As a BYU student and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have been learning more about a prophet from the Book of Mormon, whose name is Nephi. Nephi lived in Jerusalem, until his father Lehi had a strong feeling from the Lord to leave, because Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. When Nephi and his family left Jerusalem, they went into the wilderness, and Nephi was commanded by the Lord to do different duties. Without hesitation Nephi obeyed the Lord, and his obedience has been a great example to me. One of the things the Lord wanted Nephi to do was build a ship. This ship would be able to take his family to a promised land, we believe to be the Americas, where they could be safe and prosper. Nephi, being out in the wilderness with very few resources, did not know how he was going to build this ship. Although he didn’t know how to do this, Nephi never once complained. In the first book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon, chapter 3 verse 7, Nephi writes:

        I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them…
Faith and Doubt
        In this passage it shows to me what great faith and obedience Nephi had to the Lord. Studying this made me think of when I was a teenager. I always wanted to be independent and I didn’t want anyone telling me what to do, especially my parents. I couldn’t wait to drive and I especially couldn’t wait to turn 18 years old. I wanted to do my “own” thing. If I was given a task like Nephi to build a ship I would’ve probably first complained about it and then given up before making any attempt to accomplish it. Nephi didn’t just do what he wanted to do, but he did what the Lord wanted him to do, and he did it with no complaints, even though he didn’t know how he was going to do it. He had faith and knew that if the Lord wanted it to be done, He would provide a way for it to be done.
        After obeying the Lord’s command, Nephi was able to build a ship, and his family was able to sail to the Americas, where they lived prosperously. This story of Nephi building a ship strengthens me to be more faithful and obedient to the Lord. When I’m having a bad day or I’m having personal issues or struggling in school, and I think it’s too hard and that I can’t do it, I remember Nephi and the faith he had in the Lord. I tell myself if I can just put my trust in the Lord like Nephi did and go to Him in prayer for help, my burdens can be lighter and I can have strength. I know this works because I’ve done it many times and it has helped give me the guidance and assurance I need to know that everything’s going to be okay and that I can do it.
Maliana T is a student from BYU majoring in mathematics. She is from Minnesota and she loves to spend her free time with her husband and 4 year old daughter.