The Lessons I Learned From Nephi Today

Nephi Breaks His Bow

1 Nephi 16:18, 20, 23, 24, 25

18 And it came to pass that as I, Nephi, went forth to slay food, behold, I did break my bow, which was made of fine steel; and after I did break my bow, behold, my brethren were angry with me because of the loss of my bow, for we did obtain no food.

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.

23 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did amake 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?

24 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.

25 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.

So here's Nephi, trying to do the best he can to provide food for his family along with his brothers and their springs are loose rendering their bows unusable and Nephi breaks his.  Laman and Lemuel's reactions are similar to what I would do:

Complain and murmur, "Why is this happening to us?"

They actually weren't doing anything wrong, so the breaking of the bow wasn't a punishment.  They were trying to provide for their families.  Nephi's bow broke, too.  Doesn't that happen to us sometimes?  We are cruising along out in our "wilderness" trying to do the best that we can and then all of a sudden....something turns our world upsidedown?

There are a couple of lessons Nephi teaches me here. 

1.  I am SO a Laman/Lemuel.

2.  When bad things happen, I need to get up and do something about it instead of asking, "Why me?"

3.  Building up others....

The last thing is what touched me the most.  Even his father, the prophet, was complaining (I don't blame him one bit) but still Nephi asked his dad, "Whither shall I go to obtain food?"

Elder Marion D. Hanks of the Presidency of the Seventy emphasized Nephi’s great character in how he approached this crisis:

“What to do? Nephi says he made a bow and an arrow out of some available wood, got a sling and stones and, ‘I said unto my Father, “Whither shall I go to obtain food?”’ It is a simple thing, isn’t it? . . . This means that Nephi went to his father and said, ‘Dad, the Lord has blessed you. You are his servant. I need to know where to go to get food. Dad, you ask him, will you?’ Oh, he could have gone to his own knees. He could have taken over.

“I count this one of the really significant lessons of life in the book, and, I repeat, the pages are full of them. A son who had strength enough, and humility enough, and manliness enough to go to his wavering superior and say, ‘You ask God, will you?’ because somehow he knew this is how you make men strong, that wise confidence in men builds them. Lehi asked God and God told him, and Lehi’s leadership was restored” (Steps to Learning, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year [May 4, 1960], 7).

I hope I can remember the lessons that Nephi taught me today and not ask "Why me?" or to get up and do something having faith that the Lord will provide and, most especially, to help build up the people in my life and help make them strong.