Transcription
Before we jump into our first topic or theme, I want to begin with an invitation. Not an invitation from me, it's an invitation from The Book of Mormon itself. If we're going to be students of it, if we're going to jump in and devour its pages and look for teachings and doctrines at a deeper level, I think we need to begin by by accepting the invitation that it extends.
As the Book of Mormon presents its role, the Book of Mormon's role in the restoration, as it's teaching the role that it fills, it poses a dilemma. There is a major dilemma that the Book of Mormon describes. It's a dilemma that I have seen all too real. It really is a problem. But the Book of Mormon offers a solution to the dilemma, and that solution involves you and I. It is an invitation that the book is extending to all of us. So, before we jump into our study of the book, I want to let the book extend that invitation to all of us. I invite you to accept it. I am so grateful for the people in my life who accepted the invitation and led me to its pages.
But let's jump into that. I'm speaking of Lehi's dream, very, very beginning, first Nephi chapter 8. We have this wonderful chapter that's so doctrinally rich, where Lehi sees a vision of a tree of life. Now, in Lehi's version, he sees kind of the symbolic. He sees a tree whose fruit is desirable to make us happy. He sees an imitation tree, the building that people are being fooled by, an imitation happiness, and they're being pulled away from the tree and drawn to the building. He sees a river that is the destruction that they fall into if they are fooled and they, they, they let go of the, the direct path to the tree. But he also sees a rod that the Lord extends along that bank that will lead us to the tree. Help, the rod will get us to the tree and keep us out of the river. It'll keep us away from the building.
The problem, though, is there's one more image. Tree, building, river, rod. There's one more image, and it affects the other four. I often draw the tree of life like this. Now, notice that in the very center, I put the fifth object, and that is the mist of darkness. And the reason I put it in the center is because the mist affects all the other items. The mist of darkness hides the tree. Now, the practical application of that really is significant. What the Book of Mormon is teaching is that the mist, that there are mists that blind our eyes and dark and harden our hearts so that we cannot see the love of God. There are people who cannot see that God loves them because they are blinded by a mist. For example, pain is often a mist that blinds people to the love of God. Some people cannot see that God loves them when they're suffering. But there are many, and even the Book of Mormon presents a lot of mists of darkness that hide the love of God from us.
So, the mist has an effect on the tree. The mist also hides part of the building. Now, notice there's part of the building the mist doesn't hide. The mist does not hide the part of the building where the people are laughing and mocking. The part of the building that the mist hides is the foundation, or really, the lack of foundation. In other words, this is what I call building blindness. Building blindness is when I can't see the danger of the situation. One example of building blindness is Zeniff. He should never have made that agreement with the king of the Lamanites. All of us reading the story are saying, "Don't do it! It's a trap! He's going to steal your land!" Why are you making agreement with the king of the Lamanites? But the Book of Mormon says that Zeniff was so zealous, he wanted it so badly, that he was blind to the danger of the situation. He was building blind and he couldn't see that the building didn't have a good foundation and was going to crumble.
Another problem with the mist is it hides the river. It hides the consequences of sin. I believe that no one has ever made an honest beer commercial because if you're going to tell the truth, if you're going to show everything, you're going to show the negative consequences. You're going to show the river that you fall into. But no one wants to show that, and so we hide that as a society. And that's river blindness, blind to the consequences.
Now, there's one more blindness that we want to talk about, and that is rod blindness. The mist blinds us to the rod. Now, do you see the irony in that? Is it the rod is what gets us through the mist? Holding onto the rod, I can persevere through the midst of darkness and get to the tree. I don't need to see the tree to get to it if I can hold on to the rod. I don't need to see the dangers of the lack of a foundation in the building. I'm not going to be fooled if I hold to the rod. I'm not going to fall into the river if I hold to the rod. But the problem is that the mist blinds the rod. So I'm blinded to the very thing that will get me through the mist. Do you see the dilemma? No. We're going to get very specific in just a minute, but there's the dilemma. Is that this mist of darkness blinds me to the tree. I can't see the love of God. It blinds me to the dangers of the building. I can't see that there's no foundation on that building and it's going to crumble. It blinds me to the river, so I can't see the consequences of being deceived and falling into the river. And it blinds me to the rod, which is the source of help.
