Before we begin, I want to apologize for the length of time it’s taken me to get this entry up. Real life has been very busy. Today’s entry will be on 1 Nephi 11.
Previously, Nephi mentioned that after his father left off speaking about his dream, that he, Nephi, was left with a powerful desire to know the things his father saw (v1). I’m guessing, based on the kind of person Nephi was that he probably prayed about it, asking our Heavenly Father, to help him understand his father’s dream. Then after praying, he sat pondering the dream, just thinking about it, waiting for inspiration to come to him, as any of us would do. While he was doing this, suddenly he found himself on the top of a high mountain that he’d never seen or visited before. As he stood there, the Holy Ghost spoke to him, asking what he wanted. His response was pretty simple, to see the things his father had seen. The Spirit then asked him a question meant to test his faith. “Do you believe that your father saw the tree he claims to have seen?” Nephi’s response reveals a good deal about him. “You know that I believe everything my father says.”
The Spirit of the Lord instantly rejoiced, praising Nephi for believing in the Savior without ever having seen him. He promises Nephi that he will be allowed to see everything he wanted to see. He also tells him that this vision will be a sign to him that he would eventually see the Savior and a number of other important things and, afterward, record the knowledge in his journal.
At this point, I realize that most Mormons are aware of the basic meaning of Lehi’s vision of the tree of life. The following first associations are made in this chapter.
- Tree = Love of God
- Iron Rod = Word of God
- Building = Pride of the World
That said, I want to spend a little time on some of the other things Nephi saw. First off, the Spirit of the Lord appeared to Nephi in a form similar to a man’s and spoke to him as one person speaks to another in general conversation. I believe that this indicates that the Holy Ghost (referred to in the chapter as “him”) is a male. This should not be construed as any kind of gender stereotyping. I’m just trying to read between the lines, here.
I also note that the Spirit used the term condescension of God. According to an article written by Byron Merrill, the word condescension, usually used to imply a kind of arrogance, here is used to imply voluntary descent or submission. The condescension of God was to sire a child with a mortal woman, allow his son to be persecuted and eventually killed, and, in that act, allow him to take the sins and pain of the world on himself so that both justice and mercy might be satisfied at once. It also speaks to the Lord’s willingness to be our good example and, by extension due to his sacrifice for us, our confidant, best friend and advocate.
One last thing I wanted to point out here. When Nephi noted that the building was the pride of the world, he added “…,and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great.” That’s an interesting analogy. I don’t imagine that there’s a one of us that doesn’t understand that particular picture as given. There isn’t a time in one’s life when pride doesn’t lead to a fall. The greater the pride, the farther the fall. So, looking back at the previous quote, you kind of get the idea that the pride of the world is simply tremendous. All I can say is, I hope I’m not in that building when it falls.
Applying the Scriptures to My Own Life
Thinking about this scripture, I realize that the Lord has been a great boon to my life. So I want to use this space to express the depths of my gratitude for the love and condescension of God and the great love I have felt from His Son. I’m so grateful not to be wandering around in darkness. I’m grateful for that hand-railing leading me to His feet. I’m grateful for His loving patience with me. I hope, one day, to kiss his feet in gratitude, like that one lady who washed his feet with her tears and dried them with her own hair.
No comments:
Post a Comment