My Precious

“And my father dwelt in a tent”

Every time I read the Book of Mormon, this verse touches me.  What is one of the shortest versus in all of scripture is, to me, one of the most profound.  When Lehi was told to flee Jerusalem, he "took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents". We probably could have assumed that Lehi dwelt in a tent without Nephi having to tell us, but it struck Nephi as important enough to write.  From my limited understanding, I gather that Lehi was a wealthy man who didn’t go camping much.  Nephi understood the sacrifice that his father was making by leaving “his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things”.

 

While I was running errands this morning, I thought about how I would handle being asked to "depart into the wilderness".  Right now, it's easy for me to say that I would quickly obey.  But when the reality of it hits, would I really?  Could I, without questioning, leave my home and my belongings - without knowing where I was going?  I hope so.  What would  I take?  Most of my treasures are scattered throughout my home:  pictures, documents, the wedding ring that I've grown out of.  Most of my photographs are on my computer hard drive or in cyberspace.  Would I need to grab my computer?  Would it even be able to work in the "wilderness"?  Would I have time to gather anything at all?  Lehi left everything he owned.  Could I?

  

When Lehi led his family away from their home, I’m sure there was more than a little murmuring…especially from Laman and Lemuel.  I can imagine the exchange went something like this:  “What about my friends?  I can’t leave my friends!” and “A TENT?!  You can’t be serious.  What if people saw me?”  Thankfully, the voice of the Spirit rang louder in Lehi’s ears than the complaints of his children did.  I can only hope that I would be as ready and willing to listen.

But did Lehi really leave his precious things?  "...he did travel in the wilderness with his family..."  I can't think of anything more precious than that.  Although some photographs cannot be replaced, the memories that go with them can live on in a journal.  Documents, even though difficult, can mostly be replaced.  My wedding ring, however sentimental and valuable it is, is not irreplaceable.  The only precious things in my home that absolutely cannot be replaced are my children and my husband.  If I had them with me, I think I could make it through most anything.

My Precious                                            ©Darrell Wyatt

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