Book of Mormon Feast
God in 1 Nephi 15
Everlasting God • God • Lord
Messiah • Redeemer • Rock • Salvation
Spirit • Spirit of the Lord • True Vine
1 Nephi 15:15
Rejoice and give praise unto the Everlasting God
The Book of Mormon teaches that the day will come
when Lehi’s children will rejoin the true Vine, and enter the fold of God
And then at that day will they not rejoice
and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation?
Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment
from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?
Nephi has really not emphasized to his brothers the sad history of wars and wickedness
among their seed; he has focused on the grafting back in part of the allegory. When
he first came back, he had found the destruction part of the story very distressing,
and actually needed some time to unwind and recover emotionally somewhat. (verses
4-
It seems that in answering his brothers’ question Nephi is enabled to process the tremendous amount of information he has received, and at this very point he rejoices in the glorious culmination, and no longer anguishes over the sadder intermediate story. This is a joyful praise verse.
This verse also illustrates the balance between Christian community and relationship
with Christ. Nephi lumps these together as two parts of a whole. The descendants
will know God as their Rock and Salvation, rejoicing and praising Him personally.
They will come unto the true fold of God, or be identified with and participate
in His Church. Linking these two ideas, they will receive strength and nourishment
from the true vine. Nephi is explaining an olive tree allegory; the vine may represent
the tree, which is the House of Israel as a community of believers. Alternatively,
Jesus Himself is the Vine. (John 15:4-
1 Nephi 15:17
The Lord will show His power unto the Gentiles
The Book of Mormon teaches
that in the latter days the gospel will come first to the Gentiles
And this is what our father meaneth;
and he meaneth that it will not come to pass
until after they are scattered by the Gentiles;
and he meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles,
that the Lord may show his power unto the Gentiles,
for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the Jews, or of the house of Israel.
The Lord keeps His covenants, but when His covenant people do not keep their covenants
and share His light, He is perfectly willing to move on and offer the blessings to
another group of people. He offered to destroy the rebellious and disobedient Children
of Israel and make Moses a great nation (Exodus 32:10). Jesus Himself, in the Parable
of the Wedding Feast, pointed to the Gentiles receiving the gospel after it had been
rejected by the Jews. (Matthew 22:1-
1 Nephi 15:18
In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed
The Book of Mormon teaches
that the blessing of Abraham will be fulfilled in the latter days
Wherefore, our father hath not spoken of our seed alone,
but also of all the house of Israel,
pointing to the covenant which should be fulfilled in the latter days;
which covenant the Lord made to our father Abraham, saying:
In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
I do not recall seeing this broader concept in Nephi’s vision; what he described seemed limited to his seed, and the Promised Land. But, while he can liken the scriptures unto himself, and knows how his family fits in to the overall plan, he does not hold a parochial view that his family uniquely fulfills the prophecy. He recognizes that a “scattering” must involve more than one departing group.
1 Nephi 15:20
The words of Isaiah
The Book of Mormon shows
that understanding the word of God can bring humility and peace
And I did rehearse unto them the words of Isaiah,
who spake concerning the restoration of the Jews, or of the house of Israel;
and after they were restored they should no more be confounded,
neither should they be scattered again.
And it came to pass that I did speak many words unto my brethren,
that they were pacified and did humble themselves before the Lord.
After explaining to his brothers a part of what he learned in his vision, Nephi broadens his narrative by instructing them from the Book of Isaiah. It is curious for modern readers to realize that Nephi and his brothers were able to learn from this book, that it settled their controversy, while we often consider it the most difficult book, at least as part of the Book of Mormon. It is also curious that they were pacified and humbled before the Lord as a result of learning from the Book of Isaiah. People can have many kinds of questions about faith, and sometimes they include a judgment of God and His ways. It appears that this was part of the brothers’ problem, so Nephi convinced them of God’s ultimate goodness and fairness.
1 Nephi 15:24
The iron rod
The Book of Mormon likens the word of God to an iron rod,
saying that holding it will protect against the fiery darts of the adversary
And I said unto them that it was the word of God,
and whose would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it,
they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts
of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.
Nephi’s brothers have asked the meaning of the tree which their father saw, and the
rod of iron, and Nephi begins to explain the symbolism in this allegorical vision.
Thus we, as Book of Mormon readers, see this vision three times: first Lehi’s original
description, second Nephi’s re-
In Lehi’s original version, he saw people catching hold of the rod of iron and using it to guide them to the tree, and that those who did not cling to it wandered off and were lost. Nephi’s vision does not repeat the visual image, but he learns that the rod of iron is the Word of God.
In speaking to his brothers, Nephi synthesizes these understandings and adds more imagery. He changes the swirling, deceitful fog into fiery darts, perhaps recognizing that these would speak more forcefully to his violent brothers.
“Rod of iron” is a Biblical phrase found three times in the Book of Revelation. In each case it describes how the righteous in the end times shall rule. (Revelation 2:27, 12:5, 19:15) The readings are violent in context, but the idea of the rod of iron being the Word of God could also fit in each case, rendering a more compassionate reading. In the third instance, Jesus, who is named The Word of God, is shown with a sharp sword coming from His mouth, and ruling with a rod of iron. The Tree of Life vision sheds the violence and idea of rule; the people voluntarily grasp the iron rod and allow it to guide them.
Psalm 119:105 is the most beautiful and descriptive praise of the word of God: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” The unforgettable and irrepressible Tree of Life image enhances that. Sometimes, even with the word of God, we do not see very clearly at all. We must nevertheless cling to the Word and follow where it leads, even when we cannot see “the distant scene.”
