Holman's Book of Mormon Blog

Summary: The Lord commands Lehi to send his kids back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael's family so they can hook up with his daughters and have kids. On the way back to Lehi in the wilderness, Laman riles everyone up and says they oughta just put the brakes on this crazy adventure and go back to J-town (actual words). Nephi does not agree, and teaches them about having faith in the Lord. They tie him up. He says, "Nuh uh" and the bands loosen. The situation is defused. They return to Lehi. V. 7- " And it came to pass that the  Lord  did soften the heart of Ishmael..." How does the Lord soften a heart? Doesn't this violate free agency?  Recall 1 Nephi 2:16. Lehi has just finished lambasting Laman and Lemuel for their faithlessness, as remember as well his other prophecies and visions in the preceding chapter regarding the Savior and the imminent destruction of Jerusalem. Nephi, although he's not absolutely certain of the truth of his father's words, ...

Summary: Nephi explains his purpose in writing on the plates. He desires to write of the things of God, so he won't talk about his family genealogy or every single thing that happens with Lehi. He commands his posterity to avoid writing things on the plates that have no worth.  V. 4- "For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved." Whole purpose of the Book of Mormon. Consider also 1 Nephi 19:18 - "And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer." And verse 23 in the same chapter, Nephi states that he writes the words of Isaiah to "more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer." Finally, the words of the Book of Mormon's title page, written by... Mormon, I think? He states that the ultimate purpose of the book is to the "convincing ...

Summary: Lehi's wife Sariah wonders if her kids are ever coming back. Then her kids come back. Lehi takes a gander at the Brass Plates. Among other things, he discovers that he's a descendant of Joseph, who was sold into Egypt. Joseph! GO GO GO JOSEPH, YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY! That Joseph. He prophesies that one day, all of his posterity will have the scriptures.  V. 2 - Sariah complains against Lehi, telling him he is a "visionary man." In our day, this is nothing to complain about. We have a "visionary man." Actually, we have several of them. Prophets and apostles. That is something to be very grateful for. Can we blame Sariah for her complaining? Would we have done the same thing? Even though Lehi is a prophet, this doesn't mean it's all easy peesy cheese and crackers (is that even a saying?). The Lord is still testing everyone. He tested Nephi and his brothers when they went to go get the plates. He tested Lehi and Sariah when their children w...

Summary: Nephi gives a pep talk to Laman and Lemuel about trusting in God. Then he just leaves them behind and goes to get the plates himself (ha ha!). Nephi scores his first kill, but first he admires the hilt of the sword and its precious steel. Nephi does his best Laban impression and manages to score some brass plates. Zoram gets punked. Nephi, Zoram, and brothers all make the trip back to Lehi's tent. It's been a successful day of decapitation and stealing some plates and dressing up in a dead guy's clothes. V. 2 and 3- "Therefore, let us go up. Let us be strong like unto Moses." Nephi tries to motivate his brothers by hearkening them back to Moses and the incredible story of crossing through the Red Sea. A fairly common practice, right? The scriptures are full of amazing stories of faith and the fruits of that faith, stories that can motivate us and inspire us to trust in the Lord and do what He asks. Every talk in General Conference seems to follow a fo...

Summary: The Lord tells Lehi that they need to flip a u-turn back to Jerusalem to go grab the Brass Plates from Laban. Lehi sends his kids back to get the plates, with Nephi being more than willing and Laman and Lemuel just kinda doing their murmuring thing. Two attempts fail: the first, Laman goes in and asks nicely for them, drawing Laban's anger and then Laban trying to kill him. The second, they all go in with their plenteous gold and silver, drawing Laban's lust for precious things and then Laban trying to kill them, as he enjoys doing, while taking their stuff. Laman and Lemuel hit Nephi and Sam with a stick, then an angel shows up and rebukes them. The chapter ends with Laman and Lemuel murmuring some more.  V. 6 - "Thou shalt be favored of the Lord because thou hast not murmured." The footnotes contain an interesting phrase- "Sustaining church leaders." In other words, when you raise your hand to sustain somebody in a calling, whether it be a nur...

Summary: The Lord tells Lehi to take his family and get the heck outta town. Laman and Lemuel, the oldest brothers, complain. Lehi rebukes them. Nephi wants to believe in his father, so he prays for assurance. His brother Sam believes, but Laman and Lemuel do not. Nephi prays for them. The Lord reveals to Nephi that he will be led to "a land of promise," and will be made a ruler and teacher over his brothers. Laman and Lemuel will be cut off from God's presence if they don't listen to Nephi. Their posterity will also be a scourge to Nephi's posterity if they aren't being obedient as well. V. 11- The "stiffneckedness" of Laman and Lemuel This word gets used a lot. What does it mean? I was taught by a great seminary teacher that to be stiffnecked means you cannot turn your neck. You can't look around. You can't see any other path but the one right in front of you. Used for somebody who is prideful and refuses to yield to the will of God (or...