1 Nephi 2
2:1-2 - Here the Lord tells Lehi in a dream that he is blessed because he has been faithful and that because he preached repentance to the people, they want to kill him. So the Lord commands Lehi to take his family and leave Jerusalem and go into the "wilderness." I always wondered why Lehi had to leave Jerusalem if he was righteous and all the other people were wicked. Kind of a "why should he have to give up his lifestyle that he probably worked hard for because other people are jerks?" If Lehi was righteous, why wouldn't the Lord simply save him through some miraculous act when the people come to kill him. Surely he deserves that type of deliverance, but why does he have to run away? I have decided that every time the Lord intervenes in a miraculous manner, it takes away from someone's agency. For instance, if Lehi is preaching and a mob comes to kill him, and Lehi shocks the mob and they can't move, as has happened before, then surely there will be some of the mob who will be surprised enough to repent and embrace the Lord. But maybe that's not what the purpose is, maybe the purpose is to persuade people to come to Christ, not manipulate them into believing by a strong show of force.
2:5 - Here Nephi lists the people in the traveling party as only 6, himself, his older brothers, Laman, Lemuel, and Sam, and his parents, Lehi and Sariah. I always imagined that these were simply the main players of the group and that's why they are mentioned. I always assumed Lehi had daughters that weren't mentioned here, and/or that he had servants that went with them because they were a wealthy family. I think traveling as a small group would have placed a lot of pressure on Lehi because he had a family that was a handful.
2:6 - So Lehi leaves his house, and how does he know where to go? He's a wealthy man from the city, he probably didn't have much experience out in the Arabian desert plotting routes and courses. I wonder if he had a plan when he packed up and left. I wonder if he had maps. The desert out there is pretty brutal, and in order to sustain his family with food and water, how did he know where to go. Those places were probably pretty closely guarded secrets. I came across a really interesting, yet old, article talking about the route that Lehi possibly took. I didn't read it all but what I did read was quite interesting.
2:7 - As soon as Lehi settles in a nice place, he puts up his tents, then immediately builds an alter and praises and gives thanks to the Lord. When I initially read this verse, I didn't really get it, but now after some thought I can see where Lehi would have been deeply grateful. He probably saw the destruction of Jerusalem at the pillar of fire. He probably saw God and the amazing land that his family was going to. He left his comfortable lifestyle, and took his family, kicking and screaming, into the harsh desert and he FINALLY came to a beautiful place with food and water. I can see where he would feel deeply grateful. I think that this is something that I can definitely work on, my level of gratitude. I need to recognize the Lord's hand in all things much more than I do. In the Institute manual it talks about prayer being not telling the Lord what one needs, but asking for guidance and direction. I mean really how presumptuous is it to tell God "I need this, or that or whatever." I'm not a great servant, but I hope I don't come across in that manner. The manual says that "prayer should be yearning and filled with gratitude." I will have to think more about what "yearning" means.
2:11-15 - Laman and Lemuel murmur. I always thought that "murmuring" was like complaining. But after reading the manual, there is a slight but consequential difference. I think of complaining as something like "it's hot" or "I'm tired" or "this food is terrible." Complaining to me means acknowledging the negativity of minor life issues, it's more superficial. Murmuring is bringing negativity into meaningful issues. The manual says that murmuring has 3 steps: 1. Begin to question, first in their own minds, then in the minds of others. 2. Rationalize disobedience. 3. Lazy in keeping the commandments. What are the examples of this in real life. Take work for instance. Say there is a new policy that comes out saying you must wash your hands every 20 seconds. I start by saying "that is stupid, what is the purpose of this policy?" I ask this to myself, then when I'm really agitated, I will ask other people, "why do we have to do this?" Then I will tell myself that I don't have to do it because it hurts my hands, or I just washed them 20 seconds ago. Then when I do have to wash my hands, I will be pissed about it. Let's look at this from Laman and Lemuel's perspective. "Why did we have to leave Jerusalem? It's a huge city, it's impossible for it to be destroyed." And they found common feelings in each other and it probably fed itself into a hate spiral. Then they refused to pray or have a good attitude or help with the ship or anything useful to the family because they never should have left in the first place. And when they are compelled to do the work, they build bitterness and anger. Now I'm not saying that this is what happened, but it would make sense that something like this went down. Kind of like holding hate in your heart, holding negativity will never allow one to be free.
