1 Nephi 18 & 19- Remember!

I really love reading scriptures online and listening to them at the same time. Maybe absorbing the scriptures with 2 of my senses helps me focus better. :)

I have to say, I am amazed that once again Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael have forgotten. How long could it have been since they helped Nephi finish the boat and received several witnesses that this was the Lord's work? I mean they are on the boat in this chapter after all, and they've already forgotten! I guess I have been guilty of forgetting though, too. Maybe not to the same degree as these guys, but so many nights in my prayer I ask Heavenly Father to forgive me for the same things over and over! Like being impatient with my kids. Since hindsight is 20/20, its always easy for me at bedtime to see the mistakes I made during the day. And so easy for me to see the mistakes of these guys when several months are summarized in a few short verses. I guess thats what is so great about the scriptures... we can learn from others mistakes by relating them to our lives. Which is precisely what Nephi encourages us to do in 19:23. He says "I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning." I wonder if he realized people would be doing the same thing about his writings? I'll bet he didn't.

Nephi sure did a great job of relating the scriptures to his own life. I found myself amazed in chapter 18 at how patient he was with his brothers after they tied him up for 4 days, his wrists and ankles swelling all the while, and then watching the worry and extreme stress of his parents, younger brothers Jacob and Joseph, his wife and children. I'm sure that was a very hard thing to watch. And yet he didn't complain. How??? How could he not rebuke his brothers and command them to untie him? How did he have so much wisdom and patience to realize "the Lord did suffer it that He might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word, which He had spoken concerning the wicked" ? How did he not just get ticked off and feel sorry for himself? I sure would have. But then when I read chapter 19, v 9 specifically, I realized how he suffered these things with so much patience. He truly likened the scriptures unto himself when he related to the Saviors sufferings. "And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men." He must have realized, when being tied up that what he was going through was nothing compared to what the Lord would go through. I think I will try to remember Nephi the next time I feel sorry for myself because someone hurt my feelings, or my husband doesn't let me use his iPod (wink wink honey), or I feel misunderstood. I sometimes have a hard time forgiving people when they do things I feel are intentional and upsetting... but I think Nephi realized that holding on to anger or feeling sorry for himself and not forgiving won't help any when trying to stay close to the Lord. I mean, what would have happened if Nephi backlashed when his brothers set him free, or even stayed a little angry at them? Would the Liahona have worked? I highly doubt it. And then they would have drowned in the depths of the sea. I think I need to ponder on how my holding onto to anger, hurt and resentment is affecting my family's progression. Sometimes I think "well, I deserve to be angry" or "they deserve me being angry at them." But Nephi, seeing the bigger picture, didn't worry about those petty things. I hope I can see the bigger picture, too.