Nephi explained that some people would not revere the God of Israel, Jesus Christ. Nephi also related that those responsible for scourging and crucifying the Savior, as well as their descendants, would be scattered and afflicted until they turned their hearts to the Lord. To persuade his people to believe in Jesus Christ, Nephi read from the writings of Moses and Isaiah, likening the scriptures to his people.
Nephi records prophecies about Jesus Christ to help the people remember their Redeemer
Invite students to write in their class notebooks or study journals the name or names of a person or group of people they love very much, with a brief explanation of why they love that person or group of people so much. Consider asking a few students to read to the class what they wrote.
What thoughts or feelings would you have for this person or group of people if you saw others mocking or trying to harm them? Why?
As students study 1 Nephi 19 today, invite them to look for reasons why Jesus Christ willingly allowed Himself to be mocked, smitten, and crucified.
Summarize 1 Nephi 19:1–6 by explaining that Nephi again described the Lord’s commandment to include on the small plates “the more plain and precious parts” (verse 3) of Nephi’s ministry and prophecies and to record on the large plates a more general history of his people (see also 1 Nephi 6; 9).
Invite a student to read 1 Nephi 19:7 aloud. Before he or she reads, explain that in this verse, the phrase “God of Israel” refers to Jesus Christ. The verse also includes the word naught, which means “nothing.” To set someone at naught is to treat that person as if he or she is worthless.
According to 1 Nephi 19:7, how do some people trample the Savior under their feet, or “set him at naught”?
How is refusing to hearken to the Lord’s counsel like setting Him at naught or trampling Him under one’s feet?
Ask a student to read 1 Nephi 19:8–10 aloud. Ask the class to look for ways people would treat the Savior as a thing of naught during His mortal ministry. (You may want to invite students to consider marking the words and phrases they find.)
In what ways would people treat the Savior as a thing of naught during His mortal ministry?
What truth do these verses teach us about what Jesus Christ did and why He did it? (Help students identify a truth similar to the following: Jesus Christ allowed Himself to suffer and be crucified because of His loving-kindness and long-suffering for the children of men. You may want to invite students to consider marking the words and phrases in these verses that teach this truth.)
How did the Savior’s willingness to suffer and be crucified demonstrate His love for us?
What feelings do you have for the Savior as you consider what He has suffered and done for us?
Write the following incomplete phrase on the board and invite students to complete it in their class notebooks or study journals: I will show the Savior that He is of great worth to me by …
After sufficient time, consider inviting a few students to share with the class what they wrote.
Summarize 1 Nephi 19:11–17 by explaining that at the time of Jesus Christ’s death, some of the members of the house of Israel (including Lehi’s descendants) would be visited with the Lord’s voice because of their righteousness, and others would experience destruction (see 3 Nephi 9–10). Zenos also prophesied that the people at Jerusalem who rejected Jesus Christ and crucified Him would be persecuted by all people. When their descendants would turn their hearts to Jesus Christ, He would fulfill the covenants He had made with their fathers and gather them back to Him.
Invite a student to read 1 Nephi 19:18–19 aloud. Ask the class to follow along, looking for Nephi’s reason for writing what he did.
What is a truth that these verses teach us about one of the purposes of the Book of Mormon? (Help students identify the following truth: One reason the Book of Mormon was written was to persuade us to remember the Lord our Redeemer.)
How has the Book of Mormon persuaded and helped you to remember the Lord?
Nephi explains why he used the scriptures from the brass plates to teach his people
To prepare students to identify a principle in 1 Nephi 19:22–24, divide them into pairs. Give the following handouts to each pair so that each student in the pair has one of the two handouts, and ask them to follow the instructions.
Read the following statement given by President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency to seminary and institute teachers. Then prepare to answer the question that follows.
