1 Nephi 9

Sunday, June 30, 2013


In verse 3 of this chapter, which says "Nevertheless, I have received a commandment of the Lod that I should make these plates, for the special purpose that there should be an account engraven of the ministry of my people," Nehi receives a commandment from Heavenly Father to make a second set of plates for a "special purpose." Nephi, as we find in verse 5, had absolutely no idea why we was asked to make these plates. He just did what the Lord asked out of faith. I find it incredible that Nephi trusted the Lord so much. 
From Nephi's testimony in verse 6, "But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulflling of all his words And thus it is. Amen.," we know that the Lord knows all things from the beginning until the very end. He knows us entirely - our thoughts, feelings, needs, and wants. We also need to trust Him enough to tell us something when He thinks the time is right rather than trying to convince Him that we should know what we want to know as soon as we want to know it. And, as Elder Earley said, it can be kind of scary to put our full trust in Heavenly Father and just wait until the time is right. 
I know, for me, one of the scarier decisions is trying to decide where to go to college. I've prayed many times and maybe it's because I haven't prayed sincerely enough about it, but I don't feel like I've really gotten an answer as to where to go for that higher level of education. I, like many others, am very uncomfortable with the unknown. I can, though, trust that Heavenly Father knows what He's doing and will tell me when the time is right. I encourage all who read this to do the same. Completely put your trust in Heavenly Father. 

1 Nephi 8

Thursday, June 27, 2013

                        

In this particular chapter, Lehi sees a vision of the Tree of Life. Laman and Lemuel, refusing to entirely have faith in the Lord refuse to eat the fruit of the tree. The Tree of Life represents God’s love for us, the fruit represents eternal life and the iron rod symbolizes the Word of God – the Gospel. I believe in this chapter we can say that this is where Heavenly Father openly shows His love for Nephi and his brother Sam. They, throughout all of the hard times, have remained faithful to the Lord. They trusted him when He asked them to go to Laban’s house to get the plates and never doubted that he would safely deliver them back to their family. Laman and Lemuel on the other hand had a very hard time trusting the Lord. Even when an angel appeared to testify of the truth, they still doubted the Lord. Obviously, we do not want to be like Laman and Lemuel. Even when the trials of life are difficult, we need to remain faithful and trust that what the Lord says is the right thing to do.

My personal example for trusting the Lord is I have to trust that even with my parents, everything will turn out alright in the end. I have so much that I could easily lose simply by converting and I hope and trust the Lord will not only help me through this, but that He will also help my family see that this is the correct path and faith. Another part to this is my mom told me that while I am on vacation, I am not allowed to read The Book of Mormon. I have found that when I don’t read this book, my faith is easily moved; I have a much harder time standing my ground faith wise. So I asked Heavenly Father what I should do and the answer was to read The Book of Mormon, anyway, even if my mom does not approve.

In the chapter, where Sariah, Sam and Nephi are waiting unsure of where to go, I think it symbolizes how we are. We really aren’t sure what to go and road to follow unless we have someone telling us. Lehi is a prophet and he guides the three others so that they may come join him at the tree of life. The tree of life symbolizes eternal life. So, if we follow the commandments of Heavenly Father and do good acts as well as have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and be baptized by total immersion for the remission of sins, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end, we too can have eternal life.

Lehi beckoned Sariah, Sam and Nephi to come over to the tree to partake of the fruit, “And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also.” They listened to Lehi and have done all other things which makes them good in the eyes of Heavenly Father. Notice that Laman and Lemuel are not here. They don’t have faith in Heavenly Father and because of their stubbornness, they will not partake of this fruit.

When we look down at verses 19 and 20, it says “And I beheld a rod of iron… And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the iron rod, which led to the tree.” The iron rod symbolizes the Word of God or scriptures, like the Book of Mormon and the Bible. These books are our guide to lead us on a straight and narrow path, which is God’s path. The last part of that verse says that. The tree holds fruit which symbolize eternal life. So we are on a straight path to return to Heavenly Father as long as we do all that He says.

There were some people who did not or were not able to follow Lehi to the tree. Those that chose not to follow, once they did taste the fruit, were ashamed because of their actions. They saw all of the blessings following Heavenly Father would bring and yet, they did not do that before.

