Summary: Introduction to Nephi, mention of his family, with most of the focus in this chapter on his dad, Lehi. Lehi, a prophet of Jerusalem around 600 B.C., has a vision which shows the impending destruction of Jerusalem if the people don't give up their evil ways. He also has a vision of "The Messiah," the first mention in the book of Christ, who will redeem the world. As is the case with many scriptural prophets, including modern day prophets such as Joseph Smith, the vision is immediately followed by going out and preaching to the people. People get mad. Grrrr!
Notable notes of notation:
V. 1 - "Having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days..."
Nephi points to the source of all his blessings, as his family was quite prosperous. In just the first verse, this explains pretty much everything about Nephi we need to know. No pride. No arrogance. Complete and total humility.
V. 1- "Therefore, I make a record of my proceedings in my days."
In other words, "I'm going to write about it." Why? What's the point? Why write anything down? To me, writing things down in a journal helps keep memories sharp. Since humans are prone to forget things easily, especially spiritual things and spiritual feelings, this is a pretty important reason. As the book progresses, Nephi will come to understand even more deeply why he's keeping this record. It's not just for him.
V. 5- "Lehi. . . prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all of his heart, in behalf of his people."
An attribute of a true prophet: Truly representing humanity before God. Compassion for fellow man and wanting nothing more than to save them.
V. 8- "He saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne..."
Directly referenced by Alma the Younger in Alma 36, relating his conversion.
V. 10- Lehi, in vision, sees the Savior, followed by 12 men.
Does this 12 include Judas Iscariot?
V. 14- "Thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!"
Does this mean that all those who come to God never perish? Or is it perishing in a spiritual sense only? This is a hard question. Somebody answer it. I'll think about it too. We could get into the whole "why bad things happen to good people" debate too.
V. 18- "He went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard."
This seems to be a natural order of events throughout scripture. Great revelation followed by preaching to the people, which is then generally followed by rejection by the people, which is then generally followed by taking the believers and getting the heck outta there.
V. 19- "The Messiah"
First mention of Christ. Fits, since the whole purpose of the book is to invite people to come to Him. Don't ever listen to anybody that says we're not Christians. It's total baloney. On my mission, we were given our own special copies of the Book of Mormon and asked to read it, cover to cover, and mark every reference to Christ. I counted over 2,000 references.
V. 20- "They were angry with him."
Why the anger?
V. 20- "Tender mercies."
The whole book is about tender mercies. The whole plan of God is about tender mercies. This verse further states that the Lord's tender mercies are over all those He has chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty, even unto the power of deliverance. Faith in God is that spark which invites the tender mercies. The Book of Mormon details many examples of persons or people that are delivered in some way because of their faith, in a physical sense. I'll refer back to these "tender mercies" as the book progresses. Ultimately, the greatest example of deliverance is that performed by the Messiah, which deliverance is both physical (through the resurrection of all born on Earth) and spiritual (to those who place their faith in Him and do all He asks), with the ultimate gift of eternal life to be with God and to be like God.
Notable notes of notation:
V. 1 - "Having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days..."
Nephi points to the source of all his blessings, as his family was quite prosperous. In just the first verse, this explains pretty much everything about Nephi we need to know. No pride. No arrogance. Complete and total humility.
V. 1- "Therefore, I make a record of my proceedings in my days."
In other words, "I'm going to write about it." Why? What's the point? Why write anything down? To me, writing things down in a journal helps keep memories sharp. Since humans are prone to forget things easily, especially spiritual things and spiritual feelings, this is a pretty important reason. As the book progresses, Nephi will come to understand even more deeply why he's keeping this record. It's not just for him.
V. 5- "Lehi. . . prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all of his heart, in behalf of his people."
An attribute of a true prophet: Truly representing humanity before God. Compassion for fellow man and wanting nothing more than to save them.
V. 8- "He saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne..."
Directly referenced by Alma the Younger in Alma 36, relating his conversion.
V. 10- Lehi, in vision, sees the Savior, followed by 12 men.
Does this 12 include Judas Iscariot?
V. 14- "Thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!"
Does this mean that all those who come to God never perish? Or is it perishing in a spiritual sense only? This is a hard question. Somebody answer it. I'll think about it too. We could get into the whole "why bad things happen to good people" debate too.
V. 18- "He went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard."
This seems to be a natural order of events throughout scripture. Great revelation followed by preaching to the people, which is then generally followed by rejection by the people, which is then generally followed by taking the believers and getting the heck outta there.
V. 19- "The Messiah"
First mention of Christ. Fits, since the whole purpose of the book is to invite people to come to Him. Don't ever listen to anybody that says we're not Christians. It's total baloney. On my mission, we were given our own special copies of the Book of Mormon and asked to read it, cover to cover, and mark every reference to Christ. I counted over 2,000 references.
V. 20- "They were angry with him."
Why the anger?
V. 20- "Tender mercies."
The whole book is about tender mercies. The whole plan of God is about tender mercies. This verse further states that the Lord's tender mercies are over all those He has chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty, even unto the power of deliverance. Faith in God is that spark which invites the tender mercies. The Book of Mormon details many examples of persons or people that are delivered in some way because of their faith, in a physical sense. I'll refer back to these "tender mercies" as the book progresses. Ultimately, the greatest example of deliverance is that performed by the Messiah, which deliverance is both physical (through the resurrection of all born on Earth) and spiritual (to those who place their faith in Him and do all He asks), with the ultimate gift of eternal life to be with God and to be like God.
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