1 Nephi 1:9-19

[Heather]

1 Nephi 1:9-19

9 And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noon-day.

10 And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament.

11 And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read.

12 And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord.

13 And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon.

14 And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!

15 And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him.

16 And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in visions and in dreams; and he also hath written many things which he prophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account.

17 But I shall make an account of my proceedings in my days. Behold, I make an abridgment of the record of my father, upon plates which I have made with mine own hands; wherefore, after I have abridged the record of my father then will I make an account of mine own life.

18 Therefore, I would that ye should know, that after the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my father, Lehi, yea, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, behold he went forth among the people, and began to prophesy and to declare unto them concerning the things which he had both seen and heard.

19 And it came to pass that the Jews did mock him because of the things which he testified of them; for he truly testified of their wickedness and their abominations; and he testified that the things which he saw and heard, and also the things which he read in the book, manifested plainly of the coming of a Messiah, and also the redemption of the world.

Quotes for Discussion

1 Nephi 1:12
I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns.
Spencer W. Kimball, Teachings, 135. See also 1 Nephi 5:10, 17; Alma 17:2


1 Nephi 1:13, 15, 18
A seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come.
Mosiah 8:17
God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things.
Mosiah 3:13


1 Nephi 1:5-15
Surely Joseph Smith found considerable consolation in this record he was translating. He too had sought the Lord in fervent prayer; he too had seen "a pillar of light" descend from heaven; he too both saw and heard much. As with Lehi, this experience was followed by others-he also was a visionary man. Of a subsequent experience shared with Sidney Rigdon, he testified of Christ, saying: "The Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the glory of the Lord shone round about. And we beheld the glory of the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness." (D&C 76:19-20.) Thus the visions of eternity were opened for Joseph Smith as they were for Lehi and some of the other great prophets of all ages.
The Book of Mormon, then, like the Bible, rests on the testimony that the heavens have been opened, that God speaks, and that he calls prophets, endowing them with power from on high. Such was Lehi's testimony, for which his neighbors sought his life. As it was with Lehi, so it was with Joseph Smith. He too testified of the contents of a book of revelation, which caused great anger among the ungodly, who in turn sought his life. Unlike the book that Lehi read, the book given to Joseph Smith is available for all to read and prayerfully ponder. Within its covers is found that knowledge which will bring men closer to God than any other book ever published. Such is the adventure that the student of the Book of Mormon begins every time he or she opens the pages of this marvelous work and seeks the Spirit of the Lord to aid in understanding it.
Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, 4 vols., 1:, p.25


1 Nephi 1:17
I don’t pretend to know why we lost those original 116 pages, but I’m not losing any sleep about that because the Lord provided for that long before anyone needed to worry about translating them. The 116 pages are probably wonderful, but I cannot imagine that they could be more wonderful than the small plates of Nephi. It is inconceivable to me that anything could be better than that. Consider the teachings of the books of Nephi, of Jacob, of Enos and of Jarom and Omni and even the little editorial comment from the Words of Mormon. They are magnificent.
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. One such purpose obviously was to cover the same material as the loss of 116 pages. If you want an example of God’s omniscience, here it is. He anticipated by 2,500 years, the possibilities of Mrs. Harris doing whatever she did with those papers. So He planned for that well in advance. Don’t tell me that God doesn’t know the future. He knows it in great detail.
Jeffrey R. Holland


1 Nephi 1:19
The term Jew often refers to a descendant from the tribe of Judah. However, the Book of Mormon also uses the term Jew to refer to any Israelite from the land or kingdom of Judah….In addition, the Book of Mormon uses the term Jew sometimes to refer to the entire house of Israel.
Thomas R. Valletta, ed., Book of Mormon for Latter-day Saint Families, 3

[Hemidakota]

15 And the king said that a aseer• is greater than a prophet.
16 And Ammon said that a seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God.
17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.

I thank you. Again, when we think we know gospel topics, we are corrected by the Spirit when humbled. Heather, I have been corrected when I thought a Seer was one who is greater than a prophet but only to see the past and things that are hidden but not to include additional title as a prophet being combine under one key blessing. For me, I thought there was a seperation of the two offices.