Those who were not able to find the path were lost. I think the path can symbolize the Word of God as well. I know that at the time when I was not listening to God, I was truly lost. I was also very, very unhappy with myself and everyone around me. Honestly, at the time, I did not think God was such a big deal. I did not think the Bible really meant anything or that it was anything to really care about. Heavenly Father gave me an opportunity to change that, and I can say that I’ve never been happier. It helps so much to have someone you can always rely on and trust. The missionaries have also been absolutely amazing. I would not trade for them. I think that if it had not been for all the help they’ve given me, through the power of the Holy Ghost, I would not have made it as far as I have.

As we continue to strive down the straight and narrow path the Lord has set for us, and as long as we do all that He says, we can one day be in His presence again. The trials and all may be tough now, but it will totally be worth it. I encourage all that have not given the Mormon faith a try to do so, it literally saved my life and I truly believe it can do the same for others. Heavenly Father will welcome you back with open arms no matter what you have done. He did for me, He will do it for you. Ask and you shall receive, that is a promise He made us. Ask for help and He will give it to you; ask for an opportunity and you will receive one. Take advantage of it and allow yourself to change your life for the better. It is entirely worth it, this I can promise. 

1 Nephi 7

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Nephi states that they “did speak unto him [Ishmael] the words of the Lord” (verse 4). This shows that Nephi was testifying to Ishmael and that Ishmael also felt the Spirit. From that, Ishmael knew the truthfulness of Nephi’s and Nephi’s brothers’ words. Each time we testify to someone, they can know the truth of our words by the power of the Holy Spirit. We can know the truthfulness of the words of others by this as well.

Laman, Lemuel, and two of the daughters of Ishmael rebelled against Nephi ad the others. The four that rebelled were having a hard time choosing between the words of the Lord and the comforts of home. I am sure that that had to have been a difficult decision especially because all four of them clearly lacked faith in Heavenly Father. A lot of times, though, we need to just give up our want for an understanding of all things and just do what the Lord tells us to. In verse 12, which states “Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him? Wherefore, let us be faithful to him.”

After Nephi spoke these words, and a few others, his brothers became exceedingly mad at him for saying that they have no faith and it almost seems like Nephi is saying he is better than them. Nephi tells his brothers and the two daughters of Ishmael that they should not return to the land of Jerusalem because if they do, they will perish. Nephi’s brothers became overtly angry with him and bound him with cords. Their intent had been to leave Nephi in the wilderness for animals to eat him. Nephi, though, asks the Lord to give him strength so that he could break the cords which bound him. Nephi shows us that instead of asking the Lord to change our situation, we should instead ask to have the strength to get through the trial we are facing.  

Because Nephi was faithful and trusted the Lord entirely, the Lord helped him. Nephi knew that just having a little faith in the Lord is enough. Heavenly Father promises us that if we have just a little bit of faith, we can move mountains.

Nephi quickly forgave his brothers for trying to take his life. This is how we should be – quick to forgive one another. I think that if Nephi can forgive someone for trying to kill him, we can most certainly forgive someone for anything they do to us. Nephi then told them that even though he had forgiven them, they still needed to ask for the forgiveness of the Lord. Because of Christ, we can repent and be forgiven for our sins. The Lord has promised us that when we truly repent for our sins, we will be forgiven and He will forget the sin which we committed regardless of how bad it may seem. There is only one sin which He will not forgive and that sin is if you receive a direct witness and still deny Him and the truthfulness of the gospel, like what Laman and Lemuel have done. We should take advantage of the opportunity to repent for our sins. Life is so much easier when we can rid ourselves of unnecessary burdens of sin. One thing to remember is that only Heavenly Father’s opinion counts. So even if someone refuses to forgive you after you’ve truly repented, it doesn’t matter because only the forgiveness of Heavenly Father matters. If you’ve done your best to make up for what you did, the Atonement will make up for the rest and you can rest easy, because you’ve done all that you can do. 

1 Nephi 6

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Nephi tells us that it is his intent to “persuade men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved” (verse 4). We know from reading and from The Plan of Salvation that the only way we can return to our Heavenly Father is to accept Him into our lives and do all that He has told us to do. Because of Christ, His only Begotten Son, we can be saved and return to Him. It is our job to make sure we try to give everyone a chance to accept God and follow the teachings of Christ. While we cannot force a person to do anything, we can ask them to pray and ask Heavenly Father with a sincere heard and real intent to know if these things are true. When they find for themselves that these things are true, we must hope that they will act on their findings. And though we cannot make anyone do anything, we can help guide them. Heavenly Father has promised us that if we look to Him for help, He will help us and will “make our paths straight.” Helping people and guiding them is the work of missionaries, but we have been told by Prophets and Apostles that even when we are not on a mission, we should always be doing missionary work and sharing the gospel with others.

Nephi also tells us in this chapter that he will only write about things which God tells him to. Nephi also tells us that what he writes will not be pleasing to us unless we want them to be.

Nephi also makes it clear that all of the words on these plates are useful to us. So we can trust that reading the Book of Mormon will help us and is not a waste of our time. I personally can say that each time I read my scriptures, it helps me to feel closer to my Heavenly Father. There are times in my life where my faith and trust in Heavenly Father is really tested. I have found that if I stop and read my scriptures during this time, I feel much more at ease and the trial seems easier to endure. 

1 Nephi 5

Sunday, June 23, 2013

When Nephi and his brothers left to go into the wilderness and had not returned for several days, Sariah began to complain and murmur against her husband, Lehi. When Sariah does this, it shows her little faith in the Lord. The Lord was the one who commanded Nephi and his brothers to go out into the wilderness and get the plates from Laban. Since the Lord told them to do this, He will also protect them for being faithful and doing what He asked them to do.

Lehi, though, tries to comfort his wife and tells her “and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban and bring the down again unto us in the wilderness” (verse 5). When Lehi says this, he demonstrates his complete faith and trust in the Lord. In this manner, we should all strive to be like Lehi and trust the Lord will protect us and will help us in our times of need.

The sons, of course, do return from the wilderness and are fine. Sariah and her husband were overjoyed to see their sons again. In verse 8, Sariah tells them that she now believes and has faith in the Lord. But I don’t believe that truly is faith because to have faith is to trust in things that are not seen, which are true and Sariah had to see in order to believe. If she had really had faith, she would have trusted what she could not see, which was the Lord’s promise.

Lehi read through the records his sons had obtained. As Lehi read through the records, he “saw all these things, [and] he was filled with the Spirit” (verse 17). The Books of Moses were also with these records. I think it is so cool to think that the books of Moses which are located in the Pearl of Great Price are from this long ago. We can know that these things are true by prayer and also because of Joseph Smith. Heavenly Father would never allow a prophet to write something if it were not true. Nephi was a prophet and so was Joseph Smith. Nephi wrote this book (the Book of Nephi) and Joseph Smith put it into the English language (by writing it). So we now have two witnesses and God that these things are true. Therefore, they must be.

And in verse 22, Nephi tells us that the Lord had a purpose for the plates. We can conclude that there is a purpose for everything the Lord does and asks us to do. He really does know what He’s doing, so strive to trust Him completely, even when things are difficult. 

1 Nephi 4

Friday, June 21, 2013

In the first verse “And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us to up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord,” we can see that Nephi tries his hardest to continuously have faith in the Lord despite his brothers and the other difficult circumstances. I feel like I can relate to Nephi in that my parents and family are constantly talking bad about the Church. It is difficult to be faithful to the Lord and to trust that everything will turn out alright when it seems so bad. One of my favorite scriptures comes from Doctrine and Covenants and it says “My son [or daughter], peace be unto thy soul: thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes” (D&C 121:7-8). I think Nephi realized, as we all should, that our situation is only temporary and that things will get better.

He then tells his brothers that they have seen an angel and that angel confirmed their actions to be correct, so why should they doubt? Doubt is like a disease. Once it starts it is difficult to stop, as you begin to question things to the point of where you stop believing and lose faith at the slightest challenges. I think this is what has happened to Laman and Lemuel. The started doubting so much that now they cannot stop.

In verse 6, Nephi tells us “And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do.” This is while Nephi was going to Laban’s house. Often times, we don’t know why Heavenly Father asks us to do something and usually, we don’t end up seeing the rewards and blessings for our actions until afterwards. Sometimes we don’t understand why we are told by Heavenly Father to do something. But we have to trust the Lord and have faith in Him, especially because He sees everything in the bigger picture whereas we only see the present.

