Here we go again

I always giggle a little bit when I start reading this chapter.  The Lord tells Lehi to send the boys (that's how I always think of them - must be a mom thing) back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael and his family so that they will have wives.  Guess what?  No murmuring!  Hard thing?  Pshaw.  I wish I could have been a fly on the tent wall to see the difference in attitude from the first time they were sent back and how they reacted this time.  "Oh well, if we must.  The Lord did say we need wives."  Maybe boys weren't so different back then after all.

They went and talked to Ishmael and his wife and children, who were willing to go into the wilderness to be with Lehi and his family.  For a minute anyway.  Somewhere along the journey back, some of Ishmael's children, along with Laman and Lemuel, decided that they were done.  Done with the wilderness, and they wanted to go back to Jerusalem RIGHT NOW. 

"And now I, Nephi, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, therefore I spake unto them, saying yeah, even unto Laman and unto Lemuel:  Behold ye are mine elder brethren, and how is it that ye are so hard in your hearts, and so blind in your minds, that ye have need that I, your younger brother, should speak unto you, yea, and set an example for you?

  

Ouch.  I'm sure Laman and Lemuel wanted to ring his neck right then, but they let him finish before they tried to kill him.  He asked them if they had forgotten that they had seen an angel of the Lord, and if they'd forgotten that the Lord had saved them from Laban and most importantly how they could have "forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him".  He reminded them that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, and if they decided to go back - which was their choice, they would be destroyed with it.  This did not sit well with the boys and their new girlfriends, who immediately tried to kill him - twice, since the Lord loosed the bands the first time.  After much pleading from one of the daughters and one of the sons of Ishmael and their mother, they boys "did cease striving to take away" Nephi's life.  They asked and received his forgiveness and prayed to the Lord for His forgiveness and then continued their journey back to Lehi.

I've thought a lot about example this morning.  As the oldest of six kids, I've always felt the weight of my responsibility to be an example to my siblings.  I think that most 'oldest children' do (except Laman, maybe).  When I'm asked for advice (and sometimes when I'm not), I try to be honest and straightforward, even when my answer may not be the popular one or the one they were looking for.  I deeply and genuinely care what happens in the lives of my brothers and sisters - even more so now than when we were kids.  I think sometimes they may see me as Laman and Lemuel saw Nephi - with a holier-than-thou attitude.  I promise that I don't feel holier-than-thou.  I love my three brothers and two sisters with all my heart, and I don't like to see them suffer.  And oh how a couple of them have suffered. And oh how I've made them angry with some of the things I've said.  Thankfully, and maybe due to the fact that we live far apart, they haven't tried to kill me yet. In fact, we're all still on good terms and talk often (until they read today's blog, maybe).  It's not easy to take the opposing side when you feel like someone is making a bad choice, but I feel like a good sister would do everything in her power to prevent hardship.  Hopefully my brothers and sisters are able to see my good intentions and the incredible love that I have for them.  If not now, maybe someday.

The Wyatt Kids               1984

 Click here to read what I read today: Chapter 6

Click here to read what I read today: Chapter 7