1 Nephi 4:22

22  And he spake unto me concerning the ^aelders of the Jews, he knowing that his master, Laban, had been out by night among them.

     "and he spake unto me concerning the elders of the Jews."

-(and verse 27)  why is this twice made mention of?  Why is it such a prominent thing that Nephi records it two times on the plates?

   "Laban, had been out by night among them."
-generally speaking, birds of a feather flock together".  We are sometimes compelled to associate with others not of our choosing in the course of our work but those who we spend time with in the "after hours" are ones we elect.  It is fair to say these are the ones for whom we can be judged by the company we keep.  We do not know who the "elders of the Jews" or what type of character they possessed.  We do know about Laban.  He has revealed his character to us by his decisions as manifest in the past several verses.  We can safely assume that his associates were such that they felt comfortable with Laban and, hence, were like him in temperament, character and values.  Further more, we can surmise that the evening was spent recounting the unique particulars of the day's events.  Most likely there was celebration in their dishonorable conquests and illegitimate acquisition of wealth.  Was it their devilish celebration that led to much drinking and reverie?  It would not be surprising that this was the precursor to the state in which Nephi found Laban.

1 Nephi 4:21

21  And he supposed me to be his master, Laban, for he beheld the garments and also the sword girded about my loins.
                -God seems to be very committed to the principle of not doing for man what he can do for himself.  I don’t suppose the Lord needed Nephi to get the servant, to use the keys, even to kill Laban in order to get the brass plates.  By some supernatural (or very “natural”) power God could have unlocked the treasury, distracted the servants and led Nephi directly to the plates.  But he did not!  All events transpired with the least amount of direct heavenly intervention as possible (and with no heavenly usurpation of agency).  The Spirit led but Nephi did the physical work (slaying, dressing like Laban, imitating Laban’s voice, etc.).  When we are empowered and have been given abilities we should not expect “miraculous” interventions.

1 Nephi 4:20

20  And after I had done this, I went forth unto the treasury of Laban.  And as I went forth towards the treasury of Laban, behold, I saw the ^aservant of Laban who had the keys of the treasury.  And I commanded him in the voice of Laban, that he should go with me into the treasury.

      “as I went forth towards… behold, I saw the servant of Laban…”

            -wow, what a coincidence!?  No!  I for one, am humbled and astonished (I should not be by now, but I still am) that the Lord is in absolute control of his creation.  How can we doubt the extent of His great power in our puny lives?  He orchestrates his purposes so beautifully that at the very moment Nephi is on a street corner going toward the treasury, the servant who has the keys is there to assist Nephi in opening it.  This, split second timing necessarily took into account the delay as Nephi pondered the question of killing Laban.  That is beautiful and amazing to me.  God in heaven can help us with even the smallest of details here in our lives.

      “I saw the servant of Laban”

            -Continuing with the theme above, how did Nephi know this person was Laban’s servant, how did he know that this servant happened to have the keys?  There is only one way:  the Spirit told him.  Not even this small detail was forgotten by the Lord  (and yet was overlooked in the many times I’ve read this account and had the benefit of hindsight).  He knows our smallest, but vital necessities.

      "servant of Laban"

            -his name is not known/given for almost an entire book;  2Nephi 1:30.

1 Nephi 4:19

19  And after I had smitten off his head with his own sword, I took the garments of Laban and put them upon mine own body; yea, even every whit; and I did gird on his armor about my loins.

      “After I had smitten… I took the garments…”

            -here again the Spirit is leading Nephi step by step to accomplish the retrieval of the plates.  I wonder if Nephi knew why he was doing these things.  Had he caught onto the gist of the Lord’s plan?  This is one way of becoming unified with the Lord in purpose.  At some point Nephi did “catch on” and became of one mind with the Lord.  Not only did he know what it was the Lord wanted accomplished but also “how” the Lord was going to accomplish it. There are times when we should seek this perfect unity as well.

1 Nephi 4:18

18  Therefore I did obey the voice of the Spirit, and took Laban by the hair of the head, and I smote off his head with his own ^asword.

            SCRIPTORAL PRINCIPLE/LESSON to be LEARNED:  (stop after verse 18)

            -what is the Lord teaching us with the demise of Laban and the success of Nephi?  (there              are a multitude of principles)

            -what is the Lord teaching us about obedience as Nephi struggles, deliberates and reasons with the Lord's command?

      "therefore" (a summation of why Nephi was to kill Laban)

            -Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes.

