Book of Mormon 2020 - 1 Nephi - Chapters 5-6

After reading chapter 5 of the first book of Nephi, I find myself feeling a great deal of sympathy for Sariah and an even greater deal of respect for Lehi.

Sariah's fear in this chapter is every mother's worst fear: the fear of losing her children. Losing one child is bad enough, but the idea of losing ALL of your children in one fell swoop (especially if you have almost no chance of finding their bodies) is truly gutting. No wonder Sariah complained against Lehi like she did; in those days, children were especially sacred because society saw multiple children as a sign of God's blessing. The more children you had, the more you must be in God's favor.

So, this journey in the wilderness was not only a test for Nephi and his brothers, but also a test for Sariah and Lehi as a couple. Could their marriage endure a trial of this magnitude? With Lehi as a holder of the priesthood, did Sariah harbor enough faith, trust, and support for her husband?

As for Lehi, he shows true love and compassion for his wife. He could have very easily brushed her feelings aside or even argued back...but instead, he took the time to sincerely acknowledge her feelings and remind her of God's tender mercies. In this moment, Lehi was everything a worthy husband, father, and priesthood holder ought to be. In this moment, the wife was placed on the same pedestal as the husband, if not just a little higher.

Then, of course, their sons do come back to them alive and well, and Sariah's confidence in both Lehi and the Lord is sure. It's enough to warm your heart from the inside out.

And chapter 6 is a quick enough read, but this particular passage stood out to me: "Wherefore, the things which are pleasing unto the world I do not write, but the things which are pleasing unto God and unto those who are not of the world." I know the Book of Mormon has not sat well with many people I have known personally; sadly, some of those people no longer talk to me, and I've long since given up on them. I wouldn't turn them away if they approached me again, but I'm not holding my breath anymore, and any trust I had in them before is gone.

Anyway, that's enough about me. My point is that goodness knows this world would have a lot to say about the Book of Mormon, and none of it would be good. I still find it odd that some people believe Joseph Smith somehow "invented" this entire book on his own, when Joseph Smith was a very simple farm boy who was lucky to be able to read and write at all. After all, J.R.R. Tolkien was a very distinguished English professor and it took him many years to get even one work of fiction off the ground. For that matter, all the books we know and love weren't completed in a hurry, and it also took a good while just to build up a decent fan base.

But it goes to show: the world's ways are not God's ways, and God's not supposed to lower Himself to fit the world's standards; rather, the world's supposed to raise itself to fit God's standards. Reminds me of a talk I heard a while back in stake conference, about a large clock that was kept quite high, and the great height meant the people would have to change their personal watches to match the time on that clock instead of changing that clock to match their personal watches. Hopefully that makes sense!

Book of Mormon 2020 - 1 Nephi - Chapters 3-4

Well, I managed to read a couple more chapters in the Book of Mormon this evening, and hopefully the wheels will keep turning.

It helps that I'm trying to really read the story this time. And it's amazing how you learn something new from a story that you think you know front and back, especially where Nephi's story is concerned.

We all know Nephi's famous saying, "I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." Even now, that's a most remarkable expression of faith; even when Nephi must walk in complete darkness for a time, he trusts the Lord enough to put one foot in front of the other before the Lord turns on the light.
Sometimes that's all we can do: take one step, and then another, and another.

Nephi also said, "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do." Sometimes it's for our own good that we don't know in advance what the Lord expects us to do; otherwise, we may get cold feet altogether. This is why it's a good thing we don't have the gift of foresight, that there's no "prophecy" about our lives like the ones from fantasy stories; we can't look into the future and know absolutely everything that will ultimately happen to us. We'd get so caught up in the future that we'd fail to live in the present.

Like us, Nephi had to learn for himself that, while you can say you'll obey the Lord all you like, actual obedience is often easier said than done. Remember Nephi's reluctance to slay Laban at the Lord's command, since such a command appeared to contradict one of the great commandments, "Thou shalt not kill," and the whole business just seemed far too drastic and ghastly...and for perfectly good reason. How eager would you be to pull a knife or a gun on somebody else, even if it was necessary? If you were a soldier at war and you and your enemy stood face to face, how willing would you be to make the first move?

My dad once told me that there's a distinct difference between killing and murdering, and according to the Jewish law, since Laban sought to kill Nephi first, it was actually Nephi's legal right to kill him. Self-defense, you might call it.

Furthermore, as the angel said, "The Lord slayeth the wicked to bring forth his righteous purposes," and also, "It is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief." If it comes down to saving one person at the expense of a huge group, or saving a huge group at the expense of one person, you can figure out which option is the most ideal.

In one of my own stories, a character makes the hardest decision of their lives by killing another person (and not just any person, but somebody they know and love), and in doing so, they save so many other innocent lives. The decision still hits them very hard, even though they know they've done the right thing in the long run. They tried to give the other person a chance and the other person rejected that opportunity.

Which brings us back to Laban. No one can say the Lord didn't give Laban a chance to repent, so Laban's death was ultimately his own doing. Perhaps the Lord was even saving Laban from becoming worse than he was already. After all, Laban showed how low he was willing to stoop by stealing Nephi's family's property when they had every intention of selling it to him fair and square; for greater irony, he had the gall to label Laman as a "robber."

