Day 6 in the Book of Mormon

Chapter 11 starts Nephi's visions, which are probably the most talked about in all of the Book of Mormon.  When we talk about the Tree of Life, we usually refer to Nephi's account of it, and not Lehi's.

One thing that we can't miss because it is so critical is the opening dialog between the Spirit and Nephi.  The Spirit asks Nephi what he wants.  Nephi says, to see the things my father saw.  It's important to note that the Spirit comes back with, do you believe what your father said?  And Nephi says, Yes.  Nephi wasn't asking for a testimony that what his father saw was true.  Nephi already had that.  Nephi wanted to see what his father saw.  So why was it important for Nephi to see what his father saw?  Let's see if we can discovery why.

First is the Spirit's reaction.  He cried with a loud voice, "Hosanna to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all.  And blessed art thou Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God."  Was there such a dearth of unbelievers in the words of the prophets that the Spirit rejoiced when Nephi said he believed his father? I don't think there's any other recorded reaction by the Spirit to the faithfulness of a believer.  I'm just wondering what we are supposed to get out of it.  Maybe I was wrong to draw a distinction between those who inquire to know for themselves, and those who are content to believe on the words of others.  Maybe the Spirit doesn't want us to ever be content to just believe on the words of others.  I don't mean to just say, well he's the prophet so what he says must be true.  But having a testimony by the Spirit that what the prophet says indeed is true.  That the Spirit doesn't want us to be content with that testimony, the Spirit wants us to see for ourselves.  Maybe the people that are content to have a testimony are those that are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus, those who inherit the terrestrial kingdom.  I shall have to think on this some more.

Interesting, Nephi was told the Bible went forth from the Jews in purity unto the Gentiles by the hand of the 12 Apostles, and then came the formation of the great church that took away many plain and precious things.  So the Jews at the time of Christ must have had the same prophecies as contained in the Brass Plates that the Nephites had -- including the prophecies of Zenoch and Zenos, and all the plain and precious things of the Old Testament.  So the scriptures the Jews had at the time of Christ were complete -- they may not have been widely used and mostly neglected in the synagogue readings, but they were complete nonetheless.  So the 12 Apostles did provide the Gentiles with a Bible.

Nephi hears from the Lamb that many of his seed will "write many things" and these things shall go to the Gentiles by the gift and the power of the Lamb.  So Nephi knows that the things he and his posterity write will be for the benefit of the Gentiles.