Book of Mormon Lesson
5
“Hearken to the
Truth and Give Heed unto It”
1 Nephi 16-22
By Breck England
We
examine the Book of Mormon with a great sense of urgency because
it was written
to show us our own predicament: Jerusalem of Lehi’s day was just
like the world we live in—full of abominations—and about to be
destroyed. We are commanded to escape from the threat of Babylon
just as Nephi was (compare 1 Ne. 1:13 to D&C 1:16). Nephi
is a noble example of trust in the Lord as he leads his family
to a land of promise and to faith in Christ. In this lesson we
will explore these questions:
- How did Nephi demonstrate obedience,
faith, and courage?
- How did Nephi’s response to
trials differ from the responses of many of his family members?
Throughout
sacred history, the Lord has shown his mercy to the faithful
by helping
them to escape the “awful monster” (2 Ne. 9:10) of captivity
and death. Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses were each inspired
to take their people out of the world and into a place of safety—a
promised land which is itself a prefiguring of eternal life in
the celestial kingdom of God. The pattern continued in the latter
days as the Saints escaped destruction at the hands of their
enemies and trekked westward to establish Zion in a place where
they could flourish and worship in peace.
Each
of these epic journeys constituted not only an escape from
the “vale of
sorrow” but also a pilgrimage to a “far better land of promise,” as
Alma denotes it (Alma 37:45). But these were not easy journeys.
Afflicted with famine, hardship, and uncertainty, the wandering
saints of former days had only their faith to sustain them, while
the world continually beckoned to them. Many of the children
of Israel murmured in the wilderness, longing for Egypt; and
in our own day a good many members of the Church shrank from
the journey west and lost themselves once again in Babylon.
The
story of Lehi is of such an epic escape. The Lord showed Lehi
in vision
the fate of Jerusalem and commanded him to “take his family and
depart into the wilderness” to a “land of promise . . . which
is choice above all other lands” (1 Ne. 2:2, 20). The life of
a faithful Latter-day Saint re-enacts these epic escapes of Abraham,
Moses, and Lehi. We too are called on to come out of Babylon
and to “take our journey” back to the presence of our Heavenly
Father. From the example of Nephi, we can learn how to take the
journey of life successfully.
Nephi
wanted his readers (us) to know about the challenges of his
journey
to the Promised Land because he knew it was a story of the Lord’s
deliverance that would give us courage. He recognized the pattern
of the Lord’s dealings with his people and knew that the story
of his small family re-enacted a similar exodus: that of the
children of Israel from Egypt. “Quite probably, Nephi . . .
consciously wrote his account of the wilderness journey in a
way that would remind the reader of the Exodus of the children
of Israel from Egypt.” We have the privilege
of drawing strength from Nephi’s example of obedience, faith,
and courage.
Pointing the Way
When
Lehi’s
family was at last ready to take their journey into the wilderness,
Lehi awoke to find “upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship
. . . and within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed
the way whither we should go” (1 Ne. 16:10). The Lord never
leaves his faithful children without direction. The instrument
not only pointed the way, but was full of writing “which was
plain to be read, which did give us understanding concerning
the ways of the Lord; and it was written and changed from time
to time, according to the faith and diligence which we gave unto
it” (1 Ne. 16:28-29). The ball’s instructions eased the path
by leading them “in the more fertile parts of the wilderness” (1
Ne. 16:16).
As
we face our own journeys through life, we should keep in mind
the symbolic
importance of Lehi’s compass, known to them as the Liahona. Alma
likens the instrument to the scriptures and the words of the
prophets: “It is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ,
which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as
it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would
point unto them a straight course to the promised land” (Alma
37:44).
Alma
notes that when the Lehites were “slothful and forgot to exercise their
faith and diligence” the director ceased working “and they did
not progress in their journey; therefore they tarried in the
wilderness, or did not travel a direct course” (Alma 37:41-42).
We are thus reminded that if we study faithfully the word of
God and diligently keep it, the Lord will guide our steps.
Wading Through Much Affliction
Throughout
the journey, the family of Lehi struggled with hunger, death,
and
dissension. “We did travel and wade through much affliction in
the wilderness,” Nephi writes. I have been to the Arabian Peninsula
where Nephi journeyed and have seen firsthand how desolate that
land can be. To take families through the mountains and deserts
must have been nigh impossible. Starvation threatened when Nephi
and his brothers lost the use of their metal bows. No longer
able to hunt game, “they did suffer much for the want of food.”
The
response of Laman and Lemuel, Nephi’s brothers, was to take counsel of
despair. They “did begin to murmur exceedingly . . . against
the Lord.” Even Lehi began to murmur. Nephi, on the other hand,
faced the brutal reality of their situation and did what he could. “I
did make out of wood a bow, and out of a straight stick, an arrow:
wherefore, I did arm myself with a bow and an arrow, with a sling
and with stones. And I said unto my father: Whither shall I go
to obtain food?” (1 Ne. 16:23). By the Lord’s direction and his
own efforts, Nephi was able to find the food his family needed.
