Chapter 10 is a transition chapter of sorts. Up to this time, Nephi has been summarizing his father's ministry. Now, he begins the account of his own ministry while be finishes that of this father's. Chapter 10 is Lehi's prophecy of the coming of Christ and I think this chapter reveals what great spiritual men Lehi and Nephi were.
One of the things I like about this chapter is it clarifies how much John the Baptist understood concerning the Savior. There are many Bible scholars who say that John did not know it was the Savior he was baptizing until they came up out of the water. Others say it was much later. But here, John knows he is baptizing the Messiah and understands his mission.
Lehi's prophecy of the Messiah inspires Nephi to see the vision his father saw and to know what his father knows. He understands that this must come by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost and tells us that those who diligently seek the Lord, can have the gift of the Holy Ghost and can have the mysteries of God revealed to them. We must be clean and have faith that the mysteries can be revealed to us. I think the word mystery is used because a mystery is something that can't be explained. It's something that has to be revealed. The important thing to know is that God is no respecter of persons and he will make known the same things to the saints he makes known to his prophets if they are willing to pay the spiritual price.
No comments:
Post a Comment