[1 Nephi 4:1-4] 1 …I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands? 2 Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea. 3 …ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians. 4 Now when I had spoken these words, they were yet wroth, and did still continue to murmur; nevertheless they did follow me up until we came without the walls of Jerusalem.
Nephi was beaten, but he was still not beat!
Even with two failures and a brotherly beating, Nephi did not doubt. He still believed that God did not bring them this far only to seem to keep failing. But he felt that he still needed the support of his brothers. So, he attempted to assuage them of their doubts and fears by reminding them that the Lord is mightier than Laban and all his armies combined and then some!
We see Nephi’s courage and faith merging and emerging with every trial.
With every failure he becomes more faithful and a more capable leader! He is truly living his testimony, no matter the test. For when he declared his famous phrase, “I will go and do…”(1 Nephi 3:7) there was no Christian Clause or Caveat of, I will go and do…“Only if it’s easy,” or “Only if there are no major oppositions,” or “Only if there are no frustrations or failures involved.” Nephi knew there would be a burden before every blessing, an opposition with each new level and position, nevertheless…
Nephi knew that no matter what, God would help them succeed.
And he wasn’t speaking from his own experience to try and motivate his brothers to believe that the third time would be a charm, not bring harm. Nephi had no experience that we know of to give him guidance in this godly gridiron. We only have his faithful words to try and spur his brothers onward.
Here is revealed a hidden treasure, a character trait of Nephi—he read the Scriptures!
Or at least he knew the stories that his father and mother shared with him from the Scriptures. He knew of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea and for him this was the most powerful example for this situation to prove that God helps his people in need.
God will never give you a responsibility without the ability to accomplish it.
Therefore, no matter what mission you are called to accomplish, it’s your response ability that will determine or undermine your efforts. For in your acceptance, even though you feel inadequate, God knows that your heart is humbled enough for Him to transform it and fill it with the wisdom and strength you need to succeed.
Will the third time be the charm?
And even though Nephi recalled the miracle provided for Moses (v2), and reminded Laman and Lemuel that they had seen an angel (v3), they STILL murmured and were wroth (v4)! They could not reroute their doubts and channel their chastening into change for the challenge ahead. Yet, somehow, they once again chose to follow Nephi back to Jerusalem for the third time…surely hoping that it was for the last time, whether to be successful and live or fail again and die.