Lehi and Nephi decided to base their preaching on the words
of their father. They left and went to the city of Bountiful. From there they one
to the cities of Gid and Mulek.
They continued preaching from one city to another. Eventually
they preached to all the Nephites. They then moved into the land of Zarahemla
to preach among the Lamanites.
The two brothers taught with great power. The power of their
preaching came from the presence of the Spirit. “And the spirit entered into me
when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake
unto me” (Ezekiel 2:2).
“But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou
shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear;
and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 3:27).
“For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father
which speaketh in you” (Matthew 10:20).
“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing [GR persuasive] words of man's wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4).
Their words amazed the dissenters who had gone over to the
Lamanites. Many were baptized and returned to the Nephites. They worked to undo
the damage they caused.
Nephi and Lehi taught the Lamanites with power and
authority. “Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this
people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not
be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in
the very moment, what ye shall say. But a commandment I give unto you, that ye
shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in
the spirit of meekness, in all things. And I give unto you this promise, that
inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record
unto all things whatsoever ye shall say” (D&C 100:5-8).
The Lamanites were convinced. Eight thousand were baptized. They
rejected the traditions of their fathers. “But behold my brethren, the Lamanites
hath [the Lord] hated because their deeds have been evil continually, and this
because of the iniquity of the tradition of their fathers. But behold,
salvation hath come unto them through the preaching of the Nephites; and for
this intent hath the Lord prolonged their days” (Helaman 15:4).
“In Mormon’s abridgment the Lamanites are governed for the
most part not by divine law but by the ‘traditions of their fathers,’ which are
preserved by oral transmission rather than by sacred records. As a result,
Mormon labels their religious beliefs and practices as ‘incorrect,’ ‘false,’ ‘foolish,’
‘wicked,’ ‘silly,’ and ‘abominable.’ Replacing Lamanite tradition with divine
law is one of the principal objectives of Nephite missionary initiatives. In an
ironic twist to this practice, dissident Nephites occasionally accuse Nephite
religious leaders of believing in incorrect traditions in order to justify
their own apostate beliefs and practices (Alma 9:8; 30:14–31; 31:16, 22).”[1]
Nephi and Lehi traveled to the land of Nephi. This is the
same area where the sons of Mosiah had so much success in their missionary
efforts to the Lamanites. Nephi and Lehi were cast into the same prisons as
were the sons of Mosiah. “And behold, they met the king of the people who were
in the land of Nephi, and in the land of Shilom; and they were surrounded by
the king's guard, and were taken, and were bound, and were committed to prison”
(Mosiah 7:7).
“That the Lamanites never became as skilled in building as
the Nephites is illustrated by the fact that Nephi and Lehi, sons of Helaman,
were cast by the Lamanites into the same prison where Ammon and his brethren
had been incarcerated nearly a century earlier (Helaman 5 :21). In Ammon's day,
the prison was controlled by the Nephite king Limhi (Mosiah 7:7-8; 21 :23).”[2]
“They were kept in prisons for a while. They were not fed on
a daily basis. Even though Helaman’s sons were persecuted and put in prison, [the
words of their father] never failed them.”[3]
The day came when the Lamanites came to execute them. When
they arrived at the prison, they saw Nephi and Lehi were surrounded by what
looked like fire. The Lamanites became afraid and refused to take them, as they
feared being burned by the flames. They also saw Nephi and Lehi weren’t burned.
When they saw they were surrounded by fire and the Lamanite’s
fear, they were strengthened. They began to preach to their captives.
Have no fear, the Lamanites were told. God has shown you
this great miracle. You cannot kill us as were are protected by the Lord.
Next, the land shook. The walls of the prison shook so much
they feared they would collapse on them. They were overshadowed by a cloud of
darkness. A voice came out of the cloud.
“Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants
whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings” (Helaman 5:29).
As we have seen, the voice of the Lord is not a voice of
thunder and noise. It is perfect
mildness, like a whisper. Even so, the
voice pierced the listener to their soul.
“[L]earn to hear the voice of the Lord. His is a still,
small, and whisper-like voice. It is one that is felt more than it is heard. It
comes in the form of thoughts, feelings, and impressions. To hear such a voice,
you must be still and quiet in your own soul, laying aside your excess laughter
and light-mindedness. While it may not seem easy to so discipline your life,
hearing the precious, loving voice of the Lord will sustain you in every
circumstance and is therefore worth every effort.”[4]
Again, the earth shook and the walls looked like they were
about to collapse. The shadow of darkness did not disperse.
Again, they heard the voice. “Repent ye, repent ye, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand; and seek no more to destroy my servants” (Helaman
5:32). The earth again became to shake.
The voice came a third time.
It “did speak unto them marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man”
(Helaman 5:33). The earth shook again.
Because of the cloud of darkness, the Lamanites could not move.
[1] The
Covenant of the Chosen People: The Spiritual Foundations of Ethnic Identity in
the Book of Mormon, Steven L. Olsen, Journal of the Book of Mormon and
Other Restoration Scripture 21/2 (2012): 23.
[2] Review
of New Approaches to the Book of Mormon: Explorations in Critical Methodology
(1993), edited by Brent Lee Metcalfe, John Tvedtnes, Review of Books on the
Book of Mormon 6/1 (1994): 32.
No comments:
Post a Comment