1 Nephi 17: 45

45 Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.

This verse teaches an important principle about receiving personal revelation. We receive revelation in our mind and in our heart, or in other words, in our thoughts and in our feelings. D&C 9:8–9 teaches that after giving a question or issue due diligence (study, ponder, pray), our answer will come as a burning in the bosom, “therefore you shall feel that it is right” (emphasis added), or you will receive the stupor of thought. If you never give yourself the chance to hear the still, small voice of the Spirit, you won’t feel his influence. Or if you ignore it often enough, you no longer feel it. You go past feelings, and the Holy Ghost stops trying (see Ether 15:19 and Moroni 9:4). I think that Laman and Lemuel probably felt the Spirit in their younger days, but for whatever reason, they stopped heeding it, or maybe they never heeded it. But everyone is born with the Spirit of Christ (see Moroni 7:16). With righteous parents like Lehi and Sariah they had to have been taught these things in their youth, just as Nephi had. There comes a time in everyone’s life that they have to decide whether or not they will give heed to and live according to the Spirit of Christ that they have. If the decision is “no,” they no longer feel those impressions. They are “past feelings, that [they] could not feel his words.” The Lord, however, because He loves us, will at times still try to get our attention. But if we won’t listen to the still, small voice, He will speak louder, “like unto a voice of thunder.” Whether we listen or not is always a conscious decision. Laman and Lemuel decided to not listen. Back in chapter 15 they told Nephi they didn’t pray for understanding (revelation) because, “the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us” (1 Nephi 15:9). Of course, the Lord would have made those things known to them if they were not hard in their hearts, and past feelings. The heart is where those feelings reside.

1 Nephi 17: 44

44 Wherefore, the Lord commanded my father that he should depart into the wilderness; and the Jews also sought to take away his life; yea, and ye also have sought to take away his life; wherefore, ye are murderers in your hearts and ye are like unto them.

Now Nephi will start getting personal with his brothers, which now include Ishmael’s children. He has just finished describing Israel’s apostasy, and now he brings it home. In verse 43 Nephi talks about the destruction of the Jews, except for the few that will be led into captivity. Now he says that because of that fact (“wherefore”) the Lord told Lehi to take his family out of Jerusalem. This is obviously so Lehi’s family won’t also be destroyed along with the Jews. Then there’s the other reason Lehi had to leave: the Jews were trying to kill him. This is where Nephi brings home the apostasy of the Jews. Not only were they hard hearted, as stated in verse 41, Nephi reminds his brothers that they had also “sought to take away his life,” just like the Jews in Jerusalem. Because of that (“wherefore”) Laman, Lemuel, and at least some of the children of Ishmael were “murderous in [their] hearts,” which put them in the same apostate condition as the Jews in Jerusalem. One implication of that is that these members of Lehi’s family are just as ripe for destruction as the rest of the Jews in Jerusalem. The other implication is that because they are ripe in their iniquity they should feel pretty fortunate to be alive in the wilderness rather than dead in Jerusalem, or captive in Babylon. It is only through the Lord’s mercy that they are alive. I’m still not sure why these rebellious brothers, who clearly didn’t want to be a part of this Promised Land expedition, why they didn’t simply stay in Jerusalem one of the times they went back. They apparently had at least two perfect opportunities to leave the company, so it would be interesting to know why they kept coming back.

1 Nephi 17: 43

43 And now, after all these things, the time has come that they have become wicked, yea, nearly unto ripeness; and I know not but they are at this day about to be destroyed; for I know that the day must surely come that they must be destroyed, save a few only, who shall be led away into captivity.

I suppose that left totally alone, humans might possibly self-destruct. Maybe not, but if you throw in the added complication of Satan pushing us to self-destruct, you would have the “perfect storm,” if not for the Gospel and Atonement of Jesus Christ. Individually we go through cycles of more and less faithfulness, but societies go through the same cycles. Nephi is telling his brethren that Israel is about to bottom out of the cycle, and when that happens they will be ripe for destruction. Apparently this is a natural cycle that can be seen over and over again in The Book of Mormon. Come to think of it, the cycle is seen in nature as well. A fruit tree, for example, buds and blossoms in the spring, matures its fruit through the summer, starts getting ripe in the fall, so the valuable part of the tree is removed (the fruit), then it dies for the winter, only to start the cycle again in the spring. This is a natural cycle. Maybe that’s why we need to overcome the natural man. If we intend to become as God is, we can’t go through cycles. We have to also be the same yesterday, today, and forever.

