And thou hast beheld in thy youth his glory; wherefore, thou art blessed even as they unto whom he shall minister in the flesh; for the Spirit is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (2 Nephi 2:4).

I believe Jesus’ ministry is infinite and eternal (Alma 34:10) and thus spans beyond His earthly ministry. As in the scripture above, I believe Jesus’ ministry can be just as personal to each of us as to those He ministered to in the meridian of time.

Crispijn van den Broeck (Flemish, 1524 – about 1591) Creation of Light, 1575, Pen and brown ink, blue wash over traces of black chalk 18.6 x 27.3 cm (7 5/16 x 10 3/4 in.) The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

The Creation is a story I ponder a lot as I read the scriptures.  For members of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints elements of the Creation story are contained in the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price (all our canon).  This time while reading about God’s process of creation, I considered the pattern of seven days as compared to our week.  I would like to share how through one way of thinking God’s seven days of creation can be linked to our time of a week.

Spiritual Creation

The Pearl of Great Price teaches us there was a spiritual Creation before the physical.

“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. For I, the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air;” (Moses 3:5)

Similarly to the physical Creation, the sixth day included our spiritual creation and the seventh day God rested from His creative work (Abraham 5:3).  However, I think it is possible this does not mean nothing else was happening on the seventh day.  One key element, in this way of comparing God’s seven days of Creation to our seven days in a week, is that God rested from Creation on the seventh day but His work of our salvation continued.  I believe we can think of the seventh day of our spiritual creation like the time after our physical creation.  The seventh day of the spiritual Creation we learned from God and made choices.  We made righteous choices and incorrect choices.   I think the prophet Alma talks about making choices during this time but he refers to it as ‘from the foundation of the world’.  

“And this is the manner after which they were ordained—being called and prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God, on account of their exceeding faith and good works; in the first place being left to choose good or evil; therefore they having chosen good, and exercising exceedingly great faith, are called with a holy calling, yea, with that holy calling which was prepared with, and according to, a preparatory redemption for such.”  (Alma 13:3)

Through the exercise of wielding agency, we might have learned the need for a Savior to amend the effects of our errors.    We also might have gained a healthy respect for the value of agency and its potential in perfecting us.  Therefore, when God knew we were prepared for the physical Creation, He asked for someone He could send physically to earth to bear the responsibility of being the Savior.  This might of made some sense to us on a practical level rather than a solely theoretical one.

“And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.  And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.”  (Abraham 3:27-28)

Physical Creation

Again, on the seventh day of physical Creation, God rested from His creative work and the seventh day was sacred because we started the important work of living our lives.  Again, we were to make choices with the ultimate goal of choosing to worship/obey the Father through the reconciliation offered through of his Son, Jesus Christ.  He leads us back to the Father in this life and the next.

Crispijn van den Broeck (Flemish, 1524 – about 1591) Creation of the Animals, 1575, Pen and brown ink, blue wash 18.1 x 27 cm (7 1/8 x 10 5/8 in.) The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Our Week

We need to prepare and create the right situation during six days of our week so we will be able to formally accept the Savior on the seventh(+) day.  Some of the similarities I see between God’s creation and our six-day preparation is as follows:

1. Like God separated the light from darkness so must we be able to distinguish between right and wrong.  We also have to be able to create light in our lives.  Light is a representation of Jesus so creating light in our lives would mean creating opportunities for Jesus to be a part of our lives.  This could be our scripture study, good deeds, etc.  (Moses 2:4)(Genesis 1:4)(*)
2. God created the earth and the heavens.  Created land and sea.  God created these places for us to live and decide what is important to us.  We to have to create places in our lives where not only can we think about God but we can make these thoughts become actions.  A starting place can be our place of worship.  In this place, we can demonstrate comradery and serve others.  Later this can expand to our neighbors, coworkers, and perhaps even strangers.
3. God then created plants and beasts that multiplied themselves each after its kind.  Similarly, simple one-time actions are not enough to feed our souls.  These good actions must take root and multiply after its kind creating deeper and richer relationships with God, our families, friends, and acquaintances.  These enhanced relationships will require more sacrifice and thus force us to decide on our wiliness to righteously change.
4. God created man on the sixth day with the ultimate hope for them to progress back to live with him in a new exalted form.  Hopefully, the above steps can create in us a new more righteous man or women.
5. The seventh day God rested from His creative work and had a sacred day.  We too should be able to rest from our preparatory work and enjoy a sacred day to formally accept Jesus through a worship service.

The process repeats with hopeful progression and the companionship of Jesus.        

