The Second Book of Nephi (2 Nephi 1)

The Second Book of Nephi carries us fully into the new and promised land we now know to be the Americas. This book, like 1st Nephi, holds many prophecies about the Western hemisphere. In chapter 1, we also learn more about Israel being scattered and a last effort by Lehi to invite Laman and Lemuel to repent.

Lehi was the patriarch or oldest living male of the group. The word "patriarch" is of Greek derivation and means father-ruler; the Hebrew word it translates is simply father. Lehi held the priesthood "after the holy order of the Son of God", or, for short, the Melchizedek priesthood. It was the same priesthood authority held by Adam, Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Israel), and Moses. As such, it held the keys (or permission) to give father's blessings such as what Issac gave to Jacob and Esau and what Jacob (Israel) gave to his twelve sons.

In 2 Nephi chapters 1 through 4, Lehi gives a father's blessing to the following (in order of mention by chapter):

1. Laman - chapter 1
   
2. Lemuel - chapter 1
   
3. Sam - chapter 1
   
4. Sons of Ishmael - chapter 1
   
5. Zoram - chapter 1
   
6. Jacob - chapter 2
   
7. Joseph - chapter 3
   
8. Children of Laman - chapter 4
9. Children of Lemuel - chapter 4
10. Children of Sons of Ishmael - chapter 4
    
11. Children of Sam - chapter 4
    

It is notable that:

• The order of blessings follows that of Hebrew tradition--that is from oldest to youngest--with the exception of the Children of the Sons of Ishmael and the Children of Sam switching places in the age hierarchy. That Joseph Smith, if he had made it all up out of his head, didn't simply go the easier route and just list these descendants in the same order as their fathers is striking. One wonders if perhaps Ishmael's sons' descendants were somehow, on average, older than the children of Sam.
  
• Zoram and the sons of Ishmael were not Lehi's blood descendants. They receive the father's blessing from Lehi because Ishmael had passed away at Nahom, back on the Arabian peninsula, and Zoram had joined the group as part of an oath to Nephi without his own father accompanying him.
• Lehi doesn't specifically address Nephi. He really only makes reference to Nephi when comparing to and contrasting with Nephi's blessings the blessings that others will receive. There isn't much in the text to suggest why this is the case. One might suppose that Nephi was simply too modest to include his own blessing in these chapters, or that he felt it was sufficiently covered in his own written prophecies.

As expected at this point, Laman and Lemuel's patriarchal blessings were full of dire warnings that terrible things would happen to their posterity if they didn't repent and obey the commandments from the Lord through Nephi. They had "pushed their luck" far too much and were being told in no uncertain terms that they were at a tipping point. Either they would be obedient and be blessed, or they would rebel and the family would split up, Nephi's descendants would be blessed materially and spiritually, and Laman and Lemuel's would be cursed materially and spiritually.

In chapter 1, Lehi also rejoices in his own blessings:

• "the mercies of God in sparing their lives, that they were not swallowed up in the sea"
• "how ^amerciful the Lord had been in ^bwarning us that we should flee out of the land of Jerusalem"
• "had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have ^eperished"
• "we have obtained a ^aland of promise, a land which is ^bchoice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath ^ccovenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed"

Additionally, Lehi sets forth the conditions under which the Lord allows any people to inhabit the Americas:

• "they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given"
• "if iniquity shall abound ^ccursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever"
• "this land should be ^akept as yet from the knowledge of other ^bnations; for behold, many nations would overrun the land, that there would be no place for an inheritance"
• ^"binasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall ^cprosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves"
• "when the time cometh that they shall dwindle in ^aunbelief...if the day shall come that they will reject the Holy One of Israel, the true ^bMessiah, their Redeemer and their God, behold, the judgments of him that is ^cjust shall rest upon them"

Lehi is speaking out of the dust to all Americans--from the northernmost reaches of Canada down to Tierra del Fuego. 2 Nephi 1:10 is therefore one of the most important verses any of us here in the Western hemisphere can read if we value "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".

