1 Nephi 1:19

19  And it came to pass that the ^aJews did ^bmock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their ^cwickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a ^dMessiah, and also the redemption of the world.
    “did mock him”

            -It is interesting that being mocked or ridiculed is often, if not always, associated with dedication to the Lord and the right.  Why do people single out those doing kind, correct, and righteous things?  If you don’t want to be mocked and belittled, don’t follow the Lord… but if you do stand for right, be prepared and don’t think it any strange thing to be “mocked”.

            -the masses of this world will mock the expectations, values and processes of the spiritually informed.  We should not expect anything less.  Mockery is actually a condition that evidences to us that we are living correctly.  Light hates darkness.  People who don’t believe in a moral standard simply cannot endure those who do.  We would think that the amoral and the anti-moral would simply let it go and live their beliefs separately… but no!  They cannot allow moral standards to be present among them.    Truth and light illuminate the wrongness of darkness.  It is the contrast that is the problem.  If the entire world were together in a darkened state then no one would know the difference but darkness contrasted against lightness shows the error, the failure, the limitations of darkness.  When even one person is good and moral it provides a standard against which the wickedness and immorality can be seen.  Distinctions have to be eradicated:  no good, no evil, no righteousness and no wickedness…. Everything needs to be subjective with no definite wrongs or rights.  Then there will be no standard to measure up to or to meet.

       “did mock him because”

            -because of his funny clothes?  No!  Because of his foolish business mistakes?  No!  Because of how he talked?  No!  Because he didn’t party or womanize with them?  No!  Because he took a stance and declared the reality of their behavior (that their behavior was immoral) and what the consequences would come upon them due to their errant (i.e. “wrong”) actions/behavior.

            -mokery is the first and most predictable response of a spiritually insensitive society (or individual).  It is the natural man’s visceral response to any suggestion that their manner of living is somehow wrong.  It is a defense mechanism that preempts any self-reflection.  It moves us immediately in the direction of anger rather than humility and change.  Where mockery is expressed, anger, hostility and violence are not far behind.

-such declarations –clear and unashamed—are the role of a prophet.

1 Nephi 1:18

18  Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the ^adestruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to ^bprophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.

            -Whenever we are given truth/knowledge from God there is also given to us a responsibility to act on those things.  This often includes the responsibility to share it/give it to others.  Beyond the matter of a “responsibility” those who receive such a profound new perspective are driven from within to share the reality of the things they now know.  They no longer see from a mortal perspective, rather they see things as they really are (as God sees them).  This is dangerous in a world of natural men.  I wonder if the wrath brought about from man’s reaction to exhortations to repent and premonitons of heavenly judgement are of any concern to those who have so recently tasted of God’s might and majesty.  Men must seem so diminuitive in comparison and yet men rule mortality and exercise violence on the prophets. 

            -Lehi was profoundly affected by the things he learned from heavenly messengers.  It can be quite frustrating to try and communicate those same things to others.  As mortals our communicative ability is far inferior in ability to make an impact than heavenly messengers.  We sometimes talk about messages that are “lost in translation” when transitioned from one earthly language to another earthly language.  This same idea most certainly applies when passing a message, experience or idea from a heavenly language to a mortal language.  Thank goodness for the assistance of the Holy Ghost!

    “marvelous things”

            -it is an indictment against men that they have frequently received God’s “marvelous things” with anger and violence.  It illustrates the great gulf between God and man.  This is the reason why God’s messengers are sometimes commanded not to “cast pearls before swine.”

1 Nephi 1:17

17  But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days.  Behold, I make an ^aabridgment of the record of my ^bfather, upon ^cplates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my ^dfather then will I make an account of mine own life.

            -Why make an abridgement when a full account already exists?  I suppose that this question might also have crossed Nephi’s mind.   His genius and greatness is that he did not need an answer to obey.

            -Nephi is making three records:  first, “an account of my proceedings in my days”; second, “an abridgement of the record of my father”; and third, a historical or secular account of the non-spiritual activities of his family and the emerging nation (see Nephi 9:2).  Consider the circumstances and technology of making these records:  inscriptions on plates of metal.  The metal had to be found,  The engraving method did not easily allow for corrections (no eraser, whiteout or delete button).  The time alone necessary to make these records should cause those of us who are “too busy” to sit down at a computer and compose entries into our journal, ashamed at our many excuses.

refind and manufactured into sheets.

