The 13 Looks of Nephi, Christ's Redemption from The Fall The Book of Mormon Lecture 05 by Helen Ma

(Introduction by Hyrum L. Andrus: Helen May is in my opinion a great student of the Book of Mormon. She has had a life-long interest in it. She has read the Book of Mormon 22 times since 1965--22 times, and that's not counting the studying she's done along the way. It has been a privilege for me to have her not only as my wife and companion, but as one to whom I sit up and listen, one who has been prompted by the Spirit to get many tremendous, special insights, particularly on the vision of Lehi and Nephi. This is what she would like to discuss with you today.) Helen Mae Andrus: I have very few qualifications for speaking at a Book of Mormon seminar, and they are these: I know it's true. I have a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon, and that is my greatest qualification. I love the book--that's the second. And the third is that it's my security blanket. Each of us has something for a security blanket, and the Book of Mormon is mine. When difficulties come and problems come, and they do, the Book of Mormon is a tangible evidence, and it's there and I can use it. If it is true, and it is, then Christ is there. If it is true, and it is, Joseph Smith was a Prophet, the Church is restored and President Benson is a prophet of God. All of these things come together and make me secure in the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that I am most grateful. I'd like to tell you a little bit about my love affair with the Book of Mormon. The first two or three readings, I was so interested in Lehi and his experiences, leaving his home, going into the wilderness and then they send back Nephi and his brothers, the experience with Laban, with the plates of brass, and they brought those back. Then they go back again for Ishmael and his daughters and the rest of his family, their sojourn in the wilderness for 8 years, the experiences with Nephi and his broken bow, the problems building the ship, the rebellion of Laman and Lemuel, and they finally get across the ocean to the promised land. Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 2 Lehi gives them blessings. After his death they divide into Lamanites and Nephites. Well, I thought I had 1st and 2nd Nephi down pat, I knew that story. Are any of you guilty of that? Then I found out there are 45 other chapters in 1st and 2nd Nephi that didn't include this, and I have learned to love those 45 chapters. As I was reading through the vision of Nephi, I found that the angel, or the Spirit, it seemed like an awful lot of times said, "Look!" So I began to look at what that angel and the Spirit said to Nephi in chapters 11 through 14. And I found out that there are 13 different "looks," so I would like to talk about what I call "the looks" in 1 Nephi 11-14. If you'd like to take your Books of Mormon and follow through with that.... I found out that Nephi had some major contributions made in that vision. First, he put Christ in the very center of salvation, prophecy and history. The second great contribution to me is that it gives an overview of the future of the remnant of Lehi, all of the house of Israel and of the Gentiles. It gives an outline of how the Father will finally bring his covenants unto Israel that he has promised these many years. Third, and this is important, to me it gives a focus to all of the writings that Nephi includes in his 1st and 2nd book of Nephi, and all the work that he will do to put it on the plates. You know that he engraved these by hands, and you think of the labor that must have been. He chose the material from Lehi, from Jacob, from his own prophecies, and in particular from Isaiah. And all of these were concerned with Christ and with our day. So when we read 1st and 2nd Nephi, we should do it with these two major items in mind. What do they say about Christ, and what do they say about the last days? Then we get the focus that I think Nephi wanted us to have. Fourth, it suggests the important gospel principles that are emphasized and explained throughout the rest of the Book of Mormon. It is interesting to note that at the end of the Book of Mormon when Christ comes to the Nephites, his emphasis is the same as Nephi's. He puts his time on his gospel and on the latter-days. I found out in these other 45 chapters in 1st and 2nd Nephi, that to me, all tie in, in one way or another, to Nephi's vision. Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 3 For example, the trail that Nephi uses from Lehi, chapters 1, 8 and 10 in particular, and a little bit of 5, give Lehi's prophecies, Lehi's visions, Lehi's dream. And when we get into Nephi's vision, you'll find out that he refers back to all of the things that Lehi had seen or knew by the power of the Holy Ghost. When he got to 2 Nephi, he again used Lehi in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th chapters of 2 Nephi. In those chapters, Lehi gives blessings to his sons, and he also quotes Joseph who was sold into Egypt and tells how he will have a descendant who will take the writings of Nephi and give them to the people--again, of course, referring to the Prophet Joseph Smith. In 2nd Nephi--Hyrum referred to that this morning--he quotes all of Lehi's blessing to his son, Jacob, and gives this marvelous talk on the redemption, the atonement, our agency and all of these things that are important in that one. And then when Nephi comes to his brother, Jacob, what does he do? He quotes Jacob 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 in 2 Nephi. Of these, Jacob quotes 2 chapters of Isaiah, 50 and 51. And again, they are on Christ and the last days. He quotes the 9th chapter of Jacob in 2 Nephi, and that again is a marvelous one on the atonement. So he brings in Christ as Jacob understood Christ. The exciting things to me are Nephi, when he puts in the rest of his writings other than the vision, which is important, 11 through 14. When I first read the Book of Mormon--did any of you kind of tiptoe through Isaiah and hurry and get through him so you could get to something else? Well, I did, and I found out that I liked Isaiah, because Nephi and Jacob gave keys of understanding. I remember once when I got to Nephi and he was quoting Isaiah again, all of these chapters, 2 through 14, I thought, oh dear! I got down on my knees and I asked the Lord to help me understand