lesson? What we put in our mind matters, whatever its source. It can transform us if we let it, for good or for ill, and if we feed our minds words of faith, Christ can make us mighty.
The format may change with time, but for now, when I finish a chapter I'll try to write down something I have learned about the Savior, and sometimes also identify and discuss any particular word and/or symbol and/or doctrine, that intrigued me or stood out to me as I read.
All thoughts in this blog are my own, written solely in my personal capacity, and not on behalf of any other person or group. All doctrinal assertions are based on my own personal understanding, and are not intended as a statement of the official doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All doctrinal speculations are probably wrong.
THE SAVIOR
We learn a beautiful doctrine about the Savior in the last verse of this first Chapter of the Book of Mormon, that it is His mission to make those who have faith in Him "mighty even unto the power of deliverance." 1 Nephi 1:20.
This calls to mind Elder David A. Bednar's many references to "the enabling power of the Atonement" which "stengthens us to do and be good and serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity." https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/david-a-bednar_strength-lord/
The verse suggests to me something about the nature and purpose of the Atonement, and of what we need to do to participate in obtaining its full blessings. Through the grace of Christ's Atonement, we can, and are asked to be, transformed into the type of person who is mighty. How mighty? Apparently mighty enough to play some part in our own deliverance, by repenting for our prior sins, and by obtaining strength to overcome our ongoing weaknesses, at least to the extent possible in this lifetime.
Or maybe that interpretation puts too much emphasis on the works side of the grace and works process, and maybe the "mighty even unto the power of deliverance" phrase is meant to help us see our own power to lead others to the deliverance that ultimately only the Savior offers. A person could spend a lot of time thinking through all the implications of verse 20, but there's my start.
A WORD
A word that intrigued me in this chapter, which discusses one of Lehi's earliest visions, as recounted to, and then by, his son Nephi, was the word "thought" in verse 8: ". . . and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne."
What does this mean exactly? Did Lehi see someone who looked like a divine being, sitting on a throne, and think it was probably God, but he wasn't sure if he was interpreting what he saw correctly? Or was he not sure what it was he saw?
It seems an odd word to use in the context of a visionary experience. But I assume this is what Lehi told Nephi. Apparently, when a Prophet has such an experience, he is shown certain images, but (unless there is some angelic being along his side, to explain to him the meaning of what he is seeing, such as Nephi gets later in this book) it is up to the Prophet to interpret the meaning of what he is seeing.
It is, of course, the nature of our mortal experience, to see through a glass darkly, and to develop faith in a place of uncertainty, and perhaps this verse demonstrates that this remains true for Prophets to the same extent as for the rest of us. Or perhaps Lehi didn't want to speak overly confidently of something that approached that level of sacredness, and his reticence to declare with firmness exactly what he (knew? he) had seen has more to do with reverence than with uncertainty.
In either event, the word shows a remarkable degree of humility on Lehi's part. He has had a visionary experience. He has been compelled to share it with others. But even in doing so, he is not willing to divulge more than he feels he can, in confidence, and with certainty, express. It's an interesting insight into Lehi's character. And a level of appropriate humility worth keeping in mind when we share our own spiritual experiences with others.
A SYMBOL
I've always been intrigued by the idea of Lehi being given a book to read in the middle of this vision. He's having a vision! Why isn't he just shown what the Lord wants him to learn instead of having him read about it in a book within the vision? I'm really not sure, but I think there's a great symbol here of the importance of seeking out knowledge on our own. Even in the midst of a vision, Lehi is not allowed to be passive, but is required to be a participant. He is asked to learn something by doing something. And the effect of reading the scriptures is demonstrated by what happens next: "as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord." And then when he awakes, he shares what he has seen and what he has learned. This is a compelling pattern, mirrored in much of what we do in the Church today: learn, feel the spirit, act, feel the spirit, grow, become, feel the spirit, share with others to help them feel the spirit (see, e.g., the Duty to God Program).
There is something about reading, putting into your mind a line of thought which was first thought by someone else, which has always fascinated me. It's an incredible process when you think about it, which works across time. I believe there is something about the act of reading written words that transforms us. I'm fascinated by those studies which have shown that when we read something in a physical form (on a piece of paper, or in a physical book) we are more likely to remember it than when we read the same information on a computer screen (though I still love my Kindle). I loved the recent movie Arrival, where learning to read the aliens' language alters the main character's sense of time. I wonder if reading the scriptures has a similar effect, transforming the synapses in our brains in a way that has a real world effect on those brains, and therefore the bodies connected to those brains, making us more apt to lean towards spiritual things and service to others.
A (SPECULATION ON) DOCTRINE
I may be wrong, but it seems to me there are at least two types of revelatory experiences which we use the word "vision" to describe. One such type, the kind that Lehi seems to be have experienced in this chapter, might be called a "Harry Potter Type Vision" (for that great line in the final HP book when Dumbledore says, "of course this is all happening in your head Harry, but why on earth should that make it any less real" or words to that effect). I may be wrong, but it seems to me that no actual beings appear, in physical tangible form, to Lehi, in this vision. Rather, he has seen images in his mind, or been given an experience, in his mind, which he now remembers as though he had lived through it, with respect to events and persons which are symbolic in nature, or which will happen in some (to Lehi) future time frame. The best analogy would be to a dream (and indeed Lehi and Nephi sometimes use this word to describe what he has experienced) although I imagine the experience would be much more vivid, much easier to remember, and much more certainly brought into our mind by an outside source, than a dream.
By contrast, other visionary experiences might be called "tangible visions." For example, it is my understanding and belief that when Joseph Smith had what we now call his "First Vision" that God the Father and Jesus Christ were in fact physically and tangibly present ("in reality" to use Joseph Smith's phrase from his account in the Pearl of Great Price), occupying the same geographical space and time as Joseph Smith was occupying, in that same moment, in that same grove, a few feet above his head. Ditto for other appearances of resurrected beings to Joseph Smith, especially when they interacted with him, such as at the restorations of the Priesthoods, though other visions, like that of Doctrine and Covenants 76, might be more of the HP type.
But here's the thing: whether a Prophet is having a tangible or an HP vision, he's still experiencing it "in his mind" in the sense that our senses ultimately transmit all of our experiences into our mind, where we in fact experience them. Joseph Smith compares his experience to Paul's who had in fact "seen a light and heard a voice" Joseph Smith History 1:24. Joseph too saw certain things with his eyes and heard certain things with his ears, which eyes and ears would then have transmitted that information to his mind, just as our senses do with all of our experiences. Thus, the experience of an objectively occurring "in reality" vision, such as the First Vision, might not be materially or significantly different than a vision such as Lehi was having in First Nephi 1. A lesson? What we put in our mind matters, whatever its source. It can transform us if we let it, for good or for ill, and if we feed our minds words of faith, Christ can make us mighty.
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