1 Ne 6:1-6
From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.
The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 6
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Contents |
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Questions
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Verse 1
- Did Nephi assume that his descendants would have access to the brass plates whenever they wanted?
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Verse 2
- How does the "we" in this verse compare and contrast with Nephi's use of "we" in the previous chapters?
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Verse 3
- What does Nephi mean by the "things of God"? How does this differ from the types of things in the record kept by his father (verse 1)?
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Verse 4
- Is the phrase "mine intent" an example of early modern English in the Book of Mormon? Isn't this the kind of language that people used in the 1500s and 1600s?
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Verse 5
- Then why is there so much wickedness in the Book of Mormon?
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Verse 6
- Why did Nephi assume that each record keeper would be a direct descendant?
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Lexical notes
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Verse 6
- Nephi admonishes subsequent record keepers not to write "things which are not of worth unto the children of men." A similar phrase is used in 2 Ne 9:51 when Jacob is quoting from Isaiah: "do not spend money for that which is of no worth." This is different than the KJV of Isa 55:2 which says "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?" These phrases may all come from the same original writing of Isaiah morphing through different translations. Or perhaps Nephi and Jacob are making a point in using slightly different phraseology. Regardless, Isaiah's phrase "that which satisfieth not" suggests particular meaning for the the Book of Mormon phrase "that which is of no worth."
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Exegesis
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Verses 3-4
- Nephi states his purpose for writing the plates is (to "persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham"). This elaborates on Nephi's original statement of simply making "a record of my proceedings in my days" in 1 Ne 1:1, and stated purpose in 1 Ne 1:20 to "show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith." And so when Nephi testifies that "the record which I make is true" 1 Ne 1:3, he may be referring more to the blessings of obedience and faith in God than simply the historical accuracy of his writing.
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Verses 5-6
- The world would find the scriptures pleasing if they endorsed the philosophies of men. When people start preaching things like relativism, materialism, hedonism, or individualism, we should think carefully about how their message is designed to please the world. The scriptures provide us a with guide for evaluating every secular ideology we encounter. In particular, we should pay attention to the story of Korihor, an antichrist who admitted that the things he taught "were pleasing unto the carnal mind" (Alma 30:53). When we attune ourselves to the principles and doctrines taught by the scriptures and the Spirit, we will be better prepared to discern between the elements of truth and untruth in these worldly philosophies. We should ever remain on guard, however, since the philosophies of men have successfully infiltrated the scriptures before. Just consider the debates and confusion throughout Christendom today over the nature of God.
- Nephi's brother Jacob taught us about selecting things that are "pleasing unto God" for inclusion in the scriptures. He wrote that "the pleasing word of God . . . healeth the wounded soul" (Jacob 2:8). We can assume that Nephi's intentions were similar, since he was the one who instructed Jacob on the arts of scriptural writing. In fact, healing (Jacob's words) and saving (Nephi's words) are just two aspects of the same atoning process.
- In this passage Nephi echoes a phrase, "not of the world," that is found only in the writings of the apostle John (see John 15:19, John 17:14, and John 17:16). John reveals something that Nephi did not mention but that likely applies in both cases: the world will love its own and hate those who have been chosen out of the world and who follow God. This helps explain why the writings of Nephi and other Book of Mormon prophets remain so divisive. People who do not find divinity and inspiration in the Book of Mormon will ultimately side with the world and learn to hate this book of scripture.
- We can place a lot of faith in the writings handed down to us by the Book of Mormon prophets. Not only were they preserved in purity, after being sealed and translated only once, but Nephi set the pattern for his successors of only including things that are "of worth unto the children of men." This does not mean that all verse or passages in the Book of Mormon are equally valuable. Rather, it likely means the Book of Mormon has a higher concentration of doctrines and principles than can be found in the Bible. It is our job to uncover these valuable teachings and apply them to our lives.
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