While Nephi and his family were traveling in the wilderness, he experienced an expansive vision which included scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, the story of Nephi’s descendants, and events from our day. This vision is recorded in 1 Nephi 11-14.
Decades later, after quoting a sermon by his brother Jacob (2 Nephi 6-10) and thirteen chapters from the book of Isaiah (2 Nephi 25-30), Nephi shared with us what he called “my own prophecy” (2 Nephi 25-30). (See 2 Nephi 25:7.) This prophecy refers to many themes from his original vision. The following table shows some of the parallels between Nephi’s vision and his subsequent prophecy:
| Theme | Nephi’s Vision | Nephi’s Prophecy |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus Christ will be rejected and crucified. | “The Lamb of God…was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world… “And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world” (1 Nephi 11:32-33). | “When the day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject him…. “Behold, they will crucify him” (2 Nephi 25:12-13). |
| His death will coincide with destruction in the Americas. | “I saw lightnings, and I heard thunderings, and earthquakes, and all manner of tumultuous noises; and I saw the earth and the rocks, that they rent; and I saw mountains tumbling into pieces; and I saw the plains of the earth, that they were broken up; and I saw many cities that they were sunk; and I saw many that they were burned with fire; and I saw many that did tumble to the earth, because of the quaking thereof” (1 Nephi 12:4). | “The depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder. “And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions” (2 Nephi 26:5-6). |
| Nephi’s descendants will be destroyed. | “I beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed, according to the word of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed” (1 Nephi 12:19). | “And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass” (2 Nephi 26:10). |
| They will write scriptures which will be hidden for a long time. | “I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb” (1 Nephi 13:35). | “They shall write the things which shall be done among them, and they shall be written and sealed up in a book” (2 Nephi 26:17). |
| The Gentiles will establish false churches because of their pride. | “Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity…. “And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity” (1 Nephi 13:5, 9). | “The Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, that they have built up many churches; nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the face of the poor. “And there are many churches built up which cause envyings, and strifes, and malice” (2 Nephi 26:20-21). |
| The words of Nephi’s descendants (the Book of Mormon) will become one with the Bible. | “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” (1 Nephi 13:41). | “The Jews shall have the words of the Nephites, and the Nephites shall have the words of the Jews; and the Nephites and the Jews shall have the words of the lost tribes of Israel; and the lost tribes of Israel shall have the words of the Nephites and the Jews. “…and my word also shall be gathered in one” (2 Nephi 29:14). |
| God will do a marvelous work. | “The time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men” (1 Nephi 14:7). | “I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, yea, a marvelous work and a wonder” (2 Nephi 27:26). |
| False churches will fall. | “I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church” (1 Nephi 14:15). | “That great and abominable church, the whore of all the earth, must tumble to the earth, and great must be the fall thereof” (2 Nephi 28:18). |
| God will bless the whole earth. | “The time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations” (1 Nephi 13:42). | “The Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people” (2 Nephi 30:8). |
The fact that Nephi echoed so many themes from his vision in his prophecy indicates how important these messages were to him. I’m grateful for his expansive view of God’s love and his multigenerational understanding of how that love is manifest. And I’m grateful that, many years after this spiritual experience, he was still reflecting on the things he had seen and understanding them more fully.
Today, I will follow Nephi’s example by remembering and pondering the principles I have learned from God and sharing those principles with other people.
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