1 Nephi 18

Nephi tells us something insightful about revelation. In verse 1, he says, "the Lord did show me from time to time... " I think that is just how revelation comes. I don't think it's ever a steady stream, even for a prophet. I think the Lord expects us to keep moving forward in faith. As long as we're trying to do the right thing, he will guide us from time to time and will warn us if something is wrong. I often find that confirmation of a decision does not come from the Lord until after I have taken action on the decision. We have to have faith that if it is a wrong decision, the Lord would let us know so we can avoid making serious mistakes. What's important is to listen. If we don't listen and hear him warning us, he will not interfere with our agency and allow us to make mistakes and hopefully learn from them.

Nephi's building of the ship was an act of faith and to me it was an act of worship, something totally dedicated to the Lord and his purposes. Perhaps we should look at what we do, our work, our families, as something that is an act of faith and worship. Joseph Smith said we should never start a day without dedicating it and ourselves to the Lord. I wonder how that would change our outlook on what we do. Maybe it would make it easier to keep moving even though we can't see our promised land because we're not there yet.

Nephi says the ship was of curious workmanship. To me, that means it was different than anything he had ever seen. He also says they went "down into the ship." It makes me wonder if it was something similar to the Jaradite ships. It must have been unusual.