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.17 And I spake unto Sam, making known unto him the things which the Lord had manifested unto me by his Holy Spirit. And it came to pass that he believed in my words.
Nephi outlines the steps of his conversion, which can be used as a model of our own conversion. He starts out by having “great desires to know the mysteries of God.” Nothing will happen without our desires for understanding. Alma taught that as well in his great lesson on faith (Alma 32:27). Acting on that desire is key.
The action needed is to cry unto the Lord. The word “cry” here seems to indicate a sincere effort beyond just “saying our prayers.” Verse 19 says that Nephi “sought [the Lord] diligently, with lowliness of heart.” Sincere desire leads to sincere action.
The result was that the Lord visited Nephi and softened his heart. I don’t know if this was a personal visit or not, but the visiting doesn’t have to be face-to-face. (1 Nephi 19:11; Alma 17:10; D&C 5:16) All of these refer to other ways the Lord visits us: His voice, natural disaster, I think most frequently is the manifestation of His Spirit.
His visitation softens our hearts if we allow it to, which we would if the first two steps were sincere. Others, like Laman and Lemuel for example, have been visited, but never let that soften their hearts. This heart softening leads to believing the words of the prophets. Once the Spirit has confirmed a testimony of the prophet, we can confidently “believe all the words which had been spoken by [them].”
The next thing is to not rebel against the testimony we receive. We accept it and live accordingly.
Finally, Nephi bore his testimony and warned others. This is in harmony with D&C 88:81, where we are told that once we have been warned, we are to warn our neighbors. In Nephi’s case, he shared with or warned his brothers. Sam accepted; Laman and Lemuel did not. So we learn that just because we have been converted does not mean we are guaranteed to convert others.
As for Sam, he falls into the category of those about whom Jesus told his disciple, Thomas, “blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”
[vs. 16]- 1 Nephi 2:19
- Alma 18:41; 32:27
[vs. 17]
- John 20:29
- Alma 32:17–21
- D&C 88:81
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