The Man in the White Robe
I recently read 1 Nephi 8 again. In this reading the “man”
in a “white robe” stood out more than it ever had. Who was the man in the white
robe? Was he Christ? Was he an angel? Was he a devil? Was he something else?
For whatever reason, I had an itch to find out if the text in the BofM
supported an argument for who that man was. I believe the BofM supports the
argument that the man in the white robe was Christ.
In this quick doc. I’ll explore the different possibilities
of who the man in white is, and why Christ is the most likely person. After we
explore who the man in the white robe is, I will talk about some of the
implications of what we can pull from the text with the understanding that the
man is Christ.
“WHITE ROBE” USAGE
IN THE SCRIPTURES
In the scriptures, white robes are only associated with divine, heavenly messengers. Nephi, in his
vision, saw a man in a white robe. “And I looked and beheld a man, and he was
dressed in a white robe. And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve
apostles of the Lamb.”[1]
Jesus Christ appeared to the Nephites clothed in a white robe.[2]
When Moroni[3]
appeared to Joseph Smith he was wearing a white robe. Joseph Smith points out
that Moroni’s robe was “exceedingly white.”[4]
Interestingly, outside of the Book of Mormon (and BofM
related people) the white robe is only found in Revelation.[5]
“What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I
said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came
out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve
him day and night in his temple.”[6]
White robes were given to the Martyrs that were “slain for the word of God, and
for the testimony which they held.”[7]
Because the description of “white robe” is only associated
with heavenly messengers sent from God, we can more strongly infer that the man
who appeared to Lehi in a white robe was divine, and not the devil disguised as
an angel of light.[8]
1 NEPHI 8:4-11
(2013 edition of the Book of Mormon)
“for behold, methought I
saw in my dream, a dark and dreary wilderness.
And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he was dressed in
a white robe; and he came and stood before me.
And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me
follow him.
And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself
that I was in a dark and dreary waste.
And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in
darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me,
according to the multitude of his tender mercies.
And it came to pass after I had prayed
unto the Lord I beheld a large and spacious field.
And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.
And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most
sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit
thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that
I had ever seen.”
THEMES FROM 1 NEPHI 8:4-11
- Lehi finds himself in darkness
- While Lehi is in the darkness, a man in a white robe appears
- The man in the white robe stood before Lehi
- The man in the white robe speaks to Lehi
- The man in the white robe “bade”[9] Lehi to follow him
- After Lehi followed the man in the white robe, the man in the white robe disappears[10], and Lehi finds himself in darkness again
- Lehi prays unto the Lord for mercy
- After Lehi’s prayer, he sees a large and spacious field
- After he sees the large and spacious field he sees a tree with fruit desirable to make one happy.
- The fruit of the tree was white than any whiteness ever seen, and sweet than anything ever tasted
.
1 NEPHI 11 AS A
POSSIBILITY OF UNDERSTANDING WHO THE MAN IS:
3 Nephi 11 allows us to draw parallels between the two
texts. There are many similarities between both Lehi and Nephi’s visions. These
similarities allow us to infer from the text that the man in the white robe
that Lehi saw may be the same Spirit that Lehi saw. However, there are also
many differences between the two, which weaken the argument that Nephi’s vision
can be used as a text to discover the identity of the man in the white robe in
Lehi’s vision. I’ve listed the similarities and the differences below:
Similarities between Lehi & Nephi’s vision:
6.
Nephi sees the interpretation of the tree that
Lehi saw, and that it was desirable above all things and joyous to the soul[16]
7.
Nephi sees that the tree is desirable above all
things and joyous to the soul
Differences between Lehi & Nephi’s vision:
- Nephi never finds himself in darkness.
- Nephi refers to his messenger as “spirit”[18] instead of man. Nephi also makes very clear that this is not an earthly man.[19]
- Nephi does not describe the clothing that the Spirit was wearing.