     “upon plates which I have made with  mine own hands”

            -where does Nephi get the idea of manufacturing plates and composing a spiritual history on them?  Clearly he had seen his father engaged in this exact activity.  Where did Lehi get the idea?  Perhaps it was from the great value that was made obvious through the process of obtaining and the subsequent reading of the plates of brass.  These sacred, inspirational records of the great prophets of the past became a model for Lehi and Nephi who may have hardly recognized that they would become the first of a great line of prophets themselves.  The present quickly transitions to the past.  Our current trials become invaluable sources of strength for future generations experiencing their own uncertainty, tragedies and challenges of faith.

1 Nephi 1:16

16  And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in ^avisions and in ^bdreams; and he also hath written many things which he ^cprophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account.

     “he saw in visions and in dreams”

            -what qualified Lehi to have so many heavenly manifestations?  Clearly he had a gift for such experiences and we may not know a fraction of his experience.  Had the thophanies commenced of a sudden or did he experience a gradual and increasing maturity –perhaps even from his youth-- that culminated in the events related in the first chapter of Nephi?  What visions and dreams did not make it into Nephi’s record?  Whereever this gift began and however frequent they may have been we don’t know.  We can, however, suppose that Nephi’s greatness was probably modeled after his father. And while Laman and Lemuel are nearly as bad as Nephi is good, Nephi appears to have had a mentor in Lehi.  We have solid ground to assume that Lehi was as fantastic in his faith and obedience as was his son.  It is certain that Lehi qualified for such tremendous heavenly experiences because he was faithful and committed to the word of God.  Who has the faith and integrity to take his family from their established home, leaving everything and departing into the desert with no firm or final plan of action?  If I am honest with my weaknesses, my pride and my level of faith, I have to admit that I would not be up to the task.

   ‘Which he prophesied and spake unto his children”

            -there is an age at which children lose their estimation of parents as infallible.  Sometime in early adolescence parents lose the “superhero glow”.  This rapidly deteriorates into a sense of parents being out of touch and susceptible to the foibles of foolish traditions.  Children proclaim their own omniscience together with their parents embarrassing inability to know anything regarding the culture of the younger generation complete with its better, more progressive values, music, potential and society.  The “ramblings” of a man overcome with visions, who was constantly harping on the height of the cultural mainstream, must have been petrifying for Laman and Lemuel who were probably in the thick of this developmental stage.  We can almost hear their protests, “Come on dad, enough already.  Do you know how crazy you sound?  You look like a fool and you are embarrassing us.”

       “...full account..."

            -these things must have occupied the 116 lost pages; and Nephi (in his "small plates”) is just giving us a quick rendition of the most vital events/doctrines.

1 Nephi 1:15

15  And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him.

     "...his soul did rejoice..."

-this is curious behavior in light of the terrible things he was seeing:  the destruction of Jerusalem, the murder of his countryman, the apostasy of Israel, etc.  This naturally begs the question:  Why was Lehi moved to rejoice?

-why did he rejoice after viewing the destruction of Jerusalem?  He must have seen more and understood the big picture (verse 14).  Lehi was coming to know the goodness and mysteries of God.

1 Nephi 1:14

14  And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty!  Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy ^apower, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who ^bcome unto thee that they shall perish!

     “when my father had read and seen many… he did exclaim… unto the Lord…”

            -it seems to me that this is the ideal manner of scripture study and prayer:  it is two way communication.  We read the words of God and are touched.  We approach God in thanksgiving and praise.

        "...Great and marvelous are thy works..."

            -somehow he got an added understanding of how the Lord works, for surely he is not referring only to the sad and unfortunate destruction of Jerusalem as "great and marvelous works".

            Lehi just describes, in verse 13, the terrible things to happen yet in verse 14 he praises God’s works as great and marvelous.   In fact, the focus of Lehi as expressed in the words he uses is not about the destruction, death and suffering nor the ugliness of rebellion and wickedness.  Consider the words used to describe his “take away” from this vision: marvelous are thy works, thy power, goodness, mercy! 

            -Lehi is either a person who delights in blood and horror (and this is obviously not the case) or the vision which he received enabled him to see earthly events from God’s –from a higher- perspective.  We should be very careful in understanding events on a worldly scale instead of seeing things/events as God sees them.  If we don’t we could kick against and reject the very path God is pursuing.  Is not this what people who fight against the church out of honest objection are doing?

