1 Nephi 1 and 2

As I read these chapters the first thing that occurred to me was that Lehi was a great prophet. Not that I didn't already think of him as a prophet but just that I realized that because his writings were lost, we don't know much about him or his prophecies and I think that causes us to focus more on the story of his son Nephi. If we had his book I think that we would have a much different view of him.

Regardless I think we can agree that Lehi and Nephi were both great prophets. What is interesting to me is that in the very first two chapters of the Book of Nephi we have the story of Lehi's call to be a prophet and the story of Nephi's conversion, and that the stories are quite similar.

1 Nephi 1:4-6

...and in that same year there came many prophets, prophesying unto the people that they must repent, or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed. Wherefore it came to pass that my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people. And it came to pass that as he prayed unto the Lord, there came a pillar of fire and dwelt upon a rock before him; and he saw and heard much...

He goes on to have visions and dreams and he begins to preach repentance unto the people at Jerusalem, and to preach unto them about the coming of the Messiah. He is now a prophet.

1 Nephi 2:16, 18-19

And it came to pass that I Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.

But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them. And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

In both of these stories we see a pattern. Lehi heard the words of the Lord from the prophets and they caused him to pray, he then received his own personal witness that they were true. Nephi heard the words of Lord from his Father and he prayed and received his own personal witness that they were true. We have the words of the Lord from prophets and from the Bible and the Book of Mormon and we can pray and receive our own personal witness that they are true.

Also, in both of these situations Lehi and Nephi both shared the witnesses they received with others. Lehi prophesied of the Messiah and the destruction of Jerusalem to the Jews and Nephi shared the witness he received with his brothers. If we follow that example it means that once we receive a witness we need to bear testimony.

And finally, it was interesting to me that both Lehi and Nephi were visited by the Lord, Lehi by a pillar of fire and Nephi by the voice of the lord, while they were praying for OTHER PEOPLE. In fact there are many other examples of Book of Mormon prophets that received revelation while they were praying for other people. Off the top of my head I can think of Enos (Enos 1:9-13), Nephi (son of Nephi son of Helaman, 3 Nephi 1:11-13), and Moroni (Ether 12:36-37). I'm willing to bet that there are others as well. The point is, it is interesting that these people all received revelation while praying for others. I wonder if praying for others brings us closer to the spirit or opens our hearts in a way that prepares us to receive revelation. I don't know.

But I do know that once in the past when I was sincerely pouring out my heart in behalf of some other people I did receive revelation. It was one of the most profound moments of my life. I think that when we are are really struggling before the Lord in behalf of someone else, perhaps that is when we come the closest to understanding the atonement, to having charity.