When reading this thread, something hit me hard in going back in researching Seership and note Elder Olsen Whitney discussed this era ago;

Book called "SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY"
ARTICLE SIX.


What Joseph Beheld.
Seer and Prophet.—"Seer" and "Prophet" are interchangeable terms, supposed by many to signify one and the same thing. Strictly speaking, however, this is not correct. A seer is greater than a prophet. 1 One may be a prophet without being a seer; but a seer is essentially a prophet—if by "prophet" is meant not only a spokesman, but likewise a foreteller. Joseph Smith was both prophet and seer. 2



References:

1. Mosiah 8:15.
2. Such men as Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American philosopher, and Count Leo Tolstoi, the Russian writer, are sometimes referred to as "seers;" it being thought by those who so designate them, that the power to think profoundly and express wise and intelligent opinions, especially on the future, constitutes seership. It is in this sense that the term "vision" is so much used. But a great thinker is not necessarily a seer; though a seer is apt to be a great thinker. Joseph Smith was both; not so Ralph Waldo Emerson; not so Count Tolstoi. They were great philosophers, but there is nothing in the life-work of either to indicate that he possessed the power of a seer.

The prophet used the U&T for other purposes, some of which is known today while others are not given;

"The Prophet used the Urim and Thummim for other purposes than the translation of the Book of Mormon. Mother Smith reported that through that instrument Moroni showed Joseph "many things which he saw in vision." 13 Several revelations, now found in the Doctrine and Covenants, were given through the Urim and Thummim. It was through that instrument and by vision, independent of its agency, that most of what is termed Mormonism originated. The church organization Joseph Smith set up—the most perfect piece of social mechanism known to men today— was shown to him by vision. He saw the Church as it was to be organized; and as conditions permitted, he duplicated that vision on earth. Thus, he continually labored with the several quorums of the priesthood "to bring them to the order which God had shown" unto him. 14 [Joseph Smith, the Man and the Seer]

13. Lucy Mack Smith, op. cit., p. 110.
14. History of the Church, II, pp. 391-392.

[Misshalfway]

Total side note......With regards to the U&T, it was given back to Moroni, was it not?

[Hemidakota]

Affirmative...but he primarily used a Seer stone for translating vice the U&T since it was made for person of great statue [People of Jared]. The church archives department still has this stone.

Another missing point that is rarely mentioned that President Young had two Seer stones which Zina Young Card reported to Apostle F.D. Richard when exercising President Young estate upon his death and was given to President Woodruff.

See Joseph Smith, "The Gift of Seeing" by Richard Van Wagoner and Steve Walker

[Misshalfway]

I am starting the BofM again and I am so glad to see this thread. I hope to comment on some of my thoughts later. Thank you Heather!

[Hemidakota]

Something else to consider when reading, to find where Nephi’s abridgment of Lehi’s
record ends and Nephi’s own record begins, see 1 Nephi 9:1 and 10:1. I wish I had those 116-pages of lost manuscript to see Lehi's writings.

[Misshalfway]

Seriously! I wouldn't mind a gander at them myself.

If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns.

Really loved this idea. So absolutely true!

[rameumptom]

Lehi's grand theophany parallels the theophany found in the Ascension of Isaiah.

In both, we have a prophet that ascends and sees God on his throne. They both see Jesus descend with the 12 apostles to the earth. They both are given a book, and upon reading the contents, begin to prophesy.

It is very important to me that the very first chapter of the Book of Mormon begins with a theophany. For this is the very essence of Mormonism: returning to the presence of God. The book of Mormon shows one theophany after another (1 Ne 11-15, 2 Ne 2, Jacob 5, Mosiah 2-5, Alma 9-13, 31-34, 3 Ne 11-28, Ether 3, Moroni 7, etc). Each of these, and many more, show us how to approach the presence of God, just as we learn in the temple endowment.

For example, Alma 33, and Zenos' prayer, he begins by praying in the wilderness, field, then the house, then the closet. This is representative of the temple: the outside world (wilderness), the outer court (field), the inner court (house), and the Holy of Holies (closet).

Many of these teachings deal with Adam's fall and our redemption. What is redemption? To be brought back into the presence of God.