THE FIRST BOOK OF NEPHI
HIS REIGN AND MINISTRY
CHAPTER 7
Lehi’s sons return to Jerusalem and enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause—Laman and others rebel—Nephi exhorts his brethren to have faith in the Lord—They bind him with cords and plan his destruction—He is freed by the power of faith—His brethren ask forgiveness—Lehi and his company offer sacrifice and burnt offerings. [Between 600 and 592 B.C.]
1 AND now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, [ Another revelation to Lehi ] saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; [ Since the Lord has just told Lehi of the blessings that are instore for his family going forward. The answer becomes pretty obvious that in order for there to be seed to pass these blessings down to his son's and daughters I assume will need to have someone to help them bring children into the world with. So this command is an obvious one that follows the posteral blessing given to Lehi as the patriarch. ] but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise.
2 And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, [ Think about this A short time earlier these son's of Lehi were in town asking for the records kept by Laban. Then all of the sudden Laban has been killed, the records are missing, Laban's servant is missing as well(was he kidnapped or was he an accomplice they would not know), but either way the people in the town would have a pretty good idea who had done the deed, as a result they would have been looking for them. So it was in no way safe for Nephi and his brother's to go back to get wives - but then the Lord did command it. ] , and bring down Ishmael and his family [ Why Ishmaels family? Ishmael roots were from the tribe of Ephraim (JD 23:184) Also additional evidence also indicates that the lost manuscript identified Ishmael as a descendant of Joseph through Ephraim. (Don Bradley, The Lost 116 Pages: Reconstructing the Book of Mormon’s Missing Stories (Salt Lake City, UT: Greg Kofford Books, 2019), 157–160.) - Lehi was of the tribe of Manasseh – see Alma 10:2 Both Ephraim & Manassah were the sons of Joseph who was sold into Egypt and thus represented both branches of Joseph’s posterity, fulfilling the prophecy in Genesis 49:22 “branches run over the wall” carried over the ocean. Alma 10:2 3 And Aminadi was a descendant of Nephi, who was the son of Lehi, who came out of the land of Jerusalem, who was a descendant of aManasseh, who was the son of Joseph who was sold into Egypt by the hands of his brethren.
So we know that Lehi and his family was from the tribe of Manasseh.
Second.
D&C 27:5 States:
5 Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fulness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim;
So here we are taught that the Book of Mormon is the stick of Ephraim.
So the question that I had was since Lehi was from Manasseh and since the Book of Mormon is the record of the tribe of Ephraim, how is that possible?
Well in my opinion the only logical answer lies with Ishmaels family. What do we know about Ishmaels family?
First; the Lord commanded Lehi to return and get a specific family, the family of Ishmael. Why? Was it solely because of the number of daughters? Was it because Ishmael was a righteous man? I suppose that both of those are true. However in addition we learn in the Journal of Discourses “Ishmael roots were from the tribe of Ephraim” (JD 23:184). Also apparently Lehi and Ishmaels families were quite close as prior weddings ( see 1 Ne 7:6; two of Ishmaels sons married 2 of Lehi’s daughters - sisters of Nephi. 2 Ne 5:6 other sisters of Nephi were married to Ishmaels sons and followed with Nephi. ) had happened between the two families. According to Erastus R Snow JD Vol 23 Pg 184-185. Quoting Joseph Smith, Erastus Snow said "The Prophet Joseph informed us that the record of Lehi was contained on the 116 pages that were first translated and subsequently stolen, and of which an abridgment is given us in the first Book of Nephi, which is the record of Nephi individually, he himself being of the lineage of Manasseh; but that Ishmael was of the lineage of Ephraim, and that his sons married into Lehi's family, and Lehi's sons married Ishmael's daughters, thus fulfilling the words of Jacob upon Ephraim and Manasseh in the 48th chapter of Genesis, which says: "And let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the land. (Journal of Discourses 2 :184)"
Where else could this blood have come from if not from their wives? It obviously wasn't from the Mulekites as they were of Judah. Even if Zoram was of Ephraim, would that be enough of Ephraimite lineage to result in the whole of the population being labeled as much? " What is the Book Of Mormon the Stick of? the BofM is the stick of Ephraim. Its not the stick of Manasseh. As Lehi was from Manasseh, and all of his sons married Ishmael's daughters, and the BofM is considered the book of Ephraim, then the Nephites and Lamanites had to have substantial Ephraimite blood in them even though their patriarchy would legally be through Manasseh. Where else could this blood have come from if not from their wives? It obviously wasn't from the Mulekites as they were of Judah. Even if Zoram was of Ephraim, would that be enough of Ephraimite lineage to result in the whole of the population being labeled as much? No, not like all all of the sons having Ephraimite wives would be. “stick of Joseph” (Ezekiel 37:19) or the “stick of Ephraim” (D&C 27:5). Is Ishmael of the Book of Mormon an Ephraimite? Why is that important?
