What would you say to your children if you knew you were going to die?
What words of wisdom would you leave?
What kind of legacy would you like to instill in them?
These sobering thoughts must have caused Lehi great concern. His recalcitrant sons gave him great fear - what would become of them after he was gone? With Lehi out of the picture, would his sons stay true to what they had felt and knew to be true? Would they stay close to the Lord or would they leave Him? Lehi, of course, being the prophet knew what was to come. He spoke to them extensively about rising from the dust and being men, shaking of the chains that would hold them down, and listening to the Spirit's gentle promptings. This, of course, they did not do. Lehi knew they wouldn't, but he felt it incumbent on himself to tell them one last time that they should fulfill their duty.
Father Lehi left an indelible mark on his sons. We don't have the words of Lehi to Nephi. Some things are just too personal and sacred to write. Or perhaps Lehi's blessing to Nephi was not even verbal - just the knowing, loving exchange that is possible between two souls who have experienced much together and who have become very close to being one.
We do have Lehi's final instructions to his two youngest sons - Jacob and Joseph. To Jacob, who would assume the mantle of leadership once Nephi was unable, he gave counsel regarding the state of man and the opposition which must exist in the world. This is a very difficult concept for people to grasp - why would a loving God allow evil into the world? Why is there opposition, difficulty, despair, misery? Lehi says that if these things were not there could be no goodness, peace, happiness, and exaltation - in short, there would be no God. The two parts make up a great whole, and that whole implies the majesty and glory of God Himself. Jacob, having seen the opposition that existed in his own family, must have had great concerns about these things. He was assured by Lehi (and this is probably my favorite scripture ever) - All things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. What power! What assurance! What incredible and indescribable joy that thought gives! We are not drifting on a sea of doubt and fear, helmless, hopeless, and aimless. We are lead by a loving Heavenly Father who will bring all things to our benefit and ultimate success. We are in His loving watch care, and we will overcome!
Then he speaks to Joseph. He talks extensively about a prophecy that was given to the young boy's namesake - Joseph the son of Jacob - about another Joseph. This one was Joseph Smith. Imagine you are Joseph and your work translating the Book of Mormon is almost complete. You come across this passage and you start to realize that Lehi is talking about you, using grand and marvelous language like "choice seer" and "power" to confound false doctrines... And then you read that this seer would be named Joseph and that he would be named after his father (Joseph Smith was, in fact, named after his father - Joseph Smith, Sr.). I think that would have gone a long way toward making me feel like what I was doing was valid, even foreordained. What a miraculous thing this Book is!
Comments