¿Qué deseas tú?

1 Nephi 11

I was having a hard time focusing my thoughts this morning so I proceeded to study in Spanish. As Christmas day is just around the corner, I sought out something to get me in the spirit of the season.

A pivotal question is posted to Nephi at the very beginning of this miraculous exchange: “What desirest thou?” ( vs. 2 ) It is repeated again a few verses later in verse 10. Why was Nephi’s intent being assessed? ( I am still pondering the answer to this )

Nephi first desires to see what his father saw. In response, the angel shows him the Tree of Life which his father saw. Then when the angel inquired again, Nephi then desired to know the meaning of the tree, and suddenly he is seeing things that Lehi did not see. He sees more than what Lehi recounted.


A few other insights that stood out to me as I reviewed the first part of this chapter:

  • The Spirit of the Lord was with Mary with her throughout her pregnancy.
  • Nephi is feeling the love of God when he sees Mary holding the infant Savior in her arms. It’s impossible to express in words what he is feeling, but the angel does ask Nephi if he understands the meaning of the tree. Nephi’s response is “It is the love of God.”
  • How could anyone believe that Joseph Smith could have made this up? Get the Spirit of the Lord in your heart, and you will know that this is not the invention of a man.
  • What testimony does this give about the importance of the family unit, that even Christ himself was born of a mother and nurtured in a home with a father and mother present?

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