1 Nephi 14

Ocean to Ice Expedition - Day 24

1 Nephi 14

Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor — Oregon Coast

I've spent the last couple days wandering around the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor trying to figure out how photographers get those incredible photos of Natural Bridges.

The arches themselves aren't hard to find.

The problem is finding a viewpoint that doesn't involve falling off a cliff.

One overlook shows part of the scene. Another reveals a different piece. Some angles hide the arches completely. Others look promising until you realize you're standing in thick brush (possibly poison ivy) with a deadly drop between you and the photograph you came to take.

So I've been hiking. Exploring. Backtracking. Trying to solve the puzzle.

Every viewpoint teaches me something.

None of them safely tell the whole story.

What I’m Learning

1 Nephi 14 closes out one of the most remarkable visions in scripture.

For four chapters, Nephi has witnessed the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the rise and fall of civilizations, wars, destruction, apostasy, restoration, and events stretching across centuries.

It's a lot.

Honestly, by the end of it, I imagine Nephi feeling overwhelmed.

I know I would.

Then the angel says something that initially seems like a minor detail:

Others have seen these things too.

Others have written.

Others will bear witness.

That caught my attention.

Throughout this vision, Nephi has been shown extraordinary things. Things so large and important that they could easily feel impossible for one person to carry.

But apparently that was never the plan.

God wasn't asking Nephi to tell the entire story.

He was asking Nephi to tell his part of it.

That feels surprisingly relevant to life.

Most of us spend a lot of time trying to figure everything out.

The future.

The meaning of our experiences.

The direction of our lives.

How all the pieces fit together.

Yet God rarely gives anyone the entire map.

Instead, He seems to give people pieces.

A witness here.

An insight there.

A lesson learned through hardship.

A glimpse of something true.

And then asks them to share what they've seen.

Ocean to Ice has felt a little like that. I'm certainly not seeing angels. But every now and then I notice something worth paying attention to.

An unexpected answer to prayer.

A lesson from the trail.

A moment of clarity standing on a windswept cliff overlooking the Pacific.

I don't always know how it fits into the larger story. Maybe I don't need to.

Maybe my job is simply to notice.

To learn.

And to bear witness of whatever truth I've been shown.

That seems to be how God has always worked.

One witness at a time.

Trail Line

You don't have to see the whole story. Just faithfully tell the part you've been shown.

Adventure Scripture

“And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them.”— 1 Nephi 14:26

See the Instagram Reel on #BookOfMormonAdventureGuide by clicking HERE.