1 Nephi 17:20-22
“And thou art like unto our father, led away by the foolish imaginations of his heart…
And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem were a righteous people; for they kept the statutes and judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments, according to the law of Moses…And after this manner of language did my brethren murmur and complain against us.”
Nephi’s brethren are now fathers, so they take this opportunity to complain about the hardships of their wives and how they could have been enjoying their possessions back in Jerusalem. There is no particular mention of Laman and Lemuel in this passage, which makes me think that even young Sam has joined in the complaining, leaving Nephi truly alone.
However, lets look at some of the problems with the complaints of Nephi’s brethren.
Distorted View of Reality
- They are delusional. They claim that the people in Jerusalem were righteous, even though when they left, Jeremiah had been thrown in to prison and Lehi’s life was threatened for preaching repentance to the people. While they were still likely performing all of the rituals associated with the Mosaic Law, they were far from righteous. Righteousness is not defined by rote obedience to a strict ritualistic law, but by the intentions of the heart. Surely Jeremiah and Lehi were prophesying about similar things, turn your heart to Jehovah to avoid certain destruction. Eight years in the wilderness has a way of distorting perspective and truth, especially when coupled with a longing for relaxing and riotous living.
- Despite seeing an angel and having their plight confirmed, they call Lehi’s visions and commandments “foolish imaginations of his heart”. They have seen several demonstrations now of the power of God, yet still they choose to turn a blind eye towards the truth.
- The use the word “wander” in the wilderness, when they have been guided and directed by the Liahona.
- They tie happiness with enjoying their possessions in Jerusalem. We all know money cannot buy happiness, so clearly this is delusional also. There are always problems to be found in any situation. Its how we handle life’s irritants that defines and determines our “happiness”.
Now, their complaints did have some truth mixed in with them for good measure, in order to strengthen their arguments and make their statements seem more persuasive. However, it is not difficult for anyone who recognizes truth to see through these weak arguments and complaints and refute them.
[Right... noted. But whats this got to do with money and budgeting?]
We often get into trouble when we make financial decisions that are not based on correct perceptions of reality. A few examples: Read more »
1 Nephi 17:17-19
“And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.
And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.
And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work.”
Don't Heed the Scoffers
Lets paraphrase this as an entrepreneur.? Instead of “build a ship”, substitute “start a business”, and other appropriate things.? Here’s my (true) version:
“And when my brethren saw that I was about to start a business, they began to caution me, saying: Are you sure? Starting a business is a big task. Do you really think you should leave your good job to try starting a business that might fail?
And thus my brethren did crush my spirit, and were desirous that they might not support my idea, for they did not believe that I could start a successful business; neither would they believe that I had prayed about it and felt it was the right thing to do.
And now it came to pass that I, Eric, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice, assuming they were correct, saying: We knew that ye could not start a successful business, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work.” Read more »
1 Nephi 17:14-15
“Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence.
And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock. ”
Do you have character?
I once heard a definition of character as “the determination to stick to and follow a decision after the excitement of making that decision has passed.” I love that. How many of us get excited about a decision, new goal or direction we want to take while we are making the choice, and then in the coming days, our determination wavers, we fall back into old habits or fail to establish the new ones we hoped for. Nephi isn’t making a change or course correction here, but he does show amazing determination to follow the Lord’s commandments. He began the arduous task of constructing a ship by making tools out of molten ore. All of this in hopes of obtaining a promised land which they had never seen; a land much better than where they currently where, which they named “Bountiful”.
Likening the scriptures to ourselves, if we are to obtain our “promised land” (be that wealth, a comfortable home, ability to spend more time with family, freedom to choose what to do with your time, means to serve more, etc…) we need to make righteous goals and stick to them. That determination will show the Lord our willingness to keep his commandments. Once the Lord knows that we will not waiver in our constancy in serving Him (through a pattern of dedicated service, faith and attitude), our tests will lessen and the windows of heaven open and His blessings will pour over us. Obtaining our “promised land” before then may be possible, but it will not be done with the joy that comes from blessings of the Lord.
I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not;
1 Nephi 17:12-13
“For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not;
And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led. ”
The thought of eating raw meat turns my stomach. But if its that or starvation, I’m sure I’d go for it. Of course, if the Lord made it sweet, it might not be so bad, especially after 8 years of getting used to it. Whats truly interesting about this is that the Lord was giving them pretty specific instructions that we only find out about as an explanation about lighting a fire. There likely was a lot of other specific instruction received that we don’t know about. Read more »
...I, Nephi, did make a bellows...
1 Nephi 17:11
“And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and after I had made a bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together that I might make fire.”
What’s involved in making a bellows? First Nephi had to hunt an animal of appropriate size, skin it, cure and dry the skin. Then he had to figure out a way to attach the skin to the hard, flat sides, probably made of wood. It needed a nozzle and handles. Remember this was to be used to generate heat enough to smelt iron, so it had to be pretty good quality. Also, any Scout or camper who has ever tried to light a fire by “smiting two stones together” will know this, in itself, is a huge challenge.
Clearly, this task was not accomplished in a matter of hours. It probably took several days to make a bellows that would work, and then a makeshift kiln had to be built, not just an open fire. We must assume that Nephi already had some of these skills, but it takes time to accomplish them, even though he was following the Lord’s command.
In our finances, we may have big or lofty goals; things we want to accomplish, or perhaps goals imposed upon us. Rather than just tackling the big goal of building a ship, Nephi broke the end goal into intermediate steps and accomplished each step in sequence. Read more »
1 Nephi 17:9-10
...whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten...
“And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?
And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools.”
Joseph Fielding McConkie said about this and the surrounding verses, “It is a law of heaven that its powers are extended in behalf of man only in those instances and on those matters where the powers and mind of man are insufficient. God will bless the harvest, but man must clear the land, plow the ground, plant the seed, and tend the crop. God will not do for us that which we can do for ourselves. Nephi could molten ore, but only when God has helped him find it; he could build a ship to cross the ocean, but only when God has provided the blueprint. Such is the relationship between men and God.”
With some insight into Nephi’s history, I believe he probably made some attempts to find ore before asking the Lord for help. Finally, after exhausting his own efforts, he went to the Lord. Interestingly, he didn’t ask the Lord for the tools, only the raw materials so he could make what he needed himself.
Perhaps a modern likeness of this scripture would be some of the following: Read more »
...the Lord Spake unto me saying: Thou shalt construct a ship.
1 Nephi 17:8
“And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.”
Lets get all metaphoric for a moment. The many waters (ocean) separate Nephi and family from the promised land. They can represent a trouble or challenge in our life separating us from our metaphorical “promised land”. The Lord wants to help us overcome this trouble and in fact, he comes right out and shows us how to do it. It saves not only us, but our family too.
If only life were that easy! If only God would show us how to overcome our financial troubles! Oh, wait a minute… He did 
Read more »
C) 1st Nephi | Eric Poulin | 
December 30, 2008 7:39 am | 
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