Book of Mormon Commentary CofC - Odessa, Missouri Community ...

Book of Mormon Commentary
1 Nephi Chapter 3
3:38 Moses went up on Mount Sinai and talked with God. The Hebrews felt that one could get
near God's throne on a mountain (Exod.19:3). From this mountain retreat, God gave to Moses the
law, including the Decalogue (Exod. 20:1-22; see also Isa. 2:3; Mic. 4:2).
Jesus gave support to this idea when the Spirit "taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain
and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world" (Matt. 4:8). The Transfiguration occurred after
Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John "and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart" (Matt.
17:1).
1 Ne 3:44 And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God;
wherefore, thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired.
3:44 Because of the vision and prophecies received by Nephi and his father Lehi, Nephi had a
profound faith in the mission of the Son of God who should some six hundred years hence. "If ye
have not faith in him" you are not Christian (Mi. 7:44).
The epistles of John were written largely to emphasize the Sonship of Christ. In an introduction,
Bishop Charles Gore et al. says:
The first Epistle is worked out with great care in the Gospel, the purpose of which is to show that
Christian salvation was from the beginning dependent upon the manifestation of the Son of God in
the flesh and upon his death. If therefore Christianity be divorced from belief in the reality of the
Incarnation and of the Passion of the Lord, it must inevitably lose its power to convert men.
1 Ne 3:45 And behold, this thing shall be given unto thee for a sign, that after thou hast beheld the tree
which bore the fruit which thy father tasted, thou shalt also behold a man descending out of heaven; and
him shall ye witness; and after ye have witnessed him, ye shall bear record that it is the Son of God.
3:45 This was a vision which Nephi had after he was “caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea,
into an exceeding high mountain" (3:38). He had expressed the desire to see the things shown in
the vision his father saw. He was shown the fruit tree representing God's love (3:69). He was also
shown a vision of the coming Messiah.
1 Ne 3:47 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit, I behold thou hast shewn
unto me the tree which is precious above all.
3:47 The vision was that of a spiritual being. He had "the form of a man" (50) yet Nephi was made
aware that he was talking to the Spirit of the Lord. When one exercises the gift of prophecy under
the influence of divine power, he may say, "Thus saith the Spirit." The voice is that of the prophet,
but the message is from the Spirit which functions through him.
1 Ne 3:49 And I said unto him, To know the interpretation thereof:
3:49 A man's desire to see things in vision could be prompted by human curiosity. Nephi was
motivated by a higher principle. What does this vision mean, and how does it concern me? Too
often man's response to a spiritual gift is only emotional. He may hasten to tell his friends who
were not present, "We had a wonderful meeting. The Lord spoke to us in prophecy [or the gift of