This scripture impressed me as I read last night:

“And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.”  (1 Ne. 18:3).

I have thought about that scripture through the night, and have arisen at 4:00 a.m. still thinking about it.  There are some things herein that the Lord wants to teach me.  I’ve noticed that one of the best ways for me to learn and to be taught by the Spirit is to sit down in a quiet place and to write.  As I write I learn things.  I’m up early, it’s quiet, I’ve prayed, I feel the Spirit close, so I’ll see now what I can learn from this verse.

The setting for this verse was that Nephi was building a ship at the commandment of the Lord.  He was building it in a manner unknown to men.  He was following the Lord’s directions.  It would be so very interesting to see what this ship looked like.  I’m sure that it functioned better than other ships of his day.

“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.

“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.

“And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.

“And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.”  (1 Ne. 18:1-4).

This ship looked strange—unlike anything on earth.  It was built by a man about 26 years old who was raised in Jerusalem, who hadn’t seen the sea or ships until he saw the Red Sea at the age of 15 or 16, and who had spent the next 8 years crossing the desert which is now Saudi Arabia.  He knew nothing about boats, and had never been aboard one.  Yet even Nephi’s faithless brothers could see that this boat was especially well-built and seaworthy, so much so that they were willing to commit themselves and their families to a long and hazardous voyage on it.  It was such a striking looking ship that even they realized that their little brother was incapable of conceiving and building such a thing, and that the Lord had conceived it and directed Nephi in its construction.

Nephi himself was awe-struck by what he had done.  He had no idea how to go about the work, so he had to pray oft for instructions.  He had been shown a vision of what the completed ship should look like, but had to consult with the Lord about how to proceed with each step.  He had no tools, no experience in metal working, and no experience in wood working except what he learned as he made bows and arrows while crossing the desert during those 8 years.

In fact, that desert experience was probably necessary for him in order to learn some skills and to learn some things about woodworking so that he could expand upon those skills to build a ship.  The breaking of his steel bow was a necessary hardship imposed upon him so that he’d be forced to learn about wood, how it acts, and how to shape it.  Having had some experience with wood myself, I can see where carving and shaping a bow would be hugely instructive when shaping timbers for a ship.

I can only imagine how difficult it would be to make bows and ship timbers with no tools.  Woodworking tools need to be made of metal.  I’ll bet that Nephi didn’t just discard his broken steel bow.  That metal was valuable.  It was carried along on their long desert journey, and every bit of it was turned into tools to make numerous wooden bows for the whole family.

When Lehi’s family reached Bountiful and Nephi was instructed to build a ship, he had already experimented with and built bellows and forges.  With his previous forges he had made knives and arrow heads out of his broken steel bow.  But now that he was in Bountiful and had a monumental construction assignment, he needed some bigger and better tools, and he needed lots of them.  He needed ore, and he needed to know what to do with it.

I’d have no idea how to turn a rock into a metal tool.  Neither did Nephi.  I’d have no idea how to even recognize a rock that could be turned into a metal tool.  Neither did Nephi.  He needed hammers and axes and adzes and drawing knives and maybe nails.  He needed draft animals and yokes and harnesses and ropes.  He needed a good timber source, draft animals that could drag heavy logs to the work site, and a derrick that could lift the beams into place.

This was a young man who had been raised in the city as the son of a wealthy merchant.  What did he know about metal, wood, draft animals, and inventing the hundreds of devices and methods that would be necessary to construct a ship capable of carrying 17 adults and 30-some children on a long voyage across the sea with sufficient provisions to get them there?

Nephi had no idea how to do any of these things, but he knew that the Lord did, and that the Lord would tell him if he sought the knowledge in faith.  The 8-year desert journey was a necessary schooling period for the whole family.  It hardened them for the tasks ahead.  It taught Nephi how to rely on the Lord, and how to get answers to his perplexities.  It brought him close to the Lord.  At the beginning of the journey he told his father that “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”  (1 Ne. 3:7).

When he first said that, he believed it; but by the time he reached Bountiful, he knew it.  The Lord had helped him again and again—after heartfelt prayers—to construct forges, make better and better tools, and to find game and water in an empty, desolate desert.

And so, when the Lord told him to construct a ship Nephi didn’t say, “I can’t do that!”  Instead he asked, “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?”  (1 Ne. 17:9).

