DAY 20 – I Nephi 5:132-178

131 And he loveth those who will have him to be their God.
132 Behold, he loved our fathers; and he covenanted with them, yea, even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: and he remembered the covenants which he had made;
133 Wherefore, he did bring them out of the land of Egypt, and he did straighten them in the wilderness with his rod, for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straightened them because of their iniquity.
134 He sent fiery-flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten, he prepared a way that they might be healed;
135 And the labor which they had to perform was to look! and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.
136 And they did harden their hearts from time to time, and they did revile against Moses, and also against God;
137 Nevertheless, ye know that they were led forth by his matchless power into the land of promise.
138 And now, after all these things, the time has come that they have become wicked, yea, nearly unto ripeness;
139 And I know not but they are at this day about to be destroyed;
140 For I know that the day must surely come that they must be destroyed, save a few only who shall be led away into captivity;
141 Wherefore, the Lord commanded my father that he should depart into the wilderness;
142 And the Jews also sought to take away his life; yea, and ye also have sought to take away his life;
143 Wherefore, ye are murderers in your hearts, and ye are like unto them.
144 Ye are swift to do iniquity, but slow to remember the Lord your God.
145 Ye have seen an angel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time;
146 And he hath spoken unto you in a still, small voice, but ye were past feeling, that ye could not feel his words;
147 Wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder.
148 And ye also know that by the power of his almighty word he can cause the earth that it shall pass away;
149 Yea, and ye know that by his word he can cause the rough places to be made smooth, and smooth places shall be broken up.
150 O, then, why is it that ye can be so hard in your hearts?
151 Behold, my soul is rent with anguish because of you, and my heart is pained: I fear lest ye shall be cast off for ever.
152 Behold, I am full of the Spirit of God, insomuch that my frame has no strength.
153 And now it came to pass that when I had spoken these words, they were angry with me, and were desirous to throw me into the depths of the sea;
154 And as they came forth to lay their hands upon me, I spake unto them, saying, In the name of the Almighty God, I command you that ye touch me not, for I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh;
155 And whoso shall lay their hands upon me, shall wither even as a dried reed; and he shall be as nought before the power of God, for God shall smite him.
156 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them, that they should murmur no more against their father, neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should build a ship.
157 And I said unto them, If God had commanded me to do all things, I could do them.
158 If he should command me that I should say unto this water, Be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.
159 And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he can not instruct me that I should build a ship?
160 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said many things unto my brethren, insomuch that they were confounded, and could not contend against me;
161 Neither durst they lay their hands upon me, nor touch me with their fingers, even for the space of many days.
162 Now they durst not do this, lest they should wither before me, so powerful was the Spirit of God; and thus it had wrought upon them.
163 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me, Stretch forth thine hand again unto thy brethren, and they shall not wither before thee, but I will shock them, saith the Lord; and this will I do that they may know that I am the Lord their God.
164 And it came to pass that I stretched forth my hand unto my brethren, and they did not wither before me; but the Lord did shake them, even according to the word which he had spoken.
165 And now they said, We know of a surety that the Lord is with thee, for we know that it is the power of the Lord that has shaken us.
166 And they fell down before me, and were about to worship me, but I would not suffer them, saying, I am thy brother, yea, even thy younger brother;
167 Wherefore worship the Lord thy God, and honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee.
168 And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship.
169 And the Lord did shew me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.
170 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;
171 But I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shewn unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.
172 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore, the Lord shewed unto me great things.
173 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceeding fine;
174 Wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.
175 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came unto my father, that we should arise and go down into the ship.
176 And it came to pass that on the morrow, after we had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions, according to that which the Lord had commanded us,
177 We did go down into the ship with all our loading and our seeds, and whatsoever thing we had brought with us, every one according to his age;
178 Wherefore, we did all go down into the ship, with our wives and children.