Sunday, January 24, 2021

Michael D. Cook on 1 Nephi 13

  

Throughout 1 Nephi 13, Nephi makes many important distinctions, such as the distinction between the gospel of the Lamb versus the book of the Lamb. Satan’s false church first took away “from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious.” Afterwards, they took away “many plain and precious things [from] . . . the book of the Lamb.” The corrupted gospel of the false church causes blindness and stumbling, not the altered book, for it is still the word of God. 1 Nephi 13 is very precise on many of these points (1 Nephi 13:27-32). (Michael D. Cook, Nephi’s Journey: The Lord Prepares a Way [2020], 210 n. 1)

 

In Nephi’s vision, the only types of alterations to the Jewish record that are ever mentioned are removals. This implies that all other types of alterations were introduced in subsequent compilations and translations, years after the first removals occurred. Simply removing certain truths was sufficient to cause great confusion and apostasy. There are many lessons in this. In today’s world, simply removing certain foundational truths, such as the truths regarding America’s role in God’s plan, is enough to cause the entire world to stumble in confusion. (Ibid., 210 n. 2)

 

Further Reading

Brant Gardner on 1 Nephi 13:24-28 and a Note on Psalm 110:3 in the MT and LXX