            -it is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in

 unbelief.

            -his people could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the law of Moses   unless they had the law.

            -the Lord had delivered him into thy hands.

      CR:  1Sam 17:51  This event was 475 years since a similar experience between David and Goliath.

            -finally Nephi concedes to the voice of the Spirit and resolves to slay Laban.  The word “therefore” signifies the result of a line of reasoning that occupied the preceding verses.  It is as if he is telling us the rational/reasons for why he obeyed such an unorthodox command.

            -the death of Laban brings up a curious question.  Does the suffering of Christ during the atonement cover the murder of Laban?  In considering this question the subject of whether there was an actual sin/transgression or other breaking of the commandments that occurred, what nature of actions does the atonement cover and what claim does justice have on this (and other such) events?

      “took Laban by the hair of his head and I smote off his head”

            -(6/7/95) we generally glide quickly by these words and hardly give them a second thought, but I think we should give consideration to what Nephi is experiencing in the event these words represent.

      Nephi was an honorable and good young man.  I think we may safely suppose that he did not glory in violence or harm.  His heart was peaceable and his soul enjoyed the gentle things and now he is required to do one of the ugliest things imaginable.  I cannot fathom the trauma of lifting a man by the hair of his head, feeling the weight of his drunken body, swinging the sword and cutting through the skin, the muscles, severing the bones and completely decapitating the head from the body.  Then feeling the weight of the torso sloughing to the ground and holding a head by the hair until he had to drop it to the earth and hearing it hit the ground and then roll til it rested still.  This was not an easy command to keep!  There was not glory in it.  This, when we think about what it entailed, must have been as great a trial for Nephi to experience as any part of this endeavor to obtain the plates.

            -The killing of Laban still represents a question that provides food for thought:  The Lord could have accomplished the obtaining of the brass plates without commanding the death of Laban, why didn’t he?  What is he trying to teach us?  What is he trying to teach Nephi?  Think about it, it must be important… a man’s life was required (as was his opportunity for further mortal preparation in the days of his probation) of it.

     “with his own sword…”

            -My mind wants to rest on this phrase and understand  what the symbolism, that is too strong to ignore, means.  Yet, nothing comes to me now.

1 Nephi 4:17

17  And again, I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause—that I might obtain the records according to his commandments.

      "... I knew that the Lord had delivered Laban into my hands for this cause..."

            -but the Lord still could have accomplished this without making Nephi kill.  So, what is he trying to teach Nephi/us here?

     “the Lord delivered Laban into my hands… that I might obtain the records…”

            -well here it is finally!  The culmination of a process and promise which began way back when Nephi said “I will go and do the things which the Lord commands…”  Much has transpired, Nephi has endured many trials and hardships and finally –almost anticlimactically- the Lord has delivered Laban without any grand fight and Nephi would, almost, that he not have to perform the task at his hand.  But this is how the Lord has ordained it to happen.

1 Nephi 4:16

16  And I also knew that the ^alaw was engraven upon the plates of brass.

            -Following from the things above, neither can we keep the laws of happiness if we do not read the source from which they come.  If we have the gospel and do not read (make use of) it, I fear that we may be in a worse position than He who flatly and openly rejects it.  The law is upon the plates/pages and keeping the law rests with the degree to which we know it.

1 Nephi 4:15

15  Yea, and I also thought that they could not keep the commandments of the Lord according to the ^alaw of Moses, save they should have the law.

            -People are simply not able to keep the commandments, which brings happiness and joy, if they do not know what the commandments are.  Hence, people cannot be truly happy and at peace until they have the gospel.  We cannot be saved in ignorance (without a knowledge of and obedience to the law) neither can we have happiness in ignorance.  We are providing a GREAT blessing by making known to people the truths of the gospel; its laws and ordinances.  Giving the gift of eternal truth is the greatest gift we can give another person in this life.  This is not a single gift, it is composed of many parts (like various Lego kits).  We can, for example, give the gift of godly love to another person.  This is but one part of eternal truth but will bring tremendous happiness. We can then give the gift of a knowledge of modern prophets.  This is another part of eternal truth.  Giving scripture (i.e. the Book of Mormon), ordinances, doctrinal truths, laws and standards, etc. to our children, family and friends will each increase the happiness of those who embrace these gifts.  Many around us, however, do not even know what heavenly gifts are available to them and are living on only a portion of the larger happiness that is available.

