I'm excited to be moving on to 2 Nephi, and I love this first chapter. Lehi's family has arrived in the promised land, and Nephi has been trying to teach his brothers and their families... maybe one last effort to change their hearts before he takes off on his own? Well, Lehi sure puts in his last effort before he passes away. He basically says, wake up already!! Stop being weighed down and blinded by the heavy chains of sin! Get up and dust off your clothes and get your butts in gear already!! Very bold... and yet I can almost see the tenderness in the eyes of Lehi as he is begging his sons, whom he still loves so much, his body weary with worry and age. I love when Nephi says "he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent," (1 Ne 8:37), and in this chapter when Lehi says "hear the words of a trembling parent," it helps me picture the love and concern Lehi had for his undeserving sons. And how much more does Heavenly Father love us, even when we make mistakes... and desire for us to come back to Him! Here are my fav verses of the chapter...
13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.
14 Awake! and arise from the dust, and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the eway of all the earth.
23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of arighteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.
24 Rebel no more against your brother, whose views have been glorious, and who hath kept the commandments from the time that we left Jerusalem; and who hath been an instrument in the hands of God, in bringing us forth into the land of promise; for were it not for him, we must have perished with hunger in the wilderness; nevertheless, ye sought to take away his life; yea, and he hath suffered much sorrow because of you.
25 And I exceedingly fear and tremble because of you, lest he shall suffer again; for behold, ye have accused him that he sought power and authority over you; but I know that he hath not sought for power nor authority over you, but he hath sought the glory of God, and your own eternal welfare.
26 And ye have murmured because he hath been plain unto you. Ye say that he hath used sharpness; ye say that he hath been angry with you; but behold, his sharpness was the sharpness of the power of the word of God, which was in him; and that which ye call anger was the truth, according to that which is in God, which he could not restrain, manifesting boldly concerning your iniquities.
I think we can all relate, pleading with our children. The deep desire we have for them to really understand the gospel, to love it the way we do, to make right decisions, without us making them for them! Its sometimes hard to let our kids make their own choices, especially when they fail. I know it is for me! Some kids more than others, I just want to take them by the hand and show (or tell!) them exactly what to do!! Ugh. I tried it, they don't listen. I have to let go more. Even though I don't wanna.
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