1 Nephi 17: 53

53 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thine hand again unto thy brethren, and they shall not wither before thee, but I will shock them, saith the Lord, and this will I do, that they may know that I am the Lord their God.

How does the Lord decide when and to whom He will show a sign? Sometimes it is in response to what amounts to a dare, such as the case of Korihor (Alma 30:48–50), or Elijah challenging the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18:21–40). Sometimes it is a witness to many people, sometimes to just one or a small number. Nearly always the sign is intended to bear witness of the Lord. However, in this case, surely the Lord knew that it wouldn’t have any lasting effect on Nephi’s brethren. They didn’t ask for a sign (apparently they already had some form of a testimony), Nephi didn’t call for a sign, but it’s interesting that this one was the Lord’s idea. It would have been nice to get a conversion out of it, but that wasn’t too likely, based on their track record. The goal here seems to be simple cooperation. Shocking is not the kind of sign that builds faith, it’s more along the lines of creating fear and cooperation. And to that end, it worked.

1 Nephi 17: 52

52 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said many things unto my brethren, insomuch that they were confounded and could not contend against me; neither durst they lay their hands upon me nor touch me with their fingers, even for the space of many days. Now they durst not do this lest they should wither before me, so powerful was the Spirit of God; and thus it had wrought upon them.

Obviously, Nephi’s exhortation had the desired effect. Although, as we see in the next couple of verses, it was not his words alone that gave the lasting effect. More about that later. The good news is that the things Nephi said confounded his brothers, or as it says in the footnotes, they were ashamed or overawed. This is good news because they at least felt something. It would have been better for them if they had felt something as a result of the spirit they felt, but unfortunately, as it says in verse 45 of this chapter, they were past feeling. So it wasn’t a repentant attitude that got to them, it was the irrefutable evidence that Nephi gave them, coupled with the exclamation point described in the next couple of verses, and the resultant fear, that got through to them. It reminds me of much later in the Book of Mormon, when Mormon has a glimmer of hope for his people when they begin to feel sorrow. His joy was in vain, because the people were sorrowing for the wrong reason, and they still would not repent (Mormon 2:13). Laman and Lemuel didn’t really change either. But they at least cooperated for awhile.

1 Nephi 17: 51

51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?

This verse sums up Nephi’s whole discourse. This is what he was leading to. If the Lord can do all these great things, if He can do anything, then why can’t He teach Nephi how to build a ship? Yes, He could make a dry path through the ocean if He wanted, so that they could walk across the ocean floor. But building a ship is easier and more comfortable than camping across the ocean. The journey wouldn’t take nearly as long to complete, either. Plus there is much to be learned by contributing to your own success, rather than relying on the Lord’s miracles for everything.

In addition, there is a type of the Savior in all this. Just as Nephi’s brothers needed to trust that he could safely carry them across the many waters with the ship he showed them, so we need to trust that the Lord can safely carry us across the perils of this life to our own “Promised Land,” eternal life. And just like the Lehites, we have to exercise faith and effort to do as much as we can to get that blessing. We limit the Lord’s ability to show us mercy if we don’t contribute to our own success. I’m sure that another way He could have gotten Lehi’s family to their Promised Land would be to just convey them there (see Acts 8:39–40; Helaman 10:16). That would require faith, but no works, which is closer to Satan’s plan. Building a ship requires both faith and works.

• Genesis 6:14 (14–16)

1 Nephi 17: 50

50 And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.

How many times has Nephi made reference to Moses and the miracles involved with freeing captive Israel from Egypt? Nephi gives all the power and credit for these miracles to God, but he also asserts that he is the Lord’s servant as much as Moses was. Look at the language he has used. He’s saying that first, nothing is too hard for the Lord (Genesis 18:14; Philippians 4:13). Second, that the Lord wants us to cross this sea, and He will make that possible (1 Nephi 3:7; D&C 24:13). He (the Lord) could even command me (Nephi) to make this water dry ground, and it would happen. Nephi’s brothers apparently believed the story of Moses crossing the Red Sea, because Nephi has referred to it several times in calling them to repentance. So they knew it was possible for the Lord to make that happen. And finally, Nephi says that the Lord has given him the same power that He gave Moses. If the Lord told him, their little brother, Nephi, to perform this miracle, then it would be done, even though he is not Moses. There is no question in Nephi’s mind or heart that he is the Lord’s servant, and by now there shouldn’t be that question for his brothers either.

