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CHAPTER 4Lehi counsels and blesses his posterity—He dies and is buried—Nephi glories in the goodness of God to him—Nephi puts his trust in the Lord forever. [Between 588 and 570 B.C.] |
Lehi further counsels and blesses his posterity and brothren—He dies very shortly after his blesses and is buried—Nephi glories in the goodness of God but condemns in himself the natural tendancies caused by the natural man—Nephi puts his trust in the Lord forever. [Between 579 and 570 B.C.] | |
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1 AND now, I, Nephi, speak concerning the
prophecies of which my father hath spoken, concerning
aJoseph, who was carried into Egypt.
2 For behold, he truly prophesied concerning all his seed. And the aprophecies which he wrotea, there are not many greater. And he prophesied concerning us, and our future generations; and they are written upon the bplates of brassb.
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2a the prophecies which he [Joseph]
wrote Lehi had just finished speaking of the prophecies which
Joseph of Egypt had written. The fact is clearly stated that Joseph himself
did write them. Like any of the 'fathers' and prophets of God, Joseph spoke
to God and God spoke to Joseph, stating many great things concerning Joseph's
seed. Whether we have all of Joseph's writings is doubtful and Jewish
tradition even speaks of such things as a third dream of Joseph. What has
been preserved by the hand of the Jews has readily been seen to be clearly
from a 'Jewish' perspective. And many things have been lost or purposefully
taken out of the writings of the prophets. That Moses first spoke in his
first book of the vision which he had of God is only preserved by direct
revelation to the Prphet Joseph Smith, that it was by vision that Moses was
instructed concerning the creation. But as Moses unfolded the past, at some
point Moses begins to speak from records which he has access to and not only
from the visions of God. Just where this passage from the vision of the
creation given him by the Lord moves into the compilation of ancient records
available to Moses is not known.
2a they are written upon the plates of brass It seems quite clear and possible that Moses did have access to the writings of Joseph. Joseph Smith includes these writings in of Joseph in the 50th chapter of the book of Genesis. Here the Book of Mormon states plainly that Lehi must have had access to them as 'they were written upon the plates of brass'. Since the plates of brass began with the five books of Moses as does the Bible, we may presume that it was Moses who first transcribed the record of Joseph into his book of Genesis now given to be in the 50th chapter of his first book as given in the inspired version of the Bible. Thus one might well presume that the writings of Joseph were not upon the plates of brass directly by the hand of Joseph. As to what medium Moses first used to write his books, we do not know. At some point the writings were placed upon the plates of brass as compiled and kept by the family of Joseph as so stated in the Book of Mormon that for the cause that Laban and his fathers were of the house of Joseph, they did keep the record (1 Nephi 5:16). |
1a
Gen. 39:2 2a 2 Ne. 3:5 b 1 Ne. 22:30; 2 Ne. 5:12
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3 Wherefore, after my father had made an end of speaking concerning
the prophecies of Joseph, he called the children of Laman, his sons, and his
daughters, and said unto them: Behold, my sons, and my daughters, who are the
sons and the daughters of my afirst-born, I would that ye
should give ear unto my words.
4 For the Lord God hath said that: aInasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.
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3a
TG
Firstborn 4a 2 Ne. 1:9; Alma 9:13
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5 But behold, my sons and my daughters, I cannot go down to my grave
save I should leave a ablessing upon you; for behold, I
know that if ye are bbrought up in the
cway ye should go ye will not depart from it.
6 Wherefore, if ye are acursed, behold, I leave my blessing upon you, that the bcursing may be taken from you and be answered upon the cheads of your parents. 7 Wherefore, because of my blessing the Lord God will anot suffer that ye shall perish; wherefore, he will be bmerciful unto you and unto your seed forever.
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5a
TG
Family, Patriarchal; TG Patriarchal Blessings b TG Family, Children, Responsibilities toward c Prov. 22:6 6a 1 Ne. 2:23 b TG Curse c D&C 68:25-29 7a 1 Ne. 22:7-8; 2 Ne. 30:3-6; Jacob 1:5; TG Book of Mormon b 1 Ne. 13:31; 2 Ne. 10:18-19; Jacob 3:6 (5-9); Hel. 15:12 (10-17); Morm. 5:20-21
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8 And it came to pass that after my father had made an end of
speaking to the sons and daughters of Laman, he caused the sons
and daughters of Lemuel to be brought before him.
9 And he spake unto them, saying: Behold, my sons and my daughters, who are the sons and the daughters of my second son; behold I leave unto you the same blessing which I left unto the sons and daughters of Laman; wherefore, thou shalt not utterly be destroyed; but in the end thy seed shall be blessed.
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10 And it came to pass that when my father had made an end of
speaking unto them, behold, he spake unto the sons of
aIshmael, yea, and even all his household.