Image
President Henry B. Eyring
“I will make you this promise about reading the Book of Mormon: You will be drawn to it as you understand that the Lord has embedded in it His message to you. Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni knew that, and those who put it together put in messages for you. I hope you have confidence that the book was written for your students. There are simple, direct messages for them that will tell them how to change. That is what the book is about. It is a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Atonement and how it may work in their lives. You will have an experience this year feeling the change that comes by the power of the Atonement because of studying this book” (Henry B. Eyring, “The Book of Mormon Will Change Your Life,” Ensign, Feb. 2004, 11).
As you study the Book of Mormon, how is it helpful to know that prophets such as Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni included messages for you?
Read the following statements by President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994), and prepare to answer the question that follows:
Image
President Ezra Taft Benson
“The Book of Mormon was written for us today. God is the author of the book. It is a record of a fallen people, compiled by inspired men for our blessing. Those people never had the book—it was meant for us. Mormon, the ancient prophet after whom the book is named, abridged centuries of records. God, who knows the end from the beginning, told him what to include in his abridgment that we would need for our day” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God,” Ensign, Jan. 1988, 3).
Image
President Ezra Taft Benson
“If they saw our day, and chose those things which would be of greatest worth to us, is not that how we should study the Book of Mormon? We should constantly ask ourselves, ‘Why did the Lord inspire Mormon (or Moroni or Alma) to include that in his record? What lesson can I learn from that to help me live in this day and age?’” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Book of Mormon—Keystone of Our Religion,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 6).
How can knowing that God inspired prophets such as Mormon, Moroni, and Alma with what to include in their record influence your study of the Book of Mormon?
After sufficient time, ask students to read their statement to their partner and share their answer to the question. Following their discussions, ask the following question:
What can we do to better find and understand the messages and lessons that God would like us to receive from the Book of Mormon and other scriptures?
Invite the class to read 1 Nephi 19:22–23 silently, looking for Nephi’s description of how he helped his brethren apply scriptural messages and lessons to themselves.
What do you think it means to liken scriptures to ourselves? (Explain that likening the scriptures to ourselves means comparing and relating the scriptures to our own circumstances or situations.)
What is a principle we can learn from these verses about the blessings of likening the scriptures to ourselves? (Help students identify a principle such as the following: As we liken the scriptures to ourselves, we will learn and profit from them.)
Explain that in this verse the word profit means to obtain an advantage or benefit—in this case, a spiritual advantage or benefit.
Point out that in 1 Nephi 19:24 we can learn one way that likening the scriptures profits us. Ask students to read this verse silently, looking for how Nephi’s brethren could profit from likening the scriptures to themselves.
How could Nephi’s brethren profit from likening the scriptures to themselves?
In what ways can likening the scriptures to ourselves give us hope?
In addition to receiving hope, what are other ways we can profit from likening the scriptures to ourselves?
Prepare the following chart as a handout, or display it on the board and invite students to copy it in their class notebooks or study journals.
Explain that recognizing similarities between circumstances in the scriptures and situations in our own lives prepares us to find and apply scriptural truths. The same truths applied by people we read about in the scriptures can be applied by us when we are in similar circumstances.
To help students understand how likening the scriptures to themselves leads to application of scriptural truths, invite students to read 1 Nephi 3:7 silently and fill in their chart.
Invite a few students to share how they likened 1 Nephi 3:7 to themselves and how they can apply it in their lives. (Remind them that they do not need to share information that is too personal or private.)
Testify that as we liken the scriptures to ourselves, we will learn and profit from them. Encourage students to study the scriptures and look for the messages the Lord and His prophets have placed in them for us.
You may want to provide blank copies of the chart for students to use at home. Invite them to come to the next class prepared to share how they have likened scriptures to themselves and how they learned and profited from the experience.
Nephi quoted from the writings of Zenock, Neum, and Zenos. These were prophets of Old Testament times whose prophecies of Jesus Christ were recorded on the brass plates; therefore, we know they lived before 600 BC. They spoke about the life and ministry of the Messiah and the destiny of the house of Israel (see also Helaman 8:19–20). Without the Book of Mormon, we would know nothing about these three prophets or their witnesses of Jesus Christ.