A Man Descending Out of Heaven- 1 Nephi 11

Now that we have identified the participants in the experience which Nephi recalls, from my previous post, we can move on  to make some interesting discoveries concerning what Nephi is taught through the experience.

First, it is important to focus on the dialog between the Spirit of the Lord and Nephi.

Initially the Spirit of the Lord wanted to know exactly what Nephi desired.  Nephi responded with his desire to behold the things his father saw.  Next the Spirit of the Lord proposed a question:

1 Nephi 11:4 And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?

It is interesting to me of all the things Lehi saw, the Spirit of the Lord focused solely on the tree.  That should be a big attention grabber for us too.  It is after Nephi explains that he believes all the words of his father that the Spirit of the Lord rejoices and gives the promise to Nephi that he will behold the things that he desired because of his belief in the Son of the most high God.  Perhaps the tree has something to do with that?

What happens next is of utmost importance in understanding  what is really taking place between the Spirit of the Lord and Nephi.  The Spirit of the Lord tells Nephi that he will be given a sign.

Look for what the sign is:

1 Nephi 11:7 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.

Notice that He shows Nephi the exact process by which he will understand the things he will be shown.  He is told that “this thing” will be given for a sign.  The “thing” is actually a three step process.

• 1) Nephi will see a tree.  It will be the same tree his father saw that had the fruit his father tasted.
• 2) Nephi will see a man descend out of Heaven. He will actually witness him doing this.
• 3) Nephi will “bear record” that the man who descended was the Son of God.

Immediately we are told that the Spirit of the Lord instructs him to “look”.   

Notice what he sees:

1 Nephi 11:8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.

 9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious above all.

The first part of the sign is given.  Nephi sees the tree. The Spirit of the Lord persists in asking what Nephi desires, to which he replies, “to know the interpretation thereof.”

The next part of the sign, seeing a man descend out of Heaven, is recorded with an interesting twist. Nephi records it as almost an aside. 

Look for the man that descends:

1 Nephi 11:11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.

 12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence.

Remember they were on an “exceedingly high mountain”.  This leads me to believe that they are looking down at what Nephi saw next. Could this be the “man descending out of heaven”? 

But… where did he go? 

1 Nephi 11:13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

Now for the third part of the sign, Nephi will “bear witness” that the man is the Son of God.

1 Nephi 11:14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

 15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

 16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?

 17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

 18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

 19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

 20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.

 21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!

The sign had occurred exactly as the Spirit of the Lord said it would.  Nephi saw the tree, he saw “the man” descend, and he witnesses that “the man is the son of God.”  The man came as a baby, born of a virgin.

It might surprise you what the Angel asks Nephi next….

Nephi, The Spirit of the Lord, and The Angel- 1 Nephi 11

(Side Bar: Right up front I must explain that in order to more fully understand the concepts that Nephi taught in this part of his record, I believe it is necessary to have groundwork laid.  Please read the two previous posts if you have not done so, then come back and read on….)

According to the Spirit of the Lord, who is having a conversation with Nephi on an “exceedingly high mountain”, the reason that he is going to receive the desires of his heart, “to know the things his father had seen”, was because he “believest in the Son.”

It is interesting to think back at the time frame in which this experience is given, and compare it to the time in which we live.  We have been given an interesting perspective about the way he Son of God made his entrance into this world.  We get to look back at the history of it, of the records of those who testified of His birth, namely the testimony of His apostles.  Think about it, almost everybody on the earth has heard of Mary and Joseph, and baby Jesus being born in a stable, even if they don’t believe it themselves. We simply understand that the Son of God came into this world the same way the rest of us did.  Perhaps we even take it for granted because of the “simpleness of the way”. 

Nephi, however, has an entirely different challenge in understanding the “condescension” of God.  He is looking forward, ahead, to a future place and time, to something that has not happened yet.  It is true that he had the words of prophets like Isaiah, who alluded to the future event of Christ’s birth, but in reality it had not happened.  Might I venture to suggest that the details regarding the process of how the Son of God would make his entrance might have been a little fuzzy for Nephi.   In fact Nephi reveals this detail himself as the Angel asks the question, “Knowest thou the condescension of God?” with the answer he gave, “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.”

