1 Nephi 3
3:4 - I always wondered why it was so important that Lehi's family have the brass plates. I compare it to having the scriptures in our day. Is it really that critical to have the scriptures? Does it make that big of a difference? Honestly, until recently I thought maybe not, but I know that I'm wrong. In so many instances IN the scriptures it talks about how having and studying the scriptures makes or breaks a person's spirit or a society. I will have to think more about why the scriptures are so very important. I think it's because I've always had them and I haven't been as valiant in my study of them as I should have been, that they never really were that big of a deal to me. But I do love them, but more as a background player in my life than a guiding light, front and center. I will have to work on that.
3:5 - Here Laman and Lemuel murmur against getting the brass plates. This is an excellent example of what murmuring really means. The Lord tells Lehi, Lehi tells his boys, and yet L&L say "it's too hard." They doubt that God himself really told their father to have them do this, they doubt that they can do it, and when compelled to go, they do it slothfully.
3:6 - "Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured." I think this is interesting because Lehi just told Nephi to go, Nephi hasn't responded to the call yet. I wonder if this is Lehi's way of telling Nephi "please just be a good boy and do what you're asked." I can picture in my mind Lehi just emotionally exhausted from dealing with his pain in the butt sons L&L and just saying hoping Nephi won't put up a fight. Hahaha.
3:7 - Such a famous verse "I will go and do." What clarity and insight Nephi must have had to have his father ask him to do this very dangerous thing, and for Nephi to say "the Lord wants us to have the plates, the Lord is telling us to get the plates, and so the Lord will show us the way to get the plates." I often wonder about this verse with issues in my own life. Take for instance, the way that I eat. The Lord commands us to eat a healthy diet according to the Word of Wisdom. But he knows that some of us have deep seeded emotional issues with food, but he makes a way for us to change our nutritional habits. Or take tithing as an example, the Lord commands us to pay tithing, even in the face of not being able to pay our own bills or buy food, yet when we pay tithing, we have enough. The Lord provides a way. I love the quote from President Ezra Taft Benson "When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power." I had never thought about it like that but really so much of my obedience to God had been out of obligation or duty and truly I was "irritated" about it. It was an inconvenience because really I just wanted to do what I wanted to do. But now at this time in my life, I want to keep the commandments for so many reasons. I guess you could say that it is my quest to be obedient. And I'm so much happier now, and I'm grateful for that.
3:8 - How proud and deeply satisfied Lehi must have been when Nephi answered this way. There is no greater feeling in the world than to hear a sincere and heart felt testimony from your child about God and their belief in what you've taught them.
3:11-14 - I wonder what Laman said to Laban when he went into his house. "Hey I was just wondering if I could have the plates." I mean he probably didn't have the people or manipulation skills that he gained later in life, and that's understandable. But to be fair, he didn't believe that going back to Jerusalem to get the plates was a worthy goal anyway, so he went into Laban's house believing that he was on a stupid errand. I wonder how much of his "this is stupid" attitude played into Laban getting angry. But it also makes me wonder what kind of society this was that the small time city leader would command death to someone who simply asked him for something. I wonder if it's like going to a mob boss and asking for something and when he gets mad, he tries to kill you. I guess I had never really understood how corrupt and wicked Jerusalem was until now. Death was so easily commanded and that command so easily executed. I can understand being scared and angry, but I definitely think that this is where Nephi and L&L start to really diverge and Nephi begins to show his higher level of spiritual maturity because they are like "screw it, it didn't work, let's go home." And Nephi says "no let's try again." I really like a quote from Bruce R. McConkie "If (Nephi) failed to get the plates, it meant God had failed. And because God does not fail, it was incumbent upon Nephi to get the plates or lay down his life in the attempt." Nephi knew going into it that the Lord had commanded that the plates be obtained. The Lord was either going to help him get the plates or it was the Lord's will that he be killed in the process. Such a simple yet powerful point of view.
3:28-31 - My favorite part is when the boys run out of Jerusalem for their lives and L&L get pissed off at their little brothers and they start to scream at them and hit them with sticks. I'm assuming it's a bigger stick because it's called a "rod" so they are beating the crap out of their little brothers and an ANGEL appears to them and tells them to stop and go back. And then, the best part, when the angel leaves, L&L are STILL mad. I've never had an angel appear to me. And I would imagine that L&L hadn't seen an angel before either. But I would imagine that if an angel did appear to me that I would have been like "oh wow, let's stop and think for a second about what just happened." I would at least want a little reflective time, but no, they were still angry. And a radiant, glorious being just appears, speaks with power, then disappears and they still don't think it's possible for the Lord to help them get the plates from Laban. I mean the angel appearing and disappearing defies most logic of the physical world. And getting the plates is just a little bit difficult, and yet they choose to ignore the fact that the very laws of physics have been defied in front of their very own eyes, but finding a way to get someone to give you something that you want is completely impossible. I'm a very logical person, so the idea of dismissing the first occurrence and embracing impossibility of the difficult yet attainable goal just makes absolutely no sense to me.
