pgs. 20 and 21...Look and behold the condescension of God!

9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is ^aprecious above all.

10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou?

11 And I said unto him: To know the ^ainterpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the ^bform of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.

12 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.

13 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 ^aNazareth I beheld a ^bvirgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

14 And it came to pass that I saw the ^aheavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the ^acondescension of God?

17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

18 And he said unto me: Behold, the ^avirgin whom thou seest is the ^bmother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

19 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 ^aSpirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a ^achild in her arms.

21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the ^aLamb of God, yea, even the ^bSon of the Eternal ^cFather! Knowest thou the meaning of the ^dtree which thy father saw?

22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the ^alove of God, which ^bsheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the ^cmost desirable above all things.

23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most ^ajoyous to the soul.

24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God ^agoing forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.

25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the ^arod of iron, which my father had seen, was the ^bword of God, which ^cled to the fountain of ^dliving waters, or to the ^etree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the ^acondescension of God!

27 And I looked and ^abeheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the ^bprophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was ^cbaptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a ^ddove.

28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in ^apower and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.

29 And I also beheld ^atwelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were ^bcarried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw ^aangels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them.

31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were ^asick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with ^bdevils and ^cunclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were ^dhealed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.

32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was ^ataken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was ^bjudged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was ^alifted up upon the cross and ^bslain for the sins of the world.

34 And after he was slain I saw the multitudes of the earth, that they were gathered together to ^afight against the apostles of the Lamb; for thus were the twelve called by the angel of the Lord.

35 And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious ^abuilding, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to ^bfight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

36 And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the ^apride of the world; and it ^bfell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.


I am touched by the response Nephi gives to the angel in verse 17..."I know that He (God) loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." This shows me that the most important thing we all need to know is that God loves us and we are His children. And, once again, it shows me that Nephi's faith is remarkable.

I have been told that the details of the condescension of God are hotly contested at divinity schools and by religious scholars. I have read a few articles on the subject. I feel like I should include the following quotes from Bruce R. McConkie that have helped me understand this subject better.

“Jesus is the Son of God, not of the Holy Ghost. Just as Jesus is literally the Son of Mary, so he is the personal and literal offspring of God the Eternal Father, who himself is an exalted personage having a tangible body of flesh and bones. (D. & C. 130:22.) Apostate religionists—unable to distinguish between the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—falsely suppose that the Holy Ghost was the Father of our Lord. Matthew’s statement, ‘she was found with child of the Holy Ghost,’ properly translated should say, ‘she was found with child by the power of the Holy Ghost.’ (Matt. 1:18.) Luke’s account (Luke 1:35) accurately records what took place. Alma perfectly describes our Lord’s conception and birth by prophesying: Christ ‘shall be born of Mary, . . . she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.’ (Alma 7:10.) Nephi spoke similarly when he said that at the time of her conception, Mary ‘was carried away in the Spirit,’ with the result that the child born of her was ‘the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father.’ (1 Ne. 11:19–21.) As Gabriel told Luke, he was the ‘Son of the Highest’ (Luke 1:32), and ‘the Highest’ is the first member of the godhead, not the third” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1:82–83).

“The condescension of God (meaning the Father) consists in the fact that though he is an exalted, perfected, glorified Personage, he became the personal and literal Father of a mortal Offspring born of mortal woman. And the condescension of God (meaning the Son) consists in the fact that though he himself is the Lord Omnipotent, the very Being who created the earth and all things that in it are, yet being born of mortal woman, he submitted to all the trials of mortality, suffering ‘temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death’ (Mosiah 3:5–8), finally being put to death in a most ignominious manner” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 155).