I just have to start
off saying that I absolutely love this part from verse 3, "And if it so be
that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them,
and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the
thing which he has commanded them." All God asks us to do is keep His
commandments, which are pretty easy, and He will bless us and provide us with
the strength we need to get through trials. I can definitely testify that He
has helped me through many trials and He has given me plenty of times to
strengthen my faith in Him. I have found thus far that the more we trust Him,
the more blessings we receive. When Nephi and his family began to strengthen
their faith in the Lord, they received plenty of blessings, like good food.
"And we did
sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the
wilderness." Nephi and his family journeyed through the wilderness for
eight years! Most of us have trials and all that last just a short while.
Definitely not normally eight years. I think this says so much for the faith of
Nephi and his family. When they were in the wilderness, they often had to rely
on the Lord to help them find food they could eat. I can only imagine how much
faith that took. And yet they did it.
When Nephi and his
family finally made it to their destination, the Lord called Nephi and told him
that he needed to build a ship that would carry them across the waters. Nephi
asked where the tools were and then said okay. This is probably a far-fetched
analogy, but I think we can completely relate our lives to this particular
event. Nephi and his family are just like you and I. Generally, we are not
asked to build a ship, but to build our faith and testimony. Like Nephi, we
need Heavenly Father's help. The tools He provides us are our scriptures, the
Spirit and missionaries. Once a ship has been built and we deem it steady, we
normally go out on the water. I think in this case the water can be viewed as
the world. So really, we are taking our testimony out into the world to test
it. Out at sea, a ship is always trying to stay above the water. Like us, we
are always trying to stay above temptation. Where Nephi is going is the land
the Lord promised him. After this life, assuming we lead good and righteous
lives in accordance with the gospel, we will receive the land, or rather
kingdom, that Heavenly Father has promised us. "Wherefore, inasmuch as ye
shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and
ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led." We need to
listen to the Lord and follow His commandments if we want Him to keep His
promise.
Continuing the
analogy above, verse 18 says "And thus my brethren
did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor,
for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would
they believe that I was instructed of the Lord." This reminds me of all of
the people who try to tear apart our testimonies not believing that the Lord
said that this is the one true church. People complain about the Mormon faith
and unfortunately, all too often, they have heard only misconceptions.
Nonetheless, they still try to prove they are right, much like Nephi's brothers
try to do in this verse.
After many events,
at the end of the chapter, Nephi's brothers say "We know of a surety that
the Lord is with thee, for we know that it is the power of the Lord that
has shaken us. And they fell down before me, and were about to worship me,
but I would not suffer them, saying: I am thy brother, yea, even thy younger
brother; wherefore, worship the Lord thy God, and honor thy father and thy
mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God shall
give thee." Heavenly Father, though, more than likely will not give us an
event like this. But truly, we don't need it. We have our testimony. In Alma
32:21, we are told that to have faith is to trust in things that are not seen
that are true. We know that God is the one true God. We know He's there and He
loves us. While we do not normally receive dramatic events, we don't need them.
After all, we have our faith, scriptures and testimonies, and that is plenty.
Hold on to your
testimony and be not swayed by others who claim it to be false. You know it's
true and Heavenly Father knows it's true, and that's enough. "Stand ye in
holy places and be not moved until the day of the Lord come" and stick to
your testimony.
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