1 Nephi 2:5-12

After traveling for three days, Lehi and his family set up camp near a river. The first thing he does is build an “altar of stones” and makes an “offering” to the Lord, and gives thanks to God. (See 1 Nephi 2:6-7).  The footnotes in these verses are worth reading, they refer to several scriptures where other prophets built altars. The most interesting to me, however, are two scriptures that tell us how to build this type of altar:

5 And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of ^astones: thou shalt not lift up any ^biron tool upon them. 6 Thou shalt build the ^aaltar of the Lord thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God: 7 And thou shalt offer peace ^aofferings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the Lord thy God. 8 And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly. Deut. 27:5-8

30 ¶Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal, 31 As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an ^aaltar of whole ^bstones, over which no man hath lift up any ^ciron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. Joshua 8:30-31

It appears altars are to be built from natural stones.

If I hadn’t actually lived through the past few years of my life, and experienced children that  “knew not the dealings of that God that created them”, then I couldn’t really understand how Laman and Lemuel became who they were. I feel Lehi’s pain as he pleads with Laman, saying: “O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness.” And to Lemuel: “O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!”

Much has been written on this blog about trials I have endured due to my sons’ choices. All of it shows my limited understanding of the love our Savior has for all of us. I have indeed murmured in the past about the stress of wayward children. Today, however, I thank the Lord for the wonderful teachers he has given me in my sons’; I am convinced they are old, wise souls that have condescended to come to be my sons. Their mission is to teach a stubborn, proud man how to love unconditionally. How can I do anything other than love and serve them?

1 Nephi 1:6-8

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that I thought the pillar of fire spoken of in verse 6 was actually a visit by the Lord. I’m going to be so bold as to say that the message of the Book of Mormon (and other standard works) is that we can have a personal visit by the Lord Jesus Christ. I think by the end of First and Second Nephi you will agree with me.  Let’s take a look at the scriptures the footnotes verses 6,7, and 8 refer us to:

1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 ¶Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Isaiah 6:1-7

5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. 10 ¶And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. Daniel 10:5-12

So these footnotes tell us that both Isaiah and Daniel saw the Lord. It is further confirmed in Alma 36:22-23:

22 Yea, methought I saw, even as our father Lehi saw, God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels, in the attitude of singing and praising their God; yea, and my soul did long to be there. 23 But behold, my limbs did receive their strength again, and I stood upon my feet, and did manifest unto the people that I had been born of God.

This one is Alma speaking of his conversion and seeing the Lord, confirming that Lehi saw the Lord.

Ezekiel

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. Ezekiel 1:1

Stephen

 55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Acts 7:55-56

 Joseph Smith

1 The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. 2 I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; 3 Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. D&C 137:1-3

As we read the Book of Mormon together we will discover that Lehi saw him, Nephi saw him, Jacob saw him, Enos saw him, King Benjamin saw him, Alma saw him, the brother of Jared saw him, the other Nephi saw him, Mormon saw him and Moroni saw him. This is the reoccurring theme of the Book of Mormon. It is the whole point of the endowment… to converse with the Lord through the veil. There are people today that testify they have seen him. Two have written books on the topic, I recommend both of them: “The Second Comforter, Conversing with the Lord through the Veil” by Denver Snuffer, and “Following the Light of Christ into His Presence” by John Pontius. Both books changed my life forever.

1 Nephi 1:3-4

 

As I mentioned yesterday in my post, I think that most Latter-Day-Saints use the words “I know” in their testimonies more by tradition rather than actually “knowing.” Nephi on the other hand has experiences to back up his “knowing”. In 1 Nephi 1:3 he writes: “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. (emphasis mine).

Reading the footnotes of verse 4 we can learn many things about the downfall of Jerusalem.  The footnotes lead us to three sources of the same information: 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Jeremiah. Let’s take a quick look at the history that led up to Zedekiah being king; obviously a wicked king that would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem.

Zedekiah was a puppet king who was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar after Babylon invaded Jerusalem. 2 Chronicles claims Zedekiah is Nebuchadnezzar’s uncle (2 Chron. 36:17), but  2 Chronicles 36:10 claims they are brothers. In 589 BC Zedekiah revolted against the Babylonian overlords and for the second time, Nebuchadnezzar advanced on Jerusalem with a large army. In 587, the northern wall of the then starving city was breached and Zedekiah, while fleeing, was taken captive on the Jericho Plain. He was brought before Nebuchadnezzar where he was force to watch the slaying of his children.

A few curious things are brought to light during this reading. Zedekiah was 21 years old when he was appointed king; rather young to have children by today’s standards but perhaps he did. He was captured after reigning nine years, thus making him about 30 years old. Of course it is possible he had several children by the age of 30. Most curious of all is found in the book of Helaman in the Book of Mormon.

“Now the land south was called Lehi, and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the son of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south.” Helaman 6:10

Here we learn that Mulek was the son of Zedekiah. The heading of the new 2013 version of the Book of Omni reads “The descendants of Mulek at Zarahemla had discovered Coriantumr, the last of the Jaredites…”  Reading this text has always made me think Mulek was their leader. Of course we don’t know the time frame of any of this but on the surface it appears Mulek was a child when in some fashion was swept out of Jerusalem and preserved from the murder of Zedekiahs’s other children.

Nephi states that “many prophets” came that year, prophesying unto the people to repent or be destroyed. Let’s discover some of those other prophets. Of course we know that Jeremiah was THE prophet of the day, but who were some of the others? Once again the footnotes help us. Jeremiah 26 tells us of two others.

18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

And

20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:

Urijah was hunted down and killed.

We also learn from The Book of Daniel that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (the latter three betterknow as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) were all taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar at this time.

I realize this is a bit of a tangent, and probably fits better a little later in 1 Nephi,  but I want to take a minute to discuss this story and compare it to us in the Latter-Day church.

We learn from the Book of Daniel that there are few stories of faith that would compare to the stories of Daniel and Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-Nego. All were taken captive by the wicked Nebuchadnezzar and were taken into slavery. All were ultimately thrown into prison and/or condemned to die because of their unwillingness to break certain commandments. All were miraculously spared by the power of God.  At the same time, Lehi and his family were warned to “get out” prior to the captivity. I ask myself why would the Lord lead some away (while still undergoing great tribulation), and allow others to be taken captive and obviously suffer great trials?

It’s obvious in hind sight, that Lehi and his family was no more righteous than Daniel and his group. The Lord allowed both to suffer, and both to be blessed. From the outside, however, if Daniel knew Lehi and his family, and knew they were led away prior to the captivity, would Daniel have wondered why he was captured while Lehi was free to do as he pleases? Are we guilty of similar thinking in the church today? Do we look around and wonder why our trials seem greater than others in our ward? If we put on our eternal perspective glasses will we see that the Lord is leading is on a path that is for our benefit? I hope so.

Next post we will discover what Lehi does to prepare himself for meeting the Lord.

I welcome your comments.