Lehi continues to discuss Joseph1’s
prophecy. He explains that he saw the
time the Lord would raise “a choice seer “(2
Nephi 3:6). This seer will be given a
work to do. This work “shall be of great worth unto them, even to
the bringing of them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with
thy fathers” (2 Nephi 3:7).
Joseph1’s prophecy would provide more information
about this seer.
And
thus prophesied Joseph, saying: Behold, that seer will the Lord bless; and they
that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise, which I have
obtained of the Lord, of the fruit of my loins, shall be fulfilled. Behold, I am sure of the fulfilling of this
promise;
And
his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his
father. And he shall be like unto me;
for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand, by the power of
the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation.
2 Nephi 3:14 - 15
It is clear that Joseph1 was telling us about
Joseph Smith.
Lehi delivered to his family a
prophecy given by the Lord to Joseph of Egypt that a "righteous
branch" of the house of Israel, not the Messiah (2 Nephi 3:5), would be
broken off, and in the future a choice seer would be raised out of this lineage
(see 2 Nephi 3:6), who would bring many to the knowledge of the covenants made
with the fathers (see 2 Nephi 3:7)…
Lehi, a descendant of Joseph,
founded the people that would author the Book of Mormon. In 1827 Moroni delivered
the gold plates, containing a record of Lehi's descendants, to Joseph Smith,
fulfilling the prophecy of Joseph of Egypt. For Joseph Smith was "a choice
seer" from the loins of Joseph (2 Nephi 3:7) with the power to bring forth
the word of the Lord to Lehi's seed (see 2 Nephi 3:11).[1]
His father Lehi, drawing on the
writings of Joseph of old as contained on the brass plates, prophesied about
the coming of Joseph Smith, a "choice seer" who would do much to
bring the scattered Israelites to a knowledge of the promises made to their
ancestors. "Thus prophesied Joseph [in Egypt], saying: Behold, that seer
will the Lord bless; and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; . .
. and his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his
father. And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring
forth by his hand [the Book of Mormon and the Restoration], by the power of the
Lord shall bring my people unto salvation" (2 Nephi 3:7, 14-15).[2]
He will be called to perform only the work the Lord commands
him to do. The Lord would emphasize this
to Joseph Smith.
Be
patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I
am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.
And
in temporal labors thou shalt not have strength, for this is not thy
calling. Attend to thy calling and thou
shalt have wherewith to magnify thine office, and to expound all scriptures,
and continue in laying on of the hands and confirming the churches.
D&C 24:8 – 9
He will be like unto Moses, in that he will deliver the
fullness of the gospel to the world, guiding them to the truth. Moses also saw this event. “And in
a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of
them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like
unto thee; and they shall be had again among the children of men—among as many
as shall believe” (Moses 1:41).
[1] Lehi
and Jeremiah: Prophets, Priests, and Patriarchs, David Rolph Seely, and Jo
Ann H. Seely, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 10, 2013.
[2] The
Gathering of Israel in the Book of Mormon: A Consistent Pattern, Robert L.
Millet, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed July 10, 2013.
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