Week 2: Tree of Life

The reading for this week was 1 Nephi 8-15.

I wrote a post on 1 Nephi 8 earlier this year, so I won't rehash that material right now.

Some other thoughts I had which I didn't cover before:

-The iron rod. I noticed how close the iron rod was to many of the dangers, such as the river. Wouldn't it make sense to move the rod a little further away? Then I realized that would make it harder for people trying to make their way back to reach the rod, or for those holding the rod to reach out and help others.

-The sole purpose of the GSB (Great and Spacious Building) seems to be for people to dress up really nice and point fingers at those eating the fruit. Sounds like a good time. All who gave heed to the GSB, "fell away into forbidden paths and were lost" (1 Nephi 8:28) while the faithful "heeded them not" (1 Nephi 8:33). In the eternal scheme of things, no matter how sophisticated or cunning the arguments sound as they come from the GSB, it can't amount to more than a pointing finger.

Chapter 9. Nephi takes a break to let us know the Lord told him to make another set of plates. The Lord has a "wise purpose" and Nephi is obedient even though he doesn't know what that purpose is. It's enough to know that "the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning..." and "...he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words..." (1 Nephi 9:6). 

Chapter 10. After hearing Lehi's account, Nephi desires a first-hand witness. It seems from Nephi's account in Chapter 11 that Lehi didn't explain the dream, because Nephi told the Spirit that he wanted "to know the interpretation thereof". 

"For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost..." (1 Nephi 10:19). 

Chapters 11-14. Nephi is carried away in the spirit as he sat pondering the vision of Lehi. One of the benefits I've noticed already from following the reading schedule is how liberating it is to know I have seven days to finish seven chapters. I don't feel as pressured when I pick away at a chapter throughout the day. There's no rush to move on to the next chapter right away and I have more time to think about what I'm reading. A quick quote from Pres. Eyring:

"... reading, studying, and pondering are not the same. We read words and we may get ideas. We study and we may discover patterns and connections in scripture. But when we ponder, we invite revelation by the Spirit. Pondering, to me, is the thinking and the praying I do after reading and studying in the scriptures carefully." (Pres. Henry B. Eyring, Serve with the Spirit, Oct 2010 Gen Conf)

And one from Elder Scott:

 "...I start reading a passage of scripture; I ponder what the verse means and pray for inspiration. I then ponder and pray to know if I have captured all the Lord wants me to do. Often more impressions come with increased understanding of doctrine. I have found that pattern to be a good way to learn from the scriptures." (Elder Richard G. Scott, "How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life", April 2012 Gen Conf)

Notice how many times during Nephi's vision the Spirit, and later the angel, tells him to "look". I used to think that was a little weird. After all, Nephi asked to see the vision, what else is he going to be doing? The angel isn't telling him to put his phone away and pay attention, I think there's so much going on in the vision that the angel needs to direct his attention to the key elements. I think it's not so much "look" (implying he wasn't looking before) as it is "look over there". By Chapter 13, Nephi seems to have "caught up" to the point the angel no longer needs to keep telling him where to look and transitions from "look" to "thou hast beheld".

Chapter 15. Nephi goes back to his father's tent and his brothers were "disputing" about some of the things Lehi told them. I don't know how I missed it before, but the next part never really clicked in for me. In verse 5 Nephi says "...I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall." Nephi came out of a great spiritual experience, being privileged to see the Savior's mortal ministry and His post-resurrection appearance to the Nephites. I never really grasped the impact it would have after seeing those wondrous events to then witness the destruction of the Nephites because of their wickedness. No wonder he had to wait to receive his strength again before dealing with his brothers.

They told Nephi, "...we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken..." (vs 7) and "... the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us." (vs 9).

The prophet Joseph Smith taught:

"God hath not revealed anything to Joseph, but what He will make known unto the Twelve, and even the least Saint may know all things as fast as he is able to bear them" (Teachings, p. 149, emphasis added).

It's one thing to explain something to a person who really wants to understand. It's a completely different experience to have to explain something to someone who should know but doesn't want to put in the effort to find out for themselves (Call me one more time to ask me about something I covered in the staff meeting...). Points to Nephi for not trying to beat it into them with the brass plates.

I like the "If... Then..." statements in the scriptures. They make it easy to follow along and replicate the results. Nephi quotes a scripture in vs 11:

"...If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you."

If these things are not being "made known unto [us]", then we must not be meeting all the required conditions. Failure to meet any one of the conditions will result in not receiving the promised blessing.

Another point I just noticed this week and find very fascinating is how Nephi handled the little Q&A session. In vs. 8 he asks, "Have ye inquired of the Lord?" and could have easily added something along the lines of, "I asked and the Lord showed me the vision too." Not once does he mention to his brothers that he had a personal witness of Lehi's vision.

I also wonder if the brothers ever picked up on the fact Nephi was explaining points of Lehi's vision which Lehi himself didn't notice? Nephi pointed out that Lehi didn't notice the river of water was filthiness because he was so caught up in other things (vs 27). "If Dad didn't notice, how do you know?"

So, that's a very brief overview of the reading for week 2. Week 3's assignment is 1 Nephi 16-22. Feel free to comment with anything which impressed you during the week. Don't be shy...