A Timely Reminder from King Benjamin

The righteous King Benjamin, towards the end of his reign, taught a group of Nephites gathered at the Temple important principles relating to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Topics of his discussion included repentance, faith in Jesus Christ and baptism by both water and the Holy Spirit (i.e. being born again). 

As Thanksgiving comes again, let us all, as children of God, remember well this timely reminder by the King found in Mosiah 2:19-25: 

[19]And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!

[20] I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the thanks and praise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and preserved you, and has caused that ye should rejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another --

[21] I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another -- I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants.

[22] And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has promised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth vary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do keep his commandments he doth bless you and prosper you.

[23] And now, in the first place, he hath created you, and granted unto you your lives, for which ye are indebted unto him.

[24] And secondly, he doth require that ye should do as he hath commanded you; for which if ye do, he doth immediately bless you; and therefore he hath paid you. And ye are still indebted unto him, and are, and will be, forever and ever; therefore, of what have ye to boast?

[25] And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were created of the dust of the earth; but behold, it belongeth to him who created you.

Let us all remember that which the Lord has given us this Thanksgiving. Let us all remember how blessed we, as children of God, are to have a loving Heavenly Father who not only gives us life but sent his Son to pay our debt so that we may have eternal life. 

Let us be thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the eternal Plan of Salvation. 

Laman and Lemuel return to Jerusalem...without complaining (1 Nephi 7)

Almost immediately after their journey to Jerusalem to get the brass plates, Lehi received another revelation from the Lord.

1 And now I would that ye might know, that after my father, Lehi, had made an end of ^aprophesying concerning his seed, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto him again, saying that it was not meet for him, Lehi, that he should take his family into the wilderness alone; but that his sons should take ^bdaughters to ^cwife, that they might raise up ^dseed unto the Lord in the land of promise.

2 And it came to pass that the Lord ^acommanded him that I, Nephi, and my brethren, should again return unto the land of Jerusalem, and bring down Ishmael and his family into the wilderness.

3 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did ^aagain, with my brethren, go forth into the wilderness to go up to Jerusalem.

This is one of the more humorous parts of the Book of Mormon simply because Nephi makes no mention of any complaints. Laman and Lemuel appear to be perfectly happy to return to Jerusalem now that there is the possibility of bringing women back with them. :)

Ishmael is the father of the daughters for whom Nephi, Sam, Laman, and Lemuel return. We don't know too much about how the family of Lehi and the family of Ishmael knew one another. It could be that they were near kinsmen, which Lehi might have deduced after reading the genealogy contained in the brass plates. Nevertheless, it appears that Ishmael was willing to follow Lehi into the wilderness with his entire family. Therefore, it's more than likely that, at the very least, Ishmael originally sympathized with Lehi and was eager to leave Jerusalem before it fell to the Babylonians.

Laman and Lemuel's change of heart didn't last very long. On the way back to Lehi's camp, they, and some of Ishmael's own family, rebelled against "Nephi, and Sam, and their father, Ishmael, and his wife, and his three other daughters."

Nephi is quick to remind them of how the Lord has already supported them and their ancestors through many worse things and that if they would just be faithful, the Lord would give them a land of promise. If they want to go back, Nephi tells them, they can make that choice and perish with the rest.

Laman and Lemuel become furious and tie up Nephi to leave him to be eaten by wild beasts. Exercising his faith in the Lord, Nephi asks God for strength to break his bonds. Nephi is granted that power and is able to break free. This is a great example of faith as a principle of power. Nephi didn't ask for the Lord to come down and break his bonds for him. Rather, he asked that the Lord would amplify his own meager strength to free himself. We benefit from the Lord's help only when we put forth our own efforts and let Him do the rest. Otherwise, we begin to take His power for granted, or think that it is somehow by our own strength we are able to emerge from troubles. When He gives us more power than we know we have on our own, the lesson we learn is much more clear. To the contrary, taking His power for granted is the major mistake Laman and Lemuel have made and continue to make as they travel to the promised land.

But this time, something about this experience temporarily humbles those who rebelled. They repent, asking Nephi for forgiveness. He is quick to give it for his own part and then to remind them that their duty to ask forgiveness is not to him, but to God for having rebelled against His commandments.

Upon returning, they perform sacrifices and burnt offerings in accordance with the law of Moses to complete their repentance process and to show thanks to God.