1 Nephi 13:7-8

7  And I also saw ^agold, and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined ^blinen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw many harlots.

8  And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the harlots, are the ^adesires of this great and abominable church.

            -all these things are treasures, physical items of the temporal world.  They are transitory and have no lasting eternal value.  The most wealthy and powerful men of every century previous to this one, including kings, industrialists, actors, socialites, emperors, financiers… all of them now have a net worth of nothing.  Each is dead, buried and cannot buy a single trifle of the earth’s possessions.  Their wealth is useless.  Their fame is a relick and commands no personal advantage unless some commission is provided to their posterity for the number who visit their graves.  Gold, silver, fine clothing, silks, furs, jewels and cars are substances of mortality only.  They are envied by individuals and organizations who have laid their eternal claim on their standing in mortality.  These are the desires of those who want power, prestigue and glory now!  We can belong to the kingdom that exists on the earth or the kingdom that exists in eternity. Which do you choose?  What material items or worldly things do we desire?

1 Nephi 13:6

6  And it came to pass that I beheld this ^agreat and ^babominable church; and I saw the ^cdevil that he was the founder of it.
-if we read the scriptures carefully we will see that Lucifer is never credited with creating anything.  He can't.  He can imitate, transform, organize, "founder", adulterate, manipulate....  He has no creative power.  He takes what already exists and twists it.  And he is a master of such.  But it is critical to our understanding of our future status  -whether we will belong to and be as God or Lucifer- it is critical that we understand where the creative power lies.  Only God can create.  Lucifer does not have this privilege and gift.  He takes what God creates or possesses and twists it to his devilish objectives.  He does this with the priesthood, with the church, with the family, with wealth, with revelation, even with virtues such as sacrifice and love.  There is a Satanic counterfeit for every true principle.  In each case, the focus becomes self instead of others.  This has been his modus operandi from the beginning when he sought his own aggrandizement in the guise of saving all of God's children. His motivation was not God or God's children but it was himself.  This orientation is fundamentally contrary to the laws of heaven and we learn that even doing good things can be wrong if not done the right way.  "To obey is better than sacrifice..."

1 Nephi 13:5

5  And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a ^achurch which is most abominable above all other churches, which ^bslayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a ^cyoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity.

            -wow, that is quite an indictment.  What historic evidence do we have for these  horrible actions of this abominable church?

1 Nephi 12:17-18

17  And the ^amists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which ^bblindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into ^cbroad roads, that they perish and are lost.

18  And the large and spacious ^abuilding, which thy father saw, is vain ^bimaginations and the ^cpride of the children of men.  And a great and a terrible ^dgulf divideth them; yea, even the word of the ^ejustice of the Eternal God, and the Messiah who is the Lamb of God, of whom the Holy Ghost beareth record, from the beginning of the world until this time, and from this time henceforth and forever.

Verse   Symbol                                    Interpretation

16        filthy water/river                     depths of hell

17        mists of darkness                    temptations of the devil (which blinds eyes/hardens hearts)

18.            large/spacious building          vain imaginations/pride of children of men

great gulf                                word of the justice of God

      “imaginations”

-the sad part for the wicked is that their vanity and pride isn’t even real.  It’s made up in their own minds:  its “imaginations”.

     “a great and terrible gulf divideth them, yea even the word of the justice of the Eternal God”

-notice the nature of the “word of God” in its comparison to a “great gulf”  -the word of God separates the good and evil.  That is bad for the sinner (they have no part nor place) but good for the righteous (they are safe on ‘their’ side:  kept away/insulated from sin).

1 Nephi 11:36

36  And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the ^apride of the world; and it ^bfell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great.  And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

     “was the pride of the world”

-this pride is not even real, it is a fabrication of one's own mind. Compare this to evils and temptations that take on a temporal formation.  At least stealing, adultery and malicious treatment of others have a physical manifestation, pride is an intangible (although its behavioral effects are just as real as any of the sins).  This quality does not make it worse or better, as far as sins are concerned... each is opposed to the nature of God and an affront to Him.  Each puts the illegitimate desires of the self above the innocent and legitimate claims of others.  Sin is always fundamentally self-centered in nature and abuses the needs of others which we, as divine beings have a duty to preserve and defend, never to violate or diminish.

“and it fell”

-of course it will fall, its not real or true.  It is an illusion, a hollow shell. It is unsustainable as it has not foundation in truth.