With the introduction of the Angel in that last paragraph, perhaps it might be best to identify the players in this little experience.

Nephi is the first obvious one.

Next we are introduced to the Spirit of the Lord.   Nephi describes Him as, “in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.”  This Spirit of the Lord, in the form of a man, makes a quick exit at a really important time.  Notice when he leaves the scene…

1 Nephi 11: 12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence.

 13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

It is interesting to me that he disappears from Nephi’s view as the vision of the virgin is shown.  Perhaps this was done so that Nephi could truly understand the process of the actual “condescension” itself.

In fact, I believe the brother of Jared recorded this same experience in just a little different way, as Christ explained to him in the following passage:

Ether 3: 16 Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.

The Lord, in his explanation of his appearance to the brother of Jared, taught that His physical body was the “sign” for His spiritual body. Nephi will also be shown the sign for Christ through the physical appearance he makes, with a body of flesh and blood, but as a tiny infant.  

The next player in this little dialog is the Angel.

1 Nephi 11: 14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

 15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

 16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?

So, suddenly the Spirit of the Lord, who I believe became part of the scene that was to play out before Nephi, is replaced by His messenger, the Angel,  who teaches doctrine and adds his witness to it.  I don’t know about you, but for me this is a very familiar process.  I watch it unfold every time I attend the Temple. It is comfortable for me.

Ponder these things and see if they are comfortable to you.

More tomorrow….

Seeing the Pre-Mortal Christ, Ether 3 and 1 Nephi 11

One of the greatest stories we have regarding the Jaredites is the story of the brother of Jared as he witnesses the pre-mortal Savior, or more commonly remembered as, sees the finger of the Lord.  In studying that story we can recognize some key dialog that takes place between the Lord and the brother of Jared that is similar to the dialog that Nephi has when he is shown the meaning of his father’s vision.

Watch for the reason the brother of Jared is allowed to see the Pre-mortal Christ in his mortal condition:

Ether 3:9 And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so ye could not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this?

 10 And he answered: Nay; Lord, show thyself unto me.

 11 And the Lord said unto him: Believest thou the words which I shall speak?

 12 And he answered: Yea, Lord, I know that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth, and canst not lie.

13 And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord showed himself unto him, and said: Because thou knowest these things ye are redeemed from the fall; therefore ye are brought back into my presence; therefore I show myself unto you.

The reason that the brother of Jared got to witness this great thing is because he followed a process.  He had a desire, he inquired of the Lord, he had faith that the Lord would answer him, the Lord softened his heart so that he believed every word the Lord spoke, and the Lord showed Himself to him.  

Now… notice the similarity in the dialog in the experience that Nephi describes in 1 Nephi 11:

1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.

 2 And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou?

 3 And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw.

 4 And the Spirit said unto me: Believest thou that thy father saw the tree of which he hath spoken?

 5 And I said: Yea, thou knowest that I believe all the words of my father.

 6 And when I had spoken these words, the Spirit cried with a loud voice, saying: Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. 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.

(Side Bar: Sometimes when the title Lord is used we get confused as to who it is referring to.  Remember that one of the names for The Father is also Lord.)

It is interesting to me that in both cases, the Spirit of the Lord, or perhaps another way to refer to it would be pre-mortal Messiah, asks the receiver if they “believe”. After they assure the Lord that they believe they are then shown what they desire.   

Now look back at the block of scriptures I posted above in 1 Nephi, what is it that Nephi desires?

Answer....To know the things his father had seen.

What specifically does the Spirit of the Lord ask Nephi if he believes about his father’s vision?

Answer...He wants to know if Nephi specifically believes in the tree. 

It is important to understand  that the subject of this conversation is centered around the tree… we will explore futher….

