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1 AND now, behold, my beloved brethren, I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way. But, behold, why do ye ponder these things in your hearts?
Assuming that breaks between chapters (as well as between 1 and 2 Nephi) had some reason in Nephi’s narrative, we must now ask why this chapter is separate from the previous one (our current chapter 31.) As noted, I suggest that both chapters 31 and 32 are recorded speeches of Nephi. Chapter 31 has a very clear end. Chapter 32 picks up on a theme of chapter 31, and "feels" like a continuation of that discourse. The introduction to chapter 32 given in verse one also suggests that this is a continuation, as Nephi continues to directly address an audience. Perhaps a key to the division between chapters 31 and 32 is the reference Nephi makes to the audience "pondering." Nephi has presented information on the Holy Spirit in chapter 31, and now he perceives that they are "pondering." This may suggest some time has passed between the speech in chapter 31 and the speech in chapter 32. A very clear example of an address covering more than a single day comes from Jacob (note specifically: "2 Ne. 9:54 And now, my brethren, I would speak unto you more; but on the morrow I will declare unto you the remainder of my words."). The clear division in events in chapters 31 and 32, and the proposed oral context make the best argument for the division a difference in days. Just as with Jacob, Nephi would be giving a speech to his people, and closing the first day, but picking up on the second day with a topic related to the previous day’s discourse. Rhetorical: Nephi begins his discourse with a question. In this case, this is no idle rhetorical question, but very clearly an elaboration of a topic that is on his audience’s mind. The entire discourse captured in 2 Nephi 32 depends upon Nephi’s understanding of a real problem in Nephite society. Sociological: The problem as Nephi states it, is: "I suppose that ye ponder somewhat in your hearts concerning that which ye should do after ye have entered in by the way." Of course this is transitional from the previous day’s discussion of baptism, but it presents a profound social problem. The problem is that Nephi’s people apparently do not know what to do after baptism. Before any answer can be understood, we must understand the background of the problem. How can Nephi’s people not know what to do? The first important point is that we need to understand the contexts of question. First, how does anyone know what to "do"? We learn most of the modes of operating in our society by discerning the rules as we grow up on the society. All societies have both stated and unstated ways of learning. The most obvious stated modes are laws that govern behavior. Nevertheless, there are other social ways of learning that still define a society. A simple example of a unconsciously learned behavior is the way men cross their legs. Oddly enough, this appears to have cultural/regional differences. American men will use the "four-square" mode of crossing legs, where the ankle of one leg is placed over the knee of the other. In European countries, however, the more common mode is "knee-over-knee" - a method American men would associate with women rather than men. Of course there is no obvious "right" way to cross one’s legs, and men are not overtly taught how they should do it. Nevertheless, the mass of example provides the instructional device. Between these two extremes of unstated and codified rules are the wide range of presumptions and habits that are part of any culture. Why is any of this important? We are dealing with a society that has roots in the Old World, and easily 30-40 years of independent existence. That society must have included social, moral, and legal codes with which Nephi’s audience was amply familiar. Nephi’s question comes the context of religion. Ancient societies did not make the distinction between religious/secular that modern society does. Religion informed all of life, being virtually the same thing as we might term "science" today. As such an integral part of life, particularly with the divine origins of Nephite society, one must assume that the "rules" of living would have become engrained in Nephite society during its 30-40 year independent history. Here, then, is the problem. We may assume that the Nephites were taught in all of the "rules" of their society, from the unconscious ways to dress, act, and gesture, to the most stringent of the legal and moral laws. With the clear emphasis on religious principles in Nephite society (with Nephi as king and Jacob as main priest, how could they not be emphasized?) we have a very interesting situation. We have Nephi expecting that his people don’t know what to do! How is it possible that they would not know what to do if they had been taught religion from their youth, and at the very least, the modes of action should be subconsciously dictated by imitation of the social norms (such as the knee-crossing example). The only possible way that they could not know what to do is if this is new information to them! Unquestionably, Nephi has known of Christ and his future mission since his experience with the Spirit and interpreting his father’s dream. That experience took place in his youth (almost certainly before he reached 20 years of age - Nephi appears to be around 70-75 when writing this) and the vision included information about Christ’s baptism my John. The information about Christ’s baptism should not be new information to Nephi. We may safely assume that with Nephi’s clear emphasis on the