Restorers and the Deliverers
Speaking to his youngest son Joseph, Lehi tells him about his name-sake Joseph of Egypt, the Seer.
READ 2 Nephi 3:6-8,14-15
Who is Joseph of Egypt talking about?
· Joseph Smith, Jr
What is the “work” that Joseph did for the descendants of Joseph of Egypt?
· Restore them to the knowledge of the covenants the Lord had made with their ancestors
· By bringing forth the Book of Mormon (see Mormon 8:14)
What does it mean that the Lord told Joseph in Egypt that Joseph Smith would “do none other work, save the work which I shall command him”?
· Joseph Smith was called to bring forth the Book of Mormon – the vehicle through which the Remnant of Israel would later be brought out of darkness into light through the knowledge of the covenants contained in the Book, which would be of great worth to them because it would (will) deliver them out of spiritual bondage
· Joseph was not called to establish Zion – the Remnant of Israel were (and are) called to do this in the “tops of the mountains”
How was Joseph Smith “like unto” Joseph of Egypt?
· Same name
· Both were seers – in fact, Joseph of Egypt was called Joseph the Seer because of the silver cup that he used for divination and Joseph Smith was called Joseph the Seer because of his use of seer stones
· Both saved their people – Joseph in Egypt saved them from famine and physical death while Joseph Smith saved them from spiritual death through the covenants and knowledge found in the Book of Mormon and his other revelations
READ 2 Nephi 3:9-13
How was Joseph Smith “great like unto Moses”?
· Dispensation leaders
· Lawgivers - received commandments for the Church (see D&C 28:2)
· Restorers of lost gospel knowledge and covenants
· Melchizedek priesthood holders (After the Order of the Son of God)
· Both stood in God’s presence on multiple occasions
· Both gathered Israel (D&C 110:11)
Moses delivered the Children of Israel from spiritual darkness but was unable to entice them to enter the presence of God as he did; how was Joseph like Moses in this respect?
· Joseph did the same – he continually invited the Saints to make their callings and election sure, to experience the Second Comforter, to be sealed up to eternal life – many were called but few were chosen by the Lord due to the failure caused by their careless indifference (see TPJS 266:2)
· Both the Children of Israel and the early Saints were condemned by the Lord for failing to accept the invitation to come into His presence (D&C 84:19-26 and D&C 84:49-59)
· Both Moses and Joseph continued to hold the High Priesthood After the Order of the Son of God after the priesthood had been lost to the people (see D&C 124:28, 40-41)
Moses was not able to enter the promised land in mortality but was taken by God; how was Joseph like Moses in this respect?
· For Moses, the people rebelled (“jarrings and contention”) and would not enter the Lord’s presence – they would have to wait for the birth of Christ to have a second chance at establishing Zion; Moses was translated 1,300 years before Christ’s ministry
· Although Joseph began the Restoration, he was not able to see Zion established in his day; Joseph was also “taken by God” – but in his case, he was killed before Zion was established
· Zion was never established in Independence, MO or Nauvoo, IL or Salt Lake City, for that matter; we still await the establishment of the Zion began by Joseph Smith
READ 2 Nephi 3:22-24
What is Lehi’s prophesy to his son Joseph regarding his (Joseph’s) descendants?
· That in the last days they shall not all be destroyed because they will hearken unto the words of the book (of Mormon) and take upon themselves the covenant with Christ found there
What is the role of the one “mighty and strong” in the latter days?
· He shall rise up among them – it doesn’t say “from them” so he may not be a blood relative to Lehi’s son Joseph
· He will be mighty and strong because he will do much good through his words and deeds
· He will be an instrument or tool in the hands of God; tools allow the wielder to create or fix something
· He will exercise exceeding faith and work mighty wonders
· He will bring to pass much “restoration” unto the House of Israel and the Remnant of Lehi, specifically
The Psalm of Nephi
READ 2 Nephi 4:15-16
Why does Nephi delight in the scriptures and the things of the Lord?
