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FAIR Study Aids/Gospel Doctrine/Book of Mormon/Lesson Seven
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| Lesson Six | A FAIR Analysis of:
Book of Mormon: Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual |
Lesson Eight |
Lesson 7: I Know in Whom I Have Trusted
1. Lehi teaches that his descendants will be blessed through the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. (2 Nephi 3)
Helpful Insights
- The Politics of Nephi's Book: In 2 Nephi 5:3 Laman and Lemuel repeat a concern that they express elsewhere in the text: that they do not want Nephi to “rule over us.” It is important to remember that Nephi is writing this account decades after the fact, and during a time when he has already split from his brothers and is now the ruler over the people of Nephi (v 9). As Nephi writes about events from his past he has at least two messages for his audience: 1) the gospel message and 2) that he is the rightful heir to Lehi's spiritual and patriarchal authority, not Laman and Lemuel. Nephi is not writing a neutral and objective history, but rather he is selectively crafting a narrative that will support and legitimize his (Nephi’s) claim to leadership among his people. It is, as one prominent LDS scholar has suggested, a “lineage history”.
- Louis Midgley, "The Ways of Remembrance," in Rediscovering the Book of Mormon, edited by John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Co.; Provo, Utah: Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1991).
- Steven L. Olsen, "Prospering in the Land of Promise," FARMS Review 22/1 (2010): 229–245. off-site wiki
- Steven L. Olsen, "The Covenant of the Promised Land: Territorial Symbolism in the Book of Mormon," FARMS Review 22/2 (2010): 137–154. off-site wiki
Potential Criticisms
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- Matthew Roper, "Review of The Truth about Mormonism: A Former Adherent Analyzes the LDS Faith by Weldon Langfield," FARMS Review of Books 4/1 (1992): 78–92. off-site <--Matt Roper-->(see pages 189-191)
2. Nephi laments his sinfulness but glories in the goodness of God. (2 Nephi 4)
Helpful Insights
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- John A. Tvedtnes, "First Born in the Wilderness," in Pressing Forward with the Book of Mormon: The FARMS Updates of the 1990s, ed. John W. Welch and Melvin J. Thorne (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1999). off-site
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- John L. Sorenson, "When Lehi's Party Arrived in the Land Did They Find Others There?," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 1/1 (1992). [1–34] link
- Neal Rappleye, "The Book of Mormon People's Encounter with 'Other' Inhabitants"
- Grace and Works in LDS Thought: The Book of Mormon offers a treasure of insight into grace, works, relationship, and salvation. The following articles explore some of these issues.
- John Gee, "The Grace of Christ," FARMS Review 22/1 (2010): 247–259. off-site wiki
- Louis Midgley, "Editor's Introduction: The Wedding of Athens and Jerusalem: An Evangelical Perplexity and a Latter-day Saint Answer," FARMS Review 21/2 (2009): xi–xliv. off-site wiki (scroll down to the section entitled "Mormons and Grace")
- David L. Paulsen and Cory G. Walker, "Work, Worship, and Grace: Review of The Mormon Culture of Salvation: Force, Grace and Glory by Douglas J. Davies," FARMS Review 18/2 (2006): 83–177. off-site wiki
Potential Criticisms
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- FAIR wiki: Nature of God: Unchanging
3. The anger of Laman and Lemuel increases against Nephi, and the Lord commands the followers of Nephi to separate from the followers of Laman. (2 Nephi 5)
Helpful Insights
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- John A. Tvedtnes, "The Influence of Lehi's Admonitions on the Teachings of His Son Jacob," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 3/2 (1994). [34–48] link
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- FAIR wiki: Procreation before the Fall
- FAIR wiki: Death before the Fall
- Free Agency and Opposition in LDS Belief: Latter-day Saints have a strong belief in the agency of man. The following articles explore this issue.
- Mark Hausam, "It's All in Arminius: Mormonism as a form of Hyper-Arminianism" at Lehi's Library blog.
- Blake T. Ostler, "Bridging the Gulf (Review of How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation)," FARMS Review of Books 11/2 (1999): 103–177. off-site (scroll down to the section entitled "Mormons and Grace")
Potential Criticisms
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- Bruce M. Pritchett Jr., "Lehi's Theology of the Fall in Its Preexilic/Exilic Context," Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 3/2 (1994). [49–83] link
Chiasms and Other Poetic Parallelisms in 2 Nephi 3-5
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.
- Chiasmus: 2 Nephi 1꞉13-23; 2 Nephi 1꞉28-29; 2 Nephi 2꞉7
- Other Parallelisms: 2 Nephi 1꞉9; 2 Nephi 1꞉10; 2 Nephi 1꞉13; 2 Nephi 1꞉16-17; 2 Nephi 1꞉21; 2 Nephi 1꞉26; 2 Nephi 2꞉5; 2 Nephi 2꞉9-10; 2 Nephi 2꞉11; 2 Nephi 2꞉14; 2 Nephi 2꞉17-18; 2 Nephi 2꞉25; 2 Nephi 2꞉27; 2 Nephi 2꞉29