1 Nephi 1:13 - Wo unto Jerusalem

This verse is plaguing me.  I don't have much to say about it, besides that it has proven true through the course of history.  And it's taken me over a week to get to sharing.

1 Nephi 1:13

And he read, saying: Wo, wo, unto Jerusalem, for I have seen thine ^aabominations! Yea, and many things did my father read concerning ^bJerusalem—that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be ^ccarried away captive into Babylon.

And he read.  Lehi's still reading the book, given to him by "the first", meaning the Savior, pre-earth life.  One thing I forgot to mention before, is that these verses definitely prove an existence of spirit beings, before they are born.  If Jehovah were creating the earth before he was born into mortality, that means he had a spirit body.  And if there were others that followed him, that means they had spirit bodies too.  Not many faiths explore this topic much, but in the LDS faith, it is a tenant.  We believe in pre-earth life, as spirits.

So in aprox. 600 B.C., as Lehi reads a book, passed to him during a vision involving Jehovah, he gives a double strong warning to the people of Jerusalem.  He heard prophets witness of Jerusalem's pending destruction; now he can add his own.

I've heard it said before (sorry, no source) that "wo" means not just "whoa!" but "damned".  If that is the case, how does it affect this verse?  Damned, damned [is/will be] Jerusalem.  Ut uh.  Better listen up.  Any why is Lehi sharing this with us?  Just as an "I told you so" moment?  Or is there a lesson here for us?

For I have seen thine abominations!  One, it's not often in scripture that we see exclamation points.  Lehi's seriously calling these people out!  And he has seen them.  This not only indicates that Lehi was given the gift of "seeing" things that not everyone is privileged to see, but it also indicates that our sins cannot be hidden.  Many think that in the privacy of their homes, they can do whatever sins they please, and no one will notice.  The good and bad part is, God sees, and at times, his prophets see.  Somehow, so many of these prophets see the wickedness of others, and serve not only as bullhorns of repentance-calling, but also as testifiers.  At the last day, I expect that whatever prophet saw me and my works will be there, either testifying in support or against my actions.  I hope they're pretty supportive, because I can use all the help I can get!!!

Yea, and many things did my father read concerning Jerusalem–that it should be destroyed, and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword, and many should be carried away captive into Babylon.  This is fascinating.  Have we not seen this come to pass, reading the annals of history?  But even more interesting –who are these people?  Are these not God's covenant people?  These are the "religious".  These are the people who the Bible speaks of.  They might keep the laws and obey the ordinances of their religion, but do they really believe?  Are we any different, or are we the same?  They are being warned of destruction, and Lehi, as one sole prophet of many, has seen their abominations.  What are abominations?  (I looked up the root word, and there are so many differing views that it's not worth exploring too far in depth.)  In essence, I imagine these are not only small, but very large sins.  Not something that any of us are immune to, perhaps?  How many of us are under our own abominations?  The Doctrine & Covenants and even living prophets have warned repeatedly of our abominations, and the need to quickly repent.  But do we?  What's our excuse? 

(Photo source found here. Painting by Nicolas Poussin of a later conflict in Jerusalem, as recorded by Flavius Josephus (AD 37/38-100).  Same affect though.  Illustrates horrific destruction.  Painting background here.)

Either way, Jerusalem was destroyed shortly after 600 B.C.  The inhabitants did perish by the sword, and many were carried away into captivity into Babylon.

If this were shared for a reason, and not just a history lesson, what's the lesson for us?  I think it's that God will not forever look upon sin and allow it.  Eventually, those who refuse to repent, despite many, many warnings, will suffer either destruction or slavery.  Neither one sounds very enjoyable. 

(I think I'll take door #2, Bob.) 

1 Nephi 1:7 - Being Overcome with the Spirit

In 1 Nephi 1:6, we learned about Lehi's first visionary experience, which caused him to quake and tremble.  Here, in 1 Nephi 1:7, we learn several things about the nature of that experience, and what it did to Lehi's physical body.  

1 Nephi 1:7

And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being ^aovercome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.

It says he returned to his own house, which was at Jerusalem.  This indicates that the experience that followed him praying with all his heart, did not occur in Lehi's home.  It was elsewhere.  The pillar of fire which appeared dwelt upon a rock.  Perhaps it was without his home, just as Joseph Smith, in his first visionary experience, went to a grove of trees near his home.  We don't know for sure with Lehi, but we do know that he returned home.  

In returning, he cast himself upon his bed – his place of rest.  I sometimes laugh when I read this line, because it makes me think of my kids when they have a tantrum, throwing themselves on their bed, kicking and screaming.  I trust that's not what happened in Lehi's case.  Often one's bed is one of the most energetically secure or sacred spaces in their home.  There are a variety of reasons for this, but for myself, I enjoy reading and studying near my bed.  For Lehi, he didn't go to the kitchen, the tv room, the busy areas.  He went to his quiet space.  And then he likely told himself, "Ok, breathe.  You're not crazy.  You just witnessed a pillar of fire.  And more.  Breathe..."