· Originally, because he had “great desires to know of the mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 2:16 and 1 Nephi 10:17-19)
· He believed God would show them unto those who diligently seek Him
· And as a result of his prayers, the Lord softened his heart and later the heavens were opened to him and he knew God through actual personal experience
· Under the direction of the Spirit, he wrote what he’d experienced and learned, which was “scripture” to his children, who had not experienced these things yet for themselves
· All his desires were then to become as Christ is, which is salvation (see LoF 7:9)
Why are the things of Nephi’s soul scripture?
· Because he has entered into the presence of God and been redeemed and sanctified – he “knows the Way”
· He delights in light – in the Word
· Not because he has been given the calling of a “Prophet” but because of the messages from God he has been given, and has so embodied (his eye is single to them), that they have become his own thoughts and desires or “things of his soul”
What does it mean to ponder continually on what you have seen and heard?
· First you have to “see and hear” things beyond the veil – you have to connect with God yourself
· The things of God weigh on the mind – they must be consciously dealt with – pondered upon and either accepted or rejected
· To ponder is to deliberate on, examine, to weigh in the mind
· If this life is truly a probationary state upon which eternity rests, we owe it to ourselves to ponder upon the things of God – or be damned by our careless indifference
READ 2 Nephi 4:17-18
Why does Nephi, who has seen the Lord and the visions of heaven, feel sorrow and woe instead of rejoicing?
· Because the closer he gets to Christ, the more keenly he feels his unworthiness before His perfect Lord
Why does Nephi, who is a prophet of God, grieve about his sins?
· Because he has them – he yields to sin – he is not perfect or precisely like Christ by any means (v27)
· Because he struggles with real temptations (specifically anger, depression in the face of affliction, and temptations of the flesh – see vs 27-29)
· Because he hates the fact that he struggles with sin and temptation – they grieve his soul – they give him pain, they afflict him, they wound his feelings – he regrets them so much and yet he is “encompassed about” and cannot see a way through to escape them
READ 2 Nephi 4:19 and 2 Corinthians 7:10
What does Nephi desire to do?
· He wants to rejoice
· He wants to escape from the sins and temptations that have encompassed or surrounded him
· He knows “how great things” the Lord has done for us better than most do (see 2 Nephi 2:1)
· He is not a “drama-queen” who loves to play the martyr role and feel sorry for himself; his feelings are genuine based on what he knows from his experiences with God
What is the difference between the sorrow Nephi is feeling and “sorrow unto death”?
· Nephi is feeling “godly sorrow” which is a spiritual gift given to those who desire to come unto Christ – to help them “awake and arise” via repentance
· The sorrow of the world is really despair – it is unto death because there is no hope in it; there is no faith in Christ and no repentance or change; it is the sorrow of the damned
What makes Nephi’s sorrow unto life instead of unto death?
· He KNOWS in whom he has trusted
· He trusts Christ is able to do what He says He is able to do
· He knows about Christ via the visions of Christ’s atonement and resurrection
· He also knows Christ personally – He has been ministered to by the Lord and sealed up to eternal life (see 2 Nephi 32:6) – and eternal life is to know God and Christ
READ 2 Nephi 4:20-25
Why does Nephi trust God?
· Nephi sees the hand of God in his life – during the good and the bad times
· God has supported Nephi in his afflictions (but not saved them from them)
· He has preserved or saved Nephi from eminent death
· He has blessed him with the gift of charity, so much so that he could not contain the love within his body
· He has fought Nephi’s battles for him so that he did not have to raise a weapon against his enemies (and trust in his own arm by so doing)
· He has sent His Spirit to fill Nephi’s heart
· He has sent dreams, visions and true messengers to give him knowledge
· He invited Nephi to walk through the Fiery Portal to the Heavenly Temple to be shown the visions of eternity that cannot be taught by man to another but must be shown to man by God Himself
How does Nephi’s memory of these experiences serve Nephi when he is sorrowing for the sins that so easily beset him?
· They are the bedrock of his testimony of, and trust in, God
· He trusts God because he KNOWS God!
· His memories of these real spiritual events and the promises he received from God regarding his standing before Him give him hope in that God that he trusts
READ 2 Nephi 4:26-27
With all of his experience with God and the trust in Him that has come as a result, why does Nephi’s heart weep because of his afflictions and why does he still yield to sin?
