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1 Ne 11:14)
The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 11
Questions
Verse 11
- What has Nephi seen so far?
- When he asks for "the interpretation thereof," what does he want to have explained for him?
- Nephi identifies the Spirit as the Spirit of the Lord. Does he mean the Holy Ghost or the Son?
- Why does Nephi tell us that he spoke with the Spirit as one person speaks with another? How is that relevant to this particular story?
- How does the vision that follows correlate with Lehi's vision and, if what follows is an interpretation of the beautiful tree, what does that tell us about Lehi's vision?
Verse 12
- Do you see any significance in the repetition of "look" in verses 8 and 12?
- Does the repeated command to "look" take on extra significance from Nephi's statement that he had "seen many afflictions in the course of [his] days" (1 Ne 1:1)?
- How does the vision that Nephi has answer his quest for an interpretation of the tree that he saw in vision?
- Why doesn't Lehi's dream include this interpretation of the tree?
Verse 13
- What do you make of the fact that verses 13 and 15 describe the virgin in the same language used in verses 8-9 to describe the tree?
- In the Old Testament, the prophets frequently have to deal with people who worship the goddess Asherah, whose symbol is a pole or tree. In Canaanite religion, Asherah was the queen of heaven, the consort of El, and the mother of the gods. Does Nephi's vision help us understand better why the Israelites might have found Canaanite religion so easy to adopt?
Verse 14
- An angel appears before Nephi and continues the pattern of asking him questions about his beliefs and, now, what he has seen. What is the point of that pattern?
Verse 15
- What was the source of the virgin's beauty?
Lexical notes
Verse 11
- "The Spirit of the Lord" is a phrase used in the scripture 71 times. Looking at the other references this title seems most closely identified with the role of the Holy Ghost.
Verse 13
- "Fair and white" is a hendiadys, in other words, it uses two words, connected by "and," to say the same thing.
Verse 15
Exegesis
As noted in the lexical notes, the Spirit of the Lord, is often used with a role generally associated with the Holy Ghost. By itself verse 11 is unclear whether the title here refers to the Holy Ghost or the Son of God. The nevertheless in "I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord" and the title "Spirit ..." both suggest that the being Nephi spoke with did not have a body. Of course, not having a body is a characteristic of both the Holy Ghost and the Son at this time. However, this same title "Spirit of the Lord" is used to refer to a being in the New Testament at the time that Jesus did have a body. Assuming that the title consistently refers to the same being throughout the scriptures, suggests that this is the Holy Ghost. Note however that there are other examples where the same title in the scriptures is applied to different members of the Godhead. The fact the Godhead is one in purpose may explain why the scriptures don't make more of a point of always making it clear which member of the Godhead is playing what role. It may that it is a matter of little significance.
Related links
Verse 11
- See comments here about Elder Bruce R. McConkie's interpretation of the Spirit of the Lord as a reference to Jesus Christ.
Verse 13
- "Nephi and His Asherah": In this FARMS article, Daniel C. Peterson discusses the connection Nephi may have made between the virgin mother described in this verse and the symbolism of the tree in Lehi's dream based on ancient Canaanite and Israelite associations. (Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Provo, Utah: FARMS, 2000, pp. 16–25)
