The Condescension of God- 1 Nephi 11

When Nephi asked the Lord to “behold the things which his father saw” he was given a panoramic view of the condescension of God.   

This is what he saw:

1. A virgin.
2. The Virgin carried away in the Spirit.
3. The Virgin bearing a child in her arms.
4. An Angel testifying that the child is the Son of the Eternal Father.
5. The Son of God going forth among the people, and many worshiping Him.
6. The Prophet who should prepare the way for the Redeemer of the World.
7. The Lamb of God baptized by that prophet.
8. The Heavens open after His baptism; the Holy Ghost come out of heaven and abide on Him in the form of a dove.
9. The Lamb of God going forth ministering to the people in power and great glory.
10. This group of people casting Him out from among them.
11. Twelve others start to follow Him.
12. The Heavens open once again and angels descend upon the people and minister unto them.
13. The Lamb of God healing the sick and casting out unclean spirits.
14. The Lamb of God being taken by the people and judged of the world.
15. He was then lifted up upon the cross, and slain for the sins of the world.
16. After his death, multitudes of the earth fighting against the apostles of the Lamb.
17. The house of Israel gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
18. Destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

All of the above information was important for Nephi to be shown because it had not happened yet.  He was viewing it in the perspective of a future event that would take place; a future event that would be central to the salvation of not only his posterity but the whole human family. It was information given to help his people understand who Jesus Christ is and how he would Atone for the world.  It provided a way for his posterity to recognize Him when he did come the first time.

For us, the perspective is different.  We look backward to the events that took place in the past.  We see this information as a fulfillment of divine prophecy.  We view it as another testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ and his life and ministry.  It is given for us to recognize that He did come and Atone for us.

Both perspectives are given to enhance our faith.  Nephi had faith that it would happen, and we have faith that it did happen.  That faith, when nourished, moves us to action.  It gives us the power to apply whatever necessary means in our life to press forward with hope of an Eternal place with our Father.  It sustains us through trials, and motivates us to change when change is needed.  It allows us to repent and come closer to our Father, thorough the merits of Jesus Christ, and our own efforts.  

I am grateful for the perspective that Nephi shared with me, the latter-day reader of his record.  I love him for the faith he had, and that he expressed continually.  But most of all, I love Nephi because he knew how important his record would be for me. 

He knows this because he was shown it in this vision….as it continues....

The Baptism of Jesus- 1 Nephi 11

I picture the vision the Lord showed to Nephi as literally a Technicolor view of the importance of the Atonement, and the central part it plays in the salvation of literally all mankind, and how we must apply it in our lives.  

First Nephi was shown how Christ came to earth, as the Son of the Eternal Father, through the process of the virgin birth.  (Sidebar: It is interesting to note that the term “virgin” was also a term used to describe the wife of a prophet.) The birth however is just the beginning of what Nephi is shown regarding Christ.  The vision continues to reveal the life that the Savior would lead in an effort to help him, and us, better understand the role Christ played in the redemption of the world.

The next event in the life of Christ that Nephi is taught about through this glorious vision was the important step Christ would take to show us the way to gain entrance into the kingdom of His Father.  This step was that of baptism, and most importantly the correct process of entering into a covenant  with the Father by way of baptism.   He was shown that Christ was baptized by immersion, by one who had authority to do so.  He was also shown that the baptism was incomplete without the ratifying effect of the Holy Ghost. 

Both Lehi and Nephi were very specific in recording that the baptism of Christ was an event which was testified of by many of the prophets of old, and that one having authority would perform the task,  for me, Isaiah is one that comes to mind.  Isaiah recorded the exact wording used by John the Baptist as he preached about the coming of the Savior.

Isaiah 40: 3¶The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

I also find it interesting that Lehi was very specific in noticing that the prophet John would be the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy because of the exactness in the wording he used.

1 Nephi 10: 7 And he spake also concerning a prophet who should come before the Messiah, to prepare the way of the Lord—

 8 Yea, even he should go forth and cry in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is mightier than I, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose. And much spake my father concerning this thing.

