Called to Be a Prophet (1 Nephi 1:5)

Why was Lehi called to be a prophet?

Because he heard and believed the words of other prophets who said Jerusalem would be destroyed if they did not repent. And then he "prayed unto the Lord...with all his heart, in behalf of his people." (1 Nephi 1:5)

One of the characteristics of all prophets is their great love for their people. Their capacity to love seems to have grown beyond what most of us feel, which is a deep love for family and close friends, then an increasingly diminished, 'generic' love for those we know less well or not at all. Prophets are able to feel that great love for all men, whether they know them or not.

Which brings me to wonder--were they born with this greater capacity to love? Did it come with them as an attribute they developed during pre-mortality? Or did they develop that ability to love here on earth?

If it came with them, is this great love only inherent in and available to those who are born with it? Or can it be learned if one's desire is great enough?

If it is something that can be learned, who taught them? What experiences did they have that encouraged and developed it? How did they learn it? How can I learn it?

Not that I want to be a prophet. But I want to be more like Christ, the greatest 'prophet' of all.

Oh! [light bulb moment] I guess if I became like Christ, it would automatically make me a prophet--in temperament and attribute, if not in calling. I wonder if that's what Moses meant when he said, "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets"? (Numbers 11:29)

Perhaps this great ability to deeply love all mankind, collectively and individually, is neither an inborn quality nor a learned attribute. Perhaps it is something else entirely--a gift from God that we receive as we become more like Him.