1 Nephi 3:7 I Will Go and Do

Some days my Old Testament reading doesn’t give me much to sit with. Sometimes it’s because of traditions I don’t yet understand, and instead of forcing meaning, I move on. That’s what I did today. 

I picked up the Book of Mormon and started with 1 Nephi 3—and it felt steadier, familiar, grounding.

Nephi’s response to a hard command has always resonated with me. Even knowing the journey back to Jerusalem would be long and dangerous, he doesn’t hesitate. He simply trusts that if the Lord gives a commandment, a way will be prepared to accomplish it. That kind of faith matters when we’re asked to do difficult things.

The journey itself wasn’t small. It took days. So what was so important that the Lord would require it?

The plates preserved genealogy, language, and the words of prophets—records meant not just for Lehi’s family, but for generations that would follow. Even after failure and discouragement, the task remained essential.

This chapter also reminds me that families are complicated. Nephi and Sam are beaten by their own brothers. An angel intervenes—not to smooth things over, but to correct and redirect. Families have always been messy. Mine certainly is. Yet the Book of Mormon consistently shows how deeply families matter to the Lord.

In fact, the book ends with a father and son—Mormon passing the records to Moroni, offering counsel and care. That’s what families do. We pass things on. Stories. Faith. Sacrifice. Hope. Isn’t that the heart of genealogy—helping those who come after us know where they came from and why it mattered?

I feel grateful to live in a time when we have this record. Through it, we learn of Jesus Christ’s ministry beyond Jerusalem and of a gospel that has been restored in fullness. I’m especially grateful for moments when truth touches the rising generation in quiet ways—especially my granddaughter, who was deeply moved by the majesty of the mountain she took the time to see. There is something about ascent that stills us, lifts our eyes, and teaches without words.

If I have any simple counsel for my children and grandchildren, it would be this: read the Book of Mormon. Let it speak for itself. It teaches who we are, why we’re here, and where we’re going.

I love my family deeply. They are precious to me, and I know they are precious to Heavenly Father. He paid the ultimate price so they could return to Him. Shouldn’t we try to understand why?

That understanding begins in the Book of Mormon.

(see 1 Nephi 3:7) 

I will go and do the things the Lord commands, for I too know He gives no commandments that are not for our good.