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Video of Lehi’s journey

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Journey with the prophet Lehi and his family as they leave Jerusalem around 600 BC. The Lord is their light as they travel through the wilderness, sail the ocean, and obtain a promised land. (Based on 1 Nephi 1-18.)

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Book of Mormon Videos: Season 1 Official Trailer

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Journey with the prophet Lehi and his family as they leave Jerusalem around 600 BC. The Lord is their light as they travel through the wilderness, sail the ocean, and obtain a promised land. (Based on 1 Nephi 1-18.)

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1 Ne 8:2-4 insights
Lehi rejoices from what he sees in the future of Sam and Nephi. He sorrows because of what he foresees for Laman and Lemuel.
"Our Heavenly Father has a full knowledge of the nature and disposition of each of His children, a knowledge gained by long observation and experience in the past eternity of our primeval childhood; a knowledge compared with which that gained by earthly parents through mortal experience with their children is infinitesimally small. By reason of that surpassing knowledge, God reads the future of child and children, of men individually and of men collectively as communities and nations; He knows what each will do under given conditions, and sees the end from the beginning. His foreknowledge is based on intelligence and reason. He foresees the future as a state which naturally and surely will be; not as one which must be because He has arbitrarily willed that it shall be."—James E. Talmage (The Great Apostasy, pp. 19-20. )

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Video of Lehi’s Dream

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1 Ne 8:7-33 The symbolism in Lehi’s dream
SYMBOL (what Lehi saw) vs. MEANING - 1. Large and spacious field (v.9) = The world (v. 20).  2. Tree (v.10) = Jesus Christ / The Atonement (1 Ne 11:22).  3. Fruit (v.10) = The love of God unto Eternal Life / The blessings of the Atonement (1 Ne 15:36).  4. River of water (v.13) and the depths of the river = Depths of Hell (1 Ne 12:16). 5. Rod of iron (v.19) = The word of God (1 Ne 11:25).  6. Strait and narrow path (v.20) = The way to eternal life (2 Ne 31:18).  7. Mist of Darkness (v.23) = The temptations of the Adversary (1 Ne 12:17).  8. Great and spacious building = The vain imaginations and pride of the world (1 Ne 11:36, 12:18).  SYMBOL (what Nephi saw) vs. MEANING - 9. Fountain of living waters (1 Ne 11:25) = The Holy Ghost, yet another manifestation of the love of God (1 Ne 11:25). 10. Terrible gulf (1 Ne 12:18) = The justice of the Eternal God (1 Ne 12:18).

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1 Ne 8:10 insights
Elder Jeffrey Holland taught that the tree of life is a symbol of Jesus Christ. He said: “The images of Christ and the tree [are] inextricably linked... At the very outset of the Book of Mormon... Christ is portrayed as the source of eternal life and joy, the living evidence of divine love, and the means whereby God will fulfill his covenant with the house of Israel and indeed the entire family of man, returning them all to their eternal promises.” (Christ and the New Covenant, p. 160-162.)

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1 Ne 8:19
19 And I beheld a a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood.
(Parents have a divine responsibility to partake of the fruits of the gospel, and lead their children to partake of the fruit also.)
Ezra Taft Benson said: “We must engage in activities that bring spiritual power. I speak of such activities as immersing ourselves in the scriptures. There is a power that flows into our lives when we read and study the scriptures on a daily basis that cannot be found in any other way.” (1987-1988 BYU Devotional and Fireside Speeches)
Merrill J. Bateman said: “A casual, infrequent exposure to the scriptures will generally not open the door to the whisperings of the Spirit or provide insights.... There are certain blessings obtained when one searches the scriptures. As a person studies the words of the Lord and obeys them, he or she draws closer to the Savior and obtains a greater desire to live a righteous life. The power to resist temptation increases, and spiritual weaknesses are overcome. Spiritual wounds are healed....”
According to the vision, the only way we can reach the tree and become a permanent partaker of the fruit is by “continually holding fast” to the iron rod (1 Ne 8:30). What was the rod of iron? Nephi defined it as the “word of God”—the words of the living prophets and the scriptures which point people to Christ. Nephi further stated that those who hearkened and held fast to the word of God would not perish.
(See 1 Ne 15:24 - And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and God would never perish whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.)
...Holding fast to the iron rod builds faith in Christ and his work.... President Benson, in the April 1986 general conference, expressed these thoughts: “However diligent we may be in other areas, certain blessings are to be found only in the scriptures, only in coming to the word of the Lord and holding fast to it as we make our way through the mists of darkness to the tree of life.” (Ensign, May 1986, p. 82)
George Q. Cannon said: “Though impenetrable darkness should surround us, we ought, as a people and as individuals, to cling to that truth which the Lord has revealed concerning this work; cling to the Priesthood; cling to the ‘rod of iron,’ which is the word of God, and the word of God comes through the Priesthood. Let each one say: ‘I will serve God, no matter what happens; I will cling to His Priesthood, which God has put in His Church to govern it, no matter what the consequences may be.’ That is the integrity we should cherish, and which we should teach to our children. Unless we do, we will never accomplish that which God designs for us.” (Collected Discourses 1886-1898, vol. 5, edited by Brian H. Stuy, George Q. Cannon, April 5, 1897)

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26 And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the aother side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.
27 And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.
28 And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
(Neal A. Maxwell: “We see a few around us who simply can't stand to be separated from the ‘politically correct’ multitudes in the great and spacious building. These multitudes are ‘in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit’ (1 Nephi 8:26-27). The ‘finger of scorn’ has its own way of separating the faithful from those who have little or no faith (see 1 Nephi 8:33). Like Lehi, the faithful in our time will endure the pointing fingers of scorn from the world and ‘[heed] them not,’ even when the ironical fact is that some of those pointing fingers of scorn once grasped the iron rod.” (Lord Increase Our Faith, p.99)

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23 And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost. (Group 1 – Those who start on the path but then become lost in the mist of darkness.)
And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
(Group 2 – Those who hold to the
rod of iron until they reach the tree and partake of the fruit, but then become ashamed and fall away.)
30 But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down, (We will kneel at the feet of Jesus.) and partook of the fruit of the tree.
(Group 3 – Those who hold to the rod of iron until they reach the tree and partake of the fruit, and who then remain faithful.)
33 And great was the multitude that did enter into that strange building. And after they did enter into that building they did point the finger of scorn at me and those that were partaking of the fruit also; but we heeded them not
(These never intended to be on the path.  The great and spacious building has to do with our religion. Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon, 1:180.) .
(Group 4 – Those who never start on the path but instead go directly toward the great and spacious building. These four groups are similar to those found in the parable of the soil found in
Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side,
and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 18 ¶ Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, which received seed by the way side. (Group 4) the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when atribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. (Group 2)
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this aworld, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth (Group 1)
the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
(Group 3))

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1 Nephi 16-22

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1 Nephi 16
The wicked take the truth to be hard—

1 AND now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me:
Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.
(Neal A. Maxwell said: “God is not only there in the mildest expressions of His presence, but also in those seemingly harsh expressions. For example, when truth ‘cutteth ... to the very center’ (1 Ne. 16:2), this may signal that spiritual surgery is underway, painfully severing pride from the soul. (Ensign, November 1987, p. 31.) “There is kindness in this pain, for as truth, the Lord's laser, cuts through to all but the hardest of hearts, so the healing light of the gospel is let in. The outer encrustations of evil can make us so insensitive that only the cuts ‘to the very center’ have any hope of bringing the desired response!” (Things As They Really Are, p. 79.) “Most of us don't like to be cut to the center [see 1 Ne. 16:2], and when the gospel standards cut us it hurts. The tendency is to deal with the pain by rejecting further surgery. (For the Power Is in Them...: Mormon Musings, p. 49.))

