WHAT TOOK PLACE ON THE GREAT WATERS.
The morning after the ship was finished all the company came together to look at it. It was a very fine vessel. Nephi and those who had assisted him were well pleased with their labors. They had built the ship exactly as the Lord had told them, and had done their work well.
Then Lehi turned to his four sons and also to the sons of Ishmael and said, "You have our grateful thanks for the great work which you have done. You have built a splendid vessel, and I am sure it will carry us safely across these great waters to the promised land."
A busy time followed. The men and women worked hard all day carrying meat, fruit and honey down into the ship, and their little sons and daughters helped them.
When night came they were all pretty tired; but they did not seem anxious to go to sleep. That was the last night they would spend on land for a long time. On the morrow they would be out upon the great waters. Finally they retired, one by one, and the moon and stars shown brightly over the sleeping camp.
The company was up and at work early next morning. The women prepared breakfast and the men took down the tents and attended to other duties. Nephi and Sam and some of Ishmael's sons were busily employed at fixing the sails of the ship and getting the vessel ready for her first voyage.
At last the time came for all to go on board. A line was formed. Lehi and his wife, being the oldest, marched at the head. The others followed, according to their ages. A sharp breeze was blowing and the vessel tugged at its chains as if anxious to get away.
When all of the company were safely on board, Nephi loosed the ship, the wind immediately filled its sails, and a moment later it was gliding swiftly through the water on its way to the promised land.
All went well the first day. And all would have gone well every other day if Laman and Lemuel and some of the sons and daughters of Ishmael had conducted themselves as they should have done.
The second day the company was on the water, Laman and Lemuel began to sing and dance and to act in a very rude manner. Some of Ishmael's sons and daughters joined them. Their conduct made Nephi feel very bad, and he reproved them sharply.
"How can you act in such a shameful manner," he said, "after having received so many blessings from the Lord? Have you forgotten how good He has been to us, how He provided us with food on our journey and taught us how to build this ship? I tell you, the Lord is looking down upon you. He is displeased with you because of your conduct, and if you do not stop and humble yourselves before Him, He will surely punish you."
Those words made Laman and Lemuel very angry. They rushed at Nephi, and seizing him by the arms, they thrust him back against the mast of the ship. Then they called to the sons of Ishmael to bring a rope quickly. Their command was obeyed, and they bound Nephi hand and foot to the mast. There they kept him all day, suffering great pain, for the rope cut deep wounds in his flesh.
It was a great trial to Lehi and his wife to see their dear son in such a terrible condition. They pleaded with Laman and Lemuel to release Nephi, but they would not. The tears and prayers of Nephi's wife likewise failed to soften their stony hearts.
Nephi bore his sufferings well. Not one murmuring word fell from his lips. When Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael mocked him, and said unkind things to him, he heeded them not. He tried to comfort his father and mother and loving wife by telling them that all would be well, that in time the Lord would help him to get free.
And the Lord did. How? Listen and I will tell you. Two or three days later dark clouds began to gather in the sky. A storm was coming. Suddenly a flash of lightning lit up the heavens. Then a terrible peal of thunder shook the vessel. The rain came down in torrents. Then the wind changed and the vessel began to be driven back towards land.
The storm grew worse every hour. The waves dashed fiercely against the vessel and at times swept over its deck. In the face of that awful tempest stood poor Nephi, tied hand and foot to the mast. For three days and nights the storm lasted, and all that time the vessel was being driven back.
On the morning of the fourth day a terrible wave struck the ship and almost turned it over. Some of the women began to scream with fright. Laman and Lemuel became alarmed also. They saw that the Lord was angry with them: that He had let the storm come upon them because of the way in which they had treated their brother Nephi. Then another angry wave burst over the vessel and almost buried it in the depths of the sea.
Believing they were about to be destroyed, Laman and Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael repented of what they had done. They went over to Nephi, untied the ropes which bound him and set him free.
Nephi was so weak that he could hardly stand upon his feet. He knelt down, and looking up towards heaven he prayed with all his heart to God to cause the storm to cease, and to change the course of the wind so that the vessel might sail towards the promised land.
To the astonishment of all the people, the storm suddenly ceased, the sea became calm, and the vessel started again on its journey across the great waters.