01 May 2009

Examples from pattern one

1 Nephi 7:1
Commandment: Lehi has been commanded to take his family and journey into the wilderness. They were instructed to take nothing but provisions with them, and so his sons are left without prospects of marriage/family. Trust: Lehi prophesies concerning his seed and the descendants that will come through his children. He manifests absolute trust in the Lord's ability to fulfill those promises without having received any temporal proof, and without questioning God's power. Reward; Only after Lehi made those prophecies does the Lord tell them to return to Jerusalem for Ishmael's family, so Lehi's sons can marry Ishmael's daughters.

1 Nephi 8: 6-9
Commandment: Lehi is told to follow a heavenly being through a dark and dreary waste for many hours [in a vision]. Trust: Lehi cries unto the Lord for mercy or deliverance, knowing that is the way of the Lord, while he continues walking behind his guide. Reward: the remainder of Lehi's vision contains an account of the Tree of Life and the rod of iron.

1 Nephi 11:1
Commandment: Lehi tells his sons of his dream, and asks them to heed it as a warning concerning their personal salvation. The metaphors are new to them, and require study. Nephi desires to see all that his father saw in vision. Trust: He tells us that he knew God was able and willing to make things manifest to those who seek. Nephi then begins to ponder the meaning of Lehi's words, inviting the Spirit. Reward: He is caught up in the Spirit, to the extent that he sees greater visions than Lehi's, containing further metaphors and prophecies.

[Here's the pattern again, because I know the PDF I posted takes forever to load.]

22 April 2009

Pattern #1

Here is the first pattern I have found. As I find stories that fit into it, I'll add them in too. =]

BoM Pattern 1