3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might awalk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.
4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.
5 And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.
6 Now, all these things were said and done as my father dwelt in a tent in the avalley which he called Lemuel.
I knew that I had spoken ahard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the ctruth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.  (We can either be softened or hardened by our experiences. Wickedness never was happiness.) (Hugh Nibley said: “Nephi...refers constantly to his father's tent as the center of his universe.
To an Arab, ‘My father dwelt in a tent’ says everything....“So with the announcement that his father dwelt in a tent, Nephi serves notice that he had assumed the desert way of life, as perforce he must for his journey: any easterner would appreciate the significance and importance of the statement, which to us seems almost trivial. If Nephi seems to think of his father’s tent as the hub of everything, he is simply expressing the view of any normal Bedouin (Arabian tent dweller).”
(Lehi in the Desert and The World of the Jaredites, pp. 57-8)
7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, took one of the adaughters of Ishmael to bwife; and also, my brethren took of the cdaughters of Ishmael to wife; and also Zoram took the eldest daughter of Ishmael to wife (Note: The following quotes were copied from Book of Mormon lesson No. 2: “Our tradition that Ishmael's ancestry went back to Ephraim, son of Joseph, is based on a discourse given by Elder Erastus Snow, in Logan, Utah, on May 6, 1882. He said, ‘The prophet Joseph informed us that the record of
Lehi was contained on the 116 pages that were first translated and subsequently stolen, and of which an abridgment is given us in the First Book of Nephi, which is the record of Nephi individually, he himself being of the lineage of Manasseh; but that Ishmael was of the lineage of Ephraim, and that his sons married into Lehi's family, and Lehi's sons married Ishmael's daughters.’ From the above quotation and
from 1 Nephi 7:6 we may propose that two of Ishmael's sons had married daughters of Lehi and Sariah. That would mean the two families were already related by marriage, which might explain Lehi's seeming nonchalance about instructing his sons to bring Ishmael's family down into the wilderness. There might already have been marriage plans between the two families—only the setting for the ceremonies would now have to change from the city to the desert. Another reason why Ishmael's family
in particular was elected to join Lehi's was that Ishmael had five unmarried daughters; the four sons of Lehi along with Zoram would in time marry Ishmael's daughters—a perfect five-way match set up in advance by the Lord.” (Kent P. Jackson, ed., Studies in Scripture, Vol. 7: 1 Nephi to Alma 29, p. 30.)
Why does Nephi mention Ishmael and his family so casually? It was noticed, too, that when Nephi and his brothers were bringing Ishmael and his family into the wilderness from Jerusalem, two of the five daughters of Ishmael and his two sons and their families rebelled against the rest of the party. Ishmael was related in some way to Lehi. If the two men were related, that fact would readily explain Nephi’s
casual mention of Ishmael and his family... It is very probable, of course, that Joseph Smith’s
knowledge of the marriage of Ishmael’s sons to Lehi’s daughters was obtained when he translated the Book of Lehi, contained in the 116 pages of the lost manuscript. Since Ishmael’s two sons married into Lehi’s family, that Lehi had at least two daughters. It also seems obvious that these daughters were among his eldest children, Laman being his first born (2 Nephi 4:3). There is a later reference in the
Nephite record to Nephi’s sisters. When the Lord commanded Nephi and his faithful followers to flee into the wilderness away from the rebellious Laman and Lemuel and their families and associates, they complied as requested. (2 Nephi 5:6). The fact that sisters are mentioned means that at least two sisters
went with Nephi into the wilderness. Were these sisters the elder daughters of Lehi who had married Ishmael’s sons? It would seem highly improbable. For we remember that Lehi’s married daughters were among those who had rebelled against the faithful members of Nephi’s party when they were bringing Ishmael’s family from Jerusalem. It would be hard to believe that these rebellious daughters of Lehi would leave their husbands and children and desert to Nephi’s camp without his mentioning the fact.
Their sudden repentance is something that Nephi does not record. The only reasonable conclusion that we can come to is that the sisters of Nephi who accompanied him into the wilderness were two younger
daughters of Lehi. They were doubtless born to the patriarch in the wilderness after he had left
Jerusalem. Unfortunately their names are not given, nor is any special mention of their births recorded in the sacred text. Apparently they were born after Jacob and before Joseph. Answers to Book of Mormon Questions, Sidney B. Sperry, Chapter 2.
It’s also possible that daughters may have been born to Lehi after Nephi. For there to have been 15 years between Nephi and Jacob seems improbable for this era.)
8 And thus my father had fulfilled all the acommandments of the Lord which had been given unto him.
And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly
Jerusalem, he was not only married at the time he is speaking of his blessings, but also had children of
(From the foregoing, it appears that Nephi
is saying he was blessed because of his marriage. Since Nephi wrote his record 30 years after leaving
his own.)
And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord spake unto my father by night, and commanded him that
on the morrow he should take his ajourney into the wilderness.
10 And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning, and went forth to the tent door, to his
great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round aball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine
brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one bpointed the way whither we should go into
the wilderness.
(This is called the Liahona in Alma 37:38.
Hugh Nibley said: “Yah is, of course, God
Jehovah. Liyah means the possessive, ‘To God is the guidance,’ hona (Liyahhona). That's just a guess;
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don't put it down. But it's a pretty good guess anyway.” (Teachings of the Book of Mormon, lecture 14,
p. 216) Thomas S. Monson said: “The same Lord who provided a Liahona for Lehi provides for you and
for me today a rare and valuable gift to give direction to our lives, to mark the hazards to our safety, and
to chart the way, even safe passage—not to a promised land, but to our heavenly home. The gift to
which I refer is known as a patriarchal blessing. Every worthy member of the Church is entitled to
receive such a precious and priceless personal treasure.” (Live the Good Life, p. 36 - 37.) This seeric
device was certainly not a compass in the conventional sense. Rather than identify magnetic north, it
pointed the direction that they should travel. The Liahona proved to be a reflection of their faith, as it
would provide direction only as they were faithful and obedient. DCBM, 1:124.)
11 And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take aseed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness.
12 And it came to pass that we did take our tents and depart into the wilderness, across the river Laman. 13 And it came to pass that we traveled for the space of four days, nearly a south-southeast direction, and we did pitch our tents again; and we did call the name of the place aShazer.
(Hugh Nibley said: “As
to the direction taken by Lehi's party the Book of Mormon is clear and specific. He took what we now
know to have been the only possible way out, what with immediate danger threatening from the north,
and the eastern and western lands held by opposing powers on the verge of war. Only the south desert,
the one land where Israel's traders and merchants had felt at home through the centuries, remained open-
-even after Jerusalem fell this was so. And the one route into that desert was the great trade-road down
the burning trough of the Arabah. For a long time the party traveled south-southeast and then struck out
almost due east over a particularly terrible desert and reached the sea at a point to be considered later.
Nephi is careful to keep us informed of the main bearing of every stage of the journey, and never once
does he mention a westerly or a northerly trend. The party traveled for eight years in but two main
directions, without retracing their steps or doubling back, and many of their marches were long forced
marches.” All this entirely excludes the Sinaitic Peninsula as the scene of their wanderings, and fits
perfectly with a journey through the Arabian Peninsula. The slowest possible march "in a south-
southeasterly direction" in Sinai would reach the sea and have to turn north within ten days; yet Lehi's
people traveled "for many days," nay, months, in a south-southeasterly direction, keeping near the coast
of the Red Sea all the while. Ten days take a foot traveler the entire length of that coast of Sinai which
runs in a south-southeasterly direction--and what of the rest of the eight years?” (Lehi in the Desert and
The World of the Jaredites, pp. 54-5))
14 And it came to pass that we did take our bows and our arrows, and go forth into the wilderness to slay food for our families; and after we had slain food for our families we did return again to our families in the wilderness, to the place of Shazer. And we did go forth again in the wilderness, following the same direction, keeping in the most fertile parts of the wilderness, which were in the borders near the aRed Sea.
15 And it came to pass that we did travel for the space of many days, aslaying food by the way, with our bows and our arrows and our stones and our slings.
16 And we did follow the adirections of the ball, which led us in the more fertile parts of the wilderness. 17 And after we had traveled for the space of many days, we did pitch our tents for the space of a time, that we might again rest ourselves and obtain food for our families.
(The Lord expects us to all we can
for ourselves. Before class assign each of three students one of the examples below. Ask them to read
them and thoughtfully consider ways to resolve the dilemmas presented. In class, have them read or tell
their examples and offer their solutions. Give the class time to discuss their solutions and to offer
alternate ones.
• You have just been called to serve in the presidency of the priests quorum. Your family is excited
about your new responsibilities, but a disagreement emerges when they learn that you now have
meetings on Sunday mornings. Your parents also have Sunday morning meetings, and your family has
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depended on you to get your two little brothers ready and then drive all of your brothers and sisters to
church.
• For years your whole family has enjoyed cheering for you at your soccer games. Changes in the league
schedule have placed some games on Sunday. When you talk to your family, they are surprised that you
are worried about playing on Sunday. All are in favor of continuing the family outings to the games.
You decide to keep the Sabbath but now don’t know how to tell your family.
• Times have been difficult for your family. Not only is your dad working two jobs, but your mother,
your older brothers and sisters, and you have all been forced to take jobs too. On the way to your late-
night job, a drunk driver speeds through a red light and hits your car. You survive without injuries, but
your car is totaled. Even though the accident was not your fault, your entire family is upset at you
because they depended on the car. Even your dad loses his temper.
Explain that Nephi also faced difficult situations while traveling with his family in the wilderness. Ask:
Why would it be helpful to know how Nephi solved his family’s problems? Have students read 1 Nephi
16:17–21 and look for Nephi’s problem. Invite a student to summarize Nephi’s predicament and explain
it to the class. Ask: What could Nephi have done? List responses on the board and discuss them.
Read 1 Nephi 16:22–32 looking for Nephi’s response to the problem. Ask:
• What did Nephi do instead of complain like the rest of his family? (see v. 23).
• How does hard work and taking positive action help resolve your problems?
• Why did Nephi approach his father for help? (see vv. 23–26).
• What did the Lord tell Lehi to do? (see v. 26).
• How did the Liahona function? (see vv. 27–29).
• How was the family crisis resolved? (see vv. 30–32).
• Read Alma 37:44–46. According to these verses, what was the Liahona a type of (what did it
represent)?
• What can we learn from Nephi’s experience about handling life’s challenges?)
18 And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine asteel;
and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.
(Hugh Nibley said: “Through the years critics of the Book of Mormon have
constantly called attention to the mention of steel in that book as a gross anachronism. But now we are
being reminded that one cannot be dogmatic in dating the appearance of steel since there is more than
one kind of steel with ‘a whole series of variants in the combination of iron and steel components’ in
ancient times; and when a particularly fine combination was hit upon it would be kept secret in
‘individual workshops’ and ‘passed on from father to son for many generations.’ Hence it is not too
surprising to learn that ‘even in early European times’ there is evidence for the production of steel ‘of
very high quality’ and extreme hardness. Further east steel is attested even earlier.” (Since Cumorah, p.
254))
(Hugh Nibley: Nephi had brought a fine steel bow from home with him.
Though we shall consider steel again in dealing with the sword of Laban, it should be noted here that a
steel bow was not necessarily a solid piece of metal, any more than the Canaanites' "chariots of iron"
(Joshua 17:16-18; Judges 1:19; 4:3) were solid iron, or than various implements mentioned in the Old
Testament as being "of iron," e.g., carpenter's tools, pens, threshing instruments, were iron and only
iron. It was in all probability a steel-ribbed bow, since it broke at about the same time that the wooden
bows of his brothers "lost their springs" (1 Nephi 16:21). Only composite bows were used in Palestine,
that is, bows of more than one piece, and a steel-backed bow would be called a steel bow just as an iron-
trimmed chariot was called a "chariot of iron." Incidentally the founder of the Turkish Seljuk Dynasty of
Iran was called Yaqaq, which means in Turkish, says our Arab informant, "a bow made out of iron." The
fact that "Iron Arrow" was a fairly common name among those people, and refers actually to an iron-
headed arrow is a strong indication that the name Steelbow may also refer to a real weapon. Lehi in the
Desert and the World of the Jaredites, p. 66-67. William J. Hamblin: Composite bows have a specific
structural problem that leaves them susceptible to changes in temperature and climate, which may cause
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the bow to warp and break. Taybugha, a fourteenth-century Arab master-archer, advised that "an archer
should never neglect his bow for a single moment, and in extremes of temperature he should inspect it
day and night, hour by hour". Such care in protecting a composite bow from warping is necessary
because "the neck has a natural tendency to lateral displacement. . . . Should side-warping of this kind
not be detected and the bow be drawn the defective limb will be subjected to a most severe twisting
strain and possibly break." Thus, if Nephi's bow were of the composite type, his move from the more
temperate climate of Palestine to the dry heat of the Arabian peninsula could have contributed to the risk
that his bow might warp and break. Warfare in the Book of Mormon, 373-74)
19 And it came to pass that we did return without food to our families, and being much fatigued, because of their journeying, they did suffer much for the want of food.
20 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did amurmur against the Lord.
21 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their asprings, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.
(This would locate the incident roughly in the vicinity of Jiddah, Saudi Arabia,
where the weather is a merciless combination of heat, humidity, sand, and salt—a force strong enough to
destroy steel! We were stunned to see holes that had rusted through car fenders in a few months’ time.
Between March and November the heat is pitiless. Even in late January the temperature hovers around
85 degrees. Humidity averages about 60 percent year round, and in the moister part of a fifteen-year
cycle the humidity rises to a year-long average of 92 percent. Unpainted metal simply cannot survive
such conditions. We saw little metal used in either local building or the shipyards. Could this have also
happened to Nephi’s bow? Weakened by rust, it could have snapped in his hands when he drew it to its
limits. The climate would also explain why his brothers’ bows lost their springs at or around the same
time. If they were wooden bows, they would have remained tensile and strong in the dry area around
Jerusalem; but several years in the humid climate along the Red Sea’s coastal plain would inevitably
have caused them to absorb moisture until they became as limber as saplings. In fact, acquaintances of
ours often reported similar experiences with some of their wood possessions. Lynn M. and Hope Hilton,
In Search of Lehi’s Trail, 81-82)
22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did speak much unto my brethren, because they had hardened their hearts again, even unto acomplaining against the Lord their God. (Nephi was having just as hard a time as his brothers, yet he did not murmur like they did.)
23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did amake out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow;
(William J. Hamblin: In reality, nearly any arrow can be shot from any bow. The basic limiting factor is
the length of the arrow versus the length of the bow—shooting short arrows from longbows is difficult.
Short arrows can be shot from a longbow only if the string is not drawn back fully, which greatly
reduces efficiency. Nephi's steel bow must have been a metal-backed wood weapon that was common in
the Near East of his day, which would not have shot an arrow substantially heavier than other bows.
Why then, did Nephi make a new arrow? There are two possible reasons. First, as arrows are continually
shot in hunting they become lost or broken. He may simply have run out of arrows and needed a new
one. Second, Nephi very likely owned a metal-backed recurved composite bow, as discussed previously.
Recurved composite bows can achieve the same draw weight with a much smaller string and draw
length than a longer bow. In other words, recurved composite bows shoot shorter arrows than longer
bows. If Nephi's old bow was the recurved composite type, and his new one was a long staff bow (which
is the simplest to make on short notice), he may have needed to make a longer arrow because of the
longer string and draw length of his new bow. Warfare in the Book of Mormon, p. 392-3)
And I said unto my bfather:
Whither shall I go to obtain food?
(Nephi is asking his priesthood leader for guidance.
The bishop may
did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. 68
wherefore, I

be a humble man. Some of you may think you are superior to him, and you may be, but he is given
authority direct from our father in heaven. You recognize it. Seek his advice... Recognition of authority
is an important principle. David O. McKay, Conference Report, Oct 1965, 105. Leaders of the Church
are men with human frailties, and are imperfect in their wisdom and judgment. Perfection in men is not
found on the earth. But these leaders, hold a divine warrant and commission through which great and
eternal blessings come to those who sustain and follow them. James E. Faust, Conference Report, Oct
1985, 8)
24 And it came to pass that he did ainquire of the Lord, for they had bhumbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul.
25 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly achastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow. (Godly sorrow, true repentance.)
26 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord said unto him: Look upon the ball, and behold the things which are written.
27 And it came to pass that when my father beheld the things which were awritten upon the ball, he did fear and tremble exceedingly, and also my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and our wives.
28
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work
according to the afaith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.
29 And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read,
(The language in
which the messages of the Liahona was written was new to Lehi and his family and yet easily
understood by them. No additional commentary is given on the matter. We are left to wonder whether it
was pure Adamic and whether it influenced the nature of their written language thereafter. DCBM,
which did give us aunderstanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and
1:126)
changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see
that by bsmall means the Lord can bring about great things.
(“’A series of seemingly small but incorrect
choices,’ Elder M. Russell Ballard pointed out, ‘can become those little soul-destroying termites that eat
away at the foundations of our testimony until, before we are aware, we may be brought near to spiritual
and moral destruction.’ In a similar way, the small acts of kindness, the tiny deeds of Christian service,
the silent but significant efforts to control our own thoughts and feelings—these are the simple things
that build character and shape human destiny everlastingly. The world takes notice of the public
accomplishments, the spectacular victories. But who knows of the private battles of the soul, thousands
of them, waged and won by Abraham long before he passed his greatest test on Mount Moriah to
become the friend of God? Who knows of the infinite struggles, the buffetings, the adversarial
onslaughts faced and overcome by the sinless Son of Man in the Garden of the Oilpress, finished before
his public victory over the grave on Golgotha? Truly, the ‘little things’ form and shape the disciple of
Christ.” (Robert L. Millet, An Eye Single to the Glory of God: Reflections on the Cost of Discipleship,
p.77.) “Great and marvelous events seem to motivate us, but small things often do not hold our attention.
Noting that the Liahona worked by faith, Alma stated, ‘Nevertheless, because those miracles were
worked by small means . . . the people of Lehi were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and
diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey.’ (Alma
37:41.) Is our journey sometimes impeded when we forget the importance of small things? (See Alma
37:46.) Do we realize that small events and choices determine the direction of our lives just as small
helms determine the direction of great ships? (See James 3:4; D&C 123:16.) May the Lord bless each
one of us to follow the counsel of our prophets. We need to have family and personal prayers; study the
scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon; hold family home evenings; follow the admonition of the
Savior to love one another; and be thoughtful, kind, and gentle within the family. Through these and
other similar small and simple things, we have the promise that our lives will be filled with peace and
joy.” (Church News, Jul 6, 1996))
30 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did go forth up into the top of the mountain, according to the 69

adirections which were given upon the ball.
31 And it came to pass that I did slay wild abeasts, insomuch that I did obtain food for our families.
32 And it came to pass that I did return to our tents, bearing the beasts which I had slain; and now when they beheld that I had obtained afood, how great was their joy! And it came to pass that they did humble themselves before the Lord, and did give thanks unto him.
33
And it came to pass that we did again take our journey, traveling nearly the same course as in the
beginning; and after we had traveled for the space of many days we did pitch our tents again, that we
might tarry for the space of a time.
34 And it came to pass that aIshmael died, and was buried in the place which was called bNahom.
group of Latter-day Saint researchers recently found evidence linking a site in Yemen, on the south-west
(“A
corner of the Arabian peninsula, to a name associated with Lehi’s journey as recorded in the Book of
Mormon. Warren Aston, Lynn Hilton, and Gregory Witt located a stone altar that professional
archaeologists dated to at least 700 B.C. This altar contains an inscription confirming ‘Nahom’ as an
actual place that existed in the peninsula before the time of Lehi. The Book of Mormon mentions that
‘Ishmael died, and was buried in the place which was called Nahom’ (1 Ne. 16:34). “This is the first
archaeological find that supports a Book of Mormon place-name other than Jerusalem or the Red Sea...”
(Ensign, Feb. 2001, p. 79)
Note that it says “the place” called Nahom not “a place.” There really was a
place named Nahum. It means, comfort, or to sigh or mourn.)
35 And it came to pass that the daughters of Ishmael did amourn exceedingly, because of the loss of their father, and because of their bafflictions in the wilderness; and they did cmurmur against my father, because he had brought them out of the land of Jerusalem, saying: Our father is dead; yea, and we have wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction, hunger, thirst, and fatigue; and after all these sufferings we must perish in the wilderness with hunger.
36 And thus they did murmur against my father, and also against me; and they were desirous to areturn again to Jerusalem.
37
38 Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that aangels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure. And after this manner did my brother Laman bstir up their hearts to canger.
39 And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did achasten them exceedingly;
And Laman said unto Lemuel and also unto the sons of Ishmael: Behold, let us aslay our father, and
also our brother Nephi, who has taken it upon him to be our bruler and our teacher, who are his elder
brethren.
(The law of seniority is very strict among the Jews, and to give a firstborn second place to
another was a grave offense. Teachings of the Book of Mormon, 1:220)
share an experience with Cain, to whom God spoke directly in warning of endless damnation that would
(Rarely are those who have given
themselves up to wickedness addressed directly by the voice of the Lord. Laman and Lemuel herein
be his if he continued his present course. Cain reacted with anger to this experience, and we read that he
listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel, his brother, who walked in holiness
before the Lord. (Moses 5:26) In this instance, however, Laman and Lemuel staged another of their
short-lived periods of repentance. During that period the family was again blessed with food. DCBM,
1:128)
and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they did turn away their anger, and did
repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.
70

