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1 Nephi 1-5
OBJECT
Now for this week, there is an overall object lesson that I might use to introduce any or all of the lessons I decide to teach that week. And that is to bring in a backpack. Any backpack will do, but I prefer to bring in a legitimate backpacking backpack. The kind you would use if you were planning on going on a trip into the wilderness for a time to camp overnight.
ICEBREAKER
So I bring out my backpack and explain to my class that whenever I go on a hike, I always make sure that I'm carrying what hikers call "The Ten Essentials". You don't want to go very far from a trailhead into the backcountry without at least packing these ten things. And if you wanted to take this object lesson a step further, and if you have the items available, you could actually put examples of the ten essentials in your backpack and bring them out one by one as they’re discussed. But I ask my students if they can name any of the ten essentials. And do you know what they are?
Navigation-so a map, a compass, or even nowadays, a GPS enabled device.
Illumination-A flashlight or a headlamp. You know, if you get into trouble, you never know if you're going to have to spend some time in the dark. I would never go on a hike, even a short day hike without a flashlight.
Water-make sure you have plenty of water or a way to get water. Nowadays, I always bring a water filter with me when I go hiking.
Food-Granola bars, candy, a sandwich, beef jerky. Calories to keep you going.
First Aid-Bad things can happen in the outdoors, so you've got to make sure you're prepared for the most common types of injuries.
Shelter-I don’t think you always have to carry a tent wherever you go, but I like to bring an emergency Bivvy sack or at least one of those space blankets that could be used as protection from the elements if things turn nasty.
Fire-Or a way to start a fire. Fire can come in handy in a lot of ways in the outdoors. Warmth. Light. Protection from wild animals. Signaling. Purifying water, and cooking food. I always like to have a couple of different ways to start a fire.
Insulation-It's always good to bring a jacket. Even when it's warm out, you never know when temperatures might drop. Even if it's the middle of summer, if you get wet or rained on, and then it gets windy, you can get really cold really fast.
A knife-or some kind of multitool. A knife can come in handy for all kinds of things in the outdoors.
One that's often overlooked. Sun protection. The sun can do a number on you if you're not prepared for it. Especially if you like to hike in the desert like I do. So a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen can be a great benefit.
Now obviously there are other things that you could consider bringing with you into the outdoors, but these 10 stand out as the most critical. I wouldn't want to go on any hike without them.
Well you may know that the Book of Mormon begins with a camping trip of sorts, doesn’t it? It recounts one family’s journey through the wilderness. And it’s quite the adventure isn’t it? It stands as one of THE great journey narratives in the scriptures. Can you name any of the others? We’ve got the Exodus of the Old Testament, the journey to the promised land made by the Jaredites which we’ll study later this year in Ether, and then, the journey across the American West of the early Pioneers. And there are other smaller journeys as well, but I’ve found that the best way to make these stories more relevant is to compare their journey to their promised land with our journey to our promised land, the Celestial Kingdom. Life is like a wilderness, that’s a fitting symbol, isn’t it. It’s a journey, fraught with dangers and pitfalls. But it’s not a hopeless endeavor and it doesn’t have to be a miserable one either. I’m a backpacker, and I love the wilderness, and setting out into it doesn’t have to be a scary, terrible thing. If you have the right attitude, and the right gear, and you're prepared, it can be an incredibly challenging, yet fulfilling experience. Members of Lehi’s family are going to show us the right way to do it, and the wrong way to do it. We have examples of both in 1 Nephi. So we can follow their positive examples, and learn from their mistakes. This week we’ll do three different lessons that will illustrate three different “ESSENTIALS” that everyone should packing in their spiritual backpack through the wilderness of life.
And teachers, you may not have time to do all three, but you could still use the backpack metaphor for any or all of them.
LESSON #1 A PATTERN FOR PERSONAL REVELATION (1 Nephi 1-2)
ICEBREAKER
Now the backpack activity could serve as your icebreaker for any of these three lessons, and then you could just jump right into the text, but I’ll also provide you one additional icebreaker activity or idea for each of the individual lessons as well, if you’re interested. Our first lesson is going to come from 1 Nephi chapter 1-2, and to introduce it you could give your students this pattern recognition challenge. Can you identify what comes next in this sequence of numbers? What’s the pattern? You might even want to hit pause and see if you can figure it out.
And here’s the explanation. The answer is this. 13112221. Why? Because each succeeding line is describing the line before it. So you start with the number 1. How would you describe that? Well, there’s one one. So I write that down. Now how would I describe that number? Well, there are two ones, so I write, 21, then next, there’s 12 and 11, then 11,12,21. Next 312211, which then leaves us with 13112221. Interesting huh.
Well sometimes we’re going to find patterns and sequences in the scriptures as well. And 1 Nephi 1 starts out with a really important one. On the surface 1 Nephi chapter 1 appears to be a very simple story, but upon further examination, you may come to the conclusion that I’ve come to that it was no coincidence that this was included as the first story in the Book of Mormon. I would label this “A Pattern for Personal Revelation” and would write that at the top of page 1 or 2 as a label, and then mark the steps in one specific color throughout the chapter.
