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.