What's in the Book of Mormon? Part 1 of 4

The Book of Mormon is an amazing book. I have read it several times and I know that it is a book of inspired scripture from God. In this "What's in the Book of Mormon?" series of posts, I will give a brief introduction to The Book of Mormon, sharing what I think are some of the most significant teachings and events from the book.

The Book of Mormon starts with the story of Lehi and his family, a prophet who lived in Jerusalem in about 6o0 B.C. Lehi called the wicked people there to repent, but they rejected him and God commanded Lehi to leave. Lehi traveled through the desert and eventually crossed the ocean to the Americas. The Book of Mormon is (for the most part) the record of Lehi and his posterity; it covers a period from about 600 B.C. to 421 A.D. It contains the writings of prophets, as does the Bible. (For more information, see the official Introduction to the Book of Mormon.)

This post will outline some important teachings from the prophets Lehi and his son Nephi, contained in the books of 1 Nephi and 2 Nephi . I hope my comments will inspire the reader to look directly at the text of these books. I will organize the post around four major themes, which I think are some of the most important themes from these books. The themes are: 1) God speaks to His prophets; 2) Christ is our Redeemer; 3) reading scriptures and keeping records is very important; and 4) the scattering and gathering of the house of Israel.

1) God speaks to His prophets: 1 Nephi in particular is a book in which we see God over and over directing, teaching, and revealing things to His servants the prophets. In the very first chapter of 1 Nephi, Lehi sees a vision of God, the Son of God, and the destruction of Jerusalem. In chapter 8 of this book Lehi sees a vision (known as the vision of the "tree of life") in which he sees symbols of the love of God, the temptations of the Devil, the power of God's word, and the pride of the world. Later, in chapters 11-14, Nephi (Lehi's son, an important prophet) sees a more detailed version of that same vision and the historical events which correspond to the symbols, and in chapter 15 Nephi gives the interpretation of the vision. In addition to visions, God directs Lehi to leave Jerusalem because of the wickedness of the people (1 Nephi 2:1-3), tells him what his sons need to do to prepare for their journey in the wilderness (1 Nephi 3:2-4, 1 Nephi 7:1-5), and guides him as they travel. God instructs Nephi how to build a boat which will carry them to the promised land (1 Nephi 17:7-8, 18:1-4) and gives him other instructions. Other examples could be given of how God reveals things to his people (see 1 Nephi 3:28-30, 4:6, 5:17-22, 10:2-14 17-19, 2 Nephi 5:1-5) In short, this book and the entire Book of Mormon testify that God speaks to His prophets.

2) Christ is our Redeemer: Nephi and Lehi constantly teach that Christ is our Redeemer and the only Way for our salvation. The following are a sampling from some of the many times they teach about Christ: (Lehi) "Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth. Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit . . . there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. Wherefore, he is the firstfruits unto God, inasmuch as he shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in him shall be saved." (2 Nephi 2:6-9) (Nephi) "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do . . . And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:23, 26) Other references include: 1 Nephi 11:21-33, 1 Nephi 19:10, 2 Nephi 1:15, 2 Nephi 9, 2 Nephi 25:13, and 2 Nephi 31:13.

3) Reading scriptures and keeping records is very important: Both 1 and 2 Nephi are written by Nephi from the first person perspective. Three chapters (6, 9, and 19) in 1 Nephi are reflections on why Nephi is keeping the record. In 6:4 and 19:18 he tells us why he is doing it: "For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved;" "And I, Nephi, have written these things unto my people, that perhaps I might persuade them that they would remember the Lord their Redeemer." When hard times come to Lehi's family, Nephi relates to the the history of God's dealings with the house of Israel (see 1 Nephi 17:23-43). This story shows that Nephi was an avid student of the scriptures, and could recall and employ them when needed. In 2 Nephi, 16 of 33 chapters (and a few more verses) are quotations from the book of Isaiah, the same Isaiah found in the Bible. (2 Nephi 6:6-7, 7, 8, 12-24, 27; the corresponding chapters and verses in Isaiah can be found Isaiah 3-14, 29, 49:22-26, and 50-52:1-2.) Of the scriptures, Nephi says: "For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children. Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard." (2 Nephi 4: 15-16)We would do well to follow his example.

4) The scattering and gathering of the house of Israel: Through both the Bible and other scriptures brought forth by Joseph Smith, we know that God made a covenant with Abraham that through him "all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal." (Abraham 2:11; see also Genesis 12:3) Throughout scripture, the people willing to follow God's prophets have frequently been referred to as "the house of Israel," Israel being Abraham's grandson and a particularly noteworthy prophet. In 1 and 2 Nephi, Lehi and Nephi frequently talk of God's dealings with the house of Israel. They teach that though the house of Israel was (and would be) scattered for disobedience, God is merciful and would gather them in the future. Nephi teaches that being gathered to the house of Israel means coming "to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer." (1 Nephi 10:14) Nephi further teaches that membership in the house of Israel is open to all: "as many of the Gentiles as will repent are the covenant people of the Lord; and as many of the Jews as will not repent shall be cast off; for the Lord covenanteth with none save it be with them that repent and believe in his Son, who is the Holy One of Israel." (2 Nephi 30:2) Other important references include 1 Nephi 1:13, 10:12-14, 15:12-20, 19:15-17, 22:11-12; 2 Nephi 6:5-18, 25:14-18, 29:14, 30; also, see Jacob 5.