Words capitalized are for emphasis.
The GREAT PRAYER enunciated by Nephi in 2 Nephi 4:17-35 is considered by many to be one of the greatest supplication and utterance made by man, and rises to such a sublime and superlative scriptural poetic height as to invite an examination of any Ancient Document source for a comparable spiritual expression.
In 2 Nephi 4:17-35: the Prayer begins, after some introspection, in verse 17:
"O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. v. 18. I am encompassed about because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. v. 19 I know in whom I have trusted. v. 20. My God has been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. v. 21. He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh. v. 22. He had confounded mine enemies .v. 23 he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the nighttime. v. 24 .and angels came down and ministered unto me. v. 25. And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away .and mine eyes beheld great things v. 27. And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy? v. 28. Awake my soul! .v. 29 ..Do not slacken my strength because of my afflictions. v. 30. O Lord I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the ROCK of my salvation. v. 31. O Lord, wilt thou redeem my soul .v. 32. May the gates of Hell be shut continually before me .v. 33. O Lord wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness! O. Lord, wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies! Wilt though make my path straight before me! Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my waybut that thou wouldst clear my way before me, and hedge not up my way, but the ways of mine enemy. v. 34 I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh v. 35. Yea I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea I will cry unto thee, my God, the ROCK of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee my Rock and mine everlasting God."
The first cave of the now famous Dead Sea Scrolls discovery was found in 1945 by members of the Taamirah trige of Bdouins, smuggling goods across the Jordan to their Tent area near Bethlehem. The scrolls from Cave 1 of eleven important caves that yielded documents, hung in gunnysacks for two years, then they were separated into two groups, one group was sold in 1947 for boot straps and leather to Kondo, [who I and my sons came to know personally] a well known trader and dealer in Bethlehem, a member of the Syrian Orthodox Church, who in turn sold them to his Bishop, Athanasius, (Burrows p. 5-18) who in turn permitted them to be photographed by Dr.John C. Trever of the American Schools of Oriental Research, (Trever, p. 7) to help verify their antiquity, who just happened to be in Jerusalem. Later that group of scrolls was taken to the United States, offered for sale, purchased by Dr. Gottsman who gave them back to Israel as a gift and they now reside in the Museum of the Book, dedicated to Dr. Gottsman, in Jerusalem. (see my tapes on The Dead Sea Scrolls, and also A Detailed Chronology of the Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls) Among this first group of scrolls was one they called the Dead Sea Manual of Discipline, (also designated as DSD and 1QS). It was first read by Dr. Millar Burrows in 1948, who gave his kind consent to Dr. William H. Brownlee to translate it in 1949 and later publish it in 1951. (Brownlee p. 5) I learned about it that same year when Dr. Bruce Warren, then a student at BYU, quoted from it at an archaeological meeting. At that time we were both members of the American Schools of Oriental Research. Those quotes would change my life forever.
While they guess the author may have been the Teacher of Righteousness, a leader of the Community of the Dead Sea Covenantors, no one knows for sure. But, about 400 years after Nephi, who was living in the Western Hemisphere about 560 BC, there was another spiritual giant, living in the Eastern Hemisphere, he was anticipating the First Coming of the Messiah. (Danielou p. 83) There, in what is now called the Qumran Community, this deeply spiritual man was writing and copying texts under inspiration directly from God, (Vermes, p. 97) that were used by his followers.