SEARCH ACTIVITY-MARKING
Take a look at the following verses and see if you can identify a sequence of steps in the process of receiving Revelation from God.
1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 1:12, and 1:19
The first step in vs. 4 that I see is where Lehi hears “many prophets prophesying” that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed. I would call this step Introduction, or initial contact with God’s word and will. This is how God works with the children of men. He always sends prophets to teach and to warn. Yes, he loves us to learn to recognize the still, small voice of the Spirit guiding us, but he also understands that sometimes we need a clear, audible, unmistakable voice revealing God’s will and instruction. That voice comes from the prophets. The specific warning here is destruction. Repent or be destroyed. Interesting that the Book of Mormon begins and ends with the destruction of a people. Maybe we ought to keep our eyes and ears open for things that will lead peoples and nations to destruction and take note, so we don’t fall into the same trap.
When Lehi hears that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed, what is the very next thing we see him doing? Step 2 in vs. 5, he prays with all his heart. So sincerity is key here. I would call this step Invocation. Lehi wants to know for himself that the words he is hearing are true.
And what happens as a result of this prayer, nest step in vs 6, it tells us that “he saw and heard much.” God answers Lehi’s prayer, and gives him the revelation he is seeking. And that third step I would call Illumination. God illuminates or enlightens Lehi because of his willingness to seek wisdom from Him.
And the next step goes hand in hand with that last one and they’re often simultaneous, but what happens to Lehi in vs. 12. As God grants him wisdom, he is filled with the Spirit. I call this step, confirmation. The Spirit confirms what is being revealed.
Then finally, after Lehi has discovered the truth and had it confirmed, what does he do next? See if you can catch the key word in vs. 19
19 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.
Did you catch the key word? Testified. Once he knows the truth, he declares and testifies of that truth to others. I call this step Declaration. And because of Lehi’s declaration, another key figure in the Book of Mormon is going to be touched, his son Nephi. In the succeeding chapters, we’ll will watch Nephi go through this exact same pattern. It works in a circular fashion, as one person’s experience with the pattern leads them to testify to others, and then others can work through the same steps as the first.
I’ll just walk you through this so you can see it.
In 1:16 we see that Lehi prophesies and speaks unto his children.
Then in 2:16 we see this:16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.
So there’s step 2, he prays.
Then, as a result of that prayer, we see the Lord answer Nephi in verses 19-24. He too sees and hears much.
We see a description of the confirmation of the Spirit in 2:17 where Nephi says that the Lord had manifested unto [him] by his Holy Spirit.
And then what does Nephi do? Also in verse 17, he speaks unto Sam, his brother. He testifies of what he’s seen, and we can surmise that Sam is going to go through this same process himself as a result of Nephi and his father’s testifying, because he too will follow.
There are many other examples of this pattern throughout this story and indeed throughout the entire Book of Mormon. We’ll see it again when Lehi has his vision of the tree of life. We’ll see it in the story of Enos, and Alma, and Alma the Younger, and Amulek, and Lamoni and his family, and the Brother of Jared, and many, many other stories throughout the Book of Mormon.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Therefore, to liken the scriptures, what is one of the most important things we can pack in our spiritual backpacks? Personal revelation. An understanding of this pattern and a willingness to apply it. God speaks to man, and he wants to speak to us. At this point I might pull out a sign or a symbol that represents personal revelation and put it into the backpack. A light bulb might be a good idea for this.
TRUTH
When prophets testify, if I pray with sincerity for confirmation of the truth, I will see and hear much. Then I must go out and testify of what I’ve seen and heard.
VIDEO
You might consider showing the following video which perfectly mirrors and explains in greater detail the pattern that 1 Nephi 1 has just shown us. While they watch, I would invite them to look for all of the different ways in which God can confirm truth to us through the Spirit. There are many different ways in which we can see and hear much. What are they?
QUOTE
And a great quote you might share here from President Nelson:
“Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will ‘grow into the principle of revelation.’
“Does God really want to speak to you? Yes!”
President Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” Liahona, May 2018, 95.
TAKING IT TO HEART
Have you ever seen this pattern fulfilled in your own life? Please share your experience with us.
And now, isn’t it interesting? That the very first story of the Book of Mormon is about a man who hears the words of the prophets, prays to understand them, has his prayer answered and then testifies of it to others.
Isn’t that exactly what we are meant to do with the Book of Mormon ourselves? This year, we are going to hear the words of prophets in these sacred pages. We’re going to hear their warnings and calls to action. Therefore what should we do when we come in contact with these words of the prophets? Do what Lehi did, pray about them, ask for guidance. Let’s not wait until we’ve finished studying the Book of Mormon to pray about its truthfulness. It’s not just something we do once we finish the book of Moroni. We do it all along the way. The illumination and the confirmation should come throughout our study, not just once at the end. And If we approach our study this way, with this pattern firmly placed in our backpacks, I can guarantee that you too will see and hear much. Now it may not come in the form of a pillar of fire or heavenly visions, but it will come. God’s light and power will be made manifest to you, and he will confirm the message by filling your soul with the Spirit. But then what next? Let’s not forget the last step. Once we’ve had its truthfulness confirmed, let’s go out and share it with others. In fact, that may be a prerequisite to receiving an answer in the first place, a willingness to act on the confirmation we’re requesting. Testify and declare your faith once you have found it for yourself.
