One of the most common scriptures used by antagonists to support the idea of a closed scriptural cannon is from the final chapter of the New Testament, Revelation 22, where in verse 18, John the Revelator warns that “if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.”

This argument has proven to hold no verifiable ground, and even the staunchest informed evangelists will concede that “these things” and “this book” refer to the Apocalypse (the Book of Revelation) specifically, not the entire Bible as a whole.

That said, it should be noted that this warning is indeed valid within the scope of Apocalypse. The conclusion of our account of Nephi’s vision explains that Nephi sees John the Revelator, presumably exiled on the island of Patmos, and then sees John’s entire vision. It is interesting to see that the instructions that Nephi subsequently receives regarding what he sees are notably harmonious with John’s warning not to add to his account of it.

One challenge in producing a plain-English version of the Book of Mormon is dealing with terms that are both nonstandard and ambiguous. One such term is “seed,” which, with a few obvious exceptions, means “progeny” throughout 1 Nephi, not “the ripened ovule of a plant”. That usage of “seed” is largely absent from modern English, but substituting “progeny”—which remains in current use—hardly advances the cause of plain English. Furthermore, investigating the definitions of “progeny” yields yet more ambiguity. According to Websters, it can refer to either biological descendants or to “a body of followers, disciples, or successors.”

The former definition of “progeny,” which seems consistent with Lehi and Nephi’s own interpretation, would imply—as was generally believed by Mormons for over 100 years—that the Native Americans found in the New World by Europeans were literal descendants of Nephi’s brothers. The fluid definitions of “Nephite” and “Lamanite” later in the book, however, make it impossible to identify the biological heritage of those surviving the final battle. Furthermore, DNA evidence has failed to link any present-day Native Americans to Lehi. Hence, the latter definition of “progeny” seems more appropriate. Of the three possible synonyms, “followers” and “disciples” both imply a particular ideology, but none is consistently maintained by either group throughout the book. Thus, “successors” seems the most appropriate interpretation, and that only in nominal, not legal, form.

Last week’s lesson dealt with the vision of the Tree of Life, which covered text in 1 Nephi 8 as well as text from the beginning of Nephi’s vision. This lesson covers the remainder of the contents of Nephi’s vision. After Lehi tells of his dream, Nephi “was desirous also that [he] might see, and hear, and know of these things.” Nephi proceeds to ponder his fathers words in his heart, and is then “caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain.”

He first meets the Spirit of God, then meets an angel, who serves as his guide through his vision. The first things he sees relate to Lehi’s dream and to the Tree of Life. Nephi sees these things in juxtaposition with scenes from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and learns of the Tree’s symbolism. The subsequent chapters of Nephi’s vision (12-14) address these topics and themes:

In my latest reading of Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life, I found something I’d never seen before. We often talk about the symbolism of the iron rod, the great and spacious building, the tree, and the fountain of living waters. We tend to skim over the first part, though.

Lehi says in 1 Nephi 8:4 that at the beginning of his dream, Lehi saw a “dark and dreary wilderness.” After some time, Lehi encountered an angelic being who led him on the journey that eventually culminated in the Tree of Life. Note, though, that as Lehi follows the angel, he sees that he is now in a “dark and dreary waste,” through which waste he travelled for many hours in darkness.

Today commemorates the life, mission and message of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The latter half of the 20th century saw some tremendously significant changes in terms of attitudes and outlooks about people and society. Dr. King was certainly at the forefront of the movement, and was instrumental in advocating liberty and a level playing field for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, culture, or skin color.

The Book of Mormon’s references to race and skin color are a matter of great controversy. There are in fact passages that are quite jarring when considered in an educated and politically correct arena, most notably the reference to the Lamanites’ “sore cursing” in the same breath as their “skin of blackness” in 2 Nephi 5:21, and the infamous “[white/pure] and delightsome” passage in 2 Nephi 30:6. These difficult verses have been the root of many heated debates, but my purpose in writing this is not to provide apologetics for these, but rather to look beyond them and examine what else the Book of Mormon has to say about race. The truth is, all things considered, the message of the Book of Mormon is actually strikingly congruent with the dream of Martin Luther King Jr.

The vision of the tree of life is first major symbolic narrative sequence found in the Book of Mormon. Sometime after Lehi’s sons return from their second trip back to Jerusalem (this time to get Ishmael’s family,) Lehi recounts what he had seen in a dream. In his dream he wanders around in darkeness for many hours, then after praying for mercy, he finds himself in a “large and spacious field“, where he finds a “a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.” The dream expands to include, among many things, others of Lehi’s family, and outsiders who mock those going towards the tree.

After hearing Lehi tell the account of his dream, Nephi seeks increased understanding. This leads him to ponder his father’s words, and becomes the stimulus for his great vision, where, among many other things, he sees the tree that his father saw, and learns that the tree represents the love of God.