1 Nephi 7

• 1 Nephi 7:3 -- The sons of Lehi were commanded to go that distance that they might have covenant marriages. Think of the distances we are asked sometimes to go in these days. For some the distance is physical, but for many others it's a distance in time. So many wait years and years, refusing offers by those who cannot take them to the temple. Other distances are spiritual as young (and old) adults wade through tribulation and repentance in order to make their covenants. Anything, I think the verse means to teach us, is worth marrying in the temple. I don't think we even begin to grasp the magnitude of those covenants in mortality.
• 1 Nephi 7:6-7 -- When times are hard, even after spiritual experiences and manifestations, it's tempting to want to go back, to give up. Sometimes we're so afraid of what the future might bring that we forget our faith - or abandon it. Think of all the beautiful experiences Laman and Lemuel and their families had had up to this point. We must remember those times in our lives and let them, and our faith-founded hope, give us courage and strength to endure to the end. Heavenly Father won't let us break ... we'll survive.
• 1 Nephi 7:12 -- I love Nephi's testimony here. The Lord is able to do all things according to His will ... And only those who trust Him find comfort in that truth. If we don't trust Him and His goodness, how will we find peace in His care? Obedience teaches us the nature of God, and what we learn will always yield more trust in His character. It's one more way in which we receive a witness after the trial of our faith.
• 1 Nephi 7:17-18 -- I've hard general authorities speak of these verses differently than what I'll write here, but how do we know what's right? I read this and see that even Nephi didn't have his prayer answered the way he'd imagined or wanted. He wanted to "burst" the bands that held him, but instead the Lord saw fit to simply loosen them. Maybe I read it that way because of my own pride, but I think that happens with me sometimes. I pray for something that might magnify myself, or bring glory to myself, and instead the Lord shows me it's His power that brings the miracle and doesn't seem to need my assistance. Does that make sense? Sometimes the Lord gives us the strength to make changes, and other times He lets us see Him do it for us.
  
• 1 Nephi 7:19 -- I don't know how they determined this, but the footnote clarifies that Nephi married the daughter who showed courage and pleaded for justice from Laman and Lemuel. She and her mother must have made quite an impact on them because they stopped seeking Nephi's life after that. I just think of what that teaches the youth ... We're given moments to prove ourselves, and we have to snatch them. Nephi wouldn't have been happy married to a woman who was not his spiritual equal. And the only way to become an equal to a man like that (or to become a man like that) is to accept every opportunity the Lord gives us to be strong and faithful. Lots of us shun the fight more often than we even realize. In essence, we leave the Potter's wheel for a bit. But if we want to become we have to stay there ... especially during the painful times.
• 1 Nephi 7:21 -- Oh to have a heart that could frankly forgive like this ... It's a depth of humility I can't imagine. Truly that kind of gift comes only from the Spirit.