Book of Mormon Feast
God in 1 Nephi 11
God • Holy Ghost • Lamb • Lamb of God • The Lord • a Man
Most High God • Redeemer • Son of God • Son of the Eternal Father
Son of the Everlasting God • Son of the Most High God
the Spirit • Spirit of the Lord
1 Nephi 11:16
Knowest thou the condescension of God?
The Book of Mormon teaches us to recognize the condescension of God,
and to be humble
And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?
On the Spirit’s command of “Look,” Nephi has seen a beautiful virgin in the city of Nazareth. An angel, his new guide, has descended, and asks this question. Remember, this is the answer to Nephi’s request to understand the interpretation of the Tree of Life vision. The Tree of Life vision was symbolic, representative of the reality Nephi is now seeing. But even this reality has a deeper meaning, indicative of the glorious truth Nephi seeks to learn and that God seeks to give. The angel is focusing Nephi’s attention: The vision is not about trees or fruit or beautiful girls. It’s an opportunity to learn something about God.
1 Nephi 11:17
I do not know the meaning of all things
The Book of Mormon teaches that knowing “God is Love”
is just the beginning of what we can learn about Him and His plan
And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children;
nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
Nephi’s answer is truly childlike. No, he doesn’t know the condescension of God. But he knows the core reason of anything that God might do: He loves his children. Little children know their parents love them. That is the encompassing truth of their lives. They only vaguely understand the details of how that love is manifested as their parents work to support them and establish order in the house and family, as their parents deprive them of every instant gratification, and exercise discipline in other ways.
Then Nephi goes back to the original question: to know the meaning of the Tree. Maybe he thinks at this point that he knows less than he started with, so he has expanded his description of his ignorance. Now it seems the angel is expecting him to know the meaning of the virgin, connected somehow with the condescension of God and that Tree.
1 Nephi 11:18
The mother of God
The Book of Mormon teaches that the virgin was the mortal mother of God
And he said unto me:
Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God,
after the manner of the flesh.
The original text of the Book of Mormon referred to the virgin as the “mother of
God.” Joseph Smith changed this, and three identical verses in this chapter, for
the 1837 edition. Although it is apparent that Nephi wrote “mother of God,” Joseph
Smith and his associates apparently believed that this phrase, currently associated
with a semi-
Nephi’s own editorial comment on the virgin was “after the manner of the flesh.” This may imply that the Son of God had another mother prior to His arrival in the flesh.
1 Nephi 11:19
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!
While there have been some individuals who have speculated on the mechanism of Jesus’s conception, Nephi’s vision discretely removes the event from the narrative.
1 Nephi 11:21
Behold the Lamb of God, the Son of the Eternal Father!
The Book of Mormon teaches
that the Lamb of God is the ultimate manifestation of the Love of God
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?
Look! Part 3
The condescension of God is that He sent His Son to be born of a woman and to begin life as a helpless baby. In Lehi’s vision, he saw Jesus descending from heaven. The angel juxtaposes two titles of Jesus – the Lamb of God, and the Son of the Eternal Father, which reflect these two origins of Jesus. The lamb, an infant, is helpless and innocent, and fated from the beginning to be sacrificed. The Son of God has all power given to Him in heaven and in earth.
Everything is encompassed between these two identities of Jesus: His experiences
as a mortal man, subject to all the vicissitudes of this life, and suffering all
that man has ever suffered, and more; His compassion for His fellow-
This divine dichotomy is well-
Jesus, once of humble birth,
Now in glory comes to earth.
Once He suffered grief and pain,
Now He comes on earth to reign!
Once a meek and lowly Lamb,
Now the Lord, the great I Am.
Once upon the cross He bowed,
Now His chariot is the cloud.
Once He groaned in blood and tears,
Now in glory He appears.
Once rejected by His own,
Now their King He shall be known.
Once forsaken, left alone,
Now exalted to a throne.
Once all things He meekly bore,
But He now will bear no more!
(LDS Hymns 196; words by Parley P. Pratt, 1807-
1 Nephi 11:22
The Love of God sheddeth itself in the hearts
The Book of Mormon teaches
that the love of God is the most desirable above all things
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.
Nephi has asked for the interpretation of the vision, but when questioned, he already knew the meaning of the central figure – the tree. It may be that he surmised it from what he had seen, or that the Holy Ghost taught him at that time in his heart. It is more likely that his father had explained it to him, and he was quoting Lehi’s words.
The idea of the tree representing love which is “shed forth” is intriguing. Trees
do shed, as inhabitants of temperate climates know. They shed their leaves, not
their fruit. And every yard on the block, willy-
Paul also said, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5) The identical wording indicates that both Paul and Nephi (or Lehi) received this information from the same source – either the Holy Ghost or another writing which is not now extant.
