• Podcast
    • Apple Podcasts
    • Spotify
  • Topics
    • Atonement
    • Symbolism
    • Temple Prep
    • Temples
    • Notebook
    • Vlog
  • Study Tools
    • Etymology Dictionary
    • Lectures on Faith.com
    • LDSSymbols.com
    • LDS Architecture Blog
    • Number in Scripture
    • Isaiah Explorer
    • ScriptureNotes
    • Septuagint (English)
    • Strong’s Condordance
    • The Book of Isaiah (IIT)
    • Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
  • About
    • About oneClimbs
    • Contact
Trending Posts
  • The Whole Book of Mormon in 15 Verses via gentlyhewstone.com
  • The “All-Seeing-Eye” Symbol and the Urim and Thummim Connection
  • Brigham Young on Truth
Trending
  • Justice and Peace as Negative Principles
  • Mormon Yeshiva
  • Big Jacob 2:30 Update
  • The “Conversion Spectrum” in the Book of Mormon
  • The Dark Night of the Soul
  • 29 – Two versions of reality
  • #28 – Navigating the interfaith world
  • George MacDonald Quotes About Forgiveness
oneClimbs.comoneClimbs.com
  • Podcast
    • Apple Podcasts
    • Spotify
  • Topics
    • Atonement
    • Symbolism
    • Temple Prep
    • Temples
    • Notebook
    • Vlog
  • Study Tools
    • Etymology Dictionary
    • Lectures on Faith.com
    • LDSSymbols.com
    • LDS Architecture Blog
    • Number in Scripture
    • Isaiah Explorer
    • ScriptureNotes
    • Septuagint (English)
    • Strong’s Condordance
    • The Book of Isaiah (IIT)
    • Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
  • About
    • About oneClimbs
    • Contact
oneClimbs.comoneClimbs.com
Home»Articles»God Stepping Down
Articles July 15, 20184 Mins Read

God Stepping Down

“Knowest thou the condescension of God?”

This question was posed to Nephi in a vision by one he refers to as the Spirit of the Lord. (1 Nephi 11:16) I’ve read this verse many, many times and I’ve often heard young people mispronounce it as “condensation” which always cracks me up.

I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately though as I’ve been hovering around the tree of life vision for several months now; I keep coming back to it and finding things that interest me.

The wording of this question always struck me as somewhat awkward, and what is being implied by the word “condescension” isn’t clear. In fact, in all of scripture, we only find it 5 times and all of those occurrences are in the first three books of the Book of Mormon.

Lately, I have been struck by how shocking this question may have initially been to Nephi. In the course of his vision, he is shown the same tree from his father’s vision, then a beautiful woman, and then he gets asked this question that at this point seems out of the blue an unrelated to anything else. First, let’s check out the meaning of the word condescension.

“voluntarily waive ceremony or dignity proper to one’s superior position or rank and willingly assume equality with inferiors” [etymonline]

Think about what the Spirit of the Lord is asking him. Imagine not knowing up to this point about Jesus Christ and his earthly ministry. To you, God is the Almighty, the Most High, the infinite and eternal being who created the earth, conversed with Adam, liberated his people from Egypt by the hand of Moses, and was now sending his family off into the unknown.

Now, the Spirit of the Lord is asking you something to the effect of, “Do you know about how God will waive his superior position and assume equality to his inferiors?”

No wonder Nephi humbly replies, “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” (vs.17) Imagine having some wildly shocking information about God presented to you in such a way. What? God leaving his position of superiority and putting himself on the same level as his inferiors? Why would he ever do that? Can he do that? Should he do that? What a crazy idea to be presented with when there’s no precedent for such a thing!

In divine encounters, it appears that learning something new and shocking is a common occurrence.

After a great vision, Moses states, “Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.” (Moses 1:10)

The brother of Jared after seeing the finger of the Lord confesses “I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood.” (Ether 3:8)

A puzzled Enoch asks the Lord, “How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?” (Moses 7:29)

It is then revealed to Nephi that the woman was the mother of God (per the original translation) and that he would be born on this earth just like everyone else. The Spirit of the Lord then says, in effect “Look and behold God waiving his superior position and assuming equality to his inferiors!” (vs.26)

Nephi then sees the mortal ministry of Jesus Christ from his baptism to his deeds and finally his crucifixion.