Now, the Lord then takes Nephi in a different direction. Nephi, in chapter 11, says, "I want to understand my dad's dream. I want to know more about my dad's dream." So, can I, can I get more? But the Lord doesn't come down and show Nephi a building and a rod and a tree and a river. He doesn't show him the symbolic version that Lehi got. The master teacher takes a different route, and I love this. He tells Nephi three historical stories, and he basically is extending an invitation to Nephi. Can you find the tree in each of these stories? Can you find the building in each of these stories? Can you find the rod? So, knowing that Lehi got the items, I'm looking for. Nephi is then told three historical settings and invites us, and we are invited to look for those items in those stories.
Now, let me get to the application. This is total side note from our comment today, but the brilliance of what the Lord is doing with Nephi is, if we can learn to see the tree of life in each of those three stories that Nephi is told, then I can find the tree of life in my story. The invitation that the book is extending is, can you look at your life? Can you look at the life of the story of your life and find the tree, find the love of God, find the manifestation of God's love in your life? If you can find it in the three stories, then you should be able to find it in your life.
Now, we can do that with the other items as well. Can you find the building in each of these stories? Nephi, I'm going to tell you three stories, and can you find the building? Can you find the river? Can you find the rod? Can you recognize the mist in that story? That's the beauty of how the Lord is presenting this.
So, first story is Nephi chapter 11, and it is the story of the New Testament. It is Jesus among the New Testament Jews. That's story number one. Story number two is first Nephi chapter 12, and that's the story of The Book of Mormon. It's Jesus among the Nephites and the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon. Can you find the tree in the Book of Mormon? Can you find the rod? Can you summarize the whole story of The Book of Mormon and find the tree, the building, the rod, the river, and those types of things? What was the mist? The third story Nephi gets is first Nephi chapter 13, and that is the story of the Gentiles.
Now, I believe I'm going to be a little bit specific. I think no matter where you live in the world, you can adapt this story to you. But this, the story that's presented in third, first Nephi 13, seems to be about the American colonists, the story of America. So, if you're listening to this outside the United States, I think you can make some adaptations. But he specifically describes the Revolutionary War. He seems to describe in verse two, Columbus coming to America and discovering the new land. In verse 17 of first Nephi 13, he describes what I believe is the Revolutionary War with the mother Gentiles being England, gathered to fight the colonists. So, the subject seems to be the American colonists, the place of the restoration. And then Nephi sees a book.
Now, let's go back through each one of those stories and see if we can identify the building, or sorry, the tree, the building, the river, the rod, and the mist. Let's look for those five items in each of those stories. Now, some of them are presented in the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a great primer, but the invitation of the Book of Mormon is to go find the rest. It is, every one of these stories does not present all five items, and I very much appreciate that because it forces me to go find all five of the items.
So, story number one is the New Testament, and that's very applicable this year as we do "Come Follow Me." Let's look for what was the manifestation of God's love in the New Testament. Now, that's easy. Nothing manifested God's love more than the birth of his son. So, clearly, Nephi in chapter 11 starts with the birth of Jesus. He sees Mary, she's taken away, she comes back, she's pregnant, she gives birth to Jesus. And Nephi, at this point, says, "There's the tree. I see the tree in this story. I see the manifestation of God's love in the birth of Jesus." Now, if you dig into chapter 11, you'll find all the other items. You'll at least find them referenced, and you can go to the New Testament and find them. For example, he talks about John, the coming of a forerunner. Well, there's a portion of the rod. The rod that led them to Jesus was John, one of them. Nephi is shown 12 to 12 Apostles, again, a rod that led people to Christ. The teachings and the miracles of Jesus were a rod that led them to him. And so, we see a lot of the rod that led people to the tree.
