Skip to main content

The Persuasion of Ishmael, 1 Nephi 7:1-5

1 Nephi 7:1-5

The Lord commanded Lehi that they should not depart in to the wilderness without wives for his sons to the end that they might bring up children in righteousness unto the Lord.

Nephi shows how they worked with the Lord to persuade Ishmael to bring his family down into the wilderness:
  1. They gained favor with Ishmael.
  2. Then they spoke the word of the Lord to Ishmael.
  3. The Lord softened Ishmael's heart.
  4. Ishmael and his household came down with Nephi and his brothers.
Really, I am quite amazed that Nephi and his brothers were able to persuade Ishmael and his house to follow their family into the wilderness. This second point should not be overlooked. They didn't resort to their own devices this time. Instead Nephi and his brothers spoke the word of the Lord to Ishmael. It must have resonated in such a way as to have a penetrated Ishmael's soul enough that he and everyone in his house felt the obligation immediately to follow Nephi's family.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"A Space Between Death and the Resurrection," Alma 40:15-21

Alma 40:15-21 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/tg/resurrection?lang=eng The New Testament, after the Resurrection of Christ, is replete with testimony by the apostles of the reality of that very thing. I took a pause from this study to reflect over in John 6 . At least twice within that passage, the phrase "the resurrection of the just" had been added back into the passage in the Joseph Smith Translation. No man can come unto me, except he doeth the will of my Father who hath sent me. And this is the will of him who hath sent me, that ye receive the Son; for the Father beareth record of him; and he who receiveth the testimony, and doeth the will of him who sent me, I will raise up in the resurrection of the just. ( JST - John 6:44 ) Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up in the resurrection of the just at the last day. ( John 6:54 ) Why, among other doctrines, does the adversary or the world want to suppress...

"An Awful Death," Alma 40:22-26

Alma 40:22-26 Ezekiel 37:6-14 - This prophecy of Ezekiel is a key indicator of divine priority. These last few verses at the end of the chapter are a testimony of the reality and nature of the resurrection, and the consignments of the wicked and the righteous thereafter. What questions should I be asking about these verses? Continue in verse 26 tomorrow. There are a number of footnotes on "the death of the wicked," or that death which "pertains to the things of righteousness." So I have spent the morning studying this death of the wicked, by reading the footnotes on "death" as referenced in title of this post, or "an awful death of the wicked."  Doctrine and Covenants 29:41 truly illustrates the seriousness of that predicament. He first is talking about the spiritual death that came upon Adam when he was cast out of the Garden of Eden: ...wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death which is ...