A Critical Link Between Nephi and John

A CRITICAL LINK BETWEEN WORLDS[1]: NEPHI AND JOHN

Many people tie Nephi’s vision to the Revelation of John because of a passage in 1 Nephi. The passage reads, “And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel.”[2] People also relate the two visions together because of the similarity between eschatological themes and the expansive cryptic world history presented. It also helps that the John’s Revelation deals primarily with eschatological and beyond themes, and this is what the angel told Nephi that John would write.[3]  While these themes do create a strong tie between Nephi and John’s visions, there are contextual similarities that weld them together.

The first welding link is the title “Lamb of God.” The Lamb of God is a common phrase amongst our modern day teachings.[4] We use it interchangeably for Christ, even if we are not speaking to the specific act/image that the title conjures. However, the scriptures use the name sparingly, and almost exclusively in two writings: Nephi and John the Revelator.

The second welding link is the phrase “white robe.” Even more specific is a man, or men in a white robe. It may be surprising that this phrase is not as common as one would think. Unlike, the title “Lamb of God,” the “white robe” is used exclusively in Nephi and John’s writings. We will look at the two welding links below.

Lamb of God

There are a total of 76 references to Lamb in the Book of Mormon, by my count.  57 of these are found in Nephi’s vision in 1 Nephi.  There are six more references to Christ as the Lamb in 2 Nephi, of which 5 are found in the last three chapters, which is a discourse intertwined with Nephi’s vision (the other use of lamb in 2 Nephi is a reference to an actual lamb, and the millennium).  The remaining 414 pages of the Book of Mormon have only 13 references to a lamb (3 of these references are to the actual animal and the millennium).

            Let’s redo the numbers.  Four references to a lamb are actually referencing a lamb, so we will toss them out of our numbers.  There are 72 references in the Book of Mormon then that the word lamb is used as a title for Christ.  Of these 72 references 62 of them are either directly involved in Nephi’s vision, or indirectly used by Nephi as such in 1 and 2 Nephi, and of those, 57 are found in the vision itself.  Why does this matter?  Well, it is not really important, it just helps us tie the vision to John’s vision even more.  This Lamb concept is not unique to Nephi’s vision, you see, John also has this concept and uses it frequently.

            Let’s take a look at the usage of Lamb in the Bible.  There are 105 references in the Bible to a lamb.  Most of these references are referring to an actual lamb (the animal) for sacrifice.  There are a couple whose reference is referring to Christ himself (we could make the argument that they all do, but because they do not explicitly say so, we will not), by my count there are around 10.  There are 28 references to lamb as a title for Christ, and significantly, they are all found in John’s writings.  26 are found in the book of Revelation, and the other two are found at the beginning of his gospel when he quotes John the Baptist.[5] 

In summary, there are 28 explicit references to the Savior as the Lamb in the Bible, and all of them are found in John’s writings. 62 out of the 72 references in the Book of Mormon are found in Nephi’s writings.  Though this will not link the two definitely as having seen the same, or similar vision, we can strongly infer from this that God wants us to connect the two writings together.

White Robe

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.”[6] Jesus Christ appeared to the Nephites clothed in a white robe.[7] When Moroni[8] appeared to Joseph Smith he was wearing a white robe. Joseph Smith points out that Moroni’s robe was “exceedingly white.”[9]

Interestingly, outside of the Book of Mormon (and BofM related people) the white robe is only found in Revelation.[10] “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.”[11] White robes were given to the Martyrs that were “slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.”[12]

Conclusion

            Though this evidence is not strong enough to permit us to link the two visions/writings together, the fact that the title “Lamb of God” and the phrase “white robe” are found almost exclusively in John’s and Nephi’s writings, strongly suggests that we can read the visions together. There are other similarities, like the usage of John the Baptist to tell the story[13], eschatological themes, expansive views, etc., that create an even stronger inference.

This does not mean that John’s interpretation is the same as Nephi’s. However, it’s possible to look at what John saw, and compare it to what Nephi saw. What did they see that was similar? In the paths that cross each other, are there any differences? Did John see something in the similar path that Nephi did not? and is there anything Nephi saw that John did not? Comparing the two visions can help us understand the relationship between the symbols presented, as well as expand our view/interpretation of the visions.

Quick note:

The Account of the Baptism of the Lamb of God

Both accounts refer to Christ as the “Lamb of God.”[14] Both accounts suggest that John baptized Christ.[15] Both accounts refer to the Holy Ghost descending upon Christ in the “form,” or “like” a dove.[16] Both accounts refer to the Lamb of God in conjunction with taking away the sin or sins of the world.[17]

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[1] Clearly a reference to a Zelda video game.

[2] 1 Nephi 14:27

[3] 1 Nephi 14:24-26

[4] The Church has produced a video entitled, “The Lamb of God.” There are many references to the tile in General conference talks (word search “Lamb of God” in conference talks). Children are taught it in primary (i.e., Lesson 19 from the Primary 6 manual).

[5] see D&C 93

[6] 1 Nephi 14:19

[7] 3 Nephi 11:8

[8] Or Nephi?

[9] Joseph Smith-History 1:31-32

[10] 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.

[11] Rev. 7:13-15; cf. 7:9

[12] Rev. 6:11

[13] See, “The Account of the Baptism of the Lamb of God” below. 2 Nephi 31, John 1. See footnote #4

[14] 1 Nephi 11:27; 2 Nephi 31:4; John 1:29. NOTE: I will link 2 Nephi with Nephi’s vision in a later write-up.

[15] v. 29 says that Jesus was coming to John, presumably to be baptized. Though, it is not specifically mentioned.

[16] 1 Nephi 11:27; John 1:32

[17] 2 Nephi 31:4; John 1:29