- Nephi never says that the Spirit stood before him. Though, it appears that the Spirit possibly had this capability.[20]
- Nephi saw the tree while the Spirit was still in his presence[21]
- Nephi did not find himself in darkness when the Spirit disappeared
- Nephi does not pray when the Spirit disappears
- A second heavenly messenger appears after the Spirit leaves
I think there are two facts that weaken the argument that
the Spirit in Lehi’s vision is the man in Lehis vision: first, that Nephi
probably wrote the two texts in a very close timeframe; and second, that Nephi
uses the word “spirit” instead of “man.”
The proximity of time between the reception of the two visions suggests that if the two
messengers in the respective visions were the same, they would be described in
similar terms. If we argue that Nephi wrote the text contemporaneously with his
life, the text suggests a close proximity in time between Lehi and Nephi’s
visions.[22]
If the Spirit in Nephi’s vision was the same as the man in Lehi’s vision, why
wouldn’t Nephi describe him in a similar way? Did Nephi see something in his
messenger that Lehi did not notice? It would seem likely that if these were the
same messengers, considering the proximity of the time between the two visions,
that Nephi would describe is messenger in a similar way. Nephi, however, does
not describe his first messenger like the man in the white robe in Lehi’s
vision.[23]
Because Nephi uses a different description, it seems clear that Nephi is not
linking the two messengers together, or that they are not the same messenger.
It is even more improbable that the messenger in Lehi &
Nephi’s vision is one in the same if Nephi carefully constructed this text 30 years
later.[24]
If Nephi carefully constructed this text with a purpose, then the fact that the
two messengers are described with such great differences suggests that Nephi
wants to separate the messengers.[25]
Whatever motive Nephi may have in distinguishing the messengers is irrelevant
to the issue at hand, because it is clear that Nephi wants us to know that the
two messengers are different.
Because the two messengers in Lehi and Nephi’s visions are
described with almost irreconcilable differences, coupled with the other
differences between the visions, it is hard to use 1 Nephi 11 to support the
argument that the Man in the white robe is the “Spirit of the Lord.”
If, we disregard the differences and only focus on the
similarities, then we can argue that the man in the white robe is the “Spirit
of the Lord.”[26]
However, this fact does not help us very much in understanding who the man in
the white robe is because the phrase “Spirit of the Lord” is ambiguous. The
phrase “Spirit of the Lord” can refer to either the Holy Ghost, or the
pre-mortal Christ.[27]
Interpretations on this phrase strongly favor the possibility that the Spirit
of the Lord is the Holy Ghost.[28]
I have not undertaken a critical examination of the phrase “Spirit of the Lord”
in the BofM, but another has, and has concluded that it references the Holy
Ghost. [29]However,
there is an argument that the Spirit is the pre-mortal Christ.[30]
Because the text is ambiguous in this instance, if we assume that the man in
the white robe is the Spirit of the Lord, then, we can infer that the man is
either the Holy Ghost or Christ. This narrows it down to two people, but we are
still left wondering whether the man is Christ or the Holy Ghost?
SOME POSSIBILITIES
FOR WHO THIS MAN IS:
- Holy Ghost- Not likely. See discussion in the 1 Nephi 11.
- An apostle of the Lamb[31]-This is a possibility. Like the man in Lehi’s vision, the apostle of the Lamb that was chosen to write the remainder of the dream was described as a “man, and he was dressed in a white robe.”[32] This seems to describe the man in Lehi’s dream exactly. The problem with this theory, however, is the same conundrum that we get from the Holy Ghost theory.[33] If the man was a spirit, wouldn’t Lehi have differentiated between a man and spirit like Nephi did?[34] Also, the apostle of the Lamb is only recording in Nephi’s vision, he is not actively showing or describing anything to anyone like the messenger in Lehi’s vision.
- An Angel- This is a possibility. Nephi had an angel appear to him after the Spirit of the Lord disappeared.[35] There are many instances in the Book of Mormon where angels are messengers that direct people.[36] However, in none of these instances do they direct a vision, or dream, like they do in Lehi’s vision (with the exception of the angel in Nephi’s vision. However, the angel in Nephi’s vision doesn’t really work because he comes way too late in the vision.
