1 Nephi 10-12

1 Nephi - Lesson 3: 1 Nephi 10-12

Day 1: Read 1 Nephi 10:1-11
1. In 1 Nephi 10:3, Nephi recounts Lehi’s prophecy regarding the destruction of Jerusalem. To what great capital city were the Jews taken captive? In what modern country would you find the ruins of this ancient city today?



2. List the important details of Christ’s first advent as shown to Lehi in 1 Nephi 10:4-11.





Extra Credit: Read BD entries “Babylon or Babel” and “Assyria and Babylonia” for more background.

Day 2: Read 1 Nephi 10:12-22
3. Who do the “natural branches of the olive tree” in verse 14 represent? How are they “grafted in”?



4. Do you think Nephi wanted to “see, and hear, and know” for himself because he didn’t believe Lehi’s vision? Why was it so important for him to have his own witness?




Day 3: Read 1 Nephi 11:1-11
5. Read D&C 76:19 and D&C 138:1-5, 11. What do Nephi, Joseph Smith and Joseph F. Smith have in common?



6. What was Nephi’s desire? Why was the Spirit willing to accommodate that desire?




7. Why do you think Nephi was taken to an “exceedingly high mountain”?




8. What was the first thing Nephi saw in vision? Read Revelation 22:1-2 and Ezekiel 47:12. Nephi didn’t have either of these prophetic descriptions. What do John the Revelator and Ezekiel say the leaves of the tree are for?





Day 4: Read 1 Nephi 11:12-25
9. In answer to Nephi’s desire to know the interpretation of the vision of the tree, what does the Spirit show him next?


10. What did Nephi learn about the “condescension of God”?


11. How did Nephi know the meaning of the tree?


12. How has the word of God helped you taste the joy that comes from God’s love?


BONUS: Read Abraham 5:8-10. Why do you think Abraham 5:9 is cross-referenced with 1Nephi 11:25?

Day 5: Read 1 Nephi 11:26-36
13. Circle, underline or box each time the word “look” appears in these verses (optional). How do these further visions help Nephi understand the condescension of God?


14. What did the great and spacious building represent? What happened to it?


Day 6: Read 1 Nephi 12: 1-10
15. Nephi and his family were probably still in the valley of Lemuel when he received this vision (see 1 Nephi 10:16). Why do you think he was shown his descendants in the land of promise?


16. List the key elements of the vision in 1 Nephi 12:1-10.






Day 7: Read 1 Nephi 12:11-23
17. What do the “mists of darkness” represent? List three things the mists do to the children of men.




18. All of chapter 12 can be organized into an inverse parallelism, or chiasmus. Verses 6-12 are at the center of the chiasmus. What great events are listed in this central portion?




EXTRA CREDIT: Find and mark verses that could be seen as the A, B and C of this chiasmus – and the corresponding A1, B1 and C1. Do not be limited by A, B and C – use as many letters to designate sections as you find appropriate.