            -our world is filled with many of the characteristics and qualities Lehi saw:  wickedness, sin, suffering, inequality, the good suffering at the hands of the wicked, etc.  We now have a choice.  With the added perspective evidenced in Lehi’s vision and his glorifying of God we can be weighed down by the muck we find ourselves in or we can work to achieve a perspective like his.  One that recognized that God will not suffer those who come to Him to perish.  God will deliver and reward those who wait upon him either in this life or the next.

1 Nephi 1:13

13  And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine ^aabominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning ^bJerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be ^ccarried away captive into Babylon.

            -(13 through 15):  If we really had an understanding of God's workings and purposes we would praise Him even amidst all the sorrow and suffering of life.

    “I have seen thine abominations”

            -God sees differently than we do.  His perspective is wider.  His perception is clearer.  His vision is not inhibited by mortal culture and a reality limited by time.  Much of this is due to the fact that he has no veil providing horizons that we cannot see beyond.  The other limitation contributing to mortal myopia is sin.  We become shortsighted, myopic and blind to realities.  We simply cannot see things as they really are because we do not have the mind of God.  We sometimes see the same sights as another but though we have eyes, we cannot see.

             -Lehi had lived in Jerusalem his entire life.  He appears to be approaching middle age at the time of his visions.  We don’t know if he was previously troubled by the transgressions taking place around him but it seems fairly safe to say that he did not see the situation as clearly (if at all) as he does in this vision.  The abominations of his neigbhors and countrymen were made known to him in a new light, a fresh perspective.

1 Nephi 1:12

12  And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the ^aSpirit of the Lord.

            -It is very possible (probable) that Lehi was reading a book of scripture… What, when we read it, fills us with the Spirit of the Lord?  The Scriptures! 

            -One of the quickest ways to gain the companionship of the Holy Ghost is to read and consider the scriptures.  It is as if we are listening to the voice of God.  When we read the words of God we are not having a simple one-way conversation because the Spirit comes into our soul and we are able to have a conversation.  Mortal books do not have this quality but mortal books are authored by mortals.  The scriptures are authored by God.

1 Nephi 1:11

11  And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and ^astood before my father, and gave unto him a ^bbook, and bade him that he should read.

            -QUESTION:  Why was Lehi given a book and told to read?

    “a book”

            -this book appears to contain a record of the events soon to befall the nation of Isreal, specifically at Jerusalem.  These are things to take place in the future!  It appears that these circumstances –and we can safely suppose all the circumstances and events- are not only known in advance but already written in books.  These then, are the books of the history of the world written before that history occurs!  The history of the world has already played out from the perspective of God.  He has seen things that are yet to happen as if they already have!  While disconcerting, this is what we call the omniscience of God.  He knows ALL things. This is one of the imponderables to us mortals who are so limited in our vision and knowledge.  It is one of the great gulfs of understanding between man and God.    It simply does not comport with our frameof reference or our understanding of reality, knowledge, free will, etc.  And yet we sometimes get insight enough to know how certain situations are going to play out as we approach them… say a day, a week, a month or sometimes even years before they actually occur.  If we have this ability then why can’t God, who exponentially exceeds us in every way, see millennia or epochs in advance?

1 Nephi 1:10

10  And he also saw ^atwelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.

     “… their brightness did exceed…”

            -a similar glory ascribed to the Savior (see comment above applies to the twelve).  Just as Christ, so also do we become filled with light/glory as we become more Christ-like.

            -during mortality the twelve apostles displayed a wide range of common human weaknesses.  They did not fully understand, they were confounded, they even demonstrated character traits indicative of the common man –they were far from perfect.  This should give us nothing but hope for our own condition.  We are burdened with many faults.  But this vision of the twelve as beings whose “brightness did exceed that of the stars” provides a more eternal view of our potential.  Paul’s words provide a truer vision of our growth potential, “for I reckon that the suffering (the weaknesses, faults, mistakes) of the present time (in mortality) are now worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18).

 

9 & 10 (Comparative)  In verse nine Jesus’ luster was compared to the sun (at noon day) even while in verse ten the luster of the Twelve was compared to the stars.  There is obviously a gradation scale here with Christ’s brightness being much more than the Twelve’s.

