The text of 1 Nephi 16-21 covers many of the struggles that Nephi faced in trying to get his family to the promised land. We read of his trials and how he and his brothers respond to them. One of the lessons of 1 Nephi is that how you respond to your trials will shape your character. Our attitude during afflictions can bring us closer to God. God used “rods” to afflict and to instruct Laman and Lemuel, and each successive rod came with increased force as Laman and Lemuel became more and more hardened. What was the only thing that would convince Laman and Lemuel to release Nephi?
- 1 Nephi 2:14 – their frames did shake – power of the spirit
- 1 Nephi 7:19-21 – the tears of women
- 1 Nephi 16:39 – the voice of the Lord
- 1 Nephi 17:52-55 – the power of the Lord through Nephi & the “shock” experience
- 1 Nephi 18:4 – the beauty of the ship’s creation = a sign
- 1 Nephi 18:15-20 – only their imminent destruction woke them up
Note that over time, Laman and Lemuel became more and more hardened and so the Lord had to use more intense “rods” to awaken them to their awful situation. This is a recurring theme throughout Nephi’s writings, until the two parties split up in 2 Nephi 5.
So much of the show notes are in the form of slides – you can access a PDF of the slides here.
Nephi constructs his experience of the building of the ship in the way the Lord created the earth as well as the flood narrative and construction of the tabernacle. This was a way that Nephi used his story, to emphasize how the construction of the ship was heavenly and related to the temple. For a great graphic on this, go here.
We talked a bit about kingship and the items associated with Israelite temples, notably the items in the ark of the covenant in the first temple. You can Read more on the First Temple Israelite Drama: http://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/2020/01/24/overview-of-the-first-israelite-temple-drama/
For more on the Nephite ark and the items that would have been equivalencies: http://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/2018/11/14/the-nephite-ark/
For some good questions to use to facilitate a good discussion that relate with 1 Nephi 16: https://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/2019/10/26/1-nephi-16-great-questions/
With so much to cover, we did not cover everything we wanted to touch on in the podcast. One item we didn’t cover was the part where Nephi mentions the family having to eat raw meat. You can read more about that: http://www.ldsscriptureteachings.org/2018/10/31/raw-meat-in-the-wilderness-1-nephi-172/
We also did not cover the importance of Nahom in the narrative and how it is one geographical marker that validates the authenticity of the record. For a great video that explains this: https://bookofmormoncentral.org/blog/watch-amazing-new-book-of-mormon-evidence-video