Bro. Maughan Book of Mormon Doctrines and Evidences class Fall 2015

1. Our Journey of Faith
Nephi’s Theme-Deliverer and Messiah
Lehi’s Family
• Doctrines and Evidences of the Book of Mormon

2. Book of Mormon Evidences
1. Lehi’s Theophany
2. Jerusalem at the time of Lehi
3. Nephi’s Theme-Deliverer and Messiah
4. Lehi’s Family
5. The Exodus Patterns & Promises

3. Nephi’s Theme: Jehovah is a Deliverer
1 NEPHI-DELIVERANCE (THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST)
FIRST CHAPTER FIRST PRINCIPLE OF THE GOSPEL 1 NEPHI 1:20
THERE ARE OVER 20 INCIDENTS OF DELIVERANCE IN THE BOOK OF 1 NEPHI
1. Lehi escapes the angry Jews-1 Nephi 1:19-20 (Moroni 10:3-5)
2. Laman escapes Laban 1 Nephi 3:13-14
3. Nephi & Sam are delivered from their brothers by an Angel 1 Nephi 3:29-30
4. Nephi slays Laban and is led by the spirit-1 Nephi 4:13
5. Zoram is delivered from slavery. 1 Nephi 4:29-37
6. Lehi’s sons are delivered from loneliness, wives are provided 1 Nephi 5
7. Nephi writes of how Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & Joseph were delivered 1 Nephi 6
8. Nephi is delivered again from Laman, Lemuel & the daughters of Ishmael (except for his sweetheart)
1 Nephi 7
9. Many are delivered in the Tree of Life vision - 1 Nephi 8-15

4. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
described the “tender mercies of the Lord”:
• “I testify that the tender mercies
of the Lord are real and that they
do not occur randomly or merely
by coincidence. Often the Lord’s
timing of His tender mercies
helps us to both discern and
acknowledge them.

5. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
described the “tender mercies of the Lord”:
• “… The Lord’s tender mercies are the very personal
and individualized blessings, strength, protection,
assurances, guidance, loving-kindness, consolation,
support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and
because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly
the Lord suits ‘his mercies according to the conditions
of the children of men’ (D&C 46:15).

6. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
described the “tender mercies of the Lord”:
• “… One of the ways whereby the Savior comes to
each of us is through His abundant and tender
mercies. For instance, as you and I face challenges
and tests in our lives, the gift of faith and an
appropriate sense of personal confidence that reaches
beyond our own capacity are two examples of the
tender mercies of the Lord. Repentance and
forgiveness of sins and peace of conscience are
examples of the tender mercies of the Lord. And the
persistence and the fortitude that enable us to press
forward with cheerfulness through physical
limitations and spiritual difficulties are examples of
the tender mercies of the Lord” (in Conference
Report, Apr. 2005, 105; or Ensign, May 2005, 99–
100).

7. Is the slaying of Laban a Israelite
Kingship Initiation?
The Birth of Sovereignty in the Nephite Constitutional Order Val Larsen
Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 16/1 (2007): 26–41, 84–85
The slaying of Laban has been a stumbling block for many
readers of the Book of Mormon. Although Laban appeared
to have legally merited the execution, any explanation of the
act is unsatisfactory if Nephi is considered to be acting as
an individual.
Larsen illustrates that Nephi was acting as a sovereign,
with a clear political purpose. When Lehi offered a sacrifice
in the Valley of Lemuel, his family became a separate
people, with Nephi repeatedly promised the role of
ruler.

8. Nephi King and Ruler...
• 1 Nephi 16:37
• Jacob 1:9
• 1 Nephi 18:10
• Jacob 1:11
• 2 Nephi 5:18
• Jarom 1:14

9. 1 Nephi 3-4
What do these chapters
teach us about Nephi
being prepared to be a
righteous Israelite King?

10. I will go and Do...

11. Is the slaying of Laban a Israelite
Kingship Initiation?
Nephi’s symbolic and literal assuming of this sovereign authority
through the act of killing Laban
is explained through six different layers:
(1) Substitutional sovereignty
(2) the assumption of Mosaic authority
(3) the assumption of Davidic authority,
(4) private and public motives
(5) the Nephite constitutional order
(6) explicit declarations of Nephi’s reign. Nephi did not formally
assume the role of king for many years, but by slaying Laban he
proves that he will be a dutiful king.

