1 Nephi 2:5-7
And he came down by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea; and he did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam. And it came to pass that when he had traveled three days in the wilderness, he pitched his tent in a valley by the side of a river of water. And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God.
When the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness before entering into the land of Canaan the Lord gave them a law referred to as the Law of Moses which required them to offer sacrifices according to a strict order and He also commanded them to build a tabernacle.
When the tabernacle was complete there were priests ordained to offer sacrifice unto the Lord.
"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and unto his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them; This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, saying, What man soever there be of the house of Israel, that killeth and ox, or lamb, or goat, in the camp, or that killeth it out of the camp, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer an offering unto the Lord before the tabernacle of the Lord; blood shall be imputed unto that man; he hath shed blood; and that man shall be cut off from among his people: To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the Lord, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, unto the priest, and offer them for peace offerings unto the Lord. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood upon the altar of the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and burn the fat for a sweet savor unto the Lord....This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations." (Leviticus 17:1 - 7)
The Lord established at this point that if any sacrifices were made according to the Law of Moses it had to be done in the proper place (at this time the tabernacle) and the priests were the ones who had authority to sprinkle the blood and burn the fat.
The Lord was clear that if this order was not followed the person violating this order was to be "cut off from among his people."
This is a serious offense. The Lord was not fooling around.
To be cut off from his people at a minimum would entail an excommunication or being cast out from among his people. In other parts of the scriptures this terminology is also used to signify that they would be killed.
This statute was to be observed by the children of Israel "for ever unto them throughout their generations."
When the children of Israel were about to enter into the land of Canaan the Lord commanded them as follows.
"These are the statutes and judgements, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God. But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come: And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks: And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hands unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord the God hath blessed thee....But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord. And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you. Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest." (Deuteronomy 12:1 - 13)
As we read further in this chapter we can see that provision was given for sacrificing in the several cities of Israel until the Lord appointed a place out of all the tribes to put His name there.
The Levites had no land inheritance because their inheritance was the priesthood or right to officiate in the sacrifices and they were to be supported in all of the several cities of Israel by the the sacrifices that were brought before the Lord.
The provision for offering sacrifice in the several cities continued up to the time that the temple built by King Solomon was completed and dedicated.
"Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the Lord, until those days. And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for there was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night:..." (1 Kings 3:2 - 5)
We can see from the record that up to this point offering of sacrifices in one of the high places was acceptable because when Solomon offered sacrifice there the Lord appeared unto him in a dream.
After this time it was only appropriate, according to the statutes the Lord had given to the children of Israel, to offer sacrifice to the Lord in His appointed house or temple under the authority of the duly ordained priests which came from the tribe of Levi.
Those who offered sacrifices in the "high places" or some place outside the temple or without the attending authorized priests were in violation of these statutes unless, as the Lord provided in Deuteronomy 12, they were unable because of distance to come and sacrifice there. But they still had to have the authorized priests officiate.
Even when the Lord was on the earth, He too was strict to observe the statute to offer up sacrifices at the temple. We have no record that He nor those who believed on Him offered sacrifice anywhere else.
One of the reasons the Jews hated the Samaritans so badly at the time the Lord was on the earth, in addition to being of mixed blood, was because they had offered sacrifice upon the high places instead of in the temple. The Jews had cut the Samaritans off from their people.
The Samaritan woman speaking to Jesus, who she knew was a Jew, said,
"Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." (John 4:20)
All of this is put forward to show that what Lehi (who was only three days journey from Jerusalem and was from the tribe of Manasseh; which tribe had no priesthood authority to officiate in offering sacrifice according to the Law of Moses) is doing by building an altar and offering sacrifice to the Lord is exceedingly inappropriate, according to the Lord's own voice.
Lehi is violating the statutes given by the Lord's own voice in a "high place" UNLESS, unless there is something going on here that would be very important for us look at and maybe come to some understanding.
What could be important for our day to learn from Lehi officiating in building an altar to the Lord in a high place and making an offering unto the Lord?
What is Lehi showing us or rather what is Nephi showing us by inscribing in his record concerning his father officiating in a physical ordinance?
We as a group have taken into serious consideration, a principle the Lord declares in the Book of Mormon that is applicable in this situation and we suppose many more.
"Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all nations of the earth? Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also. And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I can not speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever...For I command all men, both in the east and in the west, and in the north, and in the south, and in the islands of the sea, that they shall write the words which I speak unto them;...For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews and they shall write it; and I shall speak unto the Nephites and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes fo the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth and they shall write it." (2 Nephi 29:7 - 12)
According to the Lord's own words, He is able to speak His words, which we consider also means that He is able to do a work, among many peoples independently and simultaneously.
Just because He has spoken to one people does not mean that He cannot nor will not speak to another people as well.
As Gentiles we are arrogant.
We assume that if the Lord is talking to us He cannot nor will not speak to or do a work with another group of people.
Just like the Jews, we as Gentiles, consider that whatever the Lord has given to us that is all that there is for Him to give.
We consider that we are preeminent in His sight and we cannot nor will not fail to be faithful to Him because we have it all. (Just like the Jews)
We declare that if anyone is going to get anything from the Lord it has to come through us. (Just like the Jews)
Lehi's experience is just one of many examples that the Lord can and does speak to and perform a work with independent people and nations and He can and will do so right in the midst of His words and work with another people.
Even though the Lord led Lehi out of Jerusalem He did not cease to send prophets and invite those in the Holy Land to repent and return to Christ.
The Lord simultaneously did a work and sent His words to Lehi and his family as well as to the Jews.
Among how many kindreds and nations and peoples in the north and in the south and in the east and in the west has and does the Lord now do a work and send His words?
Is the Lord capable of doing many works on the earth simultaneously, even now, that we do not know of?
We believe that when all of the records are brought together from the many many nations the Lord has spoken to, where He has accomplished a work, we will all be astounded at our ignorance of the ability of the Lord to speak to and work among all men simultaneously.
We believe that one of the failings of any group of people that can and does contribute to their apostacy from the Lord is their insistance that they possess all that the Lord can and will give to any people and no one else can or does possess what the Lord has to give.
Therefore, they are special and better than all others and if anyone desires to approach the Lord they must do so through them.
Another principle we must look at in this situation with Lehi is authority.
How does one obtain authority to officiate in ordinances that the Lord has established for the learning and blessing of His children on the earth.
The scriptures are very clear that in order for ordinances to be attended to in righteousness before God, so that they do not prove a cursing, the individuals performing the ordinances must be properly authorized by God to perform them.
How does that happen?
Also, once the authority is given how can that authority be perpetuated?
Lastly, even with authority present does that guarantee that there will be power present from heaven for the ordinance to valid before God?
We have studied all of these things as a group and as this post would be way to long if I shared some of the things we have studied right now I will wait to share on this subject until the next post.
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