{"id":491,"date":"2008-01-23T21:52:06","date_gmt":"2008-01-24T04:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/2008\/01\/10-things-i-never-knew-before-in-first-nephi\/491\/"},"modified":"2020-01-09T05:42:47","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T12:42:47","slug":"10-things-i-never-knew-before-in-first-nephi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.newcoolthang.com\/index.php\/2008\/01\/10-things-i-never-knew-before-in-first-nephi\/491\/","title":{"rendered":"10 things I never knew before in First Nephi"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year, my new years resolution was to read and seriously study the book of Mormon. Tonight I finished first Nephi, and thought I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d take a moment to share 10 things I learned that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know before. If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old hat to you, your name is probably Kevin Barney.<\/em>
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\n1.<\/strong>\tIn the Millennium, Satan is not bound by God in the sense that he is banished and thrown in a dungeon, but per 1 Ne. 22:26, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153He cannot be loosed for the space of many years for he hath no power over the hearts of the people, for they dwell in righteousness\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s righteousness binds Satan, just as Satan binds the people when they sin.
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\n2.<\/strong>\tA major theme in 1st Nephi is that Laman and Lemuel (and Isreal in the Isaiah Chapters (1 Nephi 21:14)) are not experiencing the love of the Lord or having personal revelation (1 Nephi 15:9). It is this \u00e2\u20ac\u0153ignorance\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dealings that leads them to sin. (1 Ne. 2:12)<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong>\tThe first year of King Zedekiah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reign was also the first year of Babylonian rule in Judah, before that, Egypt had ruled Judah for 20 years (since King Josiah). This explains things like Byblos Syllabic inscriptions (reformed Egyptian)
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\n4.<\/strong>\tIn 1 Nephi 1:1- Nephi notes he was highly favored of God, and had seen many afflictions. This is interesting in a text where a major them is prosperity coming obedience. Prospering thus does not mean a cessation of suffering.
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\n5.<\/strong>\tIn 1st Nephi 4:3, Nephi foreshadows that God could destroy Laban, then when he sees Laban in vs 9, the first thing he does is draw Laban\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Sword. Only then, after saying Laban could be destroyed, and standing there holding an unsheathed sword, does he feel prompted to kill Laban. He thinks through the problem and justifies killing Laban at least 8 different ways before following through with it.<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong>\tBrant Gardner<\/a> makes a good point about 1 Nephi Chapter 8\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fruit. It is not enough that the Fruit of the Tree Exists, we have to partake of it. My wife makes a good point about this also, that we have all at least tasted this Fruit at least once in our lives. The scary thing about the vision is that many abandon the fruit after they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve tasted it. One can do all the praxis of the church and still fail to stay with the tree.<\/p>\n

7.<\/strong>\t1 Nephi 10:12-14 correlates closely with Romans 11:17-24.<\/p>\n

8.<\/strong>\tAt the beginning of Nephi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vision he is escorted by the spirit of the Lord, but in Early on in the vision, the Spirit of the Lord leaves, and the guide is then on an Angel.<\/p>\n

9.<\/strong>\tShazer, mentioned in 1 Ne. 16:13 is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a valley or area abounding in trees and shrubs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in Arabic, and would have been one of the only areas with trees large enough to make a wooden bow on Nephi\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Journey.
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\n10.<\/strong>\tJesus is called the God of Isreal in 1 Nephi 19:7-10. This is at least one reason we consider Jehovah to be Christ, though early LDS church leaders used the names Jehovah and Elohim interchangeably.
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