I remember a few different occasions when I read verse 23 that something happened to me. The spirit entered me and touched me deeply. This is an amazing miracle:
" 23 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi were encircled about as if by fire, even insomuch that they durst not lay their hands upon them for fear lest they should be burned. Nevertheless, Nephi and Lehi were not burned; and they were as standing in the midst of fire and were not burned."
They were standing in a fire yet they were not burned. It goes to show how the Lord protects us until we are finished on the earth. The Lord had a purpose for these men and so he preserved their lives.
Now while they were surrounded by this fire they were actually in prison and about to be taken to be slain. As the fire encircled them the guards stood back and were amazed and then let's read what happens:
26 And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began to speak unto them, saying: Fear not, for behold, it is God that has shown unto you this marvelous thing, in the which is shown unto you that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us.
27 And behold, when they had said these words, the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison did shake as if they were about to tumble to the earth; but behold, they did not fall. And behold, they that were in the prison were Lamanites and Nephites who were dissenters.
28 And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them.
29 And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings.
The earth began to shake, darkness spread, and fear filled the Lamanites. I compare verse 28 to sin. That is how sin feels: dark, stuck, lose perspective, fear. But because of our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ, we have been given the chance to walk away from sin, repent, and be saved from the awful hell that sin creates inside of us. In verse ten it says, "for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins."
We of course have to choose for ourselves to walk away from sin and repent, otherwise the atonement can do nothing for us. How do we repent?? Well other than stopping the sin as these men were asked to do by refraining from killing Nephi and Lehi, the men are counseled to cry unto the Lord in prayer until they gained faith and the darkness would leave.
41 And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you.
42 And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed.
What was the result of crying to the Lord? Fear and darkness dispersed and I love the next part:
47 Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.
The fear and darkness was replaced with peace. Who doesn't want peace? I surely would like more peace in my life. So how do we get peace? Leave your sins and cry unto the Lord. As I study more and more about the atonement I realize how beautiful the Lord's plan is and how much He loves me.
Love,
Becky joy
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