30 And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once by the of God, and have had great of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have away into sin and transgression, they become more , and thus their state becomes than though they had never known these things. (Alma 24:30)
1 I, Nephi, having been of , therefore I was somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a of my proceedings in my days. (1 Nephi 1:1)
7 And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the , and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the of men; for they will search , nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in , even as plain as word can be. (2 Nephi 32:7)The Alma quote informs us that "great knowledge" comes by the enlightenment of the Spirit of God. It also teaches us that "great knowledge" is accompanied with responsibility. If you sin against it, it would be better to not have had it in the first place. The last of the three quotes also teaches that one must search for it, it doesn't come without any effort.
In the first verse of the Book of Mormon, Nephi reflects on his life (he is probably around 40-50 years old as he writes this). One of the first things he brings up is the "great knowledge" that he has been "highly favored" to obtain. He also connects this to the "mysteries of God". This makes the next quote even more interesting. The same Nephi who connected "great knowledge" to mysteries also connects it to plainness. It may seem a paradox on the surface, but I don't think it is at all.
It could be interesting to dive into "mysteries" in the Book of Mormon as well, but I will try to not make it too long-winded. Simply put, I think mysteries are called so in the scriptures because they cannot be obtained by secular learning, they can only come to you through revelation. But when you are enlightened by the Spirit of God, it is pure knowledge given to you in plainness. For example, great knowledge of God's mysteries came to Nephi through revelation, plain and clear, but was hidden from his brothers (and therefore 'mysterious' to them) because they had not "inquired of the Lord" (1 Nephi 15:8). It is the same for you and I, and we choose if we want to be Nephi or Laman/Lemuel in that regard. This is my understanding or interpretation at least, but I would say that I have support from Jacob
Behold, great and marvelous are the of the Lord. How are the depths of the of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man of his save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the of God...the Spirit speaketh the and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really , and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us , for the salvation of our souls. (Jacob 4:8, 13)I also think certain Book of Mormon expressions, such as "great knowledge", "highly favored" and "chosen" are used to describe a branch of a covenant people on an "isle of the sea" (2 Nephi 10:20). This position gave the Nephites both privileges and great responsibility. Unfortunately they could not live up to this responsiblity in the end and suffered the consequences of it.
I mentioned that the term, "great knowledge", was found in the Book of Abraham. Let's have a look
2 And, finding there was greater and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of , desiring also to be one who possessed great , and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many , a prince of peace, and to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a , holding the right belonging to the fathers. (Abraham 1:2)It is interesting to me that one of the precursors for the Abrahamic covenant was his desire for "great knowledge".
To me at least, the use of "great knowledge" in the the Book of Abraham and the Book of Mormon suggests that this is not merely about having information. Those who are "highly favored" and have "great knowledge" about the mysteries of God are in a covenant relationship with him. They have a great responsibility but also access to wonderful blessings.
