1 Nephi 16: 1 – 8
Laman and Lemuel complain that Nephi has been harsh. Nephi says that it was harsh for the wicked, but his sayings justified the righteous.
The guilty (those who are wicked) take those words to be hard. He says that if they were righteous they would give heed to the words and not murmur. He then exhorts his brothers to keep the commandments. After that Laman and Lemuel began to humble themselves because they knew that Nephi spoke the truth. They humbled themselves enough that Nephi had high hopes that they would be righteous. Nephi was happy because the thing that he most desired was that they would be righteous.
All of the sons of Lehi, as well as Zoram, took the daughters of Ishmael to wife%u2014thus fulfilling the purpose of their second trip to Jerusalem. Nephi says that thus far he and his father had been righteous and therefore they had both been “blessed of the Lord exceedingly.”
As we strive to do what the Lord asks and draw closer to Him we will focus on the blessings that we have and trust in God through the trials and with the Eternal Perspective that we can have we will feel blessed even in times of trial, but only if we stay close to God.