1 Nephi 1:9

9  And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his ^aluster was above that of the sun at noon-day.

     “his luster” (referring to the Savior)

            -it is curious that many have described their experience with the Savior in this same manner (i.e. same type of description).  More interesting is that the description identifies the accompanying light as belonging to, not separate or distinct from (i.e. behind or from without), the personage.  Jesus Christ’s countenance is so full of truth and intelligence that he physically shines.  His body is not only filled with light (D&C 88:67), but He is the light of the world, the source from which all else is illuminated.

1 Nephi 1:8

8  And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a ^avision, even that he saw the ^bheavens open, and he thought he ^csaw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.

            QUESTION:  Why two visions/encounters so near to each other?  The first appears to be related to the latter and more complete vision.  What allowed Lehi to proceed from one to the other or was this added light and truth an inevitability?  This question becomes pertinent to us as we strive for greater knowledge and direction from God.   How can we facilitate a greater and greater endowment of truth from heaven?

       “being thus overcome”

            -I wonder if Lehi had been “less overcome”, or in other words, if he took more lightly or pondered less (i.e. gone about his everyday activities) the thing which he had, in the first instance, been given would the Lord bless him with a further degree of knowledge (this additional vision)?!  How often do we have a spiritual experience and, although we are touched and/or grateful, not take sufficient time to ponder it –we hardly feel we have enough time to write it down.  In this instance we take the things of God too lightly.

    “he was carried away in a vision”

            -most visions seem to take place in the location of the participant:  Moses was not “carried away” but rather encountered God at the place of the burning bush.  The same happened to Paul whose experience on the road to Damascus stayed on the road; likewise Joseph Smith never left the sacred grove.  Even Lehi’s first vision took place on the rock where he was praying.  Why then, in this instance, is he “carried away”?

6 & 8 (Comparative).  I wonder if the content of the two experiences are related?

1 Nephi 1:7

7  And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being ^aovercome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.

    "..being overcome..."

            -footnote a:  all these references cite experiences when the physical strength of man is        overcome by the spiritual power of God.  Mortal strength pales in comparison to spiritual power. 

Footnotes

  a (overcome):  Dan 8:26-27, 10:8-12; 1Ne. 17:47; Alma 27:17; Moses 1:9-10:  See notes above

     “overcome with the Spirit”

            -I think there is a substantial/significant reason for the use of “with” instead of “by”.  “With” signifies a more personal/intimate communication.  His state was not something the Spirit did to him, but through, in and by cooperation with him.  This requires a significant degree of worthiness on Lehi’s behalf.  It also shows, as in so many other places, that the Spirit works with us, respecting our agency; not doing things to us but with us (when invited into our lives).

     “cast himself upon his bed, being overcome…”

            -Lehi was nothing less than exhausted!  The Spirit demands and drains physical strength.  Sound like another (more modern) prophet’s experience?

1 Nephi 1:6

6  And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a ^apillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did ^bquake and tremble exceedingly.

     “as he prayed”

            -I can’t help wondering if Lehi’s prayer was a casual 30 second event or if his prayer was long and patient enough that the Lord had a chance to answer/speak.

            -praying is an act that opens us up to God.  It is a serious action and should not be trifled with for we never know when he will call on us to stand up and be about his work.  Prayer demonstrates a humility and a desire to gain God’s mind concerning a matter.  Lehi prayed and his life was never the same again!  Are we ready for a similar measure of divine interposition in our lives?  While our path may not take such a dynamic change of trajectory as did Lehi’s, when God answers our prayer we will never be the same.  For this reason some men pray but not really.  They want to go through the act of praying but they do not really want to have the experience of prayer where God actually answers back and gives them a work to do.  God’s work is never easy since it always runs contrary to the popular pursuits of man.  If we were honest we would admit that in our prayers we really do not want God to answer back.  This is the reason why we must be humble, broken, exhausting every other available option, before we are really ready to have an experience with God.  It is at this point --when we are willing to try anything, when we no longer care what anyone else thinks—when we are really ready to hear God’s voice.  Isn’t it odd how man hears God’s voice in the extremities of their lives.  A comfortable man or woman will rarely hear God’s voice or receive answers to their prayers.  They are simply not in an attitude to hear what he has to say.