In the record of John in the New Testament this exact scene is played out one more time as the priests and Levites pressed John to know who he actually was.

John1: 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

 24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

 25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

The Joseph Smith Translation of this verse even adds more clarity to John’s words.

John 1: 27 John answered them, saying; I baptize with water, but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

 28 He it is of whom I bear record. He is that prophet, even Elias, who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose, or whose place I am not able to fill; for he shall baptize, not only with water, but with fire, and with the Holy Ghost.

 29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and said; Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world!

 30 And John bare record of him unto the people, saying, This is he of whom I said; After me cometh a man who is preferred before me; for he was before me, and I knew him, and that he should be made manifest to Israel; therefore am I come baptizing with water.

Finally Nephi bears record of this event in his own words.

1 Nephi 11: 26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!

 27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.

What a great blessing it is that we are given these testimonies of the baptism of Jesus Christ. We are taught the manner in which we should be baptized, after the example set by our Savior, including the need of the proper authority required to administer the ordinance.  In a time when the ordinance of baptism is under question in every way, these visions shared with us from Nephi  and Lehi solidify the process so clearly, and fulfills the law of witnesses in testifying of the necessity of it.

Later Mormon will add his testimony as well.

Mormon 7:10 And ye will also know that ye are a remnant of the seed of Jacob; therefore ye are numbered among the people of the first covenant; and if it so be that ye believe in Christ, and are baptized, first with water, then with fire and with the Holy Ghost, following the example of our Savior, according to that which he hath commanded us, it shall be well with you in the day of judgment. Amen.

Christ condescended to be baptized because of obedience to the commands of His Father, how on earth is it possible that we can progress without doing the same?

Fountain of Living Water- 1 Nephi 11

We must continue on with the “tree of life” vision that Nephi saw because there is a lot more symbolism that needs to be addressed.  

If we were to jump ahead in our reading of the Book of Mormon we would see many times where Nephi teaches principles that he learned because of this vision he was shown.   A significant detail is revealed about Jesus Christ in 2 Nephi 25, as Nephi gives commentary on the words of Isaiah from the previous Isaiah chapters contained in that book. I believe he learned this particular detail from what he was shown in this earlier vision.

Look for what Nephi specifically draws our attention to about Christ in the following verse:

2 Nephi 25:12 But, behold, they shall have wars, and rumors of wars; and when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.

An important thing Nephi specifically wants us to know is that Christ is the Only Begotten of the Father.   I repeat, Christ was begotten of The Father. The definition for the word begat, or begotten, is typically that of bringing a child into existence by the process of reproduction; to procreate as the father or sire.  I believe it is literally that. 

In a talk given by President Ezra Taft Benson titled “Five Marks of the Divinity of Jesus Christ”, the same idea is discussed. 

President Benson states:

There are those who would seek to convince you that the divine birth of Christ as proclaimed in the New Testament was not a divine birth at all—nor was Mary, the Virgin girl, a virgin at the time of Jesus’ conception. They would have you believe that Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus, was His physical father, and that Jesus was, therefore, human in all His attributes and characteristics. They appear generous in their praise of Him when they say that He was a great moral philosopher, perhaps even the greatest. But the intent of their effort is to repudiate the divine sonship of Jesus; for on that doctrine rest all other claims of Christianity.

I am bold to say to you young people tonight: Jesus Christ is the Son of God in the most literal sense. The body in which He performed His mission in the flesh was sired by that same Holy Being we worship as God, our Eternal Father. He was not the son of Joseph, nor was He begotten by the Holy Ghost. He is the Son of the Eternal Father!

It seems very clear to me… but how did Nephi know?  Again, just as Nephi knew the symbolism of the divine feminine was the tree, I believe he also understood the symbolism for “living water”.  

There is something very particular about Nephi’s vision that was lacking in the retelling of Lehi’s vision. In Lehi’s vision we are told that Nephi remembered his father speaking of a fountain of water that flowed into a river.  This fountain was located in the opposite direction of the tree. What either Lehi or Nephi neglected to mention is that this fountain and river were filthy, and that there was another fountain in the vision too.

