Turning the Sea Into Earth
In my book "Nephi's Journey: The Lord Prepares a Way," I discuss a powerful message that Nephi shared with his brothers while he was constructing a ship. For simplicity, I will dive right into the heart of this post, but for more background on these events, feel free to visit the About Page.
The Faith to Construct a Ship
In 1 Nephi 17, Laman and Lemuel complained about having to construct a ship. They claimed that Nephi was a fool for even trying such a task. Yet how many thousands of people had constructed a ship before them? Or since? It was clearly not an impossible task. Still, Laman and Lemuel had plenty of excuses for why it would not work.
In response to Laman and Lemuel's complaints, Nephi boldly declared: "If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done. And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?" (1 Nephi 17:50).
In this verse, Nephi taught his brothers that constructing a ship was actually a relatively small miracle: "If God wanted, He could make this sea earth, and we could walk to the promised land, just as our ancestors walked through the depths of the Red Sea. That was a mighty miracle. Therefore, why is it that He cannot instruct me how to build a ship? That is a small miracle in comparison."
Past-Based
Faith and Future-Based Faith
The Lectures on Faith tell us that faith is "the principle of
action in all intelligent beings. … But faith is not only the principle of
action, but of power also, in all intelligent beings." [i]
The concept of "faith as a principle of action" versus "faith as a principle of power" is very similar to the concept of "past-based faith" versus "future-based faith." Past-based faith is a principle of action. Future-based faith is a principle of action and power.
A perfect example of this would be when Peter walked on the water
in the Sea of Galilee. Peter and the apostles had been rowing against the wind all
night long. They had been exercising action-based faith in the known, in laws
they understood, in things they had previously experienced as fishermen. In
short, they were exercising past-based faith, and it required great amounts of
physical effort. It was almost entirely action-based. But when Peter
changed his mode of travel to walking on water, he began to exercise power-based
faith in the unknown, in laws he did not understand, in things he had never
experienced as a mortal. In short, he was exercising future-based faith, and it
required almost no amount of physical effort. It was almost entirely
power-based (see Matthew 13:22–33).
Nephi also experienced this transition from action-based faith to
power-based faith when he constructed a ship. He and his group had been
traveling in the wilderness for eight years. They had been exercising action-based
faith in the known, in laws they understood, in things they had previously experienced
as wilderness travelers. In short, they were exercising past-based faith, and
it required great amounts of physical effort. It was almost entirely
action-based. But when they changed their mode of travel to sailing on the
ocean, they began to exercise power-based faith in the unknown, in laws they
did not understand, in things they had never experienced as ocean explorers. In
short, they were exercising future-based faith, and it required almost no
amount of physical effort. It was almost entirely power-based.
This is why Nephi boldly declared to his brethren: "If God had
commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I
should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth," and we could
walk the rest of the way to the promised land, just as we have been walking for
the past eight years. But why should we do that if we can instead construct a
ship? (see 1 Nephi 17:50).
We’ve also seen people who only exercise past-based faith. They
seem to be stuck on the first steps of belief. Like Laman and Lemuel, they
focus too much on the past and hesitate to move forward, only exercising faith
as a principle of action.
Do not misunderstand, past-based faith is still faith, and is to
be strongly commended. It provides a basis for belief. Yet at some point, we
must each take that extra step into the darkness, into the unknown, into the
future, to be able to accomplish the miraculous.
Yes, future-based faith is a principle of both action and power; and truly, there are no limits to the power of faith. [ii]
[i] Lectures on Faith, p. 1–2.
[ii] This section of my book relies heavily on three quotes: Quote 1: Boyd K. Packer, “What Is Faith?” in Faith, 42–43. Quote 2: Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant: The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon, 18–19. Quote 3: “Faith,” Bible Dictionary, 641.
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