Led by the Spirit

In 1 Nephi 4 we read that Nephi went forth inside the walls of Jerusalem to find Laban.  And he was "led by the Spirit".  I don't have words to describe how deeply I desire that gift.  But it is no easy thing.

Elder Richard G. Scott gave a talk called "To Acquire Spiritual Guidance".  In it he says, "I am convinced that there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow you to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit. Our Father expects you to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ. Were you to receive inspired guidance just for the asking, you would become weak and ever more dependent on Them. They know that essential personal growth will come as you struggle to learn how to be led by the Spirit."

So just asking or wishing for spiritual guidance is not enough.  We must struggle and practice and work hard to achieve that ability.   Brother Scott then tells of some personal instances when he received spiritual promptings, and as he carefully and faithfully recorded them, he asked if there was more he should know, and was given more inspiration.  This happened several times.  Obviously, being given guidance isn't enough.  We need to respond to the direction with promptness and obedience and then ask for more.  This takes a lot of faith.  It's easy to get direction and then decide that it's too much trouble, or question the promptings we were given.

I sincerely hope that I can do better at being led by the Spirit.

Wherefore Can Ye Doubt?

Nephi was just starting on his journey of leadership, and he had the difficult task of trying to teach and persuade his older brothers.  Anyone who has an older sibling knows how the pecking order works, and we learn very young that younger kids don't boss older kids around.  But this was to be Nephi's lot for the remainder of his life.

As he preached and urged and encouraged his brothers to return to Jerusalem, to believe the words of the angel, and to try one last time to get the plates, he reminded them of Moses dividing the waters of the Red Sea.  He hoped to build on their faith in their history, and to show that if the Lord helped Moses, He would surely help them.  Then he said, (verse 3) " . . .wherefore can ye doubt?"

As I remember the miracles which brought my ancestors to the gospel, as I look around me at the miracles that are part of my life, I need to ask myself the same question:  Wherefore can I doubt?  The Lord won't leave me alone to deal with my problems.  He will stand by me and guide me and love me through any trials that may come.  He wants what's best for me.  Wherefore can I doubt?

Let Us Go Down to the Land of Our Father's Inheritance

Was Nephi inspired when he suggested to his brothers that they go gather up the riches that they had left behind to barter with Laban for the plates?  My first thought was that he was only relying on his own ideas at this time.  But upon pondering it, I've changed my mind.  Nephi knew how important the plates were, that they were worth far more than the gold and silver and riches that they were offering to Laban.  He tells his brothers (and us) that the temporal reason for their importance would be in the preservation of their language.  But the spiritual reason was that they needed the words of the prophets to keep them closer to the Spirit - the same reason we're encouraged to study the scriptures today.

So Nephi and his brothers offered to trade Laban the riches for the plates, but he chased them out and kept the riches.  I think the brothers needed to try all avenues which seemed logical and possible, to explore every avenue available.  Because the method that worked in the end was obviously miraculous and no one could possibly claim that they had obtained the records by their own efforts or ideas. 

And since they had already brought all the gold and silver and riches, they had paid for the plates in full.  They didn't steal them, but they prepaid and had to wait for the Lord to help them collect on the debt.

Covenants and Promises

1 Nephi 2:20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall ^aprosper, and shall be led to a ^bland of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

Nephi sought the Lord and was obedient, keeping His commandments.  The Lord promised him that as he continued to be obedient and faithful, he would be blessed in the following ways:

• He would prosper - one person said that prospering isn't so much about things of this world, but a promise of the "riches of eternity".
• He would be led to a land of promise - See D&C 112:10  Sometimes the Lord takes us by the hand and leads us where he wants us to go.  He doesn't push, he doesn't shove, he doesn't simply point.  He takes our hand and guides and directs, as you might with someone who's blind.
• This land of promise is prepared by the Lord - Whether this refers to earthly blessings that the Lord has in store for us, or to eternal blessings, the Lord is preparing and has prepared wonderful, glorious blessings that we can't see right now.  Visualize a hostess preparing for guests to arrive.  She cooks delicious food and decorates the house and lays out the fine china and best linens.  Her thoughts are about pleasing her guests in every way possible.  The Lord can prepare much more wonderful things than we can imagine, because He knows our likes and dislikes.  He knows what will make us happy.  Our "land of promise" that He is preparing for us will indeed be "choice above all other lands".

 

Seek Him Diligently

1 Nephi 2:19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy ^afaith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

 20 And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall ^aprosper, and shall be led to a ^bland of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.

Nephi learned that, like his father, he was also blessed of the Lord.  Then the Lord enumerates how Nephi earned his blessedness.

• Faith
• Sought Him diligently
• Lowliness of heart

So faith in the Savior, earnest and diligent prayer, and humility have schooled the young Nephi and brought him to the point that the Lord tells him, "Blessed art thou".

Then he is instructed to obey the Lord's commandments.  And as he does so, he is given certain promises:

• He would prosper
• He would be led to a land of promise.

As we look at Nephi's life, we see that he had many trials and hardships and heartaches.  But it is obvious that those promises of the Lord were fulfilled.  He did prosper as he was blesseed with a righteous posterity and in spiritual growth and strength.  And he and those with him were led to a land of promise to become a great people.

I'm grateful for Nephi and his example.

He Did Soften My Heart

The state of our hearts has a lot to do with whether or not we accept the words of God.  The scriptures often speak of being hard-hearted, and here in 1 Nephi 2, Nephi tells us that the Lord "did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father". 

