This is another one of those chapters that records the words of Lehi, specifically concerning Christ and his Atonement. This chapter is so much easier to understand than the forthcoming Isaiah chapters (Heck if I know what I'm going to write about those), but I still am unsure about what to comment on. Frankly, it's been a long hiatus, and I feel rusty. But nevertheless, I will venture.
A line I wholeheartedly enjoy in verse three is the phrase, "according to the own due time of the Lord." It's one of those lines that I know I need to hear again and again, almost constantly, because it's so relevant to me. I've written about this before, but like all true principles, it warrants repetition: promised blessings are technically just as good as received blessings. Although we as puny mortals can't seem to appreciate blessings that remain unreceived, God is as good as his word, and His timing is perfect even though it drives me crazy. That being said, I am grateful to live in a time when I don't have to worry about when Christ will come for the first time. That must have been immensely difficult.
Next verse of note: "Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer."
I have a friend who often discourages me and others from associating from certain people, for no other reason than they are "beset by sin." I don't like that term. My friend is a good man, and I actually blame the culture of the Church, not only him, for this attitude, but the fact is, we are all beset by sin. It sounds very Baptist to our Mormon ears to say we're all sinners, but shoot, it's true, isn't it? I love that this verse uses the phrase "rely on [the] Redeemer," emphasizing our utter dependence on him. We are children of God, but in a way we are children of Christ as well, in that we are completely helpless without him, like infants. The sooner I recognize and live by that concept, the better.
The very first reference to the Olive Tree Parable is contained in this chapter. I love that allegory.
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This is the first extended mention of Christ in the Book of Mormon. Nephi mentions in Chapter 1 that Lehi had a vision of him (although the reference is oblique), and at the end of the chapter explicitly states that Lehi was prophecying of a Messiah, but until this point there has been no extended reference. It's interesting what Nephi chooses to mention about Lehi's account of the Messiah. He goes into a lot of detail about things that don't seem terribly important to me. For example, he talks about John the Baptist preparing the way and the location of Christ's baptism. Of course, that could be a fun detail for people who lived in Israel. If I heard that the Savior of the World was going to be born and get baptized in Ogden, Utah, I would make the prophecied events seem more real to me.
On the other hand, perhaps the account of his baptism is a good mirror for the account of Christ's death and atonement. It would certainly sound strange to hear for the first time that the Messiah was going to come and be killed by the Jews. What kind of Messiah is that? But if you set it up by starting your story with a baptism then you can use the parallel between being buried in water to remove sins and being buried in a tomb to remove sins to make some sense of it. Incidentally, the idea that the Messiah should be baptized because it's a law that everyone must be is maybe wrong. What if Christ was getting baptized to mirror his atonement. Just as there was no reason why Christ should have to die (being the Son of God), there was no reason why he should have to be baptized. He chose to die not because he had to for himself, not because he had sins, but to cleanse us of our sins. He chose to be baptized not because he had to for himself, not because he had sins, but to cleanse us of our sins?
The other peculiar thing is how quickly Nephi transitions from the Savior to the olive trees. Clearly Nephi wants to connect these ideas, atonement and gathering of Israel. The explicit connection Nephi draws in v. 14 is that being grafted into the olive tree involves coming to a knowledge of the true Messiah (which incidentally, is eternal life). That gives the Messiah a central role in the history of the world. The history of the world is the story of people coming to and falling away from a knowledge of the true Messiah.
What I find most surprising in Nephi's retelling of Lehi's account of the atonement is the collective, rather than individual, focus. When we talk about the atonement in church, we usually talk about its effect on the individual. We each have sins and physical deficiencies and by having faith in the Savior we can each be healed by his atonement. But what does Nephi talk about? “The sins of the world,” “a Savior of the world,” “all mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state,” “the house of Israel.” The whole passage is very group focused.
We modern westerners have a very strong focus on the individual. Individuals have sins, not the world. We interpret statements about the sins of the world in terms of the sins of individuals in the world. That seems right to me. But sometimes when I read a passage in the scriptures about a civilization or city being punished for its sins, I start to wonder whether there's more to this idea of group sin then we give it credit. Certainly Nephi wants to understand the effect of the atonement on the house of Israel as a collective, and not just its effects on individual lives.
One way I can make sense of that is in terms of the gathering effect of the Atonement. Through forgiveness, mercy, and the atonement we overcome the barriers between us and others. We become united through the atonement. And in a sense, it's hard for me to have any warm feelings of excitement about the atonement and the celestial kingdom without thinking of being drawn together with Christ and others into a loving community. For me, nothing means anything without other people. Sin is terrible because it divides me from other people and God. Guilt is terrible because it is an inability to look others in the eye. The effect of the atonement for me is not merely to get rid of negative feelings and weaknesses. It is to permit me to live happily with others.
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