What Happens
"Nephi writes of the things of God--Nephi’s purpose is to persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham and be saved."
1 Nephi 6 Chapter Heading
Commentary
Nephi doesn't really seem that into genealogy, and he stops here in this chapter to explain why. It seems sort of abrupt to us on the surface, but I think, considering the difficulty of etching words into metal, this was probably an important reminder to people who came later. Stick to the things of God... remember the whole reason we are writing this. It isn't just a story; it is evidence of God's hand in our lives.
I also like this mention of the difference between the world and God. In order to please God, we have to separate ourselves from the world, which we are also told elsewhere in verses like "be ye separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17; Alma 5:57) and "go ye out" (Isaiah 52:11 and several other places). With Nephi's family having had to very literally separate themselves and go out of contact with all the rest of the world, I imagine that this was a hugely important principle for Nephi... as it likely should be for us as well. We aren't all asked to jump ship, but we all have to find ways to avoid the coming iceberg.
My favorite part of this chapter is verse 4: "For the fulness of mine intent is that I may persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved." Since he mentions that they are descendants of Joseph, that is a pretty good genealogy right there, but it is much more than that. It is a reminder of all that God did through and for those men and the rest of the people in their stories, and the miraculous power of God in preserving his people. And his people are *all* of us, if we choose to be.
Tune in next time when the story picks back up and Nephi and his brothers go back to Jerusalem for the second time.
"Nephi writes of the things of God--Nephi’s purpose is to persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham and be saved."
1 Nephi 6 Chapter Heading
Commentary
Nephi doesn't really seem that into genealogy, and he stops here in this chapter to explain why. It seems sort of abrupt to us on the surface, but I think, considering the difficulty of etching words into metal, this was probably an important reminder to people who came later. Stick to the things of God... remember the whole reason we are writing this. It isn't just a story; it is evidence of God's hand in our lives.
I also like this mention of the difference between the world and God. In order to please God, we have to separate ourselves from the world, which we are also told elsewhere in verses like "be ye separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17; Alma 5:57) and "go ye out" (Isaiah 52:11 and several other places). With Nephi's family having had to very literally separate themselves and go out of contact with all the rest of the world, I imagine that this was a hugely important principle for Nephi... as it likely should be for us as well. We aren't all asked to jump ship, but we all have to find ways to avoid the coming iceberg.
Tune in next time when the story picks back up and Nephi and his brothers go back to Jerusalem for the second time.
I've been curious just how the writing on the plates was put there. Would you use a metal scribe directly onto the metal plate? or would you cover the plate in a film like dark beeswax and then do an acid etch (easier to fix mistakes)? Were there practice plates for learning how to scribe in this fashion? And lessons in plate making just like boat making later? Go ye out made for some interesting talent finding for this family.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I never really thought about other methods of writing on plates. There definitely could have been some advanced tech going on there. I mean, after all, anyone with a Liahona could probably get some good practical advice about almost anything.
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