Isaiah. It hasn't been easy, but it's coming, and it is mainly because I have the background of the Book of Mormon and what Nephi and Jacob learned from him. Well, Nephi quotes Isaiah 11 through 24 on Isaiah, which would be 2 and 14, and then Nephi takes chapters 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30, and he gives his prophecies. As you read them, notice how much he relies and goes back into his vision and the things he received from his vision as he gives his prophecies. Then I come to my favorites, the doctrine of Christ. Nephi, after he Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 4 gave his prophecies, said that he had given sufficient for the time, but he needed to spend some time on the doctrine of Christ. Chapters 31, 32 and 33 have been very special to me for many years, because they have helped me see Christ as Nephi saw him and as the Book of Mormon wants us to understand him. Well, that much for background on why I like 1st and 2nd Nephi. Now to get into the vision. In the background, remember Nephi wanted to see and hear and know the things his father had seen and heard and learned by the power of the Holy Ghost. Lehi had just told them about his dream. But to start, in 1 Nephi 1, what does Lehi do? About the first thing we find out, we see out in his travels a pillar of fire come down on a rock and he is told many things that made him shake and tremble. I suppose it was the destruction of Jerusalem that was coming. He doesn't elaborate on it. He goes home and he lies down on his bed, and he is carried away in the Spirit. In that vision, he sees several things that Lehi reports to us. He saw the heavens open, and he saw one descend "whose luster was above the brightness of the sun at noonday." And he was followed by twelve others whose brightness was "like that of the stars." And then he said the first one handed him a book and told him to read. As he read the book, he read of the destruction of Jerusalem, of the Jews being taken captive into Babylon. Then he read of the coming of the Messiah and of the redemption of the world. In the end of Nephi's vision, he reports that he saw all of the things that his father saw. So I take from that, that Nephi saw these very things that Lehi did, and I think the vision will carry that out. I'd like to review with you chapter 8 of 1 Nephi, because this is this dream that Lehi had that I sort of used to wade through--the mists of darkness that he did--and not quite understand it. But again, we need to take time and understand that, because it is a picture of what each of us do as we go through mortality. It's a picture of what we do in the gospel, it's a picture of what Nephi did in his vision. Lehi sees a man in a white robe who invites him to follow him. He doesn't say any more about the man, but he does go into this dark and dreary wilderness. And after several hours of wandering there, he said he cried upon the Lord to give him his tender mercies. As he did so, then the vision opened up and he saw this large and spacious field. And in it he saw the tree. He must have gone immediately to the tree, because he said he ate of it, and the fruit thereof was so Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 5 great that it filled his soul, not his stomach, but it filled his soul with joy. And it was precious and white. Immediately, like all good parents, he wanted his family to partake of that good fruit. He looked around for them and he saw Sariah and Sam and Nephi standing by the head of the river, and they acted as if they didn't quite know where to go. He motioned to them, and they came immediately and partook of the fruit. But he said Laman and Lemuel would not come. Then it seems as if Lehi is sort of standing back and looking through this path in the dark and dreary wilderness that he has traveled and found how he got there, and he watches other do the same. He saw a rod of iron that went along the river, and he seems to see now how he got to this tree and partook of the fruit. This rod of iron followed a straight and a narrow path, and it led by the fountain and went over to the spacious field and the tree where Lehi was now. Lehi watched others as they began to make their path along this way. He saw a few take hold of the rod of iron, and then the mists of darkness came up, and they lost their way. He said they went into "forbidden paths." Then he saw a few who held onto the rod tightly, and they followed the path and got to the tree and ate of the fruit. Then they looked around as if they were ashamed. Lehi looked to see where they were looking, and he saw this large and spacious building. All these people were standing there and poking fun at them, pointing at them with scorn and ridiculing them for eating the fruit. They were dressed in the best of clothes, and they were men and women. These people couldn't take the ridicule, so they left. They didn't go to the tree, but they got lost in the forbidden paths again. And then Lehi sees one more group go through. They get a hold of the rod, they press forward, they follow the path, they get to the tree and they fall down and partake of the fruit. Those in the building point the finger of ridicule, but they pay no attention them. Lehi sees a few others who get lost in the mists of darkness, because they are trying to find the building, not the tree, and they fall into forbidden paths. Then he sees others wandering in strange roads. Lehi makes this very important observation for us. He said that the majority of the people went into the building, the large and spacious building. They did not come to the tree. Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 6 Lehi has a message, I believe, because he says simply that he feared that Laman and Lemuel would be cast out of the presence of the Lord because they didn't go to the tree. And now, just briefly, in Nephi 10 where Lehi prophesies and Nephi recounts some of the things, because these again will come up in his vision. Lehi is talking to his children. He has told them his dream, has just finished telling them about the dream, and then he begins to prophesy of the destruction of Jerusalem, that the Jews will be taken captive to Babylon, but subsequently a few will return. The Messiah will be born, and that will be 600 years after Lehi leaves Jerusalem. Then he says a prophet will come and prepare the way. The prophet would baptize the Messiah in Bethabara, he would bear record that this Messiah would take away the sins of the world. And then he covers a lot of history in a hurry. He says the Jews would then dwindle in unbelief after they heard the gospel. They would slay the Messiah, he would rise from the dead, he would manifest himself to the Gentiles, and then he tells them that Israel would be broken and scattered. He likens them to the olive tree--I suppose the one Jacob uses from Zenos. Then he says that Lehi's family would be scattered because they are part of Israel. The Gentiles would receive the fulness of the gospel. Eventually Israel would be grafted in, back to the mother tree, when they came to the knowledge of the true Messiah, the Son of God. And these again are items that come out in Nephi's vision, so it seems to me that they both saw the same visions. Nephi begins his experience, he sits pondering the things that his father has said about Israel, about Christ, about John the Baptist, about his dream, and he wants to see and hear the things his father did. While he is pondering, let's turn to chapter 11, verses 1-5, and maybe we can read those main ideas together. Down at the bottom of the verse, he said as he was pondering in his heart, he was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord. He was carried to a high mountain. Starting on verse 2: "And the Spirit," I guess it's the one who carried him there, "said: What do you desire?" It's interesting that in this experience, often the Spirit or the angel will ask a question before they answer him or show him anything. He said, "I want to see the things my father saw." The Spirit said, "Do you believe that your father saw the tree?" And he said, "Yea, thou knowest that I believe Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 7 all the words of my father." Then the Spirit praises the Lord and says, "Because of your faith in the Son of God, you will see the tree. And after you see the tree, you will see a man descending." Then he said this, verse 7: "Behold a man descending out of heaven, and him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God." To me, I think he is saying that "it" refers to the tree, and when he sees the tree he will bear witness that the tree represents Christ. So the first "Look" is: "The Spirit said unto me: Look!" And Nephi looked and he saw the tree, and he saw that it was white above all that was white and sweet above all that was sweet, and it was very precious. And the Spirit again said, "What desirest thou?" Nephi wants to know the interpretation of the tree. "And it came to pass that the Spirit said, "Look!" This again now, is the second "Look!" In the first "Look" he sees the tree, and the rest of his vision will tell him about Christ, because the next seven "Looks" refer to Christ, his birth and his ministry in mortality, and then what Christ would have us do to come back into his presence. Now to "Look" number two. It is when the Spirit says "Look," and Nephi says he turned to look, but the Spirit had gone. But as he looked, he saw Jerusalem, he saw Nazareth, he saw several cities. Then he saw this *** who is beautiful and fairest of all virgins. At this time, an angel comes and takes over, I guess, the role that the Spirit had. And the angel shows him the rest of the vision. The angel said, "Nephi, what beholdest thou?" Nephi tells him that he sees this beautiful, fair ***. Hyrum referred to this, this morning. He said, "Knowest thou the condescension of God?" Nephi says no, that he knows he loves his children. Then he shows him the ***, that she is carried away and when she comes back, we come to "Look" number three. This shows the love of God. It is represented by the tree. Let's read verses 21 through 23, because he looks and he sees the *** bearing the child. "And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?" This time because Nephi has seen the background, he has seen Jerusalem, he has seen Mary, he has seen the birth of Christ, he knows that the tree represents these different things. He says, "Yea, it is the love of God, Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 8 which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things." The angel agrees and says, "Yea, and the most joyous to the soul." I think that this love of God that "sheds itself abroad in the hearts of men" has at least four different applications. First, as I said, I think it represents Jesus Christ in person, because he is the tree, he is the source of all this love. The path leads to him and leads to that tree. And second, it applies to the love of the Father of Jesus Christ. Remember John 3:16 in the New Testament, he says that "God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but should have everlasting life." So that was the love that the Father had as well as his love for his other children. It applies to the love that Christ has for us. Nephi, in the 26th chapter of 2 Nephi, says, "He loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him." And then the fourth application, "The love of God that sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men," seems to apply to the great love of God which is charity, and to the great gifts of God that come to us because of his love. That love originates with Christ as it comes to us, and it is extended from him to man. And I think that's why the angel said it is more desirable than anything else. I could give you an example that's not very great, but to me it is meaningful, of how the love of God comes to man. I was just recently released as Relief Society president. There were days I thought that would be a wonderful experience, but when it happened, it was very difficult for me. I served about three years. And as that position left and that opportunity to serve, the mantle left also. And I miss that love that I felt. I still have that love, but it isn't as strong. I mentioned it to a friend of mine who had also been a Relief Society president, and she said, "Yes, I know how you feel." She nodded in agreement. How you miss it when it's over. She said it is as if the love of Christ comes into you and flows through you out to them. And I think that sort of illustrates in a simple way how the love of Christ flows from him and sheds itself abroad into the hearts of the children of men. And then when they serve, they have that blessing. And when they try to keep the commandments, they follow it in that way. Nephi