2:15 - "And my father dwelt in a tent." This has always been an interesting verse for me because it's simple. Why include it? I know someone who, to save money, lived in a tent in the backyard of a family member. One day he told me that he was praying and he said "thank you for this tent." And it occurred to him at that point that he didn't need a big fancy house to be happy. He had the need of shelter and that his simple tent fulfilled that need. He said that he felt like Lehi in that he was also dwelling in a tent. For Lehi I think that this was a huge downgrade from his lush living in Jerusalem. He had lots of riches, so we can assume he had a nice house that was nicely furnished and comfortable. To go from that to living in a heavy, dark tent is quite the monetary step backwards. I've lived in a tent for extended periods of time as well, and they are hot, and dark, and dirty.
2:16 - I would imagine that in the midst of his brothers having constant tantrums Nephi probably wanted some assurance that he was doing the right thing by agreeing with his father. Here he prays, or he did "cry unto the Lord." I wonder what the difference between "praying" to the Lord and "crying" to the Lord is. But while praying the Lord visits him and softens his heart. Did Jesus really appear to Nephi here? Was it a vision? And because his heart is softened, he does not rebel against his father like his brother's did. And he "did believe all the words which had been spoken by me father." To me this says that really up until this point Nephi was just kind of doing what his parents told him. Until now he didn't fully believe that his father was a prophet or that the Lord in fact told them to leave Jerusalem. Until now, there was a possibility that Laman was right and that their father was in idiot.
2:19-24 - After Nephi softens his heart, he tells his brothers, and Sam believes him but the others don't. I wonder what Sam's story is. He's talked about by Nephi, but his insight is never really considered. I would like to have read his story. Nephi is saddened that his older brothers don't believe him and prays for them. I honestly don't think that the answer that followed was what he expected. Basically "your brothers will be cut off and cursed if the continue to rebel against you. But don't worry, your seed is safe, unless they rebel too in which case I will use the seed of your brothers to hurt them until they repent." I wonder what Nephi's reaction to that was. He was probably still young, and probably still loved his brothers. What would it be like to be a boy and have God himself tell you that they will be punished because of their wickedness. It must have been a blow back. I know what it's like to love someone who's on the way down hill into a poor lifestyle. You never believe that they can become these horrid people that they end up being. I would have probably thought, as Nephi, "they aren't that bad. They will come around, they won't be so bad that they need to be cursed." It isn't until they do become that evil, until you are hurt so badly by their wickedness and you come out of denial that you can look back and say "yes, the Lord was right." I wonder if that's how he reacted to this answer.
2:20 - the manual says that 34 times in the scriptures it states "that people will prosper in the land only if they obey the commandments of God." The word "prosper" is up for debate I guess as I'm not completely sure what that means here. But There is no better promise than "keep my commandments and prosper in the land."
2:5 - Here Nephi lists the people in the traveling party as only 6, himself, his older brothers, Laman, Lemuel, and Sam, and his parents, Lehi and Sariah. I always imagined that these were simply the main players of the group and that's why they are mentioned. I always assumed Lehi had daughters that weren't mentioned here, and/or that he had servants that went with them because they were a wealthy family. I think traveling as a small group would have placed a lot of pressure on Lehi because he had a family that was a handful.
2:6 - So Lehi leaves his house, and how does he know where to go? He's a wealthy man from the city, he probably didn't have much experience out in the Arabian desert plotting routes and courses. I wonder if he had a plan when he packed up and left. I wonder if he had maps. The desert out there is pretty brutal, and in order to sustain his family with food and water, how did he know where to go. Those places were probably pretty closely guarded secrets. I came across a really interesting, yet old, article talking about the route that Lehi possibly took. I didn't read it all but what I did read was quite interesting.
2:7 - As soon as Lehi settles in a nice place, he puts up his tents, then immediately builds an alter and praises and gives thanks to the Lord. When I initially read this verse, I didn't really get it, but now after some thought I can see where Lehi would have been deeply grateful. He probably saw the destruction of Jerusalem at the pillar of fire. He probably saw God and the amazing land that his family was going to. He left his comfortable lifestyle, and took his family, kicking and screaming, into the harsh desert and he FINALLY came to a beautiful place with food and water. I can see where he would feel deeply grateful. I think that this is something that I can definitely work on, my level of gratitude. I need to recognize the Lord's hand in all things much more than I do. In the Institute manual it talks about prayer being not telling the Lord what one needs, but asking for guidance and direction. I mean really how presumptuous is it to tell God "I need this, or that or whatever." I'm not a great servant, but I hope I don't come across in that manner. The manual says that "prayer should be yearning and filled with gratitude." I will have to think more about what "yearning" means.
