Fire Dwelt on a Rock

“And it came to pass as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much; and because of the things which he saw and heard he did quake and tremble exceedingly.” (1 Nephi 1:6)

There came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him.

Why did it dwell on a rock before Lehi? Why mention the rock, instead of just saying “the ground,” or simply, “it dwelt before him?” 

I think the answer rests in the action that preceded the fire.

He prayed unto the Lord.

Lehi lived in a time when the Law of Moses was in full affect. We know from 1 Nephi 2:7 (And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.) that Lehi was in the habit of either building altars or finding other suitable places to make sacrifice and call on the Lord. So we can guess that this rock that the fire dwelt on was an altar. Lehi prayed and offered sacrifice, and the Lord answered his prayer in a miraculous way.

Pillar of fire.

What do we know about pillars of fire? Or pillars of light? In Joseph Smith’s first vision, we know that a pillar of light brought Joseph in contact with Father and Jesus. Pillars of fire in scripture are often conduits that bring mortals in contact with heavenly beings (Moses 1:17, 3 Nephi 17:24). So it stands to reason that a heavenly being was included in the pillar of light that Lehi saw. This makes sense considering what happened.

He saw and heard much.

Much. I love imagining what that little word encompasses. If he was in conversation with an angel from the Lord, what sorts of things do you suppose are included in that tiny description of “much?” Whatever it was, it exhausted him to the point that when he went home, he fell on his bed and from there ended up being carried away in a vision and having his throne room theophany.

“And it came to pass that he returned to his own house at Jerusalem; and he cast himself upon his bed, being overcome with the Spirit and the things which he had seen.And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God.” (1 Nephi 1:7-8)

Apparently once he pierced the veil, a veritable flood of godly information came to him, first through the messenger and then through the vision. When the Lord finds someone who is willing to do the work required to pierce the veil, He doesn’t skimp on answering their questions.

So what was it that made this prayer so powerful? I’d wager there were a lot of reasons, but I think one of the main reasons that this prayer elicited a flood of spiritual knowledge to fall on Lehi is because it was an intercessory prayer.

In Behalf of His People

“Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.” (1 Nephi 1:5)

Lehi had heard the warnings from the other prophets of the time about the coming destruction of the jews (Verse 4). And because he cared about the people of Jerusalem, he was filled with such compassion that he poured out his soul in mighty prayer on behalf of his people. That is a Christlike response. He saw the danger his people were in and so he pleaded with the Lord on their behalf. He made intercession. There is great power in praying for others, and it’s something we should all do more of.

There is a myriad of lessons to be learned from these records. I love that these early verses introduce us to one of the great themes that repeats throughout the Book of Mormon. Eight verses into 1 Nephi and we already have an account of Lehi piercing the veil and entering the Lord’s presence. There is tremendous hope in that.

 

Faith of a Mustard Seed

And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. (Luke 17: 6)

“…Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew 17:20)

I’ve always been a little confused by the idea that having faith like a grain of a mustard seed can pluck up trees or move mountains. I’ve never felt like I had the ability to ask something so profound of God’s creation and for them to obey me. And yet, I’ve always thought that I had faith, certainly enough to compare to the size of a mustard seed, right? I mean, mustard seeds are tiny. When they are described as grains of mustard seeds, that’s very accurate. They are barely bigger than a grain of salt or a grain of sand. That’s tiny. Surely I have at least that amount of faith. So then, where is my ability to tell a mountain to move and have it be done?

Then I realized something. These verses don’t talk about having faith the size of a mustard seed. They talk of having faith as a mustard seed. Wait, seeds have faith? That took some pondering. So, let’s think it through.

What does a seed want to do? It wants to sprout.

What are the conditions in which it needs to sprout? It is buried in the wet earth, in the dark.

How long can a sprout survive without sunlight? Not long.

So, if you are a seed—not just a seed, but a tiny mustard seed—and you are planted in the ground, with only a finite amount of energy inside of you, would it be intimidating to sprout? How much faith would it take to break out of your shell (essentially destroying yourself), knowing that you would be surrounded by darkness. How much faith would be required for you to reach upwards in the hopes that the tiny amount of energy contained inside of you would allow you to break through the surface and find sunlight? Because if you run out of energy and stop growing before you reach the surface, you will perish. It is imperative that you reach the light.

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Makes a little more sense, doesn’t it? Having faith the size of a mustard seed isn’t going to endow us with the power to move mountains. What we need is faith like a mustard seed—the faith that if we do everything within our power to reach upwards toward the light, that we will be received into that light and empowered by it.