1 Nephi 4:14

14  And now, when I, Nephi, had heard these words, I remembered the words of the Lord which he spake unto me in the wilderness, saying that: ^aInasmuch as thy seed shall keep my ^bcommandments, they shall ^cprosper in the ^dland of promise.

     “I remembered the words of the Lord”

            -when we are in the midst of a difficult situation/trial, especially when the heat of the situation is at its highest intensity, the last thing we are often able to do is clear our minds to think.  It is one of the most powerful workings of the Spirit to come to our consciousness and “bring our minds to a remembrance of the things God” has spoken unto us or would have us do.  I don’t think that Nephi’s remembrance here as a careless process, but rather a spiritual one.  At this point “it all fit together”, things became clear.  The spirit spoke peace to his mind and heart and he knew which direction to go.

        “in the wilderness”

            -I think we may, safely, take this experience of Nephi’s and parabolically relate it to our lives.  It may serve us well as a parable –we can learn many things from it.  This phrase, for instance, lets us know that during times in our lives when we are in the “wilderness”/the wilderness of our lives –times of not knowing what to do, what course to take, when we feel we’re in unfamiliar circumstances, even when we are lost and don’t know which way to turn- the Lord will take the opportunity to teach and tutor us.  When we find ourselves in this kind of predicament the troubles of the wilderness might be handled easier if we knew why the Lord took us there.

       “inasmuch as they seed shall keep… they shall prosper in the land of promise.”

            -this phrase has definite meaning in this context but to pull it out from the line or reasoning it means something just as powerful.  This phrase and command appears over and over again.  It is a promise made to almost every prophet and people.  Is the Lord trying to tell us something?  Obviously, but what?  First is the importance of the directive, the specific commandment to which this blessing is tied, secondly is the universality with which it seems to be offered.  The plain and simple primary message is clear:  keep the commandments and prosper in the land.  Live it and claim it!

1 Nephi 4:13

13  Behold the Lord ^aslayeth the ^bwicked to bring forth his righteous purposes.  It is ^cbetter that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in ^dunbelief.

      “the Lord slayeth the wicked”

            -some mortals burdened with a limited view of our place in the heavenly family and the nature of eternal existence will declare God to be a cruel tyrant.  They forget to recognize that we came into being by his declaration and only continue to exist by his selfless charity.  Neither do they understand that mortal death is such an insignificant pause in the eternal time line of personality.  It was his will that gave us life and it is his will (whenever and wherever) to usher us into the next stage of that life.  Furthermore He has ordained directions by which we must follow to insure our continued sojourn in mortality.  When we decided to depart from such laws it is with the recognition that we no longer enjoy the guarantees of his protecting and prospering hand.  If we then work to impede his work by opposing His designs to ensure the immortality and eternal life of man, how can we assume any possible pardon from his hand removing us from the way that others must travel to the celestial city?  The commandments He has given to man are to lead them to that eternal destination.  If one of the those commandments impedes rather than facilitates that goal it may and must be stepped over.  The commandments are not ends unto themselves but means to an end and if, like the law of Moses, they are viewed as simply ends, we are in danger of going astray.

      “to bring about his righteous purposes…”

            -we know that God has the right and authority to slay the wicked and here we find out why he will slay the wicked:  He does not do it out of anger or for trivial/petty matters.  He will remove his children from this life, as with all things he does, for the sake of righteousness to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

       “it is better that… than…”

            -this is a weighting out of celestial matters (which are inseparably connected to earthly matters) where one less fortune/desirable, even otherwise prohibited act is permitted for a greater benefit.

            -this phrase reveals one of the difficult truths of life.  There are some things that are clearly black and white, some things that are very straightforward but there are many decisions, circumstances and situations of degrees.  This is clearly illustrated by many who have discussed the concept of “good, better, best”.  Some of the more advanced decisions of life follow the logic of “it is better than __(insert action here)____ than ___(insert consequence of inaction here)___. Nephi faces such a situation here.  Adam and Eve faced a similar situation in the Garden of Eden.  The Savior faced a very consequential decision in the garden of Gethseomane. In these situations we are forced to reveal not only the measure of our discipleship but also the depth of our spiritual understanding.  The things/values of mortality come directly ino conflict with the things/values of eternity.

1 Nephi 4:12

12  And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands;

12 – 13.  Like the second command of the Spirit, this third command includes additional information:

            a quick review:  1^st time – “I should kill Laban”

                                      2^nd time – “the Lord hath delivered him into thy hands.”

