1 Nephi 18:1-2

We find our family on the shores of the great sea called Irreantum, which in our day is probably some ocean like the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Nephi is commanded to build a ship that will take his family to the promised land, somewhere in the Americas. Nephi has just found that his brothers are now willing to work and help him build the ship. He says that they went to work timbers of curious workmanship after the manner that the Lord showed him from time to time.

The next verse is interesting in that Nephi says that he did not build the ship after the manner of men and that he built it after the manner which the Lord showed him. First, this means that men at 600 B.C. had ways of building ships. I wonder what they were like? Well, here is an article from Wikipedia that showed how some of the ships of the day were built:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trireme

I think that this is a contrast showing how the ways of the Lord are far superior than that ways of man. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have ways that are far superior to ours. Let us follow Their directives.