To Nephi, who was sober, their conduct was not merely offensive but alarming. He foresaw the possibility of failure and death in the deep. He, therefore, implored them to repent. But their reaction to his anxiety was drunken revelers’ usual defence—anger. “We will not,” they said, “have this youngster to rule over us.”
Youth, of and by itself, is, of course, no virtue that can legitimately claim either adoration or submission. It is an advantage. And it is beautiful. But courageous, adventurous, strong youth full of faith in God, inspired by his Holy Spirit, is the best possible medium of leadership, when supported by the experience of age, ripened in the service of God. Israel needed both Samuel and David. Our colony in the ship needed both Lehi and Nephi.