1 Nephi 17:7-9

Starting in verse 7, we find that Nephi and his entire caravan have been dwelling in the land of Bountiful for many days. The voice of the Lord comes to Nephi and tells him to arise and go to a mountain. It is interesting to me that Nephi was told to arise and go. Was he sleeping in? Was he relaxing on the beach? Was he told to arise because the mountain would be higher in elevation from the beach? Well, it probably doesn't matter, but I thought it would be interesting.

So, Nephi goes to the mountain and "cries" to the Lord. I think that it is significant that even though the Lord told him to go there, Nephi still has to cry unto the Lord for Him to speak to Nephi. It is of note to think about what action the people had to do to constitute a translation to the word cry in English. I'm not sure that Nephi was shedding tears and sobbing to get a response from the Lord. I think that it is a form of intense pleading or fervent prayer. What do you think? It actually happens quite frequently in the Book of Mormon, on average about every 5-10 pages. I think that this shows that we should be fervent in our prayers and not be vain and repetitious.

Then the Lord answers and tells Nephi that he has to build a ship whereby He might bring his people across the great waters, or likely the Indian and Pacific Oceans. He specifically mentions that the boat will be built after the manner that the Lord will show. Nephi responds showing great faith. Here is another excerpt from the Book of Mormon Institute Manual:

"Nephi’s response to the Lord’s command to build a ship is another remarkable insight into his faith. Several of the great prophets felt overwhelmed by tasks the Lord assigned to them. Moses felt inadequate in confronting Pharaoh and asked for someone to speak for him (see Exodus 4:10–17). Enoch felt he was slow of speech and asked the Lord why he wanted him (see Moses 6:31). Nephi easily could have wondered how he could ever know how to build an oceangoing ship capable of carrying approximately two dozen people. But his immediate response was simply: 'Whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten . . . ?' (1 Nephi 17:9). Obviously Nephi’s confidence did not come from any previous shipbuilding experience, for Laman and Lemuel’s reaction shows how ridiculous the idea was to them (see vv. 17–19). Rather, Nephi’s confidence stemmed from his faith in God, and he was shown how to build the ship."

This quote shows us how much faith Nephi had in the Lord. Nephi is a great example of faith in every one of his adventures. May we apply that to our lives and have such faith in all the Lord's commandments.