Nephi is commanded to build a ship—His brethren oppose him—He exhorts them by recounting the history of God’s dealings with Israel—He is filled with the power of God—His brethren are forbidden to touch him, lest they whither as a dried reed. About 592—591 B.C.
I'm always so amazed by Nephi's faithfulness. Sometimes, it seems some people are just born "good". But, I think it was wisdom for him to be blessed with an obedient heart. He was asked to do so many difficult things, and they would require a special person with enough faith to carry them out.
I love 1st Nephi because of all the themes of faith. That's a hard thing for me to do, put complete trust in the Lord. But, I always feel at peace when I base my decisions on what the He would have me do. These people had to leave their homes, live in the wilderness, trust the Lord to help them find food, figure out how to build a boat to take them across an ocean, live righteously so the Liahona could guide them, etc.
Then, of course, there's Laman & Lemuel always struggling with obedience. I feel bad for those two, because I've felt like them before. Obedience requires a lot of faith, and they seemed to have a hard time believing. Even after seeing and hearing an angel. I'm thinking, if I saw an angel, I would be like "OK, I will do whatever you want." But, maybe it was necessary for them to see an angel just to carry on. Maybe they would've killed their brother/father, if they didn't have those visions. But, then I wonder, why did the Lord put those two brothers in Lehi's family, if he knew they'd be so bad. I guess it was so we can read about them today, and see how easy it can be to fall away.
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