Previously, I have highlighted the testimonies of Jacob
and Isaiah,
two of Nephi’s three
key witnesses of Christ (2 Nephi 11:1–3). Finally, after recording the
sermons of Lehi (2 Nephi 1–4) and Jacob (2 Nephi 6–10) and extensively quoting
and commenting on Isaiah (2 Nephi 12–30), Nephi is ready to conclude with his
own witness of the doctrine of Christ (2 Nephi 31–33). Coming after a lifetime
of challenging but faith-building experiences, Nephi bears a powerful, personal
witness of his personal redeemer (2 Nephi 33:6).
How did Nephi build such a strong personal testimony of
Jesus Christ? By both carefully analyzing this final section of Nephi’s record and
by reviewing the whole of 1 and 2 Nephi, we can learn the
sources Nephi drew upon to build-up his faith. Here are 5 sources I’ve
noticed while studying Nephi’s record.
1. Goodly Parents
Nephi begins his record with acknowledgement of his “goodly
parents” (1 Nephi 1:1) and they no doubt laid the foundations of his testimony
as well. Indeed, Nephi stresses that he was “taught somewhat in all the
learning of my father,” an education that certainly included religious
instruction. Nephi more often highlights his father’s teachings throughout his
record (discussed more below), but Sariah likely played a central and
influential role as well. In fact, in ancient Israel, it was more often the
mother who took the lead in family religious practice.
Although only briefly mentioned, Sariah’s
testimony is included in Nephi’s record. After a faith-trying experience
worrying about the sons she lovingly raised and taught to trust in the Lord, Sariah
rejoiced at their return with these words: “Now I know of a surety that the
Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also
know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out
of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the
thing which the Lord hath commanded them” (1 Nephi 5:8).
Nephi’s goodly parents—including his mother, Sariah—were no
doubt the earliest source of his faith in the Lord.
2. The Living Prophets
For Nephi there is substantial overlap between the testimony
of living prophets and the testimony of his parents, since so much of the
narrative takes place in the wilderness, where Lehi served as the
prophet for the family. But we do have some indication that he heeded
the testimony of other prophets as well. Nephi knew of “many
prophets” in the land (1 Nephi 1:4). He had access to at least some of
Jeremiah’s teachings on the brass plates (1 Nephi 5:13) and was concerned to
learn that Jeremiah was in prison (1 Nephi 7:14). His father Lehi, however, was
the living prophet he learned the most from about the Messiah.
Lehi testified and taught about the Messiah from the
beginning of his prophetic ministry (1 Nephi 1:19). He foretold of specific
events in the Messiah’s life and of his sacrificial death and resurrection (1
Nephi 10:4–12). It was from Lehi that Nephi first learned of the
baptism of Christ, a knowledge which figures prominently in Nephi’s own teachings
about the doctrine of Christ (see 1 Nephi 10:7–10; 2 Nephi 31:4–9). Lehi also
taught clearly about the central role of the Atonement in the plan of salvation
(2 Nephi 2), a teaching that evidently had impact on his righteous sons, since
Jacob (at Nephi’s request) passed
this teaching on to Nephi’s people (2 Nephi 9).
Nephi gave heed to Lehi’s prophetic teachings, specifically.
He recorded the details of Lehi’s prophetic
call (1 Nephi 1:6–14), and he personally sought confirmation of his father’s
prophetic status (1 Nephi 2:16; cf. 1 Nephi 10:17).
The mark of Lehi’s teaching on Nephi can be seen in the way
Nephi’s final
testimony echoes that of his father, who testified, “Behold, the Lord hath
redeemed my soul from hell” (2 Nephi 1:15; cf. 33:6).
3. Scriptural Witnesses
Nephi also learned
a great deal from past prophets whose words were recorded on the plates of
brass. He quoted Messianic prophecies from Zenos, Zenock, and Neum (1 Nephi
19:10–12; cf. Helaman 8:13–20). And then, of course, there was Isaiah, who is,
in the words of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “by every standard the
messianic prophet of the Old Testament and as such is the most penetrating
prophetic voice in that record.”[1]
Nephi evidently felt the same, even with the additional prophetic voices just
mentioned.
