1 Nephi 20: 3

3 Behold, I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them. I did show them suddenly.

Now that the Lord has established specifically to whom He is talking, He reminds those covenant breakers who He is. He starts out by reminding them that He not only tells his prophets ahead of time what will happen, He then makes or allows the prophesied events to happen. His prophecies are fulfilled, unlike prophecies by false gods and idols made through false prophets. One reason He provides foreknowledge of what He will do is that it might serve as evidence of who He is, i.e. the true and living God. That seems to be what the Lord is establishing in this verse by reminding apostate Israel of the fulfillment of prophecies given through his prophets.

1 Nephi 20: 2

2 Nevertheless, they call themselves of the holy city, but they do not stay themselves upon the God of Israel, who is the Lord of Hosts; yea, the Lord of Hosts is his name.

This verse is really the opposite as what is rendered in the King James Version of the Bible. In Isaiah 48:2 of the King James Version it says, “For they call themselves if the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name.” Two big word or thought changes are the first word, “for” changed to “nevertheless,” and the inclusion of the word, “not” in the Nephi version. So the way the King James Version is worded, this is merely a statement of the Jews’ claims, of how they swear by the name of the Lord and make mention of him, as stated in verse one. The Nephi version says that regardless of what the Jews claim in verse one, they do not rely on the Lord. So they say they are the Lord’s people, but really they are not. They reject the prophets, and they have broken their covenants with the Lord. And yet they still claim to be the Lord’s people. Another word for that kind of behavior is hypocrisy, and was among the sins most strongly condemned by the Lord in His mortal ministry. So in different, more modern language, I might render the verse like this: “In spite of the fact that they do not swear by the name of the Lord in truth or righteousness (verse 1), they claim to be holy and God’s covenant people. But hypocritically, they do not rely on the Lord of Hosts, as His covenant people would do.”

It is sobering to recall that this is included in the Book of Mormon for our benefit here in the latter days. Those of us in the Church need to periodically stop and evaluate whether we are individually like those Jews described by Isaiah in these verses. Do I claim to be one of the Lord’s people, but then reject the prophets and break my covenants? Sobering indeed.

1 Nephi 20: 1

 1 Hearken and hear this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, or out of the waters of baptism, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, yet they swear not in truth nor in righteousness.

Nephi likens all scripture unto them, and I suppose he sees a real parallel between the Israel that Isaiah prophesies to and his own brethren. In this verse Isaiah is addressing his audience, which is pretty specific: the covenant Israel who do not live up to their covenants. Likewise, Nephi, through the writings of Isaiah, is addressing specifically his brethren, who are also covenant breakers. I have mentioned before how Nephi’s brethren keep repenting and trying again to do the right things (although possibly for the wrong reasons), so we can gather that they have made covenants with the Lord. Breaking a covenant is worse than never making the covenant in the first place. We need to remember Nephi’s purpose in reading Isaiah here. It’s not to condemn his brethren, but rather to persuade them. My guess is that if they are sitting still long enough to have Nephi read to them and preach, they are probably in one of their more teachable moments. So while this introductory verse may be a mild rebuke, they probably realized the truth of their position, that they had broken covenants with the Lord, just as the house of Israel, or the part of that house that Isaiah addresses here. So Laman could have likened this verse to himself like this: “Hearken and hear this, Laman, who is part of the Lord’s covenant people, Israel, who also has made covenants, but has made them falsely, with no real intent to be converted.” These chapters may not apply so directly to Sam and Jacob, and those others who also kept their covenants, except as it gives hope to all, or unless they also break their covenants at some future time. And that’s how it applies to us as well. Either we are covenant breakers, or we don’t want to be, so we should all give heed to these words.

1 Nephi Chapter 20 Overview

The Lord reveals his purposes to Israel—Israel has been chosen in the furnace of affliction and is to go forth from Babylon—Compare Isaiah 48. About 588–570 B.C.

Nephi, in the next two chapters, quotes words of Isaiah that are intended to bring his brethren to Christ. According to the textbook for the Book of Mormon course these are somewhat parallel chapters. This chapter is about the Jews in Jerusalem; the next one is about the Lehites in America. This should be interesting as I dig into understanding this amazing prophet.

1 Nephi 19: 24

 24 Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for after this manner has the prophet written.

Nephi’s immediate audience is his family, who are a remnant of Israel that is a branch broken off as prophesied. But his ultimate audience is those of us in the latter days, who are also a remnant of Israel. Even Gentiles who are baptized adopt the heritage of Israel, so Nephi makes a point of saying these words of the prophet “were written unto all the house of Israel” (emphasis added), which includes us, whether direct descendant or adopted in. So we should liken these words unto us just as much as Nephi’s family should have. And so Nephi introduces us to the words of Isaiah.

