1 Nephi 17:8-16

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Reference Search: 1 Nephi 17:8-16

8 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.

9 And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?

10 And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools.

11 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make a bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts; and after I had made a bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together that I might make fire.

12 For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness; for he said: I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not;

13 And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.

14 Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction; yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem.

15 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence.

16 And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock.

Quote for Discussion

It is a law of heaven that its powers are extended in behalf of man only in those instances and on those matters where the powers and mind of man are insufficient. God will bless the harvest, but man must clear the land, plow the ground, plant the seed, and tend the crop. God will not do for us that which we can do for ourselves. Nephi could molten ore, but only when God has helped him find it; he could build a ship to cross the ocean, but only when God has provided the blueprint. Such is the relationship between men and God.

Nephi was given a revealed blueprint for the construction of his ship. Moses was given a pattern in Sinai to be followed in making the tabernacle that ffice:smarttags" /><?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://www.lds.net/forums/ /><st1:country-region w:st=<ST1:place w:st="on">Israel</ST1:place></st1:country-region> was to take with them into the wilderness (See Exodus 25:40). Joseph Smith, in like manner, was given a pattern for the laying out of the city Zion, for the building of various buildings, and for the building of the temple (D&C 94:2, 5, 6, 12; 97:10).

Millett & McConkie, BOM Commentary, Vol 1, p. 130ffice:office" /><O:p></O:p>

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[prospectmom]

It is awsomw how the impossible becomes possibe with God in charge :}