The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life

In a previous blog entry, I wrote about the family of Lehi, and the events that led to the vision of the tree of life.  I wrote about how Nephi prayed to know of the truthfulness of his father's visions.  In answer to his prayers, the Lord spoke 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...  And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord... For behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I will curse them even with a sore curse."

This revelation is a critical point in Nephi's life for at least two significant reasons.

1) Vision

In my previous entry, I wrote regarding the perspective and vision Nephi gained from the answer to his prayer.

2) Preparation

This answer Nephi received was a 'just-in-time' revelation, for Nephi was now about to depart to Jerusalem to obtain the plates. And Nephi would need to use this revelation to have the courage to kill Laban. God blesses us with light and knowledge when we need it. We must stay close to Him so we are worthy to receive these ‘just-in-time’ revelations!

While Nephi was receiving this revelation, Lehi was receiving a dream from the Lord, in the which the Lord commanded Nephi and his brethren to return to Jerusalem and obtain the brass plates from Laban.

Nephi and Lehi did not initially understand the importance and wisdom in obtaining the plates, but they still obeyed. Their understanding regarding why they should obtain the plates developed only as they strove to obey the commandment to do so. Initially they understood that the plates had a genealogical benefit.  Later they realized that the plates would help to preserve their language.  Next they realized that the plates would help them preserve the words of the prophets. Then they came to understand that the plates would enable them to keep the commandments of God. Finally they realized that the plates would help their children to keep the commandments. Is it not so with all commandments? We only come to fully understand the wisdom of the commandments as we strive to obey the commandments!

There were a few parts to this commandment Lehi received. The commandment was to return to Jerusalem, go to the house of Laban, seek the records, and bring the records into the wilderness. Laman and Lemuel, to their credit, completed most of these requirements. Yet they were content with completing only part of God's requirements, only part of His plan. Let us learn resilience and perseverance in keeping the commandments. Nephi was never satisfied with fulfilling only part of the Lord's requests.

When asked to complete the commandment, Laman and Lemuel claimed that the task was too hard. But Nephi reminded them that nothing is too hard for the Lord. Specifically, Nephi said, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

The Lord prepares a way! And remember, Nephi has just barely returned from receiving an answer to a prayer.  And that answer would play a critical part in obtaining the plates. It was part of the preparations that the Lord had already made to enable Nephi to keep the commandment! The Lord prepares a way!

Nephi and his brethren returned to Jerusalem and sought the plates from Laban on two different occasions.  Laban sought to kill them for doing so.  This must have been very disheartening for Nephi's group. They could have asked so many of the far-too-common questions we ask ourselves in similar situations. 'I've done everything I’ve been asked! I believed. I came to Jerusalem and tried to obtain the plates. I did exactly what Lehi asked me to do. What has it profited that I have kept the commandments?’ (see Malachi 3:14).

But Nephi knew that they must persist until they had succeeded.  And so he encourages his brethren with these words: “Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; …let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground … Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us.” ‘Did Moses need to know all of the details of the Exodus —all of the difficulties and trials his people would face? Of course not. But he had faith. Let us be like him. Let us have faith.'

Nephi returned to Jerusalem and miraculously found Laban passed out drunk in the street.  The account continues: “And… I was constrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.

“And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands…

“And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him... Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes. It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief.

“And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: Inasmuch as thy seed shall keep my commandments, they shall prosper in the land of promise.

“Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses, save they should have the law.

“And I also knew that the law was engraven upon the plates of brass…

“Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own sword.”

The final thing that gave Nephi the courage to obey was that he remembered the words the Lord had spoken to him earlier. The Lord had prepared Nephi for the difficult task of killing Laban and obtaining the plates by the words he spoke to him in the wilderness —the words that He spoke just before He gave Nephi the commandment! In Nephi’s own words, “the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them”!

This idea of the preparations of the Lord played a huge part in Nephi’s life, as it does in each of ours.

There is a great deal to learn from this account.

The first time Nephi was constrained by the Spirit, he felt no reasoning behind the impression, just a simple but difficult request. Each successive time the Spirit constrained Nephi, more understanding and reasoning was provided to Nephi to help him gain the courage to accomplish this difficult task. And in each instance, Nephi recalls experiences of the past to help him prepare for the future-based difficult task required of him.

This experience is powerful! Can we not see the intricate, precise, exacting, detail-driven preparations of the Lord in the life of Nephi to help him keep this commandment? God is truly in the details of our lives! God truly prepares a way for man to accomplish the things which He commands them. The Lord's Spirit filled Nephi's mind with spiritual experiences from the past, which provided a basis for belief, which in turn enabled the exercise of future-based faith, which then provided the opportunity for the miraculous!

Revelations build upon each other. The revelation in the wilderness built upon the revelation Nephi received while preparing to kill Laban. Revelations prepare us to accomplish the Lord’s work in our lives.  Receive the preparations of the Lord.  Ponder and see His hand in your life, leading and guiding and preparing you!

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