- The devil disguised as an angel of light. This is not a very unlikely candidate.[37]
- Christ-This is the most likely candidate. See the discussions in 1 Nephi 11, 3 Nephi below
3 NEPHI AS A
POSSIBILITY FOR UNDERSTANDING THAT THE MAN IS CHRIST:
3 Nephi presents an argument that Christ is the most likely
candidate for the man in the white robe. Below I will list out the
similarities/differences between the texts, and then discuss some possible
implications for reading Christ as the man in the white robe.
Similarites
between 3 Nephi and 1 Nephi 8:4-11:
- · The people find themselves in darkness.[38]
- · While the people are in darkness, Jesus Christ appears to the people in a white robe.[39]
- · Jesus “stood in the midst” of the people.[40]
- · Jesus “spake” to the people.[41]
- · Jesus commands the people to arise and come unto him[42], He also sets forth doctrine and procedures and commands the disciples to follow it.[43]
- · After the people arise, touch Christ, and listen to His teachings, a cloud overshadows the people, the people are unable to see Christ because of the cloud, while the people were overshadowed Christ departs from them.[44] Christ also departed towards the end of the day, and it soon became physically dark.[45]
- · After Christ left the people, the disciples prayed unto the Father.[46] The disciples prayed for what they desired most, the Holy Ghost.[47]
- · After the disciples prayed, they went down to the waters and were baptized. These events occurred in sequential order after the disciples were baptized:[48]
o
The Holy Ghost filled the disciples
o
Fire encircled the disciples
o
Angels administered to the disciples
- · After Christ appeared to the people they were filled with “desire.”[50] Christ’s countenance shined upon the people and the people became as “white as the countenance and garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof.”[51]
(NOTE: We could take the parallels even further with 1 Nephi
8 and 3 Nephi, about the desire that the people experienced after they partook
of the fruit/received countenance of Christ, but I’ll save that for a later
study)
While it is possible that the man in the white robe was
Christ himself, there are some problems with it. Lehi refers to the man in the
white robe simply, as a man. If the man in the white robe was the Lord,
wouldn’t Lehi have known?[52]
Further, after Lehi finds himself in the darkness again, he prays unto the
Lord. Why would he refer to Christ as both a “man” and then as “Lord” a couple of verses later?[53]
There are other differences between to two passages of
scripture, the most notable differences are the absence of fruit in 3 Nephi,
and the absence of the explicit command to follow Christ. However, these do not
weaken the argument that this text supports reading Christ as the man in the
white robe. Unlike Nephi’s differences in descriptions, and omissions, these
omissions can be inferred from the text. As cited above, Christ commands the
people to do a physical action, he commands the people to do what he has done
also. This is similar to the command to follow him. Further, the fruit and be inferred from the
above citations when Christ’s countenance shone on the people, and they became
white like Christ. His countenance was the fruit, and the people’s reflection
of his countenance was the partaking of the fruit.
Even if inferring these omissions from the text were not
allowed, and we admit that they were omitted, the similarities are too strong
to break this argument down. The people are in darkness before Christ comes, Christ
is described as wearing a white robe, he stood before people, he spoke, he made
physical commands (stand and come to Him), the people were in darkness when he
left, the people prayed after he left, the people saw/received new things, the
people saw the tree, the people partook of the tree and and became an
exceedingly white, white. Contextually, Mormon seems to suggest that the man in
the white robe that Lehi saw was none other than Christ.
What are some of the inferences we can take if we read
Christ into the text as the man in the white robe?
2ND NEPHI AS A POSSIBILITY FOR UNDERSTANDING THE MAN IS CHRIST
Nephi recalls our attention to his
and his father’s vision. He specifically mentions that he saw the Lamb of God
be baptized for the sins of the world.[54]
Afterwards, he mentions that the Lamb of God said unto the children of men,
“Follow thou me.”[55]
Perhaps Nephi, himself, is trying to edge the readers to infer that the man in
the white robe is Christ?[56]
[1] 1 Nephi 14:19
[2] 3 Nephi 11:8
[3] Or Nephi?
