1 Nephi Chapter 2

Sometimes the Lord asks you to do funny things. Sometimes the Lord asks you to bath in the river seven times to cure leprosy. The Lord has asked others to blow trumpets and scream to knock down city walls. Today he asks people to go to church, pay tithing and do home/visiting teaching. In 1 Nephi Chapter 2 he told Lehi in a vision to leave Jerusalem in the night, leave behind his belongings and take his family in the wilderness. Where would the Gold Plates be if he had been sleeping during this vision? Certainly not upstate New York.

Nephi says in verse 3, "And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him."

Thank goodness he did.

This chapter has lots of things going on. I'll focus on two: 1. The departure 2. The Promise.

1. The departure.

Lehi left. He picked up his things and took off. This is one of the most common stories in literature. For every departure there is a return. Lehi physically left Jerusalem, and although he would never physically return, he would be reconnected with his Jerusalem roots when his sons bring back his genealogy in the brass plates. Every story has a departure, a trial or seemingly impossible task, triumph, and a return (and/or an understanding where you came from). My favorite story is the Lion King. Many others include Hamlet, Hercules, Where the Wild Things Are, Star Wars: New Hope, and David and Goliath.

Lehi was probably a very rich man. He left his goods and lived in a tent with his mostly unbelieving children. Nephi stayed faithful. He used the ideal formula for conversion. I'd recommend it to anyone. Many people go to Moroni for a great theocommunicative formula. For any interested, here is another great example.

16. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I 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; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.

1. Desire to know God
2. Cry unto the Lord i.e. pray
3. soften heart to hear the Lord
4. Believe
5. Act

2. The Promise

20. And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a band of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.
21. And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

This is the most repeated promise throughout the Book of Mormon, and this is the first mention of it.

Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land, and Inasmuch as ye keep not my commandments, ye shall be cut off from my presence.

This promise is a premise for the pride cycle, and the ultimate destruction of the Nephites. There are two ways to think about prosperity. The first is the gain of physical possessions, and the other is spiritual gain, or entering a covenant relationship. According to BYU professor Cory Crawford, "ye shall prosper in the land" suggests that prosperity is more about entering the presence of God since "not prospering" is equated with being cut off from his presence.

Crawford reminds us that although prosperity is often thought of as physical wealth, perhaps, as supported by the Old Testament, it means to be more about the establishment of a covenant of a community and peace rather than people getting rich.