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 13:5

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 11:33-35

33  And I, Nephi, saw that he was ^alifted up upon the cross and ^bslain for the sins of the world.

34  And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to ^afight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.

35  And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious ^abuilding, like unto the building which my father saw.  And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to ^bfight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

            -No!  Where and how did the go so far astray?  The house of Israel, the family of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the chosen people of the Lord are the ones providing the opposition to the church and the efforts of the Messiah?  They should be His biggest champions but rather they war against His apostles and seek to annialate them. How did ancient Israel go so far astray as to be on the exact opposite side of their Savior?

1 Nephi 10:14

14  And after the house of ^aIsrael should be scattered they should be ^bgathered together again; or, in fine, after the ^cGentiles had received the fulness of the ^dGospel, the natural branches of the ^eolive-tree, or the ^fremnants of the house of ^gIsrael, should be grafted in, or ^hcome to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.

     “grafted in”

            -what constitutes, what physical or identifiable events are the culmination of, the grafting?  Baptism?  Belief in Christ?  Reception of the Priesthood or saving ordinances?

These events can be plotted on a timeline to see the long-term vision of the Lord:

1 Nephi 10:2-3

2  For behold, it came to pass after my father had made an end of speaking the words of his ^adream, and also of exhorting them to all diligence, he spake unto them concerning the Jews—

3  That after they should be destroyed, even that great city ^aJerusalem, and many be ^bcarried away captive into ^cBabylon, according to the own due time of the Lord, they should ^dreturn again, yea, even be brought back out of captivity; and after they should be brought back out of captivity they should possess again the land of their inheritance.

     “should be destroyed, even that great city Jerusalem”

 

  605 Nebuchadnezzar becomes king of Babylon

605 The Babylonians invade Judah

605 First wave of deportation of Jews to Babylon

605 Daniel is taken captive and begins to prophesy

601 Babylonians battle Egypt, both sides suffer losses

601 Judah decides to realign itself with Egypt, Jeremiah warns

597 Jehoachin becomes king of Judah

597 Babylonians capture Jerusalem

597 Second wave of deportation to Babylon from Judah.

597 Ezekiel is taken captive to Babylon

597 Zedekiah becomes king of Judah

593 Ezekiel begins to prophesy

586 The Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the Temple (9th of Av)

586 Jerusalem’s walls and gates are burned with fire

586 Third wave of Jews deported to Babylon

586 Babylonian Exile (Galut Bavel) begins

586 End of Biblical (First Temple) Period

586 The end of the monarchy in Judah

539 The Fall of Babylon

539 Beginning of the Persian Period to 332

539 The Decree of Cyrus II allowing Jews to return

516 The Jews rebuild their Temple (70 years)

     “many be carried away captive into Babylon”

           -what was the impact of this instance of the diaspora?  How significantly did it disrupt the Jewish community and society at Jerusalem?  The following description provides some insight:

     "...return again,... brought back out... possess again...

            -why go through all the trouble taking Israel away and brining them back time and again?

            -experience is a priceless and unequalable thing.  Nothing can equal its effect.  Mortal man must be put through it, not just read about it or study it afar off.  We are poor    learners except by hands-on learning.

1 Nephi 8:31

31  And he also saw other ^amultitudes feeling their way towards that great and spacious building.

            -Just as there are some who strive for the tree, there are others who just as diligently search for and press toward the building of material/temporal glory to seek salvation there.

    "multitudes"
        -when, in this life, we find ourselves in the minority as pertaining to things of faith, values, morality and God, we should not be surprised.  We should certainly not be shaken in our own faith because they that are against us are more than those who are with us (or at least when taking a poll of mortal beings).  In fact, if we find ourselves too often in the camp of the majority, we should engage in sober self-reflection.  Is our moral compass accurate and functional.
       -the clichéd warning regarding going along with the crowd is not something we age out from.  It does not cease after elementary or high school.  Swimming against the prevailing current and walking away from the multitudes requires and also produces strength.

    "feeling their way"
        -the magnetism of the great and spacious building is the satisfaction of carnal appetites and desires. We "feel" our way toward the pleasure palace of mortality by indulging the passions and immediate impulses of the natural man.  We indulge our feelings rather than soberly contemplating the things of eternity which largely convince us to delay physical gratifications now for eternal rewards in the future. This is true for the spiritual realm just as it is for the political realm.

1 Nephi 8:28

28  And after they had ^atasted of the fruit they were ^bashamed, because of those that were ^cscoffing at them; and they ^dfell away into forbidden paths and were lost.

            -listening to the world

             basing your self-esteem on others

             danger or going after the glory of the world

     “they were ashamed”

            -because they were so concerned with the esteem of other people they were not only ashamed but did not enjoy the peace/joy that partaking of the fruit brought.  Some Latter-day Saints fall away and, in complete honesty, declare that the church did not provide them with anything special, that the manifestation of the Holy Ghost was no more profound than what is experienced in other religions.  For lack of a better words, these did not recognize the “fruits” of the restored gospel to be remarkable in any way.  This may at first appear to be worrisome to us who have been impressed with the delicious fruits of the gospel but the insight provided by Lehi’s vision provides an answer.  Our concern over or focus on the “sacrifices” required by the gospel and our subsequent shame (which comes as a result of comparing the worlds liberal ways with the gospel’s restraint) can diminish impact of the sweet taste of the fruit.  The cost, for some, is too high and the product is not sufficient for the work required.  These were never fully given to the gospel, they were gospel instrumentalists  -pursuing the gospel as an answer to their short term (i.e. temporal) search for success or satisfaction.  Even the gospel with it’s plentiful answers for happiness, meaning and prosperity is not complete if viewed in the narrow parameters of this life only.  It is, at its core, an eternal program and it does not have its full power or provide complete understanding to the vital questions of life  until it is placed in an eternal context.  We cannot understand the gospel within the narrow confines of a strictly mortal existence.  It is like trying to understand relativity with only algebraic constructs.

     “because of ________”

            -the shame created when the listener gives substance to those mocking.

            -listening to the world.

            -basing self-esteem on others/anything but God.

            -the danger of going after the glory of the world is that it is a confederate mass consciousness.

     “because of those that were scoffing at them”

            -what form does this scoffing take?  Qualitatively, what is the mockery, the teasing, the derogatory communication, the derision of any shade or gradation in our day?  Why do we care?

    “fell away into forbidden paths”

            -the “falling away” is the behavioral manifestation of the internal attitude (feeling ashamed due to the estimation of mankind).  To feel ashamed is no sin of itself BUT it seems rare that one who is ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:16) could remain true in actions and behavior.  Indulgence in forbidden paths is the end result of internal psycho-spiritual processes.

            -shame leads to falling away.  Falling away leads to forbidden paths.  Forbidden paths leads to being lost.

    “were lost”

            -there are not many phrases that strike me with a profound sadness, but this one has a way of creeping into my heart.  These are souls that are gone… lost.  Almost as certain as the sun follows the emerging dawn, does a soul who “falls away” then become lost.