One additional quick insight. Don’t you love the way that God reveals the truth to Lehi? Go to vs. 11-12 for this. He doesn’t have it announced by an angel. It’s not proclaimed by the voice of God himself even. How does he do it?
11 And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read.
12 And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.
Jesus walks over to Lehi and hands him a book and says read this. And as Lehi reads, he's filled with the Spirit. I believe that this is the exact situation that we are all in as students of the Book of Mormon at this moment. We too are seeking divine help and wisdom from God. And how is he answering us? His son, Jesus Christ is handing you a book and saying, “read this”. That book is the Book of Mormon.
You think it’s a coincidence that this is the first story in the first chapter of the Book of Mormon? I don’t.
I WILL GO AND DO
I’d like to offer you a challenge then. Will you apply this pattern this year in your study of the Book of Mormon? Will you listen carefully to the words of the prophets found within the scriptures? Will you pray for confirmation? And if you do or have received it, will you testify of it to others?
THE TAKEAWAY
I want you to know that I have personally applied this pattern myself. I have studied the Book of Mormon, and I’ve prayed about it many times, and because of those petitions, I can truthfully assure you that I have seen and heard much. I have felt things, I have been inspired and enlightened. I have seen miracles come into my life because of the teachings of the Book of Mormon. When I apply its principles, I’m blessed. And now I really appreciate you allowing me to share some of those things with you, to fulfill that final step by testifying of my experiences with this phenomenal book. The pattern is being applied right now! Therefore like Lehi and Nephi, let’s pack the pattern of personal revelation in our spiritual backpacks.
LESSON #2 THE WORTH OF THE WORD (1 Nephi 2-5)
Now, the second “spiritual essential” we should pack with us on our journey through the wilderness of life.
OBJECT
Money. I would display some money at the front of the classroom. Maybe a 100$ bill if you can secure one or even just a couple of ones would do the trick even, but have that money prominently displayed at the front of the classroom and tell your students that today, we’re going to talk about the value of things. The process of determining the worth of things can be a little intimidating and tricky. I know that when I’ve tried to sell things on eBay or Craigslist or even a garage sale, sometimes I get it wrong. The value that I think something holds may not be how everyone else values it. So we’re going to practice that skill today. We’re going to hone our ability to determine worth.
ICEBREAKER
For an Icebreaker, I like to play a very brief version of The Price is Right with my students. So I randomly select a student to come to the front to play the game, you know with the whole, “Come on Down, you’re the next contestant on the Price is Right.” The whole bit. I even have the theme music playing in the background. But you tell them that in this game, you are going to present them with an object, but the price displayed for it is incorrect. Each number is off by one. And all they have to decide for each number is whether it should be the number higher or the number lower than the one displayed. So for example, if the item is this Big Mac meal and it says that it costs 8.91. Should that 8 actually be a 7 or a 9. And the 9 an 8 or a 0, and the 1 a 0 or a 2. They make their guess and if they get it right, they win a treat. If they have any wrong, you tell them how many numbers they got wrong, but not which ones, and give them one chance to change something. So the actual retail price of the Big Mac meal is: 9.82. Did you get it right?
Let’s try another one. A 128 GB iPhone 15. 608$ is displayed. Is that 6 a 5 or a 7. The 0 a 1 or a 9, and that 8 a 7 or a 9. The actual retail price of the iPhone 15 is 799$
And finally, a Nintendo Switch video game console. What do you think the price would be? The price displayed is 380. Is the 3 a 4 or a 2? The 8 a 9 or a 7, the 0 a 1 or a 9?
And the actual retail price? That 3 becomes a 2, the 8 a 9 and the 0 a 9.
Anyway, you can have some fun with that one. But the next item you display is where the lesson takes a bit of a turn.
The scriptures? What are they worth? How would you answer that question?
I love that in early church history, Joseph Smith invited the brethren to take a vote as to the value of the revelations found in the Doctrine and Covenants. Their conclusion: “The conference voted that they prize the revelations to be worth to the Church the riches of the whole earth, speaking temporally.”
I love the formality of that. “We voted and that’s what we concluded. They’re worth all the money in the whole world!” But anyway. The big question of this lesson is going to be: What are the scriptures worth to you? 1 Nephi chapters 3-5 are going to help us to determine the value the scriptures-the worth of the word.
SEARCH ACTIVITY: HANDOUT
For a search activity, we’re going to do a “Secret Phrase” handout. Have your students work on this as partners or individually and challenge them to be the first to fill out all of the words by studying the provided references and trying to unscramble the provided letters to those words. Then, they’ll use the letters in those words to determine the secret phrase at the bottom. And the big question for us here is “What are the scriptures worth?”
And as you correct the handout with your students, encourage them to make a label at the top of page 5 and choose a color to mark the scriptures’ answer to that question
So the first one here is in found in 2:6 and 3:2. 2:6 reveals that they have traveled 3 days into the wilderness. And then 3:2 has Lehi telling them to go back. So what would the boys need to sacrifice in order to get the plates? 6 days of travel. So what are the scriptures apparently worth? At least 6 days of travel, or A long “JOURNEY”.
