I'm flying to Tokyo over the Pacific Ocean as I write this. Although I don't enjoy sitting for so long, it does give me a chance to study and ponder the scriptures. As I read the first few verses in the second chapter of 1 Nephi, I realized that there are several lessons to be learned from Lehi:
1. 1 Nephi 2:1. "Thou hast been faithful and declared unto this people the things which I commanded thee, behold, they seek to take away thy life." Lehi obeyed the voice of the Lord and preached to the people, therefore, the Lord came to him in a dream and warned him. In other words, He chose to protect and preserve Lehi.
Lesson: If we follow His counsel to us individually, he will be on our right hand and on our left, He will go before our face and will preserve us according to his will.
2. 1 Nephi 2:2-4. The Lord commanded Lehi to leave his inheritance, his gold, his silver, and to take only the necessary provisions and flee into the wilderness. If we are to understand Lehi, there is a good reason why Laban may have wanted him dead. Not only did Lehi preach, but there is a good chance that Laban was related to Lehi and Lehi may have been the rightful heir to the plates (as would be revealed in the lineage contained within the plates). Lehi "inherited" a great place and then it appears he added to his wealth so as to be a person of great wealth. It's one thing to read about him leaving his inheritance and wealth, it's another thing to consider the measure of man he must have been to leave "everything" behind. Again, he did what the Lord commanded him to do, even though it must have been very difficult to leave such a comfortable lifestyle.
Lesson: Do we value the Lord and his counsel over our material possessions? Although it probably won't happen to most people, what if the Lord commanded us to "sell all that we have and follow him"? How would we respond to such a command or invitation? What if we had great wealth and we were asked to walk away from it all...how would we respond?
Lehi was a man of great faith, certainly not without faults or personal challenges, but a man who was devoted to the Lord. He did what I feel very few of us would do if called upon to do so. I look forward to reading his words someday and to learn from his teaching when we get that portion of his plates.
