Knowest Thou the Condescension of God?

1 Nephi 11:12 - 23, NC 1 Nephi 3 pars. 8 - 9


And it came to pass that he said unto me, Look. And I looked as if to look upon him and I saw him not, for he had gone from before my presence. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth, and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceeding fair and white. And it came to pass that I saw the Heavens open, and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me, Nephi, what beholdest thou? And I said unto him, A virgin most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. And he said unto me, Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him, I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. And he said unto me, Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the Mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the spirit.

And after she had been carried away in the spirit for the space of a time, the angel spake unto me, saying, Look. And I looked and beheld the virgin again bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me, Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father. Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying, Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying, Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraim, 1 Nefi 3 pars. 8 - 9

And it came to pass that he said unto me, Look. And I looked as if to look upon him and I saw him not, for he had gone from before my presence. And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city Yerushalayim, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Natzeret, and in the city of Natzeret I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. And it came to pass that I saw the Heavens open, and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me, Nefi, what do you behold? And I said unto him, A virgin most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. And he said unto me, Do you know the condescension of Elohim? And I said unto him, I know that he loves his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. And he said unto me, Behold, the virgin whom you see is the Mother of the Son of Elohim, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the spirit.  And after she had been carried away in the spirit for the space of a time, the angel spoke unto me, saying, Look. And I looked and beheld the virgin again bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me, Behold the Lamb of Elohim, yes, even the Son of the Eternal Father. Do you know the meaning of the tree which your father saw? And I answered him, saying, Yes, it is the love of Elohim, which sheds itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spoke unto me, saying, Yes, and the most joyous to the soul.


In order to share my present understanding of the above, pertaining to Nephi's vision, it seems a little easier to have both paragraphs together to consider instead of just one.

In order to be able to present something that was KABOOM! amazing to me the first time I heard it I have to cover something very important in order to share some context.

When the Nephites were in the promised land they began to try and justify themselves in committing adultery through wresting the scriptures to try and condone the practice of polygamy.

Here are the Lord's words through Jacob concerning the matter.

And now my brethren, I have spoken unto you concerning pride. And those of you which have afflicted your neighbor and persecuted him because ye were proud in your hearts of the things which God hath given you, what say ye of it? Do ye not suppose that such things are abominable unto him who created all flesh? And the one being is as precious in his sight as the other. And all flesh is of the dust. And for the selfsame end hath he created them, that they should keep his commandments and glorify him for ever. And now I make an end of speaking unto you concerning this pride. And were it not that I must speak unto you concerning a grosser crime, my heart would rejoice exceedingly because of you. But the word of God burthens me because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people begins to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms because of the things which are written concerning David, and Solomon his son. Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.
Wherefore, thus saith the Lord: I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph. Wherefore, I, the Lord God, will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old. Wherefore, my brethren, hear me and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife, and concubines he shall have none; for I, the Lord God, delighteth in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts. Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.
For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people. Otherwise, they shall hearken unto these things: for behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands. And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts. For they shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction. For they shall not commit whoredoms like unto them of old, saith the Lord of Hosts. (Jacob 2:20 - 33, NC Jacob 2 pars. 6 - 8)

According to the revelation to Jacob, having many wives and concubines is an abomination.

The Lord declared that they were to be removed from the wicked practices of them of old.

What was the Lord's command then?

For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife, and concubines he shall have none;

What about this statement by the Lord?

For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people.

Did the Lord at any time command a people to practice polygamy?

First, let's look at Adam.

And I, the Lord God, caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept. And I took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof. And the rib which I, the Lord God, had taken from man, made I a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This I know now is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man; therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Gen. 2:21-25 Moses 3:21-25, OC Genesis 2 par. 14)

What was the understanding of Adam concerning marriage from the beginning?

What does it mean for a man to cleave unto his wife and unto none else?

Do the scriptures anywhere state that a man should cleave unto his wives?

Why would the scriptures be so plain and emphatic about one man and one woman?

How inclusive is this command for mankind?

How about Adam and Eve's children?

And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of the brow as I, the Lord, had commanded him. And Eve also, his wife, did labor with him. And Adam knew his wife, and she bore unto him sons and daughters, and they began to multiply and to replenish the earth. And from that time forth, the sons and daughters of Adam began to divide two and two in the land, and to till the land, and to tend flocks; and they also begot sons and daughters. (Moses 5:1-3, OC Genesis 3 par. 1)

What does it mean that they divided two and two in the land?

