In my experience, 1 Nephi 4 is where a good majority of investigators stop reading the Book of Mormon. This is the account of Nephi killing Laban. (p.s. anyone offended by God commanding to kill needs to read the old testament) It's not all heroic and miraculous like David and Goliath. The ultimate test of faith for us as sons and daughters of God is to act according to God's will despite contradictions that may exist within us.
Case in point: Nephi is compelled to kill a man (in a rather brutal manner) in seeming contradiction to everything he had been taught from the brass plates about "Thou shalt not kill." God could have destroyed Laban himself-- he didn't need Nephi to cut off his head. Nephi needed it. It was his chance to prove to God and himself his unwaivering faith.
Another well known example: Abraham and Isaac. Abraham had been promised by God a posterity as numerous as the sands of the sea. And FINALLY, in his old age he has a single son. But, all the sudden God tells him to go up and KILL his only son, the only son that would fulfill the prophecy that God himself gave Abraham. How's that for a mind-boggling contradiction! What did he do about it? He obeyed. Despite how confused, frustrated, lost, hopeless, lonely, stupid, or angry he may have felt, Abraham got up on that mountain and was ready to destroy his greatest hope and most prized posession. (as a side note, in Hebrews 11:17-19 Paul suggests that Abraham had such unwaivering faith in God that he just assumed that Isaac would be raised from the dead after he was slaughtered...)
The scriptures point out in many instances (D&C 101:4, for example) that the saints in the last days will be tried "even as Abraham." So, we should expect that trials of our faith will arise from situations which may involve very difficult contradictions. Don't let the apparent contradiction defeat your faith. Stay true, and the full purposes of God will be revealed and the Spirit will testify of it.
Friday, October 2, 2009
1 Nephi 8 - the Tungsten Rod
The iron rod is the word of God. We know that. 1 Nephi 11:25
but why is it IRON?
As an engineer, I've put more thought into this than I imagine the average reader. The iron rod is "strong and bright and true." ...really? in fact, iron is not a very "strong" metal at all. Without going into too much boring detail, iron is a "weaker" metal than many aluminum alloys, any type or form of steel, titanium, tungsten carbide, etc.
So why was the rod that Lehi (and Nephi) saw made of IRON?
Because the Lord speaks to us according to our own personal understanding. The iron is symbolic. Today we know that many metals exist and alloys can be made which are much stronger than iron. Not in Lehi's time. Chances are, the strongest material in the world according to Lehi was IRON. So, when the Lord wanted to show Lehi this vision with a rod symbolizing the strength and straightness and rigidity of the word of God, he showed it to Lehi as a rod of iron. That is what made sense to Lehi. He got the symbolism right away. No explanation was needed. Symbolism is awesome like that.
Similarly, I imagine that if I were to have the pleasure of seeing "Lehi's vision" for myself, the rod wouldn't be iron, it would be tungsten carbide. That is because, according to my understanding, this is the strongest, most rigid material (metal, anyway) out there. It would have the same symbolic effect for me as it did Lehi.
The Lord caters to our understanding when he speaks to us. He doesn't have pre-recorded visions and messages sent to us. They are personalized to a degree that we fail to appreciate. That's why Christ taught his disciples in terms of mustard seeds, fishing, fig trees, beggars, lepers, servants, etc. These are things they understood and were familiar with. I imagine if Christ lived during our time the parables he would teach would involve ipods and facebook and airplanes and the internet. The principles taught would be the same, but the message would be personalized to make sure we understood.
So when I read Nephi 8 and 11, I always think of the tungsten rod, and that reminds me that God speaks to us very, very personally.
but why is it IRON?
As an engineer, I've put more thought into this than I imagine the average reader. The iron rod is "strong and bright and true." ...really? in fact, iron is not a very "strong" metal at all. Without going into too much boring detail, iron is a "weaker" metal than many aluminum alloys, any type or form of steel, titanium, tungsten carbide, etc.
So why was the rod that Lehi (and Nephi) saw made of IRON?
Because the Lord speaks to us according to our own personal understanding. The iron is symbolic. Today we know that many metals exist and alloys can be made which are much stronger than iron. Not in Lehi's time. Chances are, the strongest material in the world according to Lehi was IRON. So, when the Lord wanted to show Lehi this vision with a rod symbolizing the strength and straightness and rigidity of the word of God, he showed it to Lehi as a rod of iron. That is what made sense to Lehi. He got the symbolism right away. No explanation was needed. Symbolism is awesome like that.
Similarly, I imagine that if I were to have the pleasure of seeing "Lehi's vision" for myself, the rod wouldn't be iron, it would be tungsten carbide. That is because, according to my understanding, this is the strongest, most rigid material (metal, anyway) out there. It would have the same symbolic effect for me as it did Lehi.
The Lord caters to our understanding when he speaks to us. He doesn't have pre-recorded visions and messages sent to us. They are personalized to a degree that we fail to appreciate. That's why Christ taught his disciples in terms of mustard seeds, fishing, fig trees, beggars, lepers, servants, etc. These are things they understood and were familiar with. I imagine if Christ lived during our time the parables he would teach would involve ipods and facebook and airplanes and the internet. The principles taught would be the same, but the message would be personalized to make sure we understood.
So when I read Nephi 8 and 11, I always think of the tungsten rod, and that reminds me that God speaks to us very, very personally.
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