Nephi Doesn't Murmur

Today I read 1 Nephi 18 where Nephi and his family board the ship and sail to the promised land.  I have often wondered just what Laman and the others were doing that made Nephi so afraid that the Lord was going to sink their ship.  He states that they began to speak with much rudeness but to me that does not seem like it would be enough to cause me to fear that the Lord was going to sink our ship.  I wonder just what Laman and Lemuel were doing.  It reminds me of the covenant against loud laughter and making sure that we are acting in modesty at all times. 

Chapters like this make Nephi and extremely unrelatable character to me.  Who can relate with a man who is tied in standing position in a heavy storm for 4 days and does not murmur against his afflictions but rather praises God?  That is just so far beyond the realm of what I am used to I cannot even wrap my head around it.  I can understand being grateful to the Lord for softening the hearts of his brothers, but to state that he did not murmur at all?  I can’t relate to that at all.  I would certainly be upset and asking Heavenly Father why this was happening and praying my heart out to protect my family and keep us safe.  Perhaps that is what Nephi was doing and he just doesn’t state that is what happened.  Perhaps these are the exact experiences that turned Nephi into the prophet we all know. 

I have enjoyed over the years reading several biographies about the modern day prophets and if there is one thing I have found they all have in common, it is that prophets are not born, they are made through their trials and the things they go through.  Nephi went through all of these trials and he was not the same man when he wrote about them, as he was when he went through them.  Perhaps he was a little kind in his descriptions on how he handled these situations.  Or perhaps he really was that patient and kind about it all.  The only way to know is to wait and find out.  But the one thing I know for sure is that God gives us trials that we need to have in order to mold us into the person we need to be.  For whatever reason Nephi needed to go through all of these trials to become who he eventually would be.  Makes me wonder what the Lord had to start with that he needed to be so drastic in His molding of Nephi!  Until tomorrow.