1 Nephi
I would suggest there are four things to keep in mind as you read the Book of Mormon. The title page says there are three purposes to the Book of Mormon: to teach us of what the Lord has done for us, to teach us what promises the Lord has made with us so we know he hasn’t forgotten us, and to convince us that Jesus is the Christ. If we look for one or more of those three things as we read, it will help us understand what the Lord wants us to know. I would add one more thing to think about as we read. Nephi says we should liken the scriptures to ourselves. There are lots of ways to do that. One way is to ask questions like, “What would I do?” “How would I react to this?” “What does the Lord want me know?” or “Is this true?” You will need to think of your own as you read.
1 Nephi 1
This chapter is about Lehi. He is an exceptionally spiritual man. In the past, he has had many visions and dreams from which he has taught his children. Now he has two visions. The first one comes as he is praying for the people of his city after hearing the many other prophets testify of Jerusalem’s destruction. The vision about this is so troubling that he collapses on his bed and he is overcome with what he has seen. He is also overcome with the Spirit and has a second vision, this one of the Celestial Kingdom and the Father. He also sees the Son and the twelve apostles and their ministry. Then the Savior appears to him and teaches him what is to come using a book. This is similar to how Christ taught other prophets in the Old Testament. He again sees the destruction of Jerusalem, but also sees the great overall work of the Lord and with this understanding he rejoices. When he goes among the people and testifies of the Savior and Jerusalem’s destruction, the people seek to kill him. This seems to be the standard experience of many prophets.
Whether it’s Lehi, John on the Isle of Patmos, or Joseph Smith, the Lord has always prophets for whom the veil is parted so that they see and know the big picture. They understand things far beyond what the everyday person does. As soon as a prophet makes known what the Lord has revealed, a choice is placed before the people. They can choose to study his words and listen to their hearts about what he has taught, or they can react to the teachings without first establishing a knowledgeable and spiritual foundation. This is the difference between Nephi, Sam and later Jacob on one side, and Laman and Lemuel on the other. We will see the extreme results of these two sides of the family. At first, all of family believes Lehi. All of them leave their home, their vast wealth and follow Lehi into the wilderness. But why is it that some will eventually continue in faith, and others will fight Lehi and the other side of the family at every turn?
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As we read there were a few things that stood out to us.
1. Nephi states the goodness of his parents. This is a great example of honoring parents, and also of how great of an influence parents can be to their children.
2. Lehi and Nephi both know of the "Lord's tender mercies." Nephi's goal is for us to see and know them for ourselves.
3. Finally, Julia mentioned Lehi being mocked, and said that to liken that to ourselves, we can think of how it made Lehi feel and maybe that is how the person would feel that we mock.
Garrett and I thought of the importance to study the prophets words and listen. It is easy to question or analyze why a prophet would say what they do, but it is more important to find the truth and meaning ourselves through study and prayer.
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