                                      3^rd time – “slay him, for the Lord hath delivered him into they hands: 

Behold the Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous

purposes…”

            -this third time Nephi is given a reason for the Lord’s command.  This is the first time in this circumstance where an explanation is given to him.  I suppose that the Lord considered Nephi worthy for this additional light and truth.  The Lord does not always explain His rational for what he does  -remember Adam’s offering sacrifice and “I don’t know why save the Lord God commanded me.”

            -I am sure the Lord could have accomplished his design of obtaining the brass plates for Lehi and safely delivering them out of town without killing Laban, but it is very possible that Laban’s death was required so that Nephi could learn some very important truths.  We would do well to recognize what those are!

            -I suppose one of these lessons relates to Heber Kimball’s trial at the request from Joseph to give his own wife to be one of the prophet’s.  This is evidence of the extent to which the Lord will “try our very heart strings”.  We should learn wisdom from these things to be prepared for the trying of our own souls.

1 Nephi 4:11

11  And the Spirit said unto me again: Behold the ^aLord hath ^bdelivered him into thy hands. Yea, and I also knew that he had sought to take away mine own life; yea, and he would not hearken unto the commandments of the Lord; and he also had ^ctaken away our property.

       “the Spirit … said again”

            -in such an unusual situation we can feel secure that the Lord will be patient with us.  This is command number 2 (the second time Nephi is told to slay Laban).

      “Behold the Lord delivered him into thy hands.”

            -The Spirit didn’t simply say “slay him” but addressed Nephi’s concern by teaching him more.  It is significant that the Spirit, here, gave the command in almost exact words that he was told earlier by an angel (Chapter 3, verse 29).  Thus, he was told that this was the culmination of what had been promised to him previously.  In other words “this is what the Lord told you would happen.”  But it is obvious from Nephi’s surprise/resistance that these are not the events he expected.  Should we be so strict in our imaginations so to expect something to turn out in a particular fashion, according to our own expectations. We should not be surprised when the Lord takes our life in a direction other than what we expected.  There will come a time when hindsight proves that the Lord’s way was not only higher than our preconceived way but also a way that is more glorious, leads to greater happiness and exalts us more than our way ever had the capacity to.

      “yea, and I also knew”

            -Nephi’s reluctance is very understandable and not a sign of weakness.  He does, rather, by these words give us insight as to the strength of his obedience and righteousness.  In his deliberations with the Spirit he is not antagonistic or otherwise combative; he does not use his energy to prove the Spirit wrong or to persuade him to do otherwise but he argues in support of the Spirit’s command.  Instead of seeking to change God he seeks to change his views and bring himself into line with God.  There is great significance in this rather subtle point.  The little things that we think and do manifest the position of our heart.

     “he had sought to take away mine life, would not hearken unto (the commandments of) God, he also had taken our property.”

            -Why is Nephi weighing Laban’s character?  For one, he might be trying to muster, within him, evidence that supports the command of the Spirit.  We should also understand that God speaks to the wicked as He speaks to the righteous but they (of course) are unable to hear.  I don’t doubt that the Spirit directed Laban to give the plates to Nephi and his brothers but Laban refused to hear.  By so doing Laban became an enemy to God and declared war on God’s purposes.  If he complied with God’s directives he would have lived but he did not and we must confess that his punishment (death) was just and justly brought about by his own actions (does the word of the Lord not tell us that those who do not obey his commands will die?  That was the warning given to Adam and Eve and to every one of their children down through Laban’s day and to our own time).

10-17.    -Nephi contemplates the reasons for slaying Laban.  Usually Nephi obeys instantly, but

on this one he hesitates and needs to be convinced/persuaded by the Spirit of the Lord to do

something that appears contrary to everything he had been taught about God and how he

should behave.

1 Nephi 4:10

10  And it came to pass that I was ^aconstrained by the Spirit that I should kill Laban; but I said in my heart: Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him.

      “I was constrained…”

            -strange verb, let’s look into it:  to compel, to confine, to restrain.  Forced; unnatural.  On the face of the definition and of what we know about how much God and the Spirit honor our agency, it is a curiously strong word to use.  We know Nephi was not mandated to kill Laban in the sense that his will was taken and he was forced.  He had a choice to obey God, but clearly the will of God was made known.  As a reflection on Nephi’s obedient character, it is probable that he recognized that he really did not have a “choice”.  God’s way is the right way and must be obeyed.  Like Joseph Smith who said in essence:  I’ve made this my rule, when God speaks, I obey, Nephi chose to use the word “constrained” in making his account because it was something he naturally would not have done (as his later wrestling with the Spirit proves) but also something that he felt must be done because God spoke it.  This is to be constrained.

