1 Nephi 15:30

30 And I said unto them that our father also saw that the justice of God did also divide the wicked from the righteous; and the brightness thereof was like unto the brightness of a flaming fire, which ascendeth up unto God forever and ever, and hath no end.

The gulf of filthy water is not the only thing separating the wicked from the righteous. The justice of God referred to by Nephi also separates the two. This seems obvious on the surface, but it might be helpful to explore the nature of justice.

Justice appears to be the “default setting” of our lives, both mortal and eternal. Another term for justice might be “natural consequences.” In other words, every time we make a choice to do something, to act a certain way, there are natural consequences to that behavior or action. That is even found in the laws of physics: “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Justice appears to be a law that cannot be broken, at least not without dire consequences (there it is again: action consequence).

There are some laws that can’t be broken at all. These are physical laws, such as the law of gravity, which have no specific moral implications attached to them. They just are, and there’s nothing we can do about it. And the thing about these natural or physical laws is that we don’t even need to understand them to be subject to them. We don’t understand how gravity works; yet we all must obey this law of nature. We can’t help it.

Apparently there is another kind of law that, technically speaking, can be broken, but not without life and/or status-changing consequences. Moral consequences. Justice seems to fall into this category. The law of justice says that when we break a commandment, we must be punished. When we keep a commandment, we are blessed. “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings [and punishments] are predicated—and when we obtain any blessing [or punishment] from God, it is by obedience [or disobedience] to that law upon which it is predicated” (D&C 130:20–21 emphasis and comments added). It only makes sense that if this scripture is true, then it’s opposite is also true.

Our heavenly Father must also keep certain laws in order to retain the status of godhood. And He has no leeway to make mistakes. He must be perfectly predictable in how He deals with His children (see Mormon 9:19). If God were to ignore the law of justice, He would forfeit His godhood (Alma 42:22 (19–28)).

So this justice that divides the wicked from the righteous is there because of an eternal law: the Law of Justice. If God were to remove that gulf of division, he would cease to be God. The Atonement is the only way that our loving Heavenly Father (who does not want us to be hurt by the Law of Justice) could offer us mercy for the things we do wrong, and not break the Law of Justice. He wants to spare us as much of the pain of sin as possible, yet the price for sin must be paid in full. The only answer: have someone else pay the price.

1 Nephi 15:29

29 And I said unto them that it was a representation of that awful hell, which the angel said unto me was prepared for the wicked.

This awful hell spoken of by Nephi is set aside for those who will not allow the Savior to pay for their sins. This includes people who deliberately sin as well as those who simply don’t accept the Atonement. Refusing the atonement is like being invited by a rich man out to dinner at an expensive restaurant. There is no way we can afford to pay, so the rich man offers to take care of the bill, and we can just leave all that we have for the tip. If we refuse that offer, our bill still needs to be paid, so we have to go and work in the kitchen, washing dishes, until we have earned enough money to pay the bill. That is the hell described by Nephi. It is a place to go and pay for our sins without the benefit of that part of the atonement that would pay for them in our behalf. The Lord offers to take care of the whole bill, and all He asks is that we do the best we can in paying the tip. If we, in our pride, refuse this offer, and insist on paying our fair share, He must honor that request and let us do it (D&C 19:16–17). I say, swallow your pride, and humbly, thankfully accept the Savior’s offer. Pour your heart and soul into the tip, but allow Him to pay the full price of the meal.

1 Nephi 15:28

28 And I said unto them that it was an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God.

This “awful gulf” that is the filthy river is almost un-crossable. It is an almost impenetrable barrier separating the wicked from the Love of God, as represented by the Tree. The gulf may be fixed, but our position relative to it is of our own choosing. If we choose the right, and hold to the rod of iron, we arrive at the Tree of Life. If we choose the other side of this great gulf the outcome is much different. We end up outside the love of God. We are “carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe” (2 Nephi 1:13).

