1 Nephi 1

Hahaha.... I saw this picture and just had to laugh. But it's true - Nephi SHOULD be our hero... he was a man of incredible faith, incredible devotion to the Lord, and he put up with a lot to help us have the scriptures and the doctrines that we had today. Who is my hero? Well, Nephi is of course!

Jumping into 1 Nephi 1 today...

A few things I learned from President D's notes:

* Nephi did not write his books like a journal... from different clues we can see that he wrote in retrospect... for example, in the opening paragraph of 1st Nephi, before chapter 1, is written by Nephi, and includes events as late as the arrival in the promised land (1 Ne. 18:23). In the subtitle to 1st Nephi and again in 1 Ne. 10:1, Nephi mentions his "reign and ministry." Nephi does not begin to "reign" until 2 Ne. 5:18-19.

*"Let's just put down on paper a little outline of this chapter. I think it would look something like this:
a prophet prays
has a vision
sees heavenly messengers (apparently including Jesus)
receives a book
is rejected by most of the people

Now that's a rough outline of the story you described in chapter 1. Does it look at all familiar to you?" (Jeffrey R. Holland, "Daddy, Donna, and Nephi," Ensign, Sept. 1976, 9)

.... JOSEPH SMITH anybody?!

*There is an interesting comparison we can make between Lehi and the prophet Jeremiah (who was another prophet in Jerusalem during the same time period). While Lehi was called to leave Jerusalem and inherit the promised land, Jeremiah was asked to stay and be a witness to the destruction of Jerusalem. They both were priests (Lehi from the Melchizedek line and Jeremiah from the Aranoid family), both were Patriarchs... etc etc. I like what President Donaldson highlighted in his notes, however, that we can view Jeremiah and Lehi as symbols of Israel's relationship with the Lord.... Jeremiah's life was a symbol of the justice of God and the impending destruction of Jerusalem. However, he sought solace and comfort in his relationship with the Lord and prophesied the return and restoration of his people (see Jeremiah 30-31). We can view Lehi's life as a symbol of the "tender mercies of the Lord." Although he had to go through severe trials, he was able to help deliver his family from destruction and inherit another promised land.

*Jeremiah and Moses were both symbols of Christ - 2 different aspects of his mission.

"Moses was a prophet who demonstrated the power of God over the elements and over Israel's enemies. He had the power to prophesy the future. He was a deliverer, redeemer, and lawgiver. Moses, in one of his final sermons, pronounced one of the most prominent of the messianic prophecies: "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me, unto him ye shall hearken" (Deuteronomy 18:15). Jeremiah, throughout his ministry, eloquently demonstrated to his people the type of a suffering servant. Because he had delivered his message, Jeremiah was persecuted, isolated, falsely accused, imprisoned, and tried for his life. He protested his innocence: "But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter" (Jeremiah 11:19; cf. Isaiah 53:7)."

Wow. There is SO MUCH to learn... so I didn't even get close to getting through 1 Nephi 1 this morning... maybe I need to be more selective on what I want to learn and focus on. Well, it was a very interesting study at least! Hope you all could learn something too :) It is very interesting to think about the "call" of a prophet... Jeremiah was called to be a prophet as a child whereas Lehi was called as an adult (already married and with children). The Lord calls us to do things when we are ready and when he needs us. He will call us to be witnesses of certain events and people so that we can testify about them. I am very grateful for our prophet, Thomas Monson and for the guidance we receive from him and our other leaders. I know that if we just follow them and try to be obedient (like Nephi!) we will be happy and successful... in the manner that GOD wants us to be.