So, let me ask this question, because first Nephi really doesn't address it, it leaves us to ponder. What is the building? As you read the New Testament, what is the imitation happiness that those people sought instead of Jesus that was right in front of them? Why did they miss him if he was the tree? What were they searching for? I'll let you ponder that question as we study the New Testament this year and "Come Follow Me." What was the imitation happiness? If you want to chat with me about it, I'll share you what, what I think it is, but I'd love to hear yours. But I'll leave you to discover what was the building in the story of the New Testament? What is the building?
Now, let's jump to the mist. What blinded the Pharisees and the Sadducees? Why couldn't they see that the Son of God was sitting right in front of them? What blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts to the point where they missed him? What might we call Pharisee blindness or Sadducee blindness? And I would suggest that it was that he wasn't the Messiah they expected. Pharisee blindness, as I call it, is when she is, when you expect Jesus to be someone or do something that he isn't or won't do. And I think all of us have a little bit of this blindness in their day. They expected kind of a lordly lion to save them from Rome, break off the yoke of their, their conquest, break off the yoke of Rome and free them from that bondage. And when they didn't get it, they rejected the lowly lamb who came to break off the bondage of sin and death. He wasn't doing what they wanted to do. Do you remember all of the people that greeted him at the triumphal entry? I wonder how many of those people were at Pilate's palace just a few days later yelling out, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" because he didn't do what they thought he was coming into Jerusalem to do. He didn't perform any mighty miracles. That's kind of the theme. You'll find it in John chapter 6, where it says, "Many of his disciples walked no more with him." It was hard what he was asking them to do. And that seems to be kind of a theme in the New Testament. Is what are you going to do if Jesus turns out to be a Messiah, a different Messiah than the one you're expecting?
Nephi, who saw this vision, gives us these verses that kind of suggest that theme. In second Nephi chapter 25, speaking of the Jews, they would be scattered. But notice what Nephi says at the end of that verse. And he says that they should not look forward anymore for another Messiah. He picks that up in verse 18. "For they shall be given them for the purpose of convincing them of the true Messiah, who was rejected by them, unto the convincing of them that they need not look forward any more for a Messiah to come; for there shall not any come save it shall be a false Messiah, which shall deceive the people; for there is save one Messiah." Do you see Nephi kind of picked up on that theme? That the, the Pharisees were blinded by the idea of what, um, what they expected a Messiah to do, and when Jesus doesn't do that, it hardens their hearts and blinds their eyes to them. So, I would say that New Testament blindness is when you are hardened to Jesus when he doesn't do what you think he should do. And some of us are New Testament blind when he doesn't answer our prayers the way we thought he should answer them. When my life doesn't go the way I thought my life should go, sometimes that blinds people and hardens them. And so, I think the Book of Mormon is extending the invitation to not be New Testament blind.
Let's move on to Story number two, the Nephites. So, you need to know enough of the Book of Mormon to kind of look for the tree, the rod, the building, and all of those items in the story of The Book of Mormon. So, think through the history of the Book of Mormon, and what might you say is one of the great manifestations of the love of God? How did the Nephites and the Lamanites know that God loved them? How did he manifest his love? Well, one of the things that I see clearly is the visit of the Savior. That he came down and he visited them, that they weren't forgotten because they weren't in Jerusalem, that they were remembered, and he visited them, and he allowed them to feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet, and he taught them. I think there's the tree. So, clearly, in first Nephi chapter 12, that's what the angel presents to Nephi is the visit of Christ to the Americas.
What was the rod in the Book of Mormon? How did anyone know how to find the tree or avoid the building or stay out of the river? Well, they always had prophet seers and revelators, and I think one of the major themes of the Book of Mormon is the prophets that were the rod to the people that led them to the tree. And Aaron, Ammon, and Himni, and I will go down to the Lamanites who were blinded by many things like hatred, but they extended that rod. They extended that invitation. They were the rod so that Lamoni could take off his blinders.
So, let's jump to the last one. What's the mist? You might want to spend some time pondering. What is the building? What is the imitation happiness? And perhaps break it into Nephites and Lamanites. That's what I like to do. What is the Nephite building? What was the imitation happiness that the Nephites thought would make them happy? Well, whenever they were prosperous, whenever the Nephites go astray, it's because they think riches and power will make them happy. That's one building. What was the building among the Lamanites? What is it that they wanted? What did the Lamanites think would make them happy? I know one thing was revenge. The destruction of the Nephites, they thought, would make them happy. That's manifested several times in the Book of Mormon. We might call that a Lamanite building, the Lamanite imitation happiness that isn't happiness.
