1 Nephi 16
v9-10 The Lord gives the Liahona.
v18-32 broken bow.
v34 Ishmael Dies. & contentions
1 Nephi 17
v1-5 wade through much affliction before arriving at bountiful.
v7-16 the lord commanded Nephi the go and build a boat.
Nephi Starts building a ship.
v17-22 His brothers oppose him.
v23 Nephi reminds them of the Lords power and is filled with the spirit.
1 Nephi 18
v1-4 Built the Ship
v5-8 Provisions & set sail
v9 Merryness
v10 Nephi reminds his brothers to not forget the blessings of the Lord
v11 they bind him and a storm rages
v15 Laman & Lemual repent, again
v16 Nephi praises the Lordv
v23 Arrival at the promised land
1 Nephi 19
v1-6 Nephi creates or develops the plates he's been commanded to keep.
v22-23 Nephi reads the scriptures to his family
v23 I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit & learning.
1 Nephi 20
Isiah 48
1 Nephi 21
Isiah 49
1 Nephi 22
v7-8 Sounds like colonisation of the Americas, followed by missionaries & the true gospel.
Because much of my study at the start of the week is done on my phone, I don't necessarily see until later that this weeks material wraps up 1 Nephi. As we come to the end of the 1st book of the Book of Mormon, are you struck by any overall message Nephi has for his audience, us?
Write down some suggestions
-Obedience, keep the commandments
-You need faith to obey
-Trust in the lord
-Why, because he will bless you.
Keep the commandments 2:20, 3:7, 3:15-21, 4:1, 4:14, 4:34, 16:4, 17:3, 17:13-15, 17:50, 22:30-31
This is what I want to explore this week as recommended by the manual. But with a little digression 1st which hopefully we will loop back to at the end.
1 Nephi 19:23
I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit & learning.
The children’s song Nephi’s Courage likens the scriptures to ourselves. V1: The Lord commanded Nephi to go and get the plates. V2: The Lord commanded Nephi to go and build a boat. V3: The lord gives us commandments and asks us to obey.
Hopefully we will be able to liken the scriptures to ourselves before we finish.
The manual says the following
If you ever wonder why bad things happen to good people like Nephi and his family, you may find insights in these chapters. But perhaps more important, you will see what good people do when bad things happen.
It then recommends record what you find in a table with headings like these: “Challenge,” “Nephi’s Response,” “Others’ Responses,” and “Results.” Why do you think Nephi was able to remain so faithful when others did not? Reflect on how the example of Nephi and his family can help you with your challenges.
I have provided a list of references but this is not necessarily complete comprehensive.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18_i8_TZoJf19nIKDcn9tCRJb8V5KcusmgTI5io4akPU/edit?usp=sharing
Spend the remainder of the time reviewing this then fill in 'what do we learn?'
Consider group work if time is passing quickly.
Maybe close with 22:30-31 if not already shared.
Liahona
Liahona, speculation it was a gift left by Ishmael before he died. An astrolabe or primitive form thereof.
Sons of Ishmael.Liahona, speculation it was a gift left by Ishmael before he died. An astrolabe or primitive form thereof.
I feel bad for these guys, there is no mention of daughters of Lehi & Sariah. So they left with their family possibly knowing they will have had nobody to marry. No posterity. Or were they?
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1109&context=jbms
The book of Mormon makes no reference to daughters of Lehi, but that does not mean he had none. Nephi dies refer to having sisters in 2 Nephi 5:6. But these could have been referred to as sisters in a similar manner to brethren, rather than brothers. What are the odds of having 4 boys, with no daughters in between?
Initial thoughts for the week
It is easy to focus on the stories of the broken bow, and the building of the ship. Ishmael's death and the Liahona. However, there is more in these chapters if we are willing to dig. I was listening to chapters 21-22 in the car on Monday morning. I struggled to comprehend what Nephi was going on about. However, the thought did come to me, to set myself the challenge and try to understand some of this. After all, Nephi and the historian prophets Moroni decided to leave it in for a reason.
If I'm not mistaken, Laman & Lemuel were read the words of Isiah by Nephi (chapter 21) and they had the same question I have. What does this mean? If I remember right, Nephi explains how we can understand it. So I shall have a go.
Midweek thoughts
The book of 1 Nephi is full of examples right from the start of two different types of people. The unfaithful and the faithful. I don’t mean unfaithful in the way we often use it in society today, but literally in terms of having a lack of faith and trust in God and thus not being prepared to keep the commandments. The other group, Lehi & Nephi, constantly turning to the Lord and trusting in him.
Already we have seen Laman & Lemuel disbelieve, be proven wrong by Nephi, repent and after a period of time forget God and fail to keep the commandments again & again. The pride cycle. The obtaining of the plates, the bow & lack of food, the endless journeyings, the building of a boat, the storm on the seas.
What message have we learned from Nephi over and over again in the last 22 chapters. Variations of the same theme. The Lord gives us no commandment we cannot accomplish. Another way of saying the same thing, Trust in the Lord.
So maybe we can ask ourselves, what can we learn from Lehi & Nephi to avoid the pride cycle in our lives. The answer is not to remain prideful and avoid humbling ourselves. But how do we stay humble? How do we maintain our faith?
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