Week One of my Book of Mormon Challenge,
Topic: Conversion and Seeking for Truth
Before I delve into my blue highlighted regions of what I learned about so far on Conversion and Seeking Truth, I need to give a bit of background information of the people who will be discussed in 1 Nephi. Lehi was a prophet in Jerusalem, who prophesied of the destruction of the Israelites, about their Babylonian captivity, and about many other things as well. 1 Nephi follows his family through their different happenings in life. Other important people in his family are Sariah, his wife, and his sons: Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. I have listed the sons in their birth order. At a point, the family will interact with King Laban, who is a wicked man, hoarding an important record from some of the Israelites. This is their story.
In the first verse, Nephi tells the reader that he has a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God. The only way that he could have been able to learn about this is through listening to God. God will, eventually, speak directly to Nephi, and begin to guide him, and his family. Nephi had been learning from the example of his father Lehi (also a prophet), from what he had learned from the Scriptures, and through prayer. In a likewise manner, we today can learn about the "goodness and mysteries of God" by reading Scriptures, praying, and listening to the Prophet of God.
In Verse 3, Nephi states, "And I know that the record which I make is true; and I make it with mine own hand; and I make it according to my knowledge." I believe that Nephi put this verse in their for our generation, to let us know that he wrote about true events that happened in our history. That he didn't make these things up, but rather, that they were inspired of God.
Verses 5 and 6 tell of Lehi praying on behalf of his people, and that God answered him. "There came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him." The description of God's presence as a pillar of fire has been used countless times, starting in Genesis, and now in 1 Nephi. Lehi was seeking truth, and because of his faithfulness, the Lord answered and appeared to him. Lehi is given a book to read (verses 11 and 12), which is similar to the book mentioned in Ezekiel 2 and Revelation 5. When Lehi reads this book, he is filled with the Spirit of the Lord. In subsequent verses, we learn that the book, "manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world" (verse 19). Lehi will give many prophecies later on in 1 Nephi about the Messiah and his role in human race. Nephi concludes the first chapter by saying that, "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." When we follow God, and what He asks of us, we are his chosen people.
In chapter 2, Lehi follows the guidance of the Lord, and they depart from Jerusalem. In verses 16 and 17, "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers. And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which the Lord had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. And it came to pass that he believed my words." I really love these two verses. It shows the great desires of an average guy, wanting to know more of God, pouring his heart out to the Lord, and the Lord answering his faithful disciple. The mysteries of God are for our understanding and knowledge, if we would but only seek them.
1 Nephi 3:3, "For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass." Here we learn that the King had a copy of the record of the Jews and there history. This is akin to some of the scrolls which were used to make the Bible. Since King Laban was a corrupt man, these records were probably not going to be used in the best manner, and the Lord sent Laman, Lemuel, and Nephi to go obtain the records. These records, just like our Scriptures today, were very important so that everyone could learn of the Lord, and follow His ways. They are the ultimate source of truth and knowledge.
In 1 Nephi 4:16, Nephi mentions that the law was engraven on the plates of brass. (This law is similar to the Old Testament law). After some adventures, Nephi obtains the records. 1 Nephi 5:10, "and after they had given thanks unto the God of Israel, my father, Lehi, took the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass, and he did search them from the beginning." This reminds me a lot of when King Josiah (from the Old Testament) found the law of God after the Israelites had been in a period of apostasy. In both instances, the people gave thanks to the Lord for his Word, and then, searched the Word diligently, hoping to learn all they could. These plates of brass, contained in both the Old Testament, and in the Book of Mormon, "should never perish; neither should they be dimmed any more by time" (1 Nephi 5:19).
In chapter 6, Nephi tells some of the reasons why God commissioned him to write of their history on plates. The most important reason is found in verse 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." Shouldn't that be the purpose of all of us?
Chapter 7 tells of how another family that joined Lehi's scoffed at what they were telling, and how it took both different family members, and sometimes visits from celestial beings, to soften their hearts. Chapter 8 has the first mentioning of the vision of the tree of life (which gets explained in a later chapter). Needless to say, the rod of iron, that will be described is referring to the Word of God, which makes this next verse even more meaningful, "But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree" (1 Nephi 8:30). So should we be fervently reading and seeking truth from the Word of God.
Chapter 9 describes how Nephi made two different sets of plates, according to God's purpose. At the end of Chapter 10, Nephi seeks the Lord for the knowledge that God had shown his father. He wanted to know the meaning of the visions that Lehi had seen, and Nephi knew that this knowledge would come to pass through the Holy Ghost. So, he prayed that he would be enlightened. "For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to comes; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round" (1 Nephi 10:19).
Well, that's as far as I made it during this first week. I just wanted to end this post by giving a great thanks to all of my readers out there. I like to check my stats periodically, and I've learned some interesting things. For example, there have been many people from the Ukraine reading my blog. Also, others from China, Maldives, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Canada, and other places, to name a few. If you are one of my international readers, I was wondering if you would be willing to leave a comment at the end of this post, telling me where you are from, and how you found my blog. I think that would be really amazing to hear these stories.
Also, if anyone has any questions for me about my conversion, about the church, or any suggestions for topics that you would like me to address, please let me know. This blog is not meant to be for me, but rather, to help bring others to Christ. If there is a topic that can help lead someone to Christ, I would be honored to talk about it.
