53 And it came to pass that the Lord was with us; yea, even the voice of the Lord came and did speak many words unto them, and did chasten them exceedingly;
54 And after they were chastened by the voice of the Lord, they did turn away their anger, and did repent of their sins, insomuch that the Lord did bless us again with food, that we did not perish.
55 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward, from that time forth.
56 And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness.
57 And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.
58 And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled.
59 And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God, he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them;
60 Wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.
61 And we did sojourn for the space of many years, yea, even eight years in the wilderness.
62 And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful, because of its much fruit, and also wild honey;
63 And all these things were prepared of the Lord, that we might not perish.
64 And we beheld the sea, which we called Irreantum, which being interpreted is, many waters.
65 And it came to pass that we did pitch our tents by the seashore;
66 And notwithstanding we had suffered many afflictions, and much difficulty, yea, even so much that we can not write them all, we were exceedingly rejoiced when we came to the sea-shore;
67 And we called the place Bountiful, because of its much fruit.
68 And it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had been in the land of Bountiful for the space of many days, the voice of the Lord came unto me, saying, Arise, and get thee into the mountain.
69 And it came to pass that I arose and went up into the mountain, and cried unto the Lord.
70 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying, Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall shew thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.
71 And I said, Lord, whither shall I go, that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship, after the manner which thou hast shewn unto me?
72 And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools.
73 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did make bellows wherewith to blow the fire, of the skins of beasts;
74 And after I had made bellows, that I might have wherewith to blow the fire, I did smite two stones together, that I might make fire.
75 For the Lord had not hitherto suffered that we should make much fire, as we journeyed in the wilderness;
76 For he said, I will make thy food become sweet, that ye cook it not;
77 And I will also be your light in the wilderness;
78 And I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments;
79 Wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall be led toward the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.
80 Yea, and the Lord said also, that after ye have arrived to the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God;
81 And that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction;
82 Yea, that I did bring you out of the land of Jerusalem.
83 Wherefore, I, Nephi, did strive to keep the commandments of the Lord, and I did exhort my brethren to faithfulness and diligence.
84 And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock.
85 And when my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying,
86 Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship;
87 Yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.
88 And thus my brethren did complain against me, and were desirous that they might not labor, for they did not believe that I could build a ship;
89 Neither would they believe that I was instructed of the Lord.
90 And now it came to pass that I, Nephi, was exceeding sorrowful, because of the hardness of their hearts;
91 And now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful, they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice over me, saying,
92 We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work;
93 And thou art like unto our father, led away by the foolish imaginations of his heart;
94 Yea, he hath led us out of the land of Jerusalem; and we have wandered in the wilderness for these many years;
95 And our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death;
96 And it would have been better that they had died, before they came out of Jerusalem, than to have suffered these afflictions.
97 Behold, these many years we have suffered in the wilderness, which time we might have enjoyed our possessions, and the land of our inheritance; yea, and we might have been happy;
98 And we know that the people who were in the land of Jerusalem, were a righteous people.
99 For they kept the statutes and the judgments of the Lord, and all his commandments according to the law of Moses; wherefore, we know that they are a righteous people;
100 And our father hath judged them, and hath led us away because we would hearken unto his word;
101 Yea, and our brother is like unto him.
102 And after this manner of language did my brethren murmur and complain against us.
