"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."
I will admit that there doesn't seem to be a lot to be mined from this scripture, but we mine nonetheless. I have to wonder where Lehi was going to or coming from. I always assumed that Lehi and his family lived outside Jerusalem, if only slightly. That could just be because they have left Jerusalem by the time Nephi and his brothers are sent back for the plates...so when I visualize them going to the city it is always from outside the city walls. The way this verse says at Jerusalem makes me wonder but it really isn't a huge deal in the end. Then Lehi casts himself upon his bed. I have always loved little demonstrations of great men's weakness. I think it makes them more relatable to me. Now I know that Lehi was definitely older than I am, but it is good to see Lehi get exhausted at things like this and need a bit of a break. I know that it is a lot more than just being tired. The word Overcome is a footnote and it has about 6 or 7 great examples of people who have beheld heavenly things and have had no strength to move. Moses seems like one of the most poignant examples when he says "now for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed." This weakening is called transfiguration. It is basically our body being changed into something that wont be ripped apart by the presence of a heavenly being.
Just a few things that this idea presents to me:
- The scriptures talk about the earth being consumed by fire, and I always thought that was a little tasteless. I mean, this world is beautiful and to just burn everything to nothing sounds really wasteful. But if Jesus stepping into a room makes people who aren't protected by the spirit basically burn up to nothing, then it starts to make a little more sense. I don't think it will be a cleansing and then Christ comes, I think it is one fell swoop.
- I wonder if it is something that we are conditioned to. I wonder if the more we have spiritual experienced we build up a tolerance to the presence of spiritual beings. This would me a lot of sense to me. I can't back it up though. Obviously it isn't impossible for young people to see visions (look at Joseph Smith) but it does seem more common to hear of older people...
- I wonder if I have ever felt a small piece of this transfiguration. The scriptural accounts of it definitely talk about it like it has different intensities. Lehi just had to come home and lie down, whereas Moses was stuck on the top of a mountain for a good while. I wonder if that is why Sundays can sometimes feel so sleepy after church. Just thoughts. I can't think of a time that I am convinced I, in some measure, had my energy drained by my spiritual interactions.
I will admit that there doesn't seem to be a lot to be mined from this scripture, but we mine nonetheless. I have to wonder where Lehi was going to or coming from. I always assumed that Lehi and his family lived outside Jerusalem, if only slightly. That could just be because they have left Jerusalem by the time Nephi and his brothers are sent back for the plates...so when I visualize them going to the city it is always from outside the city walls. The way this verse says at Jerusalem makes me wonder but it really isn't a huge deal in the end. Then Lehi casts himself upon his bed. I have always loved little demonstrations of great men's weakness. I think it makes them more relatable to me. Now I know that Lehi was definitely older than I am, but it is good to see Lehi get exhausted at things like this and need a bit of a break. I know that it is a lot more than just being tired. The word Overcome is a footnote and it has about 6 or 7 great examples of people who have beheld heavenly things and have had no strength to move. Moses seems like one of the most poignant examples when he says "now for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed." This weakening is called transfiguration. It is basically our body being changed into something that wont be ripped apart by the presence of a heavenly being.
Just a few things that this idea presents to me:
- The scriptures talk about the earth being consumed by fire, and I always thought that was a little tasteless. I mean, this world is beautiful and to just burn everything to nothing sounds really wasteful. But if Jesus stepping into a room makes people who aren't protected by the spirit basically burn up to nothing, then it starts to make a little more sense. I don't think it will be a cleansing and then Christ comes, I think it is one fell swoop.
- I wonder if it is something that we are conditioned to. I wonder if the more we have spiritual experienced we build up a tolerance to the presence of spiritual beings. This would me a lot of sense to me. I can't back it up though. Obviously it isn't impossible for young people to see visions (look at Joseph Smith) but it does seem more common to hear of older people...
- I wonder if I have ever felt a small piece of this transfiguration. The scriptural accounts of it definitely talk about it like it has different intensities. Lehi just had to come home and lie down, whereas Moses was stuck on the top of a mountain for a good while. I wonder if that is why Sundays can sometimes feel so sleepy after church. Just thoughts. I can't think of a time that I am convinced I, in some measure, had my energy drained by my spiritual interactions.
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