Being overcome with the Spirit, he cast himself upon his bed.  There are several instances where other mortal men experienced this same symptom, of being overcome after experiencing something highly spiritual.  In the book of Moses, it says that Moses experienced similarly:

9  And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.
10  And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed. (Moses 1:9-10, italics added)

It is apparently not a weakness of Lehi's, but something inherent in mortals that when they experience something otherworldly, their physical strength is often drained.  This is reported to be the case with Sidney Rigdon, after he and Joseph Smith witnessed the vision(s) recorded in D&C 76.  I suppose one explanation could be that God is full of light, much more than the sun at noonday.  Just spending a few hours in the sun will tend to drain me.  Perhaps spending even short amounts of time with beings in higher elements would tend to have this affect on a mortal. 

When we learn that Lehi's weakness was due from being overcome with the Spirit, and also from the things which he had seen, it makes me wonder, once again, what did he see?  And what did he hear?  And what prohibits so many of us from asking the Lord to show us, as He did with Lehi?  Do we fear we too will be overcome?  Or are we just lazy?  Is it not a priority?  Do we think we're not righteous enough?  How righteous was Lehi?  What did he do to warrant such attention from heavenly visitations?  What do we need to do to warrant such things?  It is not improper to ask. 

1 Nephi 1:4

1 Nephi 1:4

For it came to pass in the commencement of the ^afirst year of the reign of ^bZedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at ^cJerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many ^dprophets, prophesying unto the people that they must ^erepent, or the great city ^fJerusalem must be destroyed.

 Right here, in the forth verse of the Book of Mormon, 1st Book of Nephi, we are given a time reference.  Almost like a date on the letterhead.  Nephi knows (although it is not addressed here) that we will have the Bible, which will refer to Zedekiah, king of Judah.  He knows there are many, many references to this king in the Bible, and by sharing this, Nephi knows that all the scholarly people who like to figure out timelines and dates, etc., will do so.  He doesn't have to tell us, "I left Jerusalem at 600 B.C."  Well, at least not yet.  (At 600 B.C., I don't think they referenced their time as "B.C."  That's just my guess, from logical thinking.)  

This reference to Zedekiah does many things.  

• It bears witness of the validity of the Bible, acting as a "second witness", which is applying God's "law of witnesses".  
• It tells us the date of when this part of his history began.
• He asserts that he knew that Zedekiah was king.  He didn't just hear of Zedekiah.  He knew of him, and likely knew of the political happenings of the day as well.  
• It may tell us that Nephi was of age to be aware of political happenings.  I was about 12 when I started realizing what was happening in my country, politically.  Perhaps it helps us presume that Nephi was at least of maturity to understand a bit of political events.

Next, we learn a little more about Lehi.  It says he dwelt at Jerusalem in all his days.  Have you, or anyone in your family, lived in generally one location all your days?  As I explore my family history, I can assert that yes, most of my family has lived in the same 100 mile radius most of their lives, if not their whole lives.  It is only in the last 15 or so years that my family has felt to become more mobile, thanks to ease of transportation.  Prior to that, however, my parents and grandparents for generations back lived in the same place.  And before they emmigrated, they generally stayed in the same province, from what I understand.  

Here, Nephi is telling us that Lehi dwelt at Jerusalem all his days.  This leads me to make an assumption.  There is likely a lot of family tradition here.  There are emotional, family, and traditional ties.  This family was likely very well established, if not well known in their community.  Lehi was settled enough to have had at least four sons, and some daughters.  To afford to support such a family, he would have had to have supported an honorable income.  He was likely highly successful. 

"...in that same year there came many ^dprophets"  This is also a second witness to what is evidenced in the Bible record.  It also says there prophets.  Not just one, but many.  Can you imagine their personalities?  We are told in the New Testament that there was a prophetess named Anna.  Perhaps were any of these prophets prophetesses?  The Bible references the names of some of these prophets.  (If you click the link above over "prophets" there are many Bible cross references.)  

(photo source - courtesy of AP/DailyMail)

"...prophesying unto the people that they must ^erepent, or the great city ^fJerusalem must be destroyed." Here is a perfect "if/then" lineup. And it sums up what the prophets shared. Repent or the awesome city of Jerusalem is going down! This brings up a few points.

• Repent of what?  We're sure to find out what they had to repent of, if not directly, then by the example of others who end up being destroyed in this record.
• The prophets were pointing out their sins.  Were they popular because of this?  Are prophets ever popular?  Have you ever heard of a prophet who is loved by those who are being chastised?  
• There was a chance for Jerusalem to not be destroyed.  The people had to repent.  It would likely involve a lot of personal change and repentance, but it was possible.  They just had to embrace the message and believe.  Believing and changing proved harder than the ensuing destruction.  There was probably a lot of self-justification and denial of miracles going on too.

From this verse, we can learn so much.  Even continuing the thought from the last bullet point, we can see how hard it is to get un-ensnared from the tangles of sin.  How much easier it is to not willingly commit sin, than to engage in it and have to get freed somehow? 

Your thoughts on 1 Nephi 1:4?