And it came to pass that when my father had read and seen many great and marvelous things, he did exclaim many things unto the Lord; such as: Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy, are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and, because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!
And after this manner was the language of my father in the praising of his God; for his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto him.
I am so grateful for the example of Lehi's attitude. We read what Lehi experiences in the visions he has. Yet, despite seeing the destruction of Jerusalem Lehi focuses on the positive and exclaims his joy because of God's power, goodness and mercy. The wording Nephi uses or claims from his father's record is that God's power, goodness and mercy are over ALL the inhabitants of the earth. This means to me that God has control and could control us by His power, but His goodness leaves us open to learning and His mercy heals and repairs any mistakes we could make in the process of growing. No wonder Lehi is filled with praise for his God. I am too!
Despite what he saw in the way of destruction he praised God for His construction of lives that dedicated themselves to Him. What a mighty, awesome, wonderful God we serve! And what two great examples we have to open
the Book of Mormon. Nephi praising God
despite the afflictions he suffered. He
mentions the afflictions but honors Father by denoting the favor he felt from Him! And here is Lehi, not discouraged by what he
has seen regarding the unrighteous but rejoicing because of what he’s seen for
the righteous.
I imagine that part of
that joy came from recognizing that if he did his part there would be
opportunities for the unrighteous to repent and claim the blessings of
righteousness. Why wouldn’t you rejoice
knowing that?
I think that’s why I’m so happy despite the wickedness that
surrounds me. First I understand and
utilize the Atonement and second I am also working for the salvation of others
by not keeping Christ to myself. So I
understand where Lehi is coming from. I
understand why his soul did rejoice and why his WHOLE heart was filled. And it is beautiful and amazing.
I am reminded of a song by Fred Hammond. It's called "Keep On Praisin'" and can be found here on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIeOx40UYY8. The song simply says that no matter what you're going through "Keep On Praisin'" because it's the Lord that will see you through. It's one of my favorite songs. Lehi's attitude reminds me of it even though the circumstances surrounding his life were much harsher. The things he saw were despairing but he didn't focus on that he focused on his faith and that brought him joy. He knew that joy personally as he had been saved from his own wretched ways at points in his life and I know he longed for others to feel of the same.
Thank You Father for the examples of these two men whose
lives were dedicated to Your purposes to bring forth righteousness. I anticipate being able to do the same… I know am doing the same, maybe not as Lehi did but it is according to Your will, Your purpose, and Your timing for my life! May it continue to be so!
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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