The story of Nephi really begins here. In the last chapter Nephi has introduced himself and his family but in Chapter 2 the story begins.
Setting up the context of the Book of Mormon is important to me. It helps me to get a better understanding for the teachings when I know what it was like for these guys. First. its 600 B.C. There are no cars, no electricity, no plumbing, no “Civil rights” in the sense that today we can whine about its not fair I have the right to blah blah blah. Then these rights didn’t necessarily exist by legislation. (Capitalists and Americans believe these rights exist inherently but that is another story) I would say from an semi-educated perspective that he who has the most swords wins in Lehi’s town.
Notwithstanding the comparatively oppressive situation they lived in they still lived in a city. There was commerce there and there was population. And therefore some security, and Lehi is told to leave.
Verses 4, 11 indicates that Lehi had Gold and silver. Indeed they must have had some measure of wealth and yet in verse 15 Nephi says in a matter of fact sort of way that now we are relegated to tent dwelling.
Laman and Lemuel come off to me like whiners but in another sense I probably would feel much like they did. Laman was to inherit a measure of wealth from his father. They must have had a somewhat comfortable life with a wealthy father. For the record some wealthy fathers don’t just give their money to their kids willy nilly some of them actually expect their children to produce their own value in this world See Aaron Spelling and Warren Buffett. Other fathers support a crazy flagrant lifestyle see Paris Hilton. EVEN having made these points at least Laman and Lemuel must have come home to a comfortable home and a warm meal everyday.
I just did a web search for life expectancy in 600 BC. So I didn’t find anything (quickly) what was authoritative but on this website a Phd. guy openly asserts that up to 60 years old was possible but 18 years old was more likely. Nephi says he was “exceedingly young” but tough. So he was 12 and his brothers were full grown men at 18? Lehi possibly in his 40’s.
18 year olds - we know how they are....
So dear old dad has a dream and everyone has to take off out of the nice comfortable place to live and everyone has to walk, and walk (forever) to some place called by Lehi the “Valley of Lemuel.” Everyone is whining, well at least the oldest boys are.
Maybe they didn’t ever go camping before. They were ticked off though, burnin’ mad I’m sure that all that “Precious” stuff is sitting in a house by the comfortable bed - or mat as the case may be - is and where the normal familiar welcome potty hole is and the normal water pump or well or what ever. Now they live in a tent with a not as familiar potty hole and they have to travel near the river to get water and the food isn’t picked up in the market but is gathered in the brush or hunted with (presumably) bows and arrows. All because of a “Vision” or “Dream” dear old dad had. And everyone knows just how popular he had been with the community lately telling everyone their homes would be destroyed soon.
I think I have painted a pretty good picture of the justification Laman and Lemuel used to be upset. See I don’t think they were truly bad kids at this point they just didn’t like what was going on and they weren’t tuned in to the same wavelength their father was on so they didn’t feel the same as he did.
Nephi was different, well at least thats the way Nephi tells it. It seems to me that exceedingly young but tough Nephi was an introspective kid. The experience of camping was maybe sort of exciting. Nephi probably didn’t have as much invested in the old place in Jerusalem so he just wanted to do was his Dad did. His motivations were pure. He was open to what ever was happing. I think its possible too that Laman and Lemuel weren’t used to the preaching he did. Lehi had to earn his wealth somehow. He must have had a trade before he went to full time preaching. Maybe Laman and Lemuel knew their father as a worker or a business owner, something other than a “Visionary man” or a prophet. What I’m saying is maybe they didn’t know this newly spiritual person as well as they knew the rich one. I also think Laman and Lemuel had some understanding of what life was going to be about. They would have to get a trade and excel at it whereas Nephi was still just in the beginning stages of this reality of life setting in thing.
So Nephi was different - he says that he had “great desires to know of the mysteries of God (v. 16)” Notwithstanding his possible naivety with regard to his knowledge of the world this quality leads him to a position of leadership (v.22) in his family. It leads him to have spiritual experiences that are awe inspiring “did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father.”
This chapter has set forth a prophetic opening to exactly what will happen in the remainder of the book.
To the detractors of Joseph Smith. Joseph had a 3rd grade education. He could not have known that it was the custom of the people of Jerusalem to name and refer to places (or geographical landscapes) like Lehi did in verse 9 & 14.