Conclusion

We can follow God’s example of planning to create the best possible circumstances for us to accept Jesus.  Jesus will perfect us as we come to Him and we will be blessed by His power.  Finally, the hope being each week we can progress to a higher spiritual plane until one day we are prepared to return to live with God again.

(footnote +) This pattern follows from a week starting Monday and is just a way of thinking about the week.  Traditionally, the Christian Sabbath day being Sunday because Jesus was resurrected on this day (John 20:1).

(footnote *) Follow along from the verse the Creation story as told in either book of scripture.

Crispijn van den Broeck (Flemish, 1524 – about 1591) Creation of Adam, 1575, Pen and brown ink, blue wash over traces of black chalk 18.6 x 27.3 cm (7 5/16 x 10 3/4 in.) The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

As previously discussed in my blog post entitled, ‘Lehi’s Dream’, I believe there are important lessons we can learn from this dream.  However, given the what, there still remains the question of why is Lehi’s dream included in the Book of Mormon?  Furthermore, why are nearly three chapters in the very beginning of the Book of Mormon dedicated to this dream (i.e. 1 Nephi 8, 11, 15)?  

I believe Lehi’s dream is presented so prominently in the beginning of the Book of Mormon because the history of the Book of Mormon is to be viewed and understood through the symbolism of Lehi’s dream.  In other words, we must learn the symbolism of Lehi’s dream to understand how to interpret the rest of the Book of Mormon.  In fact, the chapters following each of the dream chapters allude to the fact that the dream itself is an interpretation of human history.  I will take one of these chapters to demonstrate how I think it might work.  1 Nephi 13 is one example of how the prophet Nephi and Mormon may be using Lehi’s dream to interpret human history.

1 Nephi 13

• And the angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity (verse 5).  

This verse describes the creation of an abominable church, which seeks to destroy the true believers and seekers of the Father.  This is comparable to the large and spacious building Lehi saw in his dream (1 Nephi 8:33).  The building in the dream is described as large and spacious comparable to the  abominable church because it is described as covering the many nations of the Gentiles (1 Nephi 13:4).  

• And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren (verse 10).  

This verse leads us to interpret Europe as the nation of the Gentiles and the Americas as where the seed of Nephi’s brethren are located.  We are lead to believe this because Nephi describes sailing for some time when leaving Jerusalem (1 Nephi 18:9).  Furthermore, the subsequent verses in chapter thirteen seem to describe Christopher Columbus (1 Nephi 13:12) and the colonization of the colonies by Britain (1 Nephi 13:13,17).  Under these parameters, the many waters would the Atlantic ocean and can be comparable to the waters separating the righteous from the wicked seen in Lehi’s dream (1 Nephi 15:28).  Lehi’s family is originally lead here because they listened to the Lord to leave Jerusalem (1 Nephi 2:1-2).

• And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them (verse 16).  

Some Gentiles are also led out of Europe to the Americas were humble.  Therefore, these early colonizers may be contrasted with those in the great and spacious building found in the dream.

• For, behold, saith the Lamb: I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb (verse).

In Lehi’s dream, the tree is precious above all and represents the love of God (1 Nephi 11:22).  The fruit may represent the work of the Atonement done by Jesus and when we join in sacred covenant with Him, we are able to partake of our Father’s love.  The results of our personal fall through sin can be bridged and we can again feel our Father’s companionship within ourselves.  Thus, another symbol of the tree mentioned by Nephi is the condescension of Jesus Christ (1 Nephi 11:26).  Although perfected, Jesus suffered all the evil of the world for our salvation (1 Nephi 11:32-34).  Another symbol of Jesus’ condescension is the Book of Mormon itself as described in the bulleted verse above.  Despite His great cost for the Atonement, Jesus was willing to preserve the Book of Mormon and use it to gather Israel, even those remnants that previously forsook Him.          

Conclusion

Beyond this chapter, I believe the symbolism of Lehi’s dream can be extended to the rest of the Book of Mormon.  For example, the Nephites generally are the multitudes pushing towards the tree were as the Lamanites are the ones generally detracting and preventing the Nephites from living in peace.  The destruction of the wicked before Jesus’ coming in the Book of Mormon (3 Nephi 8) can represent the destruction of the large and spacious building of the wicked in the dream (1 Nephi 11:36).   

Surely, there are many more comparisons in this and other chapters in the Book of Mormon that can be better understood when looking through the lens of Lehi’s dream.  As mentioned in my previous post, I believe Lehi’s dream is a view of the Garden of Eden from the outside perspective looking in, the view we all currently have.  The dream describes the struggle or battle between the force of righteousness and wickedness over the path leading to the Garden or path back to our Father’s presence.

Tanner, Henry Ossawa. (1909). Christ and His Mother Studying the Scriptures [Oil on canvas].  retrieved from: Dallas Museum of Art.

