| 2:1 For
behold, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto my
father, yea, even in a dream, and said unto him: Blessed
art thou Lehi, because of the things which thou hast
done; and because thou hast been faithful and declared
unto this people the things which I commanded thee,
behold, they seek to take away thy life. |
|
| 2:2 And it
came to pass that the Lord commanded my father, even in a
dream, that he should take his family and depart into the
wilderness. |
|
| 2:3 And it
came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the
Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him. |
|
| 2:4 And it
came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he
left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his
gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took
nothing with him, save it were his family, and
provisions, and tents, and departed into the wilderness. |
LDS apologists have claimed
that Lehi's journey described here in the Book of Mormon
accurately reflects Arabian geography. See this
page for more information on the topic. |
| 2:5 And he
came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea;
and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which
are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the
wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother,
Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel,
and Sam. |
|
| 2:6 And it
came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the
wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side
of a river of water. |
It is not clear whether the
"three days" refers to the journey from
Jerusalem to the Red Sea, or simply three days of
wandering around the Red Sea area. If the former, this is
definitely unrealistsic, as the Red Sea is over 250 miles
from Jerusalem, far more than three days journey for an
extended family. |
| 2:7 And it
came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made
an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord
our God. |
|
| 2:8 And it
came to pass that he called the name of the river, Laman,
and it emptied into the Red Sea; and the valley was in
the borders near the mouth thereof. |
|
| 2:9 And when
my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into
the fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying:
O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually
running into the fountain of all righteousness! |
|
| 2:10 And he
also spake unto Lemuel: O that thou mightest be like unto
this valley, 1firm
and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments
of the Lord! |
[1] I Corinthians
15:58: ...be ye stedfast, unmoveable... |
| 2:11 Now
this he spake because of the stiffneckedness of Laman and
Lemuel; for behold they did murmur in many things against
their father, because he was a visionary man, and had led
them out of the land of Jerusalem, to leave the land of
their inheritance, and their gold, and their silver, and
their precious things, to perish in the wilderness. And
this they said he had done because of the 1foolish
imaginations of his heart. |
The word
"stiffnecked" appears nine times in the Bible.
"Stiffneckedness" is used once in the D&C -
56:6. This is strong evidence that the same author is
responsible for the Book of Mormon, and the D&C. [1] Romans 1:21
...but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened.
|
| 2:12 And
thus Laman and Lemuel, being the eldest, did murmur
against their father. And they did murmur because they
knew not the dealings of that God who had created them. |
|
| 2:13
Neither did they believe that Jerusalem, that great city,
could be destroyed according to the words of the
prophets. And they were like unto the
Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away
the life of my father. |
Why did Nephi's brothers not
believe that Jerusalem could be destroyed? If they were
living in the reign of Zedekiah, as I
Nephi 1:4 claimed, then they had already lived
through the first siege of Jerusalem (II Kings 24:11-16).
They had seen King Jehoiachin and his family taken
captive to Babylon, along with ten thousand Jewish
Exiles. They had seen the Temple looted. How could they
possibly imagine that Jerusalem could be defended against
the Babylonian army? |
| 2:14 And it
came to pass that my father did speak unto them in the
valley of Lemuel, with power, being filled with the
Spirit, until their frames did shake before him. And he
did confound them, that they durst not utter against him;
wherefore, they did as he commanded them. |
|
| 2:15 And my
father dwelt in a tent. |
|
| 2:16 And it
came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young,
nevertheless being large in stature, and also having
great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore,
I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and
did soften my heart that I did believe all the words
which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not
rebel against him like unto my brothers. |
|
| 2:17 And I
spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which
the Lord had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. And
it came to pass that he believed in my words. |
|
| 2:18 But,
behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words;
and 1being
grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried
unto the Lord for them. |
[1] Mark 3:5: ...being
grieved for the hardness of their hearts... |
| 2:19 And it
came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed
art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast
sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart. |
|
| 2:20 And
inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall
prosper, and shall be led to a 1land
of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for
you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. |
If America was prepared for
the Nephites, why had other civilations been living there
for tens of thousands of years? [1] Hebrews 11:9 By faith
he sojourned in the land of promise...
|
| 2:21 And
inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they
shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. |
|
| 2:22 And
inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt
be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren. |
|
| 2:23 For
behold, in that day that they shall rebel against me, I
will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall
have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel
against me also. |
|
| 2:24 And if
it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a
scourge unto thy seed, 1to
stir them up in the ways of remembrance. |
[1]
II Peter 1:13: ...to stir you up by putting you in
remembrance... |
