Escaping Jerusalem - First Book of Nephi, Chapter Two (1 Nephi 2)

As we left our protagonist (Lehi, a prophet among the Jews) in the last chapter, he had received a vision which lent additional conviction to his calls for repentance among the people of Jerusalem in 600 BC.

Now, as we come into Chapter 2, we find the Lord speaking to Lehi in a dream. First, he provides words of comfort and reassurance that Lehi has been doing exactly as he should, even though he’s not getting a lot of love and smiles from the people of the city. In fact, in this dream, the Lord commands Lehi to take his family and leave Jerusalem.

Very matter of factly, the narrative tells us that Lehi did as he was told, and the story moves on to tell us about Lehi abandoning his home and possessions. He and his family depart with necessary supplies and provisions, and the story follows them into the wilderness and a completely new life.

Before we follow the narrative any further, though, it’s important to recognize the significance of what just took place. This faith of this man must have been enormous for him to simply pick up and leave. It appears he had accumulated some wealth, and he is willing to leave that behind without hesitation. Not only that, but all the comforts of the identity and status he and his family had spent their lives cultivating.

What’s even more astounding about Lehi’s faith is that after what appears to be a fairly arduous trek in one of the hotter areas on earth (probably about two weeks – scholars tell us about 12 days to get to the Red Sea from Jerusalem, and then verse 6 tells us 3 more days after that), the first thing Lehi does after arriving at their temporary home in a river valley is to build an altar to offer sacrifices in gratitude to the Lord.

(See the possible route Lehi and his family took here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/manual/32506/32506_000_057_04-possibleroute.pdf)

So he’s not only obeying. He’s joyfully and thankfully obeying despite great personal sacrifice. Of course, because of Lehi’s faith, he has a good reason to be thankful. What his sons Laman (lay-man) and Lemuel (lem-yoo-uhl) think is a terrible burden of leaving all that they had, Lehi knows is actually a huge blessing of being able to escape an impending catastrophe.

Which leads us to the very important distinction that we are introduced to in this chapter. Between those who “murmur” (Laman and Lemuel, in this case), and those who give Lehi the benefit of the doubt and decide to go directly to the Lord to find out for themselves. This is where Nephi (our narrator), is introduced as a character in the story. He is the youngest of four sons, but because of his desires to know more of God, we see that he is being prepared to become the family leader. This echoes some of the Old Testament accounts we have of younger brothers like Jacob and Joseph who were given greater responsibilities than their older brothers.

In fact, the tension between those who seek to keep the Lord’s commandments (Nephi and his brother Sam) and those who murmur (Laman and Lemuel) is one of the key threads that winds throughout the Book of Mormon and the account of the civilizations that will spring from this one family. The Lord is very clear up front that those who keep the commandments will prosper, and those who don’t won’t. “Prosperity” here is more about ultimate happiness through personal contentment and family togetherness than it is about material wealth.

Here's the link to the chapter: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/2?lang=eng

Also see this video clip (starting from 7:28):

Epic Quest Begins - First Book of Nephi, Chapter One (1 Nephi 1)

The beginning of the Book of Mormon contains a story that is not unlike much of the "epic quest" literature and film that remains very popular with most cultures (i.e., Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter). A hero and those close to him find themselves in mortal danger and need to move quickly and over vast distances to save themselves and their civilization. Only in this case, the story is not fiction.

As our first chapter begins, we are introduced to our hero. His name is Lehi (pronounced lee-high), and he is one of the prophets who lived and taught in Jerusalem among the Jews just before the armies of Babylon raided the city and took most of those in the Kingdom of Judah captive (right around 600 BC or BCE). In fact, Lehi is a contemporary of the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, and when the story opens, we find Lehi testifying to the people of Jerusalem that they needed to repent and turn back to the Lord or risk destruction (the classic prophetic "voice of warning"). After praying especially hard for his people to open their hearts, he receives a vision. In the vision, he apparently sees Jesus Christ and his 12 apostles descending in glory, and they provide him direct revelation about many things.

After his vision, it seems that Lehi now preaches repentance to the people with a much greater sense of certitude about what's at stake. If he doubted before, there is no equivocation anymore. He now shares some very specific things with his people about the dangers that await them, and is mocked for it. One of the key components of his teaching is that the Messiah will come to redeem the world.

As the chapter ends, the people appear to have some ominous things in mind for Lehi. But we are reassured that the "tender mercies" of the Lord are over those who follow him, even unto their deliverance.

This brings me to an important point. Our narrator is not Lehi himself, but his son Nephi (neef-eye). Nephi is telling the story from memory several years later. In hearing Lehi's story through Nephi, we sense that this father and son share a special bond, and anticipate learning more about how the quest Lehi will later start will involve Nephi.

The first line of the chapter reads, "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents..." and then begins the narrative. This teaches us how important our families are to our identities and our backgrounds. Right from the start, we learn that family will be a central theme of the Book of Mormon, and throughout the book we will trace how important (though not completely determinative) family interactions and traditions--especially how we record and share our family's stories of heritage--are to the fate of communities and civilizations.

The most important takeaways from this chapter, in my opinion, are the admirable qualities Lehi shows in humbling himself before the Lord and seeking knowledge from Him. Lehi is equally determined to help his people if there is any chance he can, and to find out key eternal truths and principles important to every person's understanding of their relationship to God and the world. Right from the very beginning, we are shown that this book testifies of Jesus Christ and the salvation offered through Him.

You can read the chapter here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/1?lang=eng

Also see the first 7:27 of this video clip:

 

Origin Story and Witnesses - Introductory Passages

The first thing I want to share is what are known as the introductory sections to the book. They talk about both the origins of the book and what's in it. Some of the account sounds downright implausible on first hearing for those unacquainted with it, which makes direct communication with God through prayer that much more important in determining what's true.

Joseph Smith, a young teenage farmboy in western New York (at the time, in 1823, a western frontier area) was visited by an angel named Moroni (pronounced mohr-oh-nigh: the same angel found at the top of many of our temple spires sounding a trumpet) who guided Joseph up to a hillside where gold plates with a record inscribed from an ancient civilization were hidden. The plates were deposited around 400 A.D. by Moroni while he was still living. He was the last survivor of his civilization. Over the course of four years, Joseph prepared to receive the plates, and ultimately received them and translated them into English by the power of God and with the help of a few different people. 

However, no one but Joseph was permitted to see the plates until after the translation was finished, when three men were shown the plates by Moroni, and eight other men were shown the plates by Joseph himself. These men signed their names to the fact that they had actually seen the plates, and never retracted these claims, even though some broke with the Church later in life.  

The title page was actually translated directly from the plates, and indicates that a key purpose of the book is "to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations." There are a number of explanations talking about the different metal plates used and eventually brought together from different sources. The introduction contains the important quote from Joseph Smith that he told his associates that the Book of Mormon is "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.” At the same time, these sections indicate that the Book of Mormon supports the Bible.

The Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith is a very compelling account from Joseph Smith's own recollection (written in 1838). He explains that after he had translated those plates he was given permission to translate (some plates' translation is being reserved for a future time), he returned the plates to Moroni. 

You can find all these introductory passages at this link (everything above the link that reads "1 Nephi"): https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng