1 Nephi 10:17

17  And it came to pass after I, Nephi, having heard all the ^awords of my father, concerning the things which he saw in a ^bvision, and also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God—and the Son of God was the ^cMessiah who should come—I, Nephi, was ^ddesirous also that I might see, and hear, and know of these things, by the power of the ^eHoly Ghost, which is the ^fgift of God unto ^gall those who diligently seek him, as well in times of ^hold as in the time that he should manifest himself unto the children of men.

     “after I… having heard …”

            -what would we do?  What would be our reaction?  What IS our reaction?

     “which power he received by faith on the Son of God”

            -power (the ability to navigate and operate at a celestial level, to see and understand eternal truths) comes from our level of faith in Jesus Christ.  If we have little faith, we will have limited power to handle celestial processes, environments and associations.  We may have great telestial power but our dominion will be limited to processes, environments and associations of a telestial order.  Lehi is not concerned with or foretelling the sociopolitical hierarchy of Jerusalem… he is not concerned with these events in the least.  He is preoccupied with eternity which is on an entirely different level.

     “was desirous”

            -what is entailed in this little but powerful word?  Generally my desire is weak and flighty (not to mention the motives behind it).  How can I ever expect a similar experience as Nephi is about to have with this kind of behavior?

    “I might see, and hear, and know”

            -you can sense his excitement and zeal.  He wants to experience it, to know in every way –see, hear, know!

            -to see and to hear are physical senses.  These are the foundations of temporal learning.  We come to know things, even the things of God, while in this temporal existence by seeing and hearing.  To “know” however takes this process a step further.  It is the leap from things happening outside of us (that we perceive with our senses) to things happening inside of us   -in our brain, mind and spirit.  We see and hear many things that we do not know (or we might also say “that we do not understand”).  We see something and then we begin to question it with the passage of time or when subjected to sufficient scrutiny or doubt.  How does something that we see and hear become something that we then know?  And furthermore, how does something that we know retain its permanence, that is, how does the conviction of our knowing resist a natural erosion.  Knowing, like elements of the natural world appears to have a half-life.  The more spiritual and experience (as compared to a physical experience) seems to have greater permanence and resists doubt and erosion… why?  Possibly because “knowing” is rooted in the spirit rather than the body.

            -it appears that there is a pattern that leads to Nephi’s viewing of the things his father saw:

              1.  he “heard”:  I think we can also assume that he listed and considered as well as

                   simply hearing.

              2.  he believed/had faith:  just as he recognized his father’s endowments by virtue of

                   faith, he did as well!

              3. was desirous:  this must be  a level of desire that is very rarely achieved.  What does it

                  entail?  How is it achieved?

              4.  see, hear and know:  he believed that he could have the whole experience.

              5.  he knew from what source to look:  by the power of the Holy Ghost.  We need to

                   know who or what will be the bestower of what we seek.  Heavenly things follow an

                  order and we must align ourselves to it.

              6.  he knew how the Holy Ghost operated:  to see, hear and know required the

                   instrumentality of the Holy Ghost.  Therefore, the Holy Ghost must be understood

                   and its operative guidelines abided by.

              7.  he knew that consistent and strict obedience to the entire gospel was a prerequisite: 

                   “diligently seek him”.  “Diligently” is a word too quickly read over.  It signifies

                   devotion and commitment.  It implies “difficulty or opposition.  We are not diligent

                   in things that come easily.  Seeking God is an overriding guiding attitude.

     “the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him”

            -this phrase is a direct reference to the Holy Ghost and the subsequent priveledge of obtaining knowledge/conviction from the Holy Ghost.  This is one of God’s most precious and substantial gifts to man.  It is available for the claiming.  But it is obtained with a price.  We have to earn this gift.  The reward is too valuable, too consequential, too heavy for casual or apathetic acquisition.  As has been said regarding temporal matters, “what we obtain to cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.”  There is nothing more valuable than a sure confirmation of truth, of things as they really are, of God and of our relationship to Him.  Surely such a gift is obtained after tremendous effort.