Of all principles in the church, without faith, we are truly lost. Faith brought Joseph Smith to his knees; faith in the Almighty started the last dispensation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In primary we sing that “faith is like a little seed, if planted it will grow” (Children’s Song Book, Faith). If we plant the seeds now, then we as Saints can have the same faith as prophets of old. Nephi, one of the ultimate examples in having faith unto the Lord, shows us that by having faith in Christ, we can accomplish anything he commands of us.
We all know that the first principle of the Gospel is faith right? Elder Dallin H Oaks tells us that “[t]he first principle of the gospel is not ‘faith’. . . [, but] ‘Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’” (Dallin H Oaks, Ensign, 1994, pg 98). Faith by itself cannot exist. There must be something that we have faith in. Whether its faith that our car will work, faith that your parents will work and make money to support you or what. We must have faith in someone or something. Nephi ultimately proves this principle.
Nephi showed the way on how we can have faith in Christ. The Lord told Lehi that he and his family should leave Jerusalem and go to the wilderness. Even though Nephi is young, he has faith in his father and does what he says. Nephi did not understand why they were leaving exactly, but he knew the same principle that Moroni taught that if he, Nephi, prayed “with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ” then the Lord would help him understand (Moroni 10:4).
Once again Nephi shows the power of faith in Christ when he is commanded to cut off Laban’s head. The Spirit commands Nephi to cut of Laban’s head, and Nephi knowing the commands of God, shrinks from Laban so that he would not kill him. The Spirit comes back to tell Nephi that “ [i]t is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief “ (Nephi 4:13). The Spirit basically tells Nephi that he must kill Laban in order to make sure his people can have faith in Christ in later generations. Having great faith that it was the Lord talking to him, and not the Devil deceiving him, Nephi slays Laban and takes the records from his home.
The Lord tells Nephi that he must build a ship so his family can sail across the sea. Laman and Lemuel both mock Nephi. Nephi knows “that the Lord giveth no commands. . . save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth” (Nephi 3:7), so Nephi tries his hardest to build a ship without asking for everything to be given to him. Without a doubt, Nephi knows, not just believes, that because the Lord has commanded him to build a ship, that the Lord will help him to build this ship as long as Nephi tries his best to accomplish the commandments of God.
Laman and Lemuel murmur against Nephi and God, but Nephi becomes angry with them and tells them that they should have faith that they can build the ship, faith that if the spirit “command[ed Nephi to] say unto [the] water, be thou earth, it should be earth” (Nephi 17:50). This is a very powerful statement. To have such a faith that if you told the water to become earth because God commanded it and it happened, that would be the ultimate show of faith in Christ. I don’t think I could ever have that kind of faith. Nephi had such a great faith in his father and Christ that he gave us a one of the best examples of faith mentioned in the Book of Mormon.
Works Cited
Children’s Song Book, Faith.
Dallin H. Oaks, “‘Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ’,” Ensign, May 1994, 98.
http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=edf5425e0848b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1
The Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:4.
The Book of Mormon, 1st Nephi 17:50.
The Book of Mormon, 1st Nephi 3:7.
The Book of Mormon, 1st Nephi 4:13.
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12 comments:
Don't doubt the power of your own faith--although you may not have a need to turn water into earth, I think your faith (however simple it may be) can have just as significant of power as Nephi's. Thank you for your blog and recognition that we must have faith in someone or something. What do you think that faith is?
I like the way you chose two specific and unusual examples of Nephi's faith. The second point about turning earth to water seems a bit less developed however. Could you address that idea more directly. Also, the concept of "chopping off heads" is a bit hyperbolic and colloquial. Nephi beheaded one enemy only when the Spirit commanded him too several times. The plural casual form "chop off heads" may give the wrong impression?
I like how you pointed out that it is not having faith, but having faith in Jesus Christ that endows us with power. He is the one who rewards our faith with good things.
david, I love that you pointed out that faith in itself can not exist. Also, the examples of Nephi's faith helped show how simple it is to have the faith in the lord, "he knows not, he just believes"
There are some things I would not envy about Nephi's life. chopping off head of laban would not be one of them, and traveling across the sea was no cruise ship either. But faith is needed to endure each of our own challenges. Nephi and Christ both overcame theirs it can give us the faith that we can make it through ours.
I really like that the first principle of the gospel isnt "faith", it's "faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ." It gives faith a little more of a tangible feel. many times we talk about faith but dont really understand what it means.
I like how you bring everything back to the different times when Nephi had faith in his journey with his family.
I liked how you related a lot of your blog to the family of Nephi. It was a good way for me to relate to your blog!
David, first of all i thought that your title was very catchy! I like how you mention the things Nephi acheived by faith.
I liked the comment about how you have to have faith in something or someone and not just "faith." good blog!
One of my favorite parts of our blog is your title. Nephi sure did have a lot of faith to be able to chop off someone's head!
One of my favorite parts of our blog is your title. Nephi sure did have a lot of faith to be able to chop off someone's head!
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