What Lehi saw was not simply a vision of a tree or even the tree of life with its associated representations.  With Nephi’s more expanded vision we understand that Lehi’s vision was the mission and mortal ministry of the Savior Jesus Christ.  Even more, it is the life and person of Jesus Christ made applicable to our life.  That is we can see our life in parallel to the Savior’s life.  We are living his existence.  Like the Savior who faced a multitude of the earth who was gathered together to fight and slay him, that same multitude –“the world and the wisdom thereof”- is gathered to fight against and spiritually (and perhaps physically) slay us.  We can see this same parallel in each symbol of Lehi’s dream and in the corresponding reality of the Savior’s life.

1 Nephi 11:32

32  And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was ^ataken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was ^bjudged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

            -if Nephi saw (was shown) these things in advance, they were surely known and seen also by the Father and by the Savior.  These things were not known in general, but in specific detail.  The Savior knew what he was “getting into” before he stepped into mortality. 

     “the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world”

            -there is some serious irony that speaks to conditions of the telestial world versus the celestial. Bodies (including spirits and characters) belonging to the celestial sphere are judged with disdain, scorn and ultimate prejudice by those of a telestial sphere.  Christ was judged by the men of the world.  He will judge these same men.  That judgement will include, in part at least, their indictment and sentence of the pure son of God.

1 Nephi 11:29

29  And I also beheld ^atwelve others following him.  And it came to pass that they were ^bcarried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

            -why were the twelve carried away and hidden from Nephi’s view?  A view of these specifics was, apparently, outside the perview of this vision.  This revelation, like others, has a particular objective and is not comprehensive in nature.  We are given what we need and what we are prepared to receive.  Our growth, like that of the greatest prophets is “line upon line and precept upon precept”.  Truth is distilled upon man as the dews from heaven and this, as he is ready for it.  While God is imparting his tender mercies to man, it is one of those tender mercies that we are not given more than we are ready to be held accountable to.  Our agency and capacity always forms the glass ceiling that protects us from inevitably falling to live up to what we cannot yet endure. We think we want more but struggle to abide by what we already have. 

1 Nephi 11:28

28  And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in ^apower and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.

            -and here we find the sad disconnect that reflects the battle going on in this estate:  those who minister, serve and profess a faith in eternal truth/realities will come into conflict with those whose faith is in earthly and temporal conditions.  The telestial does not accord well with the celestial.  It is incompatible and wants to expel that which does not fit the natue of its existence.   

1 Nephi 11:23

23  And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most ^ajoyous to the soul.
     “Yea, and the most joyous”

-what does this added description (most joyous to the soul) of the angel contribute or emphasize?

-not only is this love –the love of God- the thing we desire (or should desire) the most but it is also the thing that will bring our souls the most joy.  There is a subtle but very important distinction between most desirable and most joyous.  We are looking for ultimate in joy not ultimate in desire.  Unfulfilled desire leads to frustration.  There are many people who have become so addicted to some physical sensation or appetitie that they are consumed with desire for those things, BUT they can never be satisfied or find joy in them.  They are extremely transitory and fleeting.  So to desire something is very different than to find joy in something.  With the love of God, we can find ultimate, undiminished, unqualified joy!  In fact, there is nothing else that can deliver this to us.  All other sources are an imitation and a lesser substitute for the love of God.  Satan uses them, for sure to keep us just one step from the source of joy.

1 Nephi 11:22

22  And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the ^alove of God, which ^bsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the ^cmost desirable above all things.
            -this is a FUNDAMENTAL question that each of us must come to know, not only intellectually but deep in the core of our soul.  Do we know the meaning of the tree?  Do we understand what is meant by “the love of God”?

      "...it is the love of God..."

-How does God show his love to us?

                        giving us the Savior/Atonement

                        giving us the Holy Ghost

            -what is “the love of God”?  Can we express it, explain the breath and depth of its reach, describe how it has effected and changed us, describe what it means to mortal man –to our interactions, our relationship, our future?

    “which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men”

            -this is the influence that, without consciously recognizing it, provides an underlying spirit of life, peace, happiness, goodness and optimism in the souls of mankind.  It is the invisible contextual backdrop of humanity.  It is the balance to the devilish impulses of the flesh (pessimism, hopelessness, selfishness, aggression, etc.).  The opposite of a general sense of love that permeates the world and exists in the hearts of mankind would be a gnawing despair.  Such does exist at times within individuals and societies.  The generator of such a spirit is usually wickedness, individual or collective.  Despair can, just as realistically as love, sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men.

