Highly Favored of the Lord in All My Days

 I was impressed yesterday by something Elder Stevenson highlighted in the first verse of the Book of Mormon. This is a verse of scripture that I have read countless times and learned much from, so I was excited for this new insight I had never picked up on. As Nephi introduced himself, he gave a brief summary of his life in these words, “Having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 1:1). So he had seen many afflictions throughout his lifetime, and the text certainly bears that out as we read of his challenges with his brothers who tried to kill him multiple times, the suffering of their family in the desert for many years, their close call with death on the boat to the promised land, the division of his family into two opposing groups, and the contention that existed between them thereafter. Certainly, he did see “many afflictions” during his time; but this is immediately contrasted with the fact that he was also “highly favored of the Lord in all [his] days.” Some of his days were wrought with affliction, but all his days were filled with the blessings of the Lord. This means, of course, that those days which were very difficult for him, in his mind during those times too he was highly favored of the Lord. Despite the many periods of serious difficulty, he did not hesitate to say that all moments of his life had been blessed by the Lord.  

                I think Nephi showed us that he truly meant this when he described his experience on the boat to the promised land. After opposing the wickedness of his brothers, they tied him up where he remained for four days as the storm raged on around them. His wrists “had swollen exceedingly; and also [his] ankles were much swollen, and great was the soreness thereof.” Surely this was one of those times of “many afflictions” that he was thinking of in 1 Nephi 1:1. But he immediately followed up that description with how he continued to thank the Lord even in those moments: “Nevertheless, I did look unto my God, and I did praise him all the day long; and I did not murmur against the Lord because of mine afflictions” (1 Nephi 18:15-16). He still found it in him to praise and thank the Lord when he was tied up on the brink of death. For Nephi his serious trial could not change his understanding that God was good and worthy of praise, and surely he felt the Lord’s support even in those moments of pain and suffering. He considered himself highly favored of the Lord even when mercilessly tied up for days in a raging ocean storm.

                Nephi’s example invites all of us is to similarly see the Lord’s goodness and hand in our lives when we are going through serious trials. As Nephi, we will likely all be able to say at the end of our lives that we have “seen many afflictions” in our days. But it will take faith and righteousness to also be able to see that the Lord is watching over us in the good times and the bad, that we have been favored of Him with His choicest blessings even when we face unwanted challenges. Like Nephi, we can see that “the tender mercies of the Lord” are over us at all times when we show faith, and He will make us “mighty even unto the power of deliverance” to help us triumph over all our struggles (1 Nephi 1:20).