Nephi Begins to Build a Ship (1 Nephi 17)

Nephi gives the direction as "nearly eastward" in which they traveled for the remainder of their journey. If the speculated path of their travels is correct, this would cause them to be leaving the area of Nahom and heading into the most dangerous parts of southern Arabia...the present-day country of Yemen. It was likely a route through what is more commonly known as "The Empty Quarter" or "Al-Rub Al-Khali". Even today, this is a treacherous route, filled with wandering groups of nomads and full of lawlessness. The general condition is survival of the fittest as each group takes advantages of anothers weaknesses so as to survive on the scarce resources available in that area. This is the most likely reason why we are told by Nephi that their family subsisted on raw (uncooked) meat for the duration of that part of the journey. Had they built fires (even if fuel for such would have been available), they would have immediately drawn unwanted attention to themselves and been targeted by other tribes.

Heading almost directly eastward toward the Dhofar region of Oman would take them to a little band of verdant and fertile land. Whether they knew their ultimate destination at this point is not recorded, but it would make sense that they would have at least heard from the natives of Nahom that there would be a desirable destination at the end of that long and arduous trail. If not, it is safe to assume that they simply followed the compass and directions given to them by the Lord.

Upon arrival in this green oasis which they would call Bountiful, this is what they found:



It must have been a marvelous place in their sight after thousands of miles of sand, rocks, and looming demise. Not only that, but it is simply incredible that Joseph Smith, if, as the critics believe, he made it all up, would have guessed on pure luck a route that perfectly matches what we find in that region today. No maps of that area of the world existed for him to consult and no one in upstate New York had any inkling of what topology resources existed on the remotest southeast edge of Arabia.

Almost immediately after they arrive, the Lord speaks to Nephi and tells him to get up into a mountain for further instructions. Nephi obeys and when he arrives is told he is to build a ship large enough and strong enough to carry his family and provisions over the sea to a promised land. Any other man would have complained loudly about having to leave this newfound security for more uncertainty, but not Nephi. He simply asked where he might go to find ore so that he could make tools. The area of Khor Kharfot in this green region was found to have a deposit of a type of limonite or ferroan dolomite ore which has a composition such that it would have easily been turned refined into tools given what Nephi describes he was able to use to refine it.

Nephi's obedience by now is an expected reaction to seemingly impossible commandments. Likewise, Laman's and Lemuel's reactions seem to be just as predictable on the other end of the spectrum. Upon seeing Nephi preparing to build a ship, they immediately point out the lunacy of the endeavor and pour down verbal persecution on Nephi. No mention is made of Nephi ever asking them to help him, yet they seem to feel that he eventually will.

As if Nephi has finally has has had enough (after eight years of complaining), he counterargues that were it not for the miracles of the prophet Moses, they wouldn't even be having this conversation. If God could part the Red Sea so that the Israelites could cross on dry ground, God could make even the ocean into dry earth for them to cross over to the promised land. And if God could command that to happen, he could help Nephi to build a ship. (What also comes to mind here is the fact that Noah and seven of his family members built an ark that carried them to safety in the flood.) Nephi then reminds them of every miracle they had experienced thus far and their not having learned the intended lessons.

Of course, this made Laman and Lemuel very angry and they attempted to lay hands on him to throw him into the sea, but Nephi warned them that if they should touch him, they would wither "as a dried reed".

At this point, the Spirit must have been upon Nephi and on his brethren because Laman and Lemuel were visibly confounded and didn't even dare to touch him for several days. The Lord had Nephi further demonstrate His power to them by commanding Nephi to stretch out his hand with the intent that instead of withering, they would be "shocked" or "shaken".

It must have been an impressive feeling because it caused both of them to fall down and attempt to worship Nephi. He stopped them and simply told them to stop being rebellious, to honor their father and mother, and to worship God.

Nephi Sees the Fate of his People (1 Nephi 12)

Nephi's vision continues as he is shown his own descendants and the descendants of Laman and Lemuel numbering as many as the sands of the sea. Their cities are also numerous. But he is disturbed to find that they are in constant battle with one another. He sees a mist of darkness accompanied by lightning, thunder, earthquakes, and destruction of many wicked people and cities.