So, what is the mist in the Book of Mormon? May be separated into two, Lamanite and Nephite. Let's start with the Lamanites. What always blinds the Lamanite? That's why can't they see that the truth is their available? It's, it's, it's within reach. Why can't they see the truth? Well, I would suggest one very prevalent Lamanite blinder was hatred. They hated the Nephites, and their hatred blinded them to what the Nephites could provide for them, a happiness that was better than what they were, that they had. But they were so blind because they were so angry and they hated those Nephites that it blinded them to the rod and to the tree. They couldn't partake of the tree because of that hatred.
So, what was Nephite blindness? Why did, when the Nephites go astray, what blinded them? What hardened their hearts? And may I suggest one of those is this idea that I don't need God. I don't need him. Notice these few verses in the Book of Mormon from times when the Nephites are going astray. Mosiah 11:19, speaking of the people of King Noah, wicked King Noah, it says, "And now because of this great victory, they were lifted up in the pride of their hearts; they did boast in their own strength, saying that fifty could stand against thousands of the Lamanites." And thus they did boast and did delight in blood and the shedding of the blood of their brethren, and this because of the wickedness of their king and their priest. You see that Nephite blindness. Here's another example. Helaman chapter 8. This is where the Lamanites start increasing in righteousness, and the Nephites start increasing in wickedness. And as they are wicked, notice the blinders come on. Ready? They say to the prophet Nephi, "And now we know that this is impossible; for behold, we are powerful, and our cities are great; therefore, our enemies can have no power over us." In other words, we don't need God. Do you see that Nephite blinder? Let's do one more. Let's turn to the very end when the Nephites are going to be destroyed. One of the reasons Mormon would not lead them in battle is because of this decision. Ready? Mormon chapter 3, verse 9. "And now because of this great thing which my people, the Nephites, had done, they began to boast in their own strength, and began to swear before the heavens that they would avenge themselves of the blood of their brethren who had been slain by their enemies." That's the moment Mormon says, "I'm done. I'm not going to lead you. I won't be your captain." Because he knew what that meant. He knew what those blinders were going to do. We don't need God because we're strong. So, we might label that Nephite, we might label that the Nephite mist. The Nephite mist is thinking that I am strong of myself. I don't need Heavenly Father's help. It blinds our eyes and it hardens our hearts.
Now, let's get to our day. Let's turn to the third story that Nephi was told, first Nephi chapter 13. Let me summarize. Verse 12, he sees Columbus. I believe this is Columbus, a prophecy of Columbus being led to the Americas. He sees in verse 17, a revolutionary war. He sees that the Lord is with the colonists and that they prosper. And then he sees a book among them. And the angel asks, "What's or Nephi asks, what's the book?" "Do you know what the book is?" says the angel. He says, "I don't know." And he describes it, and it's pretty obvious to me that it's the Bible. It contains the record of the Jews, but not as many as were on the plates of brass. And then the angel says that that book went through the hands of a great and abominable church. And this is what the great and abominable church did. First Nephi 13:26, "Thou seest the formation of a great and abominable church, which is the most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious." So, the great and abominable church changes the Bible. It takes plain and precious truths away.
Now, notice in verse 27, and here's our key word, this should trigger you to go back and make a connection to Lehi's dream. Verse 27, "And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might, here's our key word, blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men." In other words, The Book of Mormon is suggesting in the third story that the mist of darkness in our day, the mist of darkness that you and I have to deal with, is the loss of plain and precious truths from the scriptures. That is what blinds the eyes and hardens the hearts of people today. And I can testify of that. I served a mission among people who were blind and hardened because of the loss of plain and precious truths from the Bible. They rejected the restoration because of the plain and precious truths.
