First Nephi 18:2

Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.

When we do the Lord's work, we must do it his way. We cannot work after the manner of men, for if we do God's work the world's way, we will fail. Our first task is to find out how he wants us to work to accomplish our assignment and then to follow those instructions. Only by doing the Lord's work in the Lord's way will we succeed.

First Nephi 18:1

And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.

We do not necessarily get step be step instructions from God all in one handy user manual. He gives us a line and then lets us work with it for a while. He asks us to go as far as we can. When we hit the end of our ingenuity or understanding, he gives us another line and lets us take more steps.

First Nephi 17:51

And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?

God is not stingy with his power.  He is willing to use it constantly in our behalf.  He has preformed miracles for others, and he will perform miracles for us. He is not partial or capricious.  Anyone who exercises faith, humbles himself, trusts in Christ, and seeks diligently can receive manifestations of God's power in his life. God works by power. Whenever we see his power in action, we call it a miracle. Miracles are acts that defy limited human reason, but they do not defy God's reason. He can empower us to do anything he wants done. His power can remove the constraints by which we normally operate in the world. If we are willing to accept it, and set aside our personal fears and doubts, God can do many wonderful things through us.

First Nephi 17:48

And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words they were angry with me, and were desirous to throw me into the depths of the sea; and as they came forth to lay their hands upon me I spake unto them, saying: In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God shall smite him.

The power that filled Nephi was accompanied by a tangible feeling and a physical,  electrical force. In that moment,  Nephi was transfigured by a physical manifestation of God's power,  similar perhaps to how the Savior was transfigured before his disciples on the mount or Moses was transfigured as he descended  from Sinai. Nephi was changed, at least temporarily.  He was beyond mere mortality at that moment.  He was experiencing the baptism of fire in a dramatic way.  Not his physical flesh but the fleshliness of the natural man was being burned away,  and refined spirit was the result.  The insulating dross that normally restrained his eternal spirit was stripped away, and the real Nephi, who had lived in the presence of Elohim and Jehovah for eons, shone through.

Because of the manifestation of God's power,  Nephi was delivered from the evil intentions of his brothers to destroy him.  If we seek for it and live for it,  God will manifest his power in our lives to deliver us from the evil intentions of Satan, our former brother, to destroy our souls. As we let the Lord fill our lives with light and power, we can say to Satan, "Touch me not. "

First Nephi 17:45

 Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.

Nephi chastised his brothers for their rebellion against God. He was flabbergasted that they could have had so many blessings, spiritual experiences, and concrete evidence of God, and yet they turned their backs on him. He testified that the Lord had tried to reach them through sweet whisperings, and when that failed, he tried thunder and earthquakes. God did not want to give up on Laman and Lemuel. Neither does he want to give up on us. If we experience God's thunder and earthquakes in our lives, we know two things. First, he has probably been whispering to us for a long time, and we have been ignoring him. Second, he hasn't given up on us yet. When the noise stops, we should listen again for the sweet whisperings.

First Nephi 17:41

And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.

Nephi often drew parallels between the forty-year journey of his ancestors in the Sinai desert and the journey of his family on their way to a new promised land. Here he reminded his family that Jehovah had allowed poisonous serpents to attack the ancient Israelites as a way to get them to stop complaining and start obeying. The commandment the Lord wanted them to follow was the simplest possible thing: just look up at a brass object prepared by Moses. If the afflicted people would only exercise enough faith to just look at the object, God would heal them. It was so simple, yet many refused to obey even that almost insignificant instruction from their prophet; and as a result, they died. The prophet today does not ask us to do some monumental thing. He asks only that we pray daily, read the scriptures, attend church, hold family home evenings, pay tithing, get a temple recommend. If we can just do these simple things, we will learn to come unto the Savior, who will save us from all the sin with which we have been bitten. We can be healed, but only if we obey.

First Nephi 17:40

And he loveth those who will have him to be their God. Behold, he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and he remembered the covenants which he had made; wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt.

God chooses us when we choose him. Surely he loves all his children, but the relationship between a loving Father and a loving child is richer, deeper, more penetrating and sustaining than the strained relationship with a wayward child. Just as parents weep different kinds of tears over children who are faithful and those who reject them, our Father in Heaven weeps with joy on the one hand and sorrow on the other. He loves us all, but he loves us differently depending on how we love him.

First Nephi 17:35

Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God. But behold, this people had rejected every word of God, and they were ripe in iniquity; and the fulness of the wrath of God was upon them; and the Lord did curse the land against them, and bless it unto our fathers; yea, he did curse it against them unto their destruction, and he did bless it unto our fathers unto their obtaining power over it.

The chosen people may have advantages, but they are not predestined for heaven. Righteous obedience and sincere repentance are the keys to heaven's gate, not our ancestry, our heritage, the color of our skin, or the circumstances of our birth.

First Nephi 17:30

And notwithstanding they being led, the Lord their God, their Redeemer, going before them, leading them by day and giving light unto them by night, and doing all things for them which were expedient for man to receive, they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and reviled against Moses and against the true and living God.

The stubbornness of Laman and Lemuel is not so far fetched. The children of Israel saw greater signs than did Nephi's brothers, and they rebelled as well. It is not the signs we see but the faith in our hearts that determines conversion.

First Nephi 17:18

And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.

Laman and Lemuel are the poster children for dimwitted stubbornness! Their repentance was always fervent but short lived. They never changed their lives. Their momentary remorse never reached deep enough to lead to conversion. They never instituted regular, sincere prayer, scripture study, church attendance, and daily repentance, which invite the Holy Spirit and lead to true conversion. Thus the slightest stone of trial or weed of doubt sent them into instant apostasy. They never "got it" about faith because they never reached for it. They were never willing to be responsible agents. They always saw themselves as victims. How sad!