      "...there came a pillar of fire..."

            -other pillars of light/fire:  Moses on Sinai, Joseph in the sacred grove, Kirtland temple, when the Holy Ghost sanctifies,

     “he saw and heard much”

            -what was this “much” that Lehi saw and heard?  If it was “much” why do we have almost no specifics of this experience?  No doubt they occupied many pages of the Book of Lehi.

      “because of the things which … he did quake and tremble”

            -we are often casually willing, even desirous, to have/receive some kind of revelation/ manifestation but if we knew what we would see, I wonder if we would really ask.  Perhaps this is why we don’t receive:  1.  to protect us when, if we got what we asked for, we would be in over our heads = condemned because we were not in a position to do what we would then be required to do after so great a manifestation. 2.  to protect us from naively surrendering our free agency.  The Lord knows what we are ready for more than we –too much light to someone not ready to receive can blind, not enlighten.

1 Nephi 1:5

5  Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his ^aheart, in behalf of his people.

    “wherefore”

            -this word again connects two seemingly unrelated clauses/thoughts together to say something important (usually indicates a cause-effect relationship):  Lehi was obviously affected (worried, confused, wanting directions, etc.) by the prophets preaching and he acted on it à he went and prayed.

      "...prayed unto the Lord with all his heart, in behalf of his people."

            -in light of what we know about the story, we should recognize that even Lehi’s sincere prayer was not realized.  Maybe we should think twice about complaining to God when ours are not answered.  Lehi’s desires (a prophet’s) were not realized.

            -one purpose of prophets is to turn us to the Lord.  Lehi is a model for us.  He was living his life, presumably a good and decent life, and then the prophets showed up with a message that all is not well.  Instead of getting defensive or angry Lehi turned to God.  Prophets facilitate our relationship with God, like shepards they lead us (sometimes push us) to enter the fold and find the safety there.

      “in behalf of his people”

            -Lehi seemed motivated by a concern for his neigbors and countrymen.  He did not want the desperate conditions foretold by the prophets to come upon them.  Interestingly, those who do not listen to the prophets do not care about their own salvation but more telling, they do not care about the condition (salvation, wellbeing, protection) of others.  They are, in this sense, very self-centered.

            -in this brief statement there is compelling evidence that Lehi is a very compassionate man who was moved to pray for all his brethren.  It (the sincerity of Lehi) obviously impressed Nephi, who was quite young at this point, so much so that he remembered this when making the account many years later.

            -how fervently ought we to be praying for our disobedient brothers and sisters, especially in the deteriorating society we are in?  How often have our prayers been filled with sincere pleadings for them?

1 Nephi 1:4

4  For it came to pass in the commencement of the ^afirst year of the reign of ^bZedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at ^cJerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many ^dprophets, prophesying unto the people that they must ^erepent, or the great city ^fJerusalem must be destroyed.

     "in the commencement of the first year of the reign of Zedekiah..."

            -for the correspondent Biblical historical account:  2 Kings 24:10-20 & 2 Chron. 36:9-20

     "many prophets"

            -God get’s his message out particularly when the message is dire.  One wonders if these prophets established any kind of society  -something like a support group or if each was independent and largely oblivious to the others. 

            -one wonders about the progression of Lehi.  We speak of him without reservation as “a prophet” but did he view himself as such and what form did his progression take as he grew into the mantle of a spokesman for God?  He was simply a man, a husband and a father who responded to the messages of the “many prophets” who showed up in Jerusalem.  Clearly Lehi was open to the message and the prompting of the Spirit when the greater majority of his contemporaries were not.

     "there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that ..."

            -Ezekiel was contemporary with Lehi and could easily have been one of those prophets. We know the names of four of the prophets of that day—Lehi, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel. Lehi's call was to lead a colony out of Jerusalem to a promised land. Jeremiah's call was to stay and bear witness of the destruction of Jerusalem. Daniel was called into exile, but he went into the royal courts and there was allowed to get a picture of the grand world view of history. Ezekiel was called to go among the captives and explain to them why this terrible tragedy had happened.

-Religious Studies Monograph Series, Isaiah and the Prophets, Vol. 10, p.77

      “must repent…. must be destroyed”

            -the Lord is not wishy-washy.  He abides by laws that must be carried through.

            -as always, men and women control their own destiny; agency is key here:

people repent = no destruction.