The will of the Lord is something that we sometimes think of “submitting to” or even “suffering” (see 3 Nephi 11:11). But this is something that Nephi actively sought. In contrast to Nephi’s diligent seeking, how many times are we afraid to seek the will of the Lord because we are not willing to live accordingly? In this situation, we rationalize, it is better not to know God’s will than to find it out and violate it. Neal A. Maxwell counseled, “So very much of pure prayer seems to be the process of first discovering, rather than requesting, the will of our Father in heaven and then aligning ourselves therewith…When we do conform to His will, God will pour forth special blessings from heaven upon us, as was the case with Nephi, the son of Helaman.” (All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, p. 94)
Alternatively, we may, with good intentions, ask the question, “What would Jesus do in this situation?” This rule of thumb almost always results in a correct course of action. When it does not, it is because the individual asking the question does not really know what Jesus would do. To know the Master, one has to understand Him as the pre-mortal Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the man named Jesus of Nazareth, the Savior of all mankind, and the Redeemer of the world. Those who are unfamiliar with the scriptures and have failed to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ are the ones who err, ‘For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served’ (Mosiah 5:13). Hence, the scriptures teach us that we must study so that we can be ‘filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding’ (Col 1:9). To be as Nephi and seek his will is to know God, and this is not a frivolous pursuit, for ’this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hath sent’ (Jn 17:3).