1 Nephi 15:4-6

Because Nephi's brothers did ask the Lord to help them with their misunderstandings, or anything else for that matter, he was grieved. This also made him remember that because of the hardness of their hearts, their posterity would dwell in wickedness for hundreds of years.

Then Nephi becomes even more grieved because eventually he knows that his people will become wicked and fall. He says that his afflictions were great above all.

In verse 6, it says that after Nephi received strength, he asked his brothers about the cause of their disputations. I thought that the phrase "received strength" was interesting. I first thought that it was because he was so sad and the Lord strengthened him to keep going even though the eventual future was bleak. This may still be true. The word "strength" had a footnote and I clicked on it. The two scriptures were Moses 1:10, and Joseph Smith-History 1:20, 48, both out of the Pearl of Great Price.

Moses 1:8-10 said:

" 8 And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.

" 9 And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.

" 10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed."

Moses has a vision like Nephi and because the Holy Ghost was upon him which allowed him to be in the presence of God, his natural mortal body just collapses. He receives his natural strength after many hours and has his epiphany. Something that we will discuss at a later time.

In Joseph Smith-History 1:20, 48, we read:

In this section, Joseph Smith is receiving a visitation from God, the Father, and Jesus Christ. What a remarkable thing! He prayed to them asking them which church to join in 1820. This is what was said and what happened afterward (like the Moses story):

" 20 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother, “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.” It seems as though the adversary was aware, at a very early period of my life, that I was destined to prove a disturber and an annoyer of his kingdom; else why should the powers of darkness combine against me? Why the opposition and persecution that arose against me, almost in my infancy?

Verse 48 is about a time when Joseph Smith was about 18 and had prayed to God asking Him for forgiveness and asked Him about his place in life and the grand scheme of things. The Lord gave him a work to do. An angel came to his room at night three times to instruct Joseph, and as a consequence, Joseph did not sleep much at all that night. Here is what happened next:

" 48 I shortly after arose from my bed, and, as usual, went to the necessary labors of the day; but, in attempting to work as at other times, I found my strength so exhausted as to render me entirely unable. My father, who was laboring along with me, discovered something to be wrong with me, and told me to go home. I started with the intention of going to the house; but, in attempting to cross the fence out of the field where we were, my strength entirely failed me, and I fell helpless on the ground, and for a time was quite unconscious of anything."

Then, he sees the angel a fourth time, receives a vision of a hill nearby where ancient records were buried, records engraven on plates of gold. He was to translate them and they came forth as the Book of Mormon, the text that we are studying right now.