Have Ye Inquired of the Lord
Matthew 25:1-13
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Nephi the son of Lehi had a series of profound experiences as shared in the opening chapters of The Book of Mormon. Because he exercised his spiritual muscles by his faith, he continued to increase in knowledge and understanding of the ways of God.
- Having heard and prayed about the words of his father, he came to know for himself the voice of the Lord.
- The next natural course of action for him, as it was for his father, was to share, to testify of what he had seen. Indeed, also as his father, he could not hold it back. His motivation for doing so was the love that he had for his brothers, who, save one, grieved him because of their disbelief. (See 1 Nephi 2:16-21)
- Lehi rejoiced over the faith of his youngest son (see 1 Nephi 3:18) when Nephi shared with his father that, "...the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:17)
- Nephi's faith and persuasion prevailed when Laman and Lemuel after two failed attempts, were ready to turn back from their mission to obtain the plates of brass, even though he and Sam took a beating which required the intervention of an angel. (See 1 Nephi 3:29-31, 1 Nephi 4:1-4)
- The verses that followed reveal Nephi's trust in the Lord, as he, "...was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which [he] should do." (1 Nephi 4:6) This was followed by a far more severe test of his faith as he reasoned with the Spirit regarding the slaying of Laban to obtain the plates. (See 1 Nephi 4:7-19)
- The exercise of Nephi's faith now began to exhibit power. While returning to the wilderness on their second mission, to enlist the company of Ishmael and his family, Laman, Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael rebelled, desiring to return to Jerusalem and their hot displeasure with Nephi brought them to bind him and leave him in the wilderness to die. (See 1 Nephi 7:16) After which Nephi made a direct request of the Lord, (1 Nephi 7:17), "O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound." To the certainly confused amazement and irritation of the thwarted efforts of his brethren, Nephi had reached a point where his adversary could have no power over his faith.
- Nephi obeys another commandment to make a record, also as his father had been doing. (See 1 Nephi 9)
- By now, Nephi was so familiar with the voice of the Lord, that it was expanding his soul beyond earthly limits. For after hearing Lehi's dream regarding the tree of life, Nephi had full confidence that he could also, " see what [his] father saw." (See 1 Nephi 10:17; 1 Nephi 11-14)
It seems instructive here to understand the Lehi and his posterity up to this point have all kept the commandments of the Lord. Together Nephi and his brothers had followed their father into the wilderness, obtained the plates of brass and recruited the family of Ishmael. Yet somehow, Nephi's life and experiences were markedly different from those of his rebellious brethren. When he returns from his vision, comprising 131 versus, he finds them disputing about the things which were seen by Lehi. By now, Nephi had also seen them, so his natural inclination was simply, "Have ye inquired of the Lord?" (1 Nephi 15:8) Or in other words, "Did you bother to ask?"
"The Lord maketh no such thing known unto us," they responded. We can feel Nephi's sigh of frustration as he scolds them and then attempts to explain what he can with the limited power of mortal words. But it was not possible to convey what he had gained over several tests of faith to those whose vessels were closed to the Spirit. Though his lamp was overflowing with oil, the deficiency of his brethren's lamps were exponentially more than he could overcome.