Now, Nephi must be freaking out as he reads this. End of verse 29, "Many are going to stumble because of the loss of the plain and precious truths." But the Lord says to Nephi, the angel says to Nephi, "Don't worry, I have a solution." The Lord has a solution. Verse 35, "For thus saith the Lamb, I will manifest myself unto thy seed, and they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious." Do you see where we're going? The great and abominable church is going to take out plain and precious truths, and that is the source of the blinders, and that is what hardens the hearts of so many people today. But the Lord is going to provide a source to restore those plain and precious truths. I'm going to speak to the Nephites. And then in verse 30, he says, he's in verse third, in verse 40, Nephi sees the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, those Nephite words, and it says, "These last records which thou hast seen among the Gentiles shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away."
One of the great insights I really hope you will catch is the answer to this question: What is the tree in our modern day? What is the tree today? If the tree among the New Testament people was the birth of Christ, if the tree in the Book of Mormon was the visit of Christ, what is the tree in our day? And I testify, it is the restoration of the Gospel. The greatest manifestation of God's love in our day is the restoration of truth and ordinances and keys that will save us into the Celestial Kingdom. It is how God is manifesting his love. He restored the truth. The restoration says, "I'm not giving up on you. I intend to save you. And here's the truth that will do it." The tree in our day is the restoration. I love that truth. It resonates in my soul. It gives me a reason to to shout out Hallelujah that I know what I know. The tree is the manifestation of God's love. Sorry, the restoration is the manifestation of God's love in our day.
But here's the problem. What's the rod? What is clearly the rod of iron in our day? It is the Book of Mormon. It is the coming forth of the plain and precious truths in the Book of Mormon. Now, here's the dilemma. Do you see the mist of our day? The mist of our day is that people are blind because of the loss of those plain and precious truths. They are blinded to the restoration because they hold so tightly to biblical and scriptural teachers, teachings that they believe that they're missing plain and precious truths. And so they reject the gospel because they're blinded by the loss of plain and precious truths. So, do you see the dilemma? The Book of Mormon is presenting a major dilemma that in our day, there is a solution. The solution to taking the blinders off is to grab the rod of the Book of Mormon, which will lead you to the tree. But people are blind to the Book of Mormon because of the loss of plain and precious truths. Do you see that dilemma? People are blind to the very solution that would solve their problems. People are blind to the very thing that would lead them to the tree. They are rejecting the rod because of a mist, but they need to grab onto the rod to get through the mist. Do you see the dilemma that the Book of Mormon is posing?
So, what's the solution? Now, I want you to think back through the Book of Mormon, and this is the invitation I believe the book is extending to all of us. An invitation in the life of almost everyone in the Book of Mormon, someone else who had a testimony becomes a temporary rod that they hold onto that leads them to a tree so that they can partake of the tree themselves. And then the blinders come off, and then they can accept the truth. It is almost always the testimony of someone who believes who gets you through the blinders, through the mist, and to the tree. Who did it for Nephi? How often did Nephi ponder the teachings of his father? Do you remember this great verse from Enos? Who was a temporary rod that led Enos through a blinding period and allowed him to partake of the fruit? Notice what he said in verse 1: "Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man, for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Blessed be the name of God for it." Verse 3: "I went to hunt priests in the forest, and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life and the joy of the Saints sunk deep into my heart." Do you see the rod? Do you see the solution The Book of Mormon is posing to this dilemma? We live in a day where people are blind to the very solution, so they need someone who's not blind, someone who they can love and who loves them, who builds a relationship of trust with them and takes the blinders off enough that they can partake of the tree and then grab the rod themselves. It almost always takes the testimony of someone else to initially get us to the tree. Who did it for other Prada? Who was the rod for Lamoni? Who was the rod for Lamoni's father? Who was the rod for Alma the Younger to remember as he was wallowing in his sins, in the anxiety and the pain of those sins? The Book of Mormon records, "As I was thus wrapped with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesying unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world. And now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought," there's him grabbing that temporary rod from his father, "I cried within my heart, O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me." And what follows is him partaking of the tree for himself. But do you see that it was the testimony of his father that allowed the blinders to come off enough to partake of that fruit? And so it is with all of the Book of Mormon. There's almost always someone in everyone's life who led them to the tree.
