1 Ne 15:15 nourishment
for the true vine
One of the most common criticisms of
the Book of Mormon is that its themes are anachronistic. In other words, it
sounds too much like the New Testament to have been written hundreds of years
before the coming of Christ. The image of Christ as a ¡°vine¡± is an example. It
is first seen in the Bible in the New Testament when Christ says, I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman
(John 15:1). How could Nephi have used this image before Christ did? How could
this theme be known to him at that time?
Nephi was a prophet who had just seen an
incredible vision of the history of the world including the life and ministry
of the Savior. He had the spirit of prophecy and taught Messianic principles
that would be contained also in the Old Testament if so many plain and precious
parts had not been taken away from that record.
When the Dead Sea Scrolls were
examined, both the Jews and the non-Mormon Christians were astonished because
the scrolls contained so much ¡°New Testament¡± doctrine but were written prior
to the coming of Christ. This finding doesn¡¯t surprise a student of the Book of
Mormon. It confirms that the Lord was teaching his Old Testament era prophets
the higher law long before it was given by the Savior in the flesh.