coming Messiah and the evidence of Jacob’s sermon included in 2 Nephi, that the subject of the Messiah’s salvific mission was taught among the Nephites. What, then is new? The context of this sermon is a baptismal covenant that uses the example of the Messiah’s baptism as a model for a baptismal covenant that an individual will make. After the receipt of that baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost is received. Modern Christians immediately recognize this as the context for a Christian baptism, with the appropriate associations of cleansing and the accompanying Spirit. While this may be common for modern Christians, it appears to have been new to the Nephites. We have already examined the nature of the cleansing nature of ritual washings, and noted that the Nephites would have brought that conception with them to the New World. What appears to be different in this case is that there is a widespread movement to baptism that has been presented to the Nephites. Nephi’s comments make the most sense in the context of the introduction of a new commitment for the people, a new rite of baptism that has moved from the Old World ritual cleansing context for converts into a more "Christian" flavored baptism that may be undertaken by all men and women. In this context of the new commitment, Nephi must explain not only the covenant, but the nature of the path they are on. In the context of this new religious commitment, the question of what to do after baptism becomes very real. The religious context of the Nephite community is an Old World Jewish religious culture that has had an influx of revelatory information about the coming Messiah that has focused the direction of some of their teachings. Nevertheless, ritually they remained Jewish (2 Nephi 5:10; 2 Nephi 25:24). The performance of religion was dictated by the Law of Moses, in spite of the new emphasis on the Messiah (2 Nephi 25:24). This performance is precisely the "what to do." The actions of religion were dictated by the performances of the Law of Moses. These performances were the embodiment, the physical enactment, of the ethical/religious teachings. Using this information to reconstruct a religious history of the Nephites, we can hypothesize several stages in the development of religion during Nephi’s lifetime: Stage 1; Individual: Nephi’s religious foundation and practices are Jewish, but they have been informed by personal revelation. Nephi as a young man in the Old World uses his revelatory experiences to develop personally, and also to inform his teachings to his brothers. This constitutes an important development for Nephi, but does not have any discernable effect on the religious practices of the group. Lehi is the patriarch, and builds altars. Their religion is still Jewish, but both Lehi and Nephi (and those who would listen and understood) had their understanding of principles deepened. Stage 2: Incipient Society: The next major developmental phase of Nephite religion occurs when the Nephites are split from the Lamanites. This division is along religious bounds. While there are certainly internal family pressures, Nephi saw the differences between his brothers and his own people as a fundamental difference in the willingness of the two groups to follow the Lord. Thus religious understanding became the foundational underpinning of Nephite society. At this point in time, we may expect that the pattern established by Lehi would be continued. They would be a Jewish community in public and private ritual, with a diversified theological emphasis. The absolute necessity of establishing a functioning society with the means of self support dictates that the majority of the innovations of this early period related to secular life, not religious life. Stage 3; Stability: The establishment of economic and social stability (and certainly the all important area of food production) gives the Nephites time to develop their society. At this point we have social differentiation occurring, with Nephi marked as King, and Jacob as the main religious teacher. Such specialization bespeaks of a relatively stable society - but also one with sufficient numbers to support specialization. As was noted in the context of Jacob’s sermon that Nephi records, the most logical reason for that sermon, and for the numbers sufficient for the social stability was the influx of outside population into Nephite society. Certainly this influx of people required an integrative effort, which appears to have hit a fairly stable mode. We get little of the social history from Nephi, but Jacob’s sermon is the only indication of any integration problems. Stage 4; Prophetic innovation: After a number of years as an independent city, a number of years with sufficient population and means to maintain independence (and have to deal with questions of wealth, as Jacob noted in his sermon) the social complications of establishing a new and viable people have been met and conquered. Once the society was at a sufficiently stable point, Nephi was able to introduce a new ritual into their religious life. In addition to the performances of the Law of Moses, Nephi has added a baptism as a covenant of acceptance of the mission of the Messiah. What is interesting is that Nephi appears to introduce this baptism of water and of fire (meaning the Holy Ghost) with a near fatalism. As this discourse proceeds, it becomes clear that while this new rite is added to the catalog of religious ritual, Nephi despairs of its general effectiveness for his population. He apparently sees it as not becoming important among the people of his congregation (see 2 Nephi 32: 4,7).