1 Nephi 15:25
Give heed unto the word of the Lord
The Book of Mormon exhorts us to give heed unto the word of the Lord
Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord;
yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul,
and with all the faculty which I possessed,
that they would give heed to the word of God
and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.
Nephi could not emphasize more strongly his attempts to help his brothers, than with this very strong language, repeated three times: he exhorted them, he exhorted them with all the energies of his soul, and he exhorted them with all his faculties, to give heed to the word of the Lord, to give heed to the word of God, to remember to keep His commandments in all things. He previously told us that after Lehi received his vision, he exhorted his sons “with all the feeling of a tender parent.” (1 Nephi 8:37) Nephi does not claim any tender brother feelings, but he does give it all he’s got. He does not record any response by his brothers to his exhortations, but they did continue questioning him as to the meaning of the vision. They ask for and he gives them understanding of the theory. Like Jesus, he gives them more than they ask for: He gives them the practicum – how to apply the vision in their own lives.
1 Nephi 15:28
An awful gulf which separates
The Book of Mormon presents
a symbol of an awful gulf separating the wicked from the saints of God
And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf,
which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.
His brothers have asked, and Nephi is answering, the meaning of the river of water. Hugh Nibley was the first to point out that this “awful gulf” is a typical feature of the Arabian landscape.
The filthy water separates from the tree of life and the saints of God, but not from
God Himself. His grace is available from any spiritual location. But when one seeks
and obtains that grace, he cannot continue to frolic in the filth. Birds of a feather
flock together, and often when people reject the Word of God and take other paths
diverging from the strait and narrow, they seek other friends to uphold them in their
lifestyle. They separate themselves from the saints of God, often while pointing
out real or imagined faults in the saints. The saints meanwhile shun the filthiness,
so there is a mutually agreed-
1 Nephi 15:30
The justice of God like the brightness of a flaming fire
The Book of Mormon teaches that the justice of God hath no end
And I said unto them that our father also saw
that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous;
and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire,
which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.
This is a different take on the flames of hell, and one which is not described in
either Lehi’s original vision or Nephi’s vision. The separation between the wicked
and the righteous is not only self-
1 Nephi 15:33
They must be brought to stand before God
The Book of Mormon teaches that the wicked cannot live in God’s kingdom,
or it would become filthy
Wherefore, if they should die in their wickedness they must be cast off also,
as to the things which are spiritual, which are pertaining to righteousness; wherefore, they must be brought to stand before God, to be judged of their works; and if their works have been filthiness they must needs be filthy;
and if they be filthy it must needs be that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God; if so, the kingdom of God must be filthy also.
Most of the vision illuminates our condition in mortality, but this part, which wasn’t
really included in the vision proper, is only temporal in that its results depend
upon the person’s behavior while in mortality. Nephi answers the age-
Nephi does not portray God, acting as Judge, as interested in punishing the wicked. He has His wondrous kingdom, to which He invites all His children. But if He allows the filthy to immigrate it will change the quality of that kingdom, so they must necessarily be excluded. They would take heaven and make it hell.
1 Nephi 15:34
The kingdom of God is not filthy
The Book of Mormon teaches
that God prepares a place for everyone suited to them
But behold, I say unto you, the kingdom of God is not filthy,
and there cannot any unclean thing enter into the kingdom of God;
wherefore there must needs be a place of filthiness
prepared for that which is filthy.
Nephi is presenting a logical argument, and here, emphasized by “but behold, I say unto you,” is his incontrovertible postulate: The kingdom of God is not filthy.
For His own sake, and the sake of His saints, God prevents the filthy from entering His kingdom. But the filthy must exist somewhere. Eternity is implied; extinction is not an option.
The great variety of ecosystems on this earth attest that God knows how to prepare places. These ecosystems are connected in a giant, overlapping web. His kingdoms of glory, too, are connected. But the place for filthiness is apart from all that.
1 Nephi 15:35
That awful hell
The Book of Mormon teaches that the filthy are cast out of the kingdom of God
And there is a place prepared, yea, even that awful hell of which I have spoken,
and the devil is the preparator of it;
wherefore the final state of the souls of men is to dwell in the kingdom of God,
or to be cast out because of that justice of which I have spoken.
Hell in the Tree of Life vision is symbolically represented as a river of filthiness
“which hath no end” (1 Nephi 14:3). Nephi has already told his brothers that the
angel said hell was “prepared for the wicked” (1 Nephi 15:29) We are aware of God’s
kingdom-
People who resist God’s authority live under the illusion that they are independent thinkers, and can create their own utopias after their own image. But God rules all the universe, except that portion which He has designated as not part of His kingdom. There is no space in which there is no kingdom. (Doctrine & Covenants) If anyone doesn’t choose to fit into the kingdom of God, he will be swept into the devil’s domain, sucked into a kind of black hole where there is no light, and from which there is no escape.
1 Nephi 15:36
The wicked are rejected from the righteous
The Book of Mormon teaches that the wicked reject the love of God
Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous,
and also from that tree of life,
whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits;
yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God.
And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen.
According to this vision, the Tree of Life represents the love of God which is shed
forth in people’s hearts. (1 Nephi 11:21-
God in 1 Nephi 15 by the Numbers
36 verses
God is mentioned by name: 21 verses = 58%
Verses about God: 21 verses = 58%
Everlasting God: 1
God: 14
Lord: 11
Messiah: 2
Redeemer: 2
Rock: 1
Salvation: 1
Spirit: 1
Spirit of the Lord: 1
True Vine: 1