1 Nephi 17
Nephi is commanded to build a ship—His brethren oppose him—He exhorts them by recounting the history of God’s dealings with Israel—He is filled with the power of God—His brethren are forbidden to touch him, lest they whither as a dried reed. [About 592—591 B.C.]
1 AND it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward (Joseph Smith said they turned east at about the 19th parallel.) from that time forth. And we did travel and awade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our bwomen did bear children in the wilderness. (Nephi had children, too.)
2 And so great were the ablessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon braw cmeat (dried meat) in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.
3
the custom of experienced travelers in Arabia that they never built a fire, as it could attract the attention
(On the probable trail
which Lehi traveled there are today 118 waterholes, spaced (on the average) eighteen miles apart. It was
of prowling, raiding party. As a result, they ate much of their food raw, as recorded in the Book of
Mormon. Attacking and plundering camps still seems to be the chief object of some Arab tribes. Paul
Cheesman, First Nephi, The Doctrinal Foundation, 245)
And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of
men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and astrengthen them, and provide means
whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did bprovide
means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.
(Here it says if the Lord has given you
commandments and you make the effort, he will be responsible and provide the means. So we can’t get
out of things like the Word of Wisdom, or tithing, or even the Law of Consecration by saying, “Well it’s
not very workable now, so we’ll put it off for a while. It might work then. We’ll defer it to a later time.”
The Lord says, “I will make it possible to do that thing if you will make a real effort.” We haven’t made
a real effort on so many things. TBM, 1:221)
4 And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, *even eight years in the wilderness.
5 And we did come to the land which we called aBountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild
honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea,
which we called Irreantum,
(Arabian Sea)
which, being interpreted, is many waters.
(Hugh Nibley said:
“After traveling a vast distance in a south-south-easterly direction (16:14, 33), the party struck off
almost due eastward through the worst desert of all, where they ‘did wade through much affliction,’ to
emerge in a state of almost complete exhaustion into a totally unexpected paradise by the sea. There is
such a paradise in the Qara Mountains on the southern coast of Arabia..... Of the Qara Mountains which
lie in that limited sector of the coast of south Arabia which Lehi must have reached if he turned east at
the nineteenth parallel, Bertram Thomas, one of the few Europeans who has ever seen them, writes:
‘What a glorious place! Mountains three thousand feet high basking above a tropical ocean, their
seaward slopes velvety with waving jungle, their roofs fragrant with rolling yellow meadows, beyond
which the mountains slope northwards to a red sandstone steppe....Great was my delight when in 1928 I
suddenly came upon it all from out of the arid wastes of the southern borderlands.’ ...Compare this with
Nephi’s picture....It is virtually the same scene: the mountains, the rich woodlands with timber for ships,
the rolling yellow meadow a paradise for bees, the view of the sea beyond, and above all the joyful relief
at the sudden emergence from the ‘red sandstone steppe,’ one of the worst deserts on earth.” (Lehi in the
Desert and The World of the Jaredites, pp. 125-6) As Nephi described that land, it must have contained
water, fruit, large trees for a ship, grass, wild honeybees, flowers or blossoms, a mountain, a shoreline, a
cliff overlooking the depths of the sea, and metal ore. Incredible as it seems, the south coast of the
Arabian peninsula from Perim to Sur has only one place in its entire length of 1,400 miles that meets
that description. It is a tiny sickle of land curved around a little bay, about 28 miles long and only 7
71

miles wide, backed by the Qara Mountains. For three months of the year, the monsoon clouds gather on
the slopes fronting the sea and cover them with summer fog, mist and rain. This place is Salalah, in the
state of Dhofar, the Sultanate of Oman. The coast in both directions stretches away in unbroken
barrenness. We repeat, this is the only place on the whole Arabian peninsula seashore which receives
significant rainfall and where large trees grow – and it is known to have been this way for well over two
thousand years. In Search of Lehi’s Trail, p. 50-51.
Currently the weather in Salalah has average
temperatures between 64-90. Average rainfall is about 4 inches per year and the current population is
about 170,000.)
And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered
many aafflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were
exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its
much fruit.
(On the coast of Salalah, we believe that we found the end of Lehi’s trail from Jerusalem to
Bountiful. We discovered no contradictions in the volumes on geography and history contradicted that
ancient prophet. In Search of Lehi’s Trail, p. 115)
6
7 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of Bountiful for the space of many days,
the voice of the Lord came unto me,
saying: aArise, and get thee into the mountain . And it came to pass that I arose and went up into the mountain,
and cried unto the Lord.
10 And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools. 11 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to ablow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and after I had made a bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together that I might make fire.
12 For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire (to avoid the danger of being attacked), as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye acook it not;
14 Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall aknow that I, the Lord, am bGod; and that I, the Lord, did cdeliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem.
15 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the acommandments of the Lord, and I did bexhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence.
16 And it came to pass that I did amake tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock.
17 And when my brethren saw that I was about to abuild a ship, they began to bmurmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.
18 And thus my brethren did acomplain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not bbelieve that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.
19 And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did arejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work. (Incorrect statements:)
(It looks like there has been a transition of prophets from Lehi to
Nephi. Is it because Nephi did not murmur during the broken bow incident?)
(Nature’s temples)
8 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt aconstruct a ship, after the
bmanner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.
9 And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make atools to construct
the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?
(Nephi didn’t say, I can’t do that, but rather
where do I get the ore to make it?)
13 And I will also be your alight in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that
ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be
led towards the bpromised land; and ye shall cknow that it is by me that ye are led.
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20 And thou art like unto our father, led away by the foolish aimaginations of his heart; yea, he hath led us out of the land of Jerusalem, and we have wandered in the wilderness for these many years; and our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death; and it would have been better that they had died before they came out of Jerusalem than to have suffered these afflictions.
(Incorrect)
21 Behold, these many years we have suffered in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our
possessions and the land of our inheritance; yea, and we might have been happy.
22 And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a arighteous people; for they
(Incorrect)
kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses;
wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people; and our father hath judged them, and hath led us
away because we would hearken unto his words; yea, and our brother is like unto him.
the children of Israel, would have been led away out of the hands of the aEgyptians if they had not
(Incorrect)
And
after this manner of language did my brethren murmur and complain against us.
23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake unto them, saying: Do ye believe that our fathers, who were
hearkened unto the words of the Lord?
(One Prophet testifies of another – law of witnesses. Nephi uses
the story of the Israelites because it is so often spoken and remembered by their people.)
24 Yea, do ye suppose that they would have been led out of bondage, if the Lord had not commanded Moses that he should alead them out of bondage?
25 Now ye know that the children of Israel were in abondage; and ye know that they were laden with btasks, which were grievous to be borne; wherefore, ye know that it must needs be a good thing for them, that they should be cbrought out of bondage.
26 Now ye know that aMoses was commanded of the Lord to do that great work; and ye know that by his bword the waters of the Red Sea were divided hither and thither, and they passed through on dry ground.
27 But ye know that the Egyptians were adrowned in the Red Sea, who were the armies of Pharaoh. 28 And ye also know that they were fed with amanna in the wilderness.
29 Yea, and ye also know that Moses, by his word according to the power of God which was in him, asmote the rock, and there came forth water, that the children of Israel might quench their thirst.
30 And notwithstanding they being led, the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, aleading them by day and giving light unto them by night, and doing all things for them which were bexpedient for man to receive, they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and creviled against Moses and against the true and living God.
31 And it came to pass that according to his word he did adestroy them; and according to his word he did blead them; and according to his word he did do all things for them; and there was not any thing done save it were by his word.
32 And after they had crossed the river Jordan he did make them mighty unto the adriving out of the children of the land, yea, unto the scattering them to destruction.
33 And now, do ye suppose that the children of this land, who were in the land of promise, who were driven out by our fathers, do ye suppose that they were righteous? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.
34 Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice than they if they had been righteous? I say unto you, Nay.
35 Behold, the Lord esteemeth all aflesh in one; he that is brighteous
(There’s a very simple definition of
righteousness in the Book of Mormon, as in the book of Ezekiel. He was righteous because he was
is cfavored of
repentant and a person who is not repenting is a person who is not righteous. TBM, 1:228)
God.
(God has made the sun to shine on the evil and the good, and the rains to fall on the just and the
unjust. (Matthew 5:45) Yet all are not equally favored with God. Through Samuel he declared: “Them
that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” (1 Samuel 2:30) To
those of his day the Savior said: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth
me and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to
73

him.” (John 14:21) Further illustrating the conditional nature of heaven’s love, the Savior said: “If ye
keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments,
But behold, this dpeople had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord
did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.
and abide in his love. (John 15:10) DCBM, 1:134-35)
PREACH MY GOSPEL: WHAT IS THE NATURE OF GOD THE FATHER AND JESUS
CHRIST? 1 Nephi 17:36; 3 Nephi 27:13-22; John 3:16-17; 2 Nephi 9:6; D&C 38:1-3; Acts 17:27-
29; Mosiah 4:9; D&C 130:22; Romans 8:16; 3 Nephi 12:48; Moses 1:39; Hebrews 12:9; 3 Nephi
14:9-11; Matthew 5:48; 1 John 4:7-9 THE CREATION 1 Nephi 17:36; Moses 2:1, JST, John 1:1-
3; Alma 30:44; Moses 6:63; 2 Corinthians 5:6-7; D&C 88:41-47; Abraham 3:24-25
Lord hath created the aearth that it should be binhabited; and he hath created his children that they should
36 Behold, the
possess it.
37 And he araiseth up a righteous nation, and destroyeth the nations of the wicked.
38 And he leadeth away the righteous into precious alands, and the wicked he bdestroyeth, and curseth
the land unto them for their sakes.
39 He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne, and this earth is his afootstool.
40 And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our afathers, and he
bcovenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, cIsaac, and dJacob; and he remembered the covenants which
he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of eEgypt.
(We can either live like Christ, or
suffer like Christ.)
41 And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they ahardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying bserpents
among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be chealed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the
dsimpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.
42 And they did harden their hearts from time to time, and they did arevile against bMoses, and also against God; nevertheless, ye know that they were led forth by his matchless power into the land of promise.
43 And now, after all these things, the time has come that they have become wicked, yea, nearly unto ripeness; and I know not but they are at this day about to be adestroyed; for I know that the day must surely come that they must be destroyed, save a few only, who shall be led away into captivity.
44 Wherefore, the Lord acommanded my father that he should depart into the wilderness; and the Jews also sought to take away his life; yea, and bye also have sought to take away his life; wherefore, ye are murderers in your hearts and ye are like unto them.
flying serpent is a poisonous snake. “Fiery” refers to being poisonous and “flying” probably refers to
(A fiery
their striking motion in an attempt to bite.)
45 Ye are aswift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an bangel, and he
spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still
small voice, but ye were cpast feeling, that ye could not feel his words
("I have come to know that
inspiration comes more as a feeling than as a sound," Elder Packer repeated in general conference,
October 1979. He then counseled: "Ponder and pray quietly and persistently.... The answer may not
come as a lightning bolt. It may come as a little inspiration here and a little there, 'line upon line, precept
upon precept' (D&C 98:12). Some answers will come from reading the scriptures, some from hearing
speakers. And, occasionally, when it is important, some will come by very direct and powerful
inspiration. The promptings will be clear and unmistakable." He recalled what the Prophet Joseph Smith
said: ‘A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when
you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas.... And thus by
learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you
become perfect in Christ Jesus. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 151).’” (Lucile C. Tate, Boyd
74