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10a
1 Ne. 7:6
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11 And after he had made an end of speaking unto them, he spake unto
Sam, saying: Blessed art thou, and thy aseed; for thou
shall inherit the land like unto thy brother Nephi. And thy seed shall be
numbered with his seed; and thou shalt be even like unto thy brother, and thy
seed like unto his seed; and thou shalt be blessed in all thy days.
12 And it came to pass after my father, Lehi, had aspoken unto all his household, according to the feelings of his heart and the Spirit of the Lord which was in him, he waxed bold. And it came to pass that he died, and was buried.
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11a
Jacob 1:14 (12-14) 12a Gen. 49:1-27 b TG Old Age
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13 And it came to pass that not many days after his
deatha, Laman and Lemuel and the
sons of Ishmael were aangry with me because of the
admonitions of the Lord.
14 For I, Nephi, was constrained to speak unto them, according to his worda; for I had spoken many things unto them, and also my father, before his death; many of which sayings are written upon mine aother plates; for a more history part are written upon mine other plates.
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14a was constrained to speak unto them, according to his word Now one might ask, why didn't Nehpit just take a quite approach rather than to stand boldly before them and speak. But it is not Nephi speaking of his own accord, but according to the spirit which did 'constrain' him to speak the word of God unto them. |
13a
1 Ne. 7:6-19;
1 Ne. 17:18 (17-55); 1 Ne. 18:10 (9-22); 2 Ne. 5:2 (1-25); TG Anger 14a 1 Ne. 1:17 (16-17); 1 Ne. 9:4; 2 Ne. 5:33 (29-33); D&C 10:42
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15 And upon athese I bwrite the
things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the
plates of brass. For my soul cdelighteth in the
scriptures, and my heart dpondereth them, and writeth them
for the elearning and the profit of my children.
16 Behold, my asoul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my bheart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.
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15a
1 Ne. 6:1-6 b TG Scriptures, Writing of c Ps. 119:24; Moses 6:59 d TG Meditation; TG Scriptures, Study of e 1 Ne. 19:23; TG Scriptures, Value of 16a TG Spirituality; TG Thanksgiving b TG Heart
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17 Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great
agoodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and
marvelous works, my heart exclaimeth: O bwretched man
that I am!a Yea, my heart
csorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of
mine iniquities 18 I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily abeset me. 19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins; nevertheless, I know in whom I have atrusted.
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17a O wretched man that I am!
That sin which we are currently work on to over come becomes the greatest in
our life until we are able to over come it. These words echoed by the
Apostle Paul and many of the righteous men who have and do seek unto the
Lord's perfection, as those which do not indicated any great sin but the
fact that these men have come to realize that by their very nature, they
are subject to being temporally corrupt and carnal in the state of the
natural man. Human weakness is inherent in us all. Nephi has what to him
seems to be a great sin which plagues him, as did the Apostle Paul. In the
Apostle Paul's case, he even goes as far as to further label it 'his thorn
in his side'. This might well represent also how Nephi felt about his
'wretchedness' according to what he still had difficulty in overcoming. Under
Christ's image of perfection which we are all to attain unto, we are not only
to love our neighbor as our self, but we are to also love our enemies, and
pray from them and do good to those who despitefully use us. This is perhaps
one of the most difficult things to attain in ones life, to not only forgive
one's enemies of that which they have wrought against you, but to go the
next step and to love them and do good unto them, returning good for evil.
17b my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities Regardless of what specifically Paul's 'thorn in his side' was and Nephi's iniquities of anger towards his brothers Laman and Lemuel; they center in the same thing, the 'weakness of the flesh', the 'natural man' who is an enemy to God. In Paul's case the Lord would not remove his weakness of the flesh and the Lord stated to Paul that his grace was sufficent unto the removal of such when the time would come. Thus the irony of Nephi's words and feelings being most likely a parallel with Paul, is that this is the position of all men before God. And as pointed out later in the Book of Mormon, God gives men this 'weakness' that they might be humble before him (Ether 12:27-37). Of course we would all like to live as John the Apostle and the 3 Nephites, without pain and sorrow except that for the wickedness of men, but alas, we are left to our lifes of affliction all our days in most all of our cases. We all suffer from our own 'weakness of the flesh' and would that God would remove it from us. |
17a
Ex. 34:6 (5-7); 2 Ne. 9:10; D&C 86:11 b Rom. 7:24 c TG Poor in Spirit; TG Repentance; TG Sorrow 18a Rom. 7:21 (15-25); Heb. 12:1; Alma 7:15 19a TG Trust in God
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20 My God hath been my asupport; he hath led me
through mine bafflictions in the wilderness; and he hath
preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.
21 He hath filled me with his alove, even unto the bconsuming of my flesh. 22 He hath confounded mine aenemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.