Lehi’s dream is given twice in between 1 Nephi chapters eight and eleven.  The vision is first received by Lehi in chapter eight.  Lehi reports almost exclusively the narrative of the vision with very little in the way of interpretation.  Meanwhile, after listening to his father’s vision Nephi desires and request access to this same vision in a prayer to God.  He has full faith he will receive an answer because of his past experiences with prayer (1 Nephi 2:16).  Nephi’s sees his father’s vision (1 Nephi 11:1) and records his experience in chapter eleven.  Nephi’s version focuses on the interpretation of what is seen in the vision.  These two accounts offer the reader a fuller understanding of the vision and I am grateful for both chapters.

I recently reread Lehi’s dream in the Book of Mormon and with the help of study questions, from James E. Faulconer’s 2014 book The Book of Mormon Made Harder, and have looked at these scripture verses in a whole new light.  I have come away with two new lessons (for me) and have listed them below.

One

I believe the two accounts are given not to be repetitive but to teach us.  We learn about the law of witnesses from the two chapters listed above.  The law of witnesses being, “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established (Duet. 19:15).”

Parallel to this law, Lehi and Nephi’s relationship may remind us how the Father and the Son work together.  To explain why he did not follow Jewish Sabbath custom Jesus said, “…The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise (John 5:19).”  Likewise, Nephi only received his vision after Lehi.  Jesus’ earthly ministry demonstrated to the rest of us how we are to live and understand the Truth of God.  Again, Nephi’s account in chapter eleven accomplishes a similar task for Lehi’s dream in chapter eight.

Two

In some ways, this vision could be thought of as a view of the Garden of Eden.  The view would be from the outside looking in, as opposed to the view given in Genesis, from the inside looking out.

Genesis reports the Garden of Eden with a river going out (Gen 2:10), a tree of life, and a flaming sword (Gen 3:24) among other things.  Lehi and Nephi report similar items in their visions.  However, rather than man and women being banished or leaving the Garden of Eden some people are reported to be coming to the tree of life.  There is also the mocking wicked in the vision not attempting to come to the tree but separated from those coming to the tree.

This vision could be explaining how, after our banishment from God’s presence due to our own sin, we can return back into the Garden (i.e. return back into the Father’s presence).  Only through obedience to the saving gospel words of Jesus (I Nephi 11:25) may we navigate our way back and partake of the fruits of His Atonement.  From the outside view of the Garden offered by Lehi and Nephi, the reader can still see the results of banishment from Gods presence.  The wicked are separated from God by a filthy river (1 Nephi 15:27-28) and the justice of God.  Nephi describes it this way, “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 (1 Nephi 15:30).”  Thus the flaming sword guards the way of the tree of life still.

Conclusion

I am thankful for the Book of Mormon and its stated goal in its title page.  I know it has and will continue to be successful in convincing good men everywhere of the great things the Lord has done for His people.  The Book of Mormon explains the ancient covenants that continue today and the Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus as the Christ.  I believe the vision of Lehi and Nephi in beautiful symbolism completes all three parts of this mission.

Escobar, Victor (1929). Book of Mormon Triptych (Panel #1) [Oil on canvas]. retrieved from: moa.byu.edu

And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the  Spirit of the Lord.  And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine abominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon.  And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!  (1 Nephi 1:12-14)

Rijn, Rembrandt Harmensz van (1630). Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem [oil on panel].  retrieved from:  Rijksmuseum website

In the first chapter of the Book of Mormon we are introduced to the ancient prophet Lehi who lived in Jerusalem and was a contemporary with the prophet Jeremiah (1 Nephi 7:14).  Lehi too prophesied of the wickedness of the people of Jerusalem and the above scripture describes a revelation he had reading from a book, similar to revelations John had in the Book of Revelation (Rev 20:12).

It is fitting the Book of Mormon begins with reading from a book.  The book Lehi read from in his revelation described destructions and mercies.  The reason this beginning to the Book of Mormon is fitting is because the Book of Mormon is a similar book.

The Book of Mormon describes the destruction of three cultures but also describes the mercies received by these peoples.  The Book of Mormon’s mission as described on the title page is to show the Lord keeps his covenants with His people, one such covenant being the coming forth of these ancient peoples’ words (Enos 1:16).  Although the people of Jerusalem and the peoples of the Book of Mormon were destroyed when they forsook the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Lehi could still rejoice because he knew Israel would be gathered again and accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Just like the book Lehi read in his revelation, which confounded the wicked in Jerusalem so does the Book of Mormon confound the modern critic of God’s restitution of all things (Acts 3:21).