During our life we are going to have many trials. It is the nature of living: needing to learn, to grow, and to overcome various challenges. Nephi is a great example of having to put faith in the Lord during life’s many obstacles. He becomes the standard, not because he is perfect (which he is not), but because he is consistent and he remembers.
Nephi’s record begins at the moment his father, Lehi, has a vision about the destruction of Jerusalem. Like many of the prophets during that time, his life was threatened, and the Lord tells him in a vision that he must take his family, leave and go into the wilderness. After three days of traveling, they set up camp for a time. Before I get into the reactions of Lehi’s family, I want their situation to be relatable.
How would you react if one of your parents, or another family member, or even an ecclesiastical leader told you that you needed to leave everything behind, and only bring your “family, and provisions, and tents,” into the middle of nowhere and you do not know what will happen afterwards (1 Nephi 2:4)? Also, while telling you that you need to pack your things and leave, that person tells you they had seen God in a vision, and was told to do this. The initial reaction of most anybody, myself included, is disbelief. Just the notion of this is crazy. So, how would you respond?
Laman and Lemuel do not believe their father, they believe that Lehi is lead by “the foolish imaginations of his heart”; their concern is that they left their inheritance, gold, silver and other valuables to die in the wilderness (1 Nephi 2:11). This is a very natural human reaction to being asked to do something that you don’t like nor agree with. As you read the scriptures, this is a typical response when there are difficult trials for these people. It may seem easy to judge people like Laman and Lemuel, but we should sympathize for them, because many of us have similar values. Their worries are natural worries, such as finances, food, comfort, family, shelter, and anything else that you find important in your life. What they do not do, is trust in the Lord. Their human focus and neglect of their spiritual life, creates an environment of continual doubt and distrust. Nephi will emphasize this later on in his record.
Initially, Nephi does not believe his father. He wants to but he is not sure. So, he goes and prays for answers, and he writes, “[the Lord] he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father” (1 Nephi 2:16). By praying, he receives his own answer to his father’s declaration of why they need to leave Jerusalem. A major mistake many of us make is that all you need to do is pray and you will be answered. Prayer is the tool of communication with Heavenly Father, but there are other conditions that need to be met before one gets an answer like Nephi.
Later on in the chapter, Nephi prays again for Laman and Lemuel and the Lord speaks to him again, but this time it is emphasized what Nephi is doing correctly and the Lord reinforces the conditions one needs to do to communicate effectively with him. The Lord tells Nephi, “Blessed are thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart” (1 Nephi 2:19). Prior to this revelation, Nephi had (1) faith in the Lord; and he reinforced his faith by (2) seeking the Lord diligently, and we do that by praying and reading the scriptures. The common quote is by Nephi again, “feast upon the words of Christ” (2 Nephi 32:3); and, “ye must pray always” (2 Nephi 32:9). And while you seek and pray, (3) humility is the next requirement, as the Lord had expressed to Nephi. The Lord then gives Nephi another requirement, and that if he (4) keeps the Lord’s commandments, he will be led (1 Nephi 2:20). All these things that Nephi has been told are fundamental actions one must take to receive the spiritual connection with Lord. It is not a one-time event; those four actions must be done consistently and every day.
As you read the scriptures and read about the lives of the prophets, pay attention to what they do. These four things are vital to their improvement with their spiritual connection to God, and overall improvement in their lives. Doing these things does not mean that trials and obstacles will be prevented. It does not prevent you from making mistakes, nor having people hurt you. People will still die, either by old age, sickness, or even by another’s hand. Life and death still continue. On the other hand, neglecting these four things will not prevent you from having success in life; nor, others from gaining what their heart’s desire. What will be lost is the spiritual connection to Heavenly Father, including the peace and reassurance that comes with that. There is a difference between struggling on your own and struggling with the help of Heavenly Father. I know that I need Heavenly Father’s help, especially through the many trials I face daily.
I can tell you from my own experience that when I do as Laman and Lemuel, I am continually frustrated, angry, and bitter. I slowly lose my spiritual connection with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Even if I have been neglectful, and when I am in turmoil, when I remember to do those four actions, my life begins to improve, and I slowly regain the peace that I once had; my trials don’t end, but my ability to cope and handle them grow and strengthen. If we want that connection, we must follow Nephi’s example, of being consistent and remembering to have faith, feast on the words of Christ, pray, be humble and keep the commandments.
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