1 Nephi 17: 42

42 And they did harden their hearts from time to time, and they did revile against Moses, and also against God; nevertheless, ye know that they were led forth by his matchless power into the land of promise.

The rebellion that Laman and Lemuel were guilty of must have been a relatively recent thing for them. Nephi keeps referring to God’s influence on Israel’s history as if it is something they once believed in, and apparently still did. If they never had a testimony I doubt Nephi would have kept talking to them as if they did. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the 12 Apostles once said, “Testimony is to know and feel, conversion is to do and become” (quoted by Alan Packer of the 70, General Conference, April 5, 2009). Obviously, they were not converted, or they wouldn’t constantly be murmuring and rebelling, but they may have had, at one time anyway, a testimony. After all, just like Nephi, they were raised by goodly parents who taught them the gospel (see 1 Nephi 1:1).

1 Nephi 17: 41

41 And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.

This is a continuation of the thought Nephi started in verse 40. It’s more evidence that the Lord loves those who will “have him to be their God,” and therefore doesn’t easily give up on them. When the children of Israel hardened their hearts (as his brethren have, points out Nephi), the Lord didn’t just give up on them. He “[straitened] them in the wilderness with his rod.” According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, to straiten in this instance and context would mean “to restrict or confine in scope, range, etc.; hamper.” In other words, the Lord punished Israel; or rather he disciplined Israel by restricting their freedom and their authority. He took away the higher law that was more principle-based, and gave them the Law of Moses, which is more performance-based. It’s very similar to what we do as parents when we ground a child for doing something wrong, or abusing their freedoms. We restrict or limit the child’s options of behavior, just like the Lord restricted Israel’s options of behavior. And just like parents on earth, our Father in Heaven straitens or disciplines us out of love. The Lord said in D&C 95:1 that, “whom I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven.” If there were no consequence for sin we would have no reason to repent. If we don’t repent, we are not clean before the Lord. If we are not clean, we cannot return to our Father. So straitening or disciplining comes from love. That’s why “the Lord straitened [Israel] because of there iniquity.” The Lord wanted them to succeed, and He wanted to give them every opportunity to choose to repent.

In addition to discipline, the Lord gives a type or shadow of His coming with that very discipline. He not only corrects, but at the same time teaches those who will be taught. So he sends “fiery flying serpents” as the wakeup call. New research (as of 2008) indicates this was most likely the Israeli Saw-scale viper (as opposed to the Egyptian Cobra, as some have suggested)(see http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/meridian/2000/serpent.html for a more detailed discussion of this). The detail of symbolism is interesting. For example, some serpents’ venom kills by causing paralysis. The saw-scale viper’s venom causes a break down of internal organ tissue, and the victim bleeds to death internally. Blood, of course, is an important part of the Atonement. If we won’t accept the Savior’s blood (suffering), we must shed our own, symbolically at least (see D&C 19:15–19). In a practical way, this was also important because it is slow acting, which gave the Israelites a chance to get to the brass serpent that Moses had made. Another interesting symbol is the fact that this serpent can coil and leap as much as 2–3 feet in the air, thus making it a “flying” serpent. The symbol for Quetzalcoatl is a feathered or winged snake, and has reference to Christ. An interesting twist to this particular symbol refers to the statement that Christ has “healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2). The saw-scale viper also has been found to have great healing powers. A preventative heart medicine has been developed from the anti-clotting proteins of the snake’s venom. With particularly deadly venom, this snake needed miraculous intervention for survival of those who were bitten. Which brings us to the brass serpent.

The Lord instructed Moses to make a serpent out of brass and raise it on a pole. Those who simply looked on it were healed. At that time this type of miraculous healing was the only way to survive the bite of the fiery flying serpent. This, of course, is another symbol of how we rely on the Savior to survive the effects of sin. As for the brass serpent, just looking was enough to heal, but many did not even look. Why would that be? It seems like if it was that simple people would look just out of curiosity, if nothing else. I know I wouldn’t be able to help myself. So there must have been more to it.

My guess is that with around 2 million people in the camp of Israel they did not parade the brass serpent around and bring it tent to tent. The area covered by the camp must have quite large, maybe a couple of square miles or more. So I imagine the brass serpent was probably posted in a central location, like the tabernacle, and people had to exercise enough faith to get to it (notice the possible comparison to going to the temple). That show of faith probably had as much to do with the healing as looking at the brass serpent did. How healing is it when we exercise faith to go to the temple and look on the Savior? As difficult as it is at times to exercise faith, it’s still better and easier than the pain and suffering of fiery flying serpents (sins). Christ taught that His “yoke is easy, and [his] burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). That doesn’t mean that following Christ is not difficult at times. It’s just easier than living with the guilt of sin on your conscience.

