1 Nephi 16:26-28

So, we leave our family in the wilderness in a grave situation. They have suffered because they had no food. I think that we as a society depend a lot on food, of course. I guess I mean that we take it for granted. I wonder how many of us, that do not fast monthly, have decided to try and go without food for a while. I know that if fasting did not come with prayer, I would die every time. So, I could imagine a little about how they were when there was no prospect for food because their bows had broken or were unusable. Nephi has make-shift weapons for hunting and asks his father where to go for food, so (I assume) that he wouldn't wonder aimlessly for days and, perhaps more importantly, to help his father get back on track as the head of the family and a prophet of God. It seems to work.

Verse 26 starts with the Lord saying, in answer to Lehi's prayer for direction, to look at the writing on the ball. This is interesting because the Lord could have just told him where to go, but he doesn't. He uses this as a teaching moment and points Lehi and his family back to the device already prepared for them. This shows them that they need to pay attention to the Liahona, or the ball or director, as they called it. Verse 27 says that when they beheld the words that were written there, they did fear and tremble exceedingly. Not just Lehi, but Nephi's brethren, the sons of Ishmael, and our wives. (What do you think was written there, to cause such fear?)

It is interesting to note that in this list, Nephi leaves out himself and Ishmael, as far as I can tell. The wording on this is a little tricky, but I would not be surprised if Ishmael, who they don't say too much about, would not fear and tremble, like Nephi at words of warning. This says something about their spirituality, because in the last part of 1 Nephi 22:17 it says, "Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire (emphasis added)."

In Verse 28, we see that Nephi makes an amazing discovery. He finds out, perhaps with this very exercise that the Lord has them do, that the pointers on the ball worked according to the faith, and diligence, and heed which we did give unto them. We need to follow these three things in our lives. We need to heed the words of the prophets. This means that we need to seek them, listen to them, and follow them. We need to have faith to believe what the prophets say, that if we follow them, we will be better off and blessed because of it. Then, we need to be diligent in following through with following the commandments. It takes diligence in order to (but not limited to) pushing past all the excuses for not doing them or doing them half-heartedly and Satan's attempts to thwart you. May you be blessed as you do so...