       “constrained that I should kill Laban…”

            -oh my!  There are many things to pay attention to here.  Nephi has just been directed to do something that he has been told all his life is a sin.  Several questions arise:

            1.  How can this command be from God?  He has told us, as one of the basic 10 commandments, not to kill

            2.  Is not God, who changes not and cannot contradict himself, contradicting himself?

            3. Why the command to kill, couldn’t this be accomplished by tying Laban up or otherwise getting rid of him without killing?

All these questions deserve and earn answers in the following verses.

 

       “by the Spirit”

            -this phrase is of primary importance to understanding everything else in or relating to this experience and revelation.  Nephi had, by this time, fostered his ability to communicate with God enough to know what the Sprit was, how it sounded and if it was indeed the Sprit and not an unfriendly source.  Most of us struggle to hear, much less distinguish between the Holy Ghost and other spirits.  There is a great need to be familiar and conversant with the Spirit of God.  I would suppose that Nephi’s course of action (obedience to the promptings) rested largely –although there were other pertinent struggles- on knowing that the direction originated in God.  In our struggles to hear and identify the voice or direction of the Spirit thee is no substitute for experience and experience with the Holy Ghost comes from consistent obedience and righteous living.

       “but”

            -if we can ever be so judgmental as to attempt to accuse Nephi of wavering in keeping the commandments of God, here it is.  In this “strange” and “unique” command Nephi questions the Spirit instead of proceeding in his typical unquestioning way.  But let’s look at this as a strength rather than a shortcoming:  The command was so contrary to what he had learned and knew about God that he was going to be sure of it’s correctness before he carried it to completion.

        "...but I said in my heart..."

            -Nephi "talked back" to the Spirit how?  IN HIS HEART!!!  This should clue us into the way in which we receive and send communication to the Spirit and the Godhead.

            -Nephi’s deliberation was in his heart not his head.  This is of tremendous importance.  Our deliberations should, likewise, be through the Spirit, where we have a connection to an intelligence much higher than our own rather than relying on our own capacities of reason and logic.  While important and God given, the logic and reason of man –even the most sophisticated and “advanced”- is far short of God’s.  Man’s logic and reasoning has brought us brutal eras and harmful philosophies where, it seems, man’s behavior toward man slips to sub-human levels.

      “never at any time have I shed the blood of man.”

-Here Nephi declares his innocence and obedience to the commandments of God:  “Thou shalt not kill.”  He knows the commandment, is obedient to it and probably honors it. But his strength is that he will not shut himself off to continuing instruction and teachings. Are we so humble?  If we are not, there is a limit to our usefulness as instruments in God’s hands.

      “and would that I might not…”

-Nephi did not say “No, I won’t!” but like Christ in Gethsemane, he (if it were his choice/option) would rather not do this thing.  He wished that there were another way.

1 Nephi 4:9

9  And I beheld his ^asword, and I drew it forth from the sheath thereof; and the hilt thereof was of pure gold, and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine, and I saw that the blade thereof was of the most precious steel.

            -All of these things are earthly evidences of a great and powerful man, yet it means nothing in consequence of the impending events.  Power is, finally, not a function of temporal materials or position but of Christ-like character.  This type of power is an attribute, a thing which Laban was very much destitute. A thing that is the opposite of earthly conceptions of power.  In fact those oriented to earthly power view this as weakness  -ironically, the opposite of their view of power.

1 Nephi 4:8

8  And when I came to him I found that it was Laban.

            -how surprised was Nephi to discover that this person was Laban?  We, perhaps like Nephi, are sometimes very surprised when our life happens upon amazing “coincidences”… but we can be sure that God was not surprised.  In fact, in some way we don’t yet understand, these situations are known and orchestrated by God.  What are the odds that this one drunken man, literally at the feet of Nephi, was the one man in all Jerusalem that stood in the way of retrieving the brass plates? From Nephi’s perspective the odds are 1 in a million (give or take a few hundred thousand).  From God’s perspective the odds are 1 in 1.

1 Nephi 4:7

7  Nevertheless I went forth, and as I came near unto the house of Laban I beheld a man, and he had fallen to the earth before me, for he was ^adrunken with wine.