2:11-15 - Laman and Lemuel murmur. I always thought that "murmuring" was like complaining. But after reading the manual, there is a slight but consequential difference. I think of complaining as something like "it's hot" or "I'm tired" or "this food is terrible." Complaining to me means acknowledging the negativity of minor life issues, it's more superficial. Murmuring is bringing negativity into meaningful issues. The manual says that murmuring has 3 steps: 1. Begin to question, first in their own minds, then in the minds of others. 2. Rationalize disobedience. 3. Lazy in keeping the commandments. What are the examples of this in real life. Take work for instance. Say there is a new policy that comes out saying you must wash your hands every 20 seconds. I start by saying "that is stupid, what is the purpose of this policy?" I ask this to myself, then when I'm really agitated, I will ask other people, "why do we have to do this?" Then I will tell myself that I don't have to do it because it hurts my hands, or I just washed them 20 seconds ago. Then when I do have to wash my hands, I will be pissed about it. Let's look at this from Laman and Lemuel's perspective. "Why did we have to leave Jerusalem? It's a huge city, it's impossible for it to be destroyed." And they found common feelings in each other and it probably fed itself into a hate spiral. Then they refused to pray or have a good attitude or help with the ship or anything useful to the family because they never should have left in the first place. And when they are compelled to do the work, they build bitterness and anger. Now I'm not saying that this is what happened, but it would make sense that something like this went down. Kind of like holding hate in your heart, holding negativity will never allow one to be free.
2:15 - "And my father dwelt in a tent." This has always been an interesting verse for me because it's simple. Why include it? I know someone who, to save money, lived in a tent in the backyard of a family member. One day he told me that he was praying and he said "thank you for this tent." And it occurred to him at that point that he didn't need a big fancy house to be happy. He had the need of shelter and that his simple tent fulfilled that need. He said that he felt like Lehi in that he was also dwelling in a tent. For Lehi I think that this was a huge downgrade from his lush living in Jerusalem. He had lots of riches, so we can assume he had a nice house that was nicely furnished and comfortable. To go from that to living in a heavy, dark tent is quite the monetary step backwards. I've lived in a tent for extended periods of time as well, and they are hot, and dark, and dirty.
2:16 - I would imagine that in the midst of his brothers having constant tantrums Nephi probably wanted some assurance that he was doing the right thing by agreeing with his father. Here he prays, or he did "cry unto the Lord." I wonder what the difference between "praying" to the Lord and "crying" to the Lord is. But while praying the Lord visits him and softens his heart. Did Jesus really appear to Nephi here? Was it a vision? And because his heart is softened, he does not rebel against his father like his brother's did. And he "did believe all the words which had been spoken by me father." To me this says that really up until this point Nephi was just kind of doing what his parents told him. Until now he didn't fully believe that his father was a prophet or that the Lord in fact told them to leave Jerusalem. Until now, there was a possibility that Laman was right and that their father was in idiot.
2:19-24 - After Nephi softens his heart, he tells his brothers, and Sam believes him but the others don't. I wonder what Sam's story is. He's talked about by Nephi, but his insight is never really considered. I would like to have read his story. Nephi is saddened that his older brothers don't believe him and prays for them. I honestly don't think that the answer that followed was what he expected. Basically "your brothers will be cut off and cursed if the continue to rebel against you. But don't worry, your seed is safe, unless they rebel too in which case I will use the seed of your brothers to hurt them until they repent." I wonder what Nephi's reaction to that was. He was probably still young, and probably still loved his brothers. What would it be like to be a boy and have God himself tell you that they will be punished because of their wickedness. It must have been a blow back. I know what it's like to love someone who's on the way down hill into a poor lifestyle. You never believe that they can become these horrid people that they end up being. I would have probably thought, as Nephi, "they aren't that bad. They will come around, they won't be so bad that they need to be cursed." It isn't until they do become that evil, until you are hurt so badly by their wickedness and you come out of denial that you can look back and say "yes, the Lord was right." I wonder if that's how he reacted to this answer.
2:20 - the manual says that 34 times in the scriptures it states "that people will prosper in the land only if they obey the commandments of God." The word "prosper" is up for debate I guess as I'm not completely sure what that means here. But There is no better promise than "keep my commandments and prosper in the land."
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