19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried
away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the
space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child
in her arms.
21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God,
yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree
which thy father saw?
22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of
God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men;
wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous
to the soul.
24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me:
Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children
of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.
25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of
iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain
of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of
the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation
of the love of God.
26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the
condescension of God!
27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of
whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the
way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and
after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down
out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.
28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the
people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to
hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.
29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it
came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and
I saw them not.
Having been shown Mary, Nephi was commanded to look. He saw Mary holding a child in her arms. John Clark identifies this as a part of Nephi’s messianic doctrine. The three parts are the Messiah is God, the premortal Jesus, called Jehovah by Old Testament prophets; He is the Redeemer, and the Messiah would be born in the flesh.[1]
The angel told Nephi to “[b]ehold the Lamb of God, yea, even
the Son of the Eternal Father” (1 Nephi 11:21).
He then turns Nephi’s question around and asks him to answer his
question. Does he know the meaning of
the tree?
Nephi knows the answer.
“[I]t is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of
the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things” (1
Nephi 11:22).
Alma2 would refer to the tree when preaching to
the people of Zarahemla. “I speak by way
of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong
to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto
repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life”
(Alma 5:62). In an epistle to Moroni2,
Mormon wrote…
“And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism
cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the
commandments bringeth remission of sins;
“And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness
of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation
of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which
love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the
saints shall dwell with God” (Moroni 8:25-26).
Nephi then saw Christ going among the people and may
worshipped Him. He saw the iron rod (the
word of God). It led to the fountain of
living waters and the tree of life.
These represent the love of God.
“The living water is the love of God (1 Nephi 11:25).
Ultimately, it represents Jesus Christ and his atonement, the only true source
of eternal life. The blessings of the atonement have no temporal cost.
Individuals pay no monetary price to receive the blessings of the atonement of
Christ. Yet God does require a spiritual price: a broken heart and a contrite
spirit (2 Nephi 2:7; 3 Nephi 9:20; D&C 59:8).”[2]
Having seen the birth of the Savior, the angel shows Nephi
the condescension of God. What does this
mean? The word condescend has its roots
from the mid-14th century., “to yield deferentially,” from Old
French condescendere “to agree, consent,
give in, yield,” from Late Latin condescendere “to let oneself down,” from
Latin com- “together” + descendere “descend.”
Sense of “to sink willingly to equal terms with inferiors” is from mid-15th
century.[3]
John would write, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt
among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
When Christ fed the 5,000, he told the multitude, “For I came down from
heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38).
Alma would teach the people of Gideon, “Now the Spirit
knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the
flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot
out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now
behold, this is the testimony which is in me” (Alma 7:13). In the Olive Leaf, the Lord revealed, “He
that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended
all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth” (D&C 88:6).
Nephi beheld the Redeemer of the world. Towards the end of Nephi’s record, he would
prophesy of Christ, writing, “Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is
laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead,
with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be
saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore,
my soul delighteth to prophesy concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my
heart doth magnify his holy name” (2 Nephi 25:13).
Corbin Volluz writes about the interpretation the angel gave
Nephi concerning the river of water.
“Nephi beholds the rod of iron which his father had seen, ‘which
led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life’ (1 Nephi 11:25).
The living waters flow from the base of the tree of life. A basic
interpretation of the living waters would be that they are the divine drink
that goes along with the divine food (i.e., the fruit of the tree of life) to
be given to those who reach the end of the strait and narrow path. Here,
though, the angel gives to Nephi another, prophetic, interpretation. The symbol
of the living waters is used to represent the waters of the Jordan River in
which Christ was baptized by John the Baptist. Indeed, this is exactly what is
shown Nephi in vision immediately after he beholds the living waters (1 Nephi
11:26–27).”[4]
Nephi also saw John preparing the way for Christ. He saw Christ’s baptism and he “beheld the
heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in
the form of a dove” (1 Nephi 11:27).
Nephi saw Christ’s ministry, how he would minister in power
and great glory. Eventually he saw they
would cast Him out from among them (see 1 Nephi 11:28). He also briefly saw the twelve before they
were carried away.
[1] Painting Out the Messiah: The Theologies of
Dissidents, John L. Clark, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
[3] Online
Etymology Dictionary, condescend.
[4] Lehi’s Dream of the Tree of Life: Springboard
to Prophecy, Corbin T. Volluz, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
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