Lessons from 1 Nephi 2:16

1 Nephi 2:16
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.

This verse is amazing in that it gives us a little bit of insight into Nephi's own character, where the story up until this point has focused more on Lehi and the other members of the family. We get to see the contrast between how Laman and Lemuel respond to their father's call and how Nephi responds.

I love that Nephi describes himself as "having great desires to know of the mysteries of God," and that this great desire was the driving force behind his response, where he "did cry unto the Lord." It is actually very similar to the message we find in James 1:5 -- If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God... But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering..." That was Nephi. He had questions. He knew that he needed help understanding, so he asked God, with a heart full of faith, and he got his answer. He no longer had to trust only in his father; he could trust that his father had been called of God.

It is also interesting to me that Nephi says that his heart was softened, which vaguely implies that it NEEDED softening in the first place. It seems very probable to me that Nephi wasn't very excited about going into the desert either, but that this experience with prayer helped him to see more clearly, to a point where he did NOT rebel as he might have initially.

Lessons:
* Sometimes the most important thing our children need to know is WHERE the commandment comes from. It is a lot easier for them to rebel against their crazy parents, giving them crazy rules and directions, than it is for them to rebel against something they KNOW comes from God. (But make sure it really comes from God before you give them direction claiming it comes from God... Make sure you're not misinterpreting the commandments, or this can backfire in a big way!)

* For Nephi, it seems that one of the things that potentially CHANGED him the most, was that he was willing to go to the Lord with his questions instead of letting them fester to a point of rebellion. We need to teach our children that if they EVER doubt us, or if they EVER doubt what any of their other leaders are saying, then they can "cry unto the Lord" and He WILL answer.