1 Nephi 5
1 Nephi 5
First of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has commented this far. I have learned so much already and look forward more learning!
Onto chapter 5...
I think sometimes Sariah gets a bad rap for complaining, like she was less faithful than the others (I actually just read on another blog this morning that she was 'whining.' Grr!) Here's something I was thinking about today:
Lehi received direct communication from the Lord giving him direction. Nephi received direct communication from angels that what he was doing was right.
As far as we know, Sariah didn't get any of that. But still, she followed and obeyed.
Her obedience thus far wasn't based on some giant, divine experience, but on her already strong faith in the Lord - and her husband. To me, that is impressive. To give up all that she had and follower her husband - a newly appointed prophet - and go out into the wilderness. Then, to let her sons go back there to retrieve the brass plates from a man that she knew was bad. She did all this without complaining.
Remember, Lehi was out doing his business, and then went to bed. Imagine their conversation when he awoke.
Lehi: Uh, honey, the Lord called me to be a prophet, so instead of going to work today I'm going to go out there in front of all our friend- and our enemies- and call them to repentance. K?
Sariah: Yes, dear. Just wear your heavy robe. It's chilly this morning.
Then they tried to kill him. So, he goes to bed, wakes up the next morning and...
Lehi: Ummm, honey? The Lord says we need to pack up and leave our nice home and all our nice things today, load the camels and take off into the dry, arid wilderness to never return. Otherwise they will kill me.
Sariah: Yes, dear.
Then they leave most everything behind- and they had a lot of riches to leave behind. She didn't say good-by to her extended family or friends, she didn't take a maid or a cook. She packed the few necessities that they could carry and followed her husband out of Jerusalem. Still no record of her complaining.
Then, Lehi has another dream: Honey, our boys need to walk three weeks back to Jerusalem- the place I said would be destroyed - to get some brass plates from Laban. You know, the guy that has his own army and drinks a lot.
Sariah: Yes, dear.
Tell me that is not a woman of faith! And finally, after all that, and then her sons seemingly don't return, she says she breaks down in fear and frustration, and probably utter exhaustion.
I don't fault her at all.
Then, Lehi bears testimony to her, and she is comforted once again. No angels, no visions, no dreams. Just her faith.
Then when her sons return, her fears and concerns subsided and her joy was full and she was 'comforted.' Whether it was by their return, or she received comfort through the Holy Ghost, it doesn't say (I'd like to think it's the latter.) But, that was all she needed- then she remained solid the rest of her life as she hung out in the wilderness for another 8 years, giving birth and trying to stop her kids from bickering, took a forever-long boat ride where her kids literally tried to kill each other, landed on a completely different continent, helped birth grandchildren, learned to live off a new land, and on and on.
In my book, Sariah is pretty much amazing. Heck, I complained when our church time changed from 11:00am to 9:00am. Yes, Sariah is my hero.
Anyway- enough about her... there is so much other good stuff in this chapter to discuss!
I love my scriptures. I know I would be heartbroken if I weren't able to read them. That's pretty much their situation until the boys went back and obtained them. (We also can't forget the family history contained in them, too!)
They immediately gave thanks and celebrated. Then, Lehi began to prophesy concerning the plates, but also about their seed. It doesn't say more that that- but how comforting it must have been for them to hear at least, in part, their legacy, to know that through their obedience future generations will be blessed...even down to us today. Pretty cool, I think.
QUESTION TO PONDER: In verse 6 we read that Sariah was comforted by Lehi's testimony. How can us bearing our testimony to others bring them comfort?
First of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has commented this far. I have learned so much already and look forward more learning!
Onto chapter 5...
I think sometimes Sariah gets a bad rap for complaining, like she was less faithful than the others (I actually just read on another blog this morning that she was 'whining.' Grr!) Here's something I was thinking about today:
Lehi received direct communication from the Lord giving him direction. Nephi received direct communication from angels that what he was doing was right.
As far as we know, Sariah didn't get any of that. But still, she followed and obeyed.
Her obedience thus far wasn't based on some giant, divine experience, but on her already strong faith in the Lord - and her husband. To me, that is impressive. To give up all that she had and follower her husband - a newly appointed prophet - and go out into the wilderness. Then, to let her sons go back there to retrieve the brass plates from a man that she knew was bad. She did all this without complaining.