If they were practicing polygamy wouldn't they be dividing up five and twelve or some other number in the land?

Who was the first recorded person to have two or more wives?

And Cain was shut out from the presence of the Lord, and his wife, and many of his brethren, and dwelled in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch; and he also begot many sons and daughters. And he built a city and he called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch. And unto Enoch was born Irad, and other sons and daughters; and Irad begot Mehujael, and other sons and daughters; and Mehujael begot Methusael, and other sons and daughters; and Methusael begot Lamech. And Lamech took unto himself two wives, the name of one being Adah and the name of the other Zillah. And Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and they were keepers of cattle. And his brother’s name was Jubal, who was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bore Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every craftsman in brass and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain was called Naamah. (Gen. 4:16-22
Moses 5:41-46, OC Genesis 3 par. 11)

Shouldn't it be very carefully considered that it was a wicked descendant of Cain who is first recorded to have more than one wife?

How about Abraham and Jacob?

They are used most often to justify polygamy.

Below is a concise explanation of the scriptural history in question with regard to the marriages of the patriarchs.

I still get emails about the marriages of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I got one suggesting the example of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob might justify multiple wife-taking. In response I wrote the following:

Abraham had one wife, Sarah, who was barren.

Sarah wanted a “surrogate” to bear a child for her.The surrogate was not a wife, but a “concubine” for surrogacy.The surrogate bore the child, but did not turn him over to Sarah to raise after weaned. Instead she turned the heart of the child against Sarah.Sarah bore a child, who was unexpected and became the heir.Eventually the surrogate’s son threatened Sarah’s son, and both the surrogate and her son were driven off.Sarah remained the only wife throughout.
The father of Rachel committed fraud to deceive Jacob, resulting in an unwelcome and unintended wife with whom he spent a wedding night that obligated him to keep her as wife.
Jacob overcame the fraud to obtain Rachel, but remained obligated to Leah.
Rachel, his beloved wife, was barren. She also provided a surrogate (concubine) to have a child for her.
Leah bore children, but then ceased to be fertile and also wanted a surrogate (concubine) to bear a child for her.

Isaac had only one wife.

Jacob contracted to wed Rachel.

Jacob intended to have one wife, Rachel. The circumstances produced offspring that were murderously jealous of the son born to the beloved wife. These other siblings conspired to murder Joseph.

There is little lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy in these events and relationships.

D&C 132 was not the revelation Joseph received, and was altered before publication. The original does not exist. We have a purported copy from a store clerk, Joseph Kingsbury, who never acted as scribe for Joseph.

The Nauvoo High Council had the original read to them, and they reported it had nothing to do with modern practice, but was only related to explaining ancient events. ("Old Time Wives' Tales", Denver Snuffer, Denversnuffer.com, May 3, 2019)

I agree with the above.  I do not accept the justification of polygamy using Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Isn't it interesting that the Nephites used David and Solomon's actions to try and justify their desire to practice polygamy instead of Abraham and Jacob?

Did the Nephite's understand what was just stated above concerning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob so they had to look to the actions of Solomon and David to try and justify themselves?

This is a very short explanation of my understanding of the abominations of polygamy.

I believe it is an abomination precisely because I believe that marriage ought to be lovely, of good report, and praiseworthy.

I believe that God created, from the beginning, a man and a woman (Their image) because that is where a fullness of joy can abide.

The words “So God created man in his (God’s) own image,” affirm two points:
First, the plurality of God.
Second, that plurality is a couple that includes both a male and a female. Man is
created in God’s image, and that image is a couple: a man and a woman. This is not
figurative language. It is literally describing mankind having two sexes and that is godlike, or
what God’s own “image” is. ("Our Divine Parents, Denver C Snuffer Jr., pg. 2)

As I understand it, a marriage that resembles Their marriage is the only thing worth preserving into the eternities.

Can it be said concerning your own marriage, that it is not good for the man to be alone? Are the
two of you together, better than what each of you are alone? Is your marriage a source of joy, of
happiness, of contentment, of companionship? The Lord told them to multiply and replenish the
earth. Do you find within your family relationship there is joy, rejoicing and happiness as a
consequence of the environment you and your wife have put together in your home? (40 Years in Mormonism, "#9 Marriage and Family", Denver Snuffer Jr., pg. 282)

Why talk about polygamy, marriage, and the image of God at this point in the Book of Mormon?

It is very important to understand what is right before God in order to see the condescension of God.

What is the very first thing that Nephi is shown after seeing the tree his father, Lehi saw?