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20a
2_Cor. 4:16 b 1_Ne. 17:6; TG Affliction; TG Comfort 21a TG God, Love of b D&C 84:33 21a Ps. 3:7-8
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23 Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me
aknowledge by bvisions in the
nighttimea.
24 And by day have I waxed bold in mighty aprayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high; and angels came down and ministered unto me. 25 And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been acarried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.
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23a visions in the nighttime Nephi speaks that he did receive his visions from God at night. So does the prophet Ether so speak. Jacob was visited by the Lord at night. Thus 'Night Visions' seems to be a standard mode between man and God. Ether seems to have written the entire history of the final wars of the Jaredites from such visions as he himself continued to dwell in a cave during the whole of it (Ether 13:13). In a world in which we really cannot truly trust our own eyes to see the truth of a matter, the truth revealed by such visions from God is more of the truth and the reality of the matter than one's own eye sight at noon day. |
23a
TG
Knowledge b 2 Chr. 26:5; TG Dream; TG Vision 24a James 5:16; 1 Ne. 1:5-8; 1 Ne. 10:17 25a 2 Cor. 12:2 (1-4); 1 Ne. 11:1-36; Moses 1:1
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26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his
condescension unto the children of men hath avisited men in
so much bmercy, cwhy should my heart weep
and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my
strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?
27 And why should I ayield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to btemptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my cpeace and afflict my soul? Why am I dangry because of mine enemy?
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26a
Ex. 3:16;
Alma 9:21;
Morm. 1:15 b TG Compassion; TG God, Mercy of c Ps. 43:5 d TG Heart 27a Rom. 6:13 (10-16) b TG Temptation c TG Contentment; TG Peace; TG Peace of God d TG Self-mastery
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28 Awake, my soul! No longer adroop in sin.
Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the benemy
of my soul.
29 Do not aanger again because of mine enemies. Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions. 30 Rejoice, O my aheart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the brock of my salvation.
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28a
Ps. 42:11 b TG Adversary; TG Enemy 29a TG Anger 30a TG Heart b 1 Cor. 3:11 (9-13); TG Rock
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31 O Lord, wilt thou aredeem my soul? Wilt thou
deliver me out of the hands of mine enemies? Wilt thou make me that I may
shake at the appearance of bsin?
32 May the gates of hell be shut continually before me, because that my aheart is broken and my spirit is contrite!a O Lord, wilt thou not shut the gates of thy righteousness before me, that I may bwalk in the path of the low valley, that I may be strict in the plain road! 33 O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy arighteousness! O Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine benemies! Wilt thou make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—but that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemya.
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32a May the gates of hell be shut
continually before me, because that my heart is broken and my spirit is
contrite! This is that offering which the Lord requires of man
upon the altar of sacrifice of the atonement. And that is a 'broken heart'
and a 'contrite spirit'. When man comes unto Chirst in such state of
humility and meekness, which is to be in supmission unto the mind and will
of God, then Christ is enabled to effect the blood of the atonement in the
behalf of man in healing all afflictions and forgiving of sin, thus imputing
unto man the righteousness and perfection of Jesus, that is Jehovah in whom
is Salvation, in exchange for having taken the sins of the world upon himself
and suffering for them. This is the mercy of Christ and that grace by which
men are saved. And as long as man is in this continual state of 'repentance'
before the Lord and is striving to live those commandments which has been
given him to live, that man is within the reach of the atoning grace of the
Lord and the Lord's grace is sufficent to save that man. But if that man
turns from that state in the pride of this heart, then he has lost that which
the Lord does offer to give. And that man must suffer for his own sins until
that day that his knees shall bow and his tongue confess that Jesus is the
Christ in that very spirit of a broken heart and a contrite spirit, subjecting
himself unto the mind and will of God in all things.
33a clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy Similar to the pleadings of King David, that the Lord would support his cause against his enemies, is the pleading of Nephi. Whether Nephi read the Psalms of Israel as attributed to David, or whether he was inspired fromt he more original source, it must be considered that Nephi did take his inspiration from his scriptural sources to so plead thus before the Lord concerning his enemies. |
31a
Ps. 16:10 b Rom. 12:9; Alma 13:12; Alma 37:32 TG Sin 32a TG Contrite Heart b TG Walking with God 33a TG Righteousness b Lev. 26:7 (1-13); D&C 44:5
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34 O Lord, I have atrusted in thee, and I will
btrust in thee forever. I will not put my
ctrust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he
that putteth his dtrust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is
he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.
35 Yea, I know that God will give aliberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I bask cnot amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the drock of my erighteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.
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34a
TG
Trustworthiness b TG Trust in God c Ps. 33:16; Ps. 44:6-8; TG Trust Not in the Arm of Flesh d Prov. 14:16; Jer. 17:5; Morm. 3:9; Morm. 4:8 35a James 1:5; TG Abundant Life b TG Prayer c Hel. 10:5 d Deut. 32:4 c Ps. 4:1
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