2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost? 2 Nephi 32:3 3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.
Modern Christians are used to an understanding of the importance of listening to the spirit, and so we miss the profound problem Nephi’s people faced. With a religion that emphasizes performances of sacrifices and obligations, Nephi’s people had been trained to comprehend religion in the form of prescribed and proscribed actions. With the addition of a new ritual (baptism) they understand clearly the performance aspect of baptism. However, they also understand that this ritual places them in a new relationship to deity. They would certainly see baptism as a covenant, and have expectations of ritual alterations on the basis of that covenant. Their understanding of covenant would be influenced by the Mosaic Law. There is a covenant between God and his people, and his people recognize that covenant in multiple ways - the most permanent being the circumcision of men. The acceptance of this covenant "in the flesh" to use Paul’s image, makes other practices incumbent upon them, including the entire Jewish ritual dietary laws. Nephites would certainly have understood that their covenant set them apart in practice from other peoples who were not under the covenant. In this context, they are making a new covenant, and therefore have expectations of what to do. Nephi’s answer must have been profoundly frustrating, because he doesn’t tell them! Nephi’s answer is that the Spirit is to be their guide and that the Spirit will teach them what they should do. In modern Mormon culture, our baptismal covenant carries with it expectations and obligations in our religious community. A simple example is the supposition that the baptismal covenant affirms acceptance of our dietary law, the Word of Wisdom. Thus in modern Mormon religious practice, there are definitely things that are expected that we should do after baptism (as anyone dealing with "inactives" can attest). In Nephi’s society, however, there are no new rules. This one ritual is new, this covenant is new, but there are no further associated performances. Why? At this point in Nephite history we have a reasonably homogeneous group. We have only one city, which must consist of a central ceremonial/public center with outlying agricultural fields. While there are obviously other peoples (if only the Lamanites for those who don’t buy the arguments about the more complex social environment) the Nephites appear fairly insular, with all peoples looking to their own leaders and community. In this community, the basis for the society is the particular religious structure Nephi and Jacob have put into place. Thus the society already has a social consciousness that includes all who fall under the rubric "Nephite" and all are also under the Law of Moses. In early Christian groups in the Old World, this universality of acceptance and similarity of practice was not the norm, but the exception. In the early Christian experience, baptism was not simply covenantal, it was symbolic of entry into a new community that increasingly established its internal/external identity in opposition to existing ideas and practices. Nephi’s people, while large enough to have a city, are still few enough that there isn’t the cultural diversity that will later appear in the Book of Mormon. Baptism is not symbolic of entry into a separate society, because there was no separate society. There is no indication that baptism was required of all Nephites, and rather appears to be (as it should be) a voluntary act. Baptism did not create a social fragmentation, because it was seen as a personal religious covenant inside of the greater framework of the Mosaic Laws and performances. Because baptism did not signal any separation (socially or religiously) for the Nephites, there were no performances requisite after baptism that were not also requisite before baptism. Nephi’s people don’t know what to do because Nephi has them continue in the Law of Moses. Nephi’s explanation of the baptismal covenant is that the addition of the Holy Spirit will provide a dimensionality in their lives that will provide individual understandings of "what ye should do." Just as the Sermon on the Mount emphasizes the internal, personal obedience over public obedience, Nephi’s emphasis on the change after baptism is focused on the individual and their internal, spiritual, response to the rites, rather than the performances themselves. Rhetorical: Nephi’s line of logic is interesting. He returns to the baptismal theme of the previous discourse, and