As I continue to learn new things about the language of scripture, I am fascinated by the high level of punning happening throughout these texts. As I was reading Pippy’s work 1 on the Egyptian background to the Book of Revelation, I came across this quote (see below) that reallyContinue Reading

The text of 1 Nephi 16-21 covers many of the struggles that Nephi faced in trying to get his family to the promised land. We read of his trials and how he and his brothers respond to them. One of the lessons of 1 Nephi is that how you respondContinue Reading

1 Nephi 8-11 Coming into the presence of God in his temple There are multiple ways to read the story of the Tree of Life. Certainly this story is first and foremost about God’s love and invitation for all men to come into his presence through the Atonement of hisContinue Reading

Nephi quotes Isaiah for much of the text of Second Nephi. Over the years, I have met many folks who say that they “like to skip Isaiah” because they do not understand it. Many wonder why Nephi quotes so much from Isaiah. The purpose of this post is to showContinue Reading

Nephi 11-14 An Overview of Nephi’s Vision What is the point of 1 Nephi 11-14?  This is not meant as a history lesson- this is a story about us and how we relate to God and his prophets, and more importantly- Jesus Christ. Teaching the history as related by NephiContinue Reading

1 Nephi 8 and 11 outline a fight that was happening in the 7th century B.C. regarding how the Israelites viewed God, visions, ascension into heaven, and the temple. In other posts I will write more about this, but for now, know that this was a debate between the visionaryContinue Reading

This is a very difficult passage in the New Testament. My contention is that the earliest Christians were Jews, otherwise Christianity would not have evolved in the synagogues for the first decades of its existence. Christianity came out of the Jewish synagogue. These were the very people that Paul preachedContinue Reading

Nephi’s Political Testament Author: Noel B. Reynolds Source: Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, FARMS, 1991, p. 220-229. The writers of the Book of Mormon talked a lot about their government and political beliefs. Most of us look only at the Nephite system of judges and the Gadianton robbers, however. FewContinue Reading

Stephen E. Robinson, “Early Christianity and 1 Nephi 13–14,” in First Nephi, The Doctrinal Foundation, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1988),177–91. Early Christianity and 1 Nephi 13–14 Stephen E. Robinson Stephen E. Robinson was an associate professor ofContinue Reading

In 1 Nephi 11-14 the prophet Nephi has a vision of the Tree of Life and its interpretation. An unnamed angel takes him through the vision, acting as a teacher explaining various parts of the vision to him. “And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; andContinue Reading