     "Nevertheless, I went forth,...

            -this going forth in the face of our own doubts is HUGE, it is key to qualifying for the Lord's      blessings.

            -this is KEY to being delivered from a trial, finding success in a struggle, or resolving any matter where we desire assistance from heaven.  We can be assured that most often our decisions and circumstances will be resolved only after we have moved toward an end and faced the fear and uncertainty of not being able to see the success and peace of the final result.  But we have to move forward even if we feel devoid of steadying heavenly hands.

·         When we, like Nephi, move ahead basing our actions on what we know of heavenly instruction, we are manifesting true and pure faith.  To the degree to which we do so, we are confessing  our love and faith.  Laman and Lemuel, whose faith was minimal, had ceased to move forward and could not be instruments in the Lord bringing about His work.  Their lack of faith rendered them useless and unable to partake in success and the joy of success.

            -there is no doubt that the Lord accomplishes His work and does what He says he will do.  Is there any more complete way in which a person could be “delivered into your hands”?!  We often do things in various degrees of competence.  We speak of doing something 100% or giving it our all.  Truth is, we often do our tasks (from being a parent to a project at school or work or to painting the house) with lesser degrees of effort and results.  How good is good enough for us: 90%, 80%, 70%?  God never fails to do his work at 100% effort and with 100% (or the best possible) results.  Should we be surprised that Laban was so perfectly “delivered into (Nephi’s) hands”?

     “he was drunken with wine.”

            -why was he so inebriated?  I suppose he might have been celebrating the large amount of wealth he had just “come into” (stole) earlier that day.  It was a tremendously profitable day for an embezzler & thief.  He is about to pay a supreme price for his crime.  The irony is that he supposed such a night on the town –in celebration of his good fortune- would bring him great pleasure.

1 Nephi 4:6

6  And I was ^aled by the Spirit, not ^bknowing beforehand the things which I should do.

      "I was led by the Spirit..."

            -do you think he knew it at the time or is this phrase the benefit of the perfect hindsight?  We often move forward in our endeavors according to our own best informed and logical intelligence, unaware that the Spirit has a voice in those mental/intellectual processes. Especially in righteous people, the influence of the Spirit is so intertwined with their thought processes and decision making that we can navigate the world without a clear and recognizable distinction between our thoughts and His thoughts.  This is actually a compliment to us and a demonstration of God's trust.  At some point Nephi just started walking toward and into Jerusalem, there may or may not have been a point where the Spirit told him to go down a specific street.  He confesses that he did not know where this course of action (walking into the city) would lead him or what he would eventually do (see next phrase) but one of his qualities was his recognition that his course was being navigated by the Spirit, regardless if this took the form of his own thoughts or if the Spirit was more imposing by whispering "take a left here, now go down this street", etc.

   "... not knowing beforehand..."

            -This is the essence or core of faith.  It is to proceed with confidence in a decision based on principles of righteousness when the end is unfathomable, to proceed even until one has passed             the point of no return when it becomes impossible to turn back because of the

enormity or gravity of pursuit to such a point has made any deviation or escape impossible on

anyone’s efforts other than the Lord.  This is perfect faith under perfect dependence.  It

requires pure courage.

            -This is a huge verse.  We could study and ponder it for a lifetime and still not discover all the truths and ways in which God works from its words.

            -sometimes following the spirit means not having a thought out and logical plan of action (realize here that the first two attempts, formulated with a tactical plan, resulted in failure).  It means venturing out into the unknown and sacrificing the human need/desire to be in control and master of your own destiny.  It requires GREAT faith and courage.

            -why do you think the Lord did not tell Nephi, or does not tell us, before hand the things we will do? Why are we left “in the dark”?

·         complete submission and total dependence on Him is a cardinal lesson of mortality.

-Nephi did not become paralyzed in inaction because he did not have a knowledge of how to accomplish God’s commands, just as we often do not know how a situation will be resolved and success achieved.  But we are to continue in the course we feel directed towards and will find that as we step into the dark it will become illuminated and we will know that our path was prepared even before we start upon it.

            -There is great uncertainty and anxiety in this circumstance.  Life is full of adventures, decisions and trials that we must face and commence not knowing beforehand the way to proceed or the things which we must do.  Upon serious consideration, we see that life itself is an unknown voyage… we do not know what rough waters we will happen upon... but the Master of the sea, earth and skies does –and he has shown us that he has power to calm the storms.