Continuing to speak because the multitude was paralyzed with fear and because he gained the favor of some who listened, Nephi turned to the scriptures. He cited Moses’ parting of the Red Sea, an apparent favorite with the Nephites (see 1 Nephi 4:2; 1 Nephi 17:26–27; Mosiah 7:19; Alma 36:28), as evidence that the power God had been given to one man before and therefore could be given to Nephi (Helaman 8:12–13).
The account of the serpent made of brass that Moses lifted up in the wilderness (v. 14) is found in the Old Testament:
6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. [Numbers 21:6–9]
The Gospel of John refers to the incident and gives us the symbolism of Christ being lifted up. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:14–15).
Nephi, son of Lehi, tells us why the people were not benefited or healed by Jehovah at that time.
41 And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished. [1 Nephi 17:41]
Alma expanded upon the lesson given by Nephi.
19 Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.
20 But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.
21 O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish? [Alma 33:19–21]
Therefore, that this great type of Christ was taught by Nephi, son of Helaman (Helaman 8:15) serves as a another witness of the biblical account. It was also taught in the apocrypha:
For when the horrible fierceness of beasts came upon these, and they perished with the stings of crooked serpents, thy wrath endured not forever: But they were troubled for a small season, that they might be admonished, having a sign of salvation, to put them in remembrance of the commandment of thy law. For he that turned himself toward it was not saved by the thing that he saw, but by thee, that art the Saviour of all. And in this thou madest thine enemies confess, that it is thou who deliverest from all evil. [“The Wisdom of Solomon,” The Missing Books of the Bible, 16:226).
Nephi, son of Helaman, bore testimony that all the prophets back to Abraham, and before Abraham knew of Christ (Helaman 8:16–18). This testimony adds some additional insights concerning what plain and precious parts have been lost from the Bible. The Gospel of John confirms that Abraham saw the coming of Christ as Nephi testified (v. 17). Jesus testified to the Jews that “your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (John 8:56). Furthermore, the Prophet Joseph Smith restored the account of Abraham’s vision of the Savior to the Genesis record:
9 And Abram said, Lord God, how wilt thou give me this land for an everlasting inheritance?
10 And the Lord said, Though thou wast dead, yet am I not able to give it thee?
11 And if thou shalt die, yet thou shalt possess it, for the day cometh, that the Son of man shall live; but how can he live if he be not dead? he must first be quickened.
12 And it came to pass, that Abram looked forth and saw the days of the Son of man, and was glad, and his soul found rest, and he believed in the Lord; and the Lord counted it unto him for righteousness. [JST, Genesis 15:9–12]
Nephi’s list of prophets who had testified of the coming of the Son of God names three prophets whose accounts are no longer in the Bible: Zenos, Zenock and Ezias (Helaman 8:19–20). Other parts of the Book of Mormon quote from Zenos and Zenock (see 1 Nephi 19:10–17; Jacob 5:1; Alma 33:3–17; 3 Nephi 10:16). Helaman 8:20 is the only mention of the prophet Ezias. If all of these prophets were listed in chronological order, which is implied by Abraham, Isaiah, and Jeremiah being in chronological order, we may have some insight into the time period when Zenos, Zenoch, and Ezias lived on earth. The plates of brass will certainly verify their time periods.
The fifth characteristic of a prophet is drawn from Nephi’s testimony of the prophets who had testified (Helaman 8:11–20). A prophet’s testimony will be consistent with other testim onies of Christ and with other scriptures. Isaiah invites his people to turn “To the law [of Mose s] and to the testimony [of the prophets]; and if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20; 2 Nephi 18:20). Jesus opened up the scriptures to the two men on the roa d to Emmaus to testify of himself, and also later to the apostles.
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. [Luke 24:27, 44–45]
There is consistency in the scriptures and in the prophets. Joseph Smith also testified that “Christ was the Great High Priest” (TPJS, 158) and that “none ever were perfect but Jesus; and why was he perfect? Because he was the Son of God, and had the fullness of the Spirit, and greater power than any man” (TPJS, 187–88).