1 Nephi 3:15

PLAN 2

15  But behold I said unto them that: ^aAs the Lord liveth, and as we live, we will not go down unto our father in the wilderness until we have ^baccomplished the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.

            -Here Nephi makes an oath that the only way he will return to his father without the plates is in a coffin and this because God is no more.  He has so much confidence in what he said in verse 7 that he knows that if God is alive they will succeed.  And he will pursue the commandment which he has received until it is fulfilled or until he is killed in the process.  In other words, he would dedicate his whole life to the accomplishment of this thing and will only be withheld when or if his state of being (i.e. living or dead) prohibited its fulfillment.

-Determination and faith in the Lord's word:  Nephi would rather die than fail  -just like Abinadi.  This solid determination and commitment is a common thread in the character of Book of Mormon prophets (or prophets of any time):  Abinadi, Samuel the Lamanite, Alma, Mormon, etc.

            -Either the Lord is dead and not there and we will die doing this thing (which we know is wrong:  He does live) or we will do this, overcoming whatever obstacles may be in the way, because the Lord has called us to do it and He does not fail (D&C 1:38).

     “we will not… until we have accomplished…”

            -there is absolutely no deviation, give or compromise in Nephi’s words or character.

     “the thing which the Lord hath commanded us.”

            -here is the moment when the difference between Nephi’s reason and Laman/Lemuel’s reason for obedience to their father’s request makes ALL the difference.  All the sons complied with the assignment and traveled back to Jerusalem but the unseen commitment which sprang from their spiritual condition comes to be relevant.  To Laman and Lemuel the request only came from their dad while to Nephi the request came from the Lord.  This difference makes ALL the difference and it is something that cannot be fabricated or conjured in the moment.  This difference is played out in the lives of young full time missionaries every day.  The elder who goes on a mission to appease mother or father or because it is a Mormon cultural expectation is going to find himself like Laman and Lemuel.  A young elder who has a personal relationship with the Savior and has come to know that God is real and involved in the affairs of men will be unstoppable in the many trials he will encounter.