I am a freshman at Brigham Young University and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called the “Mormon” Church. I am currently taking a religion course at BYU on the Book of Mormon. Last class period we studied the story of a man named Nephi. Nephi was an ancient prophet and one of the first that appears in the Book of Mormon. God commanded Nephi and his family to leave Jerusalem and move into the wilderness. God led Nephi’s family across the ocean to inherit a promised land in the Americas. However, before they could reach the promised land they needed something to carry them across the ocean. So after reaching the sea shore, God talked with Nephi and commanded him to build a ship. Nephi and his family were living alone in the wilderness when this command came, so you can imagine how difficult it would have been for him to do this at this time.
The Lord will help parents as they try to raise their children.
The professor of my Book of Mormon class compared Nephi’s experience in building a ship to the experience we would have in the future of starting a family of our own. When God gave Nephi the command to build the ship he said, “[Nephi] thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry they people across these waters” (1 Nephi 17:8). My professor pointed out the distinct roles of Nephi and of God in the ship building process. Nephi was to build the ship, but God would carry Nephi’s family across the ocean. Likewise, parents teach and lead their family, but it is God that carries that family. This teaches several principles. First, it shows the sacredness of family and of the role of mother and father. If God is going to help us in that parenting role then it must be a very sacred one. Parents do not father or mother a family alone – God leads that family with them. He places so much importance on that role that He will perform it with them.
God has given us the scriptures to help parents teach their children the things they should do.
I’ve got a few years before I will have that opportunity to become a father, so I don’t know much of the difficulties of parenthood, but I can feel the importance of that parenting role and look forward to that opportunity. The second principle this story teaches is that God does not expect us to raise a family alone; he will “carry” that family as we do our best to fulfill our role as father or mother. It is also important to note that God showed Nephi how to build a ship – he told him “thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee” – He didn’t just let Nephi try and figure it out by himself (1 Nephi 17:8).
God did, however, require Nephi to do a lot of work. God expected Nephi to do all of the physical construction of the ship and even to build his own tools from raw ore (remember they were living in the wilderness). Additionally, God did not show Nephi how to build the ship all at once. Rather Nephi “did pray oft unto the Lord” and “the Lord did show [him] from time to time after what manner [he] should work the timbers of the ship” (1 Nephi 17:1, 3).
Whether it’s building a ship, building a family, or building our personal character God does not expect us to do it alone. He will work with us and will give us guidance along our way. He will not tell us everything all at once and He wants to do all we can to fulfill our role, but He will offer assistance to us. I have seen His hand in my own life many times. He has helped me in many of my endeavors. I believe that we all can see his hand in our lives. He will help us as we go through this life and face difficult trials and responsibilities.
This post was written by Zach S., a student at Brigham Young University and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Additional Resources:
Learn about the divine roles of mothers and fathers in The Family: A Proclamation to the World
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