It is Not Meet that I Should Command in All Things

As I was reading 1 Nephi 19: 1-3, I found myself actually smirking at the things I read. Yes, smirking! I mean, in verse 1 it says 'the Lord commanded me, wherefore I did make plates of ore that I might engraven upon them the record of my people.'

Then in verse 2 it says, 'I knew not at the time when I made them that I should be commanded of the Lord to make these plates; wherefore the record of my father, and the genealogy of his fathers, and the more part of all our proceedings in the wilderness are engraven upon those first plates of which I have spoken; wherefore the things which transpired before I made these plates are, of a truth more particularly made mention upon the first plates'.

Then verse 3, 'And after I had made these plates by way of commandment, I, Nephi received a commandment that the ministry and the prophecies...should be written upon these plates,...which purposes are known unto the Lord.'

At first, I thought there had been a mistake in those verses, as it appeared that Nephi was contradicting himself in verse 2, but I have since realized that verse one is the topic paragraph, meaning it tells what happened in the following passage. Then, he tells the story of it happening, beginning in paragraph 2, where he says, he made the plates, BEFORE he was commanded, and afterwards was commanded. Then, in following verses, the commandment specifies what he should write in the following plates.

I found it very interesting that he didn't know why he was writing 2 sets of plates, but that he knew there was a purpose and the Lord knew it. I thought of the lost manuscript that Martin Harris took to the educator, and in the ensuing translation of plates, those first plates were not necessary, since there were 2 sets of plates.

I also thought that Nephi was such a purposeful, righteous man, that he made the original set of plates without being commanded. What a treasure he was to the Lord, that He did not have to be commanded in all things. Nephi was constantly thinking of what he could do to do 'good' and actually 'doing' it. 

Nephi, need not be alone in this 'goodness; the Spirit that leads us to do good is available equally to all people. 

Doctrine and Covenants 58: 26--29

 26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

28 For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

29 But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.

Why be anxiously engaged, and doing good rather than sitting and waiting to be told what to do? The Lord can command us more easily, once we are already moving. It behooves us to set righteous goals and be actively doing that which is good, then the Lord can direct and fine tune those things that will serve His purposes.

I have found this when I retired. I waited for things to be asked of me. None came. I was pretty despondent, thinking that because I had an oxygen hose to my nose, they thought I was unworthy or unable to be of service. ,, as months went along, I took my ministering assignment and magnified it. I magnified it to help anyone I saw who needed my help. I magnified it to help all the members of that family, regardless of their being the female. I took it to minister to those who were nonmembers. And the commandments (of inspiration in my case) followed. The Holy Ghost gave me inspiration to serve others over and over again. It was not a sustained calling, but a the Spirit giving me what to do, as I saw others and was actually engaged in doing good.