[4] Joseph Smith-History
1:31-32
[5] See also my little
write-up about the title “Lamb of God.” This is a phrase that is almost unique
to Nephi’s vision and Revelation.
[6] Rev. 7:13-15; cf. 7:9
[7] Rev. 6:11
[8] I understand that
Revelation is translated into English from another language. So, critically, it
may not be exact, and that there could be other words, not translated “robe” or
“white” that could have been. However, I am going off the belief, that God revealed
specific words, a translation, that was closely associated with the
language/wording in the KJV. Under this assumption, it is peculiar that there
are only certain phrases that are found in Nephi’s vision and Revelation.
[9] I’m not going to place a
big critical emphasis on this word, because it is primarily a small plates
word. However, Mormon does use the word “bade” in 3 Nephi 17:19, in conjunction
with asking the people to do a physical action, much like how Nephi use the
word bade in conjunction with asking Lehi to do a physical action.
[10] I am definitely open to
the possibility that the man in white does not disappear. However, if the man
in white was still by Lehi when he was in the darkness, why didn’t Lehi implore
the man I white for help?
[11] 1 Nephi 11:1.
[12] 1 Nephi 11:2.
[13] 1 Nephi 11:8.
[14] 1 Nephi 11:12.
[15] 1 Nephi 11:13.
[16] 1 Nephi 11:15-23.
[17] 1 Nephi 11:8.
[18] 1 Nephi 11:1.
[19] 1 Nephi 11:11- “for I
spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form 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.” The fact that Nephi had to explain his
communication to the Spirit of the Lord in this manner suggests that Nephi did
not believe this person to be mortal, or earthly like a man.
[20] 1 Nephi 11:11.
[21] 3 Nephi 11:8
[22] There are not many events
that occur between chapter 8 and 11, suggesting a close proximity of Lehi and
Nephi’s visions.
[23] Nephi calls his messenger
a Spirit, where Lehi calls his a man. Nephi does not describe his messenger’s
clothing, where Lehi describes his messenger wearing a white robe.
[24] See, for example, Noel
Reynolds article “The Political Dimension in Nephi’s Small Plates,” BYU Studies.
Vol. 27, Iss. 4, 1987. http://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2465&context=byusq
[25] There could be many
motives for this, and I don’t feel it’s necessary to explore the possibilities,
because it will not greatly add or takeaway from this present study.
[26] The ‘S’ in spirit was
capitalized in the 1981 edition (I believe), and I am just keeping it
capitalized in these notes to keep uniformity with the 2013 edition. The
capital S cannot be taken as proof that it is referring to Christ, especially
because most interpretations suggest that the spirit of the Lord is the Holy
Ghost (see discussion that will follow).
[27] cf. Ether 3 for a
reference to the pre-mortal spirit of Christ.
[28] Hales, Receiving a
Testimony of the Restored Gospel, October 2003; James Talmage, “The Holy Ghost,
called also Spirit, and Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of God, Comforter, and
Spirit of truth, is not tabernacle in a body of flesh and bones, but is a
personage of spirit; yet we know that the spirit has manifestd himself in the
form of a man. (See 1 Nephi 11:11). . . That the Spirit of the Lord is capable
of manifesting Himself in the form and figure of man, is indicated by the
wonderful interview between the Spirit and Nephi, in which He revealed Himself
to the prophet (Articles of Faith, 38; 144-145)
[29]
According to McConkie and Millet, the expression
"Spirit of the Lord" is used some forty times in the Book of Mormon,
and almost without exception it has reference to the Holy Ghost or to the Light
of Christ. If indeed here in 1 Nephi 11:11 the Holy Ghost was Nephi's guide and
teacher, this occasion is of tremendous significance, for it is the only
scriptural occasion wherein the Holy Ghost makes a personal appearance to man.
[Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert L. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of
Mormon, Vol. 1, p. 77]
[30] Bruce R. McConkie
suggests that it may have been the pre-mortal Christ. “To gain a sound gospel understanding, the truth seeker must
determine in each scriptural passage what is meant by such titles as Spirit,
Holy Spirit, Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of God, Spirit of Truth. In many
instances this is not difficult; in some cases, however, abbreviated scriptural
accounts leave so much room for doubt that nothing short of direct revelation
can identify precisely what is meant. We know, for instance, that the Spirit
personage who appeared to the Brother of Jared was the Spirit Christ, for he so
identified himself. (Ether 3) But when we read the account of the appearance of
"the Spirit of the Lord" to Nephi (1 Nephi 11), we are left to our
own interpretive powers to determine whether the messenger is the Spirit Christ
or the Holy Ghost. Presumptively it is the Spirit Christ ministering to Nephi
much as he did to the Brother of Jared, for such is in keeping with the
principle of advocacy, intercession, and mediation, the principle that all
personal appearances of Deity to man since the fall of Adam, excepting
appearances of the Father and the Son together, have been appearances of
Christ." ("Spirit of the Lord," Mormon Doctrine, p. 752; see
alsoThe Mortal Messiah, Vol. 1, pp. 413-414).
[31] For the critical scholars
out there, I chose not to use the name John, because the text does not support
that.
[32] 1 Nephi 14
[33] If Nephi saw an apostle
of Christ in vision, was this the present, figurative, or the future? The vision
complicates the idea of space and time. If Nephi, who lived around 600 years
before John saw the same vision at the same time as the apostle, then what does
this teach us about time?
[34] Nephi does not specify
that the man was a spirit in his vision. I think this statement strengthens the
argument that the Spirit of the Lord that spoke to Nephi was either the Holy
Ghost or pre-mortal Christ.
[35] 1 Nephi 11:14
[36] Mosiah 3:2; Mosiah 27:11
(This reference to an angel refers to the angel as “the angel of the Lord.” It
seems that Mormon, or Alma, thought that this angel had a very specific role,
and was a very specific angel (Abinadi? Jacob? Lehi?)); Alma 32:23; 3 Nephi
19:14.
[37] See section on “White
robe” usage in the scriptures.
[38] 3 Nephi 8:20-23.
[39] 3 Nephi 11:8, 10. I
understand that there is an argument that the people were not technically in
darkness at the time Christ appeared to them at bountiful, because a year might
have passed. However, the text does not place a spatial distance between the
darkness and the people. As such, we can read that the people were in darkness
at the time Christ appeared. For a discussion on both views see: https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/jerusalem-zarahemla-literary-and-historical-studies-book-mormon/when-did-jesus-visit
; and, https://bookofmormonresearch.org/index/book_of_mormon_articles/timing-christs-appearance-nephites
[40] 3 Nephi 11:8.
[41] 3 Nephi 11:9. There are
many times that Jesus spoke to the people, and so I am only including the first
reference to it.
[42] 3 Nephi 11:13-14.
[43] 3 Nephi 11:22- 18:37.
[44] 3 Nephi 18:38-39.
[45] 3 Nephi 19:2-3.
[46] 3 Nephi 19:6-7.
[47] 3 Nephi 19:9.
[48] I need to work this
connection out a little better.
[49] 3 Nephi 19:13-14.
[50] 3 Nephi 19:24.
[51] 3 Nephi 19:25/
[52] Remember, Lehis had a
heavenly vision where he saw God sitting on his throne. Presumably this would
be Christ, or Lord. However, if the God Lehi saw on the throne was the Father,
then it is still possible that Lehi saw Christ as the one descending out of the
midst of heaven. (1 Nephi 1:8-11). As such, Lehi should have been able to
recognize Christ.
[53] Taken alone, this
argument has no weight because it is ambiguous. Another logical reading is that
the man was Christ, and that is what inspired Lehi to pray to the “Lord”, because he
had just been in the presence of the Lord.
[54] 2 Nephi 31:4
[55] 2 Nephi 31:10
[56] For a more full
discussion of the link between 2 Nephi 31-33 and Lehi’s/Nephi’s vision see 2nd
Nephi: An Addendum to His vision
