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1 Nephi 16:1-4  

1. And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.
2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.
3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.
4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord.

Nephi was a brave and tenacious young man. His brothers had already shown they had short tempers, and they would show it again. To Sam, he was probably something of a hero. But to his other older brothers he was someone who had to be dealt with. That relationship was apparent both before and after this event, but this time was different. They actually listened to him.

It is apparent that Nephi’s brothers understood the intent of his words. He had reminded them of the blessings they had received and probably of the covenants they had made and also, of the consequence of their continued inconstancy. The power of Nephi’s words moved them to a temporary repentance. Nephi was quick to see hope in their contrition, and reported,

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1 Nephi 15:32-36  

32 And it came to pass that I said unto them that it was a representation of things both temporal and spiritual; for the day should come that they must be judged of their works, yea, even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation.

“Works,” in many places in the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, refers to ordinances.{1} That should come as no surprise, because that is always the criterion God uses for our entering into his presence. Nephi clarifies that meaning when he adds:

33 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.

Righteousness is zedek, that is, correctness in priesthood and temple ordinances and covenants. While it is certainly true that we will be judge according to all the things we do and are, it is also true that there must be order in all things. No one can take priesthood honor to himself. What we do in the kingdom must be sanctioned in advance by calling, ordinance, and covenant, and then sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise or it has no validity.

34 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.
35 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.
36 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.

We wonder, if the words had not been dictated to him by the Holy Ghost, how differently Nephi might have written Doctrine and Covenants 76. The words in that revelation, as Joseph wrote them, are a celebration of God’s love for all of his children and the assurance that each person will inherit that degree of glory that is most consistent with his nature as he has defined his own nature. However, while Nephi’s message does not deny that, it completely redirects its focus. To Nephi, Alma, Mormon, and all the prophets in the Book of Mormon, salvation is being where God is. Anything that is different from that is different from salvation.

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FOOTNOTE

{1} Some scriptures where “works” refer to ordinances are: Psalms 145:17-18; all of the book of James; Alma 5:54, 11:44, 12:30, Alma 13:3, Moroni 8:23.

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1 Nephi 15:31 

31 And they said unto me: Doth this thing mean the torment of the body in the days of probation, or doth it mean the final state of the soul after the death of the temporal body, or doth it speak of the things which are temporal?

Nephi responded that there is not much difference. In this world, the saints experience a light and a peace that can only be a gift of the Spirit. That same light and peace define us here and define us hereafter. The Lord also explained to the Prophet Joseph,

28 They who are [present tense] of a celestial spirit shall receive [future tense] the same body which was [past tense] a natural body; even ye shall receive [future tense] your bodies, and your glory shall be [future tense] that glory by which your bodies are quickened [present tense] .
29 Ye who are quickened [present tense] by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive [future tense] of the same, even a fulness (D&C 88:28-29).

Nephi explained the same principle to his brothers, and in doing so, he gives us a third explanation of his and his father’s visions.

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1 Nephi 15:30 

30 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.

Nephi described this veil of light that separates us from the tree of life as like “a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.” In Genesis it is probably that same concept that is described when we are told: “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:23-24).

We live in a world where we are separated from God by two veils. One is the world around us—the one we see with our natural eyes but beyond which we cannot see. The other is the veil of light, the Shechinah,{1} through which the prophets must pass before they see God. Similarly, Nephi now describes the state of the wicked as being divided from God by two barriers. The first is “an awful gulf which separated the wicked from the tree of life and also from the saints of God.” This gulf is not one into which they were unwittingly pushed. Rather it is a gulf of their own making, a pit of blackness through which they will not see the light that radiates from the tree of life and from the countenances of the saints of God. The other barrier is, as Nephi now explains, the justice of God. It is a bright flaming fire that divides the wicked from the righteous. He explained that those who conduct their lives in such a way that precludes their coming within that veil will forfeit the blessings of the “righteous,”that is, the blessings of the ordinances and covenants of the ancient temple rites.{2} Here, he describes those ordinances and covenants as “even the works which were done by the temporal body in their days of probation.”

To understand something about the veil of light that is the shechinah, and of the contrast that is represented as the great and spacious building and the great gulf that separates the wicked from the righteous, we must begin by examining the nature of the light that lets the righteous approach the tree, and then the darkness that keeps the wicked away.
The Gospel of John and the 88th and 93rd sections of the Doctrine and Covenants each begin by introducing the Savior as the source of light. He introduced himself to the Nephites that same way by saying, “I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (3 Nephi 9:18).

