My God Hath Been My Support

As Moroni exhorted us to read the Book of Mormon and pray concerning its truthfulness, he included this invitation: “[I would] that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts” (Moroni 10:3). In addition to remembering how the Lord has been merciful to all His children, as recorded in the scriptures, we can also do this exercise for just our own lives. We can remember how merciful He has been to us individually and ponder that in our hearts in order to hear His voice more clearly and feel of His love. I believe this is exactly what Nephi did in order to put behind him the feelings of despair and darkness that came over him because of his weakness. He wrote, “O wretched man that I am! Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities. I am encompassed about, because of the temptations and the sins which do so easily beset me. And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaneth because of my sins” He was overcome with his weaknesses and sins, but then he remembered, “I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support” (2 Nephi 4:17-20). He remembered how often the Lord had been with him as he thought of the many experiences in which the Lord had blessed him.

                In 2 Nephi 4:20-24 Nephi reviewed some of the great experiences the Lord had given him, and I believe we can match these up with the stories of his life he had already told. He wrote, “He hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness.” This surely refers to the eight years in the desert when the Lord guided their family to the land Bountiful. Describing that period he had written, “Great were the blessings of the Lord upon us…. He did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness” (1 Nephi 17:2-3). In his review Nephi continued, “He hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.” The whole family had been on the point of destruction after four days being tossed upon the waters in a great storm, but the Lord did preserve them through Nephi’s faith after Laman and Lemuel finally let Nephi loose: “And it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord; and after I had prayed the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm” (1 Nephi 18:21). Next Nephi wrote, “He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh. He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of them to quake before me.” I believe this refers to the time when he spoke to his rebellious brethren urging them to help with the building of the ship. He told them, “Behold, I am full of the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength.” When they tried to throw him into the sea, he said to them, “In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed.” Soon thereafter he described how he indeed caused his enemies to quake: “I stretched forth my hand unto my brethren, and they did not wither before me; but the Lord did shake them, even according to the word which he had spoken” (1 Nephi 17:47-48, 54). The Lord had once again preserved him and given him power.

Next in his review of the blessings of the Lord Nephi wrote, “Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time. And by day have I waxed bold in mighty prayer before him; yea, my voice have I sent up on high.” There are several instances when he prayed to the Lord that he might have been remembering here. When his father taught them hard things, he recorded, “I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father” (1 Nephi 2:16). When his brethren tied him up and left him for dead, Nephi described what happened in these words, “But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound. And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and feet” (1 Nephi 7:17-18). And when he needed to know how to build a ship, prayer was how he gained knowledge to do it: “And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things” (1 Nephi 18:3). Prayer was a powerful source of support from the Lord throughout his life. Finally, Nephi remembered this: “Angels came down and ministered unto me. And upon the wings of his Spirit hath my body been carried away upon exceedingly high mountains. And mine eyes have beheld great things, yea, even too great for man; therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.” This undoubtedly refers at least in part to the great vision that he was given as recorded in 1 Nephi 11-14. Nephi described how that vision started in these words, “As I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain” (1 Nephi 11:1). On the mountain he saw incredible things including the life of the Savior, his future posterity, and many events of the last days including the restoration of the gospel. He was tutored by at least one angel in the vision, and towards the end he was shown things concerning the last days that he was not even allowed to write: “I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard” (1 Nephi 14:28).

As Nephi remembered all of these incredible experiences he had had, he was surely filled with the spirit, and he was able to remember the great things the Lord had done for him. He was able to move on past his feelings of despair and trust again in the Lord to help him overcome all his trials. Surely his example is one for us to follow when we have days where we too feel the weight of our trials and sins upon us. As we look back and remember what the Lord has already done for us in our lives, we can have confidence that He will again in the future guide and direct and bless us.