On page 167 of the index of our LDS triple combination it says: Ishmael—an Ephraimite from Jerusalem [c. 600 B.C.] What is an Ephraimite and what is expected of this lineage?
In The Articles of Faith, James E. Talmage cites the prophet Joseph as teaching the doctrine that Ishmael was from Ephraim:
“Ishmael an Ephraimite – ‘The Prophet Joseph Smith informed us that the record of Lehi was contained on the one hundred sixteen pages that were first translated and subsequently stolen, and of which an abridgment is given us in the First Book of Nephi, which is the record of Nephi individually, he himself being of the lineage of Manasseh; but that Ishmael was of the lineage of Ephraim, and that his sons married into Lehi's family, and Lehi's sons married Ishmael's daughters, thus fulfilling the words of Jacob upon Ephraim and Manasseh in the 48th chapter of Genesis [verse 16] which says: 'And let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.' Thus these descendants of Manasseh and Ephraim grew together upon this American continent, with a sprinkling from the house of Judah, from Mulek descended, who left Jerusalem eleven years after Lehi, and founded the colony afterwards known as Zarahemla found by Mosiah -- thus making a combination, an inter-mixture of Ephraim and Manasseh with the remnants of Judah, and for aught we know, the remnants of some other tribes that might have accompanied Mulek. And such have grown up upon the American continent.’ The Articles of Faith, James E. Talmage. ] into the wilderness.
3 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did again, with my brethren, go forth into the wilderness to go up to Jerusalem.
4 And it came to pass that we went up unto the house of Ishmael, and we did gain favor in the sight of Ishmael, insomuch that we did speak unto him the words of the Lord.
5 And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the heart [ Feelings, emotions desires ] of Ishmael, and also his household, insomuch that they took their journey with us down into the wilderness to the tent of our father.
6 And it came to pass that as we journeyed in the wilderness, behold Laman and Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael, and the two sons of Ishmael and their families, did rebel against us; yea, against me, Nephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters. [ Is it not interesting how the numbers worked out as well. There are enough righteous women for the righteous son's of Lehi and those that are not for the Laman's and Lemuels. A coincidence? or did God know that when he suggested that the go get Ismmael's family? ]
7 And it came to pass in the which rebellion, they were desirous to return unto the land of Jerusalem. [ Compare with Exod 16:1-3; Num 11:4-6; 14:2-4 ]
8 And now I, Nephi, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, [ Hardness of heart is…
-lacking genuine sorrow over sin.
-continuing to go back again and again into temptation, lies and deceit.
-choosing to think of yourself as most important.
-choosing what’s best for you and not the other.
-the small lies and huge lies that you convince yourself are not a big deal.
-being unteachable.
-tearing down with words.
-comparing and contrasting your wrongs against the other and making the judgement that “theirs is worse.”
-responding with defensiveness.
-the need to always be in control.
-waiting for the other to say sorry first.
-demanding the other change first.
-thinking more of what you deserve instead of what you can give.
-focusing more on being right than on becoming righteous.
-what you can get out of someone instead of how you can invest in them.
-the refusal to forgive.
-the refusal to humble yourself to ask for forgiveness.
-saying you forgive, but never letting go.
-asking for forgiveness and then going back to do the same thing again.
-magnifying the weaknesses and minimizing the strengths of the other, while magnifying the strengths and minimizing the weaknesses of yourself.
-justifying wrongful actions because they “started it first.”
-spending more time trying to find an official clinical diagnosis to explain away their issues than looking in the mirror to address your own.
-preserving your own well-being at the expense of the other.
-reading this list and thinking someone else should be reading this…
] therefore I spake unto them, saying, yea, even unto Laman and unto Lemuel: Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that I, your younger brother, should speak unto you, yea, and set an example for you? [ Now how do you think that this went across? There does not seem to be alot of tactic in the presentation. Nephi just comes right out and says what is on his mind. I do not think that whatever the message that he was going to say was not going to be very well recepted with that kind of start. Laman and Lemuel we can suppose are in a dating mode with the daughters of Ishmael, you know that phase where they are trying to impress them. Then your kid brother comes along and humiliates you in front of them. Not going to end well. sometimes we need to ask ourselves before we speak: Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary? ]
9 How is it that ye have not hearkened [ Hebrew "Shema" to "listened" and "obeyed". ] unto the word of the Lord?
10 How is it that ye have forgotten that ye have seen an angel of the Lord?
[ Yes - how is it that they quickly forgot. Why do you suppose this is so? In life we have a tendency to see what we want, so that we can do as we want. So just because one see's an angel doesn not change who the are, or what they want to believe. Nephi has an entirely different view toward life. He can only see things one way so he does not understand why they would be struggling. ]
11 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record?