I said it is almost impossible to cross that gulf once we have made the choice to not hold the iron rod to the Tree of Life. And it is impossible to do by ourselves. Only through the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ is it possible at all. Ammon, in rejoicing over his mission to the Lamanites, and glorying in the Lord said, “Behold, he [the Lord] did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath brought us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery, even to the salvation of our souls” (Alma 26:20). It’s only through that grace that we are able to overcome this gulf. Who can say enough about the Atonement of Christ? Where would we be without it? I think we get a hint from these verses.

• Luke 16:26
• 1 Nephi 12:18
• 2 Nephi 1:13
• Alma 26:20
• Helaman 3:29–30

1 Nephi 15:26–27

26 And they said unto me: What meaneth the river of water which our father saw?

27 And I said unto them that the water which my father saw was filthiness; and so much was his mind swallowed up in other things that he beheld not the filthiness of the water.

Another sincere question for Nephi, and another patient answer. “Filthiness” is an interesting term to use in describing the river of water that Lehi saw. It is a term that goes beyond just “dirty.” While they mean pretty much the same thing, filth is deeper. It is a stronger word. The common meaning has to do with physical cleanliness, but both words also have a moral aspect as well. The difference in both cases has to do with level of uncleanness. For example, the dictionary uses terms like “obscene” and “pornographic” to define the moral aspect of dirty. However, it uses phrases like “gross moral corruption” to define filth [see Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 3^rd ed.]. It goes to motive and moral attitudes, where dirt seems to be more of a manifestation of an attitude. Filth goes deeper than dirt. This is the condition of the river of water in Lehi’s dream. I just see it as a river of sludge and garbage and sewage. Really disgusting.

1 Nephi 15:25

25 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did exhort them to give heed unto the word of the Lord; yea, I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed, that they would give heed to the word of God and remember to keep his commandments always in all things.

Nephi has an amazing and sincere love and concern for his brothers. It’s amazing because of all the bad treatment they dish out to him. It’s sincere because Nephi doesn’t seem to have any motive for wanting his brothers’ conversion except a desire for their eternal welfare. Yes, it’s his job that once he has been converted he needs to try to warn his brothers, but this doesn’t seem to be out of duty, but out of love. Nephi must have seen something, some redeeming quality in his brethren that inspired him to keep trying. And in this instance they do seem to have sincere questions.

• Jacob 1:19

1 Nephi 15:24

24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.

I remember Sheri coming home from a conference where one of the speakers said that scripture study was the one thing Satan would want to hinder to prevent people returning to Heavenly Father. I thought at the time how interesting that it was not prayer. But it makes total sense on further consideration. The scriptures are full of not only doctrine and information; they are also full of examples of people who have been faithful, as well as those who have not been faithful. The scriptures not only teach us about the Atonement and the way back to our Heavenly Father, they give us hope that we can make it, and that making it is worthwhile.

In addition to hope, the scriptures (the rod of iron) give us an effective weapon to use against Satan. Paul compares it to “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). While the rest of the “whole armor of God” is defensive in nature, the sword is an offensive weapon. When Satan came tempting Jesus after his 40-day fast, Christ’s defense was to quote scriptures (Matthew 4:2–11). He used scripture not only as defense, but to go on the offense. When Moses talked with God at the burning bush, he received certain commandments, among which was the commandment to call upon Him. Moses was strengthened against Satan because he was doing what the Lord told him to do (i.e. following the word of God)(Moses 1:12–22). Christ taught us to “Search the scriptures; for in them you think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39). There is great value and power in the scriptures (the iron rod).

• Joshua 1:8
• Proverbs 4:13
• John 5:39
• 1 Nephi 8:19
• 1 Nephi 8:23
• D&C 3:8

1 Nephi 15:23

23 And they said unto me: What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?

This seems to be another sincere question from Laman and Lemuel. Based on some assumptions made in verse 22, it could be that they didn’t remember anything about a rod of iron in the traditions they learned regarding the Tree of Life. This rod of iron thing didn’t fit into what they already knew about this tradition.