#2, 1 Nephi 3:22-24. What apparently were the scriptures worth to them based on these verses? All their gold, silver, and precious things. They were worth all their worldly wealth. And they give it up, for the scriptures. Now it doesn’t work, Laban just takes it, but they are still willing to give it up. The answer here is all of their temporal “PRECIOUS” things.
#3 1 Nephi 3:13, 3:25. This one may be a little harder to identify, but what happened in both of their first attempts to get the plates? Laban sought to slay them. So what are they apparently willing to give or risk in order to obtain the plates? Their lives. The scriptures are worth risking your “LIFE”. And we have plenty of examples of people who were willing to actually risk or give their lives for the word. People like Abinadi, and Moroni, and Samuel the Lamanite, and Jesus, and all the early apostles, and William Tyndale, and Joseph and Hyrum. I like what the Doctrine and Covenants says about the Book of Mormon. That it cost the best blood of the 19th century. That’s quite a cost.
#4 and 5 come from 1 Nephi 4:10-18. And there are two ways I think you can answer this, so we have two words coming from this story. One, they were apparently worth the life of a “WICKED” man. And that shouldn’t be taken lightly. We know how much God values life. So for him to ask Nephi to do this, must have been something that God knew was necessary for Nephi to do to in order for him to be able to obtain the plates because why else would he have him do this. There is another way of looking at it. This is the only place in the account of Nephi where you see him shrink from a command of the Lord. Everywhere else, Nephi is an “I will go and do, I must obey, and If God commanded me to say unto this water, be thou earth, it would be done” kind of disciple. But here he shrinks. It shows you just how hard this is for Nephi. So what are the scriptures worth? Doing the most “DIFFICULT” thing you’ve ever done.
QUOTE
So now, what’s our secret phrase? It’s a quote from Elder Tad R. Callister.
“The Book of Mormon is one of God’s priceless gifts to us.”
And the story of retrieving the brass plates from Laban testify of that value and worth of the word.
VIDEO
You may be aware that the Church recently produced Book of Mormon videos dramatizing certain events and stories from the scriptures. You might consider showing a portion of the following video to highlight a certain aspect of this story of obtaining the brass plates. I probably wouldn’t show the entire thing because it’s like 30 minutes long, but maybe a small portion of it, or the ending where the boys return and the family talks about the worth of the scriptures to them.
SEARCH ACTIVITY #2:MARKING ACTIVITY
And, there are other verses of scriptures in these chapters that teach us the worth of word. Invite your students to examine the following verses and see if they can find more reasons for why the scriptures are so valuable and mark them in that same “Worth of the Word” color.
1.1 Nephi 3:20.
They preserve the words of the prophets. The prophets words are not things we want to lose or to spoil. We want to preserve them, and remember them. Back in Adam’s day, they didn’t even call them scriptures, they called them “Book of Remembrance”. We see that in Moses 6. Maybe we should start calling them that instead of “scriptures”. It might help us to value them more.
2.1 Nephi 4:2-3
I love this. Where did Nephi draw strength and faith in order to head back into Jerusalem for the plates after he almost lost his life trying to get them? You guessed it, the scriptures. He finds strength in the story of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. He says, “let us be strong, like unto Moses” and “the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our Fathers” If God can help them, he can help us too! Nephi was certainly somebody who knew the value of likening the scriptures unto ourselves.
3.1 Nephi 4:15-16
Nephi says that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law.
So They teach us the commandments and what’s right and wrong
4.1 Nephi 5:17
They fill us with the Spirit
5.1 Nephi 5:21-22
Now these verses are some of the best of the entire lesson and a great way to drive the message of the lesson deep into our hearts.
21 And we had obtained the records which the Lord had commanded us, and searched them (such a good word for how we interact with them. Don’t read them, search them) and found that they were desirable; yea, even of great worth unto us, insomuch that we could preserve the commandments of the Lord unto our children.
22 Wherefore, it was wisdom in the Lord that we should carry them with us, as we journeyed in the wilderness towards the land of promise.
TRUTH
The scriptures are of great worth. It is wisdom that we should carry them with us and search them in our journey of life.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
I would ask, “What has God asked us to give up in order to have the scriptures in our lives?”
And I would say, “Not much,” right. 10 to 20 minutes of our time each day? If we want a copy of the scriptures we can simply run over to Deseret Book or search online and buy a set for a small fee. Or even more, we could just go online or to the Gospel Library App and study them for free. In comparison to Nephi, Sam, Laman and Lemuel, or Abinadi, Joseph Smith, William Tyndale, God requires very little of us to enjoy the value of his word. And that because of his graciousness, love, and concern. I believe He understands how necessary they are for our spiritual survival in the spiritually perilous conditions of the last days, so he’s made them incredibly accessible to us. When we consider what Nephi gave to have the scriptures, our excuses for not studying them appear rather weak I’m afraid. I mean, can you imagine at the judgment, Jesus walking over and asking us, “Did you value my word?” And maybe we would start to give our excuses. “Well, you know, life is so busy, and they were a little difficult to understand, Lord, and sometimes they just weren’t as entertaining as other things.” And while we were explaining, maybe Jesus would reach out his hand and say, “Hold on, just one second, before you continue. Hey Nephi, come on over here for a second please. And here comes Nephi walking up to us, and Jesus says to him, “Hey will you just stand here for a second for me? Thanks.” Then he turns back to us and says ,“Now, you were saying?” And knowing what we know Nephi went through for the scriptures, are we going to feel comfortable with our excuses in that setting? Probably not. So let’s be sure to place the proper value on our scriptures.
