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.

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.

Lehi in the Wilderness (1 Nephi 2)

In chapter 2 of First Nephi, Lehi and his family prepare to leave Jerusalem and begin a new life in the wilderness. In part, they are escaping persecution at the hands of those who do not believe Lehi's prophecies and, in part, they are leaving behind the world to live the Gospel in a more pure form, away from distractions of wealth, status, and comfort.

Above all, Lehi was commanded by the Lord in a dream that he should depart the city. His family, particularly two of his sons named Laman and Lemuel, had a hard time dealing with this commandment because it required extreme faith on their part both to leave and to do so because of Lehi's dream. But, Nephi, ever the valiant and obedient son, prays to the Lord that he might believe the words of his father and not grumble and complain as his elder brothers Laman and Lemuel did. Nephi is visited by the Lord and softens Nephi's heart. In turn, he bears witness to (teaches) his younger brother, Sam, who also is touched by the Holy Spirit and believes that what they are doing is the right thing.

Nephi is saddened by Laman and Lemuel's rebellion. The Lord also promises Nephi that because instead of complaining he has sought answers from the Lord, he will prosper in the new land to which they are about to travel. If his brothers continue to rebel against Lehi and against Nephi, they will be cut off from the presence of the Lord (i.e. not blessed as Nephi will be). Instead, they will become a scourge to Nephi's descendants, to "stir them up in the ways of remembrance" of their dependence on the Lord through the conflict and strife that will be inflicted on them by the descendants of his brothers.