To me it's so simple.

1 Nephi 17

Through much tribulation, Lehi's family has arrived to the land Bountiful and the edge of the sea.  The area has what they need to exist comfortably.  In this Nephi is drawn up to the mountain and the Lord gives him further instructions.  Nephi is commanded to build a ship.  His brothers mock him and withhold their labors.  He is allowed to show his power to them and then they believe – for a time, that he is someone worth worshipping.  Nephi says worship God.

The dynamics of this family is so very interesting.  What is it that makes it so hard for some people to believe while others get it so easily?  I’m especially drawn to verses 13&14.  There is a formula here that I have proven for myself and I’m able to see it in the lives of others.  

• Keep the commandments
• When we keep the commandments, we are led.
• When we are led, we will know it is the Lord leading us.
• We will see we were led from destruction.

Is this not simple enough?  If I want to be led away from destruction, wouldn’t it be simple enough to at least try this formula?  In my own experience, I just wanted out of a miserable marriage that was rapidly taking me into a darker, and darker world.  It was a simple and child-like prayer that was the first move.  After that prayer, people came to my rescue.  Oh, I had committed to letting this happen.  I’m not naturally one to reach out to others.  But when they reached out to me, I accepted their help.  The more that happened, the more I could see that the Lord really was leading me out of this dark world I had wandered into.  When I saw that happening, I became more committed to keeping the commandments because I truly did enjoy the blessings coming my way.  I was led from destruction and have found great joy in the blessings that have come.  Have they come without trials?  Of course not!  But I’ve been able to see that even the trials have been my blessings.

So what do I do today about this information?  This is nothing new to me.  I share it with my reader and pray it will touch your heart that you will experiment and use this formula.  And of course, I pray that reader would be my daughter who is lost in a deep, dark mist.  It’s pretty simple.