TAKING IT TO HEART
What value have you found in the scriptures?
I WILL GO AND DO
What can you do to show that you understand the worth of God’s word?
My suggestion would simply be, study them, search them. Show your Heavenly Father that you value his words by feasting on them daily, loving them, sharing them, and testifying of them.
THE TAKEAWAY
And I don’t think I have to convince you of how I feel about the scriptures. They are so amazing. I feel incredibly fortunate that I get to study and teach from them almost every day. I’ve been doing it for a long time now, and it’s never gotten old. I believe that every religion has something to teach us, and we could all afford to have a little more holy envy for the strengths demonstrated in other faiths. One of the things that I love most about the Jews is their incredible love and respect for scripture. I've been to Israel and seen the way the rabbis carefully remove the Torah scrolls from their cases. Then they walk slowly with them cradling them in their arms like a small child. Then, they gently unroll and read from them with great reverence and respect on their lips. There is so much love and affection for the word of God. And that's books like Deuteronomy and Numbers. Well, how do we feel about books like Alma, the Gospel of John, Section 76, and the Book of Abraham? Does it equal their respect and love for the Torah? There’s even a special ceremony and a kind of funeral the Jews hold when a Torah is considered to be too old and needs to be retired. They take it and bury it almost as if it were a human being. And do you know what a Bar and Bat Mitzvah is? It’s a rite of passage for Jewish boys and girls into adulthood. And what do they do to show they are now men and women? They get the privilege of reading the scriptures in public. I think we would do well to learn from their example. Do we value and love the scriptures as much as they do? I pray that we will recognize the worth of the word.
So that’s the second thing I would want to make sure I had packed in my spiritual backpack. It is wisdom in the Lord that we should carry them with us, as we journey in the wilderness towards our land of promise. And at that point, I would take out a copy of the scriptures and place them in the backpack at the front of the room.
And a quick heads up. There still a lot more that the book of 1 Nephi has to teach us about the role of the scriptures in our lives. We’ve still got the iron rod to talk about, the Liahona, and other great teachings, but we’ll do those in future lessons. So stay tuned. The worth of the word is a major theme of the entire book of 1 Nephi.
LESSON #3: NEPHI VS. LAMAN (1 Nephi 1-22)
OBJECT: An Apple and an Orange
ICEBREAKER
For an icebreaker to our last lesson here, pull out an apple and an orange and ask? What do these two objects have in common? Well, they are both edible, they’re both fruit, and they’re both considered to be healthy.
But in what ways do they differ?
One is red, the other is orange, one has an edible peel, the other does not.
This simple little activity is an illustration of the skill of comparing and contrasting. And that’s a vital skill to have when we study the scriptures. Very often, the scriptures will present us with two contrasting characters or principles or actions and invite us to compare them. In literature, this device is sometimes called “foils.” We have foil characters. And when we compare them, the qualities of those characters are augmented by juxtaposing them with the other. We’ll see this this year with King Noah vs. Abinadi, Alma vs. Korihor, and Amalakiah vs. Captain Moroni.
But here in 1 Nephi, who are going to be our major foil characters to examine? You guessed it, Nephi vs Laman. Now you could also do an interesting study by comparing Sam with Lemuel here too. You have those who lead for good or evil, and those who follow the influence of those that are good or evil, but for time’s sake, we’re just going to focus on Nephi and Laman.
Now I hope you’re OK with this, but this portion of the lesson is going to expand far beyond just chapters 1-5. To really see the full message of this comparison, I think we need to examine it from beginning to end. And I hope that you know that it’s ok to do that as a teacher sometimes. We don’t always need to feel bound by the way the manual breaks certain lessons up. There is great value in stepping back on occasion and looking for Big Picture principles. This is one of those. We’re going to look at these two brothers from the beginning of 1 Nephi all the way to the beginning of 2 Nephi, because we all know how this story is going to end. The family is going to split and we’re going to end up with Nephites, and Lamanites. But how did that happen?
At the beginning of the story, I don’t think Nephi and Laman are really as far apart in character as we might imagine. If they had not been given the commandment to leave Jerusalem, at least in the beginning, the distance between their commitment or their spirituality would not have been as far away from each other as they would eventually become. But as challenge after challenge comes to them, they begin to separate, they drift further and further apart in a step-by-step progression or regression. Laman and Nephi may have wound up worlds apart from each other in spirituality, but I don’t believe they started out that way.
