I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded...

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." 

(1 Nephi 3:7)

Joseph Smith
"....as my life consisted of activity and unyielding exertions, I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, do it." (History of the Church, 2:170, as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 13)

Heber J. Grant
"I am thankful beyond expression that I did read the book of Mormon in my boyhood days and that the assurance came into my heart that it was in very deed the truth, and that I fell in love with the character of Nephi. More than any other mortal man that we have any record of in the Bible, the Old, or the New Testaments, or in the Book of Mormon, more, I believe, than the influence of my friends and associates with whom I have lived, Nephi has made an impression upon my heart and my soul and has been one of the guiding stars of my life--a man who endeavored upon all occasions never to become discouraged or disheartened, never to complain; but who endeavored to the full extent of his ability to carry out his own wonderful words spoken to his father--

'I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commanded them.'

"That remarkable declaration, exemplified through his entire life, has stayed with me, I am sure, now for fully fifty long years; and I rejoice in the fact of the impression that was made upon my heart and soul by that statement. I also rejoice in his immediately exemplifying the statement that he would do what the Lord required. What had the Lord required? The Lord, through Lehi, his father, had received a dream to the effect that his sons were to return to Jerusalem and secure the brass plates upon which some of the ancient scriptures and the genealogy of the forefathers of Nephi were recorded. And his brethren were complaining, when he made that impressive announcement that he would go and do the thing which the Lord had required." (Conference Report, Apr.1924, p. 158)

Spencer W. Kimball
"When my feeling of incompetence wholly overwhelmed me, I remembered the words of Nephi when he said: [1 Nephi 3:7]. I want to tell you that I lean heavily on these promises, that the Lord will strengthen and give me growth and fit and qualify me for this great work. I have seen the Lord qualify men. In my church experience I have helped to ...call many bishops. I have seen them grow and prosper and become great and mighty men in the Church; men who were weak and men who were foolish, and they became strong and confounded the wise, and so I rely upon that promise of the Lord that he will strengthen and empower me that I may be able to do this work to which I have been called." (Conference Report, Oct. 1943, p. 18, as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.12)

Boyd K. Packer
"It is in the way we answer the call that we show the measure of our devotion.... Never say 'No' to an opportunity to serve in the Church. If you are called to an assignment by one who has authority, there is but one answer. It is, of course, expected that you set forth clearly what your circumstances are, but any assignment that comes under call from your bishop or your stake president is a call that comes from the Lord. An article of our faith #5 defines it so, and I bear witness that it is so. Once called to such positions, do not presume to set your own date of release. A release is in effect another call. Men do not call themselves to offices in the Church. Why must we presume that we have the authority to release ourselves? A release should come by the same authority from whence came the call. Act in the office to which you are called with all diligence. Do not be a slothful servant. Be punctual and dependable and faithful." (BYU devotional, Mar. 23, 1965 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.13)

Marion G. Romney
"I believe with all my heart, for example, that if our young people could come out of our homes thoroughly acquainted with the life of Nephi, imbued with the spirit of his courage and love of truth, they would choose the right when a choice is placed before them. How marvelous it would be if, when they must make a decision, there would flash into their minds, from long and intimate association with them, the words of Nephi: 'I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded..." (Conference Report,Apr. 1960, p.112 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p.11)

Bishop Robert L Simpson

"My brothers and sisters, true greatness has a habit of surviving the years. I am certain that every member of the Church has thrilled to the words of a stalwart young man of Aaronic Priesthood age who lived approximately twenty-six hundred years ago. When faced with a difficult situation, he said, 'I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.' (1 Nephi 3:7.)

"This young man, destined to become a great prophet, had a most important quality. He had courage, courage to stand on his own two feet rather than follow the so-called easier way -- the more popular way -- the beckoning of the crowd, in this case his own brothers." (Conference Report, Oct. 1963, p. 102)

It Is A Hard Thing Which I (Nephi) Have Required Of Them

"And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord." (1 Nephi 3:5)

Were Laman and Lemuel lazy people or was there more to the story? The Book of Mormon Student Manual states, "The distance from Jerusalem to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aqaba) is about 180 miles through hot, barren country infested anciently by many marauders. And they had gone three days' journey beyond that. (See 1 Nephi 2:6). This meant at least a twelve to fourteen day trip one way, giving added meaning to Nephi's response in verse 7." (1981 Book of Mormon Student Manual, p. 16). 