Why did Nephi and Paul choose to say the love of God is “shed,” not spread, or distributed, or scattered? “Shed” evokes a certain Biblical usage. The Bible and Book of Mormon use “shed” often, almost always with the direct object “blood.” Blood is shed during war, blood is shed by wickedness, shedding of blood is the most abominable sin. And yet, as attested by the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, the blood of the Messiah is willingly shed for the world. His shed blood atones for all the shed blood of the generations – all of the worst sins and the least sins and everything in between.
The love of God is universal for all His children, in all ages and places. Their perception of that love is disseminated by the Holy Ghost. And there is a discrete mechanism for accessing the Holy Ghost. Paul delineates a process centered in faith and hope and life experience in coming to this love in the heart. Nephi describes it all metaphorically as a journey to a tree.
Curiously, both Paul’s narrative and Lehi’s explanation include the idea of shame. Paul, citing the fact that Christ died for the ungodly, explains that hope and the love of God dispel the shame that we may feel for things we have experienced in this life. We need not be ashamed because our sins are forgiven, and because the experiences we have had have helped us to grow spiritually. But Lehi observes that some of those who partook of the fruit of the tree became ashamed at being mocked. Although they had what Nephi characterized as “most desirable” (and the angel adds “most joyous”), they coveted the love of the world, of pride. This is the opposite shame from what Paul was talking about: Paul was speaking of shame for events and actions contrary to the gospel of Christ, while Lehi was speaking of shame for missing out on the sins of the world.
Paul’s epistle and Lehi’s vision, both discussing the love of God shed forth in hearts, “grow together,” complementing each other.
1 Nephi 11:24
The Son of God went forth
The Book of Mormon teaches
that many fell down and worshipped at the feet of the Son of God
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.
Look! Part 4
If a Son of God comes to earth, worship and acclamation seem very appropriate and natural, and this is the first thing Nephi sees of Jesus’s mortal sojourn. Great literature uses sympathy – or same feeling – for the main character, making an emotional connection, sharing some identity, and this is what the angel is doing with Nephi. Doubtless Nephi would join those worshipping the Son of God.
1 Nephi 11:25
The rod of iron is the word of God
The Book of Mormon uses a fountain of living waters to symbolize the love of God
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.
Lehi’s vision did not mention this fountain of living waters; it is only mentioned here in Nephi’s vision. There are other mentions in both visions to the other waters, so there was the living water and the filthy water.
Nephi actually presents us with two simultaneous representations of the love of God – the tree of life, and the fountain of living waters. Why two images for the same thing?
John says, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” (John 21:25)
The love of God, and the life that it brings, is the supernal truth of the universe. Can two symbols conceivably encompass it, can any words even approach its magnificence and power? If the world could not hold words to express the acts of Jesus during his mortal ministry, what could comprehend the love of God – the “breadth and length and depth and height” (Ephesians 3:18) – more dimensions than we can imagine?
Jesus summed it up by saying, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Howard W. Hunter added: “Whatever Jesus lays his hands upon lives.”
Jesus’s work brought eternal life to humanity – the fact that we will live again
forever after our brief period of mortality. Many of those who do not know God and
His love aren’t even attracted by the idea of immortality – they’ve had enough of
life in one go-
1 Nephi 11:26
Look and behold the condescension of God!
And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!
The angel has already introduced the idea of the condescension of God, and then showed Nephi Jesus’s birth to the virgin. The condescension is apparently more than just taking on Himself humanity.
1 Nephi 11:27
The Lamb of God was baptized of him
The Book of Mormon teaches
that a prophet would prepare the way for the Redeemer of the World
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.
The baptism event preceded any earthly worship. Thus, verse 27 steps back from verse
24. This account is not strictly chronological. As Lehi was shown God in heaven
being worshipped -
By referring to Jesus as the Lamb of God, Nephi brings the Father into the verse, thus including all three members of the Godhead, as scriptures about the baptism of Jesus generally do. Furthermore, it reminds us of His humility and ultimate sacrifice, the final condescension.
The baptism of Jesus is a study in contrasts. Baptism, by its very form, indicates abject humility and meekness. The person being baptized puts himself in the hands of the priesthood holder, and submits to a representation of dying. The direct consequence of this humility is to receive a member of the Godhead as a companion for life.
The humility is more than symbolic. As John pointed out, he was not “worthy” to baptize the Son of God. No priesthood holder is without faults, and he will baptize a person into a church which is not without fault. Nevertheless, today as yesterday, this is the way ordained of God to enter His kingdom. The Holy Ghost compensates for all the rough places along the road.
1 Nephi 11:28
He went forth in power and great glory
The Book of Mormon teaches that although people can see the power and great glory of the Redeemer, most choose to ignore it and cast Him out
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.
Nephi saw Jesus’s ministry, which he described as “in power and great glory.” Wherein was the power and glory? What did Nephi see to warrant such a description?
What do we read in the gospels that we would say was powerful and glorious? Do we recognize it, or do we see merely an historical account of an itinerant preacher?
Why did they cast him out? Certainly they saw the power, which they felt threatened by, but could they not see the glory? They heard Him and considered His message, and in the end rejected the power and the glory, being content with their scrabbling status quo.