Monday, June 29, 2020

1 Nephi 8:21-25 -- On Not Being Ashamed of God

"And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood.
And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree.
And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.
And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.
And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed."
1 Nephi 8:21-25


This is the chapter where we first learn about Lehi's dream.  What struck me today was how so many people wanted to get to the tree of life / heaven and partake of the love of God, but everyone gets distracted and falls away... significantly even the ones that held to the rod of iron.  "And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost" (verse 28).

The symbolism in the dream is amazing, and there are a lot of things to learn here, including holding to the rod of iron, which represents the word of God (scriptures, prayer, prophecy)... but the thing I wanted to focus on today was on not being ashamed.  Once we have tasted of the love of God and know how awesome that is, let's not let people ruin it for us by listening to their taunts and misguided advice.  God is better than any and all of that.  Reality is what is between us and God and that relationship, and anything that pulls us away from God is part of the problem.

Today, let's read over Lehi's dream and learn from it... great stuff there.  And let's be sure that we're not listening to the scorners that mock our relationship with God, because they are truly not worth listening to.

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