SEARCH ACTIVITY-HANDOUT/CHART FILL IN
In order to really see how that process took place, we’re going to do the following study activity. I call it Rewards and Rebukes. I’ve highlighted 9 separate challenges that both Nephi and Laman face in the story of the family’s journey to the promised land. I want you to go through the following sets of verses and see how each responded to the challenge, and what was the result, reward, or rebuke to that response. And I know this looks like a lot, and it does take some time, but I believe the investment will be worth it. It will help us to look at the story as a whole, rather than just taking it in chunks and pieces. And, for this activity, I’m not going to read each individual reference word for word, I believe that would take much too long for us here, but I encourage you to look them up on your own and become familiar with them. You may even want to mark them in two separate colors. That’s what I’ve done, I have my Nephi color and my Laman color. And there are two suggestions I have here for teaching this. One you could give your students time to go through and try to fill it out on their own, but that will take some significant time. OR, this may be a time when you walk through the scriptures together and fill it out together as a class just summarizing and asking your class if they remember what happens in each part of the story. But here we go.
Leaving Jerusalem
What was the first challenge Nephi and Laman face? Leaving Jerusalem. When Lehi comes and tells the family that they need to leave, Nephi doesn’t just take his word for it. We don’t hear an “I will go and do” from him just yet. The scriptures seem to suggest to me that he too struggled with the decision to leave Jerusalem. But the difference is that he has great desires to know the mysteries of God, and so he prays, and what is the reward for that? The Lord answers his prayer and softens his heart. Laman on the other hand, it says he knew not the dealings of God, he didn’t have any desire to know the things of God, therefore, he murmurs and doesn’t believe in his Father. That attitude is what I would call apathy. I’ve seen it in students before. They’re not bad kids, they just don’t care about spiritual things. And this story stands as a great caution to people with apathy towards spiritual things. I think that’s where Laman first goes wrong. And it’s just going to go downhill from here. So what is the result of that apathy and murmuring. He is rebuked and confounded by Lehi. And that rebuke does seem to work in this case. Laman complies and stops murmuring. For the time being.
Go Back for the Plates
Then we have the next challenge. Go back to Jerusalem for the plates. What is Nephi’s response? Probably the most famous verse in all of 1 Nephi. “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” I know we almost always quote this verse as a great example of obedience, which it is, but I think it’s a scripture even more about faith and trust in God. I’m sure that Nephi has no idea how they’re going to be able to do what’s been asked, but that doesn’t matter. He knows something about being asked by God to do something. That if God asks, you can do it. The ability is inherent in the command.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES/TRUTH
And you may want to pause here and have a short “Liken the scriptures” moment. Because God asks US to do hard things too, doesn’t he. That’s what Laman and Lemuel say, “It is a hard thing you’ve asked of us.” So, what is a hard thing that God has asked of you? Maybe it’s a commandment, pay tithing in difficult financial circumstances, forgive someone who has hurt you deeply, stay morally clean in an immoral world, serve in a challenging calling, tell the truth when it’s not to your advantage, serve a full-time mission. God doesn’t shy away from asking us to do hard things. But we can remember Nephi. If God asks us to do it, what do we know? We CAN do it. When God asks us to do something, he always prepares a way for us to do it. Because if we couldn’t, he wouldn’t have asked us to do it in the first place.
And what’s the result or reward for having that kind of “I will go and do” kind of attitude? Lehi tells him that he is favored and blessed of the Lord. So will we. If I obey God’s commands, no matter how hard they seem, I will be favored and blessed.
Laman on the other hand, who says it’s a hard thing, is more than likely rebuked again by Lehi, but there is no record of a specific rebuke. So we may just have to guess. In any case, Laman does end up going back.
Failed Attempt to Get Plates #1
But when they get there, their first attempt to retrieve the plates ends in a miserable failure. Laban refuses, and threatens to have Laman killed. And how does he react to that? He’s ready to give up. It’s like he says, “Well, we tried, didn’t work, so let’s go home.” And who has to straighten him out this time? Nephi does, his little brother. And Nephi says, “No, We are not going to go back, we are going to accomplish this.” And we know that because of this faith of his, eventually, he is going to succeed in getting the plates.
Failed Attempt to Get the Plates #2
Therefore, Nephi gets an idea, hey we had all those riches we left behind, lets purchase the plates. And how does that go. Even worse, It doesn’t work, they are obliged to leave all their riches behind and run for their lives. Well how does Laman react to that? He gets angry and starts to beat Nephi with a rod. Who has to intervene and rebuke them this time? An angel. An angel rebukes them and stops the beating.
What’s Nephi’s attitude, I’m going back, we are going to accomplish this. Their first two ideas didn’t work, so this time, he’s just going to go in and rely on the Spirit, not knowing beforehand what he is supposed to do. Total faith. And we know what happens, he sneaks back into the city, following the Spirit, finds Laban, kills him, dresses up in his clothes, and manages to retrieve the plates from Zoram. Because of his faith in God, he does accomplish the thing which the Lord commanded him. It worked! His faith was not in vain.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES/TRUTH
And I feel there is an important principle here. This might be another moment to pause and liken the scriptures. What does this story so far teach us about the things God commands us to do? Is it always going to be easy? No. There are challenges to obeying. Do we ever get the same Laman attitude when we seek to obey? We’re only willing to give it one try, but as soon as we run into any kind of opposition, we’re ready to throw in the towel? We might say things like, “Hey, I tried to do the right thing, and look what happened, it turned into a mess. If God really wanted me to follow this commandment, then he should make it easy for me”. For example, do we want to give up on our mission when we discover that it’s actually really hard work. Are we ready to abandon the law of tithing when we pay in faith, but then experience financial troubles anyway. Are we ready to give up on our marriage when we discover that it’s actually quite challenging to bring two people from different lives together as one. God never promises us ease when it comes to obedience. More than likely, we are going to find obstacles to obedience. God’s not going to smooth out every wrinkle for us.