· Because he is still mortal
· And is not yet like Christ was in his mortality, where He overcame all things perfectly
· Although redeemed from the Fall, Nephi will continue to experience the effects of the fall with all its inherent weaknesses and proclivities to sin until he is either dead or translated
· Because he is still in jeopardy every hour he is alive on Earth – he can still fall from grace and deny the covenant – the probation is very real, even to those who have been redeemed and sealed up to eternal life – Satan seems to have a special dispensation to attack them as he did the Lord Himself, as they would qualify to be sons of perdition if they fell (see 1 Corinthians 15:30)
READ 2 Nephi 4:28-30
What is Nephi’s solution to the doubts and frustrations he feels with his inability to overcome the sins and temptations that beset him?
· To awake again to Christ and the great things He has done for Nephi; to always remember Christ.
· To pray unto the Lord in praise – telling Him that he will rejoice in Him and all the things He has done for Nephi; that the Lord is his rock or foundation – the reason he knows he is saved
· To trust the Lord and His power to save – to believe Christ – His ability to exalt Nephi regardless of or in spite of the failures and sins that Nephi will always continue to be plagued by in this mortality
What does it imply that Nephi has been “giving place” in his heart to the enemy of his soul?
· That Nephi has allowed Satan into his heart through the doubts or fears or anxieties or frustration that Nephi feels about his own legitimate fallibilities
· That if Nephi can give place to his enemy, he can also forbid Satan from entering his heart; that his trust in God and the experiences he has had with Him are enough to replace doubt in himself with faith in Christ
· That Nephi needs to further humble himself – he has an implied expectation that after all he’s seen and experienced and been promised, that he should be above sin (or at least these sins that he finds particularly distasteful) – that he should be better than he presently is – but this is pride! It is the sins Nephi is struggling with that are driving him to his knees and back to the Lord in humility, which is really saving him! The Lord gives us weaknesses that we might humbly come unto Him for relief and in so doing, be saved (see Ether 12:27)
READ 2 Nephi 4:31-35
So what does Nephi do next?
· He follows his own counsel and prays to the Lord
Nephi has already entered the presence of the Lord and been ministered to, which is redemption (see Ether 3:13), so why does he ask again to be redeemed?
· In the anguish of his soul for his sins, he wants confirmation from the Lord that he is still in covenant – that he is still redeemed, because it is possible to fall from grace
What does it mean to “shake at the appearance of sin”?
· It means to have no disposition to do evil but to desire to do good continually (see Mosiah 5:2)
· It means to have experienced the mighty change of heart – in this case, for a second or third, or tenth or hundredth time
· Remember that Christ grew from grace to grace, not experiencing a fullness first (see D&C 93:12-14) and even though that most probably occurred over multiple eternities (mortal probations), the principle is true and just as applicable to us fallen mortals within a single probation or life – we grow from grace to grace or are slowly sanctified in mortality through the trials and afflictions we go through and the sins we are beset with, if we come unto Christ for relief and offer our whole souls, again and again, on His altar
What does it mean that the Gates of Hell are shut before you and on what grounds can Nephi ask for this blessing?
· Shutting the Gates of Hell before you means to prevent Satan and his legions from tempting or assailing you
· As the nature of this Telestial mortal life is to be tried as by fire, which includes God allowing Satan to tempt and try us, the only way God will allow the Gates of Hell to be shut before us is if we offer a truly broken heart and contrite spirit to the Lord in sacrifice; this implies that all of the lessons this mortal life has to each us have been learned and the trials have been overcome in Christ because the true sacrifice has been offered by the person
Why would the Lord shut the Gates of His Righteousness before us?
· Christ is the Keeper of the Gate and He sets the terms: a loving covenant relationship with Him and the sacrifice of a broken heart and contrite spirit
· Christ begs all of us to come unto Him and enter His rest, so in effect, we shut the Gates ourselves by not seeking Him out or by not offering the required sacrifice to enter in (the broken heart)
Why does the Gate of Righteousness lead to a “low” valley and a “plain” road?
