I often think about how this blog should be written with others in mind, meaning that I put less that is personal in here. But I can't help but record the things that come to mind as I read and ponder.
Nephi comments that they are descendants of Joseph, which we understood from earlier verses. He comments also that Laban comes down through the same lines. For this reason Laban and his fathers had the plates.
The cross-references lead us to verses about the tribes of Israel and specifically about how Ephraim and Manasseh were the direct recipients of the blessing Joseph inherited. They were commanded to keep records. The records teach of the faith and experiences of the children of Israel. They cover the commandments and testaments received through Moses. They touch on those were are recorded as members of the church and those who are blotted out. In many cases the references were for the keeping of the records related to revelations and visions received by the prophets. How valuable is it for us to keep records of the times that we see the hand of the Lord in our lives.
As I read 1 Nephi 5 again I realized that Sariah had three things weighing on her mind related to all these hard things she had been asked to do. 1. You've taken us to the wilderness and caused us to leave behind our wealth and comfort. 2. You've sent off our sons and since they aren't back yet, are they not dead? 3. With out their help we are old and will probably die in the wilderness. This is what she says in verse 2. Then in verse 5 we learn of Lehi's response. Response to point 1: We have been led away from Jerusalem and our wealth because we are headed to a land of 'promise'. There will be temporal value in the land where they end up. Response to point 2: Our sons are not dead, God would not do that, he has promised us help when we keep his commandments and retrieving the plates is one of his commandments. They will be delivered from Laban. (Remember Lehi knows the danger is not in the wilderness but in Laban and his sword and men.) Response to point 3: If I had stayed in Jerusalem, I would have been killed. Trouble was mounting against me and those of the ministry. And, Jerusalem will be destroyed. We are not in the wilderness to be destroyed but to be preserved. This is the goodness of god that he had seen in vision.
In verse 8 she then confirms that she now knows of a surety that these things he testified before and after she complained were true.
Nephi comments that they are descendants of Joseph, which we understood from earlier verses. He comments also that Laban comes down through the same lines. For this reason Laban and his fathers had the plates.
The cross-references lead us to verses about the tribes of Israel and specifically about how Ephraim and Manasseh were the direct recipients of the blessing Joseph inherited. They were commanded to keep records. The records teach of the faith and experiences of the children of Israel. They cover the commandments and testaments received through Moses. They touch on those were are recorded as members of the church and those who are blotted out. In many cases the references were for the keeping of the records related to revelations and visions received by the prophets. How valuable is it for us to keep records of the times that we see the hand of the Lord in our lives.
As I read 1 Nephi 5 again I realized that Sariah had three things weighing on her mind related to all these hard things she had been asked to do. 1. You've taken us to the wilderness and caused us to leave behind our wealth and comfort. 2. You've sent off our sons and since they aren't back yet, are they not dead? 3. With out their help we are old and will probably die in the wilderness. This is what she says in verse 2. Then in verse 5 we learn of Lehi's response. Response to point 1: We have been led away from Jerusalem and our wealth because we are headed to a land of 'promise'. There will be temporal value in the land where they end up. Response to point 2: Our sons are not dead, God would not do that, he has promised us help when we keep his commandments and retrieving the plates is one of his commandments. They will be delivered from Laban. (Remember Lehi knows the danger is not in the wilderness but in Laban and his sword and men.) Response to point 3: If I had stayed in Jerusalem, I would have been killed. Trouble was mounting against me and those of the ministry. And, Jerusalem will be destroyed. We are not in the wilderness to be destroyed but to be preserved. This is the goodness of god that he had seen in vision.
In verse 8 she then confirms that she now knows of a surety that these things he testified before and after she complained were true.
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