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===Helpful Insights=== | ===Helpful Insights=== | ||
*Nephi as Scribe: Since Nephi was the younger (youngest, before Jacob and Joseph are born) son of a wealthy family, he was not likely to inherit the family business, but would have been in training for another high status profession. Nephi’s skill in writing and other traits Nephi displays suggest he may have been in training to become a scribe. [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=23&num=1&id=818 Brant Gardner, “Nephi as Scribe,” Mormon Studies Review 23/1 (2011): 45-55] | *Nephi as Scribe: Since Nephi was the younger (youngest, before Jacob and Joseph are born) son of a wealthy family, he was not likely to inherit the family business, but would have been in training for another high status profession. Nephi’s skill in writing and other traits Nephi displays suggest he may have been in training to become a scribe. [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/review/?vol=23&num=1&id=818 Brant Gardner, “Nephi as Scribe,” Mormon Studies Review 23/1 (2011): 45-55] | ||
− | *Goodly Parents: Nephi’s name is probably derived from the Egyptian word for “good”, “goodly” or “goodness.” Thus when Nephi says he has “goodly parents” and knows of the “goodness… of God,” he may be using a typical Hebrew wordplay technique. [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/ | + | *Goodly Parents: Nephi’s name is probably derived from the Egyptian word for “good”, “goodly” or “goodness.” Thus when Nephi says he has “goodly parents” and knows of the “goodness… of God,” he may be using a typical Hebrew wordplay technique. [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/insights/?vol=22&num=11&id=301 Matthew L. Bowen, “Internal Textual Evidence for the Egyptian Origin of Nephi’s Name,” Insights 22/11 (2002)] |
*Many Prophets: Nephi tells us that his father is only one of “many prophets” in Jerusalem at the time. Several contemporary prophets are known: Zephaniah (ca. 640-609 BC), Jeremiah (626-580 BC), Huldah (ca 621 BC), Nahum (ca 630-612 BC), Habakkuk (ca 622-605 BC), Daniel (ca. 606-536 BC), Ezekiel (ca 594-574 BC), Urijah (ca 609 BC). [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=2&chapid=22 David R. Seely and Robert D. Hunt, “Dramitis Peronsae: The World of Lehi (ca 700 – 592 BC),” in Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem, John W. Welch, ed. (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2004)] | *Many Prophets: Nephi tells us that his father is only one of “many prophets” in Jerusalem at the time. Several contemporary prophets are known: Zephaniah (ca. 640-609 BC), Jeremiah (626-580 BC), Huldah (ca 621 BC), Nahum (ca 630-612 BC), Habakkuk (ca 622-605 BC), Daniel (ca. 606-536 BC), Ezekiel (ca 594-574 BC), Urijah (ca 609 BC). [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=2&chapid=22 David R. Seely and Robert D. Hunt, “Dramitis Peronsae: The World of Lehi (ca 700 – 592 BC),” in Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem, John W. Welch, ed. (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2004)] | ||
*Gifts of the Spirit: When Nephi tells his brother Sam about the confirmation he received of their fathers vision, Sam believes what Nephi says. Sam may have been given the gift to believe on the words and testimonies of others, while Nephi was given the gift of revelation directly. Both gifts are valuable and can lead to eternal life (see D&C 46: 13-14) | *Gifts of the Spirit: When Nephi tells his brother Sam about the confirmation he received of their fathers vision, Sam believes what Nephi says. Sam may have been given the gift to believe on the words and testimonies of others, while Nephi was given the gift of revelation directly. Both gifts are valuable and can lead to eternal life (see D&C 46: 13-14) | ||
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===Potential Criticisms and Faithful Information=== | ===Potential Criticisms and Faithful Information=== | ||
*Language: Critics have long attacked the Book of Mormon for having a Jew writing in Egyptian. The phenomenon of Jews using Egyptian script is now well attested through various archeological finds. [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=5&num=2&id=128 John A. Tvedtnes and Stephen D. Ricks, “Jewish and Other Semitic Texts Written in Egyptian Characters,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5/2 (1996): 156-163] | *Language: Critics have long attacked the Book of Mormon for having a Jew writing in Egyptian. The phenomenon of Jews using Egyptian script is now well attested through various archeological finds. [http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=5&num=2&id=128 John A. Tvedtnes and Stephen D. Ricks, “Jewish and Other Semitic Texts Written in Egyptian Characters,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 5/2 (1996): 156-163] |
Disclaimer: The information provided here is a supplement to the lesson manual to assist teachers in addressing issues that might arise in the course of teaching. It is in no way intended to replace or supplant the lesson materials provided by the Church. It is intended only to be used as background information for prior preparation by teachers and should not be used in any way to replace correlated lesson materials.
Lesson 2: All Things According to His Will off-site
In 1 Nephi 6, Nephi tells his readers that he is writing with a deliberate purpose. A number of scholars have looked closely at 1 Nephi in an effort to more fully understand his purposes in writing his small plates record.
The Book of Mormon contains a number of literary structures called poetic parallelisms, chiasmus being the best known. While these are frequently used as evidence for the Book of Mormon’s authenticity, their real value is in helping shed light on the meaning and message in the text. The following passages contain examples of these structures from chapters being covered in this lesson. If you are planning on using any of these passages in your lesson, it may be worthwhile to check these structures to see if they help emphasize or focus attention on the message you hope to convey, or if they provide an alternative perspective you had not considered before which may enhance your lesson. For the sake of space, the references can only be listed here. To look at these structures, see Donald W. Perry, Poetic Parallelisms: The Complete Text Reformatted, which is graciously provided online for no charge (you have to go to the PDF file) by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute.
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