Difference between revisions of "1 Ne 7:6-15"

Revision as of 16:57, 24 July 2013

The Book of Mormon > First Nephi > Chapter 7

Questions

Verse 6

• If Ishmael's sons already had their own families, then does that mean the prophecy earlier in this chapter about sons marrying daughters included both Ishmael's daughters and his granddaughters?

Verse 7

• Was this a resistance or a rebellion?

Verse 8

• Why didn't Nephi express his sorrow at this point, rather than comparing himself to them?
• Does this ancient example of a brother chastising older brothers provide a useful model of sibling interaction for modern readers?

Verse 9

• Haven't they partially hearkened, or why would they be on this trip in the first place?

Verse 10

• Have they really forgotten, or simply stopped remembering?

Verse 11

• Was this a permanent deliverance, meaning they did not have to worry about returning to Jerusalem and being apprehended?

Verse 12

• Faith. At the this verse, Nephi uses “exercise faith in him” and “be faithful to him” to mean the same thing. How does the second of these help us understand better what it means to have faith? How is the concept of "being faithful to" related the concept of "having faith in"?
  • The scriptures often use the metaphor of betrothal or marriage to describe the relation of the faithful to Christ. Does that help us understand what it means to have faith in him?
  • A husband and wife should be faithful to each other but what is meant by that isn't that one is obedient to the other. What is the relationship between obedience and faithfulness? Do these verses suggest a different way of thinking about obedience, a different way of thinking about faithfulness, or both?

Verse 13

• Were they really faithful enough to deserve the promised land?
• What constituted "knowing" at some future point that the city had been destroyed?

Verse 14

• Was Nephi not aware of the Mulekites who would soon be leaving Jerusalem and be lead by the Lord to the promised land?

Verse 15

• Is Nephi questioning whether his brothers have agency?

Lexical notes

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Exegesis

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Verse 12

• Nephi tells his brothers that the Lord can do all things for the children of men under two conditions. First what would be done must be according to the Lord's will. Second the children of men for whom he would do all things must exercise faith in the Lord. This is a common theme of the scriptures: the Lord can do anything for us if it is good and we have faith. We typically think of faith in this context as believing that the Lord can do what he really can do. For Nephi's brothers, given the miracles they have already seen, they need simply to remember in order to believe (see verses 10 & 11). But Nephi also shows us here that having faith is not simply about holding a certain set of beliefs it is about being faithful, or in other words, being obedient to the Lord's commands.
• The Lord can work through us to bring about his purposes, if we demonstrate our complete trust in him. Nothing will be able to stop his work from going forward, if his people will translate their belief into action. We will become more effective servants in his hands as we focus our faith in him.

Verse 14

• insomuch that they have driven him from the land. We know from the beginning of chapter 2 that the Lord actually commanded Lehi to leave Jerusalem. And we know that Jerusalem was about to be destroyed--that would be a good reason to leave. But Nephi is citing the fact that the people sought to take away Lehi's life as the reason for their departure because in this context Nephi is adding up the sins of the people that will bring about their destruction.

Verse 15

• To constrain means to impel forward. There is an important lesson in this word. We must be prepared for those times when the Spirit will send us an urgent message. There will be little to no time for delay. Immediate action is what will be called for, without hesitation and without second guessing.

Related links

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