In order for us to believe, we need to be open to belief.  We need the desire that Nephi spoke of.  But Nephi already had that desire when he prayed, and then the Lord blessed him even more by softening his heart.  

Gerald Lund spoke of the condition of our hearts in a conference talk in 2008: 

The heart is a tender place. It is sensitive to many influences, both positive and negative. It can be hurt by others. It can be deadened by sin. It can be softened by love. Early in our lives, we learn to guard our hearts. It is like we erect a fence around our hearts with a gate in it. No one can enter that gate unless we allow him or her to.

In some cases the fence we erect around our hearts could be likened to a small picket fence with a Welcome sign on the gate. Other hearts have been so hurt or so deadened by sin that they have an eight-foot  chain-link fence topped with razor wire around them. The gate is padlocked and has a large No Trespassing sign on it.   . . . the condition of our hearts directly affects our sensitivity to spiritual things. 

Keeping our hearts pure and soft involves avoiding sin and pride and envy and those things which move us away from the Lord.   I pray that the Lord will soften my heart also, that my desires will always be to Him, that I can return to His presence.

Blessed Art Thou

The Lord praised Lehi, saying "blessed art thou", for being obedient and attempting to teach the people of Jerusalem as he had been instructed.  He thanked him for being faithful in a difficult assignment.  This is not the only place in the scriptures where this phrase is used.  The Lord also said this to Nephi, Moses, Mary (the mother of Christ), Oliver Cowdery, King Lamoni's wife, Peter, Alma, Nephi (son of Helaman), and many others.

Sometimes as we go about our assignments, we get discouraged and think that no one notices or cares.  But the Lord always cares.  For me, it's easy to worry too much about impressing the people around me and to forget that it's not the glory of the world that I should be seeking.  The Lord is watching, and as I humbly go about my family and church assignments to the best of my ability, I will be blessed and loved for it.

Having Great Desires

 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 ^amysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did ^bvisit me, and did ^csoften my heart that I did ^dbelieve all the words which had been spoken by my ^efather; wherefore, I did not ^frebel against him like unto my brothers.

Nephi gives us a formula for receiving personal revelation from the Lord.  

• He had great desires.
• He cried unto the Lord.
• He was humble, with the help of the Lord.
• He believed the words of the Lord.
• He was obedient to the Lord.

Brother M. Russell Ballard spoke at BYU in 1979 and said this:
Oh, the power there is in having a desire to know with all your heart the things of God! Do not permit your quest to become a doctor, lawyer, scientist, educator, salesman, or marketing executive overshadow your quest for a testimony of the divine mission of Jesus Christ, the divine mission of Joseph Smith, the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and the knowledge that we are led by a prophet of God, even Spencer W. Kimball. Oh, that that assurance would burn in our hearts! Oh, that we would have the desire burning in our hearts, with all of the power we are capable of mustering, to know the mysteries of God! That the spirit might be educated and prepared for that great day of promise when we will go back into the presence of our Heavenly Father!

Our desires are what shape our actions. We may think we want to do the Lord's will, but our actions may prove otherwise.  If we end up frittering away our time at trivial things, we should examine our desires, because we will surely find that the desire to do good wasn't "great" enough to inspire action.  

Here's a good article on personal revelation and how it relates to desires.

 

He Hath Written Many Things

 1 Nephi 1:16 And now I, Nephi, do not make a full account of the things which my father hath written, for he hath written many things which he saw in ^avisions and in ^bdreams; and he also hath written many things which he ^cprophesied and spake unto his children, of which I shall not make a full account.

Apparently Lehi was very good at writing in his journal, as was Nephi himself.  Although Nephi doesn't give us a full account of his father's writings, he tells us that he wrote many things including his dreams, visions, and prophesies.

I haven't had visions or prophesies or meaningful dreams, but I still have a responsibility to keep records of my life for my family and myself.  Our leaders have counseled us to keep journals.  Wilford Woodruff spoke of the importance of journal-keeping:

… Instead of neglecting this branch of our work let every man who can, keep a journal and record events as they pass before our eyes day by day. This will make a valuable legacy to our children and a great benefit to future generations by giving them a true history of the rise and progress of the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth in this last dispensation, instead of leaving it to our enemies to write a false history of the true Church of Christ. ¹⁴

We are not apt to think of the importance of events as they transpire with us, but we feel the importance of them afterwards. We are living in one of the most important generations that man ever lived on earth, and we should write an account of those important transactions which are taking place before our eyes in fulfillment of the prophecies and the revelations of God. There is a great flood of revelations fulfilling in our day, and as they are transpiring before our eyes we want a record made of them. 15

Great and marvelous are thy works

Lehi was overwhelmed by the things which he saw and read and experienced.  His soul rejoiced and his whole heart was filled, and he praised God.
 
1 Nephi 1:14 . . . Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty!  Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy ^apower, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who ^bcome unto thee that they shall perish.

Too often we fail to express gratitude to the Lord, and even when we do thank Him, we seldom praise His name.  Our hymns of praise are one of the few ways we praise the Lord, and most of the time during those hymns, our minds are distracted into other things.  We have been commanded to "praise the Lord".

Filled with the Spirit of the Lord

Lehi was given a vision in which the Savior and His apostles appeared to him.  The Savior gave Lehi a book. and told to read.  We don't know what was contained in this book, but we're told:

1 Nephi 1:12 And it came to pass that as he read, he was filled with the ^aSpirit of the Lord.

We may not have the same book Lehi was given, but we have the scriptures and other sacred works that we've been also commanded to read.  As we do so diligently, we will be blessed as Lehi was, and we can be "filled with the Spirit of the Lord".