• Genesis 18:14
• Exodus 14:15–30
• Philippians 4:13
• 1 Nephi 3:7
• D&C 24:13

1 Nephi 17: 49

49 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they should murmur no more against their father; neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should build a ship.

Once again Laman and Lemuel are murmuring against the wrong people. They just can’t understand or believe that this whole trek was not Lehi’s idea, and the boat was not Nephi’s project. These were part of God’s plan for them. So they are actually complaining not against Nephi and Lehi, but against the Lord. D&C 1:38 says that when the Lord’s prophets speak it is the same as when He speaks. His servants have His authority. In a different context, the Savior was teaching about service, but the principle fits here as well. He taught a parable, the conclusion of which was, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). So while the parable is more directly about service, it would also apply to persecution or murmuring. They just don’t get it.

• Matthew 25:40
• 1 Nephi 3:5
• D&C 1:38

1 Nephi 17: 48

48 And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words they were angry with me, and were desirous to throw me into the depths of the sea; and as they came forth to lay their hands upon me I spake unto them, saying: In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as naught before the power of God, for God shall smite him.

Once again, Laman and Lemuel are called to repentance, and once again they get angry about it. As it says in the previous chapter, “the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center” (1Nephi 16:2). They were not humble people, so they didn’t take chastisement too well at all. And once again they want to kill Nephi. I think the Lord has lost patience with their hard heartedness. At least there is no record of Nephi asking for this protection that he was given, being filled with the power of God. Laman and Lemuel had enough experience with the power of God that they believed Nephi when he told them that God would smite them if they laid a hand on him. I wonder if there was any physical manifestation of being filled with the power of God, like Moses had after he talked with God (see Exodus 34:29–35). That would certainly add credibility to Nephi’s claim that God would cause them to “wither even as a dried reed.”

• 1 Kings 13:4 (4–7)
• 1 Nephi 16:2
• 2 Nephi 1:27 (26–27
• Mosiah 13:3
• Moses 1:11

1 Nephi 17: 47

47 Behold, my soul is rent with anguish because of you, and my heart is pained; I fear lest ye shall be cast off forever. Behold, I am full of the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength.

One of the most spiritually difficult things to endure is re-entering the “real world” after a particularly spiritual experience. For example, you come home after a church meeting that was especially uplifting, and everyone at home is watching TV, or worse yet, arguing or something. This could be what Nephi is struggling with. After all, he had just received a pretty direct revelation where he was shown plans for the ship they were to build. He goes from that to his brothers, who, true to form, are in opposition to anything from the Lord. It’s no wonder his “soul [was] rent with anguish” because of them. Spiritual experiences, plus extreme sorrow, plus inspired calls to repentance equals loss of strength. Intense spiritual experiences are physically draining. I have had experiences (temple dedications come to mind) that were so spiritual as to leave me physically wrung out, no strength to do anything. The scriptures record that experience shared by others as well, besides Nephi, as described in this verse. Lehi experienced it (1 Nephi 1:7), Moses experienced it (Moses 1:9–10), Joseph Smith experienced it (JS-H 1:20). I’ve never seen God face to face like these prophets, but my experiences have been enough for me. I don’t know where I heard this, but I remember hearing that Joseph Smith talked about how his brethren hadn’t built up endurance for intense spiritual manifestations yet, so they tired easily afterward, where he didn’t so much, owing to all his experience.

• Daniel 10: 8 (8, 17)
• 1 Nephi 1: 7
• Moses 1: 9–10
• Joseph Smith-History 1: 20

1 Nephi 17: 46

46 And ye also know that by the power of his almighty word he can cause the earth that it shall pass away; yea, and ye know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places shall be broken up. O, then, why is it, that ye can be so hard in your hearts?

Nephi’s message here is simple. I think this is something he really can’t understand about his brothers. By now they have not only the witness of their people’s history to show them God’s power, but they have plenty of their own experiences as well. If witnessing signs, miracles, or other demonstrations of power were really the key to conversion, these brethren of Nephi should be rock solid. There should be no question in their minds about God, his power, and his direct involvement with their journey. And maybe there was no doubt in their minds. After all, Nephi appealed time and again to their memories and their knowledge of history to try to bring them back in line, and often with success. But the missing and key element in all this was the heart. They were hard hearted, and couldn’t feel converted. So all those experiences did them little good, and obviously had no lasting effect on them. So Nephi’s question is a good one, the answer of which I really think he couldn’t understand. How could they let their hearts remain hard?