Lesson 4 - The Things Which I Saw While I Was Carried Away in the Spirit

1. The vision of the tree of life and the ways that the people DIDN'T end up at the tree permanently shadow the future of Nephi's posterity by showing that many would not reach the goal. It also showed why they wouldn't reach the goal. They let go of the iron rod, the got lost in the mists of darkness, they succumbed to the negative peer pressure of the people in the great and spacious building. So many ways to leave the straight and narrow. A verse that I found particularly relative was verse 10 of chap 14. "there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations". It reminds me of a passage we here in the temple from satan about whose we are if we don't walk up to the covenants we make in the temple. You're in the straight and narrow or your not.

2. Nephi saw the formation of this great and abominable church and the devil is it's founder.

3. The great and abominable church removed from the book (that proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew) the "plain and precious" truths of the gospel. This was done that it might cause men to stumble and in the end torture, yoke, and bind them down. It is this that causes religion to be considered "the opiate of the people".

Some of the doctrines of the gospel that are harder to see clearly are the basics of faith, repentance, and baptism. The need for the Sacrament. The mission of the church to proclaim the gospel, redeem the dead, and perfect the saints. These all seem to be so much clearer in the Book of Mormon. (I don't think I can speak to this point clearly. I would love to know what the Book of Mormon scholars would say to this question.)

Recently I have been reading the Old Testament. Their practice of religion seems so different from ours. But I see some basic themes that cross between the Bible and the Book of Mormon. In particular that of the Lord wanting to bless his people with a "promised land" and that once there he will bless that people with prosperity if they will but keep his commandments (and endure to the end). In the end we all cycle, but through humility we can stay close to the Lord.

4. The saints were armed with righteousness and power. People see us and if we keep the commandments they will see in us the joy of the gospel and externally or temporally they will see the Lord's blessings.