So in the case of the Israelites, all they had to do was look on the brass serpent to be healed. But it probably took effort to get to the serpent so they could see it. For us, all we need to do to be cleansed of our sins is accept the Atonement, look to the Savior. That’s a simple (different from easy) thing to do, but it requires effort to come to the Savior. It also requires faith that the effort is worth it. And just as in the case of the Israelites, the farther away you are the harder it is. I’m sure some of the children of Israel had to go several miles to get to the serpent. That would require more effort than for those living just next to it. In the spiritual sense, the further we are from the Savior, the harder it is to come unto Him. It would take more effort, more time, and require a large amount of faith that the journey would be worth it.

• 2 Kings 5:13
• Matthew 11:30
• John 3:14
• 2 Nephi 25:20
• Alma 33:19 (18–22)
• Alma 37:46 (44–47)
• Helaman 8:15
• D&C 95:1

1 Nephi 17: 40

40 And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.

Nephi begins to teach the importance of what kind of relationship we have with the Lord. When he says, “he loveth those who will have him to be their God,” I don’t think it means that the Lord doesn’t love those who will not have him to be their God. I believe God loves all his children, but I also believe he has a different, deeper, or more profound love for those who accept him as their God. To illustrate this Nephi says, “Behold [in other words, look at this example of what I’m talking about], he loved our [actual] fathers, and he covenanted with them…and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore [or “which is why”], he did bring them out of …Egypt” (italics added for emphasis). I suppose that if the Lord had made a covenant with Egypt to be their God, things would have turned out differently. But it was Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who made the covenant, so it was their people the Lord blessed. The covenant is evidence that a person has accepted “him to be their God.” That covenant changes the relationship.

I can use my own marriage as an example of this change. In fact, Christ and his prophets have compared the covenant relationship to a marriage relationship often. In my case it’s not that I don’t love other people, including other women, but my covenant is with Sheri, my wife. So my love for her is different than those others. Where I may love others simply for being part of the family of Man, my covenant with my wife makes the relationship deeper, richer, broader, and more profound. In addition, the way I express my love within this marriage covenant is different than it is for those outside the covenant. Even other members of the Church, who have made the same covenant with the Lord that I have made don’t receive the same kind of love and attention from me that my wife does. In that case, we are all “family,” which is a covenant relationship, but not the same as the marriage covenant. The love I have for my parents and siblings is stronger than what I have for other members of the Church, and that in turn is different than the love I have for non-members. But none of them matches what I have with my wife. It’s the same as the covenants we make with God. When we make that covenant, our relationship with Him becomes deeper, broader, and richer. And He honors those who will make that covenant and show that they will have him to be their God.

1 Nephi 17: 39

39 He ruleth high in the heavens, for it is his throne, and this earth is his footstool.

This phrase, that the Lord is in the heavens, and this earth is his footstool is found in several places in the scriptures. The heavens are “out there” someplace, but what about the expression that the earth is His footstool? The only thing I can figure is that this is where the Lord lived in mortality, where His feet actually rested.

• Isaiah 66:1
• Lamentations 2:1
• D&C 38:17
• Abraham 2:7

1 Nephi 17: 38

38 And he leadeth away the righteous into precious lands, and the wicked he destroyeth, and curseth the land unto them for their sakes.

When does a nation become so wicked that the Lord destroys it and curses the land? Is it 80%? 90%? 100%? In the case of Sodom and Gomorrah Abraham bargained with the angels that they would not destroy the cities if there were 10 righteous people there, so we know there was less than 10 in those cities (see Genesis 18:23–33). Alma and Amulek told the people of Amonihah that it was because of the prayers of the righteous that they weren’t destroyed, and if they cast out those righteous the Lord would not stay his hand (see  Alma 10:22–23). Samuel the Lamanite told the people of Zarahemla that “when [they] shall cast out the righteous from among [them], then shall [they] be ripe for destruction” (Helaman 13:13–14). I wonder how bad the United States will need to get before it’s our turn to be destroyed. I hope that we will be spared due to the millions of members of the Church who are righteous, and good people of other faiths as well.

I think Nephi is likely talking about physical lands here, but really, this also applies to our eternal rewards as well. The Lord takes the righteous to “precious lands,” eternal life with Him in His kingdom (see John 14:2). Those who are wicked are not worthy of this reward so they are “destroyed” spiritually, or locked out of Father’s company into a “cursed land.”