1 Nephi 2:23

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.

It helps to know who all the antecedents are in this verse; there are a lot of pronouns.

“For behold, in that day that they [thy brethren] shall rebel against me, I will curse them [thy brethren and their seed, the Lamanites] even with a sore curse, and they [the Lamanites] shall have no power over thy seed [Nephites] except they [Nephites] shall rebel against me also.”

What does it take to rebel against the Lord? Consider the Lamanites, Laman and Lemuel in particular. As their story unfolds, we see them do some pretty bad things that would seem to indicate rebellion: beating up on Nephi several times, tying him up while crossing the ocean, trying to kill their father, the prophet. Verse 13 in this chapter says they were “like unto the Jews who were at Jerusalem, who sought to take away the life of [Lehi].” This all seems pretty rebellious. And yet, in verse 23 the Lord says he will curse them “in that day they that they shall rebel against [Him].” The Lamanites weren’t cursed, at least not outwardly with the dark skin, until it got so bad that Nephi had to leave with his people. (2 Nephi 5) I think at this point they were so far gone that there was no way they were repenting. So finally, the Lord cursed them. They got a lot of chances up until then, though. Clearly He keeps His own counsel to forgive often, as state in Matthew 18:21–22. The Lord expects more from those who covenant with Him.

1 Nephi 2:22

22 And inasmuch as thou shalt keep my commandments, thou shalt be made a ruler and a teacher over thy brethren.

This promise has an obvious temporal aspect, but I believe there is a type here that we can learn from. Nephi was a teacher, and therefore a ruler to Laman and Lemuel and their people as long as Lehi was alive. As soon as Lehi died and there was nobody to keep them in check, Laman and Lemuel rebelled, Nephi left, and he no longer was a teacher or ruler over them. I want to look at this in terms of spiritually taking charge of our temptations and hardships.

In the next couple of verses we will see that Laman and Lemuel served a specific purpose for Nephi and his people. 2 Nephi 2:11 teaches that there needs to be opposition in all things. That seems to be the Lamanites’ purpose, and the Lord was not going to take that opposition away. As long as we keep the commandments we will have power over our opposition. Or to put it in the words used here, “thou shalt be made a ruler” over thy opposition.

1 Nephi 2:20–21

20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

21 And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord.

Although this is mentioned several times throughout the Book of Mormon (the promise of prospering in a land of promise if they keep the commandments), the way it is worded leads me to believe the scripture is not talking about the country so much as an eternal prospering. Nephi is told he would prosper and be led to a land of promise that had been prepared for him that was choice above all other lands, if he keeps the commandments. On the other hand, his brethren would be “cut off from the presence of the Lord” if they rebel. When you consider that the whole family was going to the same place (in other words, the same land of inheritance), they are all going to this Promised Land, even the rebelling Laman and Lemuel. So in a temporal sense, they all received the same temporal inheritance. In fact, the Lamanites are the ones left in the land to this day. It is true that while people were righteous they prospered temporally as promised, but I think this is going deeper than having the comforts of life. Consider the cross reference of Matthew 25: 34, 41 (31–46). Inheriting the land is just a way to teach about eternal life in that place of promise.

• Matthew 25:34, 41 (31–46)
• John 14:2

1 Nephi 2:19

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.

Interestingly, these same words are recorded in Helaman 10:4. “Blessed art thou, Nephi…” When we make a covenant with the Lord, we are expected to endure to the end, but that doesn’t stop Him from rewarding us now for the faithfulness and diligence we demonstrate. It seems like when the Lord blesses these people in the scriptures in this manner, He gives them the reason. Nephi 1, in this verse, is blessed because of his faith, as evidenced by the fact that he had sought the Lord diligently, with lowliness of heart. The other Nephi (in the book of Helaman) was blessed “for those things which thou hast done.” Then the Lord tells what those things were: teaching the gospel. The same thing happens at the beginning of this chapter with Lehi (1Nephi 2:1). The same thing happens again with Enos (Enos 1:5–8). The index puts it in perspective a bit. It lists scriptures relating to reasons why people would be blessed. “Blessed are they who seek to bring forth Zion” (1 Nephi 13:37), “who have labored in the vineyard” (Jacob 6:3), “they who humble themselves” (Alma 32:13–16), “endure to the end” (Alma 38:2), “come unto Christ” (3 Nephi 9:14). And on it goes. The blessings we receive are related to the commandments we keep (D&C 130:20–21)

1 Nephi 2:18

18 But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them.

Nephi feels grieved because his brothers are rejecting his testimony. As recorded in the scriptures, grief, or at least the kind of grief this verse refers to, is triggered by rejection of testimony or resistance to conversion. This is founded in love or concern for a person’s (adversary’s) salvation. It also seems to be a call to action. If nothing else, it is a call to pray for their souls, as Nephi did here.

1 Nephi 2:16–17

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.

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.

Nephi outlines the steps of his conversion, which can be used as a model of our own conversion. He starts out by having “great desires to know the mysteries of God.” Nothing will happen without our desires for understanding. Alma taught that as well in his great lesson on faith (Alma 32:27). Acting on that desire is key.

The action needed is to cry unto the Lord. The word “cry” here seems to indicate a sincere effort beyond just “saying our prayers.” Verse 19 says that Nephi “sought [the Lord] diligently, with lowliness of heart.” Sincere desire leads to sincere action.

The result was that the Lord visited Nephi and softened his heart. I don’t know if this was a personal visit or not, but the visiting doesn’t have to be face-to-face. (1 Nephi 19:11; Alma 17:10; D&C 5:16) All of these refer to other ways the Lord visits us: His voice, natural disaster, I think most frequently is the manifestation of His Spirit.

His visitation softens our hearts if we allow it to, which we would if the first two steps were sincere. Others, like Laman and Lemuel for example, have been visited, but never let that soften their hearts. This heart softening leads to believing the words of the prophets. Once the Spirit has confirmed a testimony of the prophet, we can confidently “believe all the words which had been spoken by [them].”

The next thing is to not rebel against the testimony we receive. We accept it and live accordingly.

Finally, Nephi bore his testimony and warned others. This is in harmony with D&C 88:81, where we are told that once we have been warned, we are to warn our neighbors. In Nephi’s case, he shared with or warned his brothers. Sam accepted; Laman and Lemuel did not. So we learn that just because we have been converted does not mean we are guaranteed to convert others.

As for Sam, he falls into the category of those about whom Jesus told his disciple, Thomas, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

[vs. 16]

• 1 Nephi 2:19
• Alma 18:41; 32:27

[vs. 17]

• John 20:29
• Alma 32:17–21
• D&C 88:81

1 Nephi 2:15

15 And my father dwelt in a tent.

This is one of the shortest verses in the Book of Mormon. I believe Nephi is doing more than telling us about Lehi’s living condition. I’ve heard that only the wealthy could afford tents in their culture, but that misses the point. This is a statement in direct contrast to Laman and Lemuel’s attitude, as indicated in verse 14. It is evidence that Lehi did not need to be compelled to be humble. He left everything behind, and he did it for the reason that the Lord told him to do it. This was a man who had the luxury of a comfortable home (there is evidence that Lehi was quite wealthy), probably servants and all that implies, anything the world could offer him, yet he gave it all up and “dwelt in a tent.” Why? Because he was converted. Following the Lord was more important than life itself, let alone life style.