1 Ne 3:6-10
From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 3
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[edit] Questions
[edit] Verse 6
- Why was this blessing upon Nephi predicated upon his faithfulness over the course of this five-minute conversation with his father? Would it have been more accurate for Lehi to have said that Nephi would be favored as long as he did not murmur before and during the trip?
[edit] Verse 7
- Compare verse 7 to D&C 124:49. Why does one say that the Lord will always prepare a way, while the other says the Lord will release his servants from certain commandments if their enemies make it impossible for them to fulfill those commandments?
[edit] Verse 8
- This verse tells us that Lehi knew that Nephi had been blessed. The suggestion is that he knew because of what Nephi said in verse 7. How is Nephi’s statement in verse 7 evidence of having been blessed? How is what we see in these verses connected to 1 Ne 2:16?
[edit] Verse 9
- If Nephi and his brethren were not yet married, why did they need separate tents?
[edit] Verse 10
- Did the consulting happen while they were traveling, or only after they had arrived?
[edit] Lexical notes
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[edit] Exegesis
The theme of these verses, that the Lord paves the way for his people to fulfill his commandments, is consistent with the Old Testament traditions that Nephi would have been very familiar with in which the Lord intervened in miraculous ways to aid his prophets, such as Abraham and Moses, to fulfill their missions. But contrast Nephi’s complete confidence that the Lord will help him fulfill the commandment to go and get the plates with 2 Ne 4:27 where Nephi laments his imperfections and seeming inability to finally conquer sin and temptation.
There is an apparent inconsistency in the fact that Nephi in one circumstance has complete trust that the Lord will “prepare a way” to keep commandments and yet in another laments the fact that he does not seem able to overcome sin--which in one sense is simply the failure to keep the commandments. This inconsistency is likely resolved by looking more closely at the context of the two verses. In 1 Nephi 3, the commandment is a special mission, while in 2 Nephi 4 the theme relates to personal righteousness in the general sense. Accordingly, the conclusion could be drawn that while the Lord prepares the way for us to fulfill our personal callings, sin is something we cannot completely escape other than through later redemption.
[edit] Related links
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