1 Nephi 3-7, 9-10 Scripture Power pdf Scripture Power mp3

The Journey back for the plates It was 180 miles from Jerusalem to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aqaba) and Lehi’s family had traveled 3 days’ journey beyond that (1 Nephi 2:5-6). It was probably a day journey each way to get the plates!

Nephi’s Obedience Elder Russell M. Nelson taught, “I have learned not to put question marks but to use exclamation points when calls are issued through inspired channels of priesthood government” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1984, 76–77; or Ensign, May 1984, 52).

Nephi’s Obedience “Regardless of our age and stage in life, daily obedience to gospel principles is the only sure way to eternal happiness. President Ezra Taft Benson put it most poignantly when he said, ‘When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power’” (Donald L. Staheli, CR, Apr. 1998, 108).

1 Nephi 3-5 Insights, questions, impressions from these chapters that tell of the return for the plates of brass.

Whatever God Requires is Right “God said ‘Thou shalt not kill;’ at another time He said ‘Thou shalt utterly destroy.’ This is the principle on which the government of heaven is conducted—by revelation adapted to the circumstances in which the children of the kingdom are placed. Whatever God requires is right, no matter what it is, although we may not see the reason thereof till long after the events transpire. If we seek first the kingdom of God, all good things will be added” (Joseph Smith, TPJS, p. 256).

The Plates of Brass (1 Nephi 5) What did these plates contain that they were worth killing Laban, stealing, deceiving Zoram, endangering the boys’ lives and scaring the crud out of Sariah? 1 Nephi 5:10-22 & 1/88 Robert L. Millet Ensign article “The Plates of Brass: A Witness of Christ”

Five things to look for in the article -For whom might the Brass Plates have been the “official scripture”? -Which is better—our O.T. or the Brass Plates? -Name four prophets from the Brass Plates that are discussed in the BoM not found in our O.T. -What is the future of the Brass Plates? -Can you think of any great BoM chapters that we owe to the Brass Plates?

For a Wise Purpose (1 Nephi 9) At least six times in the Book of Mormon, the phrase “for a wise purpose” is used in reference to the making, writing, and preserving of the small plates of Nephi (see 1 Ne. 9:5; W of M 1:7; Alma 37:2, 12, 14, 18). We know one such wise purpose— the most obvious one—was to compensate for the future loss of 116 pages of manuscript translated by the Prophet Joseph Smith from the first part of the Book of Mormon (see D&C 3, 10).1 Ne. 9:5W of M 1:7Alma 37:2, 12, 14, 18 But it strikes me that there is a “wiser purpose” than that, or perhaps more accurately, a “wiser purpose” in that. The key to such a suggestion is in Doctrine and Covenants 10:45 [D&C 10:45]. As the Lord instructs Joseph Smith on the procedure for translating and inserting the material from the small plates into what had been begun as the translation of the abridged large plates, he says, “Behold, there are many things engraven upon the [small] plates of Nephi which do throw greater views upon my gospel” (emphasis added).D&C 10:45 So clearly this was not a quid pro quo in the development of the final Book of Mormon product. It was not tit for tat, this for that—116 pages of manuscript for 142 pages of printed text. Not so. We got back more than we lost. And it was known from the beginning that it would be so. We do not know exactly what we have missed in the lost 116 pages, but we do know that what we received on the small plates was the personal declarations of three great witnesses, three of the great doctrinal voices of the Book of Mormon, testifying that Jesus is the Christ.(Jeffrey R. Holland, “‘For a Wise Purpose’,” Ensign, Jan 1996, 12)

For a wise Purpose (continued) I am suggesting that Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah are three early types and shadows of Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris—witnesses positioned right at the front of the book where Oliver, David, and Martin (who in spite of their later difficulties remained true to their testimony) would later be positioned. But Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah bore a very special witness—they testified of the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, he who would be the central, commanding, presiding figure throughout the Book of Mormon. We could make a pretty obvious case that the primary purpose of the small plates was to preserve the testimony of these three witnesses. After all, their writing constitutes a full 135 pages of what is only a 145-page record. These three are who they are and saw what they saw and are positioned where they are in the book for a very “wise purpose” indeed. It would be exciting if the 116 pages of manuscript turned up some day, but I would never trade them for the material in the small plates of Nephi. I love these “greater views” given through the grand prophetic sentinels who stand at the gate of the book as we now have it. (Jeffrey R. Holland, “‘For a Wise Purpose’,” Ensign, Jan 1996, 12)

1 Nephi 9:6 Students create phrases that end “…for a wise purpose in Him, which purpose I know not”