· In mortal life, the follower of Christ follows His way – which was humble, plain, without fanfare or the praise of the world
· It is also a strait or narrow walk in its single-mindedness or with one’s eyes single to God’s glory – always seeking to obediently walk in His way – to be precisely as Christ is and nothing else (see LoF 7:9)
· But in an amazing chiasm, in the eternities the Lord lifts up His humble followers on high, to sit on His throne with the Father in the Sides of the North in the Temple at the heart of the Heavenly City
· But even then, Christ is the most humble being in the universe – and we are to be precisely like He is or we cannot be saved
What does it mean to be “encircled about” in the “robe of (Christ’s) righteousness”?
· The Semitic origin of the word Atonement (kafar) means to cover in a close embrace. Anciently, it was the custom for one fleeing for his life in the desert to seek protection in the tent of a great sheik. The Master would place the hem of his robe protectively over the kneeling man’s shoulder, then they embrace, and the Master makes a place for him – they are at-one (see Hugh NIbley’s “The Atonement of Jesus Christ”).
· It means to be made perfect in Christ – to be “covered” by His robe or to be one with Him so that our garments are not stained by our blood and sins but made white in His blood, as His garments are white (see Isaiah 61:10, 1 Nephi 12:10, Alma 5:21-25, Alma 13:11-12)
· Being surrounded by the Robe of Christ’s Righteousness is what protects one when one is “encompassed about because of the temptations and sins which do so easily beset” us (v18)
Why does Nephi pray that his path might be made “straight” before him?
· A straight path is much easier to follow – you don’t have any corners to have to try and see around – you can see what’s coming
· A straight path is quicker – the fastest way between two points is a straight line
What is the difference between a stumbling block and a hedge in one’s way?
· A stumbling block will cause delay, pain and embarrassment when one falls down, not seeing it in the road
· A hedge will stop you in your path and divert you to another direction
· The Lord called Himself a stumbling block and rock of offense but will not hedge up the way of the true seeker; stumbling blocks humble us but we must follow the Way to Christ and not be diverted into strange roads and be lost (see Isaiah 8:14 and 1 Nephi 8:32)
What does it mean to put one’s trust in the arm of the flesh?
· It means to put your trust in men
· It means to trust your own capabilities and insights
· It means to turn to scholars and religious authorities before or instead of turning to the Lord
What does it mean that the Lord will give liberally to those who ask, if they “ask not amiss”?
· The Lord gives liberally or bountifully, freely, generously
· But do not ask that which is contrary to God’s will (see Helaman 10:5)
· Don’t trifle with unimportant things (the desires of the will of the natural man) but ask God that you might know the mysteries of God (see D&C 8:10-11)
· Ask in faith – asking in vain is “asking amiss” (see James 1:5-6)
What is the difference between “praying” to the Lord and “crying” unto the Lord?
· A sincere heart (to know), and real intent (to do or follow the counsel received from God), with faith in Christ (see Moroni 10:4)
· Crying unto the Lord implies the 4th Watch of the night – that you have arrived at the moment of “great alarm” or the perceived imminent failure of faith – that the Lord is all you have to rely on, your “only hope”
The Nephites Are Born
In the beginning of chapter 5, with Lehi now dead, Laman and Lemuel plot to kill Nephi and he flees with his family and whoever else will follow him.
READ 2 Nephi 5:19
Does Nephi use the words “ruler” and “teacher” as synonyms or are they two different roles?
· According to Lehi, Nephi never meant to “rule” over his brothers but to teach them that they might be saved (see 2 Nephi 1:25-27)
· Christ is our ruler because He is more intelligent than we all; but His work and glory is God’s and that is to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life which requires Him to teach us what we must know to follow Him and become precisely as He is (see Abraham 3:18-19, Moses 1:39, and LoF 7:9)
READ 2 Nephi 5:27
What is the difference between saying “we lived happily” vs. “we lived after the manner of happiness”?
· The manner or “way” of happiness is the path back to the presence of God, to become like the Him, which is the fullness of joy (see Psalms 16:11; 3 Nephi 28:10; D&C 93:33-34)
· Living happily but not “after the manner of happiness” is transient by its nature (see Alma 41:11 and Helaman 13:38)