K. Packer, A Watchman on the Tower, p. 280)
Like a radio, if we are out of range, we can’t hear it.);
wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.
(Elder Boyd K. Packer: “Many years ago John Burroughs, a naturalist, one
summer evening was walking through a crowded park. Above the sounds of city life he heard the song
of a bird. He stopped and listened! Those with him had not heard it. He looked around. No one else had
noticed it. It bothered him that everyone should miss something so beautiful. He took a coin from his
pocket and flipped it into the air. It struck the pavement with a ring, no louder than the song of the bird.
Everyone turned; they could hear that! It is difficult to separate from all the sounds of city traffic the
song of a bird. But you can hear it. You can hear it plainly if you train yourself to listen for it. One of
our sons has always been interested in radio. When he was a little fellow, his Christmas present was
a very elementary radio construction set. As he grew, and as we could afford it, and as he could earn it,
he received more sophisticated equipment. There have been many times over the years, some very
recently, when I have sat with him as he talked with someone in a distant part of the world. I could hear
static and interference and catch a word or two, or sometimes several voices at once. Yet he can
understand, for he has trained himself to tune out the interference. It is difficult to separate from the
confusion of life that quiet voice of inspiration. Unless you attune yourself, you will miss it. Answers to
prayers come in a quiet way. The scriptures describe that voice of inspiration as a still, small voice. If
you really try, you can learn to respond to that voice” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1979, 27–28; or
Ensign, Nov. 1979, 19–20). That voice of inspiration is so quiet and so still, that it can easily be
explained away. It is easy to be disobedient to that voice. It often takes very great courage to follow it. It
is a clear signal to Latter-day Saints” (in Conference Report, Stockholm Sweden Area Conference 1974,
20).)
46 And ye also know that by the apower of his almighty word he can cause the earth that it shall pass away; yea, and ye know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places shall be broken up. O, then, why is it, that ye can be so hard in your hearts?
47 Behold, my soul is rent with anguish because of you, and my heart is pained; I fear lest ye shall be cast off forever. Behold, I am afull of the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has bno strength.
48
49
And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words they were angry with me, and were
desirous to throw me into the depths of the sea; and as they came forth to lay their hands upon me I
spake unto them, saying: In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye atouch me not, for I
am filled with the bpower of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands
upon me shall cwither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God
shall smite him.
(It appears that Nephi was transfigured before his brothers as he made his great defense
of the faith and sealed his testimony as a witness against them. His experience bears a kinship to that of
Abinadi before the wicked priests of King Noah (Mosiah 13:2-3), Christ in his ministry (John 7:30) and
Stephen before the Sanhedrin (Acts 6:15). DCBM, 1:139)
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they should murmur no more against their
father; neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should
abuild a ship.
50 And I said unto them: aIf God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should
command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it
would be done.
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?
52 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said many things unto my brethren, insomuch that they were
aconfounded and could not contend against me; neither durst they lay their hands upon me nor touch me
with their fingers, even for the space of many days. Now they durst not do this lest they should wither
before me, so powerful was the bSpirit of God; and thus it had wrought upon them.
53 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thine hand again unto thy brethren, and
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they shall not wither before thee, but I will ashock them, saith the Lord, and this will I do, that they may
know that I am the Lord their God.
54 And it came to pass that I stretched forth my hand unto my brethren, and they did not wither before
me; but the Lord did shake them, even according to the word which he had spoken.
55 And now, they said: We know of a surety that the Lord is awith thee, for we know that it is the power
of the Lord that has shaken us. And they fell down before me, and were about to bworship me
(“Here
Laman and Lemuel received a powerful, tangible witness that the power of the Lord was with Nephi.
Their immediate reaction was to fall down and worship Nephi (vs. 55). In doing so they demonstrated a
common mistake of men, namely, they wanted to worship the man with the power rather than God, the
source of the power. Sometimes Saints become deeply attached to missionaries or Church leaders who
are instruments in bringing spiritual power into their lives, without realizing that it is not the man but the
source of the power he demonstrates—namely God—that should be worshiped. Like other prophets
faced with this tendency to personal adoration, Nephi teaches where the true worship should be
centered.” (Book of Mormon Student Manual, 1981, p. 45-6) See also Acts 10:25-6.),
but I would not suffer them, saying: I am thy brother, yea, even thy younger brother; wherefore, worship the Lord thy
God, and honor thy father and thy mother, that thy cdays may be long in the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee.
* Verse 4 [592 B.C.].
1 Nephi 18
The ship is finished—The births of Jacob and Joseph are mentioned—The company embarks for the promised land—The sons of Ishmael and their wives join in revelry and rebellion—Nephi is bound, and the ship is driven back by a terrible tempest—Nephi is freed, and by his prayer the storm ceases—They arrive in the promised land. [About 590—589 B.C.]
1 AND it came to pass that they did aworship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work
timbers of curious bworkmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I
should work the timbers of the cship.
2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build
the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me;
wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.
(This journey made by the families of Lehi and Ishmael
to their land of promise was a scriptural type. As they could not trust their temporal salvation to a ship
made “after the manner of men,” neither can we find our way to the lands of our eternal destiny and
promise aboard a ship built and crafted by the mind and wisdom of men. Our trust cannot be in the arm
of flesh (D&C 1:19). DCBM, 1:140)
3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did apray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord
bshowed unto me cgreat things.
(We should have a place where we can go and pray often.)
4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that   wherefore, they did ahumble themselves again before the Lord.
5 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father, that we should arise and go down into the ship.
6 And it came to pass that on the morrow, after we had prepared all things, much fruits and ameat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we did go down into the ship, with all our loading and our bseeds, and whatsoever thing
the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine;
(The sweat and tears shed in the building of the ship were a
sacrament, for the building of the ship was a form of worship and an act of faith. DCBM, 1:140.)
(In the economy of heaven revelations are granted according to one’s stewardship or right
to receive it. TPJS, p. 21. Revelations that effectually place someone in a position to manipulate or
dominate others do not have heaven as their source. DCBM, 1:141)
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we had brought with us, every one according to his age; wherefore, we did all go down into the cship, with our wives and our children.
7 8
10 And I, Nephi, began to fear exceedingly lest the Lord should be angry with us, and smite us because of our iniquity, that we should be swallowed up in the depths of the sea; wherefore, I, Nephi, began to speak to them with much soberness; but behold they were aangry with me, saying: We will not that our younger brother shall be a bruler over us.
11 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me and abind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness; nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had bspoken concerning the wicked.
12 And it came to pass that after they had bound me insomuch that I could not move, the acompass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did cease to work.
13 Wherefore, they knew not whither they should steer the ship, insomuch that there arose a great astorm, yea, a great and terrible tempest, and we were bdriven back upon the waters for the space of three days; and they began to be frightened exceedingly lest they should be drowned in the sea; nevertheless they did not loose me.
14 And on the fourth day, which we had been driven back, the tempest began to be exceedingly sore.
15 And it came to pass that we were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea. And after we had been driven back upon the waters for the space of four days, my brethren began to asee that the judgments of God were upon them, and that they must perish save that they should repent of their iniquities; wherefore, they came unto me, and loosed the bands which were upon my wrists, and behold they had swollen exceedingly; and also mine ankles were much swollen, and great was the soreness thereof.
16 Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did apraise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions.
17 , and also unto the sons of aIshmael; but, behold, they did breathe out much threatenings against anyone that should speak for me; and my parents being bstricken in years, and having csuffered much grief because of their dchildren, they were brought down, yea, even upon their sick-beds.
18 Because of their grief and much sorrow, and the iniquity of my brethren, they were brought near even to be carried out of this time to meet their God; yea, their agrey hairs were about to be brought down to lie low in the dust; yea, even they were near to be cast with sorrow into a watery grave.
19 And Jacob and Joseph also, being young, having need of much nourishment, were grieved because of
bJoseph.
(The fact that Nephi doesn’t mention his children specifically and the
fact that Nephi passed the plates along to his brother, Jacob, may mean that he did not have any sons.)
And now, my father had begat two sons in the wilderness; the elder was called aJacob and the younger
And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the ship, and had taken with us our provisions and
things which had been commanded us, we did put forth into the asea and were driven forth before the
wind towards the bpromised land.
9 And after we had been adriven forth before the wind for the space of many days, behold, my brethren
and the sons of Ishmael and also their wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began
to dance, and to sing, and to speak with much brudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power
they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness.
(harsh, vulgar, coarse)
(Joseph Smith: Now for persons to do things, merely
because they are advised to do them, and yet murmur all the time they are doing them, is of no use at all;
they might as well not do them. There are those who profess to be saints who are too apt to murmur, and
find fault, when any advice is given, which comes in opposition to their feelings, even when they,
themselves, ask for counsel; much more so when council is given unasked for, which does not agree
with their notion of things; but brethren, we hope for better things from the most of you; we trust that
you desire counsel, from time to time, and that you will cheerfully conform to it, whenever you receive
it from a proper source. History of the Church, 4:45)
Now my father, Lehi, had said many things unto them
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the afflictions of their mother; and also amy wife with her tears and prayers, and also my children, did
not soften the hearts of my brethren that they would loose me.
20 And there was nothing save it were the power of God, which threatened them with destruction, could
soften their ahearts; wherefore, when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of
the sea they repented of the thing which they had done, insomuch that they loosed me.
21 And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I
desired it. And it came to pass that I aprayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease,
and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm.
22 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did guide the ship, that we sailed again towards the promised land.
23 And it came to pass that after we had sailed for the space of many days *we did arrive at the
apromised land; and we went forth upon the land, and did pitch our tents; and we did call it the promised
land.
24 And it came to pass that we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant seeds; yea, we did put all our aseeds into the earth, which we had brought from the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that they did grow exceedingly; wherefore, we were blessed in abundance.
25 And it came to pass that we did find upon the land of promise, as we journeyed in the wilderness, that there were abeasts in the forests of every kind, both the cow and the ox, and the 🤬 and the horse
(“If
Joseph Smith had been writing the Book of Mormon instead of translating it from ancient records, he
would have been very foolish to have included references to horses on the American continent in Book
of Mormon times. (1 Nephi 18:25; Enos 1:21.) In 1830, nearly all the historians and scholars were
convinced there had been no horses on the American continent before the coming of Columbus. After
the Book of Mormon was published, however, archaeological discoveries were made that clearly
indicate that horses were in the Americas before Columbus arrived. In the asphalt deposits of Rancho
LaBrea in southern California, numerous fossil remains of horses have been found that antedate Book of
Mormon times. Although these discoveries do not absolutely prove horses were in the Americas in the
time period covered by the Book of Mormon (about 2600 B.C. to A.D. 421), they do prove horses were
there before the coming of Columbus. Some scientists have now accepted the possibility that horses and
men lived concurrently in the Americas before the coming of Columbus. Franklin S. Harris, Jr., quotes
the zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson as saying: ‘There is a body of evidence both from the mainland of
Central America and even from rock drawings in Haiti itself tending to show that the horse may have
been known to man in the Americas before the coming of the Spaniards.’ (The Book of Mormon
Message and Evidences [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1953], pp. 88-89.)” (Daniel Ludlow, A
Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p.117)),
and the goat and the wild goat, and all manner of wild animals, which were for the use of men. And we did find all manner of bore, both of
cgold, and of silver, and of copper.
* Verse 23 [Probably about 589 B.C.].
1 Nephi 19
Nephi makes plates of ore and records the history of his people—The God of Israel shall come six hundred years from the time Lehi left Jerusalem—Nephi tells of His sufferings and crucifixion—The Jews shall be despised and scattered until the latter days, when they will return unto the Lord. [Between 588 and 570 B.C.]
1 AND it came to pass that the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might
engraven upon them the arecord of my people. And upon the plates which I made I did bengraven the
record of my cfather, and also our journeyings in the wilderness, and the prophecies of my father; and
also many of mine own prophecies have I engraven upon them.
(Taken from Book of Mormon lesson
No. 2:
(Approximately ten years after Lehi and his family left Jerusalem, Nephi was commanded to
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begin a record of his proceedings, the record we have come to know as the large plates. On this set of
plates he was to record such matters as the nature of the family’s travels, the genealogy of his father,
many of the prophecies of Lehi, the wars and struggles of his people, and the details of the reigns of the
kings. About twenty years later (570 BC) Nephi was given an additional writing assignment: He was to
begin a record which would concentrate upon spiritual matters, the dealings and revelations of God with
the Lehites. This record, known to us as the small plates, covers the material in the Book of Mormon
from 1 Nephi through the book of Omni, approximately 475 years of Nephite history. At the time of
King Benjamin (Mosiah 1), the small plates came to a close, and the large plates were thereafter used to
record both secular and spiritual doings. Nephi was writing upon (and we are now reading from) the
small plates, a record which incidentally was written in retrospect, thirty years after the fact. DCBM, p.
51.
Why didn’t Nephi start his record in the Old World before they left Bountiful? There probably
wasn’t any gold to make plates from in Southern Arabia. Also, if they had the gold plates on the boat
going to America, his brothers probably would have tossed them overboard while Nephi was tied up.)
And I knew not at the time when I made them
Lord to make athese plates
(the large plates)
that I should be commanded of the
bthese plates
(the small plates)
; wherefore, the record of my father, and the genealogy of
his fathers, and the more part of all our proceedings in the wilderness are engraven upon those first
plates
(the large plates)
of which I have spoken; wherefore, the things which transpired before I made
(small plates)
are, of a truth, more particularly made mention upon the first plates
(the large
plates)
.
(When the family of Lehi reached the western hemisphere, Nephi was commanded of God to
make a set of plates upon which the history of his people was to be kept. He did so, recounting their
journey in the wilderness and prophecies he and his father had made. This record is known to us as the
large plates, which apparently contained the book of Lehi. Some twenty years later (ca 570 BC) Nephi
was commanded to make another set of plates known to us as the small plates or book of Nephi, in
which he recorded only that which was sacred. Thus the book of Lehi became primarily a temporal
history, while the book of Nephi became a record of prophecies and a collection of sacred events.
DCBM, 1:145)
3 And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi, received a commandment that
the ministry and the prophecies, the more plain and precious parts of them, should be written upon athese
plates; and that the things which were written should be kept for the instruction of my people, who
should possess the land, and also for other bwise purposes
4 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did make a record upon the aother plates
account, or which gives a greater account of the wars and contentions and destructions of my people.
And this have I done, and commanded my people what they should do after I was gone; and that these
proceed according to that which I have spoken; and this I do that the more sacred things may be bkept
(the stolen 116 manuscript pages),
(the large plates)
which
purposes are known unto the Lord
, which gives an
plates
(small plates)
should be handed down from one generation to another, or from one prophet to
another, until further commandments of the Lord.
5 And an account of my amaking these plates
(small plates)
shall be given hereafter; and then, behold, I
for the knowledge of my people
(upon the small plates)
6 Nevertheless, I do not awrite anything upon plates save it be that I think it be bsacred. 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
cweakness which is in me, according to the flesh, I would excuse myself.
7 For the things which some men esteem to be of great worth, both to the body and soul, others set at
anaught
(to consider something worthless)
and trample under their feet. Yea, even the very God of Israel
do men btrample under their feet; I say, trample under their feet but I would speak in other words—they
set him at naught
(Taking Christ from his pre-eminent position next to the Father and put him elsewhere,
and chearken
that he is not divine or the God of Israel. The Sacrament causes us to remember Christ.),
(listen and obey)
not to the voice of his counsels
.
(Those who treat lightly the Book of Mormon and
other scriptures, are trampling under their feet the Lord.)
2
.
79
.

