18 And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.
Nephi’s brethren are about as stubborn as they come. Either
that, or they just have short memories. Apparently nothing they had experienced
over the past eight years had prepared them for building a ship for crossing
the ocean. Not the Laban incident (complete with angel visitation), not the
bringing wives incident (where Nephi broke his bonds after they tied him up).
The Liahona thing apparently taught them nothing about Nephi’s determination to
keep the Lord’s commandments, and the Lord’s determination to make that
possible (see 1 Nephi 3:7). Maybe they thought that if they didn’t help, Nephi
would just give in, come to his senses, and say, “You’re right. This whole trip
was a bad idea. Let’s go back to Jerusalem.” This whole Lehi journey is a great
example of how different people can go through the same experience and come to
completely different conclusions (see Alma 62:41). Nephi learned from the Lord,
his brethren did not.