then focuses on the Holy Ghost rather than the baptism. He highlights for them the phrase he has used that they "could speak with the tongue of angels." Nephi will now use this phrase with a new twist. He uses the "tongue of angels" phrase to move from the Spirit to the "words of Christ." The "angels" serve as the intermediary between the logic of the Gift of the Holy Ghost and the "words of Christ." Because the angels speak by the Holy Ghost (as a member of the united godhead) they must speak the words of Christ (who would be of one mind with the Father and the Holy Ghost). This the individual receives the Holy Ghost, the "tongue of angels" speaks the words of Christ through the Holy Ghost, and therefore the baptized receive the personal revelation of the words of Christ. In the modern context, we understand "words of Christ" to be a written text. That was impossible for the Nephites (in the context of Christ as the Messiah) for while Nephi had visions, he had no text. Therefore, Nephi is enjoining his people to personal revelation to understand "what to do" rather than reading scripture. Of course, scripture as a mode of receiving the words of Christ may do the same for us, and we do well to read and ponder scripture, but Nephi’s emphasis for his people is on the personal revelation of the Messiah through the Spirit, a process with which he was intimately familiar (as was his brother Jacob). Scriptural: With the advantages of a modern world, the words of Christ are readily available to us. We may read them. Through inspired leaders, we can hear them over radio and television. In all of that, we must remember that Nephi’s injunction is that those "words of Christ" should come to us through the Spirit, and should tell us what to do. Our concerns are not over ritual practices, but should be over the more constant ways in which we live our lives. The Savior and Nephi encourage us to have our hearts right, not just our practices right. It is in this refinement of the effect of religion on our souls that the Holy Spirit teaches us what to do. It teaches us to turn habits into principles, where the Word of Wisdom transcends a physical law and becomes one that polishes our spirit. It is part of the lesson all parents hope their children learn, that attendance at church is important not for the attendance, but for the changes that can be wrought in one’s soul.
4 Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.
The allusion also appears in Christ’s restatement of the Sermon on the Mount during his appearance in the New World. Either the allusion was understandable, or Joseph was translating the concept into familiar Biblical language. The second literary allusion is the light/darkness contrast. The imagery of light and dark has been used before in Nephi’s writings, and later will become an important distinction for the Qumran community (pitting the Children of Light against the Children of Darkness). Scriptural: Regardless of the terminology, this concept of the necessity of asking was familiar to Nephi. He had specifically addressed Laman and Lemuel on this subject many years before: 1 Ne. 15:7-9 7 And they said: Behold, we cannot understand the words which our father hath spoken concerning the natural branches of the olive-tree, and also concerning the Gentiles. 8 And I said unto them: Have ye inquired of the Lord? 9 And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us. Laman and Lemuel were in the wrong position with the Lord, having assumed that the Lord did not speak to them, they didn’t ask, and not having asked, could not have the Lord speak to them. In this current discourse, Nephi is making sure that his people understand that it is their responsibility to take the initiative and to ask.
5 For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.
6 Behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and there will be no more doctrine given until after he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh. And when he shall manifest himself unto you in the flesh, the things which he shall say unto you shall ye observe to do.
What then is this doctrine of Christ? For Nephi it consists of the covenant, witnessed by baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and personal revelation through the Holy Ghost that will individually teach the person what they need to do to follow through on their covenant. One may presume that the kind of things that are expected follow the same examples Christ will give during the Sermon on the Mount, where he will emphasize the internalization of the reasons for the actions of the Law.
