1 Ne 18:3 I did pray oft
“Nephi was a
man of prayer. He instructed those of
our generation to ‘pray always,’ and ‘not [to] perform any thing unto the Lord save
in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ’ (2
Nephi 32:9). It is also of interest
that Nephi had a place of prayer, that being ‘the mount’ where he would make
his ritual ascent to the divine presence.
As already noted, for Nephi the mount was like a temple, it being the
place of prayer and revelation.” (McConkie and Millet, Doctrinal Commentary
on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 140)
1 Ne 18:6 we did all go down into the ship, with our wives and our
children
The party had probably grown
considerably in the 8 years since leaving Jerusalem. Ishmael died along the way
but Ishmael had two married sons and five daughters that married Lehi’s sons
and Zoram. All seven of these young families would have been in prime child
bearing age. Even Sariah and Lehi had two more sons, Jacob and Joseph, on the
way. Interestingly, Nephi doesn’t talk about his own children. He may not have
had any sons. This statement is based on the fact that when he handed down the
plates he gave them to his brother Jacob. Also, when he was near death he
appointed “a man” to be king. There is no discussion of any of Nephi’s sons
even being considered for the position. See Jacob 1:1-3,9.
1 Ne 18:12 the compass, which had been prepared of the Lord, did
cease to work
So it is with us. When we begin to
harbor unclean thoughts or exhibit a spirit of rebellion, the Holy Ghost, our
personal Liahona, will leave us to ourselves.
The sin which brought this punishment
to Lehi’s family was the rebellious spirit and exceeding rudeness that they
exhibited. This term, “exceeding rudeness,” may be unusual to us but probably
conveys a disrespect for God, a lewdness of speech and action, and a selfish,
indulgent spirit. In this context, it could be used to accurately describe the
tone and content of many recent TV
programs and movies—“exceeding rudeness,” with respect to God. We must be
careful, therefore, that we don’t force the Spirit to leave us because of the
things we watch in our homes. If we fill our minds with the “exceeding
rudeness” of today’s entertainment, our
spiritual compass will cease to work.
H. David
Burton
“A loving stake presidency helped their
youth have a better understanding of the pitfalls of being continually
bombarded by the degrading lyrics of many of today’s popular songs and the
indecent images portrayed in some movies and videos. They were taught these
mediums can produce much that is positive, inspiring, uplifting, and
attractive; or they can also desensitize the mind and make what is wrong and evil
look normal, exciting, and acceptable. Many of the young people hearkened to
their stake presidency and courageously destroyed their tapes, discs, and
videos which were not ‘virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy’ (A
of F 1:13) Young people, please don’t listen to music that promotes Satanism or
other evil practices, encourages immorality, uses foul and offensive language,
or drives away the Spirit” (For the Strength of Youth pamphlet as taken
from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas
Bassett, p.57)
1 Ne 18:13 there arose a great storm, yea, a great and terrible
tempest
It is a bad idea to rebel against the
Lord before or during ship travel. Jonah ended up as fish food after he
rebelled from the Lord at the command to go preach to the city of Ninevah. He
ran the other way on a ship headed for Tarshish. His experience on the ship is
similar to what happened to Nephi and his brothers. The Lord sent a great storm
to beat on the ship. Eventually, the crew determined that Jonah was probably
responsible for the wrath of the storm. When they inquired after him, Jonah
replied:
“I am an Hebrew;
and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done
this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he
had told them. Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the
sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. And he said
unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm
unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could
not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore they
cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us
not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O
LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth
into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. (Jonah 1:9-15)
The Apostle Paul also had bad luck on
ships. In his case it was not because of wickedness. Paul reports that he
suffered shipwreck on three separate occasions (2 Cor 11:25). The 27th
chapter of Acts contains a record of Paul suffering a fourth shipwreck. During
this episode, the Lord showed that the power of God was with Paul. Thus, we see
that great storms on the seas can represent the wrath of God.
1 Ne 18:15 after…four
days, my brethren began to see that the judgments of God were upon them
It is truly incredible that the eyes of
Laman and Lemuel were so blind that it took them four days to figure out that the judgments of God were upon them. Nephi’s previous
statement, they knew not the dealings of that God
who had created them (1 Ne 2:12), rings true again. They were so wicked
that there was nothing save it were the power of
God, which threatened them with destruction, [that] could soften their hearts (1 Ne 18:20).
1 Ne 18:16 I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine
afflictions.
Nephi’s fortitude is amazing. He has
the integrity of Job. Nephi understood that the Lord
did suffer it that he might show forth his power (v. 11). Most of us
would have been whining a long time before we were released from bondage. How
could the Lord make his young prophet suffer such things? Where is His mercy?
Etc. etc. etc.
1 Ne 18:24 we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant
seeds
The family had
brought seeds with them from the Old World. They were amazed at how well
everything grew in the soil of the promised land. This was important because
the primary form of obtaining food for the Nephites was agriculture. The
primary means for the Lamanites was to hunt and live off the beasts of the land
discussed in the next verse.
1 Ne 18:25.
Were there horses on the American continent before Columbus and other explorers
brought them?
“If Joseph
Smith had been writing the Book of Mormon instead of translating it from
ancient records, he would have been very foolish to have included references to
horses on the American continent in Book of Mormon times. (1 Nephi 18:25; Enos
1:21.) In 1830, nearly all the historians and scholars were convinced there had
been no horses on the American continent before the coming of Columbus. After
the Book of Mormon was published, however, archaeological discoveries were made
that clearly indicate that horses were in the Americas before Columbus arrived.
In the asphalt deposits of Rancho LaBrea in southern California, numerous
fossil remains of horses have been found that antedate Book of Mormon times.
Although these discoveries do not absolutely prove horses were in the Americas
in the time period covered by the Book of Mormon (about 2600 B.C. to A.D. 421),
they do prove horses were there before the coming of Columbus.
“Some
scientists have now accepted the possibility that horses and men lived
concurrently in the Americas before the coming of Columbus. Franklin S. Harris,
Jr., quotes the zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson as saying: ‘There is a body of
evidence both from the mainland of Central America and even from rock drawings
in Haiti itself tending to show that the horse may have been known to man in
the Americas before the coming of the Spaniards.’ (The Book of Mormon Message
and Evidences [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1953], pp. 88-89.)” (Daniel
Ludlow, A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p.117)