mentions something of a much more powerful experience than Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 9 I've had. He said, "He has filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh." That's from 2 Nephi 4:21. Then Lehi has a similar one in 2 Nephi 1:15. He says, "The Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell. I have beheld his glory, and I am circled about continually in the arms of his love." I have thought I would like to have that experience of feeling his arms of love around me continually in that way. And as I've mentioned before, 2 Nephi 2 and 2 Nephi 9 on the atonement, show us the love that God had and how we can get into position to have that love come into our lives. This idea of charity, which is a gift of God, in Moroni 12:28, Moroni says that the Savior told him, "Faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me, the fountain of all righteousness." So this gift does come from Christ. And in Moroni 7, Mormon's teachings, the whole chapter is on faith, hope and charity. And he says that if you don't have charity, you are nothing. So that's a pretty important thing to have. And Nephi says the same thing in 2 Nephi 27:30. He says that if you have not charity, you are nothing. Mormon brings out that charity is the pure love of Christ and endureth forever, and that again is the motto of the Relief Society. And Mormon makes it clear to us that charity is a gift, and again in Moroni 7, he says, "Pray unto the father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son." So if we want this marvelous gift of charity, then we follow Christ--true followers of Jesus Christ. We need to go on to "Look" number four; this is verse 24 in 1 Nephi 11. And after he has told them the importance of the love of God, he says, "Look!" This is the angel. "And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him." It seems to me that he is sort of telling Nephi, now, what Christ will do and that some will fall down and worship him, and that is what he is doing as the Son of God. And under this same "Look," he describes the rod of iron as the word of God. And the "living waters" is the word of God and the love of God. Nephi, in 1 Nephi 15, if you want to look at that some time, Nephi explains to his brothers the very thing that the angel explains to him throughout the vision on what Lehi's vision means. In "Look" number 4, he says the rod of iron is the word of God. As Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 10 you read the Book of Mormon, you'll find that the Book of Mormon frequently mentions the "word." They talk about the power of the word, the preaching of the word, the importance of the word, and the "word" is nearly always synonymous with Christ and with his gospel. I think one of the best examples is when Alma went to the Zoramites. They found out that the Zoramites were perverting the gospel as they said they had been members of the church, but now were apostates. And when he and the missionaries went, he said they found out that since the word had more power than the sword or anything else they had ever tried, they thought that it was expedient that they use the word of God. So when they went, they preached the word of God to the Zoramites. It was to the Zoramites that Alma gave this marvelous example of planting the seed, and if you plant the seed, how it will grow and bloom into a tree of everlasting life. He describes the fruit as white above all that is white and precious above all that is precious, just as Lehi and Nephi do the fruit of the tree. But Alma tells them that the seed they must plant is the seed of Christ. I'd like to read that from Alma 33:22. He is telling them to plant the word. He tells them, "If you will cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works. "And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts...." So the seed that he wants the Zoramites to plant and the word that they are given, is to plant the word of Christ and let that bloom and grow and develop in their hearts. On this idea of the "word," Nephi said that a man gets into the strait and narrow path by entering the gates of baptism and the Holy Ghost, the ordinances of the gospel--that's in his doctrine in Christ--in 2 Nephi 31. And then he says, "Ye have not come thus far, that is, into the gate, except by the word of Christ, with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly on the merits of him who is mighty to save." And I like Nephi's farewell. It is in the 33rd chapter of 2 Nephi. He has given them all these things that to him are the most important things that he can give, because he was to write only those things that were sacred and only those things that the Lord wanted him to Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 11 write. In chapter 33, he is giving a farewell, and he addresses the Jews and his remnant, and he says, "all the ends of the earth." And he says, verse 4 in 33, "The words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal." And he says later on in verse 10, he wants them to hearken and believe in the words of Christ. He says if you don't believe in the words of Christ, believe in my words, because if you believe in my words you will believe in Christ, again emphasizing the need to know the words of Christ and to believe them. Now, verses 26 and 27. The fifth "Look" covers quite a bit of territory and various ideas. "The angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!" We have talked about the "condescension" a little bit before when he asked him if he knew it. Now he is going to see Christ as he does it. "Behold the condescension of God! And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove." Now, Nephi goes into much greater detail over in 2 Nephi 31, about the baptism of Christ, and teaches his people how important it is and how necessary it is, and as he does he refers back to his vision. This is in 2 Nephi 31, verse 16, he says, "And now my beloved brethren," this is Nephi teaching them, "I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved." And that's the example that Christ set of baptism. He says, "Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do." So he is referring them back to the experiences he had in the vision. And he also quotes Christ as telling him, this is verse 12, that they should be baptized..."Him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do." And remember as we read in 1 Nephi 10, Lehi talks about John the Baptist coming, and he even quotes what John will say to the Savior. Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 12 He says, "There standeth one among you whom ye know not, whose shoes latchet I am not worthy to unloose," again showing, I think, that Lehi and Nephi saw all of the same vision. In verse 28: "I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory." Hyrum talked about that quite extensively this morning, that the Savior did come in power and great glory while he was here in mortality on the earth. In "Look" number 5, he said, "I beheld that they cast him out from among them." That seems hard for us, but I think sometimes we do it ourselves. We reject him and the things he would ask us to do. But Nephi again, in 2 Nephi 25:12, goes into a little more detail on this, about Christ being rejected. He wrote, "The Father of heaven and earth shall manifest himself unto them," that is, to the Jews, "in the flesh. Behold, they will reject him because of their iniquities and the hardness of their hearts and the stiffness of their necks." Then in the following verse he says, "My soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day," referring back again to the vision. When Abinadi was with King Noah and teaching them about Christ, he used all of Isaiah 52, and he quoted to them from Isaiah. "He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." So back at the time of Isaiah, they knew that Christ would be rejected. And then one more little phrase in "Look" 5, verse 29: "I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not." So Nephi says very little about the twelve, but he talks about them later at the end of his vision. The angel introduced "Look" number 5 by telling Nephi to "Look and behold the condescension of God." It seems to me that one of the major messages in the Book of Mormon is of Jesus Christ, that he is God, as was mentioned this morning. Even the very Title Page of the Book of Mormon says, "It is for the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God." And he wrote that the Jews will need to be convinced that Jesus is the Christ, and the Gentiles will need to be convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God. To me, the great condescension of God that Nephi receives is that he Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 13 left his heavenly home where he reigned. He came to earth in power and great glory to be despised and rejected of men. He who had no sin was baptized to set the example, to show his willingness to obey his Father's commandments. And he was crucified by those he came to save. I don't know any greater condescension than for a God to go through that. "Look" number 6 in verse 30: "And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look!" And as he looked, the heavens opened and angels came down and ministered among men. In the New Testament, I only know of one instance where angels came down and ministered to men, and that would have been on the Mount of Transfiguration, when Jesus took Peter, James and John, and then Moses, Elias and Elijah came down and did minister to them. So I think he has a larger connotation here, maybe showing us the role of angels, the ministering of angels, the need of angels. Certainly Nephi is experiencing that right now. The angel is showing him all of these things. Later on, in Moroni 7, Mormon wrote that God sent angels unto the children of men to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ. And he wrote that angels declare the word of Christ. There are so many examples in the Book of Mormon. This great discourse, sermon, whatever you want to call it, that King Benjamin gave in chapter 3 of Mosiah, it was given to him by an angel--all of it. And that was the message he gave that brought his people so completely to Christ. Nephi says that angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, wherefore they speak the words of Christ. That's 2 Nephi 32:3. Angels delivered many messages to Book of Mormon prophets. Alma had one that wasn't so marvelous, with the sons of Mosiah, where they were condemned and told if they didn't stop fighting against the Church of Christ, they would be destroyed. But it was an angel that came with power that delivered that message. Alma and Amulek had experiences with messengers or angels. And Helaman, Lehi and Nephi, angels administered to them when they were in prison. Samuel the Lamanite, when he came to the Nephites in their wickedness and preached to them. He gave the message the angel gave him to give to them. So I think it's just telling us that angels are important, and we believe the angel Moroni came to Joseph Smith, and many other angels, and that they still come. Moroni tells us that Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 14 if we do not have angels and miracles, then we do not have the gospel--it's that simple. "Look" seven, verse 31: "And I looked, and beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of man. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out." Fortunately we have many, many experiences in the New Testament that testify of Christ and the miracles that he performed. I think that also applies to us in our day, because Mormon in 9:23-24--Moroni quotes Jesus, and he says, "These signs will follow those that believe," and he applies it to anyone who has the belief in Christ that they should have, and they will have these signs and they will do these healings and these things that Nephi saw Christ doing. In Mosiah 3, the angel tells King Benjamin in verses 5-6 of all these miracles that Christ will perform when he comes to earth. "Look" number 8, verse 32: "Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record. And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world." There is not much more said at this time, but Nephi's true feelings of the crucifixion of Christ come out in all of his writings. And he tells his people that Christ would be in the sepulcher for 3 days, and he would rise from the dead. This is in 2 Nephi 25:13. It's interesting in 1 Nephi 19, Nephi quotes many of the prophets from the Old Testament, because he wants his people to believe in Christ, that he will come. He quotes them that Christ will be lifted up and he will be crucified for the sins of the world. The angel told Jacob in Nephi 6 that Jesus would be scourged and crucified by the Jews. I