Personal Study - Thursday, 22 January, 2021

 

Favored of the Lord?

I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

- The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:1

 

So... WHO is favored of the Lord and what does it mean?  THAT is a question for the ages, and it is answered abundantly in The Book of Mormon.  

"Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou has not murmured."

- 1 Nephi 3:6

 

"Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God."

- 1 Nephi 17:35

 

Those who hearken unto God are favored of Him.  See also these scriptures relating to how the Lord extends or revokes His favor in addition to 1 Nephi 1:1 and those already quoted: 

	2 Nephi 1:19	Mosiah 1:13	Mosiah 10:13
	Alma 9:20	Alma 13:23	Alma 27:30
	Alma 46:16	Alma 48:20	Alma 56:19
	Alma 58:41	3 Nephi 10:18	Ether 1:34
	D&C 105:25	D&C 109.21	D&C 124:6
	Moses 6:31	JS-History 1:75
	For the King james Bible, the spelling is "favoured."
	Luke 1:28	Luke 2:52	Acts 2:47
	Acts 7:10	…and over 60 Old Testament references for further study.

 

Personal Study - Thursday, 14 January, 2021

 The Blessings of Affliction

 

I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

- The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:1

 

 "...and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days"

 This is a pregnant clause; pregnant with understatement.  It doesn't begin to express the suffering Nephi endured for his devotion to God.

    Nephi not only suffered at the hands of his two eldest brothers, but at some point or another endured - at least - the murmurings of even his parents.  There is a price to be paid for the things of God, else, how are they to be valued?

    The strength and sheer weight of this clause is not apparent to the new reader of The Book of Mormon.  The lesson for us is that there is a counterbalance, for from the next phase comes this:

"...nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days..."

        - The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:1

 

And from Hebrews 11:6:

"...he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him..."

Personal Study - Thursday, 31 December, 2020

A Father and Mother are One

 

 

I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

- The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:1

  

"And I God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him, male and female created I them." 

- Genesis 1:29, JST

 

"And it is not good that man should be alone; I will make an help meet for him." 

- Genesis 2:18, KJV

 

"And I, the Lord God, caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and I slept, and I took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof; and the rib, which I, the Lord God had taken from him, made I a woman, and brought her unto the man.

"And Adam said, This I know now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.  She shall be called woman

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh."

- Genesis 2:28-30, JST

 

    Nephi's mother was no less serviceable as a "goodly parent," Sariah, being one with her husband, Lehi.  Mothers are especially as divinely commissioned to mentor their daughters and teach their children.  As the man and the woman are one - goodly parents are a model for how a father and mother are one.

***  Friday, I January, 2021 ***

    S0, the very first phase of The Book of Mormon exemplifies the intimate teaching relationship between children and parents.

Personal Study - Tuesday, 22 December, 2020

Am I Goodly?

 

I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

- The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:1

 

So... are we goodly?  Am I goodly?

~~ 

Still on 1 Nephi 1:1 

"...therefore I was taught in all the learning of my father."

 

Nephi here, relates his close and intimate relationship with his father.  I can imagine that this was a relationship that had been cultivated by both of them.  Lehi, being goodly must have been, by definition, actively seeking a relationship with God, and as a father, truly desired to cultivate that in his sons.  Lehi had a wealth of knowledge, experience and wisdom to share, recognizing his duty to teach his posterity.  I can guess from these wrigings that Nephi was also a willing student, recognizing his duty as a son, to be mentored by his mortal maker.  As a son resembles his father, being made in his image, Nephi sought to enhance that image beyond just physical recognition.  Lehi served as a "goodly" stepping stone to help Nephi connect with Christ and Heavenly Father.

...have ye spiritually been born of God?  Have ye received His image in your countenances?

- Alma 5:14

Fathers have a sacred responsibility to teach - particularly - their sons, engage with them and build such a mentoring relationship like Christ and His Father, our Father, have.

 

 

Personal Study - Monday, 21 December, 2020

What Does It Mean To Be Goodly - Part 2

 

 I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

- The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:1

 

Still pondering 1 Nephi 1:1 and left off with the question...

"What does it mean to be goodly?"

Webster's American dictionary of the English Language - 1828 defines "goodly" for our purposes here:

-    adjective: being of handsome form; beautiful; graceful; as a goodly person; goodly raiment; goodly houses.