Nephi delighted in the words of Isaiah (2 Nephi 11:2),
so much so that he copied extensive amounts down into his record (1 Nephi
20–21; 2 Nephi 12–24), commissioned his brother Jacob to use Isaiah’s words in
his discourse (2 Nephi 7–8), and made him one of his three-key witnesses. For
Nephi, Isaiah’s words helped him express his
own prophetic worldview. He felt a
kinship with Isaiah, because Isaiah “verily saw my Redeemer, even as I
have seen him” (2 Nephi 11:2).
Much of Nephi’s own understanding of the Messiah can
be related to Isaiah’s prophetic words.
4. The Temple
At the beginning of his record, Nephi mentions “the
mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 1:1), a term related to the temple worship in
the ancient Near East. One of the first things Nephi did when his people
established a new city was build a temple (2 Nephi 5:16). According to some
scholars, Nephi’s entire record (both 1 and 2 Nephi) follow’s the pattern of the
ancient Israelite temple theology, with these final chapters where Nephi
bears his most powerful and personal testimony representing the part where the
high priest passes through the veil into
the presence of the Lord.
Shon Hopkin has illustrated how Nephi’s teachings about the
doctrine of Christ (2 Nephi 31–32) is patterned after the high priest’sascent through the temple and into the holy of holies.[2]
For Nephi, the temple was clearly an important source for learning about the
Messiah and his doctrine.
5. Personal Revelation
Ultimately, however, Nephi’s own testimony was not dependent
upon any of these sources. Nephi had his own direct
revelations and spiritual experiences that taught him about the life and
ministry of the Savior. Early on, he was visited by the Lord (1 Nephi 2:16). He
received a sweeping vision of the birth, life, ministry, and death of Christ (1
Nephi 11). And he heard the voices of both the Father and the Son testifying of
Christ’s doctrine (2 Nephi 31:11–15).
None of this negates the important foundations laid by all
these other sources. His own revelations were most often in response to seeking
confirmation of his father’s prophetic teachings, and he may very well have
been in
the temple when he heard the voices of the Father and the Son. These
sources laid the groundwork necessary for him to gain his own personal witness—but
when he bares this final testimony, it is a testimony that stands on its own:
I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell. (2 Nephi 33:6)
Final Thoughts
As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland put it, “Standing like sentinels
at the gate of the book, Nephi, Jacob, and Isaiah admit us into the scriptural
presence of the Lord.”[3]
As the capstone testimony of this parade of witnesses, Nephi’s testimony literarily
introduces us into the presence of the Lord.
We too can have strong personal testimonies by drawing upon
the same sources Nephi did. The testimonies of parents or other family members
(remember: Nephi also included the testimony of his brother, Jacob) can plant
the seeds of testimony in our hearts, and even when we struggle to exercise faith
we can lean on the testimonies of those closest to us. Thanks to the
restoration, we also have the testimonies of living prophets to build upon. We
have abundant scriptural witnesses in the Old and New Testaments, along with restoration
scripture—the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of
Great Price. Again, thanks to the restoration, we can worthily attend the
temple and learn of the Savior there.
But most important of all, we can all receive our own
personal witness of Jesus Christ through the testimony of the Holy Ghost and
through our spiritual experiences. Such experiences can be facilitated by and
even happen when listening to the testimonies of family members, listening to
the living prophets, reading scripture, or attending the temple. All things
work synergistically to provide the important revelatory experiences needed so
that we can all declare, with conviction, “I glory in my Jesus, for he hath
redeemed my soul from hell.”
[1] Jeffrey
R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant (Salt Lake City, UT:
Deseret Book, 1997), 75.
[2] Shon
D. Hopkin, “Representing the Divine Ascent: The Day of Atonement in Christian
and Nephite Scripture and Practice,” in The Temple: Ancient and Restored,
ed. Stephen D. Ricks and Donald W. Parry (Salt Lake and Orem, UT: Eborn Books
and Interpreter Foundation, 2016), 347–352.
[3] Holland, Christ
and the New Covenant, 95.
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