In this chapter, Nephi sees an extended version of his father's vision of the tree of life. After he beholds the tree and testifies that is indeed "precious above all" (vs. 9), the Spirit commands him to look and behold the virgin Mary. First off, "precious above all" is a bold statement. We read that and think, "of course it is, this is the love of God" but in our day to day activities, is it really more precious than all? More precious than....whatever I had planned? That is not to say that we neglect our lives or other interests, but perhaps there is a way to devote the entirety of our lives to worship and faith. Whenever something starts to seem really important (or urgent, which is even worse), step back and remember what is really the most precious.
So in verse 13 he sees and verse 15 describes his vision of the virgin Mary: "A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins." In verse 18, the Spirit tells him that he is beholding the mother of the Son of God. Reading that verse today really struck me. Nephi might have cried. Think about it, he has faith the Lord will come, but no one knows when. He's not even around when Samuel the Lamanite starts to give a time frame, it's just sometime in the future; kind of how we are with his second coming. And here, he has a vision of the Savior's birth. I am a visual person. I also long to see the Lord's face more than any other thing. If I were granted a vision of Him coming again, it would make me cry. How lucky he must have felt to see the virgin bearing a child in her arms (vs 20).
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