13. Nephi and Goliath: A Case Study of Literary
Allusion in the Book of Mormon-Ben McGuire
Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 18/1 (2009): 16–31.
1948-7487 (print), 2167-7565 (online)
When authors use the rhetorical device of literary allusion, they not only teach through
their own words but also attach to their own text meanings and interpretations from the
alluded text. This is true of Nephi’s allusion to the account of David and Goliath in
Nephi’s own account of his killing Laban, which allusion is generally of a thematic nature.
A few of the main thematic parallels between the two accounts are that both unbelieving
Israel and Laman and Lemuel are fearful of the main antagonist, both David and Nephi
prophesy the death of their opponent, and both Goliath and Laban have their heads cut
off and armor stripped. The implications of this allusion run deep. At a time in which the
right to kingship was continually in dispute between Nephi and Laman, Nephi casting
himself as David—the archetypal king of Judah, whose faith led to his supplanting
Saul—could be seen as legitimizing his regal authority over Laman.

14. 1 Samuel 17:4–7, 11
1 Samuel 17:32
1 Samuel 17:34–37
1 Samuel 17:45–46
1 Samuel 17:51
1 Samuel 17:54
1 Nephi 3:31
1 Nephi 4:1
1 Nephi 4:2–3
1 Nephi 4:6, 10–12, 17
1 Nephi 4:9, 18
1 Nephi 4:19
The thematic elements follow a relatively simple
structural parallel. This parallel being sustained
throughout the entire narrative text is a strong
indicator that the Book of Mormon narrative is reliant
on the biblical text.

16. Laban's Treasury- "genizah"
• On Rabbi Yosef's now defunct "Jewishness of the Book of Mormon"
mail list, an inquirer wondered if the mention of Laban's "treasury" in
• First Nephi made sense in the Hebrew and in ancient Israel.
According to the Book of Mormon, the treasury was where Laban kept
sacred records. Rabbi Yosef's e-mail of April 27, 1998 explains that it
makes excellent sense, being "exactly in keeping with the culture and
language." "Treasury" in Hebrew is "genizah," a word also used
for a room in ancient synagogues where scrolls were stored. By way of
support, Rabbi Yosef explained:

17. Laban's Treasury- "genizah"
• The early "Church Father" Epiphanius, in his Panarion, section 30,
relates the story of a Jew named Josephus (Yosef) who became a
believer in Messiah after reading Hebrew copies of Acts and John
which he found in a "genizah" (treasury) in Tiberias, Israel
(Epiphanius; Panarion 30:3, 6). You may also have heard of an
archaeological find known as the "Cairo Genizah", in which such an
ancient store room of scrolls was found in the remains of an ancient
synagogue.

18. Laban's Treasury- "genizah"
• How many New York farm boys would have known about
an ancient Jewish practice of storing sacred records in a
"treasury"? This is just one of many dozens of subtleties in
the text pointing to the authenticity of the Book of
Mormon text.

19. Genizah
If any doubts remained that this structure represented a
synagogue those doubts were removed during the second
season when Yadins team discovered a genizah a place
where orthodox jews buried old or unuseable
since they could not destroy them under the floor of the rear
cell two scrolls were recovered from that area the first was a
portion of the book of Deuteronomy and the second was a
portion of the book of Ezekiel parts of chapter thirty
seven to be precise the chapter with the vision of
bones and the sticks of Judah and Joseph since
scrolls were obviously buried there before the destruction
of Masada by the romans they must be dated no later than
AD 73...