The Brass Plates

For behold, Laban hath the record of the Jews and also a genealogy of my forefathers, and they are engraven upon plates of brass. (1 Nephi 3:3)

This record of the Jews becomes a stabilizing force among the Nephites. It allows consistency of language, doctrine, history, genealogy, and tradition. The stabilizing effect can be seen when comparing the Nephites to the Mulekites who came to the new world without any records. Hence, 'their language had become corrupted; and . . . they denied the being of their Creator' (Omni 1:17).

"The purpose of the plates, as he saw it, was to preserve the cultural heritage of the past for generations to come, and especially to retain intact the unbroken religious tradition of God's people back to the very beginning.

"This is the announcement that launches the vast and restless record-keeping project of Lehi's descendants, determined to keep intact the chain of writings that bound them to the righteous of every age in a single unbroken faith and tradition. For the ancients all history was sacred history." (Hugh Nibley, An Approach to the Book of Mormon, p. 158.)

Some have argued that the description of brass in the Book of Mormon is an anachronism. However, the same term is used in the Bible as early as Genesis 4:22. Both descriptions probably describe a copper alloy which is different than the current definition. Brass is an alloy of copper and nickel. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. The latter was much more common in Old Testament times, but by the 17th and 18th centuries, the word "bronze" was not yet in common usage.

Hugh Nibley said:

"When we see brass in the Old Testament, are we supposed to read bronze? Answer: Well, you can read bronze. They did have brass, the alloy of copper and nickel, but, of course, copper and tin was much commoner. The word bronze doesn't occur in the King James Bible at all because it wasn't used until the 1880's. It wasn't an English word at all; it was a French word. We use brass which means bronze.... In Joseph Smith's time they didn't use the word bronze at all. That was a word for artists in Paris to use, and it was a new thing." (Teachings of the Book of Mormon, lecture 10, p. 141)

The Generation of His coming identified

Here are the three statements by Ezra Taft Benson identifying the generation and who that generation is that must prepare to meet the Lord at His coming. Thought you might find them interesting.

"Saints of Zion, do you realize we are living in the days of the fulfillment of these signs and wonders? You are among those who will see many of these prophecies fulfilled. Just as certain as was the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jews, so shall these words of the Savior be certain to your generation." (Ezra Taft Benson, “Prepare Yourselves for The Great Day Of The Lord” Brigham Young University on 14 April 1981.) 

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"For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord. Every previous gospel dispensation has drifted into apostasy, but ours will not. True, there will be some individuals who will fall away; but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of its head--even Jesus Christ. While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God. 

"All through the ages the prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it--you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time as there is of us. Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized. Now is the great day of the devil's power, with the greatest mass murderers of all time living among us. But now is also the great day of the Lord's power, with the greatest number ever of priesthood holders on the earth. And the showdown is fast approaching." (Ezra Taft Benson, In His Steps, Brigham Young University on 4 March 1979.)

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"For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the second coming of the Lord....That is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God." (Ezra Taft Benson, CES Devotional, Feb 1987)

Speaking With The Lord

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, returned from speaking with the Lord, to the tent of my father. (1 Nephi 3:1)

Interestingly, Nephi doesn't give us the details of this conversation he had with the Lord with the exception of 1 Nephi 2:19-24. He is writing on the small plates which are the ones on which he intended to record the things of the Spirit.

Could it be that the rest of the conversation was too sacred to record? Was this experience too personal to share? We should not worry that Nephi didn't give us every detail. We should follow his example and be selective about how and with whom we share our personal spiritual experiences. 