At the end of this destruction and mayhem, he sees the Lamb of God (the Messiah) descending and showing Himself to the righteous who were spared from the destruction. He calls twelve disciples in the land of promise, who, Nephi is told, would be set apart to minister to Nephi's posterity. They are to be subordinate to the twelve apostles who would be set apart in Jerusalem at the time of the coming of the Son of God. The twelve in Jerusalem will judge the twelve from the New World when the Messiah comes the second time.

Three generations of people after the visit of the Messiah pass before Nephi's eyes, all of them living in righteousness. A part of the fourth generation also lives in righteousness, but not without conflict. Quickly, the people begin to forget what they had been taught and start to have wars with each other again.

It is at this point that the angel explains to Nephi the meaning of the "filthy water" and the "mists of darkness" in Lehi's dream. The filthy water is symbolic of the depths of hell and the mists of darkness are the temptations of the devil, blinding them and leading them away from the right path to perish and be lost.

The meaning of the large and spacious building is also given as the pride and "vain imaginations" of mankind. Notice that the filthy water is between the building and the tree of life as a gulf that separates mankind from God. When people complain that God doesn't hear them, or they claim that God does not exist, it is because they stand mocking and prideful in the great and spacious building rather than eating of the fruit of the tree (believing in the Messiah). They are separated from the knowledge and belief in God by the sins of pride, ambition, hatred, apathy, sensuality and licentiousness, and desires of the flesh which the filthy river (the depths of hell) represents.

To Nephi's horror, he sees his own descendants defeated and exterminated by those of his brothers, Laman and Lemuel, because of unbelief and rejection of God by Nephi's seed. Then he sees that Laman and Lemuel's descendants fully populate the land, engage in their own wars of mutual destruction, and dwindle in unbelief.

The next (and last) verse of 1 Nephi 12 is one of controversy whenever it is encountered by those outside the Church. It is even hard to take by some inside the Church who choose to view it out of context with actual doctrines, policies, and practices. Verse 23 says:

And it came to pass that I beheld, after they had dwindled in unbelief they became a ^adark, and loathsome, and a ^bfilthy people, full of ^cidleness and all manner of abominations.

Some point an accusing finger to this verse and say, "There! See how the Mormon church is a racist church, equating skin color with evil!" It is tempting in today's political climate to simply fold our arms and nod in agreement without making an effort to find out more. Upon further analysis, however, it's not that simple.

First, one has to reconcile the above scripture with what is found in a later chapter. 1 Nephi 17:33-35 (emphasis added) states:

33 And now, do ye suppose that the children of this land, who were in the land of promise, who were driven out by our fathers, do ye suppose that they were righteous? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.

34 Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice than they if they had been righteous? I say unto you, Nay.

35 Behold, the Lord esteemeth all ^aflesh in one; he that is ^brighteous is ^cfavored of God. But behold, this ^dpeople had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.

Therefore, we learn that God judges us by our actions, not by the color of our skin.

W. John Walsh, a Mormon apologist (one who answers critics), wrote a very good article on the subject of racism as perceived by those outside our faith:

One of the favorite techniques of anti-Mormons is to falsely say that the Lamanites were cursed with dark skin. They falsely say that Latter-day Saints believe that there is something inherently wrong with someone because he has dark skin. By the dictionary definition of racism, this idea is certainly racist. However, it is not a Latter-day Saint teaching and stands in direct opposition to the Book of Mormon (the keystone of our religion): "... [Jesus Christ] denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God ...(2 Nephi 26:33)

According to President Joseph Fielding Smith,

"The dark skin was the sign of the curse. The curse was the withdrawal of the Spirit of the Lord and the Lamanites becoming a "loathsome and filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.'' The Lord commanded the Nephites not to intermarry with them, for if they did they would partake of the curse." (Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol. 3, p.122)

The dark skin given to the Lamanites was simply a physical characteristic to distinguish the Lamanites and Nephites and to keep them from intermarrying. Skin color has no moral significance one way or the other. Why were the Nephites commanded not to intermarry with the Lamanites? For the same reason that Latter-day Saints today are counseled not to date or marry nonmembers of the Church. Latter-day Saints who are married to nonmembers do not enjoy full Church participation, especially temple marriage. Furthermore, their children are far less likely to be faithful members of the Church.