8
And behold he acometh, according to the words of the angel, in bsix hundred years from the time my
father left Jerusalem.
PREACH MY GOSPEL: CHARITY AND LOVE: WHAT IS CHARITY? Moroni 7:45-48; 1
Corinthians 13; Bible Dictionary “Charity”. HOW DID JESUS CHRIST DEMONSTRATE
CHARITY: 1 Nephi 19:9; Alma 7:11-13; Ether 12:33-34; Luke 7:12-15. WHAT DO THESE
VERSES TEACH YOU ABOUT CHARITY? 2 Nephi 26:30; Mosiah 2:17; Mosiah 28:3; Alma
7:24; Ether 12:28; D&C 88:125; 1 Timothy 4:12; 1 Peter 4:8 see footnote a.
9 And the world,
because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught;
(The condescension of God
(Christ):)
wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea,
they aspit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving bkindness and his clong-suffering towards
the children of men.
10 And the aGod of our fathers,
who were bled out of Egypt, out of bondage, and also
isepulchre, according to the words of jZenos,
(Jehovah-Christ)
were preserved in the wilderness by him, yea, the cGod of Abraham, and of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
dyieldeth himself, according to the words of the angel, as a man, into the hands of ewicked men, to be
flifted up, according to the words of gZenock, and to be hcrucified
(Crucifixion was not a means of death
at the time the prophecies were given.)
, according to the words of Neum, and to be buried in a
(Nephi’s source for this remarkably detailed messianic
prophecy included three prophets of the Old World whose words may have been among the “plain and
precious things” excluded from the Old Testament record. DCBM, 1:146)
the three days of kdarkness, which should be a sign
which he spake concerning
(given to those in the west)
given of his death unto
those who should inhabit the isles of the sea,
(The three days of darkness would not be experienced in
Jerusalem, but only to them who lived far away from Jerusalem.)
are of the lhouse of Israel.
more especially given unto those who
(Joseph F. Smith: I believe the Savior possessed a fore-knowledge of all the
vicissitudes through which He would have to pass in the mortal tabernacle. If Christ knew beforehand,
so did we. But in coming here, we forgot all, that our agency might be free indeed, to choose good or
evil. Gospel Doctrine, 13. James E. Faust: Before we were born, we made certain commitments and we
agreed to come to this earth with great, rich, but different gifts. Hold your soul very still, and listen to
the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. Follow the noble, intuitive feelings planted deep within your souls by
Deity in the previous world. Ensign, May 1998, 95-97. Brent L. Top: We must remember that our
Heavenly Father often sends some of his noble and great spirits to the least likely families because he
knows that they have the spiritual capacities to rise above those conditions and in turn, bring blessings to
that entire family. We must never attempt to judge someone’s premortal character or performance based
on parentage or family conditions. The Life Before, 158-9)
the prophet
(We properly make a distinction between “a prophet” and “the Prophet.”
In our day we testify of many who are prophets while normally reserving the phrase “the Prophet” for
Joseph Smith, who stands at the head of our dispensation. Zenos was of such greatness that he is
properly referred to as “the Prophet” in verses 12-15. Of Zenos, Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “I do
not think I overstate the matter when I say that next to Isaiah himself – who is the prototype, pattern, and
model for all the prophets – there was not a greater prophet in all Israel than Zenos. The Joseph Smith
Translation – The Restoration of the Plain and Precious Things, p. 17; DCBM, 1:147):
surely shall avisit all the house of Israel at that day, some with his bvoice, because of their righteousness,
The Lord God
unto their great joy and salvation, and others with the cthunderings and the lightnings of his power, by
tempest, by fire, and by dsmoke, and evapor of fdarkness, and by the opening of the gearth, and by
hmountains which shall be carried up.
12 And aall these things must surely come, saith the prophet bZenos. And the crocks of the earth must
rend; and because of the dgroanings of the earth, many of the kings of the isles of the sea shall be
wrought upon by the Spirit of God, to exclaim: The God of nature suffers.
(Clearly some of the
prophecies recorded on the brass plates were more gospel- and Christ-centered than the scripture
preserved for us in the Old Testament. They were written with greater power and clarity. From them
11 For thus spake
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Nephi was able to tell his people that Christ would be scourged, spit upon, crucified, and buried in a
sepulcher, and that his death would be signaled to those on the isles of the sea by three days of darkness.
DCBM, 1:146)
13 And as for those who are at Jerusalem, saith the prophet, they shall be ascourged by all people
15 16
20 For behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth aweary me even that all my joints are weak, for those who are at Jerusalem; for had not the Lord been merciful, to show unto me concerning them, even as he had prophets of old, I should have perished also.
21 And he surely did show unto the aprophets of old all things bconcerning them; and
(The
sign to those in the east – Did the Jews crucify the Messiah? Yes, how do we know? Because of the sign
that would be given – that the Jews would suffer because of it.)
, because they crucify the God of Israel,
and turn their hearts aside, rejecting signs and wonders, and the power and glory of the God of Israel.
14 And because they turn their hearts aside, saith the prophet, and have adespised the Holy One of Israel,
they shall wander in the flesh, and perish, and become a bhiss and a cbyword, and be dhated among all
nations.
(Israel scattered)
Nevertheless, when that day cometh, saith the prophet, that they ano more bturn aside their hearts
against the Holy One of Israel, then will he remember the ccovenants which he made to their fathers.
(Then Israel gathered)
Yea, then will he remember the aisles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of
Israel, will I bgather in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four
quarters of the earth.
17 Yea, and all the earth shall asee the salvation of the Lord, saith the prophet; every nation, kindred,
tongue and people shall be blessed.
18 And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they
would aremember the Lord their Redeemer.
19 Wherefore, I speak unto all the house of Israel, if it so be that they should obtain athese things.
(Israel
of a future day, our day.)
(Genesis 49:22-26 22 ¶ aJoseph is a fruitful bbough, even a fruitful bough by a
well; whose cbranches drun over the wall: 23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and
also he did show
unto many concerning us
hated him: 24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands
of the mighty God of Jacob; (from athence is the bshepherd, the cstone of Israel:) 25 Even by the God of
thy father, who shall help thee; and by the aAlmighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven
above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the bwomb: 26 The
ablessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the butmost bound of
the everlasting chills: they shall be on the head of dJoseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was
separate from his brethren.; Deuteronomy 33:13-16 13 ¶ And of aJoseph he said, Blessed of the LORD
be his bland, for the cprecious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, 14
And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting ahills, 16
And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in
the abush: let the bblessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was
separated from his brethren.; Psalm 85:11 11 aTruth shall spring out of the bearth; and righteousness
shall look down from heaven; Isaiah 29:9-14 9 ¶ Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they
are adrunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. 10 For the LORD hath poured
out upon you the spirit of deep asleep, and hath closed your beyes: the cprophets and your rulers, the
dseers hath he ecovered. 11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a abook that is
bsealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot;
for it is sealed: 12 And the book is delivered to ahim that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee:
and he saith, I am not learned. 13 ¶ Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people adraw near me
with their bmouth, and with their lips do chonour me, but have dremoved their eheart far from me, and
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their ffear toward me is taught by the gprecept of men: 14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a
amarvellous bwork among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the cwisdom of their
wise men shall dperish, and the eunderstanding of their fprudent men shall be hid.; Isaiah 45:8 8 Drop
down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down arighteousness: let the earth open, and let
bthem bring forth csalvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.;
Ezekiel 37:15-20 15 ¶ The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 16 Moreover, thou son of
man, take thee one astick, and bwrite upon it, For cJudah, and for the children of Israel his companions:
then take another stick, and dwrite upon it, For eJoseph, the fstick of Ephraim, and for all the house of
Israel his companions: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become aone in
thine hand. 18 ¶ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew
us awhat thou meanest by these? 19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the
stick of aJoseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them
with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. 20
¶ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.; John 10:16 16 And
aother bsheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and
there shall be cone fold, and one shepherd.; Moses 7:62 62 And arighteousness will I send down out of
heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear btestimony of mine Only Begotten; his
cresurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I
cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to dgather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth,
unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking
forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called eZion, a New
fJerusalem.; Revelation 14:6 6 And I saw another aangel fly in the midst of heaven, having the
beverlasting cgospel to dpreach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every enation, and kindred, and
tongue, and people,; JST Genesis 50:25 25 And it shall come to pass that they shall be scattered again;
and a branch shall be broken off, and shall be carried into a far country; nevertheless they shall be
remembered in the covenants of the Lord, when the Messiah cometh; for he shall be made manifest unto
them in the latter days, in the Spirit of power; and shall bring them out of darkness into light; out of
hidden darkness, and out of captivity unto freedom.; Jacob 5; 3 Nephi 10:16-17 16 Yea, the prophet
aZenos did testify of these things, and also Zenock spake bconcerning these things, because they testified
particularly concerning us, who are the remnant of their seed. 17 Behold, our father Jacob also testified
concerning a aremnant of the seed of Joseph. And behold, are not we a remnant of the seed of Joseph?
And these things which testify of us, are they not written upon the plates of brass which our father Lehi
brought out of Jerusalem?);
wherefore, it must needs be that we know concerning them for they are written upon the plates of brass.
PREACH MY GOSPEL: STUDY THE SCRIPTURES: 1 Nephi 19:22-23; 2 Nephi 9:50-51; 2
Nephi 25:26; 2 Nephi 29:1-13; 2 Nephi 31:19-20; 2 Nephi 32:3-5; Alma 32:28-30; John 5:39; John
20:31; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:20-32.
22
Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my
brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven
upon the aplates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among
people of old.
And I did read many things unto them which were written in the abooks of
23
Scripture Mastery:
Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did
read unto them that which was written by the prophet bIsaiah; for I did cliken all scriptures unto
us, that it might be for our dprofit and learning.
Write the word liken on the board and the following
definition: “To compare; to represent as resembling or similar” (Noah Webster, An American Dictionary
of the English Language [1828]). Ask students to list the benefits of comparing scriptural accounts to
their own lives. Write the accompanying chart on the board, leaving the “Meaning” column blank.
Discuss the phrases as a class, and write your students’ conclusions about their meanings and modern
applications in the “Meaning” column. (The words in parentheses are for your reference. The objective
82

of this exercise is not to provide definitive answers but to help students see that they can already “liken”
some words and phrases of Isaiah to themselves.) Help students understand that we must liken, or apply,
the scriptures to ourselves. Have a student read the following statement by Elder Carlos E. Asay, who
was a member of the Seventy: Invite students to mark the word that each time it appears in 1 Nephi
19:22–24. Explain that, following the word that, Nephi told what he did and why he did it. List the
phrases that describe why Nephi quoted from Isaiah, and discuss them as a class. • “That they might
know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old” (v. 22). • “That I might
more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer” (v. 23). • “That it might be for our
profit and learning” (v. 23). • “That ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been
broken off” (v. 24).
Reference
Phrase
Meaning
1 Nephi 20:1
“waters of Judah”
(waters of baptism)
1 Nephi 20:4
“thy neck is an iron sinew”
(you are stiffnecked or proud)
1 Nephi 20:10
“furnace of affliction”
(tests or trials)
1 Nephi 20:14, 20
“Babylon”
(the world, wickedness)
1 Nephi 20:18
“righteousness as the waves of the sea”
(continual or everlasting righteousness)
1 Nephi 21:1
“the pastors of my people”
(leaders)
1 Nephi 21:1
“called me from the womb”
(foreordained me in the premortal life)
1 Nephi 21:6
“light to the Gentiles”
24 Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a aremnant of the
(example to the Gentiles)
house of Israel, a bbranch who have been broken off; chear ye the words of the prophet, which were
written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as
your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for after this manner has the prophet written.
misunderstanding of scripture results when a prophecy made to all the house of Israel and then applied
(A
to the descendants of Lehi by Book of Mormon prophets is assumed to find its fulfillment only in the
activities of the descendants of Lehi... Some have erred by supposing that statements made by Book of
Mormon prophets, in which they applied the prophecies of Old World prophets to their own people,
applied only to the descendants of Book of Mormon people or the Lamanites. This has led them to
greatly exaggerate the role the Lamanites will play in the events of the last days. Faithful Lamanites will
play a role equal in importance to that of all the faithful descendants of Abraham. Their destiny is to
become as one with the other tribes of Israel with whom the covenants and promises of the fathers were
made. DCBM, 1:151)
OVERVIEW:
1 Nephi 20
Tell students that Old Testament prophets sometimes used the language of legal contracts or treaties to
talk about sacred covenants. The material in 1 Nephi 20–21 can be compared to a lawsuit brought
against Israel for breaking her covenant with the Lord. Write on the board the following outline of
1 Nephi 20, which essentially follows the pattern of the contract between the Lord and Israel.
The Contract
1. Preamble (1 Nephi 20:1–2). Hearken, O Israel, to the Lord.
2. Historical Review (1 Nephi 20:3–8). The Lord predicted Israel’s current problems.
3. Conditions of the Contract (1 Nephi 20:9–11, 14–15). The Lord promises to defer His anger and
redeem Israel from Babylon.
83

4. Witnesses (1 Nephi 20:12–14, 16). The earth, the heavens, and Israel are called to witness what God
has done and will do.
5. Curses and Blessings (1 Nephi 20:17–22). The Lord contrasts the results of Israel’s wicked and
righteous acts.
Assign students to five “fact-finding committees.” Give each group one of the five parts of the contract
as outlined on the board. Allow the groups five to ten minutes to read and summarize the verses of
scripture relating to their part of the contract. Invite each group to choose a spokesperson to report
their findings, and discuss them as a class. Write on the board the following outline of 1 Nephi 21,
which follows the pattern of a contract lawsuit.
The Trial
1. The Summons (1 Nephi 21:1–6). God’s servant says, “My judgment is with the Lord.”
2. The Plaintiff’s Charge (1 Nephi 21:7–13). The Lord declares that (unlike Israel) He has kept and will
keep His promises.
3. The Defendant’s Plea (1 Nephi 21:14, 21, 24). Israel offers excuses for her lack of faith in the Lord’s
promises.
4. The Judge’s Verdict (1 Nephi 21:15–20, 22–23, 25–26). The Lord assures Israel she will be
redeemed.
SCRIPTURES:
CHAPTER 20
The Lord reveals his purposes to Israel—They have been chosen in the furnace of affliction and are to go forth from Babylon—Compare Isaiah 48. [Between 588 and 570 B.C.] (To the Israelites in Judah)
ISAIAH CHAPTER 48
The Lord reveals his purposes to Israel—They have been chosen in the furnace of affliction and are to go forth from Babylon—Compare 1 Nephi 20.
Verses 1-16 – The Lord deals with a stubborn covenant people
1 1 Ne 20 Hearken and HEAR ye this, O house of Jacob, which     are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the awaters of Judah,
Since Nephi had the writings of Isaiah, these verses in the Book of Mormon are probably more correct
than the Bible version.
who
or out of the waters of baptism
(Baptized members of the
Church.)
(“This clause first appeared in the 1840 and 1842 editions of the Book of Mormon. It did not
appear again until the 1920 edition, and it has been in all editions since that time. It appears to be a
prophetic commentary by Joseph Smith to explain the meaning of the phrase ‘out of the waters of
Judah.’....If this phrase were a restoration of the original text as found in the more pure version on the
brass plates from which it comes, it would have appeared in the 1830 edition of the Book of Mormon,
and we would also expect to find it in the Joseph Smith Translation of Isaiah 48:1, but we do not.
Through the use of this phrase, Joseph Smith is calling our attention to the fact that the ordinance of
baptism was as common to the people of the Old Testament as it was to the people of the Book of
Mormon.” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 152))
who
yet they
(Church members who make covenants but in hypocrisy not
which     bswear by the name of the LORD, and make cmention of the God of Israel, but swear not in truth, nor in righteousness.
84

