Lehi has obtained the plates of brass and, moved upon by the spirit, prophesied that the writing thereon would go to his descendants. Nephi and his brothers have settled back in to their tents and think that from now on, they’ll be traveling further into the wilderness.
1. And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of prophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take daughters to wife, that they might raise up seed unto the Lord in the land of promise.
2. And it came to pass that the Lord commanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, and bring down Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.
I can’t help but wonder how the boys felt about being sent to Jerusalem, again. They’ve already been back once at the peril of their lives, and to be sent back again must have caused some contention in the family. The scripture doesn’t state how they felt about returning – I wonder if the promise of pretty girls may have made the trip seem more appealing.
I’ve heard some wonder – why didn’t they just take the girls and the plates with them when they fled in the first place? I believe there are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, when they originally left, Lehi’s life was in danger. They had very little time to gather their things and leave, and there wasn’t time to seek out the girls and get the plates. Secondly, the Lord is testing their determination and desire to be obedient.
3. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did again, with my brethren, go forth into the wilderness to go up to Jerusalem.
4. And it came to pass that we went up unto the house of Ishmael, and we did gain favor in the sight of Ishmael, insomuch that we did speak unto him the words of the Lord.
5. And it came to pass that the Lord did soften the heart of Ishmael, and also his household, insomuch that they took their journey with us down into the wilderness to the tent of our father.
It’s obvious from the way these verses are stated that Lehi’s family was already acquainted with Ishmael’s family and that Lehi knew Ishmael would be a good ally. I imagine it must have seemed odd to Ishmael to have the sons of Lehi suddenly arrive on his doorstep, asking him to leave behind everything he owned and come live in the wilderness. The Spirit of the Lord spoke to Ishmael’s heart and told him that this was the right thing to do, so with nearly as much speed as Lehi’s family had packed to leave, so did Ishmael’s.
From today’s reading: Do we ever feel like the things we’re told to do are just too hard, too inconvenient? What are some ways that we can make ourselves receptive to the Spirit so we’ll know the truthfulness of the commandments we’ve been given?
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