1 Nephi 14:4

4 For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him.

What I find interesting about this verse is the insight into how justice works. Verse 3 said the wicked dig a pit for themselves; they essentially design their own demise. In parenting that is called “natural consequences.” From a justice perspective, it’s the perfect solution to sin, or at least its punishment. After all, those who enjoy an eternal life in the Celestial Kingdom essentially decide their reward through their actions; it is only fair that those who break eternal laws decide their fate through their actions as well. This is also “according to the captivity of the devil . . .” Satan doesn’t care if we suffer for the temptations we give in to. Actually he does care. He wants us to suffer, so even if he could, he wouldn’t prevent us from suffering the natural consequences of our sins. Mormon 4:5 says that the wicked are punished by the wicked. Satan certainly qualifies as one of the wicked. He wants us to be miserable like he is. Look what he did, or rather didn’t do for Korihor. Once his usefulness ran out, Korihor was left to be “run upon and trodden down, even until he was dead.” Then we’re told that Satan doesn’t support “his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell.” And that’s the way Satan works. Drag you in, and then abandon you to your punishments. After all, that is according to the captivity of the devil.

• Alma 30:60
• Mormon 4:5

1 Nephi 14:3

3 And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hell—yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.

I’m sure the “great pit” referred to is not a literal pit, but it sure does bring graphic images to mind. I think of the kind of pits dug to trap prey or game by hunters, or during times of war such as Viet Nam war; traps that an enemy or a wild animal, like a lion or something could not escape from. These kinds of traps sometimes have spikes in the bottom so that the ones who fall into them are killed or badly injured. That really is the only reason I can think to dig one of these great pits. This figurative pit has been “digged for the destruction of men,” and like the pit used in hunting, it is well concealed so that the victims are caught in it before they realize it is even there.

It’s fitting that this pit will be filled with those who made it. They will be destroyed by the very means they wanted to use on their unsuspecting victims. Those who facilitate addictions could be one example of this. This verse, then, speaks volumes about the great mercies of God. It says that the pit would be filled with those who digged it, “unto their utter destruction,” but not to the destruction of their souls, rather just to be cast out “into that hell which hath no end.” This is explained in D&C 19:4–20, where it talks about how everyone needs to either repent and let Jesus Christ suffer for their sins, or they need to suffer for their sins themselves. Either way, the price will be paid. These verses go on to explain that terms like eternal damnation, endless torment, endless punishment, etc. do not mean that there is no end to it, or that there is no hope. Rather it means that these are terms for God’s punishment. And that suffering caused “God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of the pain . . .”

So those who dig this pit, set this snare for unsuspecting children of God, will fill it themselves. They will be caught in their own trap, and they will have to suffer the consequences, which is to be cast into that hell which hath no end. But when the price is paid, it’s paid. How merciful is that!

• Psalm 57:6
• Matthew 7:2 (1–2)
• 1 Nephi 22:14 (13–14)
• 2 Nephi 6:18
• D&C 10:26 (25–27)
• D&C 19:4–20
• D&C 109:25

1 Nephi 14:2

2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.

We find out here that Gentiles can be recipients of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. They can be “numbered among the house of Israel” or inheritors of that covenant. What does it take for that to happen? Remove the stumbling block as described in verse 1, and do not rebel against Christ. With those two things taken care of, the other requirements should just naturally follow. I’m referring to accepting the Gospel, baptism, temple ordinances, etc. Once again we see how vital humility is to the Plan of Salvation. That is the main stumbling block that must be removed for that plan to have effect in our lives.

