Nephi and Joseph

I think we see a lot of similarities between Nephi and Joseph of Egypt, and I have to wonder if Nephi didn’t take comfort in and find inspiration from the stories of Joseph that were on the plates of brass.  We know that these were important stories to the family because Lehi talked about Joseph of Egypt extensively when he gave his last blessing to his own Joseph in 2 Nephi 3.  Nephi and Joseph were both incredibly faithful to the Lord in even the most trying of circumstances and were favored of the Lord because of it.  They had a similar family dynamic and it was because of their faith that they were able to save their families from perishing. 

                The most obvious similarity between Joseph and Nephi was their family circumstances and relationships with their brothers and fathers.  Both Nephi and Joseph were very young compared to their brothers.  Joseph was the second youngest out of 12; Nephi was the youngest out of his four brothers until Jacob and Joseph were born later in the story.  Nephi and Joseph were both beloved of their fathers.  We read that Jacob “loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours” (Genesis 37:3).  Joseph’s brothers “envied him” and this led to their mistreatment of him and selling him into Egypt (Genesis 37:11).  Similarly, Lehi spoke very highly of Nephi to his family but expressed great concerns for Laman and Lemuel and often rebuked them.  For example, at the beginning of the vision of the tree of life Lehi said, “I have reason to rejoice in the Lord because of Nephi and also of Sam….   But behold, Laman and Lemuel, I fear exceedingly because of you” (1 Nephi 8:3-4).  Surely this kind of differentiation by their father irked Laman and Lemuel and contributed to their own mistreatment of him.  The animosity was so high that both the brothers of Joseph and those of Nephi came very close to killing their younger brother.  And yet both Joseph and Nephi found it in their hearts to forgive their brothers.  After all those years in Egypt Joseph said to his brothers in an astounding token of forgiveness, “Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life” (Genesis 45:5).  Similarly we read that Nephi did “frankly forgive” his brothers even after they sought to take away his life by tying him to a tree to be devoured by beasts (1 Nephi 7:21).   

                Despite the terrible treatment by their brothers, Nephi and Joseph both physically saved their families through their resourcefulness and their faithfulness.  Joseph spend years away from his family in Egypt, but because he was always true to the Lord he was able to interpret Pharoah’s dream and become instrumental in storing food to prepare against the upcoming famine.  It was that preparation that allowed him to give food to the brothers when they came to Egypt after their father sent them saying, “Go and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die” (Genesis 42:2).  It was the food from Egypt that was stored because of Joseph that saved the Israelites.  Similarly, on several occasions it was Nephi who was able to save his family physically as they traveled to the promised land.  For example, when his bow broke, the family would have starved had Nephi not had the fortitude to make another, call his family to repentance, learn the will of the Lord, and travel to the top of the mountain to slay more food.  As Lehi later put it to Laman and Lemuel, “Rebel no more against your brother… for were it not for him, we must have perished with hunger in the wilderness” (2 Nephi 1:24).  Without Nephi, there is no way the family could have made it safely from Jerusalem to the promised land.  Both Nephi and Joseph were types of Christ, showing seemingly perfect faith in God and bringing physical salvation to their families.