Can you even IMAGINE Nephi’s feelings?!
What did Nephi feel when Jesus Christ looked directly at him and asked why Nephi hadn’t written about the fulfillment of a certain prophecy in his records?
My first thought is that Nephi would feel so guilty for this error!
The perfect Savior of the world pointing out something that you specifically did incorrectly?!
Yikes.
We don’t know why Nephi didn’t include the record.
Maybe he had purposely chosen to write about different prophecies instead.
Maybe he had meant to write that in later.
Maybe it honestly had slipped his mind as he recorded their history.
But… maybe I’ve got it wrong.
Maybe Nephi wasn’t mortified.
Because I have a feeling that looking directly into the Savior’s eyes as He corrects you and invites you to change would actually be a really loving experience.
Because Jesus wasn’t trying to guilt trip Nephi.
Jesus wasn’t trying to hurt Nephi’s feelings.
Jesus wasn’t trying to show that He was better than Nephi.
All Jesus wanted was for this missing prophecy to be recorded!
“And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded.” (3 Nephi 23:13)
That’s it.
Nephi fixed the record.
Problem solved.
When I make a mistake or sin, it can be tempting to wallow in self-pity and feel embarrassed, rehashing the situation in my mind over and over.
But I don’t think Jesus wants that for us.
He just wants us to fix the mistake and move forward.
That’s it!
I love you, just make this change in your life so you can become even more spiritually mature.
And then we feel the love, feel the remorse, make the change, and move forward, a little better than we were before.
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