Remember, Lehi was out doing his business, and then went to bed. Imagine their conversation when he awoke.
Lehi: Uh, honey, the Lord called me to be a prophet, so instead of going to work today I'm going to go out there in front of all our friend- and our enemies- and call them to repentance. K?
Sariah: Yes, dear. Just wear your heavy robe. It's chilly this morning.
Lehi: Ummm, honey? The Lord says we need to pack up and leave our nice home and all our nice things today, load the camels and take off into the dry, arid wilderness to never return. Otherwise they will kill me.
Sariah: Yes, dear.
Then, Lehi has another dream: Honey, our boys need to walk three weeks back to Jerusalem- the place I said would be destroyed - to get some brass plates from Laban. You know, the guy that has his own army and drinks a lot.
Sariah: Yes, dear.
Tell me that is not a woman of faith! And finally, after all that, and then her sons seemingly don't return, she says she breaks down in fear and frustration, and probably utter exhaustion.
I don't fault her at all.
Then, Lehi bears testimony to her, and she is comforted once again. No angels, no visions, no dreams. Just her faith.
Then when her sons return, her fears and concerns subsided and her joy was full and she was 'comforted.' Whether it was by their return, or she received comfort through the Holy Ghost, it doesn't say (I'd like to think it's the latter.) But, that was all she needed- then she remained solid the rest of her life as she hung out in the wilderness for another 8 years, giving birth and trying to stop her kids from bickering, took a forever-long boat ride where her kids literally tried to kill each other, landed on a completely different continent, helped birth grandchildren, learned to live off a new land, and on and on.
In my book, Sariah is pretty much amazing. Heck, I complained when our church time changed from 11:00am to 9:00am. Yes, Sariah is my hero.
Anyway- enough about her... there is so much other good stuff in this chapter to discuss!
I love my scriptures. I know I would be heartbroken if I weren't able to read them. That's pretty much their situation until the boys went back and obtained them. (We also can't forget the family history contained in them, too!)
They immediately gave thanks and celebrated. Then, Lehi began to prophesy concerning the plates, but also about their seed. It doesn't say more that that- but how comforting it must have been for them to hear at least, in part, their legacy, to know that through their obedience future generations will be blessed...even down to us today. Pretty cool, I think.
QUESTION TO PONDER: In verse 6 we read that Sariah was comforted by Lehi's testimony. How can us bearing our testimony to others bring them comfort?
Disclaimer: In no way, shape, or form am I a scriptorian, nor can I always put my spiritual feelings into words easily. Please keep this in mind as you read my comments. I appreciate that you follow the Spirit, Michelle, and are able to convey the meaning of my words when necessary. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOkay, this is one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful for Lehi’s example of a loving husband, a true man of God. He did not get angry or upset at Sariah when she complained (understandably so) that he is a visionary man. He knew she was worried about their sons. Instead of escalating her concerns or compounding them by reacting angrily to her complaining, he comforted her. Reading about his depth of love for her brings tears to my eyes. He sets a wonderful example of how a loving and understanding husband (and I might add wife) should respond to a spouse in moments of complaining (some might call it expressing concern). Rather than responding to the way she said the words, he lovingly understood the meaning behind her words…and he comforted her.
Sariah and Lehi expressed great joy at the safe return of their sons. The first thing they did was to offer thanks in the form of sacrifice and burnt offerings to our Father in Heaven. They offered thanks even before Lehi really looked at the brass plates… something he surely was eager to do. We learn a lot about Lehi in these first few chapters of the Book of Mormon. He sets a wonderful example of righteousness, obedience, sacrifice, love and respect for his spouse, love of his children, gratitude for a loving Heavenly Father, etc.
Lavinda, you are better than a scriptorian. You are a faithtorian. I've known you for twenty years now, and your faith has never ceased to amaze me. The beautiful thing is that you have passed that along to your beautiful family. Especially your daughter - another amazing woman.
DeleteI love, love your perspective on Lehi. I was so focused on defending and admiring Sariah that I overlooked the beauty and love on his part. Thank you for opening my eyes to that. See, this is why I love studying with others!! I am a better person because of you :)
First- Sariah was human. Just like us. She had her moments of doubt and even a little anger while in the midst of the trial. Just like us. But in the end, she could see the hand of the Lord as they all worked through the rough spot. Just like we can.
