Day 2: 1 Nephi chapters 5, 6, and 7

So I guess I got a chapter ahead yesterday. That was nice because I'm very sleepy this morning, and not sure that I got as much out of my reading as I might have with more sleep. But I'm being consistent, and I think that's important. 

Thoughts:

- Nephi's mom uses language in 1 Nephi 5:8 that is very similar to the language Nephi uses in the famous verse 1 Nephi 3:7 - "I know of a surety that the Lord hath ... given (my sons) power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them." It's a tribute to the influence of motherhood. 

- the word "preserve" has now shown up a number of times (3:19-20; 5:14; 5:21). There seems to be a pattern that the Lord preserves the scriptures to preserve an individual so that individual can help preserve a family (parents and children).

- the idea that you need to be faithful in order to receive God's promise blessings showed up again today (7:12-13)