1 Nephi 2

I love the phrase “blessed art thou.”  What does the Lord value in his children?  The phrase “blessed art thou” lets us know.  Lehi is blessed because of his faithfulness.  Nephi is blessed because of his faith, his seeking the Lord diligently and his humility. How can I be more diligent and humble in seeking the Lord? What would that look like?

1 Nephi 2:1 For behold, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto my father, yea, even in a dream, and said unto him: 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.

1 Nephi 2:19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart. (humility)

Nephi desired his own testimony.  Nephi cried unto the Lord and the Lord answered his prayer.  He softened his heart.  Maybe Nephi didn’t want to leave Jerusalem like his brothers, but God softened his heart so he could accept what his father wanted them to do.  What a great example to us all! 

1 Nephi 3:1
Nephi says that he returned to his father’s tent after “speaking with the Lord.”  He didn’t say he talked to the Lord.  His said speaking with the Lord.  That implies a 2 way communication.  

Personal application: I can seek the Lord more diligently with humility. I can listen more when I pray.


Nephi’s famous declaration “I will go and do the things which the Lord commands.”  The reason he willing to go and do is because he knows God will be with them.  He has faith that God will prepare the way therefore he can go forward.  That is so applicable in our lives.  God is at the helm.  The phrase “prepare the way” is mentioned several times in the scriptures.  John the Baptist was to prepare the way before the Savior’s ministry.  The implies that God has a purpose—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children.  He has a plan—the Plan of Salvation and He prepares the way and He knows the beginning and the end.  Those are the 3 P’s—purpose, plan, preparing the way.

1 Nephi 3 also gives us insight into Nephi’s leadership skills. He was determined to obey God’s commandment. He tried to persuade his brothers with reasons why it was important to accomplish their task. He knew why obtaining the Brass Plates was so important. He gives us insight into the importance of the scriptures–they contained the words of the prophets and they could preserve their language with the written word.

When the angel comes to stop Laman and Lemuel from beating Nephi and Sam, the angel doesn’t tell them how they are to obtain the plates, he simply tells them that the Lord will deliver Laban into their hands. Again, they are to have faith, but Laman and Lemuel can’t see how it will happen. That’s the way faith works. We can’t see the ending from the beginning.

Personal application–we may not know the how of solving our problems at the beginning, but we can faith that God knows the how and we can go forward in faith. That’s what Nephi did. He was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand what he should do. Maybe if he knew beforehand he wouldn’t have gone forth!