1 Nephi Chapter 4

Okay, so as I read Chapter 4, many things stood out to me. Some are things I've thought before, and others are new thoughts. First, I'd never noticed before that Nephi, before the issue is ever presented with the chance, mentions that:
"The Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians."
Had the idea crossed his mind before the Spirit told him what to do? Perhaps.
I'm also thinking again about Laman and Lemuel. The whine and complain, but they do it anyway. I've been there.
I think about a time when I was newly baptized. It was the first time that I ever really felt the Spirit speaking to me in a chain of unstoppable thoughts. I was riding on my much-too-small moped, and seriously, I looked like gorilla on a tricycle. I got honked at, laughed at, and even mooned and flashed once. I attracted a lot of attention. One day I was riding and I started getting a stream of thoughts about how I should be wearing a helmet. I thought about wearing a helmet many times and I continually talked myself out of it. I wore a helmet when I rode a bike as a kid, and a helmet was sure to make me look even more ridiculous. However, that morning when I recieved that council from the Spirit, I could not deny it. I had two choices. I could get a helmet or stop riding. Well, I chose the latter. I sold that thing and never really rode it again. I call that my first real comprimise with the Lord. At the time I felt diligent and faithful for being able to give up my ride because of my impressions. Later I realized that, indeed, I should have probably showed a little more humility. In any case, as I read this chapter of Nephi, I think of how Laman and Lemuel obeyed while murmuring and I see how sometimes we come to a point when we just have to unhappily do what the Lord asks.
The last thing I want to mention is Zoram. Since the first time I read the Book of Mormon, I was really impressed with Zoram and his situation. He was fundamentally an enemy of Lehi's family, and yet he quickly agreed to join them in the wilderness when they explained the circumstances, and I believe that he did so out of faith. The Lord must have given him a powerful witness, because he turned out to be a pretty good traveling companion. He must have been a lonely bachelor looking for a really long road trip.