The Jaredites Ether 3

Before we look at what happens next to Nephi, after he is taken to “an exceedingly high mountain”, it is important to do some more background studying.  I would like to look for a moment at the account in the book of Ether, of the experience that the brother of Jared had with the Lord, so that we can make some important comparisons with the process of events that are about to unfold for Nephi.  

Just where did the Jaredites come from anyway?  The Jaredites are a group of people that left the Middle East at the time of the confounding of the languages at the Tower of Babel.  The scattering that took place happened soon after the flood.  Perhaps we should look at this as the first great scattering. The confounding of the languages was a result of the acts of some of Noah’s descendants who had set aside true temple worship and attempted to build a “pagan temple”, or “counterfeit temple.”   The group of people, known as the Jaredites, was a righteous group who had cried unto the Lord requesting that their language not be confounded like the rest of the people.  The Lord’s answer came by way of delivery from the confusion by leading them to a land of promise.  The land of promise is the same land that Lehi was led to hundreds of years later, the American continent. 

We have the record of the Jaredites because of The Book of Mormon.  A Jaredite prophet named Ether, who, having witnessed the last battles of his people, recorded them on 24 plates of gold. He had preserved the record of a people who had lived through many centuries on the choicest land in the world, only to perish by their own hands, all because of lack of humility and unwillingness to acknowledge their dependence on the “one true God.” 

I believe that we are given different accounts of the same story, over and over again, because that is the cycle we can see in life.  The Jaredites become a type for the Lehites, in the land of promise.  In the same way they become a type for study of their destruction, the experiences of their prophets can be compared to see the similarities there also.  

I believe that the process, in which the brother of Jared saw the Lord, is the same process in which Nephi sees the Lord. 

Look for how Jesus showed himself to both groups:

Ether 3:17 And now, as I, Moroni, said I could not make a full account of these things which are written, therefore it sufficeth me to say that Jesus showed himself unto this man in the spirit, even after the manner and in the likeness of the same body even as he showed himself unto the Nephites.

I picked up on the words, “even as he showed himself” in the above description.  We are taught that the brother of Jared saw the pre-mortal Christ in his future mortal condition, with the body of flesh and blood.  When Lehi, and Nephi were shown the Lord, they would have seen Him in a pre-mortal condition.  They would have seen Him as a Spirit in the form of a body.  They would have literally seen the Spirit of the Lord, in the form of a man.  

Now, don’t get hung up on the following statement made by the Lord to the brother of Jared:

Ether 3: 15 And never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image.

When the Lord explained to the brother of Jared that “never” had he shown himself to man in this manner, this was several hundred years before the experience that Nephi describes.  Don’t get trapped in the word “never” because perhaps he was just illustrating that he was the first of many.  

Digest this information, and we will explore the process more tomorrow….

The Process of Recieving 1 Nephi 11

After Lehi had given his children spiritual instruction regarding his vision, and things revealed to him by the Holy Ghost, Nephi explains to us, through his writings, that he too was desirous to know the things his father had seen.  He wanted to know for himself.   In 1 Nephi Chapter 11, Nephi gives us another amazing example of how to receive revelation.  

1 Nephi 11:1 For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.

• 1) He had the desire to know
• 2) He believed that the Lord could make them known to him.  AKA Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
• 3) He pondered about what he had been taught.
• 4) He was given further light and knowledge.

It is amazing to me that this is already the second time Nephi explains this process in his record. Remember the first time was in Chapter 2:

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.

Nephi wants us to know the process.  Perhaps the process itself is even more important than the information he received by following that process, which was the same dream his father saw, and the interpretation thereof. 

Another important detail that Nephi records is the fact that he was literally transported upwards to receive the information he sought.  He describes the experience as taking place on an “exceedingly high mountain”.  We see an ascension process taking place. Usually, when a mountain is referred to in the scriptures, it can be equated with a sacred experience similar to a temple experience.  In the temple we also have an ascension experience as we move upwards toward the Father.  We literally ascend the “Hill of the Lord.” 

To receive the information Nephi received, I believe, an ascension process was necessary.  As we explore it I believe you will think so too.

More…. great stuff coming!

To be better prepared for what is to come, please click here to re-read this post.