• Galatians 3:7 (7, 29)
• 2 Nephi 10:18 (18–19)
• 3 Nephi 16:13
• 3 Nephi 20:27
• 3 Nephi 21:6 (6, 22)
• Mormon 5:19–24
• Abraham 2:10 (9–11)

1 Nephi 14:1

1 And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—

If the Gentiles will humble themselves, verse two will say, they will be numbered among the house of Israel. In order for that to happen, their stumbling blocks must be removed, or they must overcome them. What is the stumbling block? I think the main thing is pride. That and maybe ignorance. Pride is probably the single biggest factor in keeping a person (or people) from receiving blessings from the Lord. And it manifests itself in many ways. To the Jews of the Old Testament, according to Isaiah and Jacob (Nephi’s brother) the stumbling block was looking beyond the mark (see Isaiah 6:9–10 and Jacob 4:14). They were the chosen people of the Lord; they had revealed knowledge and wanted more. So the Lord gave it to them. They wanted mysteries, so they got them, and it became a major stumbling block to them. What are the stumbling blocks of the Gentiles?

I think the stumbling block of pride has several manifestations among the Gentiles. One of these is, in a sense, just the opposite of the Jews. I think many gentiles (in the United States) become Christian and are content with that. They get a portion of truth and won’t listen to the fullness of the Gospel. In a sense, this is ignorance; they just don’t realize there is more than what they have, so they stop short of the mark and are not open to the rest of what they need. They are content with what they have.

Another stumbling block is just plain worldliness. People these days are quite caught up in worldly or outright carnal activities that dull their desire to seek the Lord. I could list many more, but they all have the same result. They all keep people from turning to the Lord. The funny thing about stumbling blocks is that we often don’t even realize there is a problem. But if something happens to make us turn to the Lord in humility, we see the stumbling block and can work on its removal.

• 1 Thessalonians 1:5
• 1 Nephi 13:34 (29, 34)
• 2 Nephi 26:20
• Jacob 6:2 (2–3)
• Ether 12:27

1 Nephi 14 Overview

An angel tells Nephi of the blessings and cursings to fall upon the Gentiles—There are only two churches: the Church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil—The saints of God in all nations are persecuted by the great and abominable church—The apostle John shall write concerning the end of the world. Between 600 and 592 B.C.

Finally we come to the end of Nephi’s vision. I haven’t done any research on this, but it must be one of the longest and most detailed visions we have recorded in the scriptures, being four chapters long. Probably the book of Revelation in the New Testament is longer, and interestingly enough, Nephi tells us that he saw many of the same things that John saw. However, it was John’s job to record it (see vs. 20–23). I think that if Nephi had recorded the vision instead of John it would have been a bit easier to understand. Nephi tends to be clearer about things and help us understand the interpretations of symbols, etc. At least that is the case in this vision. The whole thing started when Nephi wanted to understand what Lehi saw with his vision of the Tree of Life.

1 Nephi 13:42

42 And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last.

I think I understand the first shall be last and the last shall be first, but what I’m curious about is when it talks about Christ manifesting Himself. It says first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles; after that it will be first to the Gentiles, then to the Jews. I think the first manifestation of Christ (as Christ) was during His mortal ministry. I don’t know about the first manifestation to the Gentiles, but I think the next manifestation Gentiles was at the restoration of the Church in the latter days, and the manifestation to the Jews is yet to happen. So if these were personal manifestations, when was the first manifestation to the Gentiles?

Another way to take this is the first manifestation of the Lord to the Jews was as Jehovah in the Old Testament. Then He was manifest to the Gentiles by the Jews during the New Testament. In the latter days, He first manifested Himself to the Gentiles (Joseph Smith being first), then to the Jews by the Gentiles. That would be just the kind of symmetry we could look for in the Lord’s plan.

• 1 Nephi 15:13 (13–20)

1 Nephi 13:41

41 And they must come according to the words which shall be established by the mouth of the Lamb; and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the twelve apostles of the Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one; for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.

The scriptures found in the Book of Mormon are consistent with those of the Bible. This is because they have the same source: Jesus Christ. He speaks through His prophets as a single, consistent voice and message. One of the important aspects of the New Testament and the Book of Mormon is that they both contain teachings directly from the Savior himself. The farther you get from a source, the more likely you are to get interpretation based on personal experience.

• Ezekiel 37:17
• Ephesians 4:5–6
• 2 Nephi 31:21