The scriptures are replete with the idea that our physical selves are literally made of the great aura of light that surrounds the person of the Savior. John testifies, “The worlds were made by him; men were made by him; all things were made by him, and through him, and of him” (D&C 93:10). Science confirms that we are made of energy which is also light. All matter is energy. Energy is light—but we are talking about a much greater range of lights than just photons we can see with our eyes. Whether one uses Einstein’s famous E=mc2 or the more recent string theory, the basic conclusions are the same.

The ultimate source of light is truth—truth shines (D&C 88:7). God’s truth is infinite. It fills all space. The Savior is the Spirit of Truth and has all truth (D&C 93:26). His light also and “fills the immensity of space.” His love is also in and through all things. Therefore truth, light, and love either occupy the same space at the same time or they are the same thing. If they are the same thing then love has the same physical qualities as light. The product of truth/light/love is joy—eternal joy that is eternal life.{3}

The pure love of Christ is charity. The severest contrast to charity is the self-imposed separation from others that is the product of an insatiable desire for self-aggrandizement. Loneliness and aloneness are not the same things even though they may feel somewhat the same. Loneliness is a longing to be with others. Aloneness is self-imposed austerity and contempt, even hatred, toward others–there is neither love nor joy in a world of aloneness.

To understand the darkness that engulfed Alma, it helps to realize that if our truth/light/love diminishes, then so does our power to be alive and experience joy. So life itself becomes less as love becomes less.

Some persons exude little or no light. Alma’s life, to that point, had been more defined by his desire to “become a law unto itself”—that is, defined by his contempt and hatred for others rather than by love. The Lord explained,

35 That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still (D&C 88:35).

If our truth/light/love are the definition of our life, and if the quality of our life is the definition the quality of our joy, then the absence of truth/light/love must be hell.

A total lack of love is a total lack of light—a black hole where there is absolute aloneness but no quality of life. If one refuses the Savior’s light, and emits none of his own, and if he remains cognizant, then his existence must be only contempt for others and vanity for himself. The saddest of all scriptures reads:

32 And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received (D&C 88:32).

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FOOTNOTES
{3} For a discussion truth, light and love as equivalents see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, First edition, p. 801-814; Second edition, p. 564-72.

{1} For a discussion of the shechinah and the veils see the footnote at the end of the section called, “1 Nephi 1:1-6, A Three Act Play.” For further discussions see the sections called, “1 Nephi 11:2-7, One Must Say and Do Truth” and “1 Nephi 11:8-22, The Condescension of God.”

{2} For a discussion of righteousness as zedek see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, First edition, p. 279- 285; Second edition, p. 198-201.
1 Nephi 15:16-18 — LeGrand Baker — The Abrahamic Covenant of Posterity

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1 Nephi 15:16-18  

16 Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive-tree, into the true olive-tree.
17 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.
18 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.

Nephi’s response came from the very core of Israelite theology. It focused on the meaning of the Abrahamic covenant as it extended to themselves. The covenant is the promise of land as an inheritance, of family, priesthood, invulnerability, and ultimately of eternal life (Abraham 2:6-12).{1} Lehi’s sons were aware of how important it was to have a self-perpetuating family. In their Feast of Tabernacles temple drama, they had sung,

1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed (Psalm 112:1-2).

Nephi explained to them that the Olive tree was a representation of the fulfilment of the Lord’s promise of family—both in time and in eternity. Nephi’s explanation to them was more complete than he gives us, for he writes,

19 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, spake much unto them concerning these things; yea, I spake unto them concerning the restoration of the Jews in the latter days.
20 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 (1 Nephi 15:19-20).

It is significant that Nephi’s explanation of his father’s words should begin with the subject that was most meaningful to his brothers, the Lord’s promise to them of their family heritage. A related issue, the question of who should have the family birthright, was eventually what caused a split among Lehi’s sons and caused Nephi and those who followed him to flee from those same brothers and their original home in the new world. But for the present, the brothers wanted to pursue the questions of their father’s vision.

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FOOTNOTE

{1} For a discussion of the Abrahamic covenant see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, First edition, p. 359-64; Second edition, p. 258-62.

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1 Nephi 15:15  

15. 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?

“Receive” is a verb that requires action on the part of the one who accepts, but it also requires action on the part of the one who gives. If one receives without being given it is stealing. If one is given but does not receive, it is rejection. One cannot passively receive. That is only being dumped on. For one to receive strength and nourishment, one must actively accept it. The “true vine” is the Savior (John 15:1-10).

The idea of receiving such strength and nourishment from the source of life is very ancient. A favorite Old Testament promise reads:

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.
8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine (Proverbs 3:5-10).

