The Tree of Life
The vision of the tree of life found in the Book of Nephi is one of the most relevant visions for our day. As part of my blog, I'll occasionally post a few thoughts about this amazing vision. This entry will be dedicated to the precursory events leading up to the vision.
Introduction:
The year is 600 B.C. Through a vision, a prophet named Lehi learns of the imminent destruction of Jerusalem. Out of love, he warns the people. But the people reject his words and seek to take away his life. Lehi flees Jerusalem into the Arabian wilderness.
While in the wilderness, Lehi's son, Nephi, prays to know about the truthfulness of his father's visions. In answer to his prayer, the Lord speaks these words to Nephi:
"Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith... And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall... be led to a land of promise."
Principles to gain from this:
This revelation is a critical point in Nephi's life. Through this revelation, Nephi's vision of the destiny of his family is greatly expanded; more so than any other member of the company. Nephi now knows that the Lord is going to guide them away from Jerusalem and towards the promised land. He now knows that Jerusalem will no longer be a part of their lives.
This expanded vision blessed Nephi with increased strength and understanding. It provided Nephi with the necessary fortitude to endure his difficulties in the wilderness and to persist in keeping the commandments. He now knows why he is keeping the commandments.
Nephi can now view his challenges in proper perspective. He now knows that everything he is experiencing is bringing him closer to the promised land. This gives Nephi the strength, courage, willpower, and faith to carry on. He has a more complete and far-reaching vision of the purposes of the Lord in leading them through the wilderness.
Nephi's brothers, Laman and Lemuel, lacked this vision. They likely thought the family would leave Jerusalem for a while and then return once the people were no longer angry with Lehi. They certainly didn't think they were going to travel for eight years in the wilderness and then sail across a great ocean. Numerous times throughout their journey, Laman and Lemuel complained because they were slowly beginning to realize that they were never going back to Jerusalem. Their journey was far more difficult because they did not have a vision of their destination. They lacked knowledge regarding where they were going and why; and more importantly, who was leading them. They did not understand that the Lord was planning to guide them to America.
The Lord's words in these verses were surprisingly literal and clear. He said: 'Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall be led to a land of promise.' In other words, the Lord was saying: 'I'm going to give you a set of commandments that are designed to lead you to the promised land. If you keep those commandments, you shall be led to the promised land.' The commandments the Lord next gave were clearly designed to accomplish this. These commandments were, 1) obtain the plates, 2) enlist Ishmael and his family, 3) travel through the wilderness, and 4) build a ship to cross the great waters.
Again, to Laman and Lemuel, these commandments must have seemed random and sporadic. But to Nephi these commandments made perfect sense, because he understood the will of the Lord. He had gained the vision.
This of course has great application for us. If we can obtain a broader, grander vision of what our purpose in life should be—and of where the Lord is guiding us—the trials and challenges we face are far easier. And the eyes of our understanding will be opened so that we will see God's commandments as marvelous blessings designed to guide us safely through life. We will be able to see how and where the Lord is steering and directing us. If we can gain this grander view, we can have far greater strength, faith, courage, and willpower to complete those things the Lord asks of us, because those things he asks of us make so much more sense.
Thanks for reading.
Next blog post about the Tree of Life >>>
Introduction:
The year is 600 B.C. Through a vision, a prophet named Lehi learns of the imminent destruction of Jerusalem. Out of love, he warns the people. But the people reject his words and seek to take away his life. Lehi flees Jerusalem into the Arabian wilderness.
While in the wilderness, Lehi's son, Nephi, prays to know about the truthfulness of his father's visions. In answer to his prayer, the Lord speaks these words to Nephi:
"Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith... And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall... be led to a land of promise."
Principles to gain from this:
This revelation is a critical point in Nephi's life. Through this revelation, Nephi's vision of the destiny of his family is greatly expanded; more so than any other member of the company. Nephi now knows that the Lord is going to guide them away from Jerusalem and towards the promised land. He now knows that Jerusalem will no longer be a part of their lives.
This expanded vision blessed Nephi with increased strength and understanding. It provided Nephi with the necessary fortitude to endure his difficulties in the wilderness and to persist in keeping the commandments. He now knows why he is keeping the commandments.
Nephi can now view his challenges in proper perspective. He now knows that everything he is experiencing is bringing him closer to the promised land. This gives Nephi the strength, courage, willpower, and faith to carry on. He has a more complete and far-reaching vision of the purposes of the Lord in leading them through the wilderness.
Nephi's brothers, Laman and Lemuel, lacked this vision. They likely thought the family would leave Jerusalem for a while and then return once the people were no longer angry with Lehi. They certainly didn't think they were going to travel for eight years in the wilderness and then sail across a great ocean. Numerous times throughout their journey, Laman and Lemuel complained because they were slowly beginning to realize that they were never going back to Jerusalem. Their journey was far more difficult because they did not have a vision of their destination. They lacked knowledge regarding where they were going and why; and more importantly, who was leading them. They did not understand that the Lord was planning to guide them to America.
The Lord's words in these verses were surprisingly literal and clear. He said: 'Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall be led to a land of promise.' In other words, the Lord was saying: 'I'm going to give you a set of commandments that are designed to lead you to the promised land. If you keep those commandments, you shall be led to the promised land.' The commandments the Lord next gave were clearly designed to accomplish this. These commandments were, 1) obtain the plates, 2) enlist Ishmael and his family, 3) travel through the wilderness, and 4) build a ship to cross the great waters.
Again, to Laman and Lemuel, these commandments must have seemed random and sporadic. But to Nephi these commandments made perfect sense, because he understood the will of the Lord. He had gained the vision.
This of course has great application for us. If we can obtain a broader, grander vision of what our purpose in life should be—and of where the Lord is guiding us—the trials and challenges we face are far easier. And the eyes of our understanding will be opened so that we will see God's commandments as marvelous blessings designed to guide us safely through life. We will be able to see how and where the Lord is steering and directing us. If we can gain this grander view, we can have far greater strength, faith, courage, and willpower to complete those things the Lord asks of us, because those things he asks of us make so much more sense.
Thanks for reading.
Next blog post about the Tree of Life >>>
Comments
Post a Comment