book of mormon book club: first nephi series, chapter two

 

1 Nephi, Chapter 2: Into the Wilderness

Read Chapter 2 verses 1-5

 

The fact that people are trying to kill you is pretty good motivation to pack your bags, but even so, can you imagine!? As a woman I like to think of this through the point-of-view of Sariah. What would I do if my husband woke up one morning and said, “Pack up the food and toilet paper (I count toilet paper as a necessary provision). I’m going to get the tent and sleeping bags. We’re leaving our house, heading for the woods!” I think I’d be saying, “For how long?” –I’m super reasonable, and go-with-the-flow you see. So, my number one question would be: for how long? The answer to that question (forever, my Sweets) would be the one that would instantly spark a series of strong protests (aka kicking and screaming). I might even go as far as to tell him something along the lines of, “Have fun without me!”

 I like my city life. I do. When I’d finish my ranting –my husband always, with great patience, waits for me to finish my ranting- he’d calmly tell me that this wasn’t some hair-brained idea of his, that it was in fact a commandment of the Lord. Then, then I’d take all of thirty seconds to find a quiet place to hit my knees –and if I’m being honest with you, I’d likely take my complaining straight to the Lord. He’d also patiently wait for my ranting heart to calm, and then he’d confirm the truth to me, in his own time, in his own way.

 

How would you feel? What would your reaction be?

 

Who all was in this original group leaving Jerusalem? List them off:

 

Read verses 6-8.

     The Lord said, “Depart into the wilderness.” Apparently three days out of Jerusalem was the wilderness.

 

Do you think Lehi thought his traveling was done? Why or why not?

 

      I have to tell you, this made me laugh. Perhaps you noted yesterday that Nephi and his family were city-people, born and raised? Maybe you didn’t. I’ve overlooked this every other time I’ve read this book –and I have read it a lot. But I can so picture just how out of their comfort zones they must have been to be moving further and further away from everything that was normal and convenient for them.

          I feel I can relate to them just a teensy bit because I am a city-girl born and bred. I’m used to heavy traffic, over-sized shopping centers, and being able to find virtually anything I need within half of an hour. My husband, however, is a country-boy born and bred. When he took me “home” for the first time, to meet his parents, I seriously thought I had entered another country. So I can just imagine poor Sariah at this point.

          Her husband has parked their family in the middle of nowhere. She was probably thinking, now what? How do we catch fish again? Where am I going to get our clothing? Our shoes? Who am I going to talk to out here in this wilderness?

 

Go back to verse 4 for a second.

 

What did they leave behind?

 

I get the idea this was a family used to living a certain lifestyle that had definitely come to an abrupt end. Gold, silver, and precious things left behind. I wonder if suddenly a marketplace in walking distance, and a well to draw water from, and a comfortable place to sleep had suddenly become “precious things.”

          Top it all off with the well-established fact that women need other women and here is Sariah –with her husband, and her four sons, and not another woman to talk to in the whole world. Put yourself there for a second. Anyone else suddenly feel intensely lonely?

          God gives us strength my Sisters, strength to do His will, strength beyond our own. He truly does.

 

Let’s read verses 9-14.

 

Is anyone else guilty of murmuring? I complain, almost daily, about having to scrape Cheerios off my floor. Note: Food I have in overabundance, a floor in a house that I get to live in, that I have the ability to clean. See all the blessings I overlook and disregard when I complain? If complaining isn’t of the Devil, it is certainly a card he loves to watch us play.

I’m going to stop complaining about having to sweep and mop my floors.

 

What are you going to stop complaining about? –That is, if you are a complainer.

 

Read verse 15.

 

Why do you think this was included as a verse?

 

Read verses 16-19.

What else do we learn about Nephi here?

 

What do we learn about prayer?

 

 

Have I sought Him diligently with lowliness of heart?

 

Verses 19-24 Nephi is in prayer with the Lord, what is he told?

 

19.

 

 

 

20.

 

 

(What does it say about the Promised Land?)

 

 

21.

 

22.

 

23.

 

Circle the word ‘except’ and turn to D&C 82:10. Write that verse out below:

 

 

 

 

24.

 

 

How does verse 22 apply to you?

 

How do scourges (trials, temptations) stir us up to remembrance of the Lord and His promise?

 

What is scourging your life at the moment? Are you remembering?

 

 

 

 

I imagine Sariah laying on her blanket that first night in the wilderness, soaking her pillow with tears, her heart literally aching in her chest. I bet her faith was wavering –at least a little, maybe a lot. In the end though, she did not fail her faith, and it did not fail her. At some point or another, maybe even still a little mad about what was being required of her, she turned her heart to the Lord, and He carried her.

If she could stand among us now, right now, I’m willing to bet she’d tell us Sister to Sister that life is not easy. There are a lot of difficult challenges to face and mountains to climb. We will be asked to do more than we think we can possibly handle, but the Lord’s hand is upon us. It is always there, lifting and sustaining. If we are looking for it, we will see it. We will have heartbreaks and sorrows, but it doesn’t mean we can’t also have JOY, deep and abiding joy. Our Savior knows us personally, He loves us, and His promises are sure. Be willing.