Before we get started, I wanted to share that there are two pretty
fascinating documentaries that provide some scholars’ views on (1) the journey Lehi and his family took before sailing to the
New World, and (2) the places
where they might have settled after they arrived.
This chapter represents a significant turning point in the
story we’ve followed up to now. Lehi’s family, which has bent but not broken
over and over again, finally ruptures permanently. There’s tragedy as we see
the Lamanites (those who are in Laman’s camp – including the families of Lemuel
and the sons of Ishmael) choosing to cut themselves off from not only their
flesh and blood, but more importantly, the Lord’s presence. The warning from
the Lord that Lehi had shared with them many times, and had just reiterated before
he died (“Inasmuch as ye shall not keep my commandments…”) comes to pass, in
that the Lamanites harden their hearts against God’s will, and suffer the
consequences. Apparently, with Dad (Lehi) no longer around to smooth things
over, the wounded pride of having a younger brother superior to them in wisdom
and spiritual power is just too much for the older brothers to take.
Many of us can probably relate to this from situations in
our lives or the lives of friends or family members who have fallen out with
someone close to them. Often, we say that two people have personality clashes
like “oil and water,” and there’s a moment where all the accumulated resentment
and frustration finally boil over. In this case, though, it’s not simply a family
squabble, it’s also a question of breaking with a prophet of God at a critical
moment when everyone is still finding their bearings in a new land and
environment (as I’ve said before) half a world away from the old one in
Jerusalem.
The particularly heartbreaking part of this tragedy is that
the Lamanites themselves choose to be cursed by voluntarily severing their ties
with the Lord’s spokesman. Nephi and those “Nephites” who join with him (the
families of Sam, Jacob, Joseph, Zoram and Nephi’s sisters) are protected in two
very specific ways.
First, they are warned of danger and have the courage and
humility to act, and act quickly. Nephi doesn’t get into specifics about the
signs of danger, other than to say there were harsh words from his older brothers,
and it was clear that they sought to kill him. So a warning came—again, we
don’t know exactly how—and Nephi and his followers left their initial
settlement for a new place in the wilderness. They took some belongings, and
(crucially) they took the brass plates, the records of their faith and
heritage. Nephi says that they kept the law (of Moses), and that they were
blessed of the Lord and did prosper. By “prosper,” he may mean in a material
sense to some extent, but perhaps also in a general sense of being busily
engaged in worthwhile pursuits.
Indeed, for those of you who are familiar with board games
or video games that simulate different aspects of a society or civilization,
this chapter seems very familiar. Agriculture, industry, learning, communal defense.
Nephi’s discussion of these pursuits make me think of some of the key phrases
from the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution: “…in order to form a more perfect
Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common
defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity.”
But what is strikingly different from the board game world
is also what is most significant about the Nephite civilization—their worship
of God. And we get a taste of some of the challenges for them in maintaining
their worship. Just like the people of Israel, the Nephites call for a king,
even though they have every reason to know that subjecting themselves to the
arbitrary authority of men was one of the things that led to the downfall and
captivity of their people in the Old World. And just like the prophets in
Israel, Nephi resists this popular impulse. Because the people want him to be
the king, Nephi has some leverage with them, and he prevails upon them to
accept Nephi as their “ruler and teacher” (and here’s the important part)
“according to the commandments of the Lord.” As a prophet, Nephi is blessed
with authority to speak for the Lord, and he shares some authority with his
younger brothers Jacob and Joseph (both of whom featured prominently in Lehi’s
final blessings to his children earlier in this Book of Second Nephi) to preach
and minister to the Nephites.
There is some speculation among scholars of the Book of
Mormon about the number of people among the Nephites at this point, since even
a high reproduction rate over a couple of decades among the people they had
would likely leave their numbers fairly small. Some wonder if it is possible
that they have joined with other people who were already living on the American
continent. I won’t go down that speculative road any farther, other than to say
that it’s clear the Nephites have a growing, thriving society.
As a sign of a faithful people, Nephi builds a temple as
close to after the manner of Solomon as is possible in his current environment.
The key line is verse 27: “And it came to pass that we lived after the manner
of happiness.” Something to strive for in any day and age—especially in the 21st
century. I find it noteworthy that this is the point when the Lord instructs
Nephi to make the second set of gold plates, which are the plates that Joseph
Smith later translated to give us this chapter and the entire first part of the
Book of Mormon (through the Book of Omni). Perhaps the Lord has waited for a
time when Nephi and his people are sufficiently spiritually prepared to more
properly understand how the experiences of the past have led them to where they
are, and to express insights with great power for future generations.
The second protection for the Nephites is the sign that
comes upon the Lamanites as a result of the curse. Nephi tells us that the
Lamanites’ skin was darkened and they became loathsome to the Nephites, because
the Lord wanted to discourage the God-fearing Nephites from mixing with the unbelieving
and idle Lamanites, who dwindled into “mischief and subtlety” (verse 24). The
principle of keeping families and their future generations within the bounds of
faith is a very old one and found throughout the Old Testament. Don’t
underestimate the impact that losing access to the brass plates had on the
Lamanites. Because they had forced the Nephites to flee, they now no longer had
access to the great repository of wisdom and continuity that the Israelite
record provided.
It is very important to recognize that the Lamanites’
darkened skin is not the curse they brought upon themselves. Our
Church’s leaders have emphasized this point. The curse is their separation from
God because of their disobedience, while the change in appearance is merely a
sign that tells the Nephites to avoid mixing with them. I think it is logical
to consider (even though the Church is silent on this next point) that had the
Nephites been of a dark skin color to begin with, the Lamanites might have
ended up with lighter skin to highlight the difference.
And so, it is from this time (starting probably a little
before 570 B.C., based on the references in this chapter) that we can trace the
very different trajectories of the two civilizations whose history we’ll follow
for the rest of the entire Book of Mormon. One final point to emphasize is that
even in their pitiable state, the Lord has a plan for the Lamanites. He will
give them chances at redemption through the generations, as Lehi foresaw in the
previous chapter, and he will also make them a “scourge” (verse 25) to the
Nephites. This means that the Lamanites will act as a means to remind the
Nephites, when they stray from the right path, of their need to constantly repent
and be humble before the Lord. How so? Well, the “wars and contentions” Nephi
mentions in verse 34 at the end of the chapter provide a pretty big clue. It is
the very real military threat the Lamanites pose to the Nephite way of life
throughout the narrative—and most importantly the true religion the Nephites
practice—that helps turn the Nephites back to God time and again and prepares
them to receive Christ in the New World.
You can read the entire chapter at the following link: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/5?lang=eng
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