Day 28: June 29, 2011

1 Nephi Chapter 8

Verses 24, 30

I really like the imagery that I can see in this verse. Lehi describes people who cling to the iron rod and press forward through the darkness so that they can arrive at the tree and partake of the fruit. I can see their dedication and their willingness to press forward even when times are hard. I have had some tough times in my life. Sometimes I find it very hard to keep moving along the path. Sometimes I think it would just be easier to just sit down and give up but I see how these individuals press forward despite the difficulty of the path. I can be like that! I can press forward and make it to where the Lord needs me to be. I just need to trust him more. Allow him to support me and guide me. He knows that I am going to struggle and have hard times and not going to want to keep going, but he needs me to try. I was talking to my bishop the other day about how the Lord is there to help us along. He is willing to give 99% to push us up the hill as long as that 1% that we give is our very best. Heavenly Father wants me to make it to the tree. I need to make the decision to keep pushing on and stop making excuse for why things are hard or why its ok for me to stop. If I want to be truly happy then I need to do everything possible to cling to the rod and to press forward even in the dark mists.

Verses 25-28

There we some individuals who became ashamed after partaking of the fruit because the people in the Great and Spacious Building were mocking. They became ashamed and fell away. Unfortunatly I can see times in my life where I have made choices that I knew were wrong or I did what was right but out of obligation and not out of obedience and then felt like the people around me were having more fun and were happier because they were carefree and didn’t have to worry about keeping the commandments. I am sad that I have felt that way. When I truly look at the whole picture I know that I want to be obedient and to partake of that fruit, even if it is not the popular thing to do. Sometimes we take the path that leads to immediate satisfaction rather than pushing forward on the path that will lead to eternal joy and peace. The world does a good job of distracting us from our ultimate goals and desires. They make things look glamorous and consequence free when in the end they will be miserable and bound by the chains that Satan placed upon them. That doesn’t sound like much fun to me.

Verse 33

Lehi says that there were a lot of people mocking and pointing at them from the great and spacious building but they heeded them not. Lehi didn’t care what they thought. He only cared about the Lord and his will for him. I need to stop caring so much what others may think about me. The only person whose opinion really matters is the Lord’s. I don’t need to live to impress anyone else. Anyone who would want me to live differently than how I know to be right is not someone that I need in my life and will just be a distraction from the goals and achievement that I wish to make.

Verse 37

I love the words in this verse. Lehi, who is concerned about the welfare of Laman and Lemuel, exhorts them will all the feelings of a tender parent. He loves them so much that he chastised them and exhorted them to do what is right. I know there have been times and there are times when my parents have suggested that I take a certain course that I might not have agreed with or didn’t want to do, but I know that they were trying to help me to be happy and to progress towards where I need to be. My mom and dad love me greatly and want nothing more than for me to be safe and happy. They have all the feelings of a tender parent.

Verse 38

I just wasn’t exactly sure the meaning of the word BADE as in Lehi BADE them to keep the commandments. I guess I had a general idea but I wanted to look it up. So in a dictionary BADE is the past tense of the word BID. BID means to beseech, to entreat or to issue and order or request to come or invite.