Nephi, what beholdest thou? And I said unto him, A virgin most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. And he said unto me, Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him, I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things. And he said unto me, Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the Mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

Remember what the Lord declared to the brother of Jared when the brother of Jared saw His body?

thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood. (Ether 3:6 - 16, NC Ether 1 pars. 12 - 13)

I have mentioned before how we as a little study group believe that every word God gave to Joseph to write in the Book of Mormon He gave them deliberately so that we could come to a clear understanding of things.

What was the deliberate purpose of including these words with respect to Mary in Nephi's vision?

Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the Mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

Why not just say "Behold, the virgin thou seest is the Mother of the Son of God" and end the detail right there?

Why continue in the detail to say, "after the manner of the flesh."?

Could it be reasonably said that the phrase "after the manner of the flesh" for Mary was equal in meaning to "I shall take upon me flesh and blood" for Christ?

We talked about how, given what the scriptures state, Christ had a physical-spiritual body before He condescended to come and take up a temporal physical body of flesh and blood to perform His work of atonement.

Could it be reasonably said of Mary, also because of what the scriptures state, that She also had a mission to perform that required Her to condescend from a physical-spiritual body and take up a temporal physical body of flesh and blood to be the Mother of the Son of God; bringing Christ into this temporal existence to perform His labor for all His creations?

Why is the description of Mary as follows;  A virgin most beautiful and fair above all other virgins?

Why would Mary be described as beautiful and fair above all other virgins?

What would make Mary most beautiful and fair above all other virgins?

Who was Mary?

The angel who descends to continue the vision with Nephi mentions more than one condescension of God and right after this first mention of God's condescension the vision is almost exclusively about Mary.

I would invite you to consider the following.

I agree with what is shared here.  It is my present understanding of who Mary really is.

Of all the Mother’s “fruit” the most valuable to fallen man is without doubt the Redeemer, Christ Jesus. The account of how Jesus Christ came into the world begins with a virgin and an angel. There is more to this than Christians have noticed. The prophecy relied on to identify the birthplace of Christ in Bethlehem continues with a description of His Mother. It was prophesied that only when “she which travaileth hath brought forth; then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.” Because of the labor and travail of His Mother, the prophesy of Israel returning to God was fulfilled. She made His entry into this world possible. The redemption of the remnant is as much the consequence of Her as of Her Son. What was Mary’s role? Who was she? Is it possible she was “the mother of God” before she came into mortality? These are important questions that ought to be asked. If we can learn the answers they would indeed be glorious...

If God the Father obeys the same commandments He imposes upon His children, then for Him to father a child with any woman other than His Wife would violate His decrees about adultery and chastity. Marian theology is largely absent from Mormonism other than to suggest that because the Father impregnated her she is destined to be added to His eternal harem as an additional spouse. Traditional Mormon teachings have been crudely fixated on the mechanics of Mary’s conception. There is almost no interest in whether she has any pre-earth role with the Father, or whether she was the Mother in Heaven, the Divine Spouse of the Father, who condescended to come to earth to bear Their Only Begotten in the flesh. If She were to be acknowledged in that role, it would require a
complete re-envisioning of Her. It would raise the issues of why or how She, an immortal and exalted God, could return from that exalted state back to mortality to bring our Redeemer and Savior into this world. It would draw a contrast between the Father’s involvement with this creation and the Mother’s.
The Father can, and does, acknowledge others as His. But, unlike the Son who has repeatedly visited this earth, walked upon it, been handled by people, and eaten here, the Father does not come into contact with this earth in its fallen state. The only time the Father had contact with this earth
was before the Fall, in the Paradisiacal setting of Eden—which was a Temple at the time. Whenever there has been contact with the Father thereafter, He has been at a distance from this earth. There is a formality with the Father that does not exist with the Son. For example, the Son has eaten with mortal man while He was immortal, both before His ministry in the flesh64 and after.65 As our Redeemer, He is directly responsible for us and has contact with us to perform His redemptive service. The Father, on the other hand, is different in status, responsibility, glory and dominion. The Son can appear to mortal man without showing His glory or requiring any alteration of the mortal who
beholds Him. To behold the Father, to endure His presence, one must be transfigured. Mortal man cannot behold the Father’s works while mortal, for if you comprehend them you cannot afterward remain mortal in the flesh. 
That is taken from pages 383-387 of Removing the Condemnation, and includes the footnotes.
Like this description of the Son, the same description should apply to His Mother. The Father is the source of glory and likened to the sun. The Mother reflects and shares this glory, and is likened to the moon. She reflects God’s glory, endures within it and is empowered by it. She can participate with Him in all that is done wielding that glory. “Knowledge” is the initiator or force, and “wisdom” is the regulator, guide, apportioner and weaver of that power. If not tempered and guided by wisdom, knowledge can be destructive.  Wisdom makes the prudent adaptations required for order. The Father and Mother are One. But the Mother bridges the gulf between the Throne of the Father and fallen man. She made it possible for the Son of God to enter this fallen world for the salvation of everything in it...

