Everyone, take 3 minutes and watch this video.

http://www.raisingsmallsouls.com/wp-content/themes/animal_school.swf

And remember that the key as always is in application.  This is  mainly about wordly education but the application jump is easy to the Gospel, Church, etc… We are all children of God afterall.  I was going to embed it, but that costs $49!!! for such a short video…  Enjoy

The following is a little piece of a chapter out of Gileadis last days types and shadows discussing the nature of these terms in Nephis writings…I consider the Book required reading, however here is another a link to chapter 2 in its entirety.

The Terms Great, Marvelous, and Work

In the end, Nephi’s description of the Lord’s “great and^‘ marvelous work” helped me to gain a wealth of understanding. I began to see Nephi’s expression in a new light as I analyzed other examples of these terms throughout the Book of Mormon.

First of all, I found that the words great, marvelous, and work appear both alone and in combinations—such as “great work” and “marvelous work” or in describing something “great and marvelous?’ It soon became clear that these words are not used randomly, nor as hyperbole—as words are, for example, in Eng­lish when we describe a thing as “wonderful,” whether it really is or not. On the contrary, Book of Mormon prophet-writers use the terms great, marvelous, and work definitively and with purposeful intent. Other Book of Mormon passages containing those terms, I discovered, reveal much of what Nephi means when he predicts the great and marvelous work in 1 Nephi 14:7.

Because Book of Mormon prophets saw our day, and because they wrote for us, they included in their writings what would be of most worth for us to know. Coming from a meticu­lous ancient scribal tradition, writing with difficulty on metal plates, they made every word say what they wanted it to. According to their typological mindset, so characteristic of all the holy prophets, “what has been shall be” constituted a manner of prophesying (compare Eccl. 1:9; 3 Nephi 23:3). What was past, they invariably used as a type of the future; and what was future they described in terms of the past. Such an ap­proach to prophecy placed them under constraint to use lan­guage consistently. That consistency with words gave the reader a proper sense of what the future might hold. It linked the past and the future in one continuum.

In many instances, for example, Book of Mormon prophets speak of great and marvelous works of the Lord—using those terms. The past works they so describe, by their very nature and by design of the prophets who recounted them, provide a frame of reference for any future work they describe as great and mar­velous. Thus, a key to the great and marvelous work of the last days—its nature and timing—is given in the Book of Mormon in the very way its authors use those words. By analyzing the terms great, marvelous, and work in the Book of Mormon, therefore, we can piece together a comprehensive picture of what that event is all about.

First of all, Nephi himself employs these terms often. To him, whether a great and marvelous work of the Lord occurs in the past or in the future, certain characteristics identify it as such and thus merit that description. By examining past great and marvelous works that Nephi describes, then, we gain a clearer idea of the work that he predicts for the future.

Other Book of Mormon prophet-writers, such as Mormon and Moroni, too, were careful to use descriptive language con­sistently. Like Nephi’s, their writings furnish the reader with a pattern of great and marvelous works of the Lord. The Lord’s destruction of the wicked in a day of judgment, for example, and the simultaneous deliverance and restoration of the righ­teous, comprise two prominent events throughout the Book of Mormon that are a part of “a great and a marvelous work.”

Additional insights into the Lord’s great and marvelous work come from the Doctrine and Covenants. In that book, a prophet-writer, Joseph Smith, also uses these terms definitively and consistently. This further helps establish what the scriptures mean by the Lord’s great and marvelous work. It soon becomes apparent, for example, that this “work” is a great culminating work of the last days, that it comes as a climax and finale to the gospel’s restoration. The great and marvelous work includes the restoration of the gospel but also much that is yet to come. Specifically, when the scriptures speak of the restoration of the gospel, they define it as the “beginning,” the “commencement;’ or the “foundation” of the Lord’s work (see 3 Nephi 21:7; Morm 3:17, 21; D&C 64:33). The restoration of the gospel thus “com­mences” the prophesied great and marvelous work, though the work’s larger fulfillment may yet be future.

By means of such rhetorical analysis, I found that the Book of Mormon locates the main scenario of the great and marvelous work in the last days, sometime after the gospel’s restoration. But before detailing that analysis, let us look at the structural evidence. Let’s examine the way in which Nephi organizes his material.

This Chapter, using the Names of the Laman and Lemuel.  From Book of Mormon history we can get a pretty good feel of who these guys are.

Off the top of my head:

• They are covenant people
• They are prideful and stubborn, stiffnecked
• They love their riches, the things of the world
• They forfeit the birthright
• They murmur about their trials in the wilderness
• They are the chief persecutor of the servant, beating him and tying him up, seeking his life
• The reject the fullness of the Gospel (good fruit)

In my uneducated opinion this sounds like prideful, stubborn and worldly Ephraim since the beginning.  Though, it could also just been seen as a type of ALL people who reject the message of the Gospel in favor of more smooth things of the world.  Using Laman and Lemuel then as the type for fallen Israel, mongrel Israel who forfeit the birthright, Gentile Israel who reject the fullness of the Gospel and do not repent.

He first reiterates the same promise to them as was given to Joseph, “^aInasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.”  Just showing that God will give to all those who repent, even the Gentile who wants nothing to do with his promise.