From THE DEAD SEA MANUAL OF DISCIPLINE, we make an extraction of a magnificent and sublime poetic supplication and personal expression of hope and faith:
"I will come into the covenant of God I will recite his ordinances; And while they exist I will set my bound So as not to turn black. His Justice will I declare, according to my perversions, And my transgressions (that are) before my eyes God will I call my Righteousness: And the Most High, the Establisher of my good, Fountain of knowledge, and Spring of holiness, Height of glory, and Strength of all with eternal splendor. I will choose what he teaches me, And I will be content however He judges me. I am to accept Gods ordinance .And to practice truth and righteous (purpose) And loving devotion towards the humble, And to strengthen the hands of the tim(id) of heart, And to teach the straying of spirit understanding, And to make MURMURERS wise through instruction; And to respond humbly before the haughty of spirit, And with broken spirit to men of injustice who point with the finger and speak iniquity, And are envious
"For as for me, my justification belongs to God; And in His hand is the perfection of my way, Together with the uprightness of my heart. Through His righteousness my transgressions shall be blotted out; For from the fountain of His knowledge He has opened my light, And mine eye has beheld the wonders He has done And my heart is illumined with the Mystery to come, [the coming of the Messiah]
"Eternal Being (he who is forever) is the support of my right hand; Upon the ROCK of strength is the way of my treading; It shall not tremble before aught, For Gods faithfulness (or truth)] is itself the ROCK I tread. And His might is the support of my right hand. And from the fountain of His righteousness flows my justification, To whom God Chose He has given them as an eternal possession; And he has given to them an inheritance in the lot of the holy ones;
"But I belong to wicked humanity And to the assembly of perverse flesh, My iniquities, my transgression, my sin, (Together with the perversities of my heart) .For a mans way is not his own; .And his council is perfection of way; And by His knowledge everything has been brought into being, And everything that is, He established by His purpose; And apart from Him, nothing is done (naught can be accomplished).
"And I, if I totter, Gods dependable mercy is my salvation forever; and if I stumble in my guilt of flesh, My justification [sanctification] through gods righteousness will stand everlastingly! And if He begin my affliction, Even from the pit He will draw out my soul, And He will direct my steps in the WAY. [The Plan]
"In His compassion He has brought me near, And in His dependable mercy He will bring my justification, In His steadfast righteousness He has justified (and sanctified, f.n.) me And in His great goodness He will pardon (or, atone for) all my iniquities; and in His righteousness He will cleanse me from mans impurity, And from sin of the Children of men. (In the abundance of Thy compassion, Thou wilt pardon iniquity; and in Thy righteousness, Thou wilt cleanse man of transgression, f.n.). "Brownlee pp. 42-45) [In LDS doctrine man will be washed clean from the sins and blood of this generation by repentance and acceptance of the Doctrines of the Gospel and the Atonement of Christ]
A careful reading of both texts will reveal a lot of subtle doctrine, if the texts were connected together could you tell what is Nephis or what is the ancient Authors text? Where one would leave off and the other begin? Notice also, in Nephis prayer, the references to the relationship between Nephi and the God he addresses, it is similar to the understanding found in the Manuel of Discipline as well.
How often was Nephi faced with the problem of Murmurers? There are thirty- six references to murmur, murmured, murmuring, and murmurings in LDS scriptures, twenty seven of these are in the Book of Mormon. (Shapiro p. 646)
And nineteen of these are in Nephis record alone.
Note the understanding of sanctification and justification, nowhere else it is more defined than in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants of the LDS Standard works. Most religions do not have an adequate definition of these two important concepts.
Many authors note how much the rich and deep inspired poetic supplications and prayers found in most scriptures have in common, but the above have more in common than most. And both are Jewish Literature at their best.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brownlee, William Hugh, The Dead Sea Manual of Discipline (also known as the Serek Scroll), Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Supplementary Studies Nos 10-12, American Schools of Oriental Research, Yale, New Haven, Conn. 1951
Burrows, Millar, The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Viking Press, New York, 1956
Danielou, Jean, The Dead Sea Scrolls and Primitive Christianity, Helicon Press, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1958
Shapiro, R. Gary, An Exhaustive Concordance of the Book of Mormon Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, Hawkes Publishing Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, 1977
Trever. John C., Scrolls from Qumran Cave 1, The Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and The Shrine of the Book, Jerusalem, 1972
Vermes, Geza, Discovery in The Judean Desert, Desclee Co. New York, 1956