Any reading of the Bible will show that this was certainly not the first time the Lord had made a distinction between one people and another people and commanded that they should not mix or intermarry. The Jews of Palestine were constantly reminded not to intermarry with the native Canaanites, regardless of their skin color, because doing so would have also mixed their differing theologies and put the cohesiveness of the Jewish people in jeopardy. Indeed, whenever they disobeyed this commandment, apostasy (falling away from God) always came, followed by the Jewish nation being conquered and made captive by foreign nations. The promises God was trying to make with them were of no effect when they disobeyed the commandment to not combine with other nations because those promises were contingent on their being part of a faith united in both doctrine and lineage.

Therefore, to reject the Book of Mormon on the grounds that God would never exclude one group of people from His promises at the expense of another is to reject the Bible on the same grounds as well.

To wit, at another point in the Book of Mormon, we will read how the tables turned and how the Lamanites became the more righteous of the two groups. The Nephites became the more wicked part. Therefore, we see that evil is not defined by the color of one's skin, but by one's attitude towards the commandments of God. Obedience to God ensures blessings. Disobedience ensures loss of blessings.

This topic is important and much too broad to cover in this simple blog post. Indeed, multiple blogs could be devoted to the subject. For further reading, see:

• President Gordon B. Hinckley on Racial Intolerance, April 2006 General Conference
• 1978 Official Declaration, Newsroom.LDS.org
  
• "Mormonad" denouncing racism, from LDS Church youth magazine The New Era.
• Race Relations, Newsroom.LDS.org
• The Genesis Group, LDSGenesisGroup.org (unofficial web site)
• Topic Search: Racism, LightPlanet.com (unofficial web site)
• Black Mormon Homepage, http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/blackmormon/homepage.html (unofficial web site)
• Black Mormon History 101, http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/blackmormon/History.html (unofficial web site)
• Experiences of African-American Church Members, Newsroom.LDS.org
• Four Who Serve, Ensign Magazine, February 1992 (emphasis added)
  

  Robert Stevenson was baptized on 8 February 1972. After being discharged from the army in 1973, he considered himself just another LDS student when he enrolled at Church-owned Ricks College that fall. In 1975 [three years prior to the Official Declaration] he went on to study at Brigham Young University, where he made news when he was elected student body vice-president. After the election, a New York Times reporter asked him what it was like to be a black person at a white university. “I don’t know,” Brother Stevenson replied, “because I’m not a black person at a white university. I’m a Mormon at a Mormon university.”
  

Lehi provides additional prophecies (1 Nephi 10)

Once Lehi had finished telling of his dream of the tree of life, the great and spacious building, the rod of iron, and the river of filthy water, he further expounds on what he has seen regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of Israel.

Lehi also recounts having seen in a vision the Savior of the world coming to earth and being baptized by John. He also foretells the death and subsequent resurrection of the Messiah.

Remember that Lehi is speaking these prophecies between 600 B.C. and 592 B.C.

Because of his concern for his family to understand what happens to Israel after its captivity, Lehi prophesies what would eventually happen to all Israel by likening the tribes to the branches of an olive tree. They will be pruned from and grafted to the olive tree--or scattered and gathered again (see also Jacob 5).

Finally, Nephi desires to see the things his father saw and hear the things he heard. He has confidence that his desire will be granted because God continually manifests, or shows, Himself to us. God is "the same yesterday, today, and forever".

Nephi adds that men need to seek knowledge of these things by the power of the Holy Ghost and that "he that diligently seeketh shall find" the mysteries of God. Men need to be righteous and obedient or they will be cut off from the Lord because "no unclean thing can dwell with God."

Laman and Lemuel return to Jerusalem...without complaining (1 Nephi 7)

Almost immediately after their journey to Jerusalem to get the brass plates, Lehi received another revelation from the Lord.

