| 1 Nephi 2:16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers. |
Nephi is a big kid but not a smart laic kid. He may have been told by his father and his brothers may have been told the same thing, that is, pray to Jehovah and get a witness for themselves that what Lehi is doing is of the Lord and not his own hallucinations.
Nephi does get answer and as a result is not looking at his father in the same light as his two oldest brothers. Lehi now has an ally in his youngest son, who believes all what his father has told the family.
Nephi says that the Lord “did soften” his heart. Only the Lord can do that, but we have to allow that to happen. And it happens only when we are humble and willing to listen. We have to know that we don’t know everything and really want answers.
The older brothers had their mind made up which was based on their notion that they were going to lose all their advantages they had back in Jerusalem with their rich circumstances. They therefore had to come with some explanation for their fathers words. Their solution was to accuse him of having hallucinations and dismissing his call him seeing what did not really happen to him.
Rebellion is a problem with the Lord. One can disagree with the Lord as Abraham did, but you cannot rebel against him. That he will not put up with. Rebellion is what got Lucifer kicked out of heaven. We can have disagreements with our Heavenly Father over policy and he will try to show why the policy is a good one, but the minute you rebel and actively try to get others to follow what you think should be the policy, you are on shaky ground.
| 1 Nephi 2:17 And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which the Lord had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. And it came to pass that he believed in my words. |
Nephi tells his older brother Sam about his confirmation by the Lord of what their father was doing. I’m sure that there were a lot of things that Sam heard from Nephi. Anyway Sam now is on board with Nephi and Lehi.
What strikes me is that Nephi gets his answer from the Holy Spirit. We do not see the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Old Testament. It is probably one of the precious things removed from its pages. But here we see that the Holy Spirit was alive and well and just did not become active in the New Testament.
| 1 Nephi 2:18 But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them. |
Now Lamam and Lemuel did not except Nephi’s testimony. I think that their frustration at being lead into the desert and knowing what they would lose out on in Jerusalem still filled them with anger. As a result they were not about to listen to their little brother. Particularly because he was their little brother!
| 1 Nephi 2:19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart. |
Nephi being concerned about his older brothers went to the Lord again to see what he could do to help them to understand the seriousness of the mission of their father. Nephi had already felt the comfort of the Holy Spirit and wanted to know what he could do regarding his brothers rebellious attitude.
The Lord now speaks to Nephi to tell him that his concern is noted and since that is the attitude we all should have for our fellow man, Nephi will be blessed to be able to help because that’s what he likes doing. In addition the Lord tells Nephi that his attitude is what is getting him revelation and that he should keep in mind that this is how revelation comes.
The person with they mind made up will be a poor student. Truth has a hard time penetrating the closed mind. The Holy Ghost cannot work with a person with this mind set. We see that with Laman and Lemuel. This is a lesson to us all on how to get revelation and therefore increased intelligence as to the workings of the universe and all of us in it.
| 1 Nephi 2:20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. |
The Lord announces to Nephi that the family is to be lead to a promise land which was prepared for the family. In addition, it will be a literal land of plenty as they observe the commandments.
What is impressive to me is that this land was planned for them (and others). This I think would generate the thought as to how this land was prepared and how long it took. It takes eons of time to prepare lands. So this was in the planning stages for maybe millions of years. So when Lehi and his family are now the central figures in this drama of leading people away into other parts of the world, the stage is set for their removal to it.
It conjures up the thought that the Lord knew all this would happen to Lehi millions years before be was born and lands of the earth were separated from each other to create places to send those who he will lead away from Jerusalem as an example to other places on the earth. In other words, the Lord had and still has a direct hand in all that happens on this planet. Whether it be where to send people to protect them and/or move continents and hide their existence from other peoples.
