ATTITUDE LIKE A FLAT TIRE? CHANGE IT!

After the Lord shocked Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael, their attitude toward Nephi and his ship building project changed-temporarily-and they helped Nephi build the ship.  He didn't build after the manner of men; but as the Lord taught him.

We have no records, as far as I know, that Nephi had ever built a boat or even watched one being built.  He grew up in the desert around Jerusalem. He would have known about camels and donkeys and even horses as a means of transportation, but not sea-going vessels.

How do you begin doing something you know needs to be done without having the first idea how to do it.  If you are wise, you will do what Nephi did: he went often to the mountain to pray.  The Lord gave him instructions, step-by-step, which he could follow to build a sea-worthy craft. (1 Nephi 18:3)

It is interesting to me that most of the artists render picture a ship that looks quite European. But that is not what Nephi describes.  He said that he did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did [he] build the ship after the manner of men; but [he] did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown me; (1 Nephi 18: 2)

We cannot know for sure what the ship looked like when it was finished.  We know only that it was seaworthy and carried a large body of people, probably animals, and supplies across the Pacific Ocean, carried by the prevailing winds and ocean currents. Many of you probably remember Thor Heyerdahl's experiments in sailing the Pacific in a boat made of reeds, the Kon Tiki.

Polynesian Celestial Navigation

Many ancient peoples navigated amazing distances, people like the Egyptians, West Africans, Phoenicians, and Polynesians.  Anyone who saw the movie Moana saw her using her hand against the constellations to navigate the vast ocean.  This is an authentic portrayal of very ancient celestial navigational technique.

Nephi describes only one event on the passage. Again, it involved Laman and Lemuel.  They were all grateful that the ship was finished and that they were on their way that they decided to have a party onboard. I don't think the Lord frowns on having fun, but Nephi describes their language as being exceedingly rude. They were celebrating themselves, not the Lord who was protecting them. 

Nephi tried to warn them.  He feared exceedingly that the Lord would be angry with them. Nephi implies that He was because a storm developed, with high waves and killer winds, and it drove the ship backwards for three days.  The Liahona didn't work because the brothers had become angry with Nephi when he had spoken to them with soberness.  They had tied him to the mast saying, We will not that our younger brother should be a ruler over us.

By the fourth day, the storm had become such a tempest that they began to fear they would be swept into the sea.  They began to see that their attitude and behavior had brought this calamity upon them and they began to repent. The untied Nephi so that he could plead with the Lord.  The Liahona began to work again in the hands of Nephi and the storm was calmed.  

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I constantly marvel at how Laman and Lemuel keep making the same mistakes over and over again.  They were definitely slow learners! Nephi generously talks about them repenting, but they never really did.  Because they clung to their false beliefs, jealousy, hatred, their attitudes never changed.  They insisted on hardening their hearts before God and, therefore, He could not give them the new hearts - and attitudes - that they sorely needed.  Every time they said "We want to go back to Jerusalem," I secretly hoped that Lehi would say, "OK.  Pack your camels and don't let the tent flap hit you when you leave."  But, of course, he didn't.  The Lord had informed both Nephi and Lehi that the brothers were there for the very opposition they provided.

In 1983, President Ezra Taft Benson spoke about the consequences of an angry and unkind attitude.  Said he: I have spoken plainly. . . there needs to be a change of attitude and behavior on the part of some who claim membership in the Lord's church but who act in an un-Christlike manner. (Ensign November 1983)

Do I need to change my attitude? I certainly have in the past.  I still struggle some days now!  But I have learned that until we change our attitude, we will never permanently change our behavior.  Laman and Lemuel are prime examples of the damage done by having a bad attitude.

©January 2020, Dr. Kathleen Rawlings Buntin Danielson