righteousness.)
2 For they call themselves of the aholy city, and     bstay themselves upon the God of Israel;   The LORD of hosts;     is his name. (They claim
3   I have adeclared the bformer things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did show them suddenly, and they came to pass.
4   Because I knew that athou art bobstinate, and thy cneck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
5 I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it them thee: and I showed them for fear lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.
6 Thou hast seen and heard, see all this; and will not ye declare them it? And that I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things , and thou didst not know them.
7 They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.
8 Yea,   thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the awomb.
9¶ 10
Nevertheless
who is
but they do not
yea, the Lord of hosts
(man of war)
to be part of the Church and Zion)
Behold,
And I did it
(These describe Church members who are stubborn, unyielding, hard of heart, who will not bow
before the Lord, and who will not give their mind or thoughts to the Lord.)
ye
(in the temple)
they were declared unto thee,
and
(Church members unwilling to obey the Lord, who are betrayers, and known as sinners from the
beginning.
This statement has reference to a propensity among some for wickedness demonstrated in the
premortal life. Moses 5:24. DCBM, 1:153)
For my aname’s sake will I defer mine banger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee,
Nevertheless,
that I cut thee not off.
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the afurnace of baffliction.
For
(Elder Bruce R. McConkie said: “Called to what? Chosen for what? Called into the Church...but chosen
to be sealed up unto eternal life and to have one’s calling and election made sure.” Orson F. Whitney
said: “No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education,
to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer
and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies
our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called
the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain
the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and
Mother in heaven.” (Dawn Anderson, Dlora Dalton, and Susette Green, eds., Every Good Thing: Talks
from the 1997 BYU Women’s Conference [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1998], 22.) Neal A.
Maxwell said: “The Lord has said, ‘I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.’ (Isaiah 48:10; 1
Nephi 20:10.) He knows, being omniscient, how we will cope with affliction beforehand. But we do not
know this. We need, therefore, the refining that God gives to us, though we do not seek or crave such
tribulation. Is not our struggling amid suffering and chastening in a way like the efforts of the baby
chicken still in the egg? It must painfully and patiently make its own way out of the shell. To help the
chick by breaking the egg for it could be to kill it. Unless it struggles itself to break outside its initial
constraints, it may not have the strength to survive thereafter. Afflictions can soften us and sweeten us,
and can be a chastening influence. (Alma 62:41.) We often think of chastening as something being done to punish us, such as by a mortal tutor who is angry and peevish with us. Divine chastening, however, is
a form of learning as it is administered at the hands of a loving Father. (Helaman 12:3.) Elder James E.
Faust of the Council of the Twelve has said, ‘In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we
pass through the refiner's fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like
dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong.’ (Ensign, May 1979, p. 53.) Elder Faust continued,
‘This change comes about through a refining process which often seems cruel and hard. In this way the
soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master.’” (All These Things Shall Give Thee
85

Experience [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1979], 38-39.))
For mine own asake,
yea,
even
for mine own sake, will I do
this
for I will not suffer
my bname
be polluted? and I will not cgive my glory unto another.
to
(Though these Church members
have been rebellious, the Lord knows they will be refined through affliction and thus will continue to
qualify to receive his glory.)
11             it: how should
12 ¶ Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called
;   I am he; I am the first,   I   also am the last.
13 Mine hand   also hath laid the foundation of the aearth, and my right hand hath spanned the
heavens. when I call unto them,   they stand up together.
14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which   among them hath declared these things The LORD hath loved him:
his apleasure on bBabylon,   and his arm shall be   on the Chaldeans.
15 Also, saith the Lord; I the Lord, yea, I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
foreordination given those born into the house of Israel to be the ministers of salvation to all other
(The phrase “my called” has reference to the
peoples of the earth. DCBM, 1:155)
for
and
am
hath
and
to the right hand or side is not something invented by man but was revealed from the heavens in the
beginning. There are numerous passages in the scriptures referring to the right hand, indicating that it is a symbol of righteousness and was used in the making of covenants. The right hand or side is called the
(Joseph Fielding Smith: The showing favor
dexter and the left the sinister. Dexter connotes something favorable; sinister, something unfavorable or
unfortunate. It is a well-established practice in the Church to partake of the sacrament with the right
hand and also to anoint with the right hand, according to the custom which the scriptures indicate is, and
always was, approved by divine injunction. Answers to Gospel Questions, 1:156-8)
who
unto them
yea, and will fulfill his word which he hath declared by them; and
(wicked)
come up
(learned)
to declare
?
he will do : I have
16 ¶
Spirit, hath bsent me.
Verses 17-19 – Blessings God desired for Israel
there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his
Come ye near unto me,
(The Prophet Joseph Smith said: “We know not what we shall be called to
pass through before Zion is delivered and established; therefore, we have great need to live near to God,
and always to be in strict obedience to all His commandments, that we may have a conscience void of
I have not spoken in asecret from the
offense toward God and man.” DHC 1:450)
hear ye this;
beginning;
from the time that it was declared have I spoken,
17 And Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I have sent him, am the LORD thy God     which teacheth thee to profit, which whoaleadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go,
. 18
Verses 20-22 – Song of the flight from Babylon
20 ¶
who
hath done it
O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy apeace been as a river, and thy
righteousness as the waves of the sea:
19 Thy aseed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name
should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
(If errant Church members had been
obedient, they could have enjoyed a renewal of the promise of Abraham.)
Go ye forth of aBabylon,
(Neal A. Maxwell said: “Even if we decide to leave Babylon, some of us
endeavor to keep a second residence there, or we commute on weekends. To quote President Marion G.
Romney, some go on ‘trying to serve the Lord without offending the 🤬’ (“The Price of Peace,” in
Speeches of the Year [Provo: Brigham Young University, March 1, 1955], p. 7).” (Neal A. Maxwell, A
Wonderful Flood of Light, p.47) Why do some of our youth risk engaging in ritual prodigalism,
intending to spend a season rebelling and acting out in Babylon and succumbing to that devilishly
democratic ‘everybody does it’? Crowds cannot make right what God has declared to be wrong. Though
86

planning to return later, many such stragglers find that alcohol, 🤬, and 🤬 will not let go
easily. Babylon does not give exit permits gladly. It is an ironic implementation of that ancient boast:
‘One soul shall not be lost.’ (Moses 4:1.) (Ensign, November 1988, p. 33. as taken from The Neal A.
flee ye from the bChaldeans, with
Maxwell Quote Book, by Cory H. Maxwell, under heading for “Sin”))
a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath
redeemed his servant Jacob.
(The Lord promised that after 70 years they would return from Babylon to
the land of their inheritance. Jer 25:11
and these nations shall serve the aking of Babylon bseventy years.
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment;
That after aseventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and bperform my good word
, 29:10
¶ For thus saith the LORD,
toward you, in causing you to creturn to this place.
This also refers to Elder McConckie’s statement:
“When the lost and scattered sheep of Israel find place again in the fold of their Ancient Shepherd, they
do so by forsaking the world and joining the true Church. They leave the deserts of sin and lie down in
the green pastures. They leave Babylon and return to Zion.” Articles of Faith, p. 536-37)
21 And they thirsted not; when he led them through the deserts: he caused the awaters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out.
22   There is no apeace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.
And notwithstanding he hath done all this, and greater also,
OVERVIEW:
(miracles don’t redeem)
1 Nephi 21
Tell students that Old Testament prophets sometimes used the language of legal contracts or treaties to
talk about sacred covenants. The material in 1 Nephi 20–21 can be compared to a lawsuit brought
against Israel for breaking her covenant with the Lord. Write on the board the following outline of
1 Nephi 20, which essentially follows the pattern of the contract between the Lord and Israel.
The Contract
1. Preamble (1 Nephi 20:1–2). Hearken, O Israel, to the Lord.
2. Historical Review (1 Nephi 20:3–8). The Lord predicted Israel’s current problems.
3. Conditions of the Contract (1 Nephi 20:9–11, 14–15). The Lord promises to defer His anger and
redeem Israel from Babylon.
4. Witnesses (1 Nephi 20:12–14, 16). The earth, the heavens, and Israel are called to witness what God
has done and will do.
5. Curses and Blessings (1 Nephi 20:17–22). The Lord contrasts the results of Israel’s wicked and
righteous acts.
Assign students to five “fact-finding committees.” Give each group one of the five parts of the contract
as outlined on the board. Allow the groups five to ten minutes to read and summarize the verses of
scripture relating to their part of the contract. Invite each group to choose a spokesperson to report
their findings, and discuss them as a class. Write on the board the following outline of 1 Nephi 21,
which follows the pattern of a contract lawsuit.
1. The Summons (1 Nephi 21:1–6). God’s servant says, “My judgment is with the Lord.”
The Trial
2. The Plaintiff’s Charge (1 Nephi 21:7–13). The Lord declares that (unlike Israel) He has kept and will
keep His promises.
3. The Defendant’s Plea (1 Nephi 21:14, 21, 24). Israel offers excuses for her lack of faith in the Lord’s
promises.
87

4. The Judge’s Verdict (1 Nephi 21:15–20, 22–23, 25–26). The Lord assures Israel she will be
redeemed.
SCRIPTURES:
CHAPTER 21
Messiah shall be a light to the Gentiles and shall free the prisoners—Israel shall be gathered with
power in the last days—Kings shall be their nursing fathers—Compare Isaiah 49. [Between 588 and 570 B.C.] (To the Israelites in America)
ISAIAH CHAPTER 49
Messiah shall be a light to the Gentiles and shall free the prisoners—Israel shall be gathered with power in the last days—Kings shall be their nursing fathers—Compare 1 Nephi 21.
Monte S. Nyman said that chapter 49 was the most important chapter in Isaiah to the Latter-day
Saints because it foretells the mission of the Latter-day Saints and the destiny of the land of
America. This chapter needs to be studied diligently by every member of the Church.
”Isaiah 49 is
a most remarkable prophecy, one intended by the spirit of revelation to embrace multiple fulfillments.
The Book of Mormon version of the prophecy, which contains significant textual restorations, greatly
enhances our understanding of Isaiah's message and the workings of the spirit of prophecy. The text is a
marvelous messianic prophecy, as well as a detailed description of Joseph Smith and the Story of the
latter-day restoration. It can also be properly argued that this prophecy applies to Isaiah, or that it is a
description of major events in the history of the nation of Israel. Such interpretations are not
inappropriate, as long as they do not obscure its greater meaning as it applies to Christ and Joseph
Smith. Since Nephi lived a considerable time before the coming of Christ, it was appropriate that he
view this prophecy primarily as it applied to the coming of the Savior. Since we live a considerable time
after Christ's mortal ministry, it is appropriate that we see this prophecy primarily as it applies to events
of our day. Isaiah's detailed knowledge of the latter-day restoration, the role of Joseph Smith, and the
coming forth of the Book of Mormon, sustain this conclusion. The word of God is most durable. We
will here interpret the prophecy as it applies to the Prophet Joseph Smith, for such was the pattern of our
Lord in the interpretation of Isaiah he gave among the Nephites (see 3 Nephi 21:9-11).” (Joseph Fielding
McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 4 vols. [Salt Lake
City: Bookcraft, 1987-1992], 1: 157.)
Verses 1-7 – Song of the Lord’s servant
1
; and bhearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath ccalled me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp asword; 88
AND again: Hearken, O ye house of Israel, all ye that are broken off and are driven out because of the
wickedness of the pastors of my people
(This is a significant textual restoration. It establishes that
though the prophet is addressing all the house of Israel, his message is more especially for that part of
Israel that had been scattered, not through their own wickedness, but because of the corruption of the
Church in the Old World. It was this corruption of the Church and the temple priesthood that caused
Lehi and his family to flee. DCBM, 1:158)
; yea, all ye that are broken off, that are scattered abroad, who
aLISTEN, O isles, unto me
are of my people, O house of Israel.
(Wickedness in the house of Israel
caused the Lord to transplant various branches of the house of Israel throughout the world. DCBM,
1:158)
(Foreordained. All are entreated to listen to Joseph the
son of Joseph, who was “ordained from before the foundation of the world.” D&C 127:2, TPJS, p. 365)
in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me
(Those

