Ok...here we go off into the wilderness with Lehi and his family. They were running for their lives.Nephi tells us that they traveled three days by the border of the Red Sea before they finally stopped and pitched their tents. When they did finally take a break they built an altar of stones and made an offering to the Lord. (In the Book of Mormon the "Lord" is always Jesus Christ. How, you ask did they know about Jesus if they left Jesusalem around 597 BC? Don't worry we will get to that.) They have escaped certain death at the hands of an angry mob but all is not well within the family. Laman and Lemuel were not happy. They thought their father was foolish for believing in visions and dreams. From their point of view they had left their whole lives behind because Lehi was imagining things and they bitterly resented him for it. They were also none to pleased with their younger brother Nephi who had sided with Dad. Laman and Lemuel murmured, complained and grumbled. They were outspoken and acted disrespectfully toward their father. This went on for a while until Lehi had had enough. He reprimanded Laman and Lemuel until "their frames did shake and they durst not utter against him; wherefore, they did as he commanded them"....for a while anyway.
Meanwhile Nephi, who is rather young at this time, was feeling just as uprooted and upset as his brothers but he took a different approach. He decided to pray to the Lord and ask for help to understand the mysterious events that had caused so much suffering in his family. Nephi says, "I Nephi being exceending young, nevertheless being large in stature (doesn't this sound just like something the youngest brother would say?)...I did cry unto the Lord and behold, he did visit me and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father."
Lesson for Everyday Life:
Lehi and his family were in crisis and were divided at a time when they needed each other and the Lord for strength and guidance. Who among us hasn't been in a situation like this? Haven't we all had to choose how to deal with a problem when we couldn't actually solve it? Laman and Lemuel chose harsh words and contention. Lehi held his ground. Nephi chose prayer. Those choices either hurt or helped not only themselves but the people they loved.
The approach that a father and his sons took at this moment became a pattern that effected the rest of their lives and all the generations of their posterity. Big doors swing on little hinges. Think about Lehi, Laman, Lemuel and Nephi and examine your current situation. Are you helping or hurting? Have you prayed for understanding?
Coming up: The brothers must return to Jerusalem to retrieve something they left behind. What could be so important that they would risk their lives to get it?