1.    pleasant; agreeable, desirable, as in goodly days

 

In seeking understanding from other translations off The Book of Mormon, all that I checked being Russian, French, German and Hebrew use the word, "good."

These translations from English are less pure than the translation that Jospeh Smith received directly from the plates.  While Nephi may have considered his parents pleasant to look upon, this would not be contextually consistent with the narrative of The Book of Mormon.

It is notable that translating from the plates to English, the Prophet Joseph Smith does not come up with the word "good."

"And Jesus said unto them, Why callest thou me good?  There is none good but one, that is, God."

- Mark 10:18 (see also Matthew 19:17)

So, if Christ Himself eschewed being referred to as "good," it was unlikely that Nephi would refer to his parents as "good."    What say ye?  That Nephi did not have the New Testament?  Of course not.  Yet Nephi and the contributors to The Book of Mormon had something more.  They were inspired by the Spirit of the Lord.  There is not place in the entire Book of Mormon that I have found, after a brief search, where the Lord refers to the term, "good man" at any time.  Indeed, there are several places we are told...

"...there is none that doeth good..."

• Psalms 14:1
• Roman 3:12
  
• Moroni 10:35
• Doctrine & Covenants 35:12 (has an exception)

 S0... what does it mean to be "goodly?"  It was probably the best approximation that Joseph could be given for translation at the time.

Let's submit, then, a definistion of goodly that may better fit the meaning Nephi is striving to convey.

Goodly: striving to please God

                   striving to know God

                   striving to be god-like; godly

With this definition, "goodly" fits the account more accurately - it seems - and offers an example to follow.

Personal Study - Thursday, 17 December, 2020

 

What Does It Mean To Be Goodly?

 

    I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.

- The Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 1:1

    Nephi honors his "goodly" parents and mentions how he is taught in all the learning of his father. 

    Fathers have learning to pass on to their sons. It appears that fathers, in Nephi's experience, are the primary instructors of sons and it would also seem that it is the duty of a son to seek knowledge of and from his father.  A mentorship is implied here, which might not be as effective in any other way.

    Even before completion of the first sentence of the first verse of the first chapter of The Book of Mormon, we have profound and inspired guidance for the good of a free society.

    Fathers, be "goodly" so that you can mentor your sons.  Sons, look to your goodly fathers for your example of "goodly" life and character.

    How is that working for us today?

    What does it mean to be "goodly?"

Self Centric

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been since the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saiint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  - Mosiah 3:19

- 

Isn't it natural for us to pursue our own self interest?  This is not in and of itself a bad thing, right? We work to provide for ourselves...

"In the sweat of the face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." - Genesis 3:19

...and if we have families, for them as well.  That is not only a good thing, it is expected...

 "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."  - 1 Timothy 5:8

 

But the common thread in these two verses gives us the context for why we are self-centric.  Man is fallen.  He seeks for his own self-interest out of the necessity of surviving in a temporal world and, since we inherit the physical attributes of the fall from our first parents, it is just not natural for us to pursue the things of God.  We come to this world and increasingly become influenced by the needs of the flesh.  How important it is to teach our children early on that they may actively seek the Light.

 

And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion. or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them no to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying of of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. - D&C 68:25

 

There is something so important about posterity that appears to be a theme throughout The Book of Mormon and that seems to be rejected in their time and generally overlooked in our own.  For many years, the Nephites were warned about how their behavior would lead to destruction.  In some cases, swift destruction was warned of, as Lehi was called to do, and was clearly merited, as it was for the people of Ammonihah.  However, they were also warned about destruction that wouldn't occur for many generations hence.  So, what did they miss?  What did they care?  Life was good, right?  They were satisfied with their current living and lifestyles.  Why would they give pause to something that was to happen to their subsequent generations hundreds of years after their lifetimes?  There must be something so important about inter-generational righteousness; about the effect our lives have on our near and far posterity that the Lord wants to get through to us today.

 

There is such a value in a righteous posterity that Abraham was promised seed "without number" and that by whom "...all nations of the earth would be blessed."  Can I get a "W0W!" here?  There is something important about posterity that the Lord wants us to know, and it needs to arrest our attention.

 

The demands of the flesh, of mortality, seem overwhelming and we are relentlessly affected by the needs we have in this experience.  To choose to come unto Christ is just... not... natural.  However, it is eternally essential, because...

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been since the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saiint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  - Mosiah 3:19