     “it is the most desirable above all things”

            -what is it that the human soul yearns for?  In this thing there is a great battle between the natural man –the desires of the body/our “animal” or carnal natures- and the spiritual/eternal man –the desires of our spirits/our divine natures.  The carnal man yearns for the things of the physical world:  wealth, fame, comfort, ease, fulfillment of physical appetites.  The spiritual man yearns for this one thing above all else:  to receive and then to spread the love of God.  This hunger rests at the core  -deep within- of men and women.  We want love.  We want to go  back home to the place where we once felt that love.  Unfortunately so many of the carnal desires are contrary to and when indulged, become obstacles to obtaining that love.  Not because God ceases to extend that love but because our spirits cannot access it being so consumed with the baser, less refined physical substitutes.  It is like becoming so engorged on hyper flavored junk food that we have no room for the delicately seasoned main course.  Or having listened to bombastic band (leaving our ears ringing) we cannot hear the subtle brilliance of a stirring quartet or unamped vocal ballad.  In both cases, previous choices or behaviors have made us incompatible for a higher order.

            -this is not just a statement of subjective judgement.  This is a statement of eternal truth.  There is something that is most desirable above all.  This is a superlative statement and has effects similar to any physical law: e = mc2 or gravity or the laws of motion.  Regardless if we recognize or refute the truth, it is yet effectual.  No less than the more recognized statement found later in the Book of Mormon: wickedness never was happiness which has been modernized by recent prophets, you cannot do bad and feel good, so also with this truth.  Our souls hunger for this thing above all: the love of God.

1 Nephi 11:16

16  And he said unto me: Knowest thou the ^acondescension of God?

            -here is an angel teaching Nephi.  Angels are not “handicap” with the limitations of the veil.  Hence they have a step up on those engaged in the mortal experience even when those mortals are some of the great ones.  There must be great empathy by those who spirits who have experienced mortality who are now working with those presently engaged in the rigors of this estate.

     “Knowest thou the condescension of God?”

            -should Nephi (should we) have known about the condescension of God –what it is, what it means?  Is it something that ever crossed Nephi’s mind prior to the angel framing the question?  What other things should we know that we don’t, much less even considered. 

     “condescension”

            - definition: “voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in relations with an inferior.”

            -what are we to gather or understand about God’s condescension?  This is one of those concepts where there is a great divide between knowing about it  -yes, I am aware that Jesus Christ took a huge step down and came to earth to submit himself to man, to mortality, to the terrestrial sphere- and really having a deep understanding of what it means.

1 Nephi 11:14

14  And it came to pass that I saw the ^aheavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

            -angels (heavenly beings who belong to this earth, who were already or who will be engaged in mortality themselves  -per Joseph Smith) are deeply engaged in the activities of mortal men, women and children.  This experience with Nephi is not an anomaly.  They are aware and available at a moment’s notice to respond to spiritual needs.  They are of a matter and realm beyond our sight unless we enter a spiritual plane as Nephi is here and as various individuals have on rare but special occasions (including Mary, Daniel, the young man in Elisha’s company, and many children across the dispensations, etc.).  What is their purpose?  They appear to be teachers, messengers, comforters, protectors and providers of spiritual support in much the same way that we often provide moral support for one another.  There is much we do not know about the society of these spiritual beings, about the scope of their influence and the terms of their assignments. 

1 Nephi 11:9

9  And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is ^aprecious above all.

     “precious above all.”

            -precious:

    rare and worth a lot of money

    very valuable or important : too valuable or important to be wasted or used carelessly

                greatly loved, valued, or important

    highly esteemed or cherished <a precious friend>

    excessively refined

-to whom is the tree precious?  Where does it’s value eminate?  What one man esteems of great value, others do not.  Clearly the tree is precious to God and the great condemnation of man is that we do not hold the same estimation.  We might pose it this way:  To God, what is the most precious thing he has given to man?

1 Nephi 11:1

1  FOR it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat ^apondering in mine heart I was ^bcaught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high ^cmountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.

      “after I had desired… and believing that the Lord was able…, as I sat pondering…”

-there are 3 identifiable steps to Nephi’s gaining knowledge through a tremendous spiritual experience:  1.  (intense) desire            2.  Faith in the Lord (specific)    3.  Sober pondering

      -desire, believe, and pondering are all mental processes.  They have corresponding physical behaviors but ultimately the work Nephi did here to qualify himself for his own marvelous vision were mental or spiritual things.  These processes bridged the spirit and the body  and therefore elevated the soul to qualify for the experience about to commence.

