8 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.
When the Lord wants something built right, he gives the
pattern or the plans. He did it with Noah’s ark, Moses’ temple, David’s temple,
the Kirtland temple, the Brother of Jared’s barges, etc. President Gordon B.
Hinckley said the plans for the so called “mini temples” that have been built
around the world was revealed to him. So here is another example of the Lord
revealing plans for a ship. It needs to be built right. It needs to be more
substantial than what Nephi was familiar with, because he was crossing an
ocean, not just a lake or even a small sea.
I’m sure there is also some type or shadow in this. Maybe
it’s a comparison of the ship to the Savior. They both “carry” us to the
Promised Land. So this may be another reason for dictating the construction of
this ship. Getting to the Promised Land must be done the Lord’s way. Also,
there may be symbolism involved with its design that we are not aware of. In
either case, it is apparent that the Lord wanted it right, so He provided the
plans.
