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