Speaking of Laman, I never really looked on him or Lemuel in a favorable light. I always felt so bad for Nephi and Sam because Laman and Lemuel were always so needlessly cruel to them, but then again, how many of us are so different from Laman and Lemuel? How often do we whine, complain, drag our feet, and complicate our situation all the more? No one can say Laman or Lemuel's situations were a picnic; goodness knows Nephi had plenty to grumble about if he'd had a different attitude.

Which goes to show that the Lord must have sent Nephi and his brothers on this seemingly impossible mission for more than just the plates of brass and for the sake of their future posterity. The Lord must have done this to personally test Nephi, Sam, Lemuel, and Laman; how much faith and courage did each young man really have? What is this man like when push comes to shove? If this man had every reason in the world to quit, would he still press on?

The more I think about this story, the more my pity for Laman and Lemuel increases, as does my admiration and respect for Nephi and Sam. Sam may not get as much mention, but I think we can very well call him "the unsung hero." What these four went through is enough to make anybody snap. It's as if each of them were a big block of stone, and while the Lord was chiseling away at the stone, Laman and Lemuel only focused on the pain the chiseling was causing them while Sam and Nephi focused on the beautiful masterpiece that was steadily taking shape.

And as the end of the story of the brass plates reveals, no mission appointed by the Lord is ever wasted. It may not conclude in the way you expect, but every last bit of it is worthwhile.

The Sound of Money

Sung to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence." It's one of my less funny parodies, but I really love the rhythm of the lyrics.

Hello, cold cash, my old friend

It’s time we cut a deal again

Who cares about a bit of stealing?

Who cares how humans may be feeling?

Everybody knows that those with the most pay

Rule the day

Within the sound of money

On fortune’s road I walk alone

Gold’s as hard and cold as stone

My heart feels nothing tender

While my fingers feel that legal tender

I live this rich life day after day, year after year

All I hear

Is that sweet sound of money

And in the world beyond my door,

Living the bleak life of the poor,

People breaking while they’re bending

People making without mending

People sending checks that never make it back

No greenbacks

Disturb the sound of money

Only a Scrooge like I would know

Greed worse than a cancer grows

Serve me with a silver platter

What glitters? Only gold matters

And each note, like a silent raindrop, fell

And echoed in the wells of money

And the people bowed and prayed

To the paper god they made

We’ll go on forever cashing

Till the market comes crashing

And we all find ourselves drowning

In a raging sea of debt

Nothing’s left

But the whispers, the sounds of money

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad

Enough said. Some things don't need words.

Dad's Obituary

Book of Mormon 2020 - 1 Nephi - Chapters 1-2

Well, since we are studying the Book of Mormon this year, it only makes sense that President Russell M. Nelson would issue another reading of the Book of Mormon from start to finish. Since I hadn't done a good job at following the past couple of challenges, I'm determined to follow this one.

Also, since this year marks the 200-year anniversary of the First Vision, President Nelson has also encouraged us to read Joseph Smith's full account of the First Vision, found in the Pearl of Great Price. I plan to read that one, too.

But I shall begin with good old Nephi, whose story is probably the most famous of all the stories in the Book of Mormon. Even those who haven't read the Book of Mormon all the way through have no doubt read Nephi's story a dozen times.

I used to be a little bored with Nephi's story precisely because I was so familiar with it. Now I'm making myself pay a bit closer attention, and I find myself actually relating to these characters.

We know how Lehi used to live in Jerusalem, how he enjoyed wonderful wealth as well as a prominent position in society. But unlike most of Jerusalem, Lehi was more in tune with the Lord; he didn't quite forget what mattered most.

From the first, Nephi shows great love and respect for his father as well as his mother. The very first sentence mentions "having been born of goodly parents." And as we read on, we learn about how much Nephi learned from his father; his father taught him and his brothers very well, and Lehi's teachings stuck better with some of his boys than the others.

That's how it was with the people of Jerusalem, too: some were more teachable than others. Some were more spiritually sensitive than others. It all boiled down to who was willing to pay attention. Like the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but only the horse decides whether to drink or not.

When I was younger, I wondered why the people got so angry with Lehi, to the point of wanting to murder him. Now that I'm older, I think I understand.

Of course, no one has ever threatened me, but at least two really good friends recently stopped being my friends because of our different beliefs. They just didn't see things the way I did, and they got annoyed with me whenever I posted my beliefs online. One former friend went so far as to call it "propaganda," while the other made jokes about my beliefs, and they weren't the funny kind.

Then one thing led to another, and now they've both cut me off and we haven't spoken since.

As painful as that is, even now, I can only imagine how Lehi must have felt. People are naturally quick to get angry and defensive. Nobody likes to be told they're doing anything wrong, and nobody likes changes.

Still, what Lehi was doing wasn't wrong, either, and his efforts weren't a total waste. The Lord always gives us credit for trying, and perhaps (just perhaps) a few people remembered Lehi and his influence years down the road, and his memory led to an ultimate change of heart.

Even if not, like I said, Lehi's efforts still counted for something. If he converted no one else, including his own children, he most certainly converted himself.