1 Nephi 11 - Answers to Prayers

 It is extremely difficult to choose one thing from each of these chapters.  There is so much to learn from this book. 

Verse 1 is a perfect pattern for receiving personal revelation.  And we all need personal revelation.  This repeats a pattern we have seen several times already from Nephi - asking to know for himself! (see CH 2 and CH 10).  He always does this!  How does it start in verse 1...After I had desired to know...believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me...I sat pondering in mine heart.  And then... He has an incredible vision!  A seriously incredible vision.  Possibly one of the greatest visions recorded. 

So what did Nephi do to receive such a thing?  It started with desire.  It was important to him.  He also believed the Lord would give him what he desired.  Belief is connected to faith, though faith is something much more than mere belief.  Finally, Nephi pondered.  Oh how important this step is to receiving guidance from on high.  Moroni's promise at the end of the Book of Mormon (Moroni 10:3-5) exhorts us to ponder on the mercy of the Lord.  That promise is a perfect example of what we see here.  Moroni also reminds us that in order to receive an answer, we must have a sincere heart (desire), real intent (intention to act upon an answer, which will be apparent if we truly desire the thing), and faith in Christ (stems from belief).  Ask (pray) with these characteristics, having pondered on them, then ponder some more in the spirit of prayer.  This an excellent formula, if you want to call it that, for receiving answers to prayers.  I'm not going to guarantee you will receive a vision like that of Nephi's, but you will dramatically increase the likelihood of you having some kind of revelatory experience. 

If you don't know Book of Mormon is true, apply this pattern.  But you have to be willing to act upon an answer.  I have applied this pattern myself in different situations, and I know it works.  God answers in His own way, in His own time, but He does answer.  To quote another excellent verse from chapter 11, "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do no know the meaning of all things."  Our Heavenly Father does love us, and is anxious to give us personal revelation to guide us in our lives.  I bear testimony of this. 

Excellent Talk on Personal Revelation

1 Nephi 7 - Does God Answer Prayers

I will call attention to what may be a common insight in chapter 7.  But it is common because it is good. It is important.  It is powerful.  Lets look at verses 17 & 18.  Nephi has been tied up and left for dead.  What a great situation to be in.  I'm sure he's thanking the Lord for these tribulations. Ha!



So what does he do, well of course, he PRAYS for help.  He asks the Lord for the strength to "burst" the bands he is held bound with.  But are they burst?  Not so much.  We read that they are but "loosed".  Now this is a small difference, but we can learn a big lesson from it.  Does the Lord sometimes answer our prayers according to our needs, and not necessarily according to our wants?  When it comes down to it, all Nephi needed was to be freed from being bound.  He didn't necessarily need strength to break the bands.  Do we sometimes ask the Lord for something we want, and he gives us something a little different?  Do we recognize that our prayer has been answered, or do we look beyond the mark, having our heart set on what we wanted?


S. Michael Wilcox expounds this principle extremely well in a talk given as a devotional at BYU-Hawaii.   He references Luke 11:9-13.  When we ask for bread, God does not give us stones.  The same principle applies in all things.  When we ask for bread, the Lord gives us bread.  He fill our needs.  But sometimes we may be so focused on getting marble rye, that when He gives us whole wheat, we don't accept it.  It becomes a stone.  (Read the whole talk HERE, its fantastic but really long)



In Nephi's case, I hardly think he's about to be upset about not receiving strength to break the bands as he asked.  Surely he is thrilled just to be free.  I hope we will all accept the help and guidance the Lord offers us, and not be so focused on what we want, that we don't recognize that He has likely given us, or surely will give us, what we need.  The Lord answers in His own way, in His own time.  But He does answer.  And He does so according to our faith (v.17).  May we trust in Him that He will always give us bread, no matter what kind. 


Does God Answer Prayers?

















The 4th Watch on CD

First Nephi Chapter Two - 1 Nephi 2

I like in verse 16, that Nephi decides he is going to find out for himself.  His father just chastised his brothers for not listening, and having terrible attitudes.  But Nephi on the other hand, our perfect example of righteousness, takes it upon himself to recieve his own answer from the Lord.  This is a theme we will see often with Nephi.  He doesn't just take everything his father says on blind faith, he always asks for himself.  ACTION.  We will see it again with the vision of the Tree of Life in a few chapters. 

At least one lesson from this is that WE can always ask for ourselves.  Whatever the question might be.  Should I follow "this" counsel from the Prophet?  Do I need to apply "that"doctrine more precisely in my life?  IS THE BOOK OF MORMON TRUE?  Follow Nephi's example and take our questions straight to the Lord, in prayer, in faith, and recieve answers, as the Lord promises (Matt 7:7-11, among many other places).  This is what Joseph Smith did after reading James 1:5.

The Lord is eager to answer the prayer of the humble.  It is in our hands to learn the truth for ourselves.

First Nephi Chapter One - 1 Nephi 1

To start I will share a great insight I learned first from an article by Jeffery R. Holland, written back in the 70's.  The idea was more recently reiterated during General Conference by Elder Jay E. Jensen, of the Presidency of the Seventy, in his great talk, "The Holy Ghost and Revelation."

One of the highlights of the first chapter of Nephi is the fanastic vision that his father Lehi beholds.  Right from the start, we see that prophets learn through visions, revelations, and the ministering of the Spirit.  Lets look at Lehi's experience.

V.5 - Lehi prays.  Why does he pray?  For the welfare of his people.  He cares about those around him.

V.8 - He is carried away in a vision.
          -He sees God!

V.9 - Sees Jesus Christ!

V.11 - Is given a book by Heavenly messengers.  Is this starting to sound familiar?

V.20 - He is mocked and persecuted.  People seek his life.

What we might say about all this is that prophets typically have similar experiences.  I would think that to anyone familiar with scriptural writings, this pattern is not surprising.  To accept prophets of the Old Testament would be to also accept the prophet Lehi.  If we accept Lehi as a prophet, we must also accept...Joseph Smith as a prophet!  What happened to him again?  A boy wanted to know the truth.  He read that he could ask God, so he prayed.  He had a marvelous vision, in which he saw God, and His Son, Jesus Christ.  In time, a Heavenly messenger gave him a book, written on plates of gold.  Ultimately, he was martyred for this great cause of restoring the truth to the earth.

Yes, God is indeed the same yesterday, today, and forever, and will continue to follow many patterns which he has established for us to know His will (see DC 52:14, Alma 13:2, A of F 5, etc).  One of them being that he will always call prophets to guide His people.  What a blessing for us to know these things.

Watch Elder Jensen's talk HERE!