7 And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.
From what was Nephi stopped in his utterance? Nephi’s discourse was on the aspects of the doctrine of Christ that might lead to changes in performances. The clear probability here is that Nephi understands the coming fulfillment of the Law of Moses, and is unable to disclose that information to a people who will still need to be governed by the Law of Moses. In the context of this particular discourse and the direction of the logic, this appears to be the place where the discourse could have gone - and does not. Nephi declares that the reason he cannot disclose more is the "unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men." This is a fascinating disclosure in a public discourse, because it appears to be directed to Nephi’s audience. This is the very same audience that is being told to look to the Spirit, and now are being told that "men" "will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness." This is quite an indictment of his audience, his own people. Following so closely upon the baptismal covenant and the admonition that they must find their own way, we must conclude that Nephi can see that this will not be universally done among his people. Certainly there will be those who will not only enter into the way (through baptism) but who will actually receive and use the Spirit to direct their lives. It is just as clear, however, that Nephi can see that there are some (and probably many, given the clear indictment in the speech) who will not. What does this mean for the covenant of baptism among the Nephites? What it appears to mean is that this is a voluntary covenant above and beyond the covenants of the Law of Moses that would inform all of society. As a voluntary and "higher" ordinance, it was available to those who would qualify (through repentance) but was not attached to any specific division in society nor to any rights or privileges in the society (had there been privileges, there would have been instructions on what to do). Thus this entirely voluntary action that required a personal commitment did not have the reinforcement of an entry rite into a specialized group. With so few obvious benefits, it appears that while baptism was understood, it may not have been a significant part of Nephite religious ritual until Alma associates baptism with the creation of "churches." We may want to presume that Nephi’s understanding of baptism and his teaching of this ordinance would have been sufficient to make it an important part of Nephite religion from this point on. Nephi’s own words suggest that this was not to be the case. Nephi’s constraint by the Spirit and his characterization of his audience as unbelievers and wicked suggests that Nephi understood that the ordinance was being given for those few who could benefit from it, but that it was destined to be a lesser part of religious practice for those "unbelievers" in his audience. Again, the very fact that Nephi is both constrained and makes this point suggests that there are significant numbers in the audience that fall into this category. Indeed, while Nephi mentions baptism, the topic is not explicitly mentioned until we get to the story of Alma the Elder in the Book of Mosiah. A full discussion of the innovative importance of Alma the Elder will be given at that point, but suffice it here to summarize that Alma the Elder is not part of the main Zarahemla group, but is part of the group that returned to the Land of Nephi. When Alma begins baptizing, he also forms "churches." Those innovations are brought to Zarahemla and implemented as Alma is raised to significant importance by King Mosiah. After Alma we here more of baptizing, but the concept takes a hiatus between Nephi and Alma the Elder, at least insofar as we have data in our current text of the Book of Mormon.
8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.
9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.
In Nephi’s context, this has a dual meaning. Surely he intends this as a general lesson on prayer, which would be required and effective even for those of his people who do not enter "the way" (baptism). In addition, however, Nephi is linking this understanding of a standard practice of prayer (known from the Old World tradition) to this new covenant of baptism, and the use of prayer to find out what one should do. What Nephi is doing is using a known context to teach about a new context. The known mode of prayer continues, and Nephi intends that this becomes the example for the way and reason for praying for the guidance of the Spirit. It would appear that Nephi’s people may have had the same problem with prayer that later developed in Jerusalem, and against which Christ proclaimed - that of prayer in public for the praise of the public (Matt. 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.) If this is the situation, the known mode of prayer has become separated from an individual/spiritual context and ritualized into a formal, public, mode of discourse. Thus Nephi can use the concept of a known form of prayer, consecrating ones actions and performances to the Lord, but adapt that known mode to begin to teach his people about the necessity of individual prayer for those individual things that one must do or perform that come not as prescribed actions, but as the whisperings of the Spirit. Rhetorical: This verse closes the chapter, but the expected close of the discourse is missing. Contrast this very abrupt ending with the more formal closure to the previous discourse in 2 Nephi 31: 2 Nephi 31:21 21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen. In the previous discourse, we have a concluding statement that summarizes the essential elements of the discourse, and pronounces finality upon them with the ritualistic/stylistic Amen. One would expect the same at the end of this discourse, but it is absent. This chapter is also unusually short, being perhaps half of the text of the first day’s discourse. Not only is the final stylistic closure missing (an odd thing for Nephi) but as I have suggested, this verse actually appears to be the beginning of a new section of discourse. I propose that this is an abrupt ending that does not give us the entire speech of Nephi. This is not a planned ending, and yet it is an ending. The reason for this abrupt and aborted termination of the record of Nephi’s speech will be examined at the beginning of the next chapter, as the final pieces of the puzzle are available there. |
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| by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1999 |
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Nephi 32:1
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