Neal A. Maxwell said, "President Marion G. Romney cautioned about the inappropriate sharing of certain spiritual experiences, suggesting that we might have more of them if we would not talk so much about them! We must be careful not to 'trifle' with sacred things (D&C 6:12)." (If Thou Endure It Well, p. 108)

Secondly, this phrase, 'speaking with the Lord,' is reminiscent of Exodus 33:11 in which the Lord speaks to Moses 'face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.' The brother of Jared also had a similar experience. Thus we see that the Book of Mormon confirms the Biblical truth that God is a personage, with a form like man's although more glorious, and that God usually speaks to prophets 'as a man speaketh unto his friend,' and not with burning bushes.

They Shall Be A Scourge Unto Thy Seed, To Stir Them Up In The Ways Of Remembrance

And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance. (1 Nephi 2:24)

One thing the reader of the Book of Mormon is never allowed to forget is that the Nephites lived in a polarized world, in which they were perpetually engaged either in hot or cold wars with the Lamanites. Their basic problem was one of survival; security was an obsession with them...the Nephites had by all human standards ample cause for alarm. Yet from the beginning they received full assurance that God had purposely arranged things that way, and that they had absolutely nothing to fear as long as they behaved themselves. God intended that the Nephites should have hostile Lamanites breathing down their necks: 

'I will curse them even with a sore curse, and they shall have no power over thy seed except they shall rebel against me also. And if it so be that they rebel against me, they shall be as a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in the ways of remembrance' 

(1 Nephi 2:23-24).

So it was a blessing to the Nephites after all to have the Lamanites on their doorstep to 'stir them up to remembrance' - 'Happy is the man whom God correcteth' (Job 5:17). No matter how wicked and ferocious and depraved the Lamanites might be (and they were that!), no matter by how much they outnumbered the Nephites, darkly closing in on all sides, no matter how insidiously they spied and intrigued and infiltrated and hatched their diabolical plots and breathed their bloody threats and pushed their formidable preparations for all-out war, they were not the Nephite problem. They were merely kept there to remind the Nephites of their real problem, which was to walk uprightly before the Lord. 

(Hugh Nibley, Since Cumorah, 2nd ed., pp. 338-9.)

Inasmuch As Ye Shall Keep My Commandments... Ye Shall Prosper....

And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands. 

And inasmuch as thy brethren shall rebel against thee, they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. (1 Nephi 2:20-21)

The promise contained in verses 20 and 21 came to Nephi because of his faith, diligence and humility (verse 19). It represents a motto, a promise, and a charge to the Nephites. It becomes the great law by which Nephite nations are prospered or destroyed. This law is so important that it is repeated at least 10 times in the Book of Mormon. (1 Nephi 2:20, 2 Nephi 1:20, 2 Nephi 4:4, Jarom 1:9, Mosiah 2:31, Alma 9:13, 36:1, 36:30, 37:13, 38:1) 

This promise is still in force in our day.

Spencer W. Kimball 

"This America is no ordinary country. It is a choice land, 'choice above all other lands' (1 Nephi 2:20). It has a tragic and bloody past, but a glorious and peaceful future if its inhabitants really learn to serve their God. It was consecrated as a land of promise to the people of the Americas, to whom God gave these great promises:

'It will be a land of liberty to its people' (2 Nephi 1:7).

'They shall never be brought down into captivity' (2 Nephi 1:7).

'And there shall be none to molest them' (2 Nephi 1:9).

'It is a land of promise' (1 Nephi 2:20).

'It shall be free from all nations under heaven' (Ether 2:12).

'There shall be no enemies come into this land' (Ether 2:12).

'It shall be free from bondage' (Ether 2:12).

'There shall be no kings upon the land' (2 Nephi 10:11).

'I will fortify this land against all other nations' (2 Nephi 10:12).

'He that fighteth against Zion shall perish' (2 Nephi 10:13).

"But these promises, glorious though they be, desirable as they are, can come only '...if they will but serve the God of this land who is Jesus Christ...' (Ether 2:12). There is only one way. That infallible cure is simply righteousness, obedience, Godliness, honor, and integrity. There is no other cure. Mountains of arms and ammunition's will not guarantee safety, for enemies can also build fortifications and missiles and bomb shelters. If we would but believe the prophets! For they have warned that if the 'inhabitants of this land are ever brought down into captivity and enslaved, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land' (See 2 Nephi 1:7)." (Conference Report, Oct. 1961, pp. 30-31 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett)