With all the heartache, suffering, and devastation going on in the world, it’s easy to wonder why bad things happen to good people. But instead, what if we consider how good people respond when bad things happen? This is the approach we’ll take as we study and learn from 1 Nephi 16–22. Looking at it this way helps us realize challenges can bring us to a place where we’re most likely to meet God. And if bad things happening help us get to know God better, then many of you have met him 100 times over.
Segment 1
Scriptures:
1 Nephi 16:20-24 (Humble yourself)
1 Nephi 19:7 (God’s ways are not our ways)
Segment 2
Hebraisms:
1 Nephi 16:1 (and many many more) ex: And it came to pass = in the translation of the bible they used many different phrases to convey the same idea
Segment 3
Scriptures:
Alma 7:11-13 (God knows our pain)
1 Nephi 16:18-20 (Broken bow)
1 Nephi 17:1-2 (Bearing children in the wilderness)
1 Nephi 17:6 (More afflictions than you can write)
1 Nephi 17:8-18 (Building the ship)
1 Nephi 16:34-35 (Death in the wilderness)
1 Nephi 18:17 (Suffering grief because of your children)
Segment 4
Scriptures:
1 Nephi 16:5 (Humbled before the Lord)
1 Nephi 17:3 (God nourishes and strengthens)
1 Nephi 19:12-17 (Salvation will come)
1 Nephi 18:16 (Nephi did not murmur in his affliction)
Words of the General Authorities:
The Lord is in the details of our lives. (Thomas S. Monson, “Consider the Blessings”, October 2012 General Conference)
Quotes:
I don’t know why one person gets sick, and another does not, but I can only assume that some natural laws which we don’t understand are at work. I cannot believe that God ‘sends’ illness to a specific person for a specific reason. I don’t believe in a God who has a weekly quota of malignant tumors to distribute, and consults His computer to find out who deserves one most or who could handle it best. ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ is an understandable outcry from a sick and suffering person, but it is really the wrong question. Being sick or being healthy is not a matter of what God decides that we deserve. The better question is, ‘If this has happened to me, what do I do now, and who is there to help me do it?’
When we reach the limits of our own strength, and courage, something unexpected happens. We find reinforcement coming from a source outside of ourselves. And in the knowledge that we are not alone, that God is on our side, we manage to go on. (Harold Kushner, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People”)
Segment 5
Scriptures:
1 Nephi 19:23-24 (Liken scripture unto ourselves)
Romans 8:35-39 (Nothing separates us from Christ)
3 Nephi 22:7-8 (God’s mercy gather us)
1 Nephi 20:1-10 (Hearken to the word of God)
1 Nephi 20:16 (Come near unto God)
1 Nephi 16:29 (Small things can bring about great things)
Translations:
Hearken = shema - hear, listen, or obey (Hebrew)
Words of the General Authorities:
The very first word in the Doctrine and Covenants is hearken. It means “to listen with the intent to obey.” To hearken means to “hear Him”—to hear what the Savior says and then to heed His counsel. In those two words—“Hear Him”—God gives us the pattern for success, happiness, and joy in this life. We are to hear the words of the Lord, hearken to them, and heed what He has told us! (Russell M. Nelson, “Hear Him”, April 2020 General Conference)
We know not what we shall be called to pass through before Zion is delivered and established; therefore, we have great need to live near to God, and always to be in strict obedience to all His commandments, that we may have a conscience void of offense toward God and man. (Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 1:450)
Segment 6
Scriptures:
1 Nephi 20:20-22 (Song of flight)
1 Nephi 21:1-6 (Servant song)
View transcript here.