Building a Ship, Building a Temple: 1 Nephi 17-18 & 2 Nephi 5

The first story in the Book of Mormon is about the family of a man named Lehi.  Lehi is warned by God to take his wife and children into the desert to escape the destruction of Jerusalem in approximately 600 BC.  At the end of their eight year journey in the wilderness, Lehi's son Nephi is told by God to build a ship to take himself and his family across the ocean to the New World, where they establish themselves on the American continent.  Although Nephi is not a builder or a seaman by trade, he accepts God's instructions to build a ship, and is taught by the Lord exactly how to go about it.  Here is the scriptural account of building the ship:

 1 Nephi 17:8-11, 16-19, 49-51; 1 Nephi 18:1-4

8 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me [Nephi], 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... 

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

17 And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.

18 And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship; neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.

19 And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work...  

49 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they should murmur no more against their father; neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should build a ship.

50 And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.

51 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?

1 And it came to pass that they [Nephi's brothers] did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.

2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.

3 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.

4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.

I read this both as a literal account and as an allegory, in which I am trying to do a difficult project that the Lord has asked me to do (like raise my children), and not only is there the struggle to do something hard that I've never done before, but there are discouraging thoughts and voices in my mind, like Nephi's brothers, telling me I can't do it.  How does Nephi respond to his brothers' attacks?  He was 'exceedingly sorrowful' at first, but he was also confident that his errand was from God, and he rebuked them and expressed his faith in God's ability to make him equal to the task.  Nephi tells us that the way he built the ship was a unique process described to him by God, and not the way men usually built such things.  He learned how to do this by getting started, and being shown by God 'from time to time', how to proceed.  Nephi also says that he went to the mount often and prayed often to God for guidance, and was shown many great things. I like the idea that as I work hard and seek God's guidance, he will teach me his own way for me to accomplish my mission, and it will not necessarily resemble the way others have done it. 

The next part of Nephi's story happens after he and his family have successfully crossed the ocean on the boat they built together.  As they work to establish themselves in their new home, Nephi is able to do many important things as a result of the knowledge and skill he acquired by building that ship:

2 Nephi 5:14-17

14 And I, Nephi, did take the sword of Laban, and after the manner of it did make many swords, lest by any means the people who were now called Lamanites should come upon us and destroy us; for I knew their hatred towards me and my children and those who were called my people.

15 And I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance.

16 And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon’s temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine.

He makes swords and he teaches his people to build buildings, and to work with wood and metals.  His crowning achievement is building a temple.  I like the symbolism of learning how to build a temple by first building a boat.  I like the idea that Nephi was taught of the Lord, and through his own faith and hard work, to find ore, make a bellows, build a fire, molten the ore from the rock, make tools, and finally work timber with those tools to make a ship.  He used all of these skills again to build a temple.

What hard thing has God asked you to do that can only be accomplished with His help and guidance?  What skills are you developing now that you may need in the future for an even greater task?