Are you Nephi or are you Laman and Lemuel?
My brain is a little weird, so that explains this blog.
In 1 Nephi 1:2-3 it says, “And it came to pass that the Lord commanded my father, even in a dream, that he should take his family and depart into the wilderness. And it came to pass that he was obedient unto the word of the Lord, wherefore he did as the Lord commanded him.”
So, here’s what I’m wondering as I’m sitting on the tarmac in Grand Junction, Colorado waiting for my plane to return to its original destination, which was Salt Lake City, Utah. (That’s a whole other story!) My brain starts to wander and the thought crosses my mind, “What would I do if my husband or father was commanded to flee into the wilderness? Would I drop everything, pack only what we needed and follow him?” This thought was precipitated by another question my brother asked of me and I have had cause to ponder this with way too much time on my hands and no laptop in sight.
But really, would I be Nephi or Laman and Lemuel. I would hope I would follow the course of action Nephi took. My heart believes I would but I can’t really know until I am in that situation. So I look around my home at my thousands of books and other beloved items and wonder, “Could I really do it?” I believe I could if I set my head straight right now.
In other words, things are just things. The things of value in this world are family and God. That would pretty much be it – everything else is temporal and can literally be lived without, even toilet paper (although I question that one pretty vigorously.) So what would I do to be sure, if the time came, I could follow?
Here’s my list of Must Do’s in case that day ever comes:
1. Pray constantly for a humble and accepting heart. Pray constantly for inspiration and guidance. Listen, listen, listen.
2. Should this command come by way of my husband or father, I would go to a quiet area of the house and pray for my own confirmation.
3. Should I receive this confirmation I would ask for health, strength, patience and perseverance. (I’m pretty sure I’d need these things if I had to head into the wilderness.)
4. I’d pack the necessities, include my scriptures and a few select books to take with me (yes, I would have built my trusty wagon or handcart by that point [Note to self: Get plans on how to build wagon or handcart.]). Included in my necessities would be a year’s supply of chocolate (really, it’s necessary) and peanuts, in order to counteract the effect of that much chocolate.
5. Last, but certainly not least, I would trust completely and implicitly in the Lord. So I better get started doing that now.
I have some little distance to go before I’d be ready to flee into the wilderness. Maybe it’s time to start my attitude adjustment now. For I intend to be as Nephi of old.