3:5 - Here Laman and Lemuel murmur against getting the brass plates. This is an excellent example of what murmuring really means. The Lord tells Lehi, Lehi tells his boys, and yet L&L say "it's too hard." They doubt that God himself really told their father to have them do this, they doubt that they can do it, and when compelled to go, they do it slothfully.
3:6 - "Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured." I think this is interesting because Lehi just told Nephi to go, Nephi hasn't responded to the call yet. I wonder if this is Lehi's way of telling Nephi "please just be a good boy and do what you're asked." I can picture in my mind Lehi just emotionally exhausted from dealing with his pain in the butt sons L&L and just saying hoping Nephi won't put up a fight. Hahaha.
3:7 - Such a famous verse "I will go and do." What clarity and insight Nephi must have had to have his father ask him to do this very dangerous thing, and for Nephi to say "the Lord wants us to have the plates, the Lord is telling us to get the plates, and so the Lord will show us the way to get the plates." I often wonder about this verse with issues in my own life. Take for instance, the way that I eat. The Lord commands us to eat a healthy diet according to the Word of Wisdom. But he knows that some of us have deep seeded emotional issues with food, but he makes a way for us to change our nutritional habits. Or take tithing as an example, the Lord commands us to pay tithing, even in the face of not being able to pay our own bills or buy food, yet when we pay tithing, we have enough. The Lord provides a way. I love the quote from President Ezra Taft Benson "When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power." I had never thought about it like that but really so much of my obedience to God had been out of obligation or duty and truly I was "irritated" about it. It was an inconvenience because really I just wanted to do what I wanted to do. But now at this time in my life, I want to keep the commandments for so many reasons. I guess you could say that it is my quest to be obedient. And I'm so much happier now, and I'm grateful for that.
3:8 - How proud and deeply satisfied Lehi must have been when Nephi answered this way. There is no greater feeling in the world than to hear a sincere and heart felt testimony from your child about God and their belief in what you've taught them.
3:11-14 - I wonder what Laman said to Laban when he went into his house. "Hey I was just wondering if I could have the plates." I mean he probably didn't have the people or manipulation skills that he gained later in life, and that's understandable. But to be fair, he didn't believe that going back to Jerusalem to get the plates was a worthy goal anyway, so he went into Laban's house believing that he was on a stupid errand. I wonder how much of his "this is stupid" attitude played into Laban getting angry. But it also makes me wonder what kind of society this was that the small time city leader would command death to someone who simply asked him for something. I wonder if it's like going to a mob boss and asking for something and when he gets mad, he tries to kill you. I guess I had never really understood how corrupt and wicked Jerusalem was until now. Death was so easily commanded and that command so easily executed. I can understand being scared and angry, but I definitely think that this is where Nephi and L&L start to really diverge and Nephi begins to show his higher level of spiritual maturity because they are like "screw it, it didn't work, let's go home." And Nephi says "no let's try again." I really like a quote from Bruce R. McConkie "If (Nephi) failed to get the plates, it meant God had failed. And because God does not fail, it was incumbent upon Nephi to get the plates or lay down his life in the attempt." Nephi knew going into it that the Lord had commanded that the plates be obtained. The Lord was either going to help him get the plates or it was the Lord's will that he be killed in the process. Such a simple yet powerful point of view.
3:28-31 - My favorite part is when the boys run out of Jerusalem for their lives and L&L get pissed off at their little brothers and they start to scream at them and hit them with sticks. I'm assuming it's a bigger stick because it's called a "rod" so they are beating the crap out of their little brothers and an ANGEL appears to them and tells them to stop and go back. And then, the best part, when the angel leaves, L&L are STILL mad. I've never had an angel appear to me. And I would imagine that L&L hadn't seen an angel before either. But I would imagine that if an angel did appear to me that I would have been like "oh wow, let's stop and think for a second about what just happened." I would at least want a little reflective time, but no, they were still angry. And a radiant, glorious being just appears, speaks with power, then disappears and they still don't think it's possible for the Lord to help them get the plates from Laban. I mean the angel appearing and disappearing defies most logic of the physical world. And getting the plates is just a little bit difficult, and yet they choose to ignore the fact that the very laws of physics have been defied in front of their very own eyes, but finding a way to get someone to give you something that you want is completely impossible. I'm a very logical person, so the idea of dismissing the first occurrence and embracing impossibility of the difficult yet attainable goal just makes absolutely no sense to me.
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