1 Ne 5: 1-5

Nephi says he was born of goodly parents, so it may seem strange that at the start of this chapter his mom, Sariah, is complaining to Lehi about the way he had sent their sons out to get the plates. What's even more strange to me, though, is that Nephi bothered recording that. I definitely don't think he wanted to make his mom look bad. I think the only reason was to have a reason to record the response that Lehi gives to her criticism:

"...I have known the goodness of God...and I know that the Lord will deliver my sons out of the hands of Laban..."

After reading the account of Nephi and his brothers getting the plates you can't deny that it was the Lord who delivered them. It's comforting to know that when we, like Nephi, find ourselves in difficult circumstances, and maybe wonder if the Lord really will help us, there's a servant of the Lord who, without even seeing what we're going through, has complete confidence that the Lord will deliver us.

He dwelt in a tent

I usually like to try to keep my thoughts nice and concise, I guess because I don't like the thought of people zoning out while reading them. But I feel like what I'm about to write is going to sound a lot like rambling, and I'll just have to live with that.
I've been very slowly going through the first couple chapters of first Nephi. It's a good thing, too, because I realized when I got to verse 15 of 1 Nephi Chapter 2 that all I'd picked up from the chapter was how much Laman and Lemuel were grumbling, how they weren't firm and steadfast, how they murmured, and how their father had to put them in their place, by talking to them until they shook.
Then comes verse 15, and it says "And my father dwelt in a tent". A very concise and simple statement that seems to me like Nephi's way of paying homage to his father. I guess when I read it it made me realize what kind of a person Lehi was. He had probably lived in Jerusalem his whole life, raised a family, was cleary reasonably wealthy, considering how his sons later went back and tried to buy the brass plates with a store of gold and precious things from their house. And then, because he is told in vision to leave he sets off into the wilderness, and now he lives in a tent. And he has to deal with the majority of his family constantly grumbling about having to be there. What an amazing man he was, to give it all up, and not expect anything in return.
And it made me remember something I noticed earlier in the chapter about Nephi. Nephi is narrarating this story, and in verse 5 he records that Lehi "did travel in the wilderness with his family, which consisted of my mother, Sariah, and my elder brothers, who were Laman, Lemuel, and Sam". Definitely sounds like there's someone missing there.
I respect Nephi for his humility, and he's a great example of obedience, and not seeking fame or glory or anything. I was thinking recently about how it should've been Laman, not Nephi, who kept the record, because he was the oldest, but he was too busy worrying about himself, and complaining about how hard things were. Nephi was the only one willing to forget himself and do what needed to be done, just like his dad.

1 Ne 2:9

Here's a verse that stood out to me the other day; Lehi and his family are traveling through the wilderness and they come to the Red Sea, and they see rivers emptying into it, and this is what Nephi records:

9 And when my father saw that the waters of the river emptied into the fountain of the Red Sea, he spake unto Laman, saying: O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!

If i were to think about a fountain of righteousness, I would probably visualize the fountain flowing into me, like me being in the right place to receive revelation or something. But Lehi looks at it a different way, saying that Laman should be like the water flowing into the fountain. I guess Laman's problem wasn't being in the right place, considering his Dad was the Prophet. His problem was that he wasn't searching for righteousness, he was OK with letting himself be dragged along, but he wasn't willing to diligently seek the Lord. I'm probably the same way a lot of the time.

Ahem

Welcome, my friend, and thank you for taking a gander. I know what you're thinking. Following the link to this blog has already been worth it, I had you at welcome.
But now we get to this real reason we're here: to share some of the awesomeness that is the Book of Mormon.
I was just reading in 1 Nephi chapter 1 and something stood out to me that I felt like talking about. First of all, I just want to point out that this chapter has it all: pillars of fire, prophecies about a city being destroyed, mocking, stonings, and one miraculous vision.
The vision is the thing that stood out to me, because of this: Lehi sees in this vision God, the Father, and then he sees Jesus Christ coming down to him along with His twelve apostles, and what does the Savior do when he gets to Lehi? He hands him a book. And he reads, and is amazed, and if you want to read just how much he's affected by it, look at verse 14.
It seems to me that being handed a book by the Savior could be a disappointing climax to an incredible vision. Is it possible that if you were in that situation you wouldn't appreciate that gift? If you haven't developed a deep love and respect for the knowledge and Spirit that can come from a book I think you'd feel like "is this it?". What better place to realize how incredible a book can be then by reading the Book of Mormon? If you still take it for granted, you probably aren't ready for all that the Savior wants to share with you.
I love the Book of Mormon, and I'm looking forward to read through it from the beginning again. I feel like I've only scratched the surface.