1 Nephi Chapter 2
The story of Nephi really begins here. In the last chapter Nephi has introduced himself and his family but in Chapter 2 the story begins.
Setting up the context of the Book of Mormon is important to me. It helps me to get a better understanding for the teachings when I know what it was like for these guys. First. its 600 B.C. There are no cars, no electricity, no plumbing, no “Civil rights” in the sense that today we can whine about its not fair I have the right to blah blah blah. Then these rights didn’t necessarily exist by legislation. (Capitalists and Americans believe these rights exist inherently but that is another story) I would say from an semi-educated perspective that he who has the most swords wins in Lehi’s town.
Notwithstanding the comparatively oppressive situation they lived in they still lived in a city. There was commerce there and there was population. And therefore some security, and Lehi is told to leave.
Verses 4, 11 indicates that Lehi had Gold and silver. Indeed they must have had some measure of wealth and yet in verse 15 Nephi says in a matter of fact sort of way that now we are relegated to tent dwelling.
Laman and Lemuel come off to me like whiners but in another sense I probably would feel much like they did. Laman was to inherit a measure of wealth from his father. They must have had a somewhat comfortable life with a wealthy father. For the record some wealthy fathers don’t just give their money to their kids willy nilly some of them actually expect their children to produce their own value in this world See Aaron Spelling and Warren Buffett. Other fathers support a crazy flagrant lifestyle see Paris Hilton. EVEN having made these points at least Laman and Lemuel must have come home to a comfortable home and a warm meal everyday.
I just did a web search for life expectancy in 600 BC. So I didn’t find anything (quickly) what was authoritative but on this website a Phd. guy openly asserts that up to 60 years old was possible but 18 years old was more likely. Nephi says he was “exceedingly young” but tough. So he was 12 and his brothers were full grown men at 18? Lehi possibly in his 40’s.
18 year olds - we know how they are....
So dear old dad has a dream and everyone has to take off out of the nice comfortable place to live and everyone has to walk, and walk (forever) to some place called by Lehi the “Valley of Lemuel.” Everyone is whining, well at least the oldest boys are.
Maybe they didn’t ever go camping before. They were ticked off though, burnin’ mad I’m sure that all that “Precious” stuff is sitting in a house by the comfortable bed - or mat as the case may be - is and where the normal familiar welcome potty hole is and the normal water pump or well or what ever. Now they live in a tent with a not as familiar potty hole and they have to travel near the river to get water and the food isn’t picked up in the market but is gathered in the brush or hunted with (presumably) bows and arrows. All because of a “Vision” or “Dream” dear old dad had. And everyone knows just how popular he had been with the community lately telling everyone their homes would be destroyed soon.
I think I have painted a pretty good picture of the justification Laman and Lemuel used to be upset. See I don’t think they were truly bad kids at this point they just didn’t like what was going on and they weren’t tuned in to the same wavelength their father was on so they didn’t feel the same as he did.
Nephi was different, well at least thats the way Nephi tells it. It seems to me that exceedingly young but tough Nephi was an introspective kid. The experience of camping was maybe sort of exciting. Nephi probably didn’t have as much invested in the old place in Jerusalem so he just wanted to do was his Dad did. His motivations were pure. He was open to what ever was happing. I think its possible too that Laman and Lemuel weren’t used to the preaching he did. Lehi had to earn his wealth somehow. He must have had a trade before he went to full time preaching. Maybe Laman and Lemuel knew their father as a worker or a business owner, something other than a “Visionary man” or a prophet. What I’m saying is maybe they didn’t know this newly spiritual person as well as they knew the rich one. I also think Laman and Lemuel had some understanding of what life was going to be about. They would have to get a trade and excel at it whereas Nephi was still just in the beginning stages of this reality of life setting in thing.
So Nephi was different - he says that he had “great desires to know of the mysteries of God (v. 16)” Notwithstanding his possible naivety with regard to his knowledge of the world this quality leads him to a position of leadership (v.22) in his family. It leads him to have spiritual experiences that are awe inspiring “did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father.”
This chapter has set forth a prophetic opening to exactly what will happen in the remainder of the book.
To the detractors of Joseph Smith. Joseph had a 3rd grade education. He could not have known that it was the custom of the people of Jerusalem to name and refer to places (or geographical landscapes) like Lehi did in verse 9 & 14.