1 Nephi 9
1 Nephi 9
As far as the two sets of plates, I got this off of the LDS Book of Mormon student study guide:
In his Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith said: Without the knowledge of all things God would not be able to save any portion of his creatures. For it is the knowledge which he has of all things from the beginning to the end that enables him to give that understanding to his creatures by which they are made partakers of eternal life. And if it were not for the idea existing in the minds of men that God has all knowledge, it would be impossible for them to exercise faith in him.
It speaks to the title the Lord has of the Great Choreographer we spoke of earlier this week, and our faith in Him.
We don't know even a small fraction of what He does, but we can know HIM and trust in HIS purposes, so when He asks us to do something - even if it doesn't make sense - we do it. Whether it be big or small, seemingly benign or life-changing, we can have the kind of relationship with and faith in Him that we would obey.
And not only obey, but, as Nephi did, find comfort in that obedience. Really believe that there is a wise purpose in Him, even if we don't see it.
That might be the hardest lesson for us to learn.
As far as the two sets of plates, I got this off of the LDS Book of Mormon student study guide:
1 Nephi 9:3–6—For a Wise Purpose
In 1828 the Prophet Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormonand had finished 116 handwritten pages. Martin Harris pled with Joseph several times to let him show the translation to his family. The Lord at first said no, but finally gave permission if Martin would promise to show them only to a chosen few. Martin Harris broke his promise and the 116 pages were lost. Joseph was heartsick, but through this experience he learned a valuable lesson about obedience and how impossible it is for the wicked to prevent Heavenly Father from accomplishing His work (seeD&C 3:1–10).
© Robert T. Barrett
The Lord knew what Martin Harris would do and planned for it more than 2,000 years in advance. The Lord told Nephi to make two sets of records covering the same time period. One, the large plates, contained the secular history of the Nephites. The other, the small plates, was reserved for their sacred history. Joseph Smith began translating from Mormon’s abridgment of the large plates, so the 116 pages that Martin lost contained information on the secular history.
The Lord also knew that the Prophet’s enemies would change the stolen pages so that if Joseph translated the same material again they would say that he was not a prophet because he could not translate it the same way twice (see D&C 10:10–19). The Lord told Joseph not to translate that part again, but to translate the small plates of Nephi, which covered the same time period but contained the more important sacred record (see D&C 10:30–45; see also “The Main Sources for the Book of Mormon,” p. 12).
In his Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith said: Without the knowledge of all things God would not be able to save any portion of his creatures. For it is the knowledge which he has of all things from the beginning to the end that enables him to give that understanding to his creatures by which they are made partakers of eternal life. And if it were not for the idea existing in the minds of men that God has all knowledge, it would be impossible for them to exercise faith in him.
It speaks to the title the Lord has of the Great Choreographer we spoke of earlier this week, and our faith in Him.
We don't know even a small fraction of what He does, but we can know HIM and trust in HIS purposes, so when He asks us to do something - even if it doesn't make sense - we do it. Whether it be big or small, seemingly benign or life-changing, we can have the kind of relationship with and faith in Him that we would obey.
And not only obey, but, as Nephi did, find comfort in that obedience. Really believe that there is a wise purpose in Him, even if we don't see it.
That might be the hardest lesson for us to learn.
We would do well to follow the example of Nephi. He knew not the Lord’s wise purpose, yet he was obedient. Blessings come into our lives after faithful obedience to commandments, with or without understanding the purpose.
ReplyDeleteWhen the prophet asks something of us, what is our reaction? Desire to obey? Not always easy, but worth striving to exercise our faith.
I keep coming back to the "commandments" that Lehi and Nephi followed. In verse 3, Nephi says "I have received a commandment of the Lord that I should make these plates." This was not one of the 10 commandments. It was something the Lord told him to do through the Spirit. In fact, if we think of the 10 commandments, Nephi broke quite a few of them: Thou shalt not kill (Laban), Thou shalt not lie (Zoram), Thou shalt no covet (plates-this one is a stretch). What he did do was follow promptings that he had - and these to him were more than feelings, they were COMMANDMENTS.
ReplyDeleteNephi was such a stud. The last words he says in 2 Nephi 33: 15, the last words we ever hear from this great prophet are these: "for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey. Amen." What a great example.
I love vs 6, all of it! "He prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men", so cool that God knows all and can open doors and prepare ways for us to do His will!
ReplyDeleteI have a tender spot for where Nephi says, "also a great many more things, which cannot be written upon these plates. It reminds me of Mary in Luke 2:19, "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart". I wonder how many other references there are to scared things that cannot be written. How many experiences have we had that are so sacred and tender that they cannot be written, lest they be taken too lightly?
Ben, great comment on Nephi breaking the commandment...for a higher purpose. The founders of this country were God inspired and committed treason to create this nation,so the Gospel could be restored. Martin Luther, Gutenburg, and many others broke the laws of the land with punishments of death to bring men out of darkness.
Personal inspiration is God's commandment for us.
Following the spirit for direction in all we do and say is so important.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate Ben's comments on the commandments Nephi broke as well. I sometimes wonder what choice's I will be told to make as my life goes on that may not seem to be doing what's "right" even though I know it is the right thing to do because the Lord commands it of me.
Ben, I don't know if I am writing this so late that you won't see it, but I wanted you to know that your reply here has created a definite paradigm shift for me! For the rest of my life, I will not view promptings as simply a feeling. (Now, if only I will be as good as Nephi about following them as if they are commandments.) Just wanted to say thanks for sharing this particular insight.
ReplyDelete