Jan 6-12, 2020- I Will Go and Do - 1 Nephi Chapters 1-7

Speaking of Lehi and his family, the Come Follow Me lesson manual asserts "there is real power in following the examples of faith that this family—despite their imperfections—demonstrated."

I tend to focus on what I can learn explicitly from what the author's of the Book of Mormon say, but this prompt from the lesson manual made me consider what I learn implicitly from  the figures in the Book of Mormon. Lehi did an impossibly difficult thing. He boldly challenged the people to repent, even when doing so incurred the wrath of the people and jeopardized his life. He endured hardship and uncertainty traveling in the desert, and crossing the ocean in a make-shift vessel. He tirelessly appealed to wayward children in faith and love. 

Despite his righteousness and courage, there were times when he complained and stumbled. In some ways, Lehi's human moments are more inspiring than his peaks of faith because they show me that I can influence others for good despite my imperfections. Fortunately, we do not have to wait to be perfect to do good. 

1 Nephi 1 - Having a Great Knowledge of the Goodness and Mysteries of God

When Nephi gives his reasons for writing his personal history, he  links "having been born of goodly parents," having been "highly favored of the Lord," and "having a great knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God." Every year I become more acutely aware of my privilege . In almost every way imaginable I am at an advantage because of my gender, my age, the color of my skin, my language, my education, my socioeconomic status, and my nation of origin.  This unfair advantage is a function of social constructs, and while I thank God for the life I live a world of inequality is not by His desire or design. Nonetheless, I wonder if I'm doing enough with my position of privilege. Do I let my "highly favored" status motivate me to action. Nephi recorded his history because he had good parents, enjoyed the blessings of God, and had received spiritual insight. By the same token, I feel a responsibility to share what I know and believe. 

After seeing a remarkable vision of Jesus and the twelve apostles, Lehi's "soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him" (1 Nephi 1:15). Not only does personal revelation come with a responsibility to act and to share. Receiving spiritual insights from Heavenly Father is a source of joy and comfort, and among the greatest gifts we can receive. 

Click on the link to read my previous post on 1 Nephi 1. 

1 Nephi 2 - Blessed Art Thou

After Lehi had seen a vision of the destruction of Jerusalem and testified of the iniquity od the people, the Lord said, "Blessed art thou Lehi, because of the things which thou hast done; and because thou hast been faithful and declared unto this people the things which I commanded thee, behold, they seek to take away thy life" (1Nephi 2:1). If I were in Lehi's shoes, I wonder if I would feel blessed if my life were in danger. In my narrow perspective it is easy to think of blessings in terms of earthly conveniences, or having things work out as I had planned. Lehi offers a powerful example of maintaining an eternal perspective and having confidence in the power of the Lord to reward His people. 

After fleeing his home with the barest essentials, Lehi "built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God" (1 Nephi 2:7). What was Lehi thanking him for? Being displaced and in danger, others might have been distraught, and felt abandoned by the Lord. But instead of focusing on his loss and challenges he faced, Lehi was able to find gratitude for life preserved.

In a recent leadership training workshop I completed a stress resiliency profile, which identified various attitudes and characteristics that make people less resilient to stress. One of the stress-prone attributes was something the assessment called, "deficiency focusing," or "the habit of focusing on the negatives at the expense of the positives." I guess the opposite would be something like "abundance focusing" or the skill the Lehi showed to recognize the goodness of God when times were dark and uncertain. 

Click on the link to read my previous post on 1 Nephi 2

1 Nephi 3 - I Will Go and Do

When the Lord commanded Lehi to send his sons back to Jerusalem to obtain their genealogy and the scriptures, his sons had different reactions. Laman and Lemuel felt "it is a hard thing which I have required of them" (1 Nephi 3:5). Nephi, no the other hand, responded, "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" (1 Nephi 3:7). How did Nephi know? How he arrived at this attitude of faith and conviction is as important as the attitude itself. Lehi provided a clue in his reaction "when [he] had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord" (1 Nephi 3:8).

The only way we can be filled with optimism, faith, or any other God-like attribute is to have our natures changed by the power of God. Nephi knew God would prepare a way because of the transformative effect of his previous experiences with the Spirit. Speaking of charity the prophet Moroni instructed us to "pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son" (Moroni 7:48). When we pray and take action we demonstrate that we are true followers of Christ, and in turn God makes us new creatures. 

I recently listed to a podcast by the life coach Jody Moore about the difference between seeking results and living values. As a parent, I hope to achieve certain results in my family--things like a clean house, or obedience children who go to church and get good grades. But underlying those outward results are the reasons why there are important to me--my values. Jody highlighted that sometimes we pursue the outward result at the expense of the inner values. If I, like Lehi, had two children complained and one child who responded enthusiastically I might be tempted to think, "how can I get these two to stop complaining." In reality Laman and Lemuel's reaction was not the disease, it was the symptom. Instead getting them to stop complaining I could try to help them develop the ability to and the habit of communicating with God. 

