"Behold, it came to pass that I, Nephi, did cry much unto the Lord my God, because of the anger of my brethren.
But behold, their anger did increase against me, insomuch that they did seek to take away my life."
2 Nephi 5:1-2
In this chapter, God warns Nephi to flee, and so Nephi takes whoever will go with him and leaves, starting a new colony elsewhere. Later in the chapter he explains that he made many swords using Laban's sword as a pattern, since he knew how much his brothers hated him, but to me, it comes back to trying to wrap my head around the hatred thing in the first place. How did it get to this point with Laman and Lemuel? Did Nephi become the focus for their answer and rage at their father, because he took sides against them? They apparently let the resentment grow and grow... was it because they had to start over, creating a society from scratch? How did they lose touch with the Spirit of God, and at what point did they start thinking that murder was okay?
... Maybe we don't need the specifics, but I think those questions matter in general because the same thing happens today, and the same thing could happen to *us* if we don't learn how to deal with our own anger. Something happens in our lives that seems unfair and unjust, and we can let it take over our lives. We could start thinking of people who don't agree with us as our enemies, and eventually decide that they aren't worth anything, and perhaps that the world is better off without them, and it is a small step from there to encouraging or participating in trying to make that happen. Resentment starts small, but it can easily get out of control.
One way to make sure we don't allow our lives to get out of control in an evil way is to stick with God. Through him we can learn to adapt to changing circumstances and understand that God creates opportunities for us wherever we are. He will never leave us comfortless, or without hope, even though of course things might not work out the way that we envisioned. Another thing that can help is true repentance. Laman and Lemuel apologized for beating Nephi and for their cruelty early on. They seemed to be trying to change, but they never let things go completely, because the whole murder thing kept becoming a theme. ... And I'm not saying that letting things go is easy. It's not. But part of repentance is truly letting things go, no matter if our cause is just or not, because we're turning the justice part over to God to take care of in his own time, and allowing him to show mercy wherever he chooses, just as he does for us.
Today, let's choose repentance over resentment, and choose God over our grudge. Let's never allow ourselves to become Laman and Lemuel, but make sure love comes first in our lives rather than hatred and apathy.
But behold, their anger did increase against me, insomuch that they did seek to take away my life."
2 Nephi 5:1-2
In this chapter, God warns Nephi to flee, and so Nephi takes whoever will go with him and leaves, starting a new colony elsewhere. Later in the chapter he explains that he made many swords using Laban's sword as a pattern, since he knew how much his brothers hated him, but to me, it comes back to trying to wrap my head around the hatred thing in the first place. How did it get to this point with Laman and Lemuel? Did Nephi become the focus for their answer and rage at their father, because he took sides against them? They apparently let the resentment grow and grow... was it because they had to start over, creating a society from scratch? How did they lose touch with the Spirit of God, and at what point did they start thinking that murder was okay?
... Maybe we don't need the specifics, but I think those questions matter in general because the same thing happens today, and the same thing could happen to *us* if we don't learn how to deal with our own anger. Something happens in our lives that seems unfair and unjust, and we can let it take over our lives. We could start thinking of people who don't agree with us as our enemies, and eventually decide that they aren't worth anything, and perhaps that the world is better off without them, and it is a small step from there to encouraging or participating in trying to make that happen. Resentment starts small, but it can easily get out of control.
One way to make sure we don't allow our lives to get out of control in an evil way is to stick with God. Through him we can learn to adapt to changing circumstances and understand that God creates opportunities for us wherever we are. He will never leave us comfortless, or without hope, even though of course things might not work out the way that we envisioned. Another thing that can help is true repentance. Laman and Lemuel apologized for beating Nephi and for their cruelty early on. They seemed to be trying to change, but they never let things go completely, because the whole murder thing kept becoming a theme. ... And I'm not saying that letting things go is easy. It's not. But part of repentance is truly letting things go, no matter if our cause is just or not, because we're turning the justice part over to God to take care of in his own time, and allowing him to show mercy wherever he chooses, just as he does for us.
Today, let's choose repentance over resentment, and choose God over our grudge. Let's never allow ourselves to become Laman and Lemuel, but make sure love comes first in our lives rather than hatred and apathy.
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