Many of the illustrations I saw for the beginning of first Nephi were cluttered with a series of illustrations representing a range of things happening throughout the book. I decided to sprinkle those illustrations throughout the book, and instead begin with some thoughtful journaling.
I've read The Book of Mormon many times throughout my life. Never before have I seen so clearly the parallel between the life of Moses and the life of Nephi. When Nephi likened the scriptures to himself, he did so in big, life-altering ways.
It struck me that Nephi's life parallels the exodus of the children of Israel. I highlighted much of the first verse of chapter 1, and in the margins I wrote an excerpt from the Ten Commandments:
"Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee," (
Exodus 20:12).
In verse four, it mentions "many prophets." Contemporaries of Lehi included Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.
These prophets are warning the people to repent or their city will be destroyed. the
Bible,
The Book of Mormon, and history all testify that this came to pass. But it didn't come to pass until after the Lord gave the people a chance to repent. In the margin, I wrote:
"Surely the LORD God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets," (Amos 3:7).
Lehi himself is a prophet. On the second page, it describes him being overcome with the Spirit and seeing a vision, which included seeing One above the luster of the sun at noon-day. I chose to draw a simple sun in the corner (outlined with brown Micron pen, then orange Mildliner highlighter. I filled in with yellow and orange colored pencil). This image didn't scan to its best advantage. There is more color in person. The quote I wrote in the margin reads:
"In the coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost," (
Russell M. Nelson, "Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives," Ensign, May 2018).
Lehi the prophet, after testifying to the Jews, has his life threatened. Immediately after reporting this, Nephi records, "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."
The phrase "tender mercies of the Lord," reminded me of the talk "
The Tender Mercies of the Lord," by Elder David A. Bednar (
Ensign, May 2005). My margin quote reads:
"I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and that the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us."
Can you imagine how quickly Lehi's family packed up and left their home when the Lord told them to? I don't think you get a revelation that your life is in danger and then sit at home for a few months making sure you leave your house in order.
As a side note, Hugh Nibley, in his classic book
Lehi in the Desert, makes a scholarly argument that Lehi wasn't a soft city-boy on his first camping trip, but an expert on caravan travel. (Think of modern businessman: who doesn't know how to travel?) Among many other evidences, when Lehi sends his sons back to the city for things he forgot, it isn't for practical things like matches and rope (okay, I know matches are a modern invention. You get the idea). He sends them back for the brass plates. Lehi's family was able to escape the city quickly and effectively in part because they already had the supplies needed (like Nephi's steel bow) to survive in the wilderness (see the section titled "Lehi and the Arabs," within
Lehi in the Desert & The World of the Jaredites: Collector's Edition, Bookcraft c. 1952, 1980).
The "map" at the top of the page with the valley of Lemuel and river of Laman illustrated is not my original idea. I saw something similar on Pinterest that had come from
Mormishmom on Instagram, and loved it so much that I borrowed it and made it my own.
After traveling three days into the wilderness, Lehi builds an altar of stones to offer thanks to God. It amazes me that in these circumstances: mocked by others and fleeing for his life, Lehi wants to stop and give his thanks. If he can see God's mercies in the middle of his trials then shouldn't I?
In case you didn't know, the Dead Sea Scrolls state that sacrifices were not to be offered outside of Jerusalem within a three days' journey. Assuming, for the sake of interpreting Lehi's actions, that this part of the scrolls offers us something lost from the Old Testament, then we see that Lehi was diligent in keeping all the commandments of the Lord, even when the only people watching were his own family.
In the margin, I wrote:
"Have we not reason to be filled with gratitude regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves?" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Grateful in Any Circumstances," Ensign, May 2014).
The stones of the altar are outlined with gray Mildliner highlighter, and the flames are outlined with orange and yellow Mildliner highlighters. I used colored pencils to fill-in.
At the top of the page, I outlined the valley and mountains with brown Micron pen (if I did it again, it would be with a gray marker). The river is blue Mildliner highlighter, the mountains are gray Mildliner highlighter. Then I filled in with gray and green colored pencil.
Nephi, whose life has just been shaken by an unexpected family move and the critical comments of his older brothers, prays to the Lord and receives his own witness of his prophet father's words. In verse 17, which I highlighted in blue, Nephi shares his testimony with his brother Sam.
I began reading this in July 2019, when we were in the middle of New Testament study for Sunday school, so I wrote a New Testament scripture in the margins"
"When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren," (
Jesus to Simon Peter, The Last Supper, Luke 22:32).
I almost wish I had stopped there, but at the time I felt like verse 22, where Nephi is told that he will be a ruler and teacher over his brothers, deserved another scripture, so I wrote:
"God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers . . . thou wast chosen before thou wast born," (
Abraham 3:23).