No wonder Nephi understands what the Love of God is. Imagine for the first time realizing that God himself would be born on earth and live as we do with all of the challenges, hardships, and beyond that the false condemnation, suffering, torture, and wrongful execution. Today, almost everyone knows who Jesus is, even those that aren’t Christians or even religious.

The weight of that question though – what must have been going through Nephi’s mind at that point? Then to see the answer clearly in front of you like that; it’s pretty amazing. I just really love the Book of Mormon.

Book of Mormon Tree of Life
Previous ArticleCovenants, Ordinances and Ceremonies
Next Article Notes From the Climb: May – July 2018
Steve Reed

I created oneClimbs as a place to organize my thoughts and share my observations with anyone who might find the information useful. Though I may speak passionately or convincingly in some of this content, PLEASE don't simply take my word alone on anything. Always seek the truth of all things through study and prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.

1 Comment

  1. Richard J. Nobbe III on December 5, 2018 3:42 pm

    I’m always struck with Nephi’s answer to the question. He answers with something that he knows and something that he doesn’t. Maybe not that big of deal to some, but if we know the true condescension of God then our hearts soften and our questions change. We realize that God loves his children, so we can put our trust in an omniscient God. It’s a simple truth taught in the beginning of the Book of Mormon that’s helped me when I don’t understand something about life and get frustrated.

    Reply

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

New Post Email Notifications

You can subscribe any time, and I will ONLY use your email to send you new post updates.

Trending Posts
  • Articles, Symbolism, Temples
    The “All-Seeing-Eye” Symbol and the Urim and Thummim Connection

    I've noticed a connection between the familiar "all-seeing-eye" symbol that...

  • Articles, Quotes
    Brigham Young on Truth

    The following quotes are from Brigham Young's discourses originally but I g...

  • Articles, Temples
    “Putting on the Names”: A Jewish-Christian Legacy

    by Truman G. Madsen Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah Reprinted by perm...

  • Articles, Symbolism, Temples
    Mikveh: Jewish ritual immersion in water

    A recent post on Junior Ganymede mentions the ritual bath called a mik...

  • Articles, Temples
    The Relationship Between The Ancient Israelite Temple And The Endowment via TempleStudy.com

    The following article is from TempleStudy.com Professor William J. Hamblin...

Recent Comments
  • Dino on Physical Parallels Between The Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ: “11 official witnesses to each”
  • Steve Reed on A Proposed Reinterpretation of Jacob 2:30: “Not to my knowledge. As far as I know, nobody else really questioned this verse within recent history. This essay…”
  • Steph on A Proposed Reinterpretation of Jacob 2:30: “I have studied and studied and studied and this feels the the correct interpretation to me as well. I am…”
  • ANISA on The Eye of God or Man?: “THANK YOU”
  • heidi on The Whole Book of Mormon in 15 Verses via gentlyhewstone.com: “yes, I like that substitution. It would apply to all individuals, not just those who are married. And it focuses…”
Blogroll
  • Academy for Temple Studies
  • Bruce Charlton's Notions
  • Hemlock Knots
  • Interpreter Foundation
  • Isaiah Explained
  • Isaiah Explorer
  • Isaiah Institute
  • Isaiah Prophecy
  • Junior Ganymede
  • Latter-day Saint Architecture Blog
  • Latter-day Saint Temples
  • LDSSymbols.com
  • Leading Saints
  • Number in Scripture by E. W. Bullinger
  • Sixty Symbols
  • Spiritual Arson Podcast
  • Strongs Concordance
  • TempleStudy
  • The Ancient Context of Joseph Smith's Egyptian Alphabet and Grammar
  • Webster's 1828 Dictionary
New Post Email Notifications

You can subscribe any time, and I will ONLY use your email to send you new post updates.

About this Site

I created oneClimbs as a place to organize my thoughts and share my observations with anyone who might find the information useful. All content on this site is considered a work in progress that is often updated when new insights are obtained.

Climbspiration

Myth is not fiction: it consists of facts that are continually repeated and can be observed over and over again. – Carl Jung

oneClimbs.com
  • Home
  • All Posts
  • About oneClimbs
  • Contact

LecturesOnFaith.com  //  LDSSymbols.com

© 2023 oneClimbs. All content unique to oneClimbs is fair use. All other content is property of the respective copyright owner. oneClimbs.com is not owned, controlled, or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. All views and opinions are of the authors here who are solely responsible for their content and should not be interpreted as official statements of Church doctrine, belief, or practice, unless specifically stated and correctly referenced.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.