Click on the link to read my previous post on 1 Nephi 3

1 Nephi 4 - Let Us Be Faithful in Keeping the Commandments of the Lord

When Nephi and his brother returned to obtain the genealogy and scriptures recorded on the brass plates, his brothers understandably wondered, "How is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands? Behold, he is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty; then why not us? Instead of offering a direct answer or a specific plan, Nephi shared his general belief in the power of God, and encouraged them to "be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth" (1 Nephi 4:1). 

The motivation to do the right thing often comes from a sense that the task is possible and the outcome will be worth it. Faith in the power of God to enable and assist lends us confidence to keep the commandments. Overly fixating on the details of how obedience is possible could actually undermine our resolve; we can't know how a thing is done until we've done it. 

Nephi drew a parallel between obtaining the plates and Moses leasing the children of Israel out of Egypt. He encouraged his brothers, "let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither" (1 Nephi 4:2). Much of the power of the scriptures lies in the examples it offers us. We can vicariously equate their experiences to ours and use the blessings and help they received as evidence that God can hear and help us. 

After Nephi and his brother obtained the plates from Laban, Nephi persuaded Laban's servant, Zoram, to come with them to the promise land. Again, Nephi emphasized that the commandments or God are definitionally possible, and inherently worth keeping. "Surely the Lord hath ^acommanded us to do this thing; and shall we not be diligent in keeping the commandments of the Lord?" (1 Nephi 4:34). 

Click on the link to read my previous post on 1 Nephi 4

1 Nephi 5 - It Was Wisdom in the Lord That We Should Carry Them With Us

Because of the value of the brass plates, Nephites asserted, "it was wisdom in the Lord that we should carry them with us, as we journeyed in the wilderness towards the land of promise" (1 Nephi 5:22). I have never really considered the physical task of carrying heavy metal plates through the desert. I don't know if it was inconvenient or difficult to bring the record a long, but given how little Lehi and his family took with them in the wilderness, it certainly speaks to the importance Lehi placed on "preserving the commandments of the Lord unto our children" (1 Nephi 5:21).

Thinking of the plates metaphorically, I wonder what I would be wise to carry with me throughout my life. Habits maintained and sacrifices made for the gospel can feel as awkward as a book of brass carried on the back of a camel lumbering through the sand. Choosing to pay tithing, read the scriptures, and devote time to callings seemingly adds weight and slow us down. 

The reason Lehi decided to take the brass plates with him is because he had "searched them and found that they were desirable; yea, even of great worth unto us" (1 Nephi 5:21). We can only know of a commandments worth if we experiment with keeping it. If we do not have a current and living sense that the scriptures or our involvement in the church are desirable or of great worth to us, we are not likely to carry them with us through life. 

Click on the link to read my previous post on 1 Nephi 5

1 Nephi 6 - We Are Descendants of Joseph

Even though Nephi did not record the full genealogy of his family, he alluded to the importance of being a descendant of Joseph who was sold into Egypt, "for it sufficeth me to say that we are descendants of Joseph" (1 Nephi 6:2). What was so important to him about being a descendant of the Joseph? Later in the Book of Mormon, "Lehi reported that Joseph's prophecies concerning his seed included the following: 

• (1) they would become a righteous people; 
• (2) the Messiah would manifest himself to them; 
• (3) a latter-day seer like Moses, raised up by God from Joseph's seed, would himself be called Joseph (2 Ne. 3:1-25); and 
• (4) the righteous seed of the ancient Joseph who accept the gospel will help in building the New Jerusalem and will participate in events of the last days (3 Ne. 20:10-28, 21:2-26)" (Mcbride, Liesel C.)

Being a descendant of Joseph implied a rich destiny, and foreshadowed a wealth of blessings, and anticipated an important role of his posterity. Joesph of Egypt "was preserved by the hand of the Lord, that he might preserve his father, Jacob, and all his household from perishing with famine" (1 Nephites 5:14). In a similar way, Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon and restored the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to provide life-giving sustenance during a spiritual famine. 

Click on the link to read my previous post on 1 Nephi 6

1 Nephi 7 - We Shall Obtain the Land of Promise

After Nephi and his brothers returned to Jerusalem to marry the daughters of Ishmael it seems all too natural that some of his brothers would not want to return to the wilderness. The destruction of Jerusalem was an abstract and distant notion, while the familiarity and comfort of their old home was current and tangible. Laman and Lemuel rebelled against Nephi, "in the which rebellion, they were desirous to return unto the land of Jerusalem" (1 Nephi 7:7).

Laman and Lemuel are not the only ones who have been tempted to turn back when the path to greater blessings felt hard and uncertain. Speaking to the Hebrews, Paul explained that many of the prophets of the Old Testament "all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned" (Hebrews 11:13-15). 

Laman and Lemuel were "mindful of that country from whence they came" and wanted to go back. Nephi reiterated the apparent antidote to being overly mindful of what they were leaving when he said, "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. And if it so be that we are faithful to him, we shall obtain the land of promise" (1 Nephi 7:12-13). 

Nephi was "persuaded of [the promises of God], and embraced them." When we are persuaded of the certainty and inevitability of God' promises we find a deeper well of resolve and patience to pursue them. We are not anxious or hurried when we have confidence. Instead we are consistent and determined in doing our part, and this faith becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Click on the link to read my previous post on 1 Nephi 7