📒 1 Nephi 19
📜 24 Wherefore I spake unto them, saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for after this manner has the prophet written.
Let’s begin with the heart of our question: Why should we compare the scriptures to ourselves? Nephi’s phrase “liken them unto yourselves” is not just poetic—it’s a spiritual strategy. Let’s unpack this study in layers, starting with the metaphor of remnant and branch, then move into the purpose of likening, and finally the charge to hear and search.
These metaphors anchor the reader in sacred lineage and divine promise:
📗 2 Kings 19
📜 31 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.
- Remnant (📗 2 Kings 19:31): A surviving portion of Israel, preserved by the zeal of the Lord. This implies divine protection and future restoration.
📗 Genesis 49
🗝📜 22 ¶ Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
📜 23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
📜 24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
📜 25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
📜 26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
- Branch (📗 Genesis 49:22–26): Joseph’s descendants are fruitful, resilient, and blessed—though wounded by conflict, they are strengthened by God.
📒 1 Nephi 15
📜 12 Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olive tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel?
📜 16 Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive tree, into the true olive tree.
📒 2 Nephi 3
📜 4 For behold, thou art the fruit of my loins; and I am a descendant of Joseph who was carried captive into Egypt. And great were the covenants of the Lord which he made unto Joseph.
🗝📜 5 Wherefore, Joseph truly saw our day. And he obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto light—yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom.
📒 1 Nephi 15:12,16 and 📒 2 Nephi 3:4–5 echo this: Nephi’s people are a natural branch broken off from the house of Israel, yet destined to be grafted back into the true olive tree. This grafting is not just botanical—it’s covenantal.
Pause here:
Why do you think Nephi emphasizes being “broken off” and yet “remembered”? What does that say about divine memory and belonging?
📒 1 Nephi 19:24 gives the key:
> “Liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope…”
This is not abstract theology—it’s emotional and existential. To liken is to see yourself in the story, to recognize that the promises, warnings, and miracles apply to your life, your family, your exile, your restoration.
- The prophets wrote to all Israel, but Nephi speaks to a broken branch—a people who feel cut off. By likening, they reclaim hope.
- This act of comparison is a spiritual grafting—not just into history, but into covenant.
Let’s reflect:
What happens when we read scripture as if it’s about someone else? What shifts when we read it as if it’s about us?
The final layer is the practice of scripture:
hear the Study of Scriptures
📗 Deuteronomy 6
📜 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
📗 Deuteronomy 8
📜 3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.
📗 Deuteronomy 17
📜 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:
📕 Revelation 1
📜 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
📒 Mosiah 1
📜 7 And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 1
📜 37 Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.
📘 Doctrine and Covenants 41
📜 12 These words are given unto you, and they are pure before me; wherefore, beware how you hold them, for they are to be answered upon your souls in the day of judgment. Even so. Amen.
- 📗 Deuteronomy 6:7 and 📗 17:19: Teach diligently, read daily, walk with the Word.
- 📕 Revelation 1:3: Blessing comes to those who read, hear, and keep.
- 📒 Mosiah 1:7: Search diligently to profit and prosper.
- 📘 Doctrine and Covenants 1:37 and 41:12: These words are true, faithful, and accountable—they will be answered upon our souls.
This is not casual reading. It’s covenantal engagement. The scriptures are living bread, daily light, and eternal witness.
This study reveals a sacred pattern: we are not just readers of scripture—we are its living branches.
🌿 Identity in Exile
We are the remnant preserved by the zeal of the Lord. We are the branch—fruitful, wounded, and blessed—broken off yet remembered. Nephi’s people, like Joseph’s descendants, were cast far from Jerusalem, yet held in divine memory. This teaches us that separation is not abandonment. In God’s covenant, even the broken are destined to be grafted back.
> To be “broken off” is not to be forgotten—it is to be prepared for restoration.
🔍 Liken to Live
Nephi’s invitation to “liken” is a call to spiritual grafting. When we see ourselves in the story, we reclaim hope. The promises to ancient Israel become promises to us. The warnings become our guardrails. The miracles become our inheritance.
> When we liken scripture to ourselves, we stop reading history and start receiving prophecy.
📖 Hear and Search
Scripture is not a relic—it is living bread. We are called to teach it, walk with it, rise and rest in it. The Word is our daily sustenance, our eternal witness, and our accountability before God.
> To read is to live. To search is to prosper. To keep is to be remembered.
For today:
- Let us see our exile as sacred preparation.
- Let us teach our children diligently.
- Let us read not to finish, but to be transformed.
For tomorrow:
- Let us be grafted back through covenant and obedience.
- Let us walk as living branches—bearing fruit, enduring wounds, and trusting the Shepherd.
- Let us hold the Word with reverence, knowing it will be answered upon our souls.
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