My teacher at the Mission Training Center, Brother Nathan Nakken wisely said:
"The Lord knew Chapter one of 1st Nephi would be the most read chapter in the Book of Mormon, and filled it with the most important messages."
Chapter one is Lehi's conversion story from his son's point of view. Lehi prays for the people, then sees a vision where he sees the greatness of God. Pretty huge, the Lord knew he'd need this for what was to come in Lehi's future.
The part I love most is verse 14 of this "most read chapter":
"...he (Lehi) 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."
In this first chapter, the essentials of the gospel lie therein. And, after Lehi sees so much, and is so overcome, the one thing he emphasises is the Lord's mercy.
That's a sweet and simple message. It tells even the most vile of sinners that there's hope. It tells even the most good-intentioned mom that there's hope. It pulls us all in, from whatever walk of life we come from; that Heavenly Father's plan is one of mercy. So for the first chapter, for me, that's all that matters. We learn all the details to that great plan later.
1 comment:
Love this idea, Suzanne. I'll probably have to start my own blog because my comments will be so long! I had a good friend in college who pointed out that although Lehi read about the destruction of Jerusalem, he also read about the Savior and what he would do for the world. This is why he praised the Lord in V.14 and why he began to prophesy to the people--to get them to repent and partake of the Lord's mercy.
One of my favorite scriptures is in Ch1. Verse 20 reads "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance". Nephi was delivered from death many times in his life. I am grateful that we can be delivered from our own sins, habits, and bondage as we turn to the Savior for help.
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