Evidence #326 | April 4, 2022
Book of Mormon Evidence: Lehi’s Calling (Mysteries)
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Scripture Central
Abstract
Nephi repeatedly uses the term “mysteries” in connection with his father’s prophetic knowledge, which Lehi obtained through a visionary encounter with the divine council. This connection accurately reflects ancient Hebrew language and culture.In the very first verse of the Book of Mormon, Nephi stated that he was “taught somewhat in all the learning of my father” and that he had a “knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 1:1).1 This statement is soon followed by Nephi’s account of his father’s heavenly vision, wherein Lehi “saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels” (v. 8) and learned that Jerusalem “should be destroyed” (v. 13). This progression of ideas invites a connection between Lehi’s visionary experience and Nephi’s knowledge of God’s “mysteries.”2
This relationship is reinforced in the next chapter where Nephi reports that Laman and Lemuel didn’t believe “Jerusalem, that great city, could be destroyed according to the words of the prophets” (1 Nephi 2). In other words, they didn’t believe the contents of Lehi’s vision, and even mockingly referred to him as a “visionary man” (v. 11). In contrast, Nephi said that he prayed “to know of the mysteries of God,” after which he received a divine confirmation of Lehi’s words. (v. 16).
Nephi’s third and final use of “mysteries” occurs eight chapters later in 1 Nephi 10:19: “he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them.” Prior to making this statement, Nephi again recounted prophecies from his father, which are related to and expand upon Lehi’s initial visionary experience (as seen in the following chart).
Thus, in each instance Nephi’s use of “mysteries” is given in connection to the contents of his father’s visions and prophecies, with the consistent theme being that Nephi was able to learn for himself the same mysteries revealed to Lehi.
This is notable because Lehi’s prophetic calling matches other accounts of prophets who learned secret truths after being inducted into a council of heavenly beings.3 Nephi’s use of “mysteries” fits this context in a way that the Book of Mormon’s English translation doesn’t fully convey.4 As pointed out by John W. Welch,
Interestingly, the Hebrew word for the “council” is sod. By association, it has also come to mean “a decree of the council.” Because the council and its actions were not open to the general public but were private and intimate, these decrees were secrets, known only to the prophets. Accordingly, Raymond E. Brown has concluded that the Semitic background of the concept of the “mysteries” of God resides in the idea of prophets (like Lehi) being “introduced into the heavenly assembly and gaining a knowledge of its secret decrees” (see also Amos 3:7).
Thus, it is remarkable yet understandable that when Nephi described his desire to receive a personal confirmation of the truth of his father’s words, he said that he wanted to “know of the mysteries of God.” Those “mysteries” (sod) were apparently synonymous, in Nephi’s inquiring mind, with the decrees and knowledge that Lehi had received in the council (also sod).5
Conclusion
It doesn’t seem to be a coincidence that Nephi’s use of “mysteries” is consistently connected to his father’s visionary experiences. This repeated association suggests that whoever wrote 1 Nephi was familiar with the Hebrew conception of the divine council and knew that “mysteries” had a special connection to that ancient motif.
Neal Rappleye, “‘With the Tongue of Angels’: Angelic Speech as a Form of Deification,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 21 (2016): 303–323.
Stephen O. Smoot, “The Divine Council in the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 27 (2017): 155–180.
John W. Welch, “The Calling of Lehi as a Prophet in the World of Jerusalem,” in Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem, ed. John W. Welch, David Rolph Seely, and Jo Ann H. Seely (Provo: FARMS, 2004), 421–448.
John W. Welch, “Lehi’s Council Vision and the Mysteries of God,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1992), 24–25.
Blake T. Ostler, “The Throne-Theophany and Prophetic Commission in 1 Nephi: A Form Critical Analysis,” BYU Studies Quarterly 26, no. 4 (1986): 67–95.
Bible
Book of Mormon
- 1. For a treatment of Nephi’s use of the terms “goodly” and “goodness” in his introduction, see Evidence Central, “Book of Mormon Evidence: Wordplay on Nephi,” Evidence# 0160, March 1, 2021, online at evidencecentral.org.
- 2. A major theme in Nephi’s record is that he became his father’s spiritual successor. It should come as no surprise, then, that his discussion of “mysteries” is repeatedly connected to both his father’s visions and to his own knowledge that he received from the Lord, which he recorded on metal plates. This relationship can be seen in the way that Nephi uses a chiastic structure in 1 Nephi 1:1–3 to link his knowledge of God’s “mysteries” with the creation of his own record. See Neal Rappleye, “‘With the Tongue of Angels’: Angelic Speech as a Form of Deification,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 21 (2016): 305.
- 3. For information on prophetic callings and the divine council, see Stephen O. Smoot, “The Divine Council in the Hebrew Bible and the Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 27 (2017): 155–180; John W. Welch, “The Calling of Lehi as a Prophet in the World of Jerusalem,” in Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem, ed. John W. Welch, David Rolph Seely, and Jo Ann H. Seely (Provo: FARMS, 2004), 421–448; John W. Welch, “The Calling of a Prophet,” in First Nephi, The Doctrinal Foundation, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr., Book of Mormon Symposium Series, Volume 2 (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1988), 35–54, esp. 45–46; Blake T. Ostler, “The Throne-Theophany and Prophetic Commission in 1 Nephi: A Form Critical Analysis,” BYU Studies Quarterly 26, no. 4 (1986): 67–95.
- 4. For the use of “mysteries” in various ancient sources and languages, see Raymond E. Brown, “The Semitic Background of the New Testament Mysterion (I),” Biblica 39, no. 4 (1958): 426–448; Raymond E. Brown, “The Semitic Background of the New Testament Mysterion (II),” Biblica 40, no. 1 (1959): 70–87; Andrew I. Miller, “‘Able to Know Heavenly Things’: The Ante-Nicene Mysteries and their New Testament Sources,” FairMormon Papers and Reviews 2 (2015); David J. Larsen, “Angels among Us: The Use of Old Testament Passages as Inspiration for Temple Themes in the Dead Sea Scrolls,” Studies in the Bible and Antiquity 5 (2013): 91–110.
- 5. John W. Welch, “Lehi’s Council Vision and the Mysteries of God,” in Reexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John W. Welch (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1992), 24. See also, Rappleye, “‘With the Tongue of Angels’,” 305–311. For more on the nature of these mysteries, their development over time, and their connection with temple worship, see William J. Hamblin, “Temple Motifs in Jewish Mysticism,” in Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism, ed. Donald W. Parry (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1994), 440–476.