20. Zoram & Hebrew Oath?

21. 11. Lehi’s foreknowledge delivers his posterity from the Babylonian captivity
12. 1 Nephi 10 – the Savior is described as the Redeemer & Deliverer
13. 1 Nephi 11 – the Savior’s mission brings deliverance from: sin, death, sickness
14. The house of Israel will be delivered if they have Faith unto repentance 1 Nephi 12
15. 1 Nephi 13 – Deliverance of Columbus, Pilgrims, Founding father (coming
forth of scripture to bring spiritual deliverance)
Nephi’s Theme

22. Nephi’s Theme
16. 1 Nephi 14 – Israel shall be redeemed from the apostasy
17. 1 Nephi 15 – Israel shall be redeemed from the apostasy
18. 1 Nephi 16 – The Liahona delivers & guides according to FAITH. . .
. 1 Nephi 17:3 - And thus we see. . . Nephi comments on their deliverance. He is again delivered from his
brothers; Broken bow experience, they are delivered again. . .1 Nephi 17:41
19. 1 Nephi 18 – Ship delivers them to the Promised Land
20. 1 Nephi 19 – Lack of FAITH in the Christ at his First coming & Second coming foretold
20. 1 Nephi 20 – Israel chosen to be delivered from the furnace of affliction
21. 1 Nephi 21 – Messiah shall free prisoners
22. 1 Nephi 22 – Israel will be saved (delivered through FAITH in Christ). Instead of holding men captive in the
Millenial reign, Satan shall be Bound! Not Delivered!

23. Book of Mormon Evidences
1. Lehi’s Theophany
2. Jerusalem at the time of Lehi
3. Nephi’s Theme-Deliverer and Messiah
4. Lehi’s Family
5. The Exodus Patterns & Promises

24. Dysfunctional Families?
• Old Testament-families
• New Testament-families
• Pearl of Great Price-families
• Church History & Doctrine and Covenants-families
• Book of Mormon -families

25. LEHI STANDS AT THE FOUNTAINHEAD
• ...of the Book of Mormon testimony of the coming
Messiah
• (1 Nephi 10:6), through whom all may come to
partake of the fruit of eternal life and receive
exaltation promised from the foundations of the
world.
• It is a worldwide book. It is a book that takes Israel,
not just from a small place in Jerusalem, but to span
the continents and the oceans of the world, to invite
all to come unto Christ.

26. LEHI STANDS AT THE FOUNTAINHEAD
• From everything we know in the Book of Mormon we have every
reason to believe that Lehi was raised up as an unusual man with great
determination, knowledge, and faith. That allowed him to undertake and
complete a very difficult assignment and a very important one: that the
true understanding of the ancient Israelite religion and their expectation
of the coming of the Messiah would not be lost as Jerusalem was
obliterated.

27. LEHI STANDS AT THE FOUNTAINHEAD
• Lehi knew that he carried a valuable treasure, more valuable than the
gold or the plates on which these words were written. He knew that he'd
been entrusted by the Lord with a task that only could be accomplished
by marshaling all of the resources, all of the knowledge, all of the
literary heritage, all of the inspiration, that only a prophet of God, with
the aid of God, could bring about. Lehi traveled; Lehi organized his
family; Lehi founded a civilization. This was no small order.

28. LEHI STANDS AT THE FOUNTAINHEAD
• Lehi went forward in faith, going off into uncharted parts of the world.
Using his knowledge, using what he was told by God; putting together
everything he possibly could, but risking everything; putting his life on
the line, willing to obey and to follow the commandments of God. All
who have the Book of Mormon owe an incredible debt to Lehi, Sariah,
and their posterity.

29. LEHI STANDS AT THE FOUNTAINHEAD
• The Law of Moses, of course, affected Lehi in one very important way. In
Deuteronomy 18, there is a prohibition against being a false prophet, making false
prophecy a capital offense. This was a problem in Lehi's day. There were many
false prophets, and it was very difficult for people to differentiate between the true
and false prophets (Jeremiah 28–29). This was one of the reasons that Jerusalem
was so vulnerable and eventually fell. Many citizens followed false prophets who
told them what they wanted to hear, namely that Jerusalem was impregnable and
would never be destroyed.
• John Welch
•

30. LEHI STANDS AT THE FOUNTAINHEAD
• We are to come out of Babylon (Jeremiah 51:6; D&C 133:14), which
means both confusion and darkness and even idolatry, and not even
touch as it were the remnants of that, being cut off, literally cut off. That
combines with the symbolism of a kind of rebirth. And that's what was
happening to the family of Lehi and Sariah. -Truman Madsen
• Lehi is not only the prophet of his people, he is in residence; he is their
patriarch, their father, and they gather round, worship together, offer
sacrifices together, study the brass plates together. - Virginia Pearce

32. SARIAH
• The Book of Mormon begins with a family, but more
precisely with a couple, Lehi and Sariah.
• It is impossible not to love this story. For one thing, Nephi
begins his record in the very first sentence by putting himself
in the context of a family. We women are used to having to
put ourselves between the lines of the stories. But in this
story, we are right there—more obvious than in many stories
in the sacred scriptures. Sariah is named; we see what she's
doing, and we even hear her words from her own mouth
several times.
• Men had power and women had influence. The women,
perhaps, were not vocal in public about what they felt and
thought, but in private their husbands paid attention to them.