think also that Jacob had many of the same if not the same vision that Lehi and Nephi had, because when you read through his writings, you will find references that angels told him this, the Lord told him this, he saw this; it seems again that these men all had similar experiences. Well, verse 34 through 36 is the completion of "Look" number 8, and it's sort of an overview of the things that will happen to those who Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 15 reject Christ. He has seen Christ's ministry and now he sees what will happen. He sees that the multitude of the earth are gathered together to fight against the apostles of the Lamb. He says that's what the twelve are called. And he sees them in the context of Lehi's dream. They are in the great and spacious building, the pride of the world. The interesting thing is that the house of Israel is in there with them. The house of Israel is in the great building with the multitudes who are fighting against the apostles of the Lamb, which seems to show the need for restoration, the need for redemption, the need to gather Israel and teach them of Christ. He says, "Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues and people that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Nephi seems to be pointing out the seriousness of rejecting God's chosen apostles. In 3 Nephi when the Nephites heard the voice of Christ coming to them in the three days of darkness--it was still dark--they heard his voice. He was telling about all of the cities that had been destroyed and he ended at least four different verses by saying that this destruction came "that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come anymore unto me against them." Another place in 3 Nephi 12:1-2, when Christ starts giving the people the Beatitudes, he says, "Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed to the words of these twelve whom I have chosen." Then he goes on to tell them that he has given them power to baptized and people are blessed if they see Christ and believe him and are baptized, but "more blessed are they who shall believe in your words, because that ye shall testify that ye have seen me." This seems to be an interesting idea that it's more blessed to believe those who bear witness and testimony of Christ, that they've seen him and know him, than Christ himself. At least, that's the way Christ gives it to them. Then in 3 Nephi 28:34, Mormon warns those who will not hearken unto the words of Jesus, and also those whom he has chosen, because if they don't hearken unto him or those whom he has chosen, Christ will not receive them in the last days. And then there's one in the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 21, about Joseph Smith, verse 5, the Lord says, "For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith," again showing the need that we have to accept the prophets and apostles as if they were Christ himself. So in the conclusion of "Look" 8, Nephi has seen the destruction of all Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 16 nations, kindreds and tongues who fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb. He sees the house of Israel in there in the building with the multitudes of the Gentiles and everyone else who fights against Zion in the last days. And again, as in Lehi's vision, he saw the majority of the people in his dream would go into that building and not to the tree. The next "Looks"--five of them--cover hundreds of years, and he crams a lot of history and prophecy into this small period of the Book of Mormon. That's why he uses Isaiah and Jacob and Lehi and others to help enlarge on the vision that he saw. These next "Looks" give a prophetic picture of those who either come to Christ, or those who go into the big building, or they get lost in the depths of hell in the waters. In chapter 12, it covers "Looks" 9 and 10,and this is specifically Nephi's people, the vision he sees of them. Chapter 13 and part of 14 is specifically the Gentiles in the land of promise. The rest of chapter 14, "Looks," part of 11 and all of 12 and 13, are the Gentiles and the house of Israel, more in our day, or from our day on. So "Look" 9 starts with chapter 12, verse 1. "And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Look, and behold thy seed, and also the seed of thy brethren." So Nephi sees from his time on, he sees them in the promised land, and they begin to have their wars and their destruction and their battles. He sees this. He sees generations pass, many cities rise and fall. He sees the destruction on the land at the time of the crucifixion, and all the great and terrible things that happen. Then he sees the heavens opened, the Son of God descends to his people. He sees Christ choose his twelve disciples, and the Holy Ghost falls on them. The angel says, "Behold, the twelve disciples of the Lamb." Nephi has now seen the twelve in Jerusalem and now the twelve disciples that will be chosen by the Savior on this continent. I think that was a great privilege that he had. He sees the twelve in Jerusalem would judge the twelve on this continent, but he sees also that the twelve disciples that Jesus chooses are the ones who will judge his seed. The angel says that the twelve Nephite ministers are righteous forever. "Their garments are made white in the blood of the Lamb." So as Hyrum mentioned this morning, this idea of being sanctified is what happened to the twelve of the Lamb, but it was extended to the Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 17 rest of the Nephites after they became righteous, and were healed by Christ. Nephi again tells more about the destruction of his people. 