• Genesis 49: 22 (22–26)
• 1 Nephi 15: 12 (12,16)
• 2 Nephi 3: 5 (4–5)

1 Nephi 19: 23

 23 And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.

I find it very telling that Nephi quoted so much from Isaiah. Of all prophets recorded in the brass plates, including Zenock, Zenos, and Neum, who Nephi mentioned earlier in the chapter, he chose to quote from Isaiah. By definition, all prophets testify of Christ (see Revelation 19:10; 1 Nephi 10:5; Jacob 7:11), and there are others besides Isaiah who are more direct and plain. But Nephi quoted Isaiah. And the stated reason was that he “might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer.” The first thing I get from that is that while Nephi’s brethren must have at least believed some of the prophets (remember that whenever he wanted to pull them back in line he recited Moses, and again here they were giving him time to read from Isaiah) they clearly did not understand those prophets, at least not totally. For sure they didn’t understand that the prophets testified of Christ. But that they might be converted Nephi read Isaiah to them. Why not Zenos? Why not Zenock? After all, they were more easily understood in their testimonies. Nephi’s brethren already had one of the ingredients Nephi later identified as necessary to understanding Isaiah. They may not have had a spirit of prophecy (i.e. testimony of Jesus—Revelation 19:10), but they understood the “manner of prophesying among the Jews” (see 2 Nephi 25:1, 4). I wonder if Nephi hoped that because they understood that part that he could help them “connect the dots” and gain a testimony of Christ. And maybe once you have both ingredients (testimony of Christ and understanding the Jews) you find out that Isaiah really is one of the most, if not the most powerful testifiers of Christ, and one of the most plain. Ultimately Nephi’s audience was we who live in the latter days, but his immediate audience was his brethren. I’m sure he had the same hope for both audiences.

Another important key in the verse is that we “liken all scriptures unto us…for our profit and learning.” The people who get nothing out of the scriptures are the ones who read them thoughtlessly, or without applying them to their own lives and circumstances. This is an important key to understanding and benefiting from the testimonies of these prophets.

• Timothy 3: 16–17
• 1 Nephi 5: 11
• 2 Nephi 4: 15
• 2; 2 Nephi 25: 5 (2–6)
• 3 Nephi 23: 1
• Moses 1: 41 (40–41)

1 Nephi 19: 22

 22 Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old.

Throughout First Nephi I have thought that my opinion of Laman and Lemuel might be wrong. I’m not so convinced that they are the evil people I once took them to be. I now believe it’s more complex than that. In fact, they don’t seem all that different from me or anyone else I know, at least at his point of the story. This verse is another one giving evidence to that idea. If they were so simply wicked, I doubt they would allow their father and younger brother to preach to them. They wouldn’t listen to Nephi read scripture to them. I doubt they would have the patience for it. And then, after Nephi finishes reading, they don’t ridicule him or blow him off. Rather, they ask him what it means (see 1 Nephi 22:1). Furthermore, this is not the first time they have done this. Chapter 15 records a series of questions they asked, trying to understand the Tree of Life vision. They have shown themselves to be at least somewhat obedient, maybe for the wrong reasons, but at least they did the things that were required of them.

I think the lesson to be learned from Laman is deeper than just good vs. evil. All too often I relate more closely with Laman than I do with Nephi. Although thankfully, Nephi gives us some very personal insights into his character that let us know that he is not perfect either (see 2 Nephi 4:17–19 for example). Laman and Lemuel strike me as people who were brought up in a faithful home, and they seem to have believed the teachings they grew up with. The story of Moses seems to have had particular meaning for them. They know they should obey and do the right things, but they also have a powerful temptation, a chronic temptation that they just can’t seem to shake. Of course, in the end they finally just give in to their pride, which is why Nephi and his followers break off and become the Nephites.

The lesson I learn from Laman and Lemuel is about never giving up. Their sins were forgiven them each time they repented of the same thing over and over, but in the end they stopped repenting. They just gave up. And their giving up affected many generations after them. I think they let the jealousy and pride temptations to fester in their souls until it finally just became too much, and they gave up. They gave me hope for me, until that happened.

So the question for me and for everyone is whether we will give up our struggle against our own chronic temptations. We all have these weaknesses. In fact a verse in the scriptures that gives me a lot of hope is Ether 12: 26–27, where it is revealed that the Lord gives us weaknesses that we may be humble and turn to Him. Weaknesses are our own personal Lamanites, given to us to “stir [us] up in the ways of remembrance” (see 1 Nephi 2:24). Our challenge is to not give in to our weaknesses, our Lamanites. The Zoramites are an example of a people who ultimately embraced their “inner Lamanite.” And once they gave in and became Lamanites, they were even harder and worse than those who grew up as Lamanites (see Alma 43:4, 6–8). This is also true on a personal level, where those who become “Lamanites” are angrier toward those who are trying to resist. The scriptures are full of these examples. I pray every day for the strength to continue the fight and not give up to my inner Lamanite.

• 1 Nephi 22:1