Book of Mormon, D & C, Pearl of Great Price

Nephi, the first writer of the Book of Mormon, vowed, in the Psalm of Nephi, that he would trust God forever.

34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm. (2 Nephi 4)

Nephi learned trust in God from his earthly father, the prophet Lehi. When God told Lehi to leave his comfortable life of privilege and go out into the world to be a prophet, he did so, even when his life was threatened. When God told him to leave his nice home and comfortable life, he did so, without any thought or sorrow. He packed up only the most essential items for survival and took his sons, including those who didn’t want to go, into the wilderness. He went from having a lovely home and successful material career to living in a humble tent, homeless and moving through the wilderness to a place unknown.

Young Nephi, a teenager when these events occurred, watched how his father led his life and then followed his father’s example. He too trusted God, even when the task seemed impossible. At one point in the journey, Lehi was told by God to send the boys back to Jerusalem to get some records (including the scriptures) from a distant relative. The other boys felt it was too difficult to travel back so far and to approach Laban, the relative who had the records. Clearly the man had a reputation that worried them.

Nephi chose a different approach however. He explained that if God told him to do something, then he would trust God to tell him how to do it. The boys had some failed attempts, but then, when the others gave up, Nephi decided to let God help him accomplish the task, and he was successful.

Throughout Nephi’s life, we see this pattern of trusting God. It’s not easy. There have been many times in my life when I prayed and didn’t like the answer I got. The plan God had for me didn’t happen to match my own. I’ve learned though, that when I trust God, blessings come that I could never have imagined. When I don’t, I struggle and suffer.

How can we learn to have Nephi’s trust in God? The first thing we have to do is to find out what God wants of us. This means that instead of just moving mindlessly or doing anything we personally want, we have to slow down and conference with God. First we need to think through the decisions we face, praying for inspiration. Then we must make a decision, as we did before. However, the next step isn’t to carry it out; it’s to ask God if it was the right decision. Once you have confirmation, you can proceed. If God says no, you start over.
Doing this takes longer, but is far more effective in the long run. God sees the larger picture and knows things we don’t know.

The answers God gives us may not always seem to make sense at first, but when we decide to trust Him, we will eventually begin to see the benefits of this method. Over time, as we see again and again the hand of God in our lives, our trust will grow.