"Now I, Chemish, write what few things I write, in the same book with my brother; for behold, I saw the last which he wrote, that he wrote it with his own hand; and he wrote it in the day that he delivered them unto me. And after this manner we keep the records, for it is according to the commandments of our fathers. And I make an end."
Omni 1:9
My sister mentioned Chemish today, and that he was just kind of "doing as commanded." I think it is interesting that we don't know a lot about him or get any detail other than kind of a basic "here we are, doing what we said we would do" type of thing. And I wonder if we have that kind of attitude in our own lives sometimes, doing the minimum necessary to fulfil the letter of the law, but not really seeing the real opportunity we all have to make a difference.
I'm certainly not knocking Chemish. He was probably a great guy and did a lot for the people around him... just we don't know about all of that stuff because no one wrote it down. And maybe that is part of the challenge of life... not just doing good things, but also communicating and spreading that light to whoever we can, in whatever way we can.
We have the opportunity to share what we have learned and what we know... maybe not in person at this time, but that opportunity is still there, always. Today, let's think about how we can rise above the minimum necessary and make a difference to anyone willing to listen. Maybe we can just sit down and think about what else we want to know about Chemish or anyone else we don't know a lot about in the scriptures, and then write those things for the people in the future who will want to know about us. If we write even 100 words, we'll have a longer legacy than this verse, and maybe we can pack it with interesting tidbits or some insight or lesson that we've learned.
And hey, if you feel so inclined, share your verse or something you want to pass on in the comments. :) I'd love to hear them.
Omni 1:9
My sister mentioned Chemish today, and that he was just kind of "doing as commanded." I think it is interesting that we don't know a lot about him or get any detail other than kind of a basic "here we are, doing what we said we would do" type of thing. And I wonder if we have that kind of attitude in our own lives sometimes, doing the minimum necessary to fulfil the letter of the law, but not really seeing the real opportunity we all have to make a difference.
I'm certainly not knocking Chemish. He was probably a great guy and did a lot for the people around him... just we don't know about all of that stuff because no one wrote it down. And maybe that is part of the challenge of life... not just doing good things, but also communicating and spreading that light to whoever we can, in whatever way we can.
We have the opportunity to share what we have learned and what we know... maybe not in person at this time, but that opportunity is still there, always. Today, let's think about how we can rise above the minimum necessary and make a difference to anyone willing to listen. Maybe we can just sit down and think about what else we want to know about Chemish or anyone else we don't know a lot about in the scriptures, and then write those things for the people in the future who will want to know about us. If we write even 100 words, we'll have a longer legacy than this verse, and maybe we can pack it with interesting tidbits or some insight or lesson that we've learned.
And hey, if you feel so inclined, share your verse or something you want to pass on in the comments. :) I'd love to hear them.
Those guys from Omni up until Amaleki were busy “in the defence of (their) brethren” — and eventually driven out of the land of Nephi. So, I have compassion for their effort and their struggle to save their brethren and not be killed or enslaved. I can only hope that they tried hard (and prayed) to obtain peace. It’s okay to be minimumist sometimes. We all have struggles to deal with. And if Omni, et al, had audio record technology — they would have done a much better job (especially when recovering from their battle wounds).
ReplyDeleteI think you are reading more into the story than is actually there, but I agree that it is okay to be "minimumist" sometimes, and that we all have struggles. I just think it is a good idea to try to communicate a little bit more when we can.
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