Look for where the other fountain is.

1 Nephi 11:25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

It is interesting to notice that the water, specifically the fountain or head of the waters, and the tree are in the same place, or are referred to as one thing.  Both become a representation of “the love of God”.   The fountain of living waters and the tree together produce the fruit, which is desirable above all other fruit.  

According to specific Kabbalistic traditions and early oral traditional rabbinical teachings, the “living waters”, and light for that matter, can be equated with “male sexual energy, specifically as semen”.  It is a life force that flows among and animates the world.  (Source: A Guide to the Zohar by Arthur Green) I believe Nephi would have understood very clearly what “living waters” would have represented. 

Conversely, let us consider the other water referred to in the vision, that of the fountain of filthy water.  It did not have a tree connected with it.  It produced nothing.  It became a representation of the depths of hell, or damnation.

1 Nephi 12:16 And the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the fountain of filthy water which thy father saw; yea, even the river of which he spake; and the depths thereof are the depths of hell.

The location of this fountain of filthy water is in the polar opposite direction of the fountain of living waters, and the tree. It has no life giving energy to it at all; in fact it took life as “many were drowned in the depths of the fountain”.

When we look at the symbolism of what living water represents it is no wonder that, according to Jewish tradition, the “font” was a feminine entity, or a receptacle for the living waters.  Guess what…. the tabernacle, or temple itself was also considered a feminine entity.

There is simply so much to ponder…

The Meaning of the Tree- 1 Nephi 11

(Forgive me for the long pause in teaching this particular process… I was bitten by the flu bug.)

In my last post I talked about the three step process of “the sign” which was given to Nephi from the Spirit of the Lord.  He was told he would see a tree, then a man descend out of Heaven, and then witness that this man was literally the Son of the Eternal Father.  

After Nephi witnessed that the Son of God was born of a Virgin, who is “the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh”, the Angel (not the Spirit of the Lord, remember different person…) proposed the following question:

1 Nephi 11: 21…Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

Why would the Angel be so concerned about the tree?  

Although for us the meaning of the tree might not be very clear, Nephi, when posed with the above question, answered that he did know the meaning of the tree.  How does he know?

Daniel C. Peterson has explored this topic extensively and has explained his findings in the following:

“How has Nephi come to this understanding? Clearly, the answer to his question about the meaning of the tree lies in the virgin mother with her child. It seems, in fact, that the virgin actually is the tree, in some sense. Even the language used to describe her echoes that used for the tree. Just as she was "exceedingly fair and white," "most beautiful and fair above all other virgins," so was the tree's beauty "far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow." Significantly, though, only when she appeared with a baby and was identified as "the mother of the Son of God" did Nephi grasp the tree's meaning.

Why would Nephi see a connection between a tree and the virginal mother of a divine child? His vision seems to reflect a meaning of the "sacred tree" that is unique to the ancient Near East and, in Israelite history, specifically to the period before the Babylonian captivity — Nephi's era. This can only be fully appreciated when the ancient Canaanite and Israelite associations of that tree are borne in mind.

Recent scholarship, including archaeological finds, has demonstrated that the goddess Asherah, worshipped among Israel's Canaanite neighbors as the wife of the supreme god, El, was also revered by many Israelites as the consort of El(ohim) and the (in some accounts, virginal) mother of his children. She was symbolized by a tree, and, in fact, a representation of such a tree stood within the temple at Jerusalem during the time of Lehi.”

(For a complete account of Dr. Peterson’s views you may want to read his article written for the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies called, Nephi and His Asherah. ) 

Nephi did not understand the condescension of God.  Because of the perspective he had, looking to a future event, he did not know how God would come to earth, and how the Atonement would actually happen.  It simply had not happened yet.  The Lord answered his request to know how this loving act was to take place.  He showed him in the most simplistic way so he could understand.  We need that simplistic view too.  We simply complicate it too much.  

Go and read Daniel Peterson’s full article… digest this…and we will talk more.

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….