After find a new place to live, Nephi tells his they “did observe to keep the judgments, and the
statutes, and the commandments of the Lord” (2 Nephi 5:10). Unlike Laman and Lemuel, he followed Lehi’s
counsel.
And
I desire that ye should remember to observe the statutes and the judgments of
the Lord; behold, this hath been the anxiety of my soul from the beginning.
My
heart hath been weighed down with sorrow from time to time, for I have feared,
lest for the hardness of your hearts the Lord your God should come out in the
fulness of his wrath upon you, that ye be cut off and destroyed forever;
2 Nephi 1:16 - 17
Hugh Nibley tells us:
From the New World settlement he
escaped with as many people as wanted to go with him. They lived the law in its
strictness and austerity. We find what they were escaping from in 2 Nephi 5:10.
They went out to a rigorous and austere life. "And we did observe to keep
the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the Lord in all things,
according to the law of Moses." That was basic. [The others] wouldn't
believe the warnings, so he took his family and Zoram and others. "And all
those who would go with me were those who believed in the warnings and the
revelations of God."[1]
The statues and commandments they followed were a part of
the Law of Moses. John Welch further
explains:
Were they strict in their living of
the law of Moses? Well, look at some of the passages like 2 Nephi 5:10. When
Nephi establishes the monarchy in the city of Nephi, he does all the things
that kings basically do in getting a society going. He builds a temple—you have
to have a temple. He establishes the law. He says, we will live the law. What
law is it that he says they must live? It's the law of Moses. He says, we will
live it according to its statutes, judgments, ordinances, etc. The nomenclature
here becomes important, as we will see in a minute. He says, "And we did
observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the commandments of the
Lord in all things according to the law of Moses."[2]
Verse 10 is an example where we see Hebrew wording instead
of what we would expect in English.
Donald W. Parry analyzes this verse.
Unlike English, in which a series
of nouns can be introduced by a single definite article (the), Hebrew
repeats the definite article for each noun. This kind of repetition is seen
throughout the Book of Mormon. A prime example is "We did observe to
keep the judgments, and the statutes,
and the commandments of the Lord" (2 Nephi 5:10). Of
course, it would be much more usual in English to render this as "We did
observe to keep the judgments, statutes, and commandments of the Lord."
(emphasis in original)[3]
Daniel Peterson observes, “Clearly, as is abundantly
attested throughout the Book of Mormon before the coming of Christ, the Mosaic
law was practiced among the Nephites (2 Nephi 5:10; 25:24), and equally
clearly, therefore, the ‘priests’ of the Book of Mormon were really priests and
not merely a nineteenth-century farm boy's retrojection of the circuit-riding
revivalist preachers of his own day into his pseudobiblical historical yarn26.”[4]
Living the commandments and keeping the Law of Moses brought
prosperity to the land. Their crops grew
and they began to raise herds of animals of all king. Here we see Christ’s promise fulfilled among
Nephi and his followers, “[JST Matt. 6:38
Wherefore, seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the
kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness]; and all these things shall
be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
When Nephi departed, he took the plates of brass, the Liahona,
and the sword of Laban with him. King
Benjamin explains the importance of these items, especially the plates of
brass.
And
he also taught them concerning the records which were engraven on the plates of
brass, saying: My sons, I would that ye should remember that were it not for
these plates, which contain these records and these commandments, we must have
suffered in ignorance, even at this present time, not knowing the mysteries of
God.
For
it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these
things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of
these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians
therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that
thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the
commandments of God, even down to this present time.
Mosiah 1:3 - 4
And
it came to pass that after king Benjamin had made an end of these sayings to
[Mosiah2], that he gave him charge
concerning all the affairs of the kingdom.
And
moreover, he also gave him charge concerning the records which were engraven on
the plates of brass; and also the plates of Nephi; and also, the sword of
Laban, and the ball or director, which led our fathers through the wilderness,
which was prepared by the hand of the Lord that thereby they might be led,
every one according to the heed and diligence which they gave unto him.
Mosiah 1:15 - 16
Hugh Nibley writes:
Hardly had the party landed in
America when it was necessary for Nephi in turn to "depart . . . and flee
into the wilderness" (2 Nephi 5:5). With him he took a select group:
"And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the
warnings and the revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my
words" (2 Nephi 5:6). It was, that is, strictly a religious body that
went forth, taking their tents and journeying "in the wilderness for the
space of many days" (2 Nephi 5:7). They settled down as a religious
community, calling themselves the "people of Nephi" (2 Nephi 5:9).
Though they were only a minority group, viewed forever after as traitors and
dissenters from the main body, it was they who preserved unbroken and intact
all the religious ties with the Old World: it was they who had the records that
were brought from Jerusalem (stolen, said the Lamanites!), and the ball and
sword that were to become the traditional national treasures (2 Nephi 5:12—14);
and as soon as they settled in the wilderness they built a temple "after
the manner of the temple of Solomon" (2 Nephi 5:16), which many of them
had seen with their own eyes.[5]
They prospered and multiplied in the land.
[1] Lecture 43: Alma 1-2, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, accessed August 5, 2013.
[2] Lecture 97: 3 Nephi 11, John W. Welch, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed August 5, 2013.
[3] Hebraisms and Other Ancient Peculiarities in
the Book of Mormon, Donald
W. Parry, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 5,
2013.
[4] Authority in the Book of Mosiah, Daniel C. Peterson, Provo,
Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed August 5, 2013.
[5] Churches
in the Wilderness, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute, accessed August 6, 2013.
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