Friday, December 12, 2008

1 Nephi 15:21-22

A quick note about verse 20. We first see one of Nephi's many references to Isaiah. Isaiah is one of the books in the brass plates. Nephi loves the words of Isaiah. He will say so here sometime soon in a few chapters. We also see something that many might not have believed possible. The very end of verse 20 says that Nephi's brothers began to humble themselves before the Lord. This is great! We will definitely keep tabs on Nephi's comments on his brothers' spirituality.

In today's section, we get to hear some questions Nephi's brothers ask because they are humble and ready to receive answers. Nephi is excited and patient to explain these things to them even though they didn't ask of the Lord. In verse 21, they ask about the meaning of the tree that their father saw. Nephi answers and says that it is a representation of the tree of life.

I did a quick search on the tree of life and found that the tree of life was in the Garden of Eden. Apparently if one partakes of the fruit of the tree of life, they will live forever. In 2 Nephi 2:15, it says that the tree of life was an opposition to the tree with the forbidden fruit, which would cause spiritual death, the one being sweet and the other bitter. This is a great insight. One truth made explicit by the Book of Mormon. After Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, a cherubim and a flaming sword were sent to keep “the way of the tree of life” (Genesis 3:24).

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