In the Mormon message video series by Elder Bednar called Patterns of Light, we learn that the Lord often gives us just a little bit of knowledge to act on and when we do act upon this knowledge, we receive more. And the process repeats. I think Nephi realized this and trusted that the Lord had given him just enough knowledge to complete the task which he was given.

Nephi’s faith is once again challenged when he finds Laban drunk from wine. The Spirit tells Nephi that he needs to slay Laban even though Nephi’s heart tells him not to. The Spirit tells him that he needs to and Nephi remembers the words which the Lord had spoken to him earlier and proceeds to kill Laban. The reason Laban is slayed is because those who are wicked produce more who are wicked. They too are like a disease that needs to be diminished.

Those who are wicked like Laban and his servant greatly fear the Lord and want nothing to do with Him. I learned the hard way that a life without Heavenly Father actively in it is awful and not worth living. It truly does lead to nothing but misery.

Nephi testified of the Lord to Laban’s servant. The servant made an oath to Nephi saying that he would follow the ways of the Lord if his life was spared. Nephi spared the servant’s life and the servant joined their group.

Because of Nephi’s faith in the Lord, Nephi and his brothers got the plates of brass containing the genealogy records and made it safely back to their father. This, though, would not have happened if Nephi had not trusted and had faith in the Lord. 

1 Nephi 3

Friday, June 21, 2013


The Lord appeared to their father in a dream and told him that Nephi and his brothers were to go to the house of Laban so that they could receive the genealogy of their forefathers. When the father told Laman and Lemuel this, they said that it could not be done because it is too hard. But the Lord would never give us something if He is not willing to help us with it. And in Luke 1:37, we are told "for with God nothing shall be impossible." So Laman and Lemuel are incorrect, nothing is too difficult for the Lord to accomplish. 
Nephi, on the other hand knows this and says to his father "I will go and do  the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." Nephi literally tells us that the Lord will never give us something which we cannot accomplish. That is not saying that it will be easy, but it will at least be possible. 
After reading this section, the one which is stated above, I felt a massive lift in my faith. With this, I have faith that the Lord can soften my parents' hearts even though it seems impossible right now. I think so often, we are tempted to be unfaithful because a challenge we face is difficult. But this is the time we need to rely on the Lord the most.
Nephi and his brothers head down to the house of Laban and Laman is chosen to ask Laban for the genealogy records. Laban got extremely mad and said that Laman was a thief and chased him off. When Laman returned to his brothers, he said the task was impossible and that they should return to the tent of their father. Lemuel agrees, but Nephi says they cannot return because they have not completed their task. I am sure it must be extremely difficult for Laman and Lemuel at this time. They have also lost everything and without faith in the Lord, they really have nothing. I think we can view Laban as the thing that weakens our faith here in our everyday lives. He's like the mountain that stops us from continuing to where we want to be. For Laman, Lemuel, and us, if we trust and have faith in the Lord, these challenges will not be or seem near as difficult. Also, we cannot give up on our first attempt to overcome something hard. Sometimes persistence and perseverance is the key. 
Nephi tells his brothers "Let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord." So he's basically telling his brothers to have faith. In Alma 32:21, we are told that "Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." While they do not know or have knowledge as to why this task is so difficult, Nephi knows and has testified to his brothers that the Lord exists and will help them. 
Laman and Lemuel were finally convinced by Nephi (who, by the way is their youngest brother) to go visit Laban again. He also convinces his brothers to trust the Lord. Nephi took all of their property, silver, gold, and all to Laban's house to trade. Laban began to lust for what they had. So Laban sent a servant to kill them (don't worry, they lived). They did end up losing all they had to the hands of Laban. At this time, Laman and Lemuel were extremely angry with their brother and father. They also, once again, hardened their hearts again the Lord. 
I think Laban is an example of how many people of this world are today. They, like Laban, lust after the possessions of others; they are obsessed with material items. I find this quite sad because material items will not bring you happiness and they most certainly will not help you return to your Father in Heaven. 
The Lord sent an angel to tell them that they needed to return to the house of Laban and that he, Laban, would be delivered into their hands. Even with the angel, Laman and Lemuel talked badly of the Lord and doubted His abilities. I don't understand how they could do that after having seen and heard an angel.