      -these three spiritual actions are the prerequisites of prayer:  desire, believe and ponder.  We almost always skip these necessary precursors and jump right into the concluding stage.  We skip the main course and go to dessert, expecting to be filled. 

“an exceedingly high mountain”

      -clearly this is a temple experience for Nephi.  The scriptures are replete with the description of the “mountain of the Lord’s house”.  He is being “plucked” out of the world and given a much wider view of things.  These large picture perspectives are figuratively and literally obtained from a vista that provides an expansive view where we are not so caught up in the immediate details.  It is a longer term (in other words, an eternal) perspective.  And what is the objective of the temple?  Hugh Nibley taught it effectively: to provide us an education, it is a place of learning where we discover our place in relation to God and his cosmos.  Nephi is about to be taught exactly what we can learn from the temple curriculum.

“mountain, which I never had before seen and never before set my foot.”

-while this has obvious reference to a physical change of location and the mountain as a temple, I think it also makes allusion to Nephi’s new level or plateau of spiritual awareness.  He has entered a new spiritual realm, undergone a “quantum leap” of spirituality.  His repetitive description of the mountain as a place “new” and previously unfamiliar to him seems to be particularly noteworthy. 

1 Nephi 10:22

22  And the Holy Ghost giveth ^aauthority that I should speak these things, and deny them not.
     “the authority”

-the “right” or the “OK”

            -has the Holy Ghost ever given you authority to teach, communicate or speak certain things?  Are people or things bound by what you say?  How comfortable are you if the things that you speak are “set in stone” and have binding influence on those who hear?  How does one know he or she has such authority?

    “and deny them not.”

            -why do we sometimes deny the truths, teachings or warnings of God?  There are a few reasons:

            1.  we do not like the implications:  they curtail our natural desires.

            2.  we would rather have the acceptance of the masses who are more “accepting” of the thigs of this world over the things of God (old fashioned peer pressure and a desire for the approval of others).

            3.  they are too hard/they require more of us than we think we can give.

            4.  we are not living equal to the message and therefor do not want to be a hypocrite by speaking the things of God.

1 Nephi 10:21

21  Wherefore, if ye have sought to do ^awickedly in the days of your ^bprobation, then ye are found ^cunclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever.

      “if ye have sought to do wickedly"

            -few of us seek our evil.  You will find very few people, even of those engaged in the dregs of wickedness and evil, who will concede that they are pursuing or promoting wickedness.  We are astoundingly effective at self-deception.  Even the definitive despots –Hitler, Mao, Ghangis Kahn, Stalin, Pol Pot, Caligula and the like- set their actions in the virtuous context of some great good (political reform, social equality, nationalism, scientific progress, individual liberty, religious evangelism  -there is no rational that has not been levereaged for the defense of some great diabolic deed) .  Accordingly, we may quickly dismiss this phrase as “not applicable” to ourselves.  Sure, I have my weaknesses and have periodically fallen into sin but I have not SOUGHT to do wickely.  The more honest truth is that we do cling to our pleasurable sins.  There is some food, some activity, some judgement, some attitude which is so satisfying to this physical body (which includes emotionally, mentally, socially as well as physical) and which prohibits the unobstructed and intimate association with the Holy Ghost that we “cannot” banish it from our life.  It is just too hard for us to change, we enjoy what it provides us, we are too afraid to let it go… whatever the reason, we seek that action, thought or philosophy.  The truth is, if we are not seeking God’s will, we are seeking wickedly and this can happen without our committing or omitting any of the so called major or commonly acknowledged sins (like adultery, lieing, envying, worshipping materialism).  Wickedness is much more sophisticated and subtle than we would like to admit.

     “your probation”

            -one of Satan’s lies is to make men think that mortal life is an end, not a means.  It is the destination rather than the qualifying stage that will determine our future destination.  These two different perspectives will lead to very different strategies of how to act while here.  The idea of a probationary period is a perfect description of our current condition.  If, however, there is no realm after this one (and, correspondingly, none prior to it) then this is the “be all” and “end all” of our experience.  Why should we not maximize our pleasure in an all-out orgy of physical sensation and self-interest?  That is the only rational conclusion when operating under the assumption of no God or divine purpose of life.

    “cast off forever.”

