1:8 - "...But behold, they did watch steadfastly for that day and that night and that day which should be as one day as if there were no night, that they might know that their faith had not been vain..."
The people watched steadfastly - it's important to not lose faith, even when what we expect doesn't seem to arrive.
In the last days, the Second Coming will come, but many will think that the time has already passed.
We must watch steadfastly.
1:9 - "...Now it came to pass that there was a day set apart by the unbelievers, that all those who believed in those traditions should be put to death except the sign should come to pass, which had been given by Samuel the prophet..."
There was a day set apart by the unbelievers - it doesn't say which day, but it was probably soon, so it surely tried their faith.
The Lord tries our faith to give us patience and tries our patience to give us faith.
1:12-14 - "...And it came to pass that he cried mightily unto the Lord all that day; and behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him..."
Nephi went through the same thing as the rest of the people. Just because somebody is in a leadership position doesn't mean they don't go through what we do. They also go through the same experiences, so we need to keep that in mind so we don't judge harshly - alternatively we can learn from their experiences in applying them to our own situations.
1:24-25 - "...And there were no contentions, save it were a few that began to preach, endeavoring to prove by the scriptures that it was no more expedient to observe the law of Moses. Now in this thing they did err, having not understood the scriptures. But it came to pass that they soon became converted, and were convinced of the error which they were in, for it was made known unto them that the law was not yet fulfilled, and that it must be fulfilled in every whit; yea, the word came unto them that it must be fulfilled; yea, that one jot or tittle should not pass away till it should all be fulfilled; therefore in this same year were they brought to a knowledge of their error and did confess their faults..."
A few people began to try to teach that the Law of Moses was over. To their credit, when they understood, they were converted back to living the law until it was fulfilled, every whit.
We must not think that we can live a "higher law" until actually commanded to do so. We must keep the commandments we have received, and then later it may be added upon.
1:30 - "...And thus were the Lamanites afflicted also, and began to decrease as to their faith and righteousness, because of the wickedness of the rising generation..."
Wickedness has a profound effect on faith. This passage also shows that wickedness of others can also affect our faith. If we want to have faith, then we must continually strive to be righteous and follow the commands/promptings we receive each day so we can avoid temptation and wickedness.
16:1,12 - "...And as many as believed on his word went forth and sought for Nephi; and when they had come forth and found him they confessed unto him their sins and denied not, desiring that they might be baptized unto the Lord...and there was but little alteration in the affairs of the people, save it were the people began to be more hardened in iniquity..."
Many people believed, but there was little alteration in the affairs of the people.
We need to not get complacent in our everyday lives, but continue to progress and become a better people.
16:23 - "...And notwithstanding the signs and the wonders which were wrought among the people of the Lord, and the many miracles which they did, Satan did get great hold upon the hearts of the people upon all the face of the land..."
Their faith was not sufficient to be increased by the signs, or even sustained. It didn't make any difference to them because their faith had not been built beforehand on the basic principles and doctrines.
If we want signs to make a positive difference in our lives, we must work to build our faith first, then allow the signs to open us up to receive more of the gift of faith. Without the daily work on understanding and applying what we learn, we won't progress in a satisfactory manner.
15:3 - "...for behold, they have been a chosen people of the Lord; yea, the people of Nephi hath he loved, and also hath he chastened them; yea, in the days of their iniquities hath he chastened them because he loveth them..."
Often, if we are not chastened, we won't repent as quickly, which stops us in in our progression.
It is much more ideal to repent before reaching the point of needing to be chastened, but it is better to repent than to not repent at all.
15:9 - "...And ye know also that they have buried their weapons of war, and they fear to take them up lest by any means they should sin; yea, ye can see that they fear to sin—for behold they will suffer themselves that they be trodden down and slain by their enemies, and will not lift their swords against them, and this because of their faith in Christ..."
We must have the faith sufficient enough in Christ to bury our own weapons of war and rebellion to increase our humility and faith in Him.
15:10 - "...And now, because of their steadfastness when they do believe in that thing which they do believe, for because of their firmness when they are once enlightened, behold, the Lord shall bless them and prolong their days, notwithstanding their iniquity..."
Because of their steadfastness, their days were prolonged in the land. It is not good to have short, vigorous pronouncements of loyalty followed by apathy, etc.
What the Lord and His church needs is a steady dedication to the gospel.
14:17-18 - "...But behold, the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord. Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not ahewn down and cast into the fire; but whosoever repenteth not is hewn down and cast into the fire; and there cometh upon them again a spiritual death, yea, a second death, for they are cut off again as to things pertaining to righteousness..."
Resurrection bringeth to pass the condition of repentance. It's interesting because repentance then brings the effects of the Plan of Mercy, which saves us if we repent.