12 Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? [ Why is it important to exercise faith in God if he is to work in our lives? Faith enables us to employ God to help us. God does not take away our agency; it is through faith that we exercise our agency to bring forward those things with which the Lord would like to bless us with; but needs us to ask with faith - to invite him in so to speak. ] Wherefore, let us be faithful to him. [ In biblical Hebrew, the prepositions that are translated in and to in English are often interchangeable. This would not usually work in English. In at least two Book of Mormon passages, the 1830 edition used to and in in ways that reflect the Hebrew usage, although later editions were changed to reflect the normal English use. the 1830 edition read "let us be faithful in him." Both in and to are possible in biblical Hebrew, but, when speaking of God, faithful in is usual. Faithful to is more normal in English, and in was changed to to in later editions of the Book of Mormon. Both in and to are possible in biblical Hebrew, but arrive to - is much more common. English prefers arrive at. How could Joseph Smith have known? In Hebrew, the word that marks the beginning of a relative clause (generally translated which or who in English) does not always closely follow the word it refers back to, as it usually does in English. some Book of Mormon passages give the impression of having been translated from Hebrew.(The Maxwell Institute - Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon; John A. Tvedtnes) ]
13 And if it so be that we are faithful to him, we shall obtain the land of promise; and ye shall know at some future period that the word of the Lord shall be fulfilled concerning the destruction of Jerusalem; for all things which the Lord hath spoken concerning the destruction of Jerusalem must be fulfilled.
14 For behold, the Spirit of the Lord ceaseth soon to strive with them; for behold, they have rejected the prophets, and Jeremiah have they cast into prison. And they have sought to take away the life of my father, [ Lehi. ] insomuch that they have driven him out of the land.
15 Now behold, I say unto you that if ye will return unto Jerusalem ye shall also perish with them. And now, if ye have choice, go up to the land, and remember the words which I speak unto you, that if ye go ye will also perish; [ You have your agency; but here is your last warning. If you choose to go back and stay in Jerusalem, then you will died with the rest of the inhabitants, nonetheless it is your choice.] for thus the Spirit of the Lord constraineth me that I should speak. [ He is delivering this message under the influence of the spirit, so I suppose that as hard as they were they felt something, they must have since as we know they did not return to Jerusalem. One could ask at this point why does the Lord care that they come with Lehi and his family? Why not just let them stay here and die since they do not really want to go. 1: It would be hard for Lehi and Sariah, and because Lehi was so righteouse the Lord wanted to keep his family together. 2: Even though they did not always do as they were asked they did provide manpower for the journey, maybe none would have made it without them staying 3: The Lord knew that if they did not come around that they would be a source of opposition to stir the Nephi's up to remember the Lord. 1 Ne 2:24. ]
16 And it came to pass that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words unto my brethren, they were angry with me. [Why? 1) Because he was their younger brother and older brothers do not like younger brothers telling them what to do. 2) They knew in their hearts that he spoke the truth; but that was not something that they wanted to be reminded of 3) They probably were encouraged by their new found girl friends; who most likely helped them feel even more passion for their younger brother telling them what to do. ] And it came to pass that they did lay their hands upon me, [ Compare with Exod 32:1-4 ] for behold, they were exceedingly wroth, and they did bind me with cords, for they sought to take away my life, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be devoured by wild beasts. [ That area is known to have lions, leopards and wolves. ]
17 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound.
[ Example of how to employ the Lord to help us: 1) Ask with faith 2) Ask specifically what you would like the Lord to do for you. It is when you ask specifically that you see specific results as well. ]
18 And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spake unto them again.
[ So when the bands are loosed then Nephi knows once again that his prayer has been answered. ]
19 And it came to pass that they were angry with me again, and sought to lay hands upon me; but behold, one of the daughters of Ishmael, yea, and also her mother, and one of the sons of Ishmael, did plead with my brethren, insomuch that they did soften their hearts; and they did cease striving to take away my life.
20 And it came to pass that they were sorrowful, [ Did something else happen here that we are not told about? Did the spirit work upon them while Nephi was speaking to them? ] because of their wickedness, insomuch that they did bow down before me, and did plead with me that I would forgive them of the thing that they had done against me. [ Change of heart. Why does it seem that some people change their heart once and go forward, while others quickly to go back to their old ways? ]
21 And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord their God for forgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And after they had done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father.