Chapter 18
The ship is finished—The births of Jacob and Joseph are
mentioned—The company embarks for the promised land—The sons of Ishmael and
their wives join in revelry and rebellion—Nephi is bound, and the ship is
driven back by a terrible tempest—Nephi is freed, and by his prayer the storm
ceases—They arrive in the promised land. About 591–589 B.C.
1 And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and
did go forth with me; and 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.
2 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.
3 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.
4 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.
5 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came
unto my father, that we should arise and go down into the ship.
6 And it came to pass that on the morrow, after we had
prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in
abundance, and provisions according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we
did go down into the ship, with all our loading and our seeds, and whatsoever
thing we had brought with us, every one according to his age; wherefore, we did
all go down into the ship, with our wives and our children.
7 And now, my father had begat two sons in the
wilderness; the elder was called Jacob and the younger Joseph.
8 And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the
ship, and had taken with us our provisions and things which had been commanded
us, we did put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind towards
the promised land.
9 And after we had been driven forth before the wind for
the space of many days, behold, my brethren and the sons of Ishmael and also
their wives began to make themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance,
and to sing, and to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by
what power they had been brought thither; yea, they were lifted up unto
exceeding rudeness.
10 And I, Nephi, began to fear exceedingly lest the Lord
should be angry with us, and smite us because of our iniquity, that we should
be swallowed up in the depths of the sea; wherefore, I, Nephi, began to speak
to them with much soberness; but behold they were angry with me, saying: We
will not that our younger brother shall be a ruler over us.
11 And it came to pass that Laman and Lemuel did take me
and bind me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness;
nevertheless, the Lord did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto
the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken concerning the wicked.
12 And it came to pass that after they had bound me
insomuch that I could not move, the compass, which had been prepared of the
Lord, did cease to work.
Nephi’s brethren got their act together and began to help with to build the ship.
He was guided by the Lord in what he did. “[T]he Lord did show me from time to time
after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship … I … did not work the
timbers after the manner which was learned by men … I did build it after the
manner which the Lord had shown unto me” (1 Nephi 18:1-2).
Nephi often prayed to the Lord and was shown great
things. The Lord told Jeremiah, “MOREOVER
the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut
up in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof,
the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; Call unto me,
and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou
knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:1 - 3).
The time came the boat was finished. “[I]t was good, and that the workmanship thereof
was exceedingly fine” (1 Nephi 18:4). His
brethren remained humble before the Lord.
One day, the Lord told Lehi it was time to leave. They took all their provisions (meat, fruit,
and honey), the seeds, and whatever else they needed. They entered the ship, by age, with their
wives and children. Then Nephi tells us
that two sons were born to Lehi, Jacob and Joseph.
The ship departed and was “drive forth before the wind
towards the promised land” (1 Nephi 5:8).
His brethren’s humility didn’t last long. They, along with their wives, “began to make
themselves merry, insomuch that they began to dance, and to sing, and to speak
with much rudeness” (1 Nephi 18:9). John
Tvedtnes explain what Nephi meant.
“It was because of their ‘rudeness’ that Laman and Lemuel
were unfit to succeed their father as head of the family. Though ‘rude’ has
come to mean ‘impolite’ in twentieth-century English, at the time Joseph Smith
translated the Book of Mormon it meant ‘wild’ or ‘savage.] Lehi made a point of
mentioning the effect of the rudeness of Laman and Lemuel on Jacob (2 Nephi
2:1), as did Nephi, who referred to the ‘afflictions’ caused by his elder
brothers (1 Nephi 18:9, 19).[1]
Fearing the Lord’s response, Nephi began to “speak to them
with much soberness” (1 Nephi 18:10).
This was the last thing the happy little group wanted to hear. They became angry and brought up that
constant objection, whining they won’t let Nephi rule over them. That he had no such desire didn’t matter.
“There is another element in the founding story along with
the complaints and the violence, namely deprivation. That theme is most evident
on the ship. Laman and Lemuel, the sons of Ishmael, and their wives made
themselves merry—dancing, singing, and speaking with much rudeness. Nephi, ever
fearing the Lord would be displeased, spoke to them soberly, and they grew
angry. Immediately his brothers came forth with the classic complaint: ‘We will
not that our younger brother shall be a ruler over us,’ and bound him with
cords (1 Nephi 18:9-10). In this case it seems that the denial of pleasure and
the objections to Nephi's rule are closely linked. The attempt to stop the
merrymaking aroused the thought of his unfounded claims to govern. The
connection is most clear on the ship…”[2]
They took Nephi and tied him up and “treated [him] with much
harshness” (1 Nephi 18:11). After this
happened, the Liahona ceased to work.
Alma2 would remind his son, Helaman,
“And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore,
if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should
point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this
miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.
“Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small
means it did show unto them marvelous works.
They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and
then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey”
(Alma 37:40–41).
[1] Notes and Communications: "My First-Born
in the Wilderness," John A. Tvedtnes, Provo, Utah: Maxwell
Institute.
[2] The Lamanite View of Book of Mormon History,
Richard L. Bushman, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute.
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