My brother Barry's most favorite Book of Mormon scripture lies here in Chapter 3.
Background: Lehi sends his sons back to get the plates, after having already been in the wilderness. Can you imagine the feeling of being a leader and all the pressure on your shoulders, only to tell your followers (his sons) to turn back because they needed something they left back home?! Wow, you know Lehi was in it for the right reasons.
Why didn't he receive this information while they were in Jerusalem? Why? Because then, Nephi wouldn't have said Barry's favorite scripture. That's just what I think, doctrine from the book of Suzanne.
Verse 7 w/o further adieu:
"And it came to pass that I Nephi said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know 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."
Why was this scripture so fitting for Barry? Because Nephi's siblings were complaining and he wasn't... but wait, there's more! Let's peel the onion.
Why was Lehi so "exceedingly glad" to hear this? I think it's because it proved Nephi's true conversion. Because it's one thing to believe. It's another thing to act on testimony. There's a sincere difference between having a testimony and having been converted. "Conversion happens long after the emotion of the moment has left" (--Robert D. Murdock, my Taiwan mission president). And it's a whole other level of conversion when those actions are based on faith.
So here's the layout:
Step one: Feel the spirit
Step two: Gain a testimony/belief based on those feelings
Step three: Become converted-- willing to alter your life according to your beliefs
Step four: Balance those "works" equally with "faith", way hard
So thanks, Lehi for not getting the plates before hand, and letting us in on Nephi's level of conversion. Thanks Barry for making this verse forever have meaning to me just because it's your favorite.
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1 comment:
We all know that the brothers tried three times to get the plates from Laban before they were successful, but I wonder if even Nephi, after running for his life when Laban sent his servants to kill them and take their riches, also needed some reassurance from the angel who said "ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands".
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