Mother Stories from the Book of Mormon

by William A. Morton

Nephi pleaded with them to continue the journey. He told them that if they would do as the Lord wanted them to do, He would take them across the great waters and land them safely in a beautiful country, where they would find all manner of choice fruit and other good things.

"We don't want to go to a new country," they answered, sharply. "We want to go back to our own home, and stay with the people there."

"Well," said Nephi, "you can go back if you want to, but if you do you will be sorry. The people you speak of are wicked, and the Lord is going to punish them. So if you go back you will be punished, too."

Then Laman spoke very sharply to Nephi. "We do not believe you," he said. "How do you know that the Lord is going to punish the people in the place where we used to live?"

"He told our father so," said Nephi, "and everything that the Lord says is true. You did not believe we would get the good book our father sent us for, but we did get it, just as the Lord said we would."

Then Laman and Lemuel and some of Ishmael's family grew very angry. They ran and caught Nephi and tied him with strong cords to a tree.

"You will not preach to us any more," they said. "We are going to go away and leave you here, and after a while wild beasts will come and kill and eat you."

Poor Nephi! What a terrible way to be treated by his own brothers! He was suffering great pain, for the cords were cutting his wrists and ankles. But he did not get angry, nor speak hard words to those who had so cruelly treated him. He knew the Lord would not let the wild beasts harm him, and after a time He would help him to get free.

A happy thought came to him: he would pray to the Lord to give him strength to break the cords. He looked up to heaven and said, "Dear Heavenly Father, I know you will not let me be left here to be killed by wild beasts. Please give me strength to break these cords, that I may be able to go back to my dear father and mother."

At that moment Nephi felt great strength come into his body. The Lord had heard and answered his prayer. He broke the cords as easily as if they had been tiny threads and stood forth free before his brethren.