1 Nephi 11

Friday, July 5, 2013

Nephi was sitting there pondering what his father had shared with him of the vision Lehi (Nephi's father) had. 

As Nephi was thinking about these things, he also desired to see what his father saw. The Holy Ghost then came and swept him away to an "exceedingly high mountain" (verse 1) of which Nephi had never seen before. 

Nephi saw the things which his father did because he has great faith in the Lord. The Holy Ghost came before Nephi. And told him that because of his faith, Nephi would see the things which he desired to see. 

Nephi saw Mary, the mother of the Son of God. When Nephi first saw her, he commented on her beauty and then said "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things" (verse 17). I think this verse helps us to know that Heavenly Father loves us so, so much. But that does not mean we will know the meaning of everything. We have to trust and have faith that the Lord is doing what's best for us in the long run. I know so often I question why I am going through a particular experience, one such experience is with my parents - I don't understand why they, my father in particular, hates the Church so much. I shared my testimony with him the other day and he told me I made up everything and imagined all the impressions and feelings I've had. I had shared some of these with a very close friend of mine and I asked him, when I told you about the feelings and impressions I've had, did you believe me? His answer was yes, he did and does believe me. I don't understand why someone who is a friend would believe me more than my own parents do. I know Heavenly Father loves me dearly. I've prayed to know that. But I don't understand why He allows my parents to be the way they are. 

Nephi then sees the tree of life and the Holy Ghost asks Nephi if he knows the meaning of it. Nephi replies "Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things" (verse 22) The Holy Ghost says yes and that God's love for us is "most joyous to the soul" (verse 23). I think we can use this to remember that the one thing that matters the most is God's love for us. No matter what we do in our lives or how bad things get, our Heavenly Father will always love us. 

Nephi sees Christ's entire life here on earth. From scriptures like this, we can know that Christ really did live and die for us. One thing to remember is that even when no one else really understands how we are feeling, Christ does. He suffered for each of us as individuals. When I share something like my current experience with the missionaries, they always mention that. They say they may not really understand, but Christ does. We can pray to ask for comfort and help. And if it is God's choice, then we will receive the comfort we so desire.  

Nephi sees another vision of people straying from the tree of life - the Gospel. "And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb" (verse 26). It can sometimes be so tempting to live the life society feels we should. That form of life goes against that which pleases God. We need to stand firm with our beliefs and not conform to the negative trends of society.