One of the most famous scriptures of The Book of Mormon (only partially because it's near the beginning) is Nephi's faith-filled reply to his father, "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 commanders them." Then Nephi and his brothers journey back to Jerusalem, where Laman tries to get the plates. I always find it interesting that God gives Laman, the firstborn of his father, so many chances to prove himself. As a wonderful
January 2019 Ensign article, "Developing the Faith to Reap," (from a BYU devotional by Elder Wilford W. Andersen), points out, Laman had the faith to try. It was enough faith to make a first attempt, then give up when that first attempt was thwarted. But Nephi here has faith to do: if the first attempt was thwarted, we just need to try again. Do any of us, after a failed first effort, decide that something just "wasn't meant to be," and abandon any further attempts? In the margin I wrote:
Laman: I will go and try
Nephi: I will go and do
as a reminder of how to have faith like Nephi's.
After one failed attempt, Laman wants to give up. At Nephi's persuasion, they make a second attempt. That one fails as well. After running for their lives from the servants of Laban, the brothers take refuge in a cave, where Laman takes out his fear and anger on his younger brothers by beating them with a rod. Having the future leader of a nation escape the wicked Laban with his life, the Lord isn't about to let his brother beat him to death, and sends an angel to intervene. In the margin I wrote:
"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city," Proverbs 16:32.
In 1 Nephi 4:2, Nephi encourages his brothers by saying, "let us be strong like unto Moses." In small print, I wrote, "Nephi likens Moses to his family--When he lived this, he might not have known he would be in our scriptures. Later he tells us to liken the scriptures to ourselves."
So far Nephi has referred to the Ten Commandments, begun a family exodus from his homeland, and encouraged his brothers to be strong like Moses. There is one part of Moses' life that Nephi didn't expect to emulate: killing a wicked man. That's right. Young Moses fought with an Egyptian and had to flee his country when the man died. It is interesting that in Exodus 21 (you know, right after the Ten Commandments are given), it gives an often-overlooked loophole:
"And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee," (
Exodus 21:13).
As Book of Mormon Central points out, in the article "
Was Nephi's Slaying of Laban Legal?" this is exactly what happens to Nephi in this chapter: in verse 6 mentions "not knowing beforehand the things which I should do" (in other words, this wasn't premeditated. In verse 11, we are told that "the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands." Nephi follows the Spirit, kills Laban, collects the brass plates, then flees to the land the Lord has prepared for him.
In other words, Nephi wasn't breaking any commandments when he killed Laban.
Mind blown.
Nephi promises Laban's servant Zoram that if he joins his father's household, he will be a freeman like unto them. Zoram wisely chooses to join their family. The alternative? Becoming a suspect when his master's death is discovered. In that awkward situation, he may have been tempted to give away information that would have endangered Lehi's family.
In verse 34, Nephi encourages Zoram, saying, "Surely the Lord hath commanded us to do this thing: and shall we not be diligent in keeping the commandments of the Lord?
In the margin I wrote (pardon my weak lettering):
"Commandments make weak men strong," (
Dallin H. Oaks, "The Blessings of Commandments, BYU Devotional, September 10, 1974).
It took Lehi's family three days to travel to their campsite in the wilderness. Can you just imagine Sariah counting down each day as she imagines how soon she can safely expect her sons home? She probably didn't think they were old enough to go on that long of a journey unaccompanied. Filled with anxiety in their absence, and as the day she had hoped and expected their return has passed, Sariah lets her doubts get the better of her fears and complains to her prophet-husband, accusing him of leading the family to its death. While this chapter doesn't typically cast Sariah in the most favorable light, it is the best example of a successful marriage we see throughout
The Book of Mormon. Why? Because every earthly marriage is made up of two imperfect people. It's how we we react to those imperfections that can make some marriages so heavenly.
Lehi replies to her worries and with perfect gentleness, validating her accusations with a touch of self-abasement: "I know that I am a visionary man; for it I had not seen the things of God in a vision I should not have known the goodness of God, but had tarried at Jerusalem, and had perished with my brethren." He goes on to comfort her worries by building her faith in the good yet to come, "I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban, and bring them down again into the wilderness," (1 Nephi 5:4-5).
In the margin, I drew a picture of (a rather youthful-looking) Sariah, as I imagine her watching and waiting for her sons to return safely from their dangerous journey. I wrote my own thoughts:
"Sariah left behind her house her gold, her silver and her precious things." [this is said of Lehi, so I infer that it is also true of his wife]
"She gave up everything to accompany her family into the wilderness. Like Abraham, whose greatest trial was being asked to sacrifice his precious son, Sariah's greatest trial is when she believes her sons are lost."
Pages 11-13
I highlighted many things on the next few pages, but nothing has made it into my margins yet.
I hope you enjoyed my thoughts and journaling from 1 Nephi 1-7. Next week covers a lot fewer pages (phew! This week was a lot of work!).
Stop by again to see my Tree of Life illustration, or follow my board, "
Book of Mormon Journaling" on Pinterest. I'll be sure to pin my illustrations after I blog them.
