January 15–21: “Come and Partake of the Fruit.” 1 Nephi 6–101
Nephi “Frankly Forgives”
1 Nephi 7:21 And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive them all that they had done, and I did exhort them that they would pray unto the Lord their God for forgiveness. And it came to pass that they did so. And after they had done praying unto the Lord we did again travel on our journey towards the tent of our father.2
I find Nephi’s autobiographical writing to a bit hagiographic3, but nonetheless, he is depicted as a great role-model that I don’t hesitate to hold up for my children. “Frankly forgiving” is a characteristic that would benefit the world.
The River
1 Nephi 8:13 And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also, I beheld a river of water; and it ran along, and it was near the tree of which I was partaking the fruit.4
As a landmark the river is central to the space of the vision. Note that Lehi didn’t comment on its dirtiness; that was Nephi, later. But probably in Lehi’s mind the river correlated with the metaphor Lehi had used with his son, 1 Nephi 2:9. But in the vision, it is not perhaps the fountain of all righteousness.
1 Nephi 2:9 And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying: O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!5
The Strait Path
1 Nephi 8:20 And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world. 6
The path was strait, not straight. Strait: unforgiving, severe. The kind of path that really benefits from having a guard rail, or a rod to which to cling.
The Iron Rod
1 Nephi 8:24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.
clinging, perhaps indicating blind faith, is crucial in the swirling confusion that wants to draw you away. In such strait roads and billowing winds, faith must precede knowledge.
Insights from my wife: clinging is not the same as “holding fast.”
Yes, but those who were clinging then fell away.
I was taught that in n this case clinging indicates not enough faith, because they were ashamed later and let that shame influence them.
A child who clings to their parents when going to nursery does not have faith and trust in their parents that they will be safe and that it’s a good place to be. A child with faith in their parents and what is to come will hold their hand firmly and easily let go when they get there
So, clinging (modern “clinginess”) is immature and ill-fated. The real goal is to “hold fast” to the rod, which indicates the ability to move to the goal when the time is right. The goal is not simply to get to the fruit; it is to keep with the fruit (mission concept: retention, not just baptism).
Footnotes
1 Title image (Lehi’s Dream, by Steven Lloyd Neal), and the Come Follow Me content from https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-home-and-church-book-of-mormon-2024/03?lang=eng
2 Scripture at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/7?lang=eng&id=p21#p21
3 I only partially expressed this idea of Nephi’s autobiographical perspective in a previous post at https://harmony.toryanderson.com/2022/12/02/nephi-love-him-with-his-biase/
4 Scripture at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/8?lang=eng&id=p13#p13
5 How Lehi was thinking about rivers and his sons before his vision. Scripture at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/2?lang=eng&id=p9#p9
6 Scripture at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/bofm/1-ne/8?lang=eng&id=p20#p20 . I really wonder how Joseph Smith’s dictated translation worked for sensible homophones like “straight/strait”, especially where the meaning is importantly different and any of us listening with child’s ears might have supposed a straight, unbending rod.