Recently I had a friend ask me the question, why is it that Nephi should make particular mention of his stature? It is difficult to engrave things on plates, and he does it twice, so it must be important. Here are some scriptures that helped me gain a better understanding of this.
First of all, my friend suggested that perhaps people in Old Testament times viewed stature as an indication of spirituality, as in the case of Saul the king:
"...Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people."
(1 Samuel 9:2)
This may have been the case, but when David is anointed to be king after Saul, the Lord is very clear that stature does not indicate spirituality:
"...the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;... for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
(1 Samuel 16:7)
And yet, we find in the New Testament some indication that stature could be a symbolic way of referring to someone's spiritual strength:
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."
(Luke 2:52)
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ"
(Ephesians 4:13)
Thus, at least in some sense, stature or height is used to represent the spiritual heights obtained by man.
I believe Nephi also meant that he was literally taller and stronger than most people his age. The first time he mentions his height, it seems to be to indicate that, although he was young in years, he was very mature:
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers."
(1 Nephi 2:16)
The second time is to explain some of his feats:
"And now I, Nephi, being a man large in stature, and also having received much strength of the Lord, therefore I did seize upon the servant of Laban, and held him, that he should not flee."
(1 Nephi 4:31)
This is similar to Mormon mentioning his own height:
"And notwithstanding I being young, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me that I should be their leader, or the leader of their armies."
(Mormon 2:1)
Mormon was 16 when he was appointed chief captain. There is no way seasoned warriors would follow a 16 year old boy unless he were remarkably strong for his age. He was also strong with the Spirit, as we know from reading his words.
Another example of this:
"Now it was the custom among all the Nephites to appoint for their chief captains,... some one that had the spirit of revelation and also prophecy"
(3 Nephi 3:19)
But you can be sure that they were also great warriors.
Nephi, "being exceedingly young", was still able to hold onto a grown man and keep him from running at all. Consider also some of the things that Nephi accomplished on this particular trip to Jerusalem. When they first arrived, they immediately made enemies of Laban, the captain of the guard. They tried to bribe him to give up the plates, but to no avail. After this they had to hide "in the cavity of a rock," (1 Nephi 3:27) whereupon Nephi's older brothers started to beat him with a rod. Although an angel stopped them eventually, I'm sure this was uncomfortable. But, not stopping for rest, Nephi went straight back to Jerusalem after the plates. Finding Laban in the street, he still had enough strength to cut off his head. Then after that he had the encounter with Zoram mentioned before. So Nephi carried a whole ton of gold, ran fast enough to get away from Laban's guards, got beat with a rod, cut off Laban's head, all likely within a 24 hour period, and still had strength left to stop Zoram from running away. Nephi doesn't want to call attention to himself, but I think that's pretty impressive.
Since I think Nephi is really awesome, I will also share with you some other things about him. Nephi, upon finding Laban's sword, remarks that "the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel." (1 Nephi 4:9) How did he know this? Later, when in the land Bountiful, Nephi is commanded by the Lord to build a ship. The first thing he asks is not 'what tools do I need,' but "whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship"? (1 Nephi 17:9). Nephi is shown as being rather adept at making tools: "I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts" (1 Nephi 17:11). All he says is that he "did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock." (1 Nephi 17:16). Though he does not call attention to himself, I believe that Nephi was a rather accomplished blacksmith, which may have contributed to his being "large in stature."
Once in the promised land, Nephi "did take the sword of Laban, and after the manner of it did make many swords,...
And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores"
(2 Nephi 5:14–15)
I think Nephi is a pretty neat guy, and we can learn lots of things from his example in the Book of Mormon. When you read the Book of Mormon, look for things like this about the other prophets. And when you find them, make sure to share; you are likely to uplift others with your testimony.
First of all, my friend suggested that perhaps people in Old Testament times viewed stature as an indication of spirituality, as in the case of Saul the king:
"...Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people."
(1 Samuel 9:2)
This may have been the case, but when David is anointed to be king after Saul, the Lord is very clear that stature does not indicate spirituality:
"...the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;... for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
(1 Samuel 16:7)
And yet, we find in the New Testament some indication that stature could be a symbolic way of referring to someone's spiritual strength:
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."
(Luke 2:52)
"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ"
(Ephesians 4:13)
Thus, at least in some sense, stature or height is used to represent the spiritual heights obtained by man.
I believe Nephi also meant that he was literally taller and stronger than most people his age. The first time he mentions his height, it seems to be to indicate that, although he was young in years, he was very mature:
"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers."
(1 Nephi 2:16)
The second time is to explain some of his feats:
"And now I, Nephi, being a man large in stature, and also having received much strength of the Lord, therefore I did seize upon the servant of Laban, and held him, that he should not flee."
(1 Nephi 4:31)
This is similar to Mormon mentioning his own height:
"And notwithstanding I being young, was large in stature; therefore the people of Nephi appointed me that I should be their leader, or the leader of their armies."
(Mormon 2:1)
Mormon was 16 when he was appointed chief captain. There is no way seasoned warriors would follow a 16 year old boy unless he were remarkably strong for his age. He was also strong with the Spirit, as we know from reading his words.
Another example of this:
"Now it was the custom among all the Nephites to appoint for their chief captains,... some one that had the spirit of revelation and also prophecy"
(3 Nephi 3:19)
But you can be sure that they were also great warriors.
Nephi, "being exceedingly young", was still able to hold onto a grown man and keep him from running at all. Consider also some of the things that Nephi accomplished on this particular trip to Jerusalem. When they first arrived, they immediately made enemies of Laban, the captain of the guard. They tried to bribe him to give up the plates, but to no avail. After this they had to hide "in the cavity of a rock," (1 Nephi 3:27) whereupon Nephi's older brothers started to beat him with a rod. Although an angel stopped them eventually, I'm sure this was uncomfortable. But, not stopping for rest, Nephi went straight back to Jerusalem after the plates. Finding Laban in the street, he still had enough strength to cut off his head. Then after that he had the encounter with Zoram mentioned before. So Nephi carried a whole ton of gold, ran fast enough to get away from Laban's guards, got beat with a rod, cut off Laban's head, all likely within a 24 hour period, and still had strength left to stop Zoram from running away. Nephi doesn't want to call attention to himself, but I think that's pretty impressive.
Since I think Nephi is really awesome, I will also share with you some other things about him. Nephi, upon finding Laban's sword, remarks that "the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel." (1 Nephi 4:9) How did he know this? Later, when in the land Bountiful, Nephi is commanded by the Lord to build a ship. The first thing he asks is not 'what tools do I need,' but "whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship"? (1 Nephi 17:9). Nephi is shown as being rather adept at making tools: "I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts" (1 Nephi 17:11). All he says is that he "did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock." (1 Nephi 17:16). Though he does not call attention to himself, I believe that Nephi was a rather accomplished blacksmith, which may have contributed to his being "large in stature."
Once in the promised land, Nephi "did take the sword of Laban, and after the manner of it did make many swords,...
And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores"
(2 Nephi 5:14–15)
I think Nephi is a pretty neat guy, and we can learn lots of things from his example in the Book of Mormon. When you read the Book of Mormon, look for things like this about the other prophets. And when you find them, make sure to share; you are likely to uplift others with your testimony.
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