Then Lehi does something interesting.  Remember that at this time Lamanite and Nephite don’t exist, they are lehites.  Indeed, the “lamanites” are coming here to talk to Lehi, showing that the groups had not been separated, yet Lehi says to them;

“I know that if ye are ^bbrought up in the ^cway ye should go ye will not depart from it. Wherefore, if ye are ^acursed, behold, I leave my blessing upon you, that the ^bcursing may be taken from you and be answered upon the ^cheads of your parents. Wherefore, because of my blessing the Lord God will ^anot suffer that ye shall perish; wherefore, he will be ^bmerciful unto you and unto your seed forever.”

A curse?  Is this merely prophetic of the soon to happen cursing of this people?  Or is it included in this form to tell us something?  That is the point of this blog, so we are running with personal application.  Having grown up in a time, as Nephi and Moroni predicted, when the teachings of men mingled with scripture are polluting the holy church of God.  I think it quite relevant to us to state that if we “are ^bbrought up in the ^cway ye should go ye will not depart from it.”  Indeed if we were, but we ain’t.  Much seeking and learning as individuals is required to find that way.  But, as the DC shows us, we have been cursed.  We are under condemnation and Zion is scattered from the land of its inheritance.  Lehi promises us though that we can have that curse removed, and have the sins of our fathers answered upon their heads instaed of our won.  WE can rid our garments and accept the way we should go.

Lehi then says virtually the same things to Lemuel’s kids and Ishmaels and closes his thoughts, tying them all into the same group  He then dies and we are left with a narrative to describe the events immediately surrounding the exodus of Nephi, having had the principle parties spelled out for us.

Nephi goes to the fallen covenant people right off,

“I, Nephi, was constrained to speak unto them, according to his word; for I had spoken many things unto them, and also my father, before his death; many of which sayings are written upon mine ^aother plates; for a more history part are written upon mine other plates.”

He then tells us of the necessity of scriptures, and tells us that the servant not only read and ponders them, but writes his own;

“And upon ^athese I ^bwrite the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass. For my soul ^cdelighteth in the scriptures, and my heart ^dpondereth them, and writeth them for the ^elearning and the profit of my children. Behold, my ^asoul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my ^bheart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.”

He then uses that key word, which Gileadi has explained for us, to reflect to us the events sourounding the restoration of the house of Israel and the servant who perfoms it;

“Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great ^agoodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works…“

The use of these words is integral and not by accident.  I will post a part of a chapter on the subject from Brother Gileadi after this post for further reading, the whole article can be found in here.

After turning our minds to the events at hand, and telling us that they relate to the Great and Marvelous we will see, Nephi wails a bit about his sufferings, throughout the rest of the chapter.  HE relays his frustrations and His worry of his sins.  HE cries that the Lord will deliver His people from His enemies.  Nephi is giving us a type of the suffering servant.  He is struggling with his inability to accomplish all that he wants and is called to do.  HE has confronted those of fallen Israel, and they have rejected his words.  He worries that he is inadequate for the calling.  HE is a man of sorrows acquainted with grief.

Into chapter 5 the events reach their climax, “their ^aanger did increase against me, insomuch that they did seek to take away my life.”  Bu this time, though beaten and trodden down, this servant is not killed, the enemy does not succeed.

What is their complaint against him?  “Our younger brother thinks to ^arule over us; and we have had much trial because of him; wherefore, now let us slay him, that we may not be afflicted more because of his words. For behold, we will not have him to be our ruler; for it belongs unto us, who are the elder brethren, to ^brule over this people.”

This account gives me chills in its application.  Here we have the Servant of God, the younger brother going before the elders,  He has told them of their problems frankly.  And from their words here we see that they think that he want s to rule over them.  HE has been given that right, and they, the “brethren” or the “Elders” who rule over this people have been removed from their post, though the refuse to admit it.  I don’t feel that these terms are used on accident.  Described for us plainly here is series of events that will surround the removal of the remnant from the rest of the people.  The elders of that people will refuse the servant whose right it is to rule and seek to take his life.

But the Lord delivers them;

And it came to pass that the Lord did ^awarn me, that I, ^bNephi, should depart from them and flee into the wilderness, and all those who would go with me.  Wherefore, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did take my family, and also ^aZoram and his family, and Sam, mine elder brother and his family, and Jacob and Joseph, my younger brethren, and also my sisters, and all those who would go with me. And all those who would go with me were those who believed in the ^bwarnings and the revelations of God; wherefore, they did hearken unto my words.  And we did take our tents and whatsoever things were possible for us, and did journey in the wilderness for the space of many days. And after we had journeyed for the space of many days we did pitch our tents.  And my people would that we should call the name of the place ^aNephi; wherefore, we did call it Nephi.  And all those who were with me did take upon them to call themselves the ^apeople of Nephi.

So, the manner of revelation is set out.  A servant receives the word of the Lord, and all those that would go with him, who “were those who believed in the ^bwarnings and the revelations of God”, and the people follow.  Namely, those of adotped Israel (Zoram) and those of pure blood brethren to the servant (Sam) and all of the house of Israel (Jacob and Joseph) and even all those who are of pure heart (sisters   ).

And who is left out? the rest of the World, those of the wicked old world and all of the covenant people too who reject the gospel when it is given to them, stay at home in the world.  The people of God leave to their tents in the wilderness and the rest dwindle in unbelief.   We could likely go on in our analysis, but I think the series has run its course.  the second exodus of the Book of Mormon in as many books is concluded and rife with rich symbolism to tell us of the events which we are soon facing.