Today I studied the scriptures in order, rather than hopping about from book to book, chapter to chapter. I read the first four chapters of the Book of Mormon, and I felt like my problems paralleled Nephi's family's problems.
Why am I whining about my circumstances? Because I "know not the dealings of that God who created [me]." If I only knew what God were doing, I would not complain at all. Of course, understanding everything in His plan would preclude a test of faith. So I decided to act as though everything around me were somehow part of God's plan, and accept that fact on faith. Nothing in my environment changed; my attitude improved greatly, and I ceased to murmur.
Why does God ask us to give up our obvious options, the ones right in front of us? My uncle told me that chess masters will basically take the obvious move as a rule of thumb. Lehi was wealthy, living in Jerusalem, probably in a fairly comfortable and even lavish home. Laman and Lemuel wanted to stay behind and enjoy all of that, and murmured when it was ripped away from them. I have options in front of me that the Lord is prompting me to sacrifice. Lehi gave up his plush estate in Jerusalem, and the Lord rewarded his sacrifice by giving him two whole continents. That is quite an impressive deal, but letting go of what you can see in favor of what you cannot is hard. It takes great faith.
The word "promised" in promised lands struck me today as never before. Trading your tangible, familiar, comfortable possessions in Jerusalem for a promise? It takes faith in the one making the promise, because promises are merely words otherwise. Until the promise arrives, we operate on faith. Faith in the promise fills us with hope til it arrives. We even use that faith, like Lehi and Nephi, to move toward the promise. But oh, the lag between letting go and receiving the promise.
Jacob blessed Joseph that he would become like "a fruitful bough over a well." I wonder if the well represents the ocean, and the fruitful bough represents the seed of Joseph, like Lehi's family, arriving in the promised land and multiplying to fill the land. Brigham Young said that Joseph Smith was as pure of an Ephraimite as he could be, and the Book of Mormon says that he was a direct descendant of Joseph in Egypt. When Joseph Smith was killed, he fell out of the window at Carthage jail, and crawled to prop himself against the well beneath the window. I have wondered if there is a connection between Jacob's blessing and that incident; it is most likely not connected to the prophecy, merely magnified in my mind by my familiarity with the events surrounding the martyrdom of the Prophet.
Lehi was fulfilling prophecy when he left Jerusalem. Israel was scattered into the earth as part of the Lord's plan; Lehi was righteous, so he was given the opportunity to be an active participant and beneficiary of the inevitable scattering, rather than a hapless victim.
Nephi may have inaugurated the destruction of Jerusalem when he crept into the city by night, killed the captain of the guard, and stole a priceless historical record, and carried away a prisoner.
Many people have commented about Nephi's inclusion of Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, joking about the boring chore of plodding through it. Isaiah says that he and his sons are signs for the people; "Isaiah" means "Jehovah saves;" "Shear-jashub" means "a remnant will return;" "Maher-shalal-hashbaz" means "destruction is imminent." Isaiah's name, and his sons' names, are major themes of the book of Isaiah. The emphasis on the gathering of scattered Israel in the last days probably made Isaiah of particular interest to Nephi, who grew up in Jerusalem. The destruction of his home, and leaving it permanently, and the estrangement of Israel from their Lord, were all problems. Isaiah presents the Lord's solutions about the gathering, prophesying of the day when a "remnant" of Israel will "return."
Nephi becomes the political leader and spiritual leader of his people; a king and a priest. His closing words in the Book of Mormon are still filled with pathos and longing: "But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry" (2Ne. 33:3). Even after receiving the promise, after having his personal needs met, he suddenly yearns for the happiness of his people, whose ultimate destruction he had already witnessed in vision. "Nauvoo" means "beautiful place" in Hebrew; one scholar speculated that the name "Nephi" is a cognate, and actual means "beautiful" or "fair." Mormon's cry, "O ye fair ones!" may actually be a play on words; they were fair people, AND "Nephite" means "fair."
It is worth remembering that there is no discernible finish line in mortality. Once you get one item on your wishlist, a new need presents itself, and all too quickly our gratitude can evaporate. Enjoying the journey, no matter what is on the wishlist, and staying grateful, must be a part of the trick to staying happy.
