1 Nephi Chapter 5

1 Nephi 5
Vs 4 It is the goodness of God that calls us away from sin. As Lehi admits to his wife, he is a visionary man, and what he beheld in his vision is the “goodness of God,” which understanding motivated him to leave wicked Jerusalem in search of paradise (“the land of promise”).

Vs 5 Lehi has already obtained a land of promise? Is it a state of mind? It has to be, since when they actually did arrive at the “land of promise” there was still much strife and tribulation especially as it came by wickedness. Lehi, living in a tent, in the middle of the wilderness of the Levant, had already arrived at a land of promise, a land where he was aware of God’s goodness and love, and was filled with the peace that comes from that knowledge. The knowledge that God is good and that he wants us to leave the security and comforts of “not good” so that we might arrive at a land of promise where one’s life is in harmony with God’s will. What we will discover is that what we thought was “security and comfort” is not what it seemed to be. Whereas once we thought we had security, there is no security in wickedness. Whereas once we thought we had comfort, we did not know the peace of a conscience clear before God, a conscience without fear of Man, a conscience without fear of Death, a conscience full of the knowledge of God. This is what Lehi and some of his family discovered when they left the security and comfort of Jerusalem for the wilderness of the Levant.

Vs 6 this was the kind of language that Lehi used to comfort and console his wife as she worried that her sons had died and that she too would die, lonely, isolated, and in the wilderness. Is Lehi repeating what the Lord told him to comfort what concerns he undoubtedly had himself?

Vs 8 recorded words of a woman in the BOM. There are only two other places that I can think of where we have recorded words of a woman. A lamanite queen and a lamanite woman (Abish) are directly quoted (Alma 19). Sariah details her growing testimony in God, in that she is sure he has protected, delivered, and given power to her sons to get the plates. Apparently she couldn’t believe that it actually worked, and was amazed that her sons made it back alive. Does our testimony grow when God allows (provides?) for an unexpected conclusion? How often do we have expectations of failure, or conditions that I call “less than success” and God proves us false prophets?

Vs 11-13 details the contents of the brass plates. They had the first five books of Moses, which supposedly we have in our bible as well. The brass plates had prophecies of the holy prophets, including Jeremiah, who was prophesying at almost the same time Lehi was. The brass plates also had a genealogy of the the line of Joseph since as Nephi states, Laban too descended from Joseph and so Laban and his fathers had kept their genealogy.

Vs14 at the mention of Joseph of Egypt, Nephi takes time to remind his readers that Israel was preserved by Joseph and that in time Israel was delivered again when they were led out of Egypt.

Vs 17 Lehi is filled with the spirit of prophecy after reading his geneaology. This is an interesting idea, one that suggests if you study your genealogy you will not only gain a better understanding of your ancestors lives but you may even gain a better understanding of your progenies lives.

Vs 20 Nephi takes the effort to elevate himself and his father by stating that “that thus far I and my father had kept the commandments.”

Vs 21-22 the importance of the scriptures are noted again. We should search them and if we do we will find that they are desirable and they will help us keep the commandments of God most especially because we will know the commandments.