33. • A woman's role would have been essential. For
example, Sariah would have had to manage somehow to
put together the food during that trip; this was not an
easy thing. Nephi might have gone out hunting, but
Sariah would have to be prepared to cook whatever he
brought back. She would be managing a lot of the
domestic details, and there's a great deal to manage.
• Family dynamics were really interesting in Lehi's family
as they traveled along. For instance, they are sent back
to bring Ishmael and his family so they would have his
daughters to provide wives for Lehi's sons (1 Nephi 7).
And, marriage is a very, very significant event in a
family in this time period.
• It should bring a smile that Laman and Lemuel
murmured, complained about going back at all for the
plates, but they were willing to go back for wives.
• .

34. Sariah
• In Ezekiel 16, God uses the marriage covenant
as an analogy for the covenant relationship
that he has created between himself and the
house of Israel. Looking behind that analogy,
we can see certain elements of this sacred
marriage covenant as practiced in ancient
Israel. It involved an oath and a covenant. A
washing with water, anointing with oil,
clothing with embroidered cloth and with
linen garments, and a crown being placed
upon the head of the bride.

35. Sariah
• I look at Sariah and I can not imagine a woman's
life turning upside down faster than hers did. I
look at this woman who had wealth, who must
have had a network of extended family, a routine
of traditions, and friends and stability in
Jerusalem, and then to have it turned upside
down within the space of such a short amount
of time. Her sons go back to get Ishmael's
daughters, suddenly everyone is married, she's
got in-laws to integrate into her family overnight.

36. Sariah
• When these sons get married, they bring in new members of the family,
and Lehi is going to function as the patriarch of this greater, extended
family.
• Thinking of the marriage between Lehi and Sariah, when I see the way
Lehi responded to Sariah's accusations when she fears she has lost her
sons, it is such a beautiful model for a marriage. When she accuses him
and mocks him for being visionary, he doesn't defend himself even in a
small way, but he reaches out and comforts her. I think it is beautiful

38. LAMAN AND LEMUEL
• We see a constellation of family that is so recognizable from our own lives that we just a vibrate to
it. We see sibling rivalry, we see tension, and we can imagine what that does to a mother.
Sociologists tell us that men primarily are interested in achievement and women primarily are tuned
into relationships. I believe that, and I believe that's probably a constant through the ages. If that's
true, you look at Sariah and what this must have meant to her. I imagine that the moment Lehi told
her about what the Lord had instructed him to do, she anticipated what this would do to her family.
She must have known how Laman and Lemuel would react. They had a pattern that we see
afterwards, where the moment there was new information, they resisted it. She must have known
what would happen when this was announced to them.
• Virginia Pearce
•

39. LAMAN AND LEMUEL
•I think Sariah had the pressure of possibly
being a mediator between her visionary
husband and her sometimes defiant children.
• Jo Ann Seely
•

40. When they first leave Jerusalem, they're leaving their inheritance. And the
oldest, Laman, is the birthright son. He's the one who would receive a
double portion if he were staying. Ann Madsen
• That the loyalty of the two oldest sons, Laman and Lemuel, seems to be
much more allied with that of the ruling class in Judah, than with their
own father. And they see him as a kind of class traitor. Lehi is a very
wealthy person, living on the outskirts of Jerusalem. His two older
spoiled sons have grown up quite comfortably, in Jerusalem, and they
are looking forward to the day when they will inherit all that property.
What they see in their father is he betrayed their situation. He's become
this religious fanatic who is going to take them away from the place that
is rightfully theirs. Deprive them of all the status and the comforts they
were used to (1 Nephi 2:11; 17:20–21).
• Daniel Peterson
•

41. Sam

42. Nephi