Returning with Ishmael’s Family
Well, I always think it’s funny that when Laman is asked to go back for the plates, he throws a fit, but when he’s asked to go back for girls, there’s no mention of any murmuring or rebelling of any kind. Go figure. And, are we too sometimes more interested in romance than righteousness? Well, they retrieve Ishmael's family, but on the way back, we have problems again. Two of Ishmael’s sons, and two of his daughters rebel against Nephi. Hmmm, I wonder which of Ishmael’s daughters are going to end up with Laman and Lemuel. Sounds like we got a match here. And they get so angry with Nephi that they bind him with cords and they’re going to leave him in the wilderness to die. But what does Nephi do, he prays for strength and bursts the bonds. Does that stop Laman? Nope, he starts to go after Nephi again when who intervenes? One of Ishmael’s daughters. I see another match developing here. And she pleads with Laman and Lemuel not to hurt him, AND it works. The pleadings of who I’m going to call the future Mrs. Nephi softens their hearts and they repent of their desires. Interesting.
Death of Ishmael
Next challenge: Ishmael eventually dies. A major crisis for the families. And how does Laman react? You guessed it. More murmuring, more anger, and a plan to kill both Lehi and Nephi. Who steps in to help this time? The voice of the Lord himself, comes and chastens them exceedingly, and they repent and give up their plan.
Nephi on the other hand has such a great attitude towards the difficulties of living in the wilderness. 17:2, I love this,
2 And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.
Just look at that attitude. What is Nephi grateful for? Raw meat, and manly women. Look how blessed we are. We get to eat raw meat and it doesn’t make us sick. Our women may look like men but, hey, they’re tough and they can handle this difficult journey even when they’re nursing. And because of that great attitude, in the next verse, it says that God nourishes and strengthens them.
You may have noticed that I’ve skipped the story of the broken bow which we definitely could include here but I’m going to do something special for that one in another video.
Building the Ship
Our next challenge, building the boat. God commands the family to do something that they have no experience with, and what are the first words out of Nephi’s mouth? Where can I find ore to make tools? There’s no question in Nephi’s mind that he can do it, he just needs some help from God to get started and he has complete faith that they’re able to make it happen. And what’s the result of that faith? He does build a boat, and the workmanship is exceedingly fine.
What about Laman? He complains, won’t help, and doesn’t believe that it can be done. So what happens to him this time? He’s rebuked by Nephi, but in a different way. He’s shocked by the power of God. So he physically feels something now, and this changes his heart, and he helps build the ship.
The Storm
Unfortunately, this change of heart is short lived. Once on the ship, we know that Laman begins to speak with rudeness, Nephi seeks to correct this, and Laman gets angry and ties Nephi to the mast. What’s Nephi’s attitude in this affliction? He doesn’t complain, even though he is in incredible pain. And Laman won’t let him go until he realizes that the boat is about to sink and he everyone else on the boat are going to lose their lives. So Laman’s very life is in danger now. It’s the only thing that can convince him to change.
Therefore, he does let Nephi go, and Nephi is able to rescue the family, the storm ceases and he sails them successfully to the promised land.
Lehi’s Death
And now our final challenge. What’s going to happen when Lehi dies? Who’s going to be in charge? Laman of course thinks it should be him, but everyone else knows that Nephi is the more deserving and better leader. So when Lehi dies, Laman gets angry again, and he seeks to take Nephi’s life, and Nephi and those that wish to follow him, flee. The family splits in two, and this time, there is no rebuke. The Lord resigns them to their wickedness. And they are cut off from his presence. Nephi on the other hand, leads in righteousness and obedience, and his reward? They live after the manner of Happiness
TRUTH
Now as we reflect back on that entire account, did anything stand out to you? Do you see any truths taught by comparing Nephi’s experiences with Laman’s? And just let your class share their thoughts.
One thing that I noticed. Every time Nephi obeys or demonstrates faith, he’s rewarded with incredible varied experiences with the Spirit. His prayers are answered, He hears the voice of the Lord, he’s rescued by an angel, he’s given physical strength to break bonds, he accomplishes impossible things, he’s blessed, nourished, and happy.
His life illustrates this principle that I love in Doctrine and Covenants 50:23
“That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”
As Nephi responds to his challenges with faith, and obedience, and gratitude, God gives him more and more light, And by the end of his record, you see just how close he’s gotten to God, how much light is in his life.
Laman on the other hand, goes in the exact opposite direction. It’s interesting to note that Laman experiences everything that Nephi does. Laman does end up obeying, basically, the commands of the Lord. Does he leave Jerusalem? Yes. Does he go back for the plates? Yes. Does he help build a boat? Yes. Does he travel to the promised land? Yes. Laman ends up doing everything that Nephi does. So, why do they end up in such different places by the end? It’s the attitude, it’s in how he obeys. He obeys with murmuring and reluctance. While Nephi obeys with faith and gratitude.
