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….