            -our actions, decisions and behavior in this short time/state of probation determine what our eternal condition will be.  How can such a short time have consequences that will endure forever?  It almost seems illogical and even unfair.  In the end, however, those are irrelevant estimations since we cannot change the terms of the arrangement.  The important thing is that we are aware of the stakes involved.  It does inform us, however, as to the nature of the probabtionary experience.  If all of eternity is to be based on what happens in this short eighty year span, the nature of the assessment is critical. I am talking about the rigor, validity and reliability of the testing instrument. It must be robust:  testing us in a variety of settings; exploring our reactions on a breadth of topics, allowing for growth and learning while in the process of the assessment itself and then re-testing to discover growth and improvement.  It must be gradual in nature (questions and situations becoming increasingly more difficult).  It must be fairly scored across an infinite variety of subjects.  There must be sufficient knowledge of the material in order for the assessment to be applicable.  There is a time limit involved which introduces the element of efficiency.  This assessment is “timed” however we are unaware of the quantity of time we have to complete it.  All of these elements must come together and provide a sufficient measure of our performance such that the results can be 100% accurately generalized from a short time to an infinite future.  Its predictability must be perfect.

1 Nephi 10:18

18  For he is the ^asame yesterday, to-day, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him.

     “he is the same yesterday”

            -Nephi could not be more blatant or clear unless he were to say “God is ready to show you these things also if you would only prepare yourselves for the experience.”  Do not think for one second that we are any different than he or are operating under different rules.  The level of technology might have changed, but how God deals with his children is constant and always will be.

            -God is constant, He does not change and cannot be swayed.  He is absolutely secure in who and what He is.  Compare this to mortal man who is so equivocal, liable to be swayed, unsettled and unsure.  Paul identified this tendency and urged us to be more like God: “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, and cunning craftiness, wheeby they lie in wait to deceive.” (Eph. 4:14). 

            -we are not, like God, unchangeable mostly because we –to be honest- need to change.  We need to become more righteous, more pure.  We need to work toward a more Christlike character.  To stay the same yesterday and today would be to remain unqualified for eternal life.  Some people stubbornly cling to their character weaknesses and faults.  On the other hand, in those things we can be perfect in  -in Sabbath observance, in payment of tithing, in honesty- we should be constant, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.  By being such, people can count on us.  God can trust us.  There are few things that generate more security for a spouse than knowing exactly how their partner will act in a certain situation  -that they will be true, that they will be reliable in a specific situation or while doing a specific thing.  This is equally true and vital for children who need a sense of security in their lives:  to know that dad and mom love each other, to know that mom is around when they walk through the door from school and yell out, “Mom!?”.  The psychological and emotional assurance of such things is incalculable.  When we have achieved this type of righteous consistency we have become like God by being the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.

     “the way is prepared… from the foundation of the world”

            -God’s plan, the plan of salvation, is not some hastily conceived or constantly evolving plan.  It took shape before the seeming chaos and complicated scenarios of this life rolled out.  There is no situation that breaches the parameters of the plan.  The way leading to salvation accounts for all contingencies.

            -our plans are frequently much less prepared or well thought out.  This applies to our life plans, to our vacation plans, to the prepartions we give to our callings, etc.  Mortals are masters of improvisation and procrastination.  God does not organize his reality in this manner and neither should we  -if, that is, we wish to be successful in our endeavors.  For example, a Young Men’s Wednesday activity deserves much more advanced and careful planning than we often give it.  It is subsequently much less successful or impactul than we hoped.  We will answer for this one day.

1 Nephi 10:8

8  Yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness: ^aPrepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing.

     “make his paths straight”

            -what  does this mean?  How is “his path” made straight?  How do we “make his paths straight”?  Is it fair to say that we are expected to straighten out our lives by walking the path he outlined?

            -John’s exhortation was largely ignored, at least by the prevailing culture shaping contingent of society.  The recognized Jewish leaders, the “in crowd” did not change the trajectory or the substance of their lives.  Perhaps the humble group of John’s disciples lived with a higher level of attention to righteousness and spiritual matters  -they more conscientiously walked the straight and narrow path.

    “there standeth one among you whom ye know not”

            -why did the people not know the Savior, the light of the world, when he stood right amongst them?

            -they were not looking           

            -they were not paying attention

            -the Savior was not abnormally noticeable

            -they were too busy

            -they were expecting something else (as the Messiah)

Is it, therefore, terribly odd that people don’t readily accept the gospel light today due to the very same reasons listed above.