The Hebrew word translated “navel” does not mean “belly button,” it means “the umbilical cord.”{1} Since no adult human actually has a healthy umbilical cord, the words cannot be taken literally, but must be taken figuratively. When one looks about to discover what it might mean, one remembers the often repeated idea that the ancient Jews considered the temple at Jerusalem to be the “navel of the earth,” the connecting place between God and his people. In that instance, also, the idea “navel” does not mean a severed, but a functional umbilical cord—a living connection between heaven and earth. It suggests staying attached to the “true vine.” If we will “trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding,” then the rectitude of our intentions will keep alive and functional that conduit between ourselves and heaven, bringing into play all of the covenants we made with God in the premortal world, and keeping us aware that God’s grace is sufficient to deter every power on earth or in hell from preventing us from fulfilling the assignments we accepted while at the Council in Heaven (Psalm 25).

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FOOTNOTE

{1} Strong # 8270. A similar idea is found in D&C 89:18-21.

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1 Nephi 15:14  

14 And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.

Nephi had just told his brothers that if they hardened their hearts—chose not to know the mysteries of godliness—they would perish, but, “If ye will not harden your hearts…surely these things shall be made known unto you.” After Nephi explained that his father had likened the house of Israel, including their own descendants, to an olive tree, he also told them why it was so important that they know. The sequence of thought he follows is important.

Even though one is not held responsible for sins he does not know are sins, it is also true that no unclean thing can be where God is. Consequently, one cannot be saved unless he knows how to come to the Savior and be saved by him. If we do not have the opportunity to learn while we are in this life, we will have it in the next. But the fact remains that we must know, and we must let that knowledge be the pilot of our actions. Therefore, it was very important to Nephi to know that ultimately their descendants would “come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved”(1 Nephi 15:14). Having explained that one must “know how to come unto him and be saved,” Nephi then promises his brothers that their descendants would come to that knowledge in the last days.

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1 Nephi 15:6-11 

6 And it came to pass that after I had received strength I spake unto my brethren, desiring to know of them the cause of their disputations.
7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive-tree, and also concerning the Gentiles.
8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord?
9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.
10 Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?
11 Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you.

Nephi’s was not a fancied sorrow. It sapped Nephi’s strength and it took a while for him to recover. Although his brothers may have taken them differently, Nephi’s words seem not to be so much a chastisement as they are an expression of his pain. Nephi’s words were also an urgent plea, which he offered even though he had seen in vision that they would not listen. His promise is extended to us by the words of Alma, “he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full” (Alma 12:10). That same promise was made through the Prophet Joseph: “He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things” (D&C 93:28).

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1 Nephi 15:1-6 

1 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away in the spirit, and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my father.
2 And it came to pass that I beheld my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them.
3 For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts, therefore they did not look unto the Lord as they ought.
4 And now I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and also, because of the things which I had seen, and knew they must unavoidably come to pass because of the great wickedness of the children of men.
5 And it came to pass that I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall.

There is an apparent incongruence about Nephi’s words that is not only real but actually typical. He has just come down from a high mountain where he has talked with God and seen things that were too marvelous for his words. Yet his response is to feel deep sorrow and to be “overcome because of my afflictions.” Actually, this kind of conflict is what one would expect of a prophet who has experienced love and truth. Truth—knowing reality in sacred time—floods his intellect, but love—knowing God and his children in sacred time—is his dominant emotion. Hence the dissonance that brings the tears.

When one knows truth and knows the exalting power it has upon the human soul, then one’s primary desire is to share truth so that it may exalt others as well. The joy of doing so is an eternal fulfillment, but the sorrow of watching them turn their back on both the truth and the joy it brings is a devastating sorrow. So, while still basking in the light of the revelation he had just received, Nephi could remember, “I was overcome because of my afflictions, for I considered that mine afflictions were great above all, because of the destruction of my people, for I had beheld their fall.” Similarly, the Three Nephites were warned that they would experience the same dichotomy, and with the same cause (3 Nephi 28:9).

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1 Nephi 15:1  

1. And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been carried away in the spirit, and seen all these things, I returned to the tent of my father.

It may be true that there is almost nothing more difficult for earth-bound people to comprehend than the power of God to communicate by traveling through time and space, but there are many examples of people who have done it. The following are examples of people who were, like Nephi, “carried away,” either to a high mountain or to the throne of God. That throne is in the Holy of Holies of the temple in Kolob. In short, they go a very great distance, but rarely even mention the trip.{1}

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FOOTNOTE

{1} Examples are Isaiah 6:1;Ezekiel 1:3-4 and 26, 40:2-3; 2 Corinthians 12:2-6; Revelation 1:9-13, 21:9-10;1 Nephi 1:6-8, 11:1; Moses 1:1-2.

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