I have a tendency to rush my scripture reading, going from verse to verse as quickly as I can. It’s an easy way to polish off ten or fifteen verses in a hurry, but I’m not getting the meat off the bone, so to speak. I’ve set myself a goal of reading through each of the standard works slowly, really looking at each line and listening to the words as they resonate within me. I invite you to join me on this journey.
Starting with 1 Nephi 1:1, which I believe is the most read verse out of any in our scriptures. (Don’t we all start from scratch whenever we have a lapse in study?) The verse reads:
“I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father, and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days, yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.”
There’s a lot of content in that verse alone.
Nephi states that he was born of goodly parents, and therefore he was taught in the learning of his father. This tells us that good parents teach their children the things that they have learned for themselves. We do this through our words, through our examples, and by not being so ashamed of our mistakes that we are too shy to share the lessons we learned from them.
Next, Nephi says that he was favored of the Lord and had knowledge of the goodness and mysteries of God, even though he had seen much affliction. We know from other studies that it’s through our afflictions that the Lord chooses to bring us closer to Him and to grant us a glimpse of His mysteries. Would Nephi have known as much about the Lord without the afflictions he mentions? I don’t think so. Our afflictions humble us and make us more fit to receive inspiration. I believe his afflictions were a blessing to him, to bring him that closeness with God that he would need in his life.
Last, he makes a record of the things he’s experienced. Nephi became a prophet, but at the time he was commanded to make this record, he didn’t know what his future would hold. He knew he was recording the words of his father, but he was not aware that he would go forth to lead the people in his father’s stead. He kept the record because he knew it would be valuable to his father’s descendants one day.
How often have we been counseled to keep a journal? We never know when something we write may be of great worth to our children or grandchildren. We don’t know but that they will look back and say, “My life was blessed by knowing how my great-grandmother overcame her trial.”
Let’s follow the example set in this single verse, by sharing our experiences with our children, by being grateful for our afflictions, and recording those things we have learned in a journal for our own descendants.
Related Blogs:
Parables in the Book of Mormon
Likening the Scriptures to Ourselves
General Conference: Ye Must Be Born Again