Now, I believe Joseph and the early brethren who prepared Lectures on Faith for the School of the Prophets kind of caught that idea. And so, in Lecture 2 of Lectures on Faith, it says the following: "From this we can see that the whole human family in the early age of their existence, in all their different branches, had this knowledge disseminated among them, so that the existence of God became an object of faith in the early age of the world. And the evidences which these men had of the existence of a God was the testimony of their fathers in the first instance." The reason why we have thus been particular on this point of our subject is that this class may see by what means it was that God became an object of faith among men after the fall. And I love this phrase, "and what it was that stirred up the faith of multitudes to feel after him, to search after his character, a knowledge of his character, perfections, and attributes, until they became extensively acquainted with him." Meaning they partook of the fruit for themselves. "And not only commune with him in partake of his glory, but be partakers of his power and stand in his presence." There's the tree. What is it that got people to the tree? And then the answer: "Let this class mark particularly that the testimony which these men had of the existence of a God was the testimony of man, for previous to the time that any of Adam's posterity had obtained a manifestation of God to themselves, Adam, their common father, had testified unto them of the existence of God and of his eternal power and godhead." So, do you see the solution to the dilemma that the Book of Mormon poses? People in our day are blind to the Book of Mormon. They're blind to the restoration because of the loss of the plain and precious truths. So, they're rejecting the restoration and they're going to continue to reject it unless there's someone that comes in between, someone like you, who has a testimony and bears that testimony to them in a powerful way, in such a way that the blinders come off enough that they can grab on to your testimony and rush to the tree, where they will partake of the fruit for themselves. And if they do that, they're done with your testimony because now they have their own, and now they have the book, and the restoration, and they have the Holy Ghost that they can now hold on to.
Do you see the only way this restoration goes forward in a blind society is if you and I accept the invitation to be the rod for someone who is blind, for someone who can't see the truth? You and I must be that rod. I love this conclusion from Lecture 2 of Lectures on Faith. It says, "We have now clearly set forth how it is and how it was that God became an object of faith for rational beings, and also upon what foundation the testimony was based which excited the inquiry and diligent search of the ancients to seek after and obtain a knowledge of the glory of God. And we have seen that it was human testimony, and human testimony only, that excited this inquiry in the first instance in their minds. It was the credence they gave to the testimony of their fathers, or in our case, it's the credence of the testimony they give to you, their friends, their family members, their admired acquaintances. It is the credence that they give to the testimony of you and your witness. This testimony having aroused their minds to inquire after the knowledge of God, the inquiry frequently terminated, indeed, always terminated when rightly pursued, in the most glorious discoveries and eternal certainties." If we can get them to the tree with our testimony, then they will partake, and then they have the, the tools that they need to stay at that tree. That is the dilemma that the Book of Mormon is proposing, and the solution to it. You are the solution. You and I.
If the Book of Mormon were sent out to the world, it would do no good until someone steps forward, puts their arm around them like Ammon did to Lamoni, loves them through service, wins their heart, and then the blinders come off enough for them to receive their own testimony. Notice that story played out throughout the Book of Mormon. Someone's testimony leading someone else to partake of the fruit for themselves. Therefore, I want to begin this class by extending that invitation to you. Be that rod. Would you take some time this week and ponder, who was the rod for you? Whose testimony led you to the tree and allowed you to partake of the love of God for yourself? Whose testimony was your temporary rod? And now you don't need it because you've got the actual rod. But would you accept the invitation for the rest of your life to understand that you are surrounded by blinded people, pardoned people, because they've lost plain and precious truths? And unless they have a temporary rod who, through their love and their example, allows those blinders to come off enough to partake of the fruit of the tree for themselves. If any of you are wondering, then I bear you my witness. May you grab onto it. I know He lives. I know I'm His son. I know you are a son or daughter of a Divine Father and a Divine Mother who love you. I testify of their love. It is sweet above all that is sweet. I testify of the restoration. It is how I know that God loves me. He restored the truth. The Book of Mormon stands as a witness that God has not given up on us. That He intends to save us. May you grab on to that testimony and feast on that fruit, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.