2 Nephi 26 gives the detailed destruction, verses 1-9, and what will happen to his people. Of course this is 600 years before it happens, and he says this: "Oh the pain and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people. For I, Nephi, have seen it and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord." But he says he has to say, "Oh Lord, thy judgments are just." I think it is interesting that Nephi makes such an emphasis to his people about what will happen to them when Christ comes. He has, I think, four witnesses. In 1 Nephi 12, he has a vision, he sees in vision what will happen to his people when they are destroyed. An angel tells him what will happen, he sees it and explains it to them. In 2 Nephi 26, the Spirit tells him what will happen to his people, and he quotes the Spirit. He doesn't need just the example of the angel and the vision telling him, the Spirit tells him. Then in 1 Nephi 19, he quotes Zenos and Neum and Zenock, and they tell of the destruction, the 3 days of darkness and the great destruction that will happen. Nephi wanted his people to have the message of what will happen to them if they didn't follow Christ, of the destruction that will come. And he gives it to them and all these witnesses. In "Look" 10, the angel said unto me, "Look! And I looked, and beheld three generations pass away in righteousness; and their garments were white even like unto the Lamb of God. And the angel said unto me: These are made white in the blood of the Lamb, because of their faith in him." In Nephi's writings in chapter 26, which he writes to his descendants about the great destruction, he tells them that the righteous that hearken to the words of the prophets won't be destroyed, and they will look forward to the coming of Christ, which they did in 3 Nephi. They looked forward to Christ's coming and waited for that day and worried about when that day would come. And Nephi says unto them, "But the Son of righteousness shall appear unto them," which he did, "and he shall heal them. And they shall have peace with him until three generations shall pass away." So in this healing process they were sanctified because of their faith in the blood of the Lamb. And now, in the rest of "Look" 10, it must have been a very difficult experience for Nephi to witness the destruction of his people. As he sees their destruction, he also gets Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 18 further interpretation of Lehi's dream. This is verse 16. Because these Nephites and Lamanites were back to their usual battles. "Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell." So as he watches the battle, the angel explains to him that they are in the depths of hell, because they have not followed the rod of iron. "And the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost." They have been blinded by the devil and they are not with Christ. "And the large and spacious building which thy father saw is the vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men. And a great and a terrible gulf divides them; yea, even the word of the justice of the Eternal God." So he sees that his people are divided from the tree of life. They are divided from Christ because of the justice of God, and they cannot cross that gulf until repentance and coming unto him. His final bit as he witnesses the overthrow of his people. He is seeing those who would not stay to the iron rod, who lost their way and were drowned. So "Look" 11 is the one to the Gentiles. I think most of us are familiar with this, so I'll just go through some of the highlights on it. 1 Nephi 13:1-2: "And it came to pass that the angel said, Look! And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms. And the angel said unto me; What beholdest thou?" He said, "Well, I see many nations and kingdoms," and then he explains the things he saw--the formation of a great and abominable church which is founded by the devil. He saw that this great church loved wealth and riches and jewelry and gold and silver, and they loved fine clothing, and they destroyed the saints of God for the praise of the world. Then he switches his view a little bit to the promised land. He sees Lehi's descendants are separated from the Gentiles by what he calls "many waters." And the wrath of God is upon them, and at the time the wrath of God is upon the people of Lehi's seed, the Spirit of the Lord is working among the Gentiles. We recognize that it was Columbus that he worked with and brought him to this land. He worked with the colonists who came to this land, because they were humble, they weren't in the world with pride, in the big building. He sees that the Gentiles will scatter Lehi's seed, but he sees that the Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 19 power of God will deliver these humble Gentiles from all the difficulties of the wars, and they will be made a free people in the promised land. There are many prophecies on the "promised land" in the Book of Mormon, but we won't go into them. Ether was told that only those who obeyed the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, will be able to stay in the land. And he has seen the downfall of the Jaredites. Nephi now sees the downfall of his people, and the Gentiles have taken over and have his land. There are many things that Nephi emphasizes in "Look" number 11, the Gentiles, his seed who do not have the gospel, and then he tells Nephi to Look, and he looks and sees a book among the Gentiles. He asks, "Do you know what that book is?" Nephi says no, he doesn't know what the book is. The angel explains that it is a record of the Jews similar to the one they have on the plates of brass. There were many plain and precious things in that book when it came from the mouth of the Jew, and he uses the word Jew, singular, so it seems to be the word of Christ in this particular instance. But that many things have been taken from that book by the great and abominable church, and they cannot follow Christ, and they stumble because these things are taken. He goes on about the descendants of Lehi, that they won't be completely destroyed. And he won't allow the Gentiles to stumble completely, because he gives just a slight hint--you know, I used to think when I read Nephi's vision, why doesn't it say more about the restoration of the gospel, it's such an important thing. But there are only about three verses. But again, he is covering lots of time in this brief vision. We get the hint of it in verse 34. He says, "I will bring forth unto them in mine own time much of my gospel, which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb." Then he says that the way he can bring this about is because Nephi's descendants will keep a record and Christ will manifest himself to that record, and the plain and precious things he wants them to have will be given in that record, and it will come forth to them. It will come to the Gentiles by the gift and power of God, and in them will be written "much of my gospel and my salvation." Then he gives a slight reference. He says, "Blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day." So we know from this that he is speaking of the great time when the gospel has been restored to the earth. Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 20 I think that he brings out the importance of keeping records, the importance of books, the importance of having the plain and precious things. He gives three basic reasons why they are important in 1 Nephi 13:39-40. The reason that Nephi's records will be important: One, to convince the Gentiles, the remnant of Lehi and the Jews that the record of the prophets, of the twelve apostles, is true. So the Book of Mormon is a witness that the Bible is true. Two, it is to make known the precious things taken from the record of the Jews. The abominable church took these precious things away, and the Book of Mormon restores much of those things. And third, to make known to all kindreds, tongues and people that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world, and that all men must come unto him or they cannot be saved. He also again refers to the twelve apostles and the records of the twelve apostles. I won't take the time, but if you are interested in 1 Nephi 13:39-42, the inference there is that the twelve apostles left records, and we do not have those records. The idea is that they will come forth, and there are more records yet to come is the idea that I get from that. So that's some of the other things that we have to look forward to that are yet to come forth in our day. Another important idea on record keeping, when Christ came to the Nephites do you remember that he read to them and asked them to bring the records that they had kept? He read to them the record about Samuel the Lamanite, and asked, "Didn't Samuel tell you that there would be those who would rise from the dead at the time of the resurrection?" They said yes, he did. He said, "Well, you haven't put that in your record." So he knew the events that needed to be put in and the need for record keeping. There is one that I like; it's in Omni. It tells how they kept the records. Omni 9. I guess this is Chemish. "Now I write what few things I write in the same book with my brother. For behold, I saw the last which he wrote, that he wrote it with his own hand, and he wrote it in the day that he delivered them unto me. And after this manner do we keep the records, for it is according to the commandments of our fathers. And I make an end." And that is all he said, and I don't think that's what Christ had in mind for people keeping the records, that they just put this much in and hand it on to someone else. Maybe that's how we need to keep our journals and keep things like that up to date. Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 21 "Look" number 11 goes into chapter 14. The angel says, "If the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks," that they will be numbered with Israel. I'm not going to go into this, because chapter 14 will be one that Hyrum will discuss on the last days. But in this one is the alternative given to the Gentiles in our day and age, whether they will accept Christ or reject him. "Look" number 12 comes a little bit later, and it tells Nephi to Look and behold the great and abominable church, and there he will see the time come when there are only two churches left on the earth-- those who follow Christ and those who follow the devil. And then "Look" number 13, Nephi is told to Look--this is verse 18 in 1 Nephi 14. He sees a man dressed in a white robe. The angel says, "Behold one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been." So Nephi is now told that John the Revelator will write all the rest of the things that Nephi will see, but Nephi will not write them. And those are things that Hyrum will discuss. So I'd just like to close with just a brief review of the contributions that Nephi's vision has made. One, he sets Christ in the very center of salvation, prophecy and history. Two, he gives an overview of the future of the remnant of Lehi, the House of Israel and the Gentiles. Three, he gives a focus to his writings to those he chooses from Jacob, Isaiah and of his own, and of Lehi, so that his record will emphasize the things that have to do with Christ and with the last days. And he identifies briefly all the major doctrines and principles of the gospel. If you think back to the vision, he showed us that dreams and visions and angels and the Spirit of the Lord are important, and they are necessary for us to learn about the gospel. He makes it emphatic that Christ was born to Mary, it was a literal birth, and it is not just something nice to read about. He tells us about the love of God, the need to have it. He tells us the importance of baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the example of Christ, he talks about the ministry of angels, the need of miracles, the important role of the twelve apostles, the doctrine of Christ as the Eternal God, the reality of the crucifixion and the resurrection, and the justice of God in allowing all the destructions that will come. And he has shown us that prophecy Lecture 5A The 13 Looks Of Nephi 22 is fulfilled. He prophesied these things about the Nephites; 3 Nephi shows us that they were fulfilled. He has prophesied all these things about the Gentiles and Israel, and the destructions of the last days and they will be fulfilled, because he has prophesied that and has seen it. I would just like to bear my testimony that I know this Book of Mormon is true. I know these things are important. I know that when President Benson wants us to flood the world with the Book of Mormon and for us to get into it and to understand and read it, that he is telling us what the Lord revealed to him to tell us. Remember when President Benson was sustained as President of the Church, we were watching it on television. It was almost as if he came right out of that television, and I knew he was the one that God wanted to be our prophet. He himself says that he feels the reason his life has been prolonged is so that he can teach the Book of Mormon and get people to understand it and to read it. And it's one thing to read through like I did and just get the stories a few times--I'm so grateful that the Lord blessed me with a desire to understand a little more of the rest of the Book of Mormon, the things that he wants us to know about his Son and about the things that will happen in the latter-days. I bear this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.