ReplyDeleteSecond- bearing testimonies- we can give and receive comfort through the testimony of others because the spirit can reach out and touch our hearts. There have been times in my life when I have had to consciously say- I don't have a testimony of that, but I will have faith based on yours until I get my own. And... I have had to tell others that as well. Just believe because I believe until you get there yourself.
You are right. I was teaching my gospel principles class yesterday, and we talked about being perfect. I explained to them that we are a WIP. Stands for Work In Progress. But, the more I thought about it, the more I liked a different definition: Work In Perfection. She wavered a bit, but came to. That's the story of our lives, isn't it? But we mustn't lost hope- because right now isn't the end. We are a WIP, and God has every intention of leading us, helping us and giving us as many opportunities to repent as we need to reach that perfection. (I might just use that on my other blog!!)
DeleteI love what you say about testimonies, too. We need to have our own- to stand on our own too feet, per se. But- the spiritual crutch of another's testimony can keep us standing until we retain our strength.
I also find it interesting that when her sons returned, Sariah testified, "Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness..." helping us to understand that she didn't have that knowledge before but acted by faith. This is another example of how afflictions can strengthen our testimony. Would Sariah ever really have know that Lehi's direction was inspired if she hadn't been so dependent upon God for the safe return of her sons?
ReplyDelete"And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." Mosiah 24:14
That's a great point Ben. I love that perspective! And thank you for adding the scripture reference. This is going in my BoM margin :)
DeleteLike the rest of you, this chapter is full of insights for me.
ReplyDelete-Sariah truly mourned because of us and supposed we had perished in the wilderness. Currently I have a couple children that I have the same concerns for. I can completely understand her travail, but my biggest lesson from this is; how many times Heavenly Father has mourned over me?
-He was a "visionary man", thank goodness. What a blessing to have a visionary man for a husband!
-"I have obtained a land of promise" we can too. Maybe these are a level of ordinance? The "land of promise" is refered to many times in the scriptures, sometimes to mean American or the Celestial kingdom, but Lehi says, "I have obtained". I want to spend some more time pondering this because I want to obtain.
-What great joy Lehi & Sariah had at their safe son's return, the scriptures and genealogy's! Lehi's family didn't even know the full worth until they read them in the wilderness and Lehi prophesied. How many times do I underestimate the worth of a blessing?
- It has been my experience that just "before" a great blessing there is a trial of my faith. I think that is what Sariah may have been going through...oh, can I relate...and maybe, just maybe it was that time of the month. Not to be flip-pied, but she is a woman too, of childbearing years:)
-Testimony's born consistently and stalwart are the ones that strengthen mine. A sweet, humble woman in our ward has the beautiful gift of sharing testimony. I feel safe and boyded up by hers. My dear husband's stalwart testimony, ever unwavering, strengthens mine. The apostles and prophets testimony at conference boyd me up and strengthen me greatly.
I felt a chill when I read your first question: how many times Heavenly Father has mourned over me? Puts me right back in the place of broken heart and contrite spirit where I belong.
DeleteI KNEW you'd comment on genealogy! I loved your testimony, by the way. Very inspiring! I don't have school on Thursdays anymore, so now I can come to your house and get busy!
I love all your insights. I have to agree completely with the whole trial of my faith before a big blessing experience. That happens to me, too.
I love this chapter! I love sariah, I love that she has her moment of weakness. when I read it, I can almost hear her sarcasm and frustration as she says, "you are a visionary man and you brought us into the wilderness and now our sons are no more and we are going to perish in the wilderness!" and then his not at all sarcastic reply, "i know I am a visionary man..." I love it! in that instance they remind me of this great couple I know, Paul and Patty - so wonderful! however, after reading your post, I find myself hearing Sariah with a slightly struggling tone to her words, "you are a visionary man, but I didn't get visions of what we were supposed to be doing, I just have to trust you, and here, in the wilderness, with our kids quite possibly dead, I'm having a hard time trusting you/the lord/having faith!" I get that. That would be tough! thanks AGAIN, for helping me see this chapter through another lens!
ReplyDeleteThank you! You are simply fun! -Although I do miss the simply fungal :)
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