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.