1 Nephi 18

Good afternoon guys! I hope you are all having a good week. With President's Day starting out the week, I have been a bit discombobulated so this post is a little late...sorry! So today I wanted to talk about 1 Nephi 18. In 18 we read about Nephi taking his family on the boat they constructed to the promised land. Everything starts well, but then of course Laman and Lemuel and  the sons of Ishmael revolt against Nephi. In verse 10 they say that they don't like having their younger brother "rule over" them, so in verse 11 we read that they tie Nephi up and leave him like that for four days. While Nephi was bound, a great storm arose and the Liahona stopped working, leaving the family helpless on the sea. As the storm raged on, Nephi's brothers grew afraid and realized they needed to let him go. Now in verse 20 we read, "...wherefore, when they saw that they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea they repented of the thing which they had done..." and in 21 we read, "And it came to pass after they had loosed me, behold, I took the compass, and it did work whither I desired it. And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm." Did you notice multiple things had to be done in order for the storm to stop? First, Nephi's brothers had to repent of their sins. Next, they had to make things right by loosening the cords. Nephi then looked to the compass given to them by Heavenly Father and then prayed that the storm might cease. The principle I draw from this is that sometimes our trials aren't going to be taken away in the blink of an eye. In fact, that rarely happens. Trials are given to us because we have sinned, but they are also given to shape, refine and perfect us, even when we are being obedient. Without trials we cannot fully appreciate the Plan of Salvation or become like Christ. It is important to trust in God's timeline and know that there might be multiple things we have to do before we conquer a certain challenge. Something my Doctrine and Covenants professor said in class today is, "The Lord wants to bless us when the blessing will bless us the most." This teaches patience, but it also teaches the importance of faith in God, and knowing that he knows better than we do. I know this topic has kind broadened out from Nephi's story, so I hope you can see the connection I've made. I have learned to be grateful for the challenges in my life. Something I have started to do is instead of asking Heavenly Father to take my trials away, I ask for the strength and knowledge to overcome them. I have noticed that this gives more purpose and focus to my prayers as I learn how to overcome challenges. I challenge each of you to try this approach and I promise that your trials will seem lighter.

1 Nephi 7

Sorry this post is a wee bit late....I spent a little too much time Skyping my family last night, so blogging got pushed to today. I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend like I did and are all rested up to dive into 1 Nephi chapter 7. So this is the part where Nephi and his brothers bring Ishmael and his family into the wilderness with them. Nephi, his brothers and Zoram then marry the daughters of Ishmael. Where would this story be without a little romance, right? So, Laman and Lemuel and two of the sons of Ishmael had to ruin things and start complaining and conspiring against Nephi. Now look at verse 11 where Nephi says, "Yea, and how is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us, in delivering us out of the hands of Laban, and also that we should obtain the record?" Replace the phrase "out of the hands of Laban" and "that we should obtain the record" and put in one of your own trials. For example, "delivering me from my cold so that I could sleep and be ready for my exam." Or, "delivering me from a late house payment so that I could pay my tithing." This verse is a good reminder that we need to remember the blessings we have received and the challenges the Lord has gotten us through. In verse 12 Nephi goes on to say, "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." It isn't just the Nephi's and Moroni's of the world that receive miracles from the Lord. Its the you's and me's of the world. So, I challenge you to count your blessings this week (don't worry, I'll be doing it too). If you do it, comment and let me know if it changed your day, or maybe even your week! One last thought from chapter 7. In verse 21 we read, "And it came to pass that I did frankly forgive all that they had done..." Nephi's brothers were terrible to him! But he forgave them in the blink of an eye. That was a lesson I needed this week, so I thought I'd share that little tidbit, too.
To go along with the thoughts above ^^ here is an adorable handout (courtesy of the ever adorable Lil' Luna blog) http://lilluna.com/count-your-blessings-printable/

1 Nephi 1:1

Alright readers, or maybe it's just reader since I know my Book of Mormon teacher is at least reading this, I am actually really excited to start posting on here, so here it goes! Into the realm of 1 Nephi 1 we go...... So we've read the first verse of 1 Nephi 1 about a kagillion times right? C'mon, say it with me, "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents...." Well this time, I am going to take the challenge to "feast upon the words of Christ" and really try hard to learn something valuable from a chapter I'm pretty sure I've memorized. After the "I, Nephi" part, we read "therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days." Did you catch that middle part where he says, "having seen many afflictions"? What comes after that part? The word "nevertheless." I love that word! In the scriptures it always seems to mean, "something bad happened but I still went" or "something bad happened but I still trusted." Nephi's life wasn't perfect, yet he still relied on the Lord and obeyed His commandments. I don't know about you, but my life certainly isn't perfect. It is in the times where we feel the most imperfect that we must rely on the Lord. Turn a couple of pages to 2 Nephi 4:26 where we read "...why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?" Now look over at verse 34, "O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever." Those are some powerful, powerful verses, no? Nephi knows of God's mercy and has such a testimony of His power to make his trials strengths. I am so grateful for prophets and leaders who stand as examples of men and women who hand their sorrows to Christ, and become better because of it. To end, please please watch this video. I think it just about sums up what I got out of 1 Nephi chapter 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H84laUD95Xc