1 Nephi Chapter 18

Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men. ~ 1 Nephi 18:2

It struck me reading this that so many things we are supposed to do are not 'after the manner of men'. The Lord asks us to do things His way, to offer Him our broken heart and contrite spirit. Our obedience really, we move the ME out of the center of our lives and put Him in the center.

That is so hard to do every day. At least for me. It is easy when life is easy. When stuff happens, especially if someone makes me angry. I want to hate them, maybe even get revenge. I don't want to forgive them.

The Lord has given us a pattern to follow. If we do our best to live as Jesus lived then we will be okay. He wouldn't flip someone off in traffic, or scream at them. He would be loving. I am working on that.

Do you want to read this verse in context? Read all of 1 Nephi Chapter 18.

1 Nephi Chapter 5

And it came to pass that they did rejoice exceedingly, and did offer sacrifice and burnt offerings unto the Lord; and they gave thanks unto the God of Israel. ~ 1 Nephi 5:9

Lehi and his family lived before the birth of Jesus Christ. They kept the law of Moses, which included burnt offerings and other special sacrifices.

Today, after the coming of Christ, we don't do that anymore. He was the last blood sacrifice. So what do we do? We offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We offer our obedience to the will of the Lord. We keep the commandments, even when it isn't easy or convenient.

We are humble enough to repent when we make mistakes. We all make them. It is important to examine ourselves and see how we are doing.

I learned years ago that if I truly love the Lord I will desire to keep his commandments. I will want to be good. That is a change of heart. That is what I want.

Would you like to read this verse in context? Read all of 1 Nephi Chapter 5.