1 Nephi Chapter 11 - May 11, 2017

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1. . . as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord. . .

It's amazing how much pondering on the scriptures can bring the inspiration of the Spirit.  For Nephi it brought great visions.  For all it can help bring a witness of the Savior and the truthfulness of the gospel.  I have gained a further testimony of pondering as I have joined in this study session sponsored by @pam and @Irishgrin.  I have found myself taking more time to ponder each verse and contemplate its significance and have received great treasures of knowledge thus far.  My wife reads my posts and asked me the other day about what I do if I read a chapter and don't have anything stand out in particular, to which I responded that I read it again, and again until I learn something, or make a connection, of which I previously had not been aware.  I haven't studied the scriptures in chapter order before while explicitly using this method.

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2 And the Spirit said. . .
3 And I said. . .
4 And the Spirit said. . .
5 And I said. . .
. . .

This goes on throughout the chapter.  What a marvelous experience to have a literal conversation with a member of the Godhead.  From what I am aware, relatively few have been so blessed.  Yet from these events we can trust that it is something with which we may each be blessed if pertinent to our individual profit and learning and God's plan for us.

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6. . .the Spirit cried with a loud voice. . .

That's a rather rare occurrence.  The Still Small Voice finds the opportune moment to belt it out there!  I have never personally yet had an experience with the Spirit calling loudly.  I have, however, been filled with the power of the Holy Ghost immensely.  In that experience I knew my testimony could not be ignored by those with whom I was sharing it, and I felt as though I could literally move a mountain if it were expedient.  That was the closest thing I can remember.  An important point here is that, while often when communicating with Man, the Spirit of God acts as a still small voice, there are times when He is needed and used in other capacities.  This is important as we must also know or at least be prepared to recognize when He communicates with us through one of these other mechanisms.

Verse 7 is a clear pattern of instruction line upon line.  It was only after a previous experience had ended that Nephi would be granted further light and knowledge added upon that which he had already received.  This eventually leading up to seeing Christ Himself!

Verse 11 - The fact that the Holy Spirit is in the form of a man was probably a new experience for Nephi.  He felt it was important enough that he explained very clearly that the Spirit looked just like you and I; even going so far as to feel it important to remind us that the Holy Ghost is a still actually a Spirit, yet looks plainly like a man.

Verse 12 - I wonder if the Spirit was both revealing truth and being appropriately humorous in that moment.  'Hey look over here! . . . Made you look!"

Verse 14 - There are many unnamed angels in the scriptures.  This angel shows Nephi may things, including the crucifixion of the Lord.  I will be curious to learn the identity of these unnamed angels.

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29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

I wonder why it was important that Nephi tell us he was not able to see or learn much about the 12 apostles?  As I ponder this, the one thing that comes to mind is that he mentions that they followed Christ.  They were not a focus of the dream, but Christ and His ministry was.  Ultimately, even as we heed the words of the apostles and prophets it is Christ who we follow and not any other, we are not of Paul or of cephas, etc.  It may have been important in that moment that Nephi be informed, but not distracted from the focus of his vision, likewise we should avoid distractions from the core focus of our mortal probation, eternity!

Considering the chapter as a whole, we can see that Nephi is being shone not only the vision of his father, but also having it added upon by greater depth of understanding and other portions of the vision interspersed.  Similarly as we read of these accounts, and scriptures in general, we receive not only the witness they bear, but also whatever else the Spirit is able to enlighten us with at the time.

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The one thing in this chapter I feel like I have a better understanding of is what it means by the condescension of God.

Condescension meaning a voluntary descent from rank or dignity.  Jesus did this himself when he left his station as a member of the Godhead, the firstborn.  He left His divine station to come to earth as an infant totally dependent on his mother and father.  How many people would leave a position of such power and divinity?  

In verse 11 it talks about the spirit of the Lord being in the form of man.  Was this the Holy Ghost or was it Christ?  Other verses make it clear that it wasn't  Christ.  Nephi may have been the only prophet has ever described a vision where he actually sees or has a conversation with the Holy Ghost.