I Should Have Perished

Nephi made this interesting statement: “For behold, I have workings in the spirit, which doth weary me even that all my joints are weak, for those who are at Jerusalem; for had not the Lord been merciful, to show unto me concerning them, even as he had prophets of old, I should have perished also.” As I have pondered this in the past, I have assumed that when he said “show” he was referring to a vision that the Lord had given him of those at Jerusalem. That may be part of it, but I think the next verse suggests something different: “And he surely did show unto the prophets of old all things concerning them; and also he did show unto many concerning us; wherefore, it must needs be that we know concerning them for they are written upon the plates of brass.” I believe that what Nephi was saying was that the Lord “showed” him concerning those at Jerusalem through the words on the plates of brass. Though of course he had had visions indeed, he seemed here to be referring to the knowledge he had gained from the plates of brass concerning those at Jerusalem and perhaps the children of Israel in all ages in general. This is consistent with the message of the rest of the chapter: “Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, did teach my brethren these things; and it came to pass that I did read many things to them, which were engraven upon the plates of brass, that they might know concerning the doings of the Lord in other lands, among people of old” (1 Nephi 19:20-22). Nephi wanted his brothers to understand the doings of the Lord among other lands by reading to them the holy words of scripture on the plates of brass. If my understanding here is correct, then Nephi was saying that the knowledge he gained on the plates of brass saved his life.

                So how did knowledge he gained of the people at Jerusalem through the plates of brass help to keep him from perishing? Perhaps what transpired when Nephi was commanded to build a boat gives us a clue. When he was commanded to do this, his brothers at first rebelled against him and refused to help, mocking him for even trying. His response recorded in 1 Nephi 17:23-47 recounts a brief history of the children of Israel that Nephi understood from the writings of the plates of brass. It was from those stories that Nephi gained an understanding of the ways of the Lord that he was able to apply to his experiences and difficulties. He was able to withstand the rebellion of Laman and Lemuel through the power of the holy word on the plates of brass. They sought to kill him, but knowing the stories of the power God had given to Moses and the children of Israel and “the power of his almighty word” which had saved the righteous in the past, he was able to miraculously withstand these attempts on his life: “In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God shall smite him.” He applied the lessons of the plate of brass to their situation: “If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done. And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?” (1 Nephi 17:46, 48, 50-51) Nephi gained great power, even to preserving his own life when his brothers threatened it, through the knowledge he had gained from the plates of brass. And so perhaps what he was really saying in 1 Nephi 19:20 was that without the plates of brass—without the words and power and spirit of the holy scriptures—he would have perished in the face of his adversity. And so too we need the power that the word of God can give us today as we face the difficulties of our world. They may just be the means, like they were for Nephi, of saving our lives.