Lehi has finished recounting his vision of the tree of life to his family, and he begged Laman and Lemuel to turn to the Lord and repent of their wrongdoings.
To summarize the next few verses, Lehi spoke more things that were too numerous to be written upon the plates. Nephi clarifies that these plates are not the ones upon which he is making a full account of the people, but rather, a second set which he was commanded of the Lord to make so there would be a record of the ministry of Nephi’s people. The other plates deal more with the reigns of the kings and the politics of the people.
Speaking of the smaller set, in verse five Nephi says:
5. Wherefore, the Lord hath commanded me to make these plates for a wise purpose in him, which purpose I know not.
6. But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen.
If each prophet in the scriptures was to be assigned a theme, I believe that Nephi’s would be unquestioning obedience. Over and over, we’ve seen Nephi get faced with something difficult, and each time, he’s said, in essence: “I don’t know why I’m being asked to do this, but the Lord knows, and He’ll make it possible. So I’ll do it.” Nephi does not waste his time in questioning the Lord. He doesn’t demand answers before he takes action. He simply takes action, knowing that the answers will come later.
This is an amazing trait to have. How often do we argue and rationalize when we’re asked to do something? How often do we feel as though God has abandoned us when we go through times of trial? As I’ve come to know Nephi better as we’ve studied these first nine chapters, I’ve been impressed with just how faithful he is. This is not my first time through the Book of Mormon, by any means, but this is the first time I’ve broken it down and analyzed it verse by verse, and Nephi becomes more remarkable by the minute. I’m excited to keep reading and see what else I can learn.
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