2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.
It would be very interesting to see the Lord’s design for
seagoing vessels, and how they are different from man’s designs. I wonder what
the differences are, or if it’s just that since Nephi didn’t have any ship
builders in the company to refer to, he relied on the Lord for the plans.
There are stories in Church history that the prophets have
had temple designs, for example, revealed to them. And it’s not so much that
the buildings look extremely different from what men would design, it’s just
that these prophets had no training in architecture, so the designs didn’t
exactly follow conventions. Joseph Smith and the Kirtland temple, Brigham Young
and the Salt Lake Tabernacle, and Gordon B. Hinckley with the mini temples are
three examples that come right to mind. They were not designed after the manner
of men. They were designed after the manner that was shown them by the Lord.
I’m sure the details followed tried and true design and working methods, but
the design is the Lord’s.