1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of ^aprophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take ^bdaughters to ^cwife, that they might raise up ^dseed unto the Lord in the land of promise.

2 And it came to pass that the Lord ^acommanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, and bring down Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.

3 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did ^aagain, with my brethren, go forth into the wilderness to go up to Jerusalem.

This is one of the more humorous parts of the Book of Mormon simply because Nephi makes no mention of any complaints. Laman and Lemuel appear to be perfectly happy to return to Jerusalem now that there is the possibility of bringing women back with them. :)

Ishmael is the father of the daughters for whom Nephi, Sam, Laman, and Lemuel return. We don't know too much about how the family of Lehi and the family of Ishmael knew one another. It could be that they were near kinsmen, which Lehi might have deduced after reading the genealogy contained in the brass plates. Nevertheless, it appears that Ishmael was willing to follow Lehi into the wilderness with his entire family. Therefore, it's more than likely that, at the very least, Ishmael originally sympathized with Lehi and was eager to leave Jerusalem before it fell to the Babylonians.

Laman and Lemuel's change of heart didn't last very long. On the way back to Lehi's camp, they, and some of Ishmael's own family, rebelled against "Nephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters."

Nephi is quick to remind them of how the Lord has already supported them and their ancestors through many worse things and that if they would just be faithful, the Lord would give them a land of promise. If they want to go back, Nephi tells them, they can make that choice and perish with the rest.

Laman and Lemuel become furious and tie up Nephi to leave him to be eaten by wild beasts. Exercising his faith in the Lord, Nephi asks God for strength to break his bonds. Nephi is granted that power and is able to break free. This is a great example of faith as a principle of power. Nephi didn't ask for the Lord to come down and break his bonds for him. Rather, he asked that the Lord would amplify his own meager strength to free himself. We benefit from the Lord's help only when we put forth our own efforts and let Him do the rest. Otherwise, we begin to take His power for granted, or think that it is somehow by our own strength we are able to emerge from troubles. When He gives us more power than we know we have on our own, the lesson we learn is much more clear. To the contrary, taking His power for granted is the major mistake Laman and Lemuel have made and continue to make as they travel to the promised land.

But this time, something about this experience temporarily humbles those who rebelled. They repent, asking Nephi for forgiveness. He is quick to give it for his own part and then to remind them that their duty to ask forgiveness is not to him, but to God for having rebelled against His commandments.

Upon returning, they perform sacrifices and burnt offerings in accordance with the law of Moses to complete their repentance process and to show thanks to God.

Return to Jerusalem (1 Nephi 3)

As they traveled in the wilderness, Lehi had another dream from the Lord telling him to send his sons back to Jerusalem to obtain sacred records that had been handed down, likely through their Israelite tribe (the tribe of Joseph), for many generations. This record was known as the "plates of brass" and "contained a record of the Jews and also a genealogy of [Lehi's] forefathers" (1 Nephi 3:3). The records were kept in the house of a man named Laban.

As Laman and Lemuel murmured, Nephi said 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 commandeth them.
1 Nephi 3:7

When they arrived in Jerusalem, Laman was the first to go to Laban's house and ask for the plates. He was not only refused, but was cast out of Laban's house. Just as Laman and Lemuel were about to turn back to return to their family in the wilderness, Nephi reminded them of the promise or oath they made to their father that they would obtain the plates and that they would not return without them. He reminded them that it was part of God's plan for them to have the records and therefore it would be made possible.

Successful in persuading them, Nephi led them back to Jerusalem to speak with Laban as a group. Along the way, they stopped by their home and brought with them all of their gold, silver, and other precious things. Laban, impressed by their goods, stole it all from them and chased them out of his house with his servants following to kill them. Once they were safely away from the city, Laman and Lemuel were angry with Nephi and began to beat Nephi and Sam with a stick.

Immediately, an angel appeared to them commanding them to stop and to return again to Jerusalem. They were told that Laban would be delivered to them. Even after the angel disappeared, Laman and Lemuel continued to murmur because they didn't understand how someone as mighty as Laban, with his command of fifty men, would be delivered into the hands of four young men.