“And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” ( Alma 32:21 )

When a seed sprouts, it must have a hope that the sunlight required to nourish it is there, even though it cannot see it, because the truth is that it is there. We have been planted here on this earth, separated from the light of God. We have been given the tools that we need to sprout and reach upwards to reconnect with God, but it will take everything within us.

“Let us here observe that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.” (Lectures on Faith. Lecture Fifth, paragraph 6)

We can’t stay safe and warm inside our shell if we hope to return to our Lord. We must have the faith to seek God’s face. Even if we have to give up everything—our time, our talents, our job, our social standing, our good name—and give our will over to the Lord.

If we are willing to do that, then the Lord will embrace us in light and glory. And that is worth everything.

Arms of Mercy

Let’s talk about mercy. Beautiful, beautiful mercy.

“Having gone according to their own carnal wills and desires; having never called upon the Lord while the arms of mercy were extended towards them; for the arms of mercy were extended towards them, and they would not; they being warned of their iniquities and yet they would not depart from them; and they were commanded to repent and yet they would not repent.” (Mosiah 16:12)

The Lord stretched out his arm of mercy, but they would not call on him. They were warned of their iniquities, but they would not depart from them. They were commanded to repent and would not.

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Mercy can’t be sprinkled over us like fairy dust. It’s something that we have to take hold of. It’s always there. The Lord is always stretching out his hand of mercy, hoping we will take hold of it, but if we refuse, then justice is there to take over.

So then, how do we take hold of mercy? We repent.

“Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state… And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence.” (Alma 42:13-14)

For the record. None of us want justice for ourselves. What we deserve in this fallen realm is not something anyone would aspire to, because what we deserve is to be cut off from the Lord’s presence. The Lord knows that and he wants to prevent it. He does not delight in doling out punishments. He’s not sitting around, waiting for us to mess up so that he can slap us with a fine, send us on a guilt trip, or thrust us down to hell. He doesn’t want us to suffer, which is why he warns, then he warns again, and again. He stretches out his merciful hand, hoping that we will take hold. He cannot snatch us away from justice—that would deprive us of our agency. So then, we must be the one to choose Him. Repentance is required for mercy to take effect.

What is repentance? It’s a change of mind. It’s turning our hearts to God. When we realize that our actions are contrary to God’s will and we make the decision to change—that is repentance, and it can happen in an instant.

When King Benjamin preached to the people, the result was immediate. The people ended up with such a consciousness of their own guilt that they fell to the ground and begged forgiveness.

“He cast his eyes round about on the multitude, and behold they had fallen to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them…And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins…after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience.” (Mosaic 4:1-3)

How long did it take the Lord to forgive them? It was immediate. They finished speaking, the spirit came upon them and they received a remission of their sins.

How long does it take for the Lord to forgive us? It’s instantaneous. He’s forgiven us before we even ask. He is ready, waiting and eager to forgive us. In John 8, when the woman taken in adultery was brought before the Savior, what did He do?

Keep in mind—this wasn’t a false accusation. She was guilty, having been caught “in the very act.” Justice demanded punishment, and the people brought her to Christ to see what he would do. In order to convict her, there needed to be two accusers. So Christ invited any there that were without sin to cast that first stone—to condemn her.

They all went away, and no accusers were left.

It’s interesting to note that this woman didn’t come asking for Christ’s mercy or forgiveness. But he forgives her, even without her asking.

     Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?

     No man, Lord.

     Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

He’s showing her the way. He’s stretching out his merciful hand and saying, “Look! My forgiveness is here for the taking. All you have to do is make the decision to sin no more.”

There were no lashes with a whip, no stones thrown. There wasn’t even a rebuke or wagging finger. He found a way to get around the law of the land by pricking the hearts of those who wanted to accuse her. He went out of his way to be merciful in order to prevent justice from claiming the woman’s life.

We don’t have a record to show us if this woman accepted the opportunity to repent. We don’t know how her life proceeded from that point. But we know that it was her choice. He laid his mercy at her feet and she had to decide whether or not to pick it up.

That’s us. That’s our situation every day. Christ has laid his love, grace, and mercy at our feet and invited us to pick it up. Repent, turn to Him, and take hold of His mighty forgiveness, His mercy, His power to save. The savior can offer that gift because he atoned for our sins.

“And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.” (Alma 42:15)