The Book of Mormon gives an extended description of Mary, the Mother of God. In the original translation text the words “mother of God” were used, but was changed by Joseph Smith in 1837 to “mother of the Son of God.” Here is how it reads following that change:
And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white. And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and
stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou? And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins. And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the
meaning of all things. And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

Most who read this passage interpret the “condescension” reference solely as Christ’s. They view it as Christ alone who condescended by being borne of Mary here in mortality. However, when leading up to the angel’s question, “Knowest thou the condescension of God,” the text focuses exclusively on Mary. When the angel clarified the “condescension,” he again focused primarily on Mary and secondarily on Her Son. The angel explained, “Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh. And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father!”
Who would you reasonably expect to be the woman chosen before this world was organized to become the mortal Mother of the Lord? Who would you expect Heavenly Father would want to bear His child, if not His Spouse? Together God the Father and Mary can be acknowledged as the Parents of Christ. The scriptures shift the focus of the “condescension” from Christ, to His Mother, and then back to Her Son, “the seed of the woman. ("Our Divine Parents," Denver Snuffer Jr., 2018, pgs. 12 - 18)

Please carefully consider these things.

Please do not just dismiss them out of hand because they are different than what is in the institutional traditions.

Here is light, exceedingly bright. Please, if you do not understand or accept these things right now put them on the shelf and search and ponder other matters and continue to compare what has been shared with what you learn.

Please consider this from Joseph as you consider these things.

When things that are of the greatest importance are passed over by the weak-minded men without even a thought, I want to see truth in all its bearings and hug it to my bosom. I believe all that God ever revealed, and I never hear of a man being damned for believing too much; but they are damned for unbelief. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 374)

What I have copied above is just a tiny part of the talk "Our Divine Parents" that is online for free as a downloadable PDF at Denversnuffer.com

I invite everyone to read the entire talk and get an understanding of just who our Divine Parents are and to what extent they are involved with us down in this fallen world.

They are not distant.

Now I understand, because of these things, why the tree in Lehi's vision was so important.

My present understanding of the tree "the love of God" is that it is a representation of the condescension of God the Father and God the Mother.

God the Father allowed His wife to descend from Her throne above to come down into mortality to bring into this fallen world Their Son to be the Savior.

God the Mother condescended to come.

What kind of love do our Heavenly Parents have for all the children of men to do such a thing?

Their fruit, the fruit of the tree, as I understand it presently, is Christ.

Christ the Redeemer is the "fruit" that is most valuable to fallen man.

What Christ has accomplished makes partaking of salvation possible, which is sweet above all that is sweet.

Christ's works sanctify those who partake until they are white above all that is white.

What has been brought forth through the condescension of God the Father, God the Mother, and God the Son is most joyous to the soul.

Now I understand why Lehi and others who had partaken of the fruit could only beckon to others to come and partake.

It is impossible to transport the fruit brought forth through the condescension of our Heavenly Parents to give it to another.

Everyone who will partake must come forward themselves and approach the tree, our Gods' condescension, in order to partake.

If it is correct to understand the tree as a symbol of our Heavenly Parents, does that make it more meaningful that Lehi saw those who came and fell down before the tree and partook of the fruit?

What would that symbolize?

If it is correct to understand the tree as a symbol of our Heavenly Parents and their condescension, does that make the tree a symbol of something that pertains far beyond this mortal life?

All of this brings up so many questions and so many possibilities.

Isn't that one of the purposes of the scriptures; to bring up questions so that we ponder and ask God for understanding?

Isn't that what Nephi did and taught his brothers that they must do?

As inadequate as this blog is for bringing up these things that are in the Book of Mormon I do sincerely hope that maybe some of the things shared here will inspire inquiry and searching.

I hope that probable skepticism of what is shared in this blog would empower folks to search the scriptures and ask God so that they can come to their own understanding of things and then share their understanding with me.

I can't see anything but good coming from such a transaction of ideas even if they are different.

What an exceedingly marvelous event Nephi is beginning to see in this vision.