The truth then: When God asks me to do hard things, if I obey with an attitude of faith and gratitude, God will reward me. If I obey with an attitude of murmuring and rebellion, I will be rebuked.
TAKING IT TO HEART
How do we obey? Do we go to church or seminary, but with a terrible attitude? Do we pay our tithing, but with a grumble under our breath? Do we fulfill our callings, but just at the bare minimum and with a bad attitude. That’s a “lame man” attitude, or a Laman attitude. We don’t want to have one of those.
Ranking Rebukes
And let’s take a quick look at those rebukes. Do you notice anything interesting about the order of rebukes here?
* Rebuked by his father
* Rebuked by his younger brother
* Rebuked by an angel
* Rebuked by a woman’s pleadings
* Rebuked by the Lord himself
* Rebuked with a physical shock
* Rebuked by a threat to his life
They increase in intensity and seriousness, don’t they. It’s like God has a big wall of rebukes he can choose from, and as he goes down the line they get stronger and bigger each time. At first, a rebuke from his father is all he needs to be straightened out, but then a rebuke from his younger brother is even harder to swallow. And then I really think the order of the next two is interesting. He’s rebuked by an angel, and then the pleadings of Mrs. Nephi are what works next. Maybe that suggests the power that a woman’s tears and pleadings can have. Maybe even more powerful than an angel? Women, don’t forget the great power and influence you have to help others do good. In some ways, you’re more powerful than angels. Then the Lord rebukes them, then they are shocked physically, and then finally, it’s really interesting to look at what happens as they are in the storm on the ship. All the former things don’t work, they’re too hardened by this point. Lehi and Nephi’s pleadings do nothing, the pleadings of Nephi’s wife and children has no effect this time, the only thing that wakes them up, is the threat of death. As Nephi has become closer and closer to God, Laman has removed himself further and further from him. Nephi’s rise in spirituality, as compared to Laman’s demise in spirituality.
Now why does God rebuke Laman? Because he hates him, and wants to punish him for his bad behavior? No. God Loves Laman. And he’s hoping that these chastisements will change his heart, turn him around for good. Like it says in Doctrine and Covenants 95:1-2
“And whom I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven, for with the chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things out of temptation and I have loved you—Wherefore, ye must needs be chastened and stand rebuked before my face.”
Rebukes and chastisement open a way for us to be forgiven. God just can’t afford to be dismissive or permissive with us. He wants what is best for us. He knows that Laman is capable of better—that he has a greater potential. He’s like “Laman, if you don’t wake up soon, you are going to end up at the end of a road that you don’t want to be on. The road that leads to spiritual death. And I don’t want you to die. So let me try to help you. Unfortunately in Laman’s case, it works for a little while, but eventually he slips back into his old ways. Eventually, when Lehi dies and Laman is back to his old tricks again, it’s as if God reaches out for the next rebuke and finds there’s nothing there. He’s used them all up. He’s tried everything he could. So now, there’s nothing left to do but to resign them to their lot, and they’re cut off from his presence. I hope we never find ourselves at the end of that road.
I WILL GO AND DO/JOURNALS
So to conclude, what are you going to take away from this lesson? There’s a lot to digest here. So, which of the following truths did you most need today and why? Ponder that. I might even invite my students to write their answer to that question in their journals.
· Apathy towards the things of God is a spiritually dangerous attitude.
· If God asks me to do something, no matter how hard, I can do it. Even the impossible.
· When seeking to obey God’s commands, I should expect challenge and opposition.
· Willing obedience=reward and nearness to God. Reluctant obedience=rebuke and separation from God.
· Godly rebukes open the way to forgiveness. If I respond positively to them, they will lead me back to Him. If I continually reject them, eventually I will be cut off from His presence.
QUOTE
There’s something that President Nelson recently said in his excellent talk entitled “Think Celestial” that applies well here. He said:
“When you make choices, I invite you to take the long view—an eternal view. Put Jesus Christ first because your eternal life is dependent upon your faith in Him and in His Atonement. It is also dependent upon your obedience to His laws. Obedience paves the way for a joyful life for you today and a grand, eternal reward tomorrow.”
Russell M. Nelson
(Conference Report, October 2023)
VIDEO
A suggested video that you could show to underscore this principle would be this one entitled, “Blessed and Happy are those Who Keep the Commandments of God”. And ask: Why does God want us to follow his commandments?
THE TAKEAWAY
Therefore I pray that we will pack “Faith to Obey” in our spiritual backpacks as well. As an object to represent this attitude, I might pull out a Nike shoe and place it in my backpack. Why? “Just do it” is the slogan, right. It’s wise for us to pack a “Just Do It” kind of attitude when God asks us to do hard things. That was Nephi’s attitude. Remember that we can choose “Rewards” or “Rebukes” on our journey to our promised land depending on our attitude towards God’s commandments.
So there you have it, my friends. 3 great principles that will help us on our journey to the promised land. Personal Revelation, the Scriptures, and Faith to Obey God’s commands. If we keep pack those three things in our backpacks, then one day, I believe that we too will arrive at our promised land.
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