So because of the Resurrection, we have the possibility to repent, and we must repent if we want to be saved.
We should repent daily and come closer to Christ.
14:30 - "...for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free..."
We have this opportunity to act for ourselves - to act on the faith that we have. The more we come to seek Christ and live His teachings, the more we will act like Him and make the choices that He would make.
That is acting in faith.
14:30-31 - "...He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death..."
We are not free to choose the consequences of our actions -- except in the fact that we can choose which actions we take, knowing which ones will lead to the consequences that we want.
In this sense, we do choose the consequences. We should make righteous decisions to get the desirable consequences.
13:4 - "...And it came to pass that they would not suffer that he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and cried with a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsoever things the Lord put into his heart..."
They wouldn't let Samuel in by the gate, so he went by the wall.
Application is that when the Lord says to do something, we do it! There may be obstacles, but there is always a way to keep the commandments that God gives us (1 Nephi 3:7).
13:5 - "...Behold, I, Samuel, a Lamanite, do speak the words of the Lord which he doth put into my heart..."
We must always follow the Spirit, like Samuel the Lamanite did, and be ready to say what the Lord wants us to say, even if it is difficult.
13:11 - "...But if ye will repent and return unto the Lord your God I will turn away mine anger, saith the Lord; yea, thus saith the Lord, blessed are they who will repent and turn unto me, but wo unto him that repenteth not..."
If we repent and come to the Lord, he will turn away his anger.
So if we don't want to be a cause of His anger, we must repent.
13:26-27 - "...Behold ye are worse than they; for as the Lord liveth, if a prophet come among you and declareth unto you the word of the Lord, which testifieth of your sins and iniquities, ye are angry with him, and cast him out and seek all manner of ways to destroy him; yea, you will say that he is a false prophet, and that he is a sinner, and of the devil, because he testifieth that your deeds are evil. But behold, if a man shall come among you and shall say: Do this, and there is no iniquity; do that and ye shall not suffer; yea, he will say: Walk after the pride of your own hearts; yea, walk after the pride of your eyes, and do whatsoever your heart desireth—and if a man shall come among you and say this, ye will receive him, and say that he is a prophet..."
Who do we put our faith in and trust? The people at this point accepted false prophets and cast out true prophets.
Do we put our faith and trust in people who tell us that good is bad and that bad is good? Or do we have faith in the Lord and in His teachings? He will guide us if we trust Him.
Additionally, do we really listen to the General Conference talks, or do we just listen to hear what we want to hear?
Chapter 12 - "...Men are unstable and foolish and quick to do evil..."
This whole chapter is a commentary by Mormon on the inconsistency of the Nephites and the nothingness of man.
The climax or moral of the chapter comes in verse 23 - "Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved."
That is what we must do - repent and hearken unto His voice.
12:2-3,5 - "...and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom's paths..."
President Henry B. Eyring talked about this in the November 2007 Ensign, Pg. 66-69. "Sadly, prosperity is not the only reason people forget God. It can also be hard to remember Him when our lives go badly...then it can be hard for the Holy Ghost to bring to our remembrance the lifetime of blessings the Lord has given us from our infancy and in the midst of our distress...The key to the remembering that brings and maintains testimony is receiving the Holy Ghost as a companion."
We must let virtue garnish our thoughts, so we can have the Holy Ghost with us, so we can remember.
12:23 - "...Therefore, blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; for these are they that shall be saved..."
If we want to be saved, we must act in faith and repent of our sins; this is how we apply the Atonement in our lives. It's effective and generous, and a huge blessing!
11:8 - "...Behold, we know that thou art a man of God, and therefore cry unto the Lord our God that he turn away from us this famine..."
Even if the people didn't follow Nephi the whole time, they did know that he was a man of God.
We need to be an example of the believers so nobody wonders who (or whose) we are (verses 18-19).
11:10 - "...O Lord, behold this people repenteth..."
This shows another kind of faith - the faith in our fellow man.
Nephi had this faith. In some cases, I'm sure it could be tempting to say, "Oh I think they need to hurt a bit longer to learn the lesson - they repented, yes, but I think they need to hurt more." While this may be true in some cases, it still isn't our place to judge. If, according to our understanding and appearances, they have repented, then we must understand, frankly forgive if needed, and forget.
That's what Nephi did, and that's what we must do.
11:34-36 - "...Now this great evil, which came unto the people because of their iniquity, did stir them up again in remembrance of the Lord their God. And thus ended the eighty and first year of the reign of the judges. And in the eighty and second year they began again to forget the Lord their God..."
It took less than a year to go from repentance and remembrance of the Lord to falling back into sin and forgetfulness.
We must be consistent and avoid the temptation to fall back into sin, because the temptation will constantly be there.