First Nephi 17:15

Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence.

Nephi knew that it would be the Deliverer who would ultimately deliver his mortal body into the temporal promised land and his immortal soul in the eternal promise land of heaven. Nevertheless, he also knew he had to qualify for deliverance through obedience. He may swing the hammer and shake the saw, but it is God's ship he is building to cross God's ocean to reach God's promised land. After all we can do, we can't do very much. But what we do counts.

First Nephi 17:14

Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem.

Seen in their proper perspective, the big trials in our lives teach us and testify that God is at work in our lives. From an eternal perspective, when we reach the promised land of exaltation, we will truly realize that it is only through the power of the Atonement and the grace of God that we are saved and exalted.

First Nephi 17:13

And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.

Keeping the commandments does not necessarily rescue us from the wilderness, but it makes the wilderness experience successful in that we learn to follow the Lord and depend on him. When he becomes our light, the wilderness is not nearly so dark and bleak.

First Nephi 17:9

And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?

Elder L. Tom Perry taught, "It is seldom that the Lord will do for us what we can do for ourselves." Nephi knew that he would need carpentry tools to build a ship. He could have asked the Lord to give him tools. After all, the Lord had already provided the liahona. But he knew that the Lord wants us to learn to be as self sufficient as possible. When he analyzed the situation, he knew he could make tools if he had iron, and he could smelt iron if he had ore, and he could mine ore if he just knew where to find it. Finding hidden ore was the one thing he could not do on his own. So that is what he asked for. We ought to ask only for what we cannot do for ourselves.

First Nephi 17:6

And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore; and notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we cannot write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the seashore; and we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit.

Bountiful was a stopping place, but not a destination. The family's journey was not done, but God provided a place for them to rest and prepare for the next challenge. We may find ourselves at a temporary resting place during our mortal journey. We never "arrive" in this life, but God gives us opportunities from time to time to rest and catch our breath before plunging into the next part of our journey. We should use these times well but not expect them to last.

First Nephi 17:5

And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey; and all these things were prepared of the Lord that we might not perish. And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which, being interpreted, is many waters.

God knew exactly where Lehi and his family were going and what they needed at each juncture in the journey. They may have suffered, but he did not let them perish. He also knows where we are going in this life and exactly what we need at each juncture. We may suffer from time to time, because that is part of the mortal experience, but we won't perish if we follow the Lord's directions.

First Nephi 17:3

And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.

Keeping the commandments did not change Nephi's circumstance. But he was changed and strengthened so he could deal with his circumstance. Sometimes we just have to go through things. But we don't have to suffer.

First Nephi 16:39

And it came to pass that the Lord was with us, yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly; and after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.

Isn't it interesting that despite the fact that Laman and Lemuel are in total rebellion and are threatening murder, God still speaks to them. They get to hear the voice of God, albeit in chastisement, whereas even the most righteous among us rarely get such a privilege. When the brothers eventually fall completely out of grace, they fall a long ways. 

Sin is a mistake; but iniquity is a constant choice to sin. The brothers will eventually stop turning away their anger and repenting. Their knowledge of God will turn to their everlasting condemnation.

We also read in this verse the continuing theme of the Book of Mormon: repentance, obedience and humility bring prosperity. It is a winning formula.

First Nephi 16:29

And there was also written upon them a new writing, which was plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto it. And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.

The miraculous Liahona teaches us many lessons about spiritual guidance and revelation. Just like Lehi, we get what we need when we need it. Line upon line.

First Nephi 16:28

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the pointers which were in the ball, that they did work according to the faith and diligence and heed which we did give unto them.

We cannot force the spirit to work for us. It is a delicate balance. We must diligently listen and obey all the time. And we must act in faith when we think we get instruction. We learn the language of the Spirit through trial and error. With experience, we eventually get it.

First Nephi 16:24-25

And it came to pass that he did inquire of the Lord, for they had humbled themselves because of my words; for I did say many things unto them in the energy of my soul.  And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father; and he was truly chastened because of his murmuring against the Lord, insomuch that he was brought down into the depths of sorrow.

God does not cast us off, He just waits quietly and patiently for us to repent.

First Nephi 16:23

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow; wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go to obtain food?

When bad things happen, we can sit around and complain, or we can go to work and make them better. While the murmurers sat around like lumps, Nephi took action. The other important lesson to take away from this incident is that Nephi always honored his father and the prophet, which happened to be one in the same in his case. When we obey the prophet, things will work out.

First Nephi 16:21

Now it came to pass that I, Nephi, having been afflicted with my brethren because of the loss of my bow, and their bows having lost their springs, it began to be exceedingly difficult, yea, insomuch that we could obtain no food.

Nephi is in the same boat as the rest of the family. He acknowledges that things are bad, but he doesn't blame God or others. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Life is not always fair. Nephi is nevertheless accountable. He owns his situation, regardless of how he got where he is, and he is preparing to do something about it.

First Nephi 16:20

 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael did begin to murmur exceedingly, because of their sufferings and afflictions in the wilderness; and also my father began to murmur against the Lord his God; yea, and they were all exceedingly sorrowful, even that they did murmur against the Lord.

Complaining is contagious. We can lose our perspective if we are surrounded by negative people. The people we choose to be with impact our lives for good or ill. We must choose our companions wisely.