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God in 2 Nephi 3

God  • Holy One of Israel • Lord

Lord God • Lord my God • Messiah

2 Nephi 3:15

His name shall be called after me

The Book of Mormon teaches that Joseph of Egypt

knew of Joseph Smith and his work, even by name

And his name shall be called after me; and it shall be after the name of his father.

And he shall be like unto me; for the thing, which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand,

by the power of the Lord shall bring my people unto salvation.

This verse absolutely removes any doubt about the identity of this prophesied seer.  He is called Joseph, and so is his father.  The Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr., although the fourth son, he was the one called after his father Joseph Smith Sr.

Joseph’s next statement is intriguing:  “He shall be like unto me.”  It is probably easier to enumerate the ways in which these two Josephs are not alike:  Joseph Smith’s family was, on the whole, loyal to him throughout his work of the Restoration, while the first Joseph achieved his greatness because his brothers, in their jealousy, sold him as a slave.  Joseph Smith did the great work of Restoration, but was and still is unknown and unappreciated by the rest of the world.  The first Joseph was placed in a position of highest authority in an influential nation, and was known by all the people.  Joseph Smith’s great work included writings – particularly The Book of Mormon, while these few verses are the only known writings of the first Joseph.  Joseph Smith was killed by a mob, and his people forced to flee from their own nation; the first Joseph, an exile in Egypt, brought his whole family there, where they were succored by the Egyptians for at least one whole generation.

Joseph clarifies his assertion that the latter-day Joseph would be like him:  We must look at “the thing which the Lord [brought] forth by his hand.”  Joseph Smith first brought forth the Book of Mormon.  That was the introduction to the rest of the work, which was the whole restoration of the fulness of the gospel, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Edwin Martineau has identified many parallels between the very long story of Joseph in the Old Testament and the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2 Nephi 3:16

I will preserve thy seed forever

The Book of Mormon teaches that God reassured the exiled Joseph in Egypt

that his seed would be preserved by Moses

Yea, thus prophesied Joseph: I am sure of this thing,

even as I am sure of the promise of Moses;

for the Lord hath said unto me, I will preserve thy seed forever.

Our father Joseph is here bearing his testimony.  He testifies that he is sure of the things which the Lord has promised him.  The Lord promised him Moses, and the Lord promised him Joseph, and these two promises are woven together in Joseph’s testimony and explanations in this chapter.

Joseph realizes that his family’s situation in Egypt is not stable.  They are there by the good graces of Pharaoh, because of his high esteem of Joseph.  But if history teaches us anything, it teaches that the good will of rulers is fickle.  In nations which are ruled by men and not laws, the people must vie for one another in their cultivation of that good will and its largesse.  Joseph, through the power of God, had physically saved his family, as well as the whole nation of Egypt.  But he had enough humility and historical perspective to know that this was not an eternal salvation.  And sure enough, the Bible records that a Pharaoh arose who “knew not Joseph,” and then Israel’s troubles began.

Joseph understood power and its caprice.  He also understood the power of God and His faithfulness.  Joseph trusted that God would raise up a Moses who would save his people, which of course Moses did.  He physically saved them from slavery and oppression as he led them out of Egypt.  And he saved them from barbarism and depravity as he gave them the Law of Moses, which comprised an advanced and compassionate social system as well as a strict regimen of worship to keep their minds pointed to their duty to God.  Thus was Israel’s seed preserved.

2 Nephi 3:17

I will give power unto him in a rod

The Book of Mormon teaches that God fore-ordained Moses’s work

centuries before he was born

And the Lord hath said: I will raise up a Moses; and I will give power unto him in a rod; and I will give judgment unto him in writing.

Yet I will not loose his tongue, that he shall speak much,

for I will not make him mighty in speaking.

But I will write unto him my law, by the finger of mine own hand;

and I will make a spokesman for him.

How succinctly the Lord speaks!  Here is Moses’s life and ministry, encapsulated in a single verse:

1.  The Lord raised up Moses.  He guided mother Jochebed’s mind and hands as she defied the Pharoah’s cruel edict and hid her son, as she prepared a carefully woven and plastered basket boat to place lovingly in the backwaters of the Nile, and as she was able to nurse her own son, at the behest of the Egyptian princess who claimed him.  He guided sister Miriam’s mind and attention as she offered to get a woman to nurse the baby.  He guided the princess to love the little one, and give him the upbringing he apparently needed to be raised up and fulfill his life mission.  He guided Moses’s feet to the home of Jethro, a righteous man who would provide haven, desert experience, and a wife to Moses.  When the time was ripe, He guided Moses to inquire after the burning bush, where he finally found the God of his fathers.

2.  God gave Moses power in a rod.  The rod was first used to demonstrate to Moses personally that he was indeed called of God to a work, and that God would provide the miracles necessary for the job.  He then uses the rod to initiate several of the miraculous and devastating plagues.   And during the Israelites’ 40-year journey through the wilderness, he used the rod to part the Red Sea, to strike a rock and provide water, and to hold in his upraised arms so that Israel might “prevail” against those who attacked them.

