In this lesson we'll dive into Nephi's vision of the destruction of his people, the colonization of the Americas and the coming forth the Book of Mormon.

1. THE THINGS WHICH I SAW WHILE I
WAS CARRIED AWAY IN THE SPIRIT
Book of Mormon Gospel Doctrine Lesson 4
1 Nephi 12-14

2. INTRODUCTION
➤ Boyd K. Packer: “No message appears in scripture more times,
in more ways than ‘Ask, and ye shall receive’” (in Conference
Report, Oct. 1991, 26; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 21).
➤ 1 Ne 11:1-3
➤ What does it mean to be ‘caught away’
➤ In chapter 11 he sees a vision of the tree of life
➤ In 12 he sees the destruction of his people
➤ In 13 & 14 he sees the rise of the great & abominable
church and the Church of the Lamb of God (similar to
John’s Revelation)

3. BACKGROUND
➤ Where is Nephi now?
➤ He’s still in the middle east. He sees a vision of the land of promise. How different do those
look? How would it feel to see it torn apart?
➤ ATOT: HGTV Couple’s dream Texas Farmhouse. How would they feel if the could see it being destroyed by their
wicked posterity? Would it change their desire for it? Probably not, but it would change how and what they
teach their children. I think it had a similar effect on Nephi.

4. NEPHI SEES THE FUTURE OF HIS DESCENDANTS AND HIS BROTHERS’ DESCENDANTS
➤ 1 Ne 12:1-3, he’s seeing multiple generations pass away. This
was a long vision
➤ 1 Ne 12:4-6, (compare to 3 Ne 8) why the contrast?
➤ This vision is directly after the tree of life vision
➤ He sees a metaphorical ‘mist of darkness’ and then a
literal ‘vapor of darkness’.
➤ He sees a metaphorical ‘great and spacious building’ and
then the literal ruins of whole cities.
➤ 1 Ne 12:11-12, How are the conditions after the Savior’s visit?
➤ Compare to 4 Nephi, to see the prophesy fulfilled

5. STEPS TO FINDING PEACE
➤ 4 Ne 1:2-4, What brought about
this peace? (4 Ne 1:5, 7, 10-12)
➤ If we are feeling strife and
contention what should we do?
➤ Serve (5)
➤ Repair what is broken (7)
➤ Grow in strength - wax
strong (wax candles are dipped
and built up over time)(10)
➤ Have families (10-11)
➤ Be obedient (12)
➤ Seek to know & love him
(15)

6. NEPHI SEES THE FUTURE OF HIS DESCENDANTS AND HIS BROTHERS’ DESCENDANTS
➤ After seeing 4 generations (100+ yrs) live in peace he begins to see a decline
➤ 1 Ne 12:14-15, What’s their common cause now?
➤ 1 Ne 12:16, What does the river represent?
➤ 1 Ne 15:27-29, separation from God=awful hell
➤ ATOT: Moving to Utah, the fear and panic I felt when Jack was lost. Even then I
had steps I had a bridge to get him back (talk to neighbors, call the police). In
hell, the river is permanent, there is no bridge to get back.
➤ 1 Ne 12:19, Why were they overpowered and destroyed?
➤ They started relying on their own strength. They weren’t ‘waxing strong’
anymore.
➤ How does pride make us weaker?
➤ ATOT: ’The Power of Vulnerability’ book. It cuts off creativity and collaboration

7. NEPHI SEES THE FORMATION OF THE GREAT AND ABOMINABLE CHURCH
➤ 1 Ne 13 summary: Nephi sees the apostasy, the colonization of
Americas, and the Restoration
➤ What is the great & abominable (def: causing moral corruption) church?
➤ Who is the founder? 1 Ne 13:6. Why would he found a ‘church’?
Why not an army?
➤ Which church is it? We’ve all heard guesses - they’re all wrong.
➤ D&C 18:20, all other churches can’t be the church of the devil or
this wouldn’t make sense. Our church joins with others all the
time (Mom’s experiences with the Public Affairs department).
➤ The G&A Church is a symbol of apostasy in all its forms.
➤ When we think of Zion, we don’t just think of Jackson County. Zion is in the
hearts of the people. The G&A church is in the hearts of people as well.

