by Mike Parker

(Mike Parker is a long-time FAIR member who has graciously allowed us to use materials he originally prepared for the Hurricane Utah Adult Religion Class. The scripture passages covered in his lessons don’t conform exactly to the Come, Follow Me reading schedule, so they will be shared here where they fit best. This week’s lesson covers both this week’s and next week’s Come, Follow Me reading.)

Additional Reading

“Components of Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life,” a chart of the setting, people, and action/outcome in 1 Nephi 8. Extracted from Charles Swift, “Lehi’s Vision of the Tree of Life: Understanding the Dream as Visionary Literature,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 14, no. 2 (2005): 60.

Daniel C. Peterson, “Nephi and His Asherah,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 9, no. 2 (2000): 16–25, 80–81. Nephi₁’s vision of “a virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins” who was “the mother of God, after the manner of the flesh” (1 Nephi 11:15, 18; 1830 edition) is connected to Lehi₁’s vision of a “a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (1 Nephi 8:10). Dr. Peterson’s article shows how they’re both connected to ancient Israelite belief in the female divinity Asherah, whose representation was a tree.

Stephen E. Robinson, “Nephi’s ‘Great and Abominable Church’,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies 7, no. 1 (1998): 32–39, 70. In this article, Professor Robinson draws a clear distinction between a specific “great and abominable church” described in 1 Nephi 13, and a general “great and abominable church,” representing any and all wicked organizations, in 1 Nephi 14. (A shortened version of Robinson’s article was published in the January 1988 Ensign, 34–39.)

Taylor Halverson, “1 Nephi 12–14: Nephi’s Grand Vision,” The Interpreter Foundation, 30 January 2016.

What is apocalyptic literature, and how does Nephi’s vision in 1 Nephi 11–14 fit into apocalyptic writings of the Ancient Near East? Book of Mormon Central explains in KnoWhy #471, “Why Can Nephi’s Vision Be Called an Apocalypse?”

Why does Nephi₁’s vision use the symbol of the tree of life to represent the virgin Mary in 1 Nephi 11:12–23? Book of Mormon Central explains in KnoWhy #13, “What Does the Virgin Mary Have to Do with the Tree of Life?” 

Mike Parker is a business and marketing analyst with over twenty years’ experience in the financial services and cellular telephone industries. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Dixie State University (now Utah Tech University) of St George, Utah. He also has eight years’ experience in corporate training and currently teaches an adult religion class in southern Utah. Mike and his wife, Denise, have three children.

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