Why was the rod used in all these diverse miracles?  Could God not have done miracles without some physical object?  Of course He could.  I have no suggestion as to why He used the rod; that answer must come from a deeper sociological thinker than myself.  But I do observe that people mock Joseph Smith for the physical objects that he used in his translation and revelatory process.  It is better to accept the Lord’s word that He chose to give Moses “power in a rod,” and Joseph power in a stone.

3.  God gave Moses judgement in writing.  The civic, or non-religious portion of the Law of Moses was a compassionate and fair social system.  It provided for personal and group hygiene, and disease prevention.  Today we mock and eye for an eye, and think ourselves so much more advanced than this “barbaric” people.  But I assert that the Law of Moses was a more advanced system than our own.

Consider an example with which I am familiar:  A drunk driver wrecks a borrowed car.  The driver goes to jail and to rehab, then, upon release, has to use an Interlock device on the new car, for which he pays a monthly fee.  At the completion of the term, he must then pay a fee to remove the device from his car, and a hefty fee to change his driver license to show that he no longer needs the device.  He must attend DUI classes.  He will complain about the money he gives to the government for these things, but in the meantime the people whose car he wrecked receive nothing.  An eye for an eye sounds much more fair to me: let the law require that the drunk first buy a car for the unfortunate (and unwise) people who originally loaned him the car, before he buys himself a new car.  This idea could be extrapolated to any crime against persons.  Why is it that the penalties of our “justice” system always involve fines paid to the government, and almost never involve justice for the victims?

4.  Moses, the leader of millions of people, was not great at speaking.  Doubtless he had talents, but he did not have all skills.  He was not perfect, and God was content to use him as he was.  What he was, was good enough.

5.  God made a spokesman for Moses.  His brother Aaron spoke for him.

2 Nephi 3:18

I will make for him a spokesman

The Book of Mormon teaches that God would prepare a spokesman

for Joseph Smith’s writings

And the Lord said unto me also: I will raise up unto the fruit of thy loins;

and I will make for him a spokesman.

And I, behold, I will give unto him that he shall write the writing of the fruit of thy loins, unto the fruit of thy loins; and the spokesman of thy loins shall declare it.

There is not universal agreement on the meaning of this verse.

1.  Some people believe Lehi is speaking.  They believe that he is still (or again) speaking of the choice seer named Joseph after his father, who can only be Joseph Smith.  This is problematic, because Joseph’s lineage is well-established, and it does not include any native American ancestors.  Although without quotation marks (including embedded quotation marks) it may be difficult to be sure at every point in this chapter who is speaking – Lehi himself, Lehi quoting Joseph of old, Lehi quoting God, or Lehi quoting Joseph quoting God – nevertheless careful examination of the preceding verses makes it clear.  

The colon in verse 16 was obviously added by modern editors.  Is it justified?  Could Lehi have quoted Joseph in verse 15, ended his quote with “thus prophesied Joseph,” and then testified himself of these things?  

The next phrase speaks of the “promise of Moses.”  Lehi did not have a promise of Moses; he had the brass plates that wrote of the fulfillment of that promise.  That promise was given to Joseph.

Verse 17 continues the same thought.  Only to Joseph of Old would that promise be meaningful, certainly not to Lehi.

There is no reason to believe that Lehi has dropped Joseph’s writings and begun with his own in verse 18.  The “also” implies this even more strongly.  This is still Joseph speaking.  The person who God will raise up will be the seed of Joseph.  As previously noted (verse 5), Joseph Smith’s patriarchal blessing affirms that he is a descendant of Joseph.

2.  It seems obvious that the person who God will raise up is the one he has already prophesied, Joseph Smith.  Joseph Smith wrote the writing of the Nephite people when he dictated the Book of Mormon from the gold plates by the gift and power of God.  

 a.  It is generally believed that Sidney Rigdon was the prophesied spokesman.  See Doctrine & Covenants 100:9, Doctrine & Covenants 124:104.  These scriptures both refer to him a a spokesman, not the spokesman.

 b.  It could be argued that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the spokesman for Joseph.  Joseph received the founding revelations for the Church.  Subsequent prophets have added a few revelations, policy as needed, and much interpretation or rewording, but the bulk of their work, as well as the work of the whole Church over which they preside, has been to spread or declare the message of Joseph.  Or the message of God as revealed to Joseph.  Every missionary is a spokesman for Joseph.  Every bishop, or Sunday school teacher, or parent is a spokesman for Joseph.  

3.  Another alternative is that the Lord is here speaking of someone other than the seer named Joseph.  After all, Joseph didn’t write the Book of Mormon.  He didn’t even transcribe it; he dictated it.  Mormon wrote it.  The Lord raised up Mormon, who, incidentally, is also a descendant of Lehi.

 a.  If Mormon is the one raised up to write the record, Joseph Smith was his spokesman.  He declared it; he translated it, he dictated it, and make it available to the whole world.

 b.  Alternatively, Moroni, the last record-keeper who also contributed to the book, was the messenger who made Joseph Smith aware of the gold plates, and who tutored the young prophet.  We even use an image of Moroni to symbolize the Church.  Moroni was a spokesman for his father Mormon’s work, and symbolically continues to be a spokesman for the Church.

Whatever might be the precise meaning of every element in this verse, the message is that God has things well in hand.  He had planned in advance the coming forth of the Book of Mormon to the world, and we are watching (and hopefully participating in) the fulfillment of that plan.