The
death of Ishmael caused real sorrow to his daughters, who did “mourn exceedingly,” and
they also began to murmur. “Our father is dead; yea, and we have
wandered much in the wilderness, and we have suffered much affliction,
hunger, thirst, and fatigue” (1 Ne. 16:35). The women also had
to bear children in the wilderness. These difficulties must
have been overwhelming.
Worse
than the physical hardship and loss were the cruel dissensions
that plagued
the family. Laman and Lemuel were not only rebellious but murderous.
They longed for the ease and comfort of the world. They were
lazy, refusing to work with Nephi in building the ship. They
were insulting (“our brother is a fool”) and treacherous (“behold,
let us slay our father, and also our brother Nephi”). In their
carousing on the ship, they bound Nephi with cords and cruelly
mistreated the rest of the family.
Laman
and Lemuel typify the cynical and destructive forces at work
in our world.
Their view of people of faith? “Led away by the foolish imaginations
of [their] hearts.” Their definition of happiness? “We might
have enjoyed our possessions and the land of our inheritance;
yea, and we might have been happy.” Their approach to the challenges
of life? “ ”My brethren did complain against me, and were desirous
that they might not labor.”
As
we view the world around us sinking more and more under the
tide of sin,
we recognize the “Laman-and-Lemuel” syndrome among many. They
become desensitized to truth and virtue. They become “past feeling,” unable
to feel the influence of the Spirit in their lives (1 Ne. 17:45).
Hearkening to the Truth
Nephi’s
response to these nearly overwhelming challenges was an unwavering
faith
in the Lord and obedience to his instructions.
“Do you believe
that our fathers, who were the children of Israel, would have
been led away out of the hands of the Egyptians if they had not
hearkened unto the words of the Lord? “ Thus Nephi begins his
remarkable discourse on Exodus, likening the history of Israel’s
wanderings to the situation of Lehi’s family (1 Ne. 17:23-43).
We are in the same position, he seems to say to his brothers. “Do
ye suppose that they would have been led out of bondage, if the
Lord had not commanded Moses that he should lead them?”
The
message is clear: bondage awaits those who fail to follow the
Lord’s
prophets. Spiritual bondage is the inevitable result when we
do not “hearken unto the words of the Lord.”
“By his word
the waters of the Red Sea were divided . . . the Egyptians were
drowned in the Red Sea, who were the armies of Pharaoh.” The
Lord will not allow the forces of evil to overtake and destroy
those who are faithful.
“Ye also know
that they were fed with manna in the wilderness . . . there came
forth water, that the children of Israel might quench their thirst.” The
Lord provides spiritual as well as physical sustenance to us
freely if we follow his commandments.
The
Lord led them by day and gave light to them by night, “doing all things
for them which were expedient for man to receive.” The faithful
may count on the Lord’s guidance at every moment. We receive
from his hand whatever is “expedient” for us; in other words,
the blessings we receive are specifically tailored to help us
progress in the Lord’s own way. Ultimately, he “leadeth away
the righteous into precious lands,” emblematic of the celestial
kingdom of God (1 Ne. 17:30, 38).
But
the family of Israel, like Laman and Lemuel, had refused again
and again
to hearken. “They hardened their hearts and blinded their minds,
and reviled against Moses and against the true and living God
. . . even as ye have.” And the day of destruction awaits, Nephi
warns. Speaking of the Jews at Jerusalem, Nephi declares that “the
time has come that they have become wicked, yea, nearly unto
ripeness . . . they must be destroyed, save a few only, who shall
be led away into captivity” (1 Ne. 17:42-43).
Nephi’s exhortation
that we should “liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be
for our profit and learning” (1 Ne. 19:23), is sobering when
we consider the parallels between our own situation and Lehi’s. We
too lie under the shadow of Babylon. Like the Jews at Jerusalem
in Lehi’s day, the world nervously goes about its business without
regard to the word of the Lord. “They set him at naught, and
hearken not to the voice of his counsels” (1 Ne. 19:7).
Nevertheless,
because “he loved our fathers, and he covenanted with them .
. . and he remember[s] the covenants which he had made,” the “God
of our fathers . . . yieldeth himself . . . to be lifted up .
. . and to be crucified.” And he shall surely visit all the
house of Israel in our day, “some with his voice, because of
their righteousness, unto their great joy and salvation, and
others with the thunderings and lightnings of his power.”
Like
Lehi, we have been commanded to separate ourselves spiritually
from the
world to escape the bondage of sin. Like Lehi, we each have a
journey to take with our families either into the “precious land” of
our Father’s kingdom or into captivity and death.
Our
destiny is entirely our choice. We can choose to hearken or
not. We can
choose as Nephi did to listen to the Lord and be preserved by
his power, or to choose as Laman and Lemuel did to harden our
hearts. Both paths are hard, but while one leads to darkness
and futility, the other leads to the light. The path that leads
to the Savior, although challenging at times, is ultimately the
path of “simpleness and easiness,” and our labor is to look to
Christ and live (1 Ne. 17:41).
Notes:
Szink, Terrence L. “Nephi and the Exodus.” In Rediscovering
the Book of Mormon, John L. Sorenson and Melvin J. Thorne,
eds., Deseret Book, 1991, p. 38.
