Enduring Trials with Faith

1 Nephi 1-5

Lehi left his home and all his worldly possessions to follow the Lord’s commandments. Am I willing to give up everything I have to follow when the Lord leads? Lehi had been following the commandments and listening to the prophets. He was probably not participating in the apostasy going on in Jerusalem. I imagine that he was trying hard to lead his family in love and righteousness and that he was heeding the prophets’ counsel of the days. 1 Nephi 1:4 says that there were “many prophets” in Jerusalem at the time of Lehi. Lehi prayed to receive a confirmation of what the prophets were preaching – that is when Lehi became a prophet himself. Nephi followed the same pattern. He prayed to receive a confirmation of what the prophet was teaching, and then received his own revelation.

We can follow the examples of Lehi and Nephi by listening to the prophets and praying to receive a confirmation of the counsel that they give us. In Lehi’s prayer he also “prayed in behalf of his people.” We should remember to pray for the welfare of the souls of those who may be in spiritual trouble.

Laman and Lemuel did not have faith in the words of their father. I wonder if perhaps they did somewhat believe the “many prophets” who preceded their father, and then when their own father started saying the same things as the other prophets, their wavering faith was completely extinguished and instead of asking the Lord for their own personal witness of the truthfulness of their father’s words, they murmured and rebelled.

Nephi, on the other hand, had continuing faith in the Lord and prayed to receive a personal confirmation of his father’s words. He was blessed for his faith and was given a personal testimony of the prophesies and visions of his father. Nephi would continue this pattern throughout his life.