            -we sometimes talk about “hiding in plain sight” or phrased as it often is in the scriptures, “having eyes to see, they see not”.  This mortal blindness to spiritual, ethical or moral things appears to be a common characteristic of the natural man and of the temporal estate.  Are we caught up in this same mortal condition?  Why is it that we cannot see the reality of things (things as they really are) even to the degree that if God stood among us, we would not recognize Him?  This is the most damning self-indictment there is.

    “he is mightier than I”

            -there is a beautiful testimony of the Aaronic priesthood buried in this declaration.  Clearly John is drawing attention to the superlative might or power of the Savior but he is also acknowledging that he is mighty, that he has legitimate and significant power.  We should never diminish the power held by a righteous man of the Aaronic priesthood.  He has power greater and more lasting than the kings and rulers of the Earth.  For that matter, a woman of virtue and faith possesses great power as she also connects herself into the powers of heaven.  Yes, the Christ is the mightiest, but John –as a legitimate bearer of the Aaronic priesthood- possesses mighty power.  This is the power to change the eternal trajectory of men and women, to open the gates of the father’s kingdom and set them on the road to their unfathomable eternal destiny.  This is might indeed!

1 Nephi 10:6

6  Wherefore, all mankind were in a ^alost and in a ^bfallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer.

    “all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state”

            -this condition, as a common element of the mortal existence, was brought about when Adam and Eve transgressed the law of God.  Since God and sin are incompatible, the two became disjointed and separate.  Man literally fell from a state of being in God’s presence which is obviously a higher “standard of existence/living” than we now navigate.  Hence the fallen state.  It is a state defined by temptation (rather than self-disciplined righteousness), death (rather than perpetual life), sorrow, pain, cruelty (rather than compassion/love), division (rather than unity).  The term “lost” describes our potential eternal standing at the moment of the fall.  We fell through the grasp of our heavenly parents.  It is “lost” in a sense of “lost control” or “lost the championship”.  It is not that they could not find us.  There is a sense, however, of our being unable to find the way by ourselves.  This is by virtue of the veil and our disobedience which further clouds our minds and leads to confusion rather than truth and additional revelation.  The veil prohibits our complete clarity of understanding and spiritual sight but our rebellion and disqualification from the Spirit –which teaches, clarifies and imbues with intelligence- blinds our minds and hearts much more.  Our lack of vision into heavenly things is much less a function of the veil and is a condition largely self-imposed by our own actions.  We could nearly see into heaven and mortality with heavenly eyes if we lived so that the Holy Spirit could teach us all things.

     "rely"

            -a curious verb to use, but what a beautiful picture it creates!  We must depend, trust, lean on the Savior.  We are helpless were it not for this person who will assist us.

            -we rely on different people for different things.  Nephi is quite specific on what and why we need to rely on the Savior:  because we are "lost" and "fallen".  Hence he will help us find the way, ourselves, home, etc. and he will lift us up to where we once were.

     “Redeemer”

                -redeem (verb): to make (something that is bad, unpleasant, etc.) better or more acceptable; to exchange (something, such as a coupon or lottery ticket) for money, an award, etc.;  to buy back (something, such as a stock or bond).

 

 

What would life be like without a Savior

 

1 Nephi 8:35

35  And ^aLaman and Lemuel partook not of the fruit, said my father.

            -Nephi had just finished describing the sad general rejection by multitudes of people.  It must have been a discouraging panoramic view of so many people rejecting, in mass, the gospel and love of God.  The overview suddenly becomes very personal as the spotlight falls on two individuals.

            -In this live we cannot do all things, we cannot change the lives of masses of people.  Evil and wickedness will continue to retain a substantial hold over the world but there are a select few who fall directly within our sphere of influences who we have some level of responsibility for.  These are they whom we are to look after, work on and pray for.  And shouldn’t it be so?  We know best the specifics (the needs, concerns, hang ups, etc.) of our family members.  Saving souls happens one at a time.  And while it is God’s work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of mankind, each man or woman  obtains that goal individually, it does not happen to entire races or generations, families, clubs or even pairs  -it happens one at a time.  This should be very telling about the manner in which we should assist the Lord in this effort.  Lehi, although surely troubled by the mass rejection of the fruit, was fundamentally concerned that two particular people did not partake.  Can you imagine the anxiety this created in him and how it surely weighted on his soul?!