Not Knowing Beforehand

On his third attempt to retrieve the Brass Plates, Nephi says that he was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand what he should do. To be sure, it must have been terrifying to march into a dark city with no plan and no brothers to support him and with one of the most powerful men in the city looking to kill him. But the beautiful thing about going forth with faith, being led by the spirit, not knowing beforehand what he should do is that Nephi had no expectations. He didn't have his heart set on some specific plan and thus he could have the humility to be adaptable to the promptings of the Spirit. Within each of us is a strong spirit of independence, and with that independence comes the belief that if we plan and prepare carefully enough, then we can control the outcomes of our actions and shape our destinies. And to some extent we can, but our control over our lives is never as complete or long lasting as we would like it to be. It is good for us to strive to develop our talents and abilities and to look ahead to the future. But if we allow our vision for the future to become too narrow and brittle, to the point that we don't allow for any variations, and especially if we try to plan without inviting God into our plans, then we are destined for disappointment. However, if we can exercise the faith and humility, especially when we have failed repeatedly as Nephi had, to let go of our sense of control and sacrifice our beloved vision of what our life is "supposed to be" and instead allow ourselves to be led by the spirit, not knowing beforehand, then we set ourselves up for success, both because the Lord is on our side, and because we don't have predetermined conditions for success that get in the way of God blessing us in ways far more wonderful than our paltry vision could have possibly imagined. We will get much farther in life if we can trust that the Lord sees the path ahead far better than we can.