called to establish the kingdom of God on earth in this last great gospel dispensation were the literal seed
of Abraham and as such were lawful heirs to the priesthood whose lineage was preserved by the hand of
God for this very purpose. DCBM, 1:159.
The Lord’s hiding Israel in the shadow of his hand is clarified
in the D&C, where the Lord declares that the priesthood holders of this last dispensation are ‘lawful
heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God. D&C 86:8-9
- Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto you, with whom the apriesthood hath continued through the lineage
of your fathers— 9 For ye are lawful aheirs, according to the flesh, and have been bhid from the world
with Christ in God—
This description of priesthood bearers as lawful heirs according to the flesh is a
reference to the covenant which the Lord made with Abraham that all nations of the earth would be
blessed through the literal seed of his body, who would bear the ministry and the priesthood. Latter-day
Israel is the literal seed of Abraham. The world did not know where scattered Israel was, but the Lord
knew and had concealed them in his protective hand.)
, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath
he hid me;
(We will become fit to serve. The Prophet Joseph Smith referred to this prophecy in relation
to himself:
“I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down a high mountain; and the only polishing I get is
when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with something else, striking with accelerated
force against religious bigotry, priestcraft...corrupt men and women – all hell knocking off a corner here
and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty. TPJS,
p. 304)
3 And said unto me, Thou art my aservant, O Israel whom I will be bglorified.
4
5¶ to
, in
(The servant represented in this verse is the
corporate personality of the covenant people. The Church is the servant of the Lord. DCBM, 1:159)
Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my
judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
And now, saith the LORD that aformed me from the womb
(The servant laments that no one has listened
to him. Like many others called to preside.)
that I should
be his servant
(Joseph
Smith taught, “Every man who has a calling to minister to the inhabitants of the world was ordained to
that very purpose in the Grand Council of heaven before this world was.” (Teachings, p. 365) This is the
underlying principle being discussed. Those born into the house of Israel received that lineage by the
principle of foreordination (Rom 11:2; Eph. 1:4-5), and so were all the prophets called to preach to
them. Certainly, this applies to Israel, Isaiah, Jesus, Joseph Smith, etc. We should also include Jeremiah,
for the word of the Lord to Jeremiah was, ‘Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before
thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.’ (Jer.
1:5))
, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
6
And he said, It is a light thing
(The gathering of Israel, as momentous as that is, appears to be a small
matter or a light thing when compared with the taking of the light of the gospel to the Gentiles. DCBM,
1:161.)
that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of
Israel: I will also give thee for a alight to the bGentiles, that thou mayest be my csalvation unto the end of
the earth.
(The servant is destined to bless the whole earth, not just Israel.
“Section 86 of the Doctrine
and Covenants was revealed to Joseph Smith in December of 1832, only two and one-half years after the
organization of the Church. It is one of many revelations that grew out of the Prophet's study of the
Bible...Perhaps Joseph had never considered the fact that he might have been mentioned in scripture by
biblical prophets. Nonetheless he certainly knew by this time that the infant latter-day Church was the
kingdom of God and that its continued success was sure. Doctrine and Covenants 86:8-11 made known
yet other truths that brought greater emphasis to the mission of the Prophet and his work. Among other
things, it brought to light the fact that Joseph Smith and his fellow workers of the lineage of ancient
Joseph were the fulfillment of the great revelation recorded in Isaiah 49. It seems, in fact, reasonable to
conclude that the ‘Israel’ mentioned in Isaiah's prophecy refers to the specific tribe that was to preside in
the last days—the tribe of Ephraim. At the head of that tribe—and presiding under the Lord's direction
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over latter-day Israel—stands the Prophet Joseph Smith. Isaiah 49 speaks of him and of the church that
was restored through his service. A few brief comments regarding some key phrases in Isaiah's words
will enable us to understand the prophecy and its fulfillment.
‘Called me from the womb’
(v. 1): From
the days of the Patriarchs, ancient Joseph and his descendants had been singled out to stand at the head
of the house of Israel (see Gen. 37:5-11; 48:13-20; 49:26; Deut. 33:16-17). This was their foreordained
calling. An important part of that calling included the challenge to be saviors of their brethren of Israel,
just as their forefather Joseph had been a temporal savior in ancient times. Jeremiah prophesied
concerning Ephraim's role in the latter-day gathering. As the presiding tribe, it would be he who would
announce to all that the time of the gathering and return had come (Jer. 31:6)...
‘A polished shaft . . . in
his quiver’
(v. 2): Joseph Smith himself provided an interpretation that may show the fulfillment of this
scripture:
(This was mentioned previously.)
‘I am like a huge, rough stone rolling down from a high
mountain; and the only polishing I get is when some corner gets rubbed off by coming in contact with
something else . . . all hell knocking off a corner here and a corner there. Thus I will become a smooth
and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty.’ Thus Joseph Smith viewed himself as a polished shaft
in the Lord's quiver, perhaps in direct fulfillment of Isaiah's words.
‘To bring Jacob again to him’
(v. 5),
‘to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel’
(v. 6): As has been discussed
already, it was the commission of the birthright children of Joseph to bring about the gathering of Israel
in the last days. Ephraim's leader, Joseph Smith, was the one to whom the keys of the gathering were
restored (D&C 110:11), and it will be under the authority of those keys that the gathering will continue.
Jeremiah explained that it would be
‘the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim’
that would cry,
‘Arise ye,
and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God’
(Jer. 31:6). In modern revelation the Lord has affirmed
that
‘they who are in the north countries’
will return and receive their blessings under the hand of
‘the
children of Ephraim’
(D&C 133:26-34). Today it is, with extremely few exceptions, the children of
Ephraim and his brother Manasseh—who constitute the Lord's Church—who are taking the gospel
message to the scattered remnants of Israel and who thus are gathering their brethren.
‘A light to the
Gentiles’
(v. 6): Nephi and others taught how the great blessings of the last days would be made
available not only to the house of Israel, but to the Gentiles as well (see 1 Ne. 22:8-11). Indeed, the
gospel is to be taken by Ephraim and his brethren in the dispensation of the fulness of times to all people
(see JS-M 1:31; D&C 42:58). Once again, the tribe of Ephraim and Joseph Smith stand out as the main
participants in this work. In the fullest sense, Jesus Christ is the ‘light’—not only to the Gentiles, but to
all nations. The Church today has a commission to bear his message; thus it reflects his light. Section 86
(vv. 8-11) clarifies Isaiah's prophecy and identifies Joseph Smith and his co-workers of the tribes of
Joseph—the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—as the fulfillment of these
words from Isaiah. These are they
‘with whom the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of
[their] fathers—For [they] are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world
with Christ in God’
(D&C 86:8-9). Having been foreordained long ago to this calling, and having
inherited it through lineal descent, Ephraim's children now are no longer
‘hid from the world’ ("D&C
86:9D&C 86:9) ‘in the shadow of [the Lord's] hand’
but are at the forefront of the Lord's work in the last
days: to restore scattered Israel to the covenant blessings, and to bring the message of the gospel to the
Gentiles. The Lord concluded his revelation to Joseph and the Church:
‘Therefore, blessed are ye if ye
continue in my goodness, a light unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people
Israel’
(D&C 86:11).” (Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, eds., Studies in Scripture, Vol. 1: The
Doctrine and Covenants [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1989], 328-330.) Jewish theology maintains
that this prophecy of the “suffering servant” depicts the Jewish nation, but, taken together, the words
Isaiah uses to describe this helper of Israel in the latter days apply only to two beings: the Messiah and
the Prophet Joseph Smith. Nephi and Lehi seem to know not only that Isaiah intended to prophesy of
Jesus and Joseph Smith, but also that the latter-day restoration of the gospel would help bring about the
final redemption of Israel. That these characteristics refer primarily to the Savior is probably obvious to
many Christians, but Joseph Smith also fits many of the qualifications of that special servant. After all,
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every true prophet is a type, a foreshadowing, or a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ. Andrew C. Skinner,
Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, 107)
7 Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
Verses 8-12 – Israel’s return in the last days
the earth, heritages; 9
10 They shall not hunger nor athirst; neither shall the heat nor bsun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them.
In an acceptable atime
8 Thus saith the LORD,     have I heard thee
with Joseph Smith), O, isles of the sea,
helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee   for a bcovenant of the people, to establish
(Spring of 1820)
(the restoration began
and in a day of salvation
have I to cause to cinherit the desolate
(meridian of time and last days)
That thou mayest say to the aprisoners, Go forth; to them that sit are in darkness, Shew yourselves.
They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
(Jeffrey R. Holland said:
“Christ brought freedom to mortal beings imprisoned by ignorance, sin, apostasy, and death. He also
brought deliverance to those on the other side of the veil who had not heard the gospel but would receive
it in their spirit prison. Peter taught this clearly, and the whole of section 138 of the Doctrine and
Covenants is devoted to this glorious doctrine...On both sides of the veil, the captives rejoice and praise
their God as Christ throws wide the prison doors.” (Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic
Message of the Book of Mormon [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 83.))
have no time to sin or do evil; but they would rise up in the strength of the Lord God of Israel and
(Wilford Woodruff said: “If the
elders of Israel had the vision of their minds opened to see Zion in her beauty and glory, they would
accomplish all that he requires at their hands. Zion is yet in her weakness, but the little one shall become
thousands, and the small one a great nation. We talk of the future and of the promises of God to us. They
are worthy to be talked of, worthy to be lived for, and to rejoice over, because they are true...I have an
anxiety—a strong desire, to see the people of the Latter-day Saints—the inhabitants of Zion, rise up and
put on their strength. I desire to see them increase in the knowledge of the truth, in faith and good works,
and in the knowledge of the things of the kingdom of God.” (Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. [London:
Latter-day Saints' Book Depot, 1854-1886], 11: 248.))
11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my ahighways shall be exalted.
12 And then, O house of Israel, Behold, these shall come from far: and, lo, these from the anorth and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
Verses 13-21 – The Lord comforts his returning children
13 ¶ aSing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth;
established; and break forth into bsinging, O mountains:   for the LORD hath ccomforted his people, and will have dmercy upon his eafflicted.
opinion of most scholars it strictly signifies China. J. R. Dummelow, The One Volume Bible
my servant
(restore the land – Israel to return to their inheritance)
(Sinim stands for distant lands generally; iin the
Commentary, 445)
for the feet of those who are in the east shall be
for they shall be smitten no more;
(both the heavens and the earth will
rejoice at the gathering of Israel.
Jeffrey R. Holland said: “This poetic passage provides yet another
reminder of Christ's saving role, that of protective, redeeming parent to Zion's children. He comforts his
people and shows mercy when they are afflicted, as any loving father or mother would toward a child,
but, as Nephi here reminds us through Isaiah, much more than any mortal father and mother could do.
Although a mother may forget her sucking child (as unlikely as any parent might think that could be),
Christ will not forget the children he has redeemed or the covenant he has made with them for salvation
91

in Zion. The painful reminders of that watch care and covenant are the marks of the Roman nails graven
upon the palms of his hands, a sign to his disciples in the Old World, his Nephite congregation in the
New World, and to us in latter-day Zion that he is the Savior of the world and was wounded in the house
of his friends.” (Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon [Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1997], 84.) Wilford Woodruff said: “The Lord is going to comfort Zion;
He is going to have mercy upon her afflicted ones. But Zion said,
‘The Lord hath forsaken me, and my
Lord hath forgotten me.’ ‘Can a woman forget her sucking child?’ saith the Lord. ‘Yea, she may forget,
but I will not forget thee. Behold, I have graved thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are
continually before me.’
This refers to the building up of Zion in the last days; the gathering together of
the people, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man.” (Brian H. Stuy, ed., Collected Discourses, 5
vols. [Burbank, Calif., and Woodland Hills, Ut.: B.H.S. Publishing, 1987-1992], vol. 1, Oct. 6, 1889))
behold,
will show that he hath not.
Zion
hath
– but he
For
14 But said: The LORD hath aforsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me
15 Can a awoman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not bforget thee,
16
17
O house of Israel.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;
(Refers to the crucifixion of Christ in which
nails pierced his hands and left scars that remained after his resurrection. Also,
to the ancient practice of tattooing the palm with a symbol of the temple or some other sacred emblem to
The clause is an allusion
show devotion so that it might serve as a reminder of one’s commitment. This is an idiomatic and
graphic way for the Lord to say: “You are constantly before me: I have not forgotten my covenant with
you.” DCBM, 1:165)
thy walls are continually before me.
(Walls of Jerusalem)
Thy children shall make haste
against
thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of
thee.
(In the days when Israel shall be restored to her former blessings, the descendants of ancient Israel
will quickly turn against their ancient enemies. Those who conquered and wasted Israel will depart.
President Wilford Woodruff said: “This Zion of the Lord, in all its beauty, power and glory is engraven
upon the hands of Almighty God, and it is before his face continually; his decrees are set and no man
can turn them aside. There never was a dispensation on the earth when prophets and apostles, the
inspiration, revelation and power of God, the holy priesthood and the keys of the kingdom were needed
more than they are in this generation. There never has been a dispensation when the friends of God and
righteousness among the children of men needed more faith in the promises and prophecies than they do
today, and there certainly never has been a generation of people on the earth that has had a greater work
to perform than the inhabitants of the earth in the latter days. That is one reason why this church and
kingdom has progressed from its commencement until today, in the midst of all the opposition,
oppression and warfare which have been waged against it by men inspired by the evil one. If this had not
been the dispensation of the fullness of times – the dispensation in which God has declared that he will
establish his kingdom on the earth never more to be thrown down, the inhabitants of the earth would
have been enabled to overcome the kingdom and Zion of God in this as well as in any former
dispensation. But the set time has come to favor Zion, and the Lord Almighty has decreed in the heavens
that every weapon formed against her shall be broken.” JD 15:8-9)
18 ¶ Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these agather themselves together, and they shall come to thee. And As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. (Preparation for the marriage)
19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants
(“This gathering of Israel through the aid of foreign nations is taking place
today. Since the Church was restored in 1830, the Jewish population in the Holy Land has grown from
seven thousand to over three million people. Whereas in 1830 only one out of five hundred Jews resided
in Palestine, one out of five now live in the modern state of Israel.” (Victor L. Ludlow, Isaiah: Prophet,
Seer, and Poet, 1982, p. 414)),
The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the
20
and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
other first, shall say again in thine ears
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, The place is too astrait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
say
keeping up with the demand for chapels and leadership because of its many converts. The stakes of Zion
21 Then shalt athou say in thine heart,
, seeing I have lost my children, and am bdesolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had have they been? (Where in the world did all these people come from?)
Verses 22-26 – Gentiles shall assist returning Israel
22
23
they shall cbow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD: for they shall not be dashamed that
wait for me.
24 ¶ Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives delivered?
25 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: For thus saith the
I will acontend with him   that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. 26
1 Nephi 22
CHAPTER 22
Israel shall be scattered upon all the face of the earth—The gentiles shall nurse and nourish Israel with the gospel in the last days—Israel shall be gathered and saved, and the wicked shall burn as stubble— The kingdom of the 🤬 shall be destroyed, and Satan shall be bound. [Between 588 and 570 B.C.] (This chapter is Nephi’s commentary on the two chapters of Isaiah.)
1 AND now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had read these things which were engraven upon the aplates of brass, my brethren came unto me and said unto me:
Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will alift up mine hand to the bGentiles,
my cstandard to the people
thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
(United States of America)
: and they shall bring thy dsons in their arms, and
(non Jews)
and set up
(President Kimball said: “The brighter day has
dawned. The scattering has been accomplished; the gathering is in process. May the Lord bless us all as
we become nursing fathers and mothers unto our Lamanite brethren and hasten the fulfillment of the
great promises made to them.” CR, Oct 1965, p. 72.
And kings shall be thy anursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing bmothers:
(The kings and queens
may well be the righteous men and women who have entered into the covenants of the fullness of the
priesthood in the temple of God.)
JST - for the mighty God shall deliver his covenant people.
Lord
them
And I will feed them that aoppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their
own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall bknow that I the LORD am thy cSaviour and thy
dRedeemer, the emighty One of Jacob.
(Your enemies will turn on each other.
Speculative theories of
various and sundry peoples going forth with a divine decree to destroy the wicked and faithless are
without scriptural foundation. DCBM, 1:167.)
93
(The Church has a difficult time
are gathering places for the Saints.)
Who hath begotten me these
numbers of the gathering hosts of Israel. The Lord will be victorious in numbers, as in all things.
(All will be surprised at the great
DCBM, 1:166)
(Such persons will have their “confidence wax strong in the presence of God” for they will
have no unresolved sins to cause them to be ashamed. Hoyt W. Brewster, Isaiah Plain and Simple, 204)
Note: Chapter 22:1-12 is Nephi’s interpretation of Isaiah 49. Verses 15-17 should be inserted between
Isaiah 49 & 50.
What bmeaneth these things which ye have
read? Behold, are they to be understood according to things which are cspiritual, which shall come to
pass according to the spirit and not the flesh?

