Time is an interesting thing with the Lord. According to the little we know, the past, present and future is rolled out like a single scroll before Him. Our linear reckoning of events is something we have to accept as a condition of being on earth. The sensory experiences and basic human needs (water, food, shelter) of the present dominate our lives to such a degree that we need to make a great conscious effort to see the here and now in light of the past or of what we expect or hope to come in the future.
These realities seem to be on Nephi’s mind as he and his family begin their new lives in the “promised land” (American continent). We get a few short verses at the end of the previous chapter telling us of their arrival and their immediate material prosperity. But the rest of this book of scripture appears to be Nephi’s attempt to remind his family members and us of past prophecies of events that they and we need to keep in mind as they and we move forward in our lives. He’s basically trying to help us realize that the Lord can help us get a glimpse of how that single scroll should read when we make decisions that determine who we are becoming.
There’s an episode of the popular television show “Lost” that comes to mind. In the episode, one of the main characters finds himself traveling ever faster back and forth between the present and a specific point in the past—literally being transported through time in each instance. The frequency of time travel is so disorienting that it threatens his survival. While in the past, he finds a professor of physics who tells him to find something that is a “constant”—a fixed point that remains important for him no matter where (or when) he is. By locating and latching on to this constant in his life, the character is able to come to grips with the present in a way that saves himself.
Here, it’s clear that Nephi is presenting Jesus Christ as our constant. Just as faith in Christ led Nephi to look ahead and do what was necessary to get his family to the promised land after they had reached the land Bountiful, faith in Christ leads Nephi to turn his family’s attention back to familiar promises once they reach the promised land. In this case, because redemption in Christ is the answer for all times and places, looking back is looking ahead. Or at least preparing Nephi’s family for the challenges they will face in a way that helps us draw lessons for our own lives.
In this case, Nephi’s efforts include reading the records of the prophets of Israel and Judah to his family, but don’t end there. As we read his words, we realize that he is describing for us the process of making new scripture. We have already learned about the two different sets of metal plates that Nephi made (small and large) and used to make a record of his people. He tells us shortly after his family arrived in the promised land is the moment in time when Nephi fashioned those sets of plates and began the process of recording events, memories and impressions. Again, what we are reading comes from the small plates, which are devoted to particularly sacred things. So he’s not concentrating on all the details of who did what where and when, except for what really matters.
And that’s Christ. So what is important enough for Nephi to share about Jesus?
- That Jesus, the God of Israel, will humble Himself in such a way that He will live a mortal existence in linear time, just as we do.
- That He will yield Himself to the judgment of wicked men who will lift Him up, crucify Him, and bury Him in a sepulchre (verse 10).
- That all the earth shall see the salvation of the Lord, and He will bless “every nation, kindred, tongue and people” with the chance to be gathered in. The flip side is that those who have resisted this open invitation from the Lord to be gathered will find desolation instead, though because the Lord’s love for them and power is so strong, even they may receive more chances.
- That there are so many witnesses of Jesus and the salvation He offers. Nephi’s account reveals to us the names of three prophets from the brass plates whose names have otherwise been lost in history: Zenos, Zenock and Neum.
I get the impression that Nephi is earnestly pleading with his family—and, as always, particularly Laman and Lemuel—to recognize that they represent a branch of the Lord’s people He has promised to ultimately gather. To drive this point home, Nephi feels especially inspired to share the prophecies of perhaps the most powerful Old Testament-era witness of the Messiah: Isaiah.
He explains why he reads Isaiah to his family by saying that, more than other writings found in the brass plates, Isaiah’s writings can “fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer.” He tells us that he encourages his family to “hear ye the words of the prophet” and to “liken the scriptures unto yourselves, that ye may have hope” (verse 24). Hope? Hope in what? It’s not too difficult to guess—again, hope in Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life.
It’s quite clear that Nephi isn’t simply documenting what he said to his family. More importantly, he’s telling us that his earnest plea to them to heed Isaiah’s message applies to us too. After all, Isaiah’s prophecies are renowned for having more than one meaning. When Nephi shared them with his family, Jesus’ coming in the flesh was the main topic because that was their future. But in applying these teachings to us, he is referring to the important part of Isaiah’s prophecies for our future. That is Christ’s Second Coming. In both cases, the Lord has spoken through Isaiah so that those who look back to him receive help in learning how to look ahead in their lives to Christ in some way, either on earth or in the next life.
With this chapter, Nephi sets the stage for him and his younger brother Jacob to share a total of 19 chapters from Isaiah’s prophecies by directly copying them from the brass plates into the plates constituting the records of their people. By doing this, Nephi and Jacob indicate to us that Isaiah’s writings are not just valuable to us as poetry or as evidence for how people worshipped 2,500 years ago, but as something whose value and vitality has actually increased rather than decreased over time.
So if you only take one thing away from this chapter, it should be the importance of learning to know and love the teachings of Isaiah. We’ll have that chance over many other chapters to come!
You can read the entire chapter at the following link: https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/19?lang=eng
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