8. “
From an Ensign article on Muhammed…"While the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints is established for the instruction of men; and it is one of
God’s instrumentalities for making known the truth yet he is not limited to
that institution for such purposes, neither in time nor place. God raises up
wise men and prophets here and there among all the children of men, of
their own tongue and nationality, speaking to them through means that they
can comprehend. … All the great teachers are servants of God; among all
nations and in all ages. They are inspired men, appointed to instruct God’s
children according to the conditions in the midst of which he finds them.”
They also published articles on Buddhism, Hinduism, Roman Catholicism, and
Lutheranism. President Hinckley: “Bring all the good you have with you, and let us add
to it!”
-B.H. Roberts

9. “
➤ “The titles church of the devil and great and abominable
church are used to identify all churches or
organizations of whatever name or nature—whether
political, philosophical, educational, economic, social,
fraternal, civic, or religious—which are designed to
take men on a course that leads away from God and
his laws and thus from salvation in the kingdom of
God” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 137–38).
➤ Do we see these forces at work today? How can we
combat them?
-Bruce R. McConkie

10. NEPHI SEES THE DISCOVERY & COLONIZATION OF THE
AMERICAS
➤ The Lamanites had been separated from the rest of
the world for centuries. When they were full of
iniquity, the Lord guided others to the Land of
Promise.
➤ 1 Ne 13:10-16, Columbus and others come.
➤ Knowing how things worked out between the
Native Americans & the Settlers, could this
really have been God’s plan?
➤ 1 Ne 13:14, they were scattered ‘before’ not ‘by’.
Maybe this is referring to disease.
➤ "Throughout the Americas, diseases introduced
with Europeans spread from tribe to tribe far in
advance of the Europeans themselves, killing an
estimated 95% of the pre-Columbian Native
American population. The most populous and
highly organized native societies of North
American, the Mississippian chiefdoms,
disappeared in that way between 1492 and the
late 1600s, even before Europeans themselves
made their first settlement on the Mississippi
River." (Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and
Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, p. 78)

11. NEPHI SEES THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR & THE DISTORTION OF THE BIBLE
➤ 1 Ne 13:17-19
➤ Any study of the revolutionary war shows that we were the underdogs - by a long
way! There are dozens of stories of miraculous storms and impossible crossings.
➤ How did they win? (1 Ne 13:15)
➤ 1 Ne 13:20-23, What is this book? The bible
➤ 1 Ne 13:24-26, The deliberate loss of plain & precious truths in the bible
➤ Why is losing what is plain harmful?
➤ ATOT: Reading mom blog about ‘hands-on mothering’. It preached all about the evils of
strollers, bouncers and high chairs.
➤ God’s commandment is to love our children unconditionally as he does.
When we create our own convoluted rules, we lose sight of his purpose
and invite judgement.
➤ 1 Ne 13:27, What is Satan’s motive when he removes what is plain & precious?

12. NEPHI SEES THE RESTORATION
➤ Once freedom is established, the
gospel could be restored.
➤ Heavenly Father knew the Bible
would be distorted, what was his
solution? 1 Ne 13:40-41
➤ What doctrines are hard to
understand in the Bible but plain
and precious in the Book of
Mormon?
➤ Atonement
➤ Resurrection
➤ Baptism
➤ Priesthood
➤ Organization of the Church

13. NEPHI SEES THE BLESSINGS PROMISED TO THE FAITHFUL
➤ 1 Ne 14 Summary: He sees the blessings & cursing of the
Gentiles. The G&A church falls.
➤ 1 Ne 14:1-3, How does God’s plan sharply contrast Satan’s
plan? He removes our stumbling blocks, Satan digs a pit
and guides us slowly in.
➤ 1 Ne 14:6-7, How do we harden our hearts? What is the
risk?
➤ 1 Ne 14:10, In what way are there only two forces at work
today?
➤ 1 Ne 14:12-14, we will be the underdogs but the outcome
is already known. 1 Ne 14:15-17.

14. CONCLUSION
➤ Nephi’s vision was simple and pure.
It all comes down to which side we
are on.
➤ See Bible Dictionary on ‘Revelation
of John’ (Page 717)
➤ “There will be an eventual
triumph on this earth of God over
the devil; a permanent victory of
good over evil, of the Saints over
their persecutors, of the kingdom
of God over the kingdoms of men
and of Satan…If we fail to catch a
glimpse of the theme we fail in
our comprehension, no matter
how many details we are able to
understand.”