2 And I, Nephi, said unto them: Behold they were amanifest unto the prophet by the voice of the bSpirit;
for by the Spirit are all things made known unto the cprophets,
(Joseph F. Smith said: “That Spirit, it
must be remembered, is, by way of preeminence, called ‘The Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth from the
Father.’ He teaches all things; and brings to the remembrance of the Saints all the instructions of the
Master. He guides into all truth, and as in all truth there is unity or harmony, so, it is believed that if the
Saints are in possession of this Spirit, the harmony in the Church of Christ will be superior to the
harmony that can be looked for or hoped for, in any other organization whatsoever. And because the
Saints have free access to the Holy Spirit, and may walk within his light and fellowship and possess the
intelligence which he is able to impart, a stricter harmony among the Saints may be insisted upon than in
any other organization of men whatsoever.” (Gospel Doctrine, p. 131)
which shall come upon the
children of men according to the flesh.
3 Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both atemporal and spiritual;
for it appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be bscattered upon all the face of the earth, and
also camong all nations.
4 And behold, there are many who are already lost from the knowledge of those who are at Jerusalem.
Yea, the more part of all the atribes have been bled away; and they are cscattered to and fro upon the
disles of the sea;
(Sir Isaac Newton observed that to the Hebrews the continents of Asia and Africa were
“the earth”, because they had access to them by land, while the parts of the earth to which they sailed
over the sea were “the isles of the sea.” CBM, 1:214)
and whither they are none of us knoweth, save that
we know that they have been led away.
(It ought to be observed that the lost tribes are not lost in the
sense that we do not know where they are. The scriptures plainly tell us they have been scattered among
every nation, kindred, tongue and people. How then are they lost? They are lost temporally in the sense
that they are in many instances lost to the lands of their inheritance. Of greater importance, they are lost
in a spiritual sense: they are lost to the gospel and its saving ordinances, they are lost to the priesthood
and all the blessings that flow from it. They are also lost in the sense of identity; they no longer know
that they are Israel and that God made covenants with their ancient fathers whereby they might be
blessed. They are so intermingled with the Gentiles of the world that they can only be identified by
revelation – this revelation must come through ordained patriarchs declaring to them their lineage and
promised blessings as the chosen seed, but this only after they have found their way back to the fold of
God. In a national sense, the Book of Mormon does much to reveal the identity of the tribes. DCBM,
1:170.)
5 And since they have been led away, these things have been prophesied concerning them, and also concerning all those who shall hereafter be scattered and be confounded (mixed up together with other people), because of the Holy One of Israel; for against him will they aharden their hearts; wherefore, they shall be scattered among all nations and shall be bhated of all men.
6 Nevertheless, after they shall be anursed by the bGentiles, and the Lord has lifted up his hand upon the
Gentiles and set them up for a standard, and their cchildren have been carried in their arms, and their
daughters have been carried upon their shoulders, behold these things of which are spoken are temporal;
for thus are the covenants of the Lord with our fathers; and it meaneth us in the days to come, and also
all our brethren who are of the house of Israel.
7 And it meaneth that the time cometh that after all the house of Israel have been scattered and
confounded, that the Lord God will raise up a mighty nation
aGentiles, yea, even upon the face of this land; and by them shall our seed be bscattered.
(United States of America)
among the
8 And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a amarvelous work among the
bGentiles, which shall be of great cworth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being
nourished by the dGentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders.
Kimball said: “A loving father does not despise his children. These [Lamanites] are a chosen people, and
(Spencer W.
this Church has an important part in restoring them to their rightful inheritance. The chasm between
what they are and what they will be is opportunity. The gospel furnishes that opportunity; it is ours to
94

give.” (Ensign, Dec. 1975, p. 7 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled
by K. Douglas Bassett, p.70))
9 And it shall also be of aworth unto the Gentiles; and not only unto the Gentiles but bunto all the chouse
of Israel, unto the making known of the dcovenants of the Father of heaven unto Abraham, saying: In thy
eseed shall all the kindreds of the earth be fblessed.
10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed
unless he shall make abare his arm in the eyes of the nations.
power of God, here represented as the Lord making bare his arm, will be manifest by the taking of the
(God will show his power unto men.
The
gospel and its eternal covenants to all the nations and peoples of the earth. That same God who delivered
Israel from the might of Egypt will in the latter days show again his power with greater miracles than
those witnessed at the hands of Moses. Jeremiah recorded the Lord’s promise thus:
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The aLORD liveth, that
Jer 16: 14 ¶
brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15 But, The LORD liveth, that abrought up the
children of Israel from the land of the bnorth, and from all the clands whither he had driven them: and I
will dbring them again into their eland that I gave unto their fathers.
Missionaries must go to the lands
that have not yet received them, until the gospel “has penetrated every continent, visited every clime,
swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the
Great Jehovah shall say the work is done. HC 4:540. DCBM, 1:172.
11 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the anations, in bringing
about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel.
12 Wherefore, he will abring them again out of bcaptivity, and they shall be cgathered together to the
lands of their dinheritance;
(Israel is not to gather to one land alone but to many. They have a promised
inheritance in the Palestine of old, while the descendants of Joseph have claim upon the Americas, both
North and South, and we fully expect to learn of other lands promised to various of the transplanted
and they shall be ebrought out of obscurity and out of fdarkness;
tribes of Israel. DCBM, 1:173)
(“Scattered Israel is to be freed from the captivity of ignorance and the bondage of false forms of
worship. No longer are they to walk in darkness and worship gods of wood and stone or other supposed
gods who have neither body, parts, nor passions. Their obscurity has ended, for now they know the true
and living God who
‘is their Savior and their Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel.’
Jeremiah
prophetically described this day, saying:
‘O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the
day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our
fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make gods unto
himself, and they are no gods? Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them
to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord.’
21.)” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 173))
shall know that the gLord is their hSavior and their Redeemer, the iMighty One of Israel.
and they
)
(Jeremiah 16:19-
13 And the blood of that great and aabominable church, which is the 🤬 of all the earth, shall turn
upon their own heads; for they shall bwar among themselves, and the sword of their cown hands shall fall
upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood.
14 And every anation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against
another, and they shall bfall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that
cfight against Zion shall be destroyed, and that great 🤬, who hath perverted the right ways of the
Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the ddust and great shall be the fall of it.
15 For behold, saith the prophet,
(Zenos. It appears that Malachi either quoted Zenos or received an
independent revelation in the same terms. Verses 15;23-24 & Malachi 4:1-2; 3 Nephi 24:1; 25:1.
DCBM, 1:175)
the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power
(Satan is to be bound by
the power of God)
over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and
they who do wickedly shall be as astubble; and the day cometh that they must be bburned.
(The earth
must be prepared for its terrestrial state by getting rid of those things to do not qualify for such a state.)
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16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the awrath of God shall be poured out upon all the
children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.
17 Wherefore, he will apreserve the brighteous by his power,
God not by personal righteousness. Righteousness is a companion to faith, and together these principles
need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.
(The saints are preserved by the hand of
open the heavens so that God’s blessings may be poured upon the Saints. The blessings, however, come
from God, not from the goodness and righteousness of the Saints. We acknowledge the hand of God in
all things. DCBM, 1:175)
even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be
preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire.
(Second Coming)
Wherefore, the righteous
(Mark E. Petersen
said: “... in these, the last days, the Lord has predicted that there shall be two simultaneous movements.
One of these movements is the great tribulation that shall come upon the world. The wicked will destroy
the wicked. The other great movement which will be going forward simultaneously is that there shall be
a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and it shall roll forth and eventually fill the whole earth.
The Church to which you and I belong is that stone. It has been cut out of the mountain without hands,
and your destiny and mine is to help roll it forth. (D&C 65:2.) Now do you suppose for one moment that
the judgments of God are going to interfere with the progress of his work? He is consistent, isn't he?
Although he will pour out his tribulations upon the wicked, he nevertheless will carry forward his work,
and his people, under divine protection, will roll forth that stone until eventually it fills the whole earth.
And so says the Book of Mormon:
“For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall
be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the
righteous. “Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his
wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire.
Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as
by fire. (1 Nephi 22:16-17.)
I believe that. In the midst of all these tribulations God will send fire from
heaven, if necessary, to destroy our enemies while we carry forward our work and push that stone until it
fills the whole earth! Your destiny is to do that very thing, and this is the kind of protection you will
have. You do not need to fear about world conditions. You do not need to fear about anybody. Just serve
the Lord and keep his commandments and build the kingdom, and as you do so you will be protected in
these last days. God will have his hand over you, and you can plan your lives in confidence. (Conference
Report, October 1960, pp. 81-83. as taken from D. Ludlow’s A Companion to Your Study of the Book of
Mormon, p.122-3) Brigham Young said: “God has been and is our helper, and is on our right and left,
and round about us like a wall of fire to defend this people, if they serve him with an undivided heart.”
(Journal of Discourses, 8:172 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled
by K. Douglas Bassett, p.74) Joseph Fielding Smith said: ”Do not think for a moment that the days of
trial are over. They are not. If we keep the commandments of the Lord, we shall prosper, we shall be
blessed; the plagues, the calamities that have been promised will be poured out upon the peoples of the
earth, and we shall escape them, yea, they shall pass us by. But remember the Lord says if we fail to
keep his word, if we walk in the ways of the world, they will not pass us by, but we shall be visited with
floods and with fire, with sword and with plague and destruction. We may escape these things through
faithfulness.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3:34 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of
Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.75) Joseph Smith said: “It is a false idea that the Saints will
escape all the judgments, whilst the wicked suffer; for all flesh is subject to suffer, and ‘the righteous
shall hardly escape;’ still many of the Saints will escape, for the just shall live by faith; yet many of the
righteous shall fall a prey to disease, to pestilence, etc., by reason of the weakness of the flesh, and yet
be saved in the Kingdom of God. So that it is an unhallowed principle to say that such and such have
transgressed because they have been preyed upon by disease or death...” (History of the Church, 4:11 as
taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.75))
18 Behold, my brethren, I say unto you, that these things must shortly come; yea, even blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke must come; and it must needs be upon the face of this earth (Bruce R. McConkie
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said: “It may be, for instance, that nothing except the power of faith and the authority of the priesthood
can save individuals and congregations from the atomic holocausts that surely shall be.” (Conference
Report, Apr. 1979, p.133 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by
K. Douglas Bassett, p.75))
; and it cometh unto men according to the flesh if it so be that they will harden their hearts against the Holy One of Israel.
19
For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight
against Zion shall be cut off.
20 And the Lord will surely aprepare a way for his people, unto the fulfilling of the words of Moses,
which he spake, saying: A bprophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like unto me; him shall
ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that all those who will
not hear that prophet shall be ccut off from among the people.
21 And now I, Nephi, declare unto you, that this aprophet of whom Moses spake was the Holy One of
Israel; wherefore, he shall execute bjudgment in righteousness.
22 And the righteous need not fear, for they are those who shall not be confounded. But it is the
kingdom of the 🤬, which shall be built up among the children of men, which kingdom is established
among them which are in the flesh—
23 For the time speedily shall come that all achurches which are built up to get gain, and all those who
are built up to get power over the flesh, and those who are built up to become bpopular in the eyes of the
world, and those who seek the lusts of the flesh and the things of the world, and to do all manner of
iniquity; yea, in fine, all those who belong to the kingdom of the cdevil are they who need fear, and
tremble, and dquake; they are those who must be brought low in the dust; they are those who must be
econsumed as stubble; and this is according to the words of the prophet.
(The four areas of trouble: to get
gain, to get power, to be popular, to seek the lusts of the flesh.)
24 And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as acalves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and great bglory.
25
26
wherefore, he cannot be loosed for the space of cmany years; for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness, and the
Holy One of Israel dreigneth.
27 And now behold, I, Nephi, say unto you that all these things must come aaccording to the flesh.
28 29
And he agathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth;
among them – into the congregations of the Saints then established in their lands. DCBM, 1:178)
numbereth his bsheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall
(Millennial)
(The message of the Restoration
will have spread to all lands. The Book of Mormon in concert with the Bible repetitiously affirms that
Israel – the ten tribes included – will be scattered among all nations. The scriptures do not sustain
popular expressions which suppose that the lost tribes are anywhere other than scattered among the
nations on earth. They will be gathered by the preaching of the elders of the Church – the prophets
and he
feed his sheep, and in him they shall find cpasture.
(The greater part of the gathering of Israel will not
take place until the millennial era. DCBM, 1:178)
And because of the arighteousness of his people, bSatan has no power;
ushered in with power and maintained by righteousness. Satan will be bound by the power of the
(The millennium will be
priesthood and then righteousness will keep him away.)
(These things are not figurative, their fulfillment will be literal. DCBM, 1:179)
But, behold, all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy One of Israel if
it so be that they will arepent.
(Members and non-members will both dwell safely, if they will repent.)
And now I, Nephi, make an end; for I durst not speak further as yet concerning these things.
30 Wherefore, my brethren, I would that ye should consider that the things which have been written
upon the aplates of brass are true; and they testify that a man must be obedient to the commandments of
God.
31 Wherefore, ye need not suppose that I and my father are the only ones that have testified, and also
taught them. Wherefore, if ye shall be obedient to the acommandments, and endure to the end, ye shall
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be saved at the last day. And thus it is. Amen.
(Hartman Rector, Jr.: Endure to the end. What does that
mean? I believe it means basically three things. One: We must continue to repent for the rest of our lives
because we will still make mistakes, and we must go home clean or we can’t dwell with the Father and
the Son (see D&C 84:74). Two: We must continue to forgive others. If we do not forgive others, we
cannot obtain forgiveness ourselves (see D&C 64:9–10). And three: Yes, we must be nice. If we’re not
nice, I don’t think we’re going to make it. In other words, we must have charity, which is really love
plus sacrifice. Ensign, Nov 1994, 26. Robert D. Hales: We were not sent by Father in Heaven just to be
born. We were sent to endure and return to Him with honor. We learn to endure to the end by learning to
finish our current responsibilities, and we simply continue doing it all of our lives. We cannot expect to
learn endurance in our later years if we have developed the habit of quitting when things get difficult
now. Ensign, May 1998, 76-77)
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