1 Nephi 3

1 Nephi 3

I had a wonderful morning in the Salt Lake Temple this morning. A wonderful spirit was present and it was the perfect way to start a new day. I encourage all to attend as much as possible.

Because I was in the temple this morning, I am late in getting today’s thoughts posted. I welcome your comments.

Vs.1
Nephi returns from speaking with the Lord! Was this simply a prayer or was it a vision? Perhaps he simply heard His voice. Is this experience separate from the previous experience?

Vs 2
Lehi has another dream. He is commanded to have his sons return to Jerusalem. Why wasn’t Lehi commanded to go himself? Was his life in danger because of his previous preaching or was this some kind of lesson for his sons?

Vs. 3
I have heard several times in my life that Lehi and Laban were cousins. Is this something revealed by Joseph Smith or are we simply assuming this because Laban has the record of Lehi’s forefathers?

Vs. 5
This verse implies that Lehi has already spoken to Laman and Lemuel prior to speaking to Nephi. Lehi tells Nephi that they have already complained that it is too hard.

Vs. 7
This is one of the most beloved and quoted scriptures in the entire Book of Mormon. What a manifestation of Nephi’s faith! I have a cross reference of this scripture with Moroni 7:33 which reads; “33 And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me. I hope to be able to develop this type of faith!

Vs. 8
I have experienced this type of joy that comes from my children exercising faith!

Vs. 10
I wonder what the population of Jerusalem was at this time? The current “old city” is about 1 square mile, however, the Bible maps found in our scriptures show the city at the time of Christ much smaller. This was even 600 years prior to Christ’s coming. Was it smaller or larger?

On a side note, some of the walls of the city that would have existed during this time have been excavated in Jerusalem. They are really remarkable to see.

Vs. 11
Why did they cast lots? Why didn’t they all go?

Vs. 14-16
They all became exceedingly sorrowful when their first attempt failed. Laman and Lemuel wanted to give up but Nephi was committed to keeping the commandments… and he considered getting the plates one of them.

Interestingly they go to plan B of their own. They didn’t seem to turn to the Lord to ask Him how to get the plates.

Vs. 19-20
Nephi seemed to really understand the importance of getting the plates. He outlines the consequences of not getting them. Did he receive this by revelation or was it told to him by his father as they were planning the trip?

Vs. 21
Nephi uses his testimony to try to persuade his brothers to keep the commandments.

Vs. 29
As Laman and Lemuel are beating their younger brothers, perhaps for having such “stupid” ideas as giving up all their gold and silver, an angel appears. Why did this not simply floor Laman and Lemuel?

Vs. 31
When the angel leaves, Laman and Lemuel go right back to murmuring. This is difficult for me to comprehend.

I wonder how many days this entire experience took? For most of my life I imagined it all happening in one night but I am now beginning to think that it was over a period of several days. It doesn’t say how long they were in the “cavity of a rock”.