1 Nephi 11

How did Nephi come to know the things which his father saw?

1. He desired this knowledge.

“For it came to pass that after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen,” (11:1)

2. He believed knowledge would be revealed unto him.

                “And believing that the Lord was able to make known unto me”, (11:1)

3. He pondered, and asked in the name of the Lord.

                “as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord,” (11:1)

                “And the Spirit said unto me, Behold, what desirest thou?” (11:2)

                “And I said, I desire to behold the things which my father saw. ” (11:3)

4. He had faith in Jesus Christ, and was living the word of God.

“And blessed are thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son, the most high of God; wherefore thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired. ” (11:6)

5. This last idea isn’t necessarily pointed out in those verses, but is implied throughout the chapter. Nephi was perfectly obedient. Therefore the Lord was willing to give him what he asked, because Nephi proved to the Lord that he could be trusted with the great knowledge.

“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know no commandments unto the children of men, save it he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

(Just a note, the Lord already knew whether or not Nephi could be trusted, but it was part of Nephi’s experience to see that the Lord trusted Him.)

The Spirit showed Nephi the tree of life, and what it meant. He showed him Mary, the mother of the Savior; He saw the miracles, and the gathering of the primitive church. He is shown the life of His Savior, whom he believed even though until that point he had not seen. 

At one point, Nephi said:

“And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” (11:7)

The spirit made manifest unto him that which he did not understand.

 How can we apply this to our lives?

We often hear this: “Of course, we won’t know EVERYTHING in this life.” That is a truth, not a restriction. This is not an excuse to put a halt on our progression. Do we really think that all that is to the gospel is what we learn at church? NO! Church is where we nail down the basics. It is up to us to use the basic, to seek further knowledge. The Lord will give unto us what he gave to Nephi. We can all be prophets. Not in the sense that we will receive revelation for the church, but in the sense that we CAN receive revelation. (Aside from church revelation) The Lord will reveal to us everything he has revealed to his prophets and apostles.  If you don’t currently have a testimony of this principle, the scriptures are where to look. Look of those who have received revelation from the Lord. You will be surprised how often we look over it, and don’t realize that we can have these experiences.

How have I applied this to my life?

The way I came to know Jesus Christ, regardless of my past dislike of the Church, was through these five steps. These five steps, simplified are: righteous desire, prayer, faith, more faith, and obedience. I wanted to know the true religion. I prayed. I learned how to exercise faith. I have a testimony of my Savior, my Father in Heaven, the Holy Spirit, and many aspects of the gospel (prayer, faith, fasting, tithing, etc.)

*By gospel, I mean the teaching of Christ that has led to me the relationship I have with Him*

Now, I am working on obedience. I believe that as I learn to be perfectly obedient, the Lord will reveal unto me anything I want to know. Right now, obedience for me consists mostly of the little things: Fast today; Go talk to that girl, call this person, do this homework assignment early, etc. I believe that through obedience to the basics, I will be given more and more opportunities to be obedient to other tasks.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.