Bountiful was a beautiful, green nook upon the seashore, surrounded by desert, blessed with much fruit, honey and good-sized trees.  (1 Ne. 17:5).  (There was an article with pictures several years ago in The Ensign showing a place on the Saudi Arabian peninsula that might have been Bountiful).  Nearby was a mountain.  The Lord told Nephi to “Arise, and get thee into the mountain.”  (1 Ne. 17:7).  Nephi did so, and “cried unto the Lord.”  It was there that he was told to build a ship.  It was there that he went each time that he needed instructions for the next step in the construction.

Why does the Lord use mountains?  Nephi, Moses, the Brother of Jared, and other prophets received their instructions on mountains.  So did Peter, James and John when they met with Jesus and key-holding prophets on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Mountains have always been the Lord’s substitute temples when temples haven’t been available.  I can understand that.  There is an almost holy feeling on a mountain top.  Perhaps the evil spirits that surround us in the valleys don’t bother to go to uninhabited mountains.  There’s nothing for them to do there.  Up on a mountain the Lord can commune with His prophets and sons in perfect quiet and privacy.

So Nephi went oft to the mount to pray for instruction.  Bountiful would have been much like my home here at the base of Hunt Mountain.  Nephi’s mountain was near at hand—just like mine.  It took effort to go there, though.  When Nephi reached a place where he didn’t know how to proceed, he didn’t have a book to consult, or an instruction manual, or anyone he could go to for advice.  But he did have the Lord.  And he knew that if he went to the mount the Lord would meet him there or put into his mind the things that he needed to know if he would make the effort, humble himself, and pray with faith.

I can see Nephi in my mind’s eye as he leaves the construction site.  Contemplatively he heads for Hunt Mountain.  He’s already praying meditatively as he ponders on his problem.  The climb is hard work.  He stops frequently to catch his breath and calm his beating heart.  He looks back and down at the ship that’s taking shape below him.  The sounds of his working brothers rise through the air with clarity.  He might have found a private place down there to kneel and pray, but it wouldn’t have been the same.  His prayer wouldn’t have required effort, or as much faith, preparation or forethought.

Joseph’s words could have been Nephi’s:  “After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God.”  (Joseph Smith-History 1:15).

Nephi’s spot was over a knoll, out of sight and sound of the camp, and high up on the side of the mountain.  He stood and looked around until his breath was coming normally.  The sun was warm.  He was completely alone except for the companionship of the Spirit of the Lord which was palpable.  He knelt down, thanked the Lord for His goodness, explained his problem, and information began flowing into his mind.  After a time he arose, smiled, and energetically descended the mountain—sometimes running—because the Lord had “showed unto me great things.”

“What would the Lord show me if I would climb up Hunt Mountain to pray about my problems?  I’d do that, but it’s so inconvenient, and such a lot of work.  The weather isn’t just right, anyway.  Tomorrow might be a better day.  Maybe the Lord will just tell me what to do if I keep going about my business, and a trip to the mountain won’t be necessary.

I sure wish I had Nephi’s faith, and could have Nephi’s experiences.—6:37 a.m.

 

Postscript, 6:53 a.m.:  I could go climb up Hunt Mountain, and I’ve done that; but I’m luckier than Nephi.  I have a temple nearby.  It takes 2-1/2 hours and $15 of gas to get there one-way.  That’s a lot of time, effort and expense, but I’m happy and anxious to do it once a week.  The Lord shows unto me great things as I drive contemplatively along studiously avoiding having the radio or music playing.  The Spirit is always with me, and it’s palpable in the temple.

I’m luckier than Nephi.  I get up early in the morning, make a warm fire in the fireplace, sit down in the wing-backed chair that Katie reupholstered for me, encase myself in the quilt (my blankie) that Margie lovingly made for me, and put my beautiful maple and walnut lap board that I designed and made on my lap.  I pick up my ball point pen and start writing on fine, lined paper.  I have no need to make sheets of metal and laboriously engrave on them.

I’m luckier than Nephi.  He wanted to leave a record that would bless his posterity to the last generation.  He had no way to make copies of his difficult-to-make prototype.  I’ll simply go in to my computer, type up what I’ve written, burn a number of CDs, and each of my children will have a copy of all my best thoughts.

How grateful I am to Nephi for his faith, example and stamina.  How grateful I am to the Lord for cars and comforts and scriptures and mountains, temples, family and His Spirit.  How blessed I am—more so than Nephi even.

Why?—7:10 a.m., 2 April 2010.