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 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.

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….