The first month of this year has been a time of regrouping, refining my goals, and organizing myself to meet the challenges of the new year. Several themes from Nephi’s first book have helped me get off to a good start:
1. Timing matters.
The single phrase which has had the biggest impact on me this year comes from Lehi’s words to his sons while they camped in the valley of Lemuel. After reaffirming that Jerusalem would be destroyed and its inhabitants carried captive to Babylon, he prophesies that they will be delivered and brought home “in the own due time of the Lord” (1 Nephi 10:3).
The thought that has repeatedly entered my mind after pondering this passage is this: Just because something needs to be done doesn’t mean that I need to do it now.
I’ve had many opportunities in the last month to put this principle to work. At times, I’ve had an idea, but I needed to wait for an appropriate time to share it with others. Sometimes I’ve completed a task or project and wanted to keep the momentum going instead of moving on to the next scheduled activity. As I remember Lehi’s words, I’m learning to respect the natural cadence of events and to sequence my activities more effectively.
Here’s a blog post on that topic: The Own Due Time.
2. Good parenting includes both confidence and concern.
Near the beginning of the month, I thought a lot about Sister Tamara W. Runia’s advice not to become overly anxious about our children. “Stay at the tree,” she advised, referring to the tree in Lehi’s dream. “Don’t chase after your loved ones who feel lost” (“Seeing God’s Family Through the Overview Lens,” General Conference, October 2023). Our children can benefit from knowing that we trust them and believe in them.
Shortly after, I thought about the urgency of Lehi’s counsel to his older sons after he related the dream to them. He was concerned about them, and as a result, “he did exhort them with all the feeling of a tender parent” (1 Nephi 8:36-37).
I think it’s possible to be both confident in your children and concerned about them. Sometimes we cheer for them, and sometimes we may chasten them, but always with the tender heart of a loving and hope-filled parent.
Here are two blog posts about this theme:
3. Get started.
I spent some time last week thinking about Laman’s and Lemuel’s bows. They were angry when Nephi’s fine steel bow broke, but their own bows had previously stopped working, and they had been content to let Nephi be the sole provider of food for the family. While they complained, Nephi got to work making a new bow.
Shortly after, when the Lord commanded Nephi to build a ship, he focused immediately on the first step of the project: finding ore to forge the tools he would need for the project.
I can easily be overwhelmed by a large project, particularly when it involves something I know very little about. I’ve been trying to follow Nephi’s example: identify the next task and simply do it.
Here are two posts on this theme:
4. The Holy Ghost can guide us constantly.
As I studied Nephi’s efforts to obtain the brass plates, I paid particular attention to his mindset as he crept into the city at night. “I was led by the Spirit,” he later wrote, “not knowing beforehand the things which I should do” (1 Nephi 4:6).
President Henry B. Eyring has taught us to take courage from Nephi’s words, that God can guide us “minute by minute” when we are on His errand (“Our Constant Companion,” General Conference, October 2023).
Later in the month, I thought about how the Liahona parallels my experience with the Holy Ghost. Most of the time, I simply have a feeling about the direction I should go. Less frequently, specific thoughts come into my mind. Both forms of guidance are extremely sensitive to my “faith and diligence and heed” (1 Nephi 16:28).
Here are two blog posts about this topic:
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