"For, behold, said he, I have seen a vision, in which I know that Jerusalem is destroyed; and had we remained in Jerusalem we should also have perished."
There is so much trust in visions and revelation. It would be so easy to pass it off as a dream or the imagination of his heart. But Lehi knew the vision to be what it was and did not doubt it. What were his life experiences that led him to know and not doubt? How did he come to this place? It seems this kind of knowledge comes in baby steps. It starts with following little promptings. Then the promptings become stronger, more detailed. Then occasionally you are able to hear the voice of the Spirit or the voice of the Lord with the promptings. Then the voice becomes more regular and steady and very detailed. Then you begin to see along with hearing. You get images, small glimpses that are part of the prompting that is told to you by the Holy Spirit. After a while, full views come along. And so it is, slowly and surely, you become prepared for receiving visions and for knowing and trusting those visions. It would be neat to have those lost pages of manuscript and to read what Lehi felt were the important moments of his life that led him to these experiences. I wonder if he had interactions in Jerusalem with the other prophets? Would he have talked with Jeremiah? What a conversation that would have been! The son-in-law of Isaiah and Lehi, talking about Jerusalem and the assignments they've been given of the Lord. Perhaps discussing ideas of how to reach the people in a way that perhaps they hadn't tried before. Oh, the idea of that just makes me smile. I wonder if they ever were able to interact with each other...
"But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord."
Notwithstanding our afflictions...they were many. There was hardship that most people do not even begin to comprehend or understand. I remember being in Italy and struggling. I remember feeling so hungry and trying to find something to eat and feeling so overwhelmed by my body's needs that I had a hard time feeling the Spirit or being close to the Lord. I was still reading my scriptures, still praying. But my body was so loud that I couldn't hear anything from the Spirit. Then I think about their time in the wilderness and what a struggle it must have been. I think about that and I marvel at how Nephi was able to still hear and follow promptings. True hunger with physical exertion (trying to hunt and find food) would be so very hard. I think back to when I did that 12 day fast and I can't imagine trying to do that and anything else. I spent my time studying and resting and trying to sort things out, but there was very little physical exertion...none, really. I wasn't exhausted or drained, but I can't imagine trying to hike and climb and search and hunt while in that state.
Then all of the struggles on the boat. Then there were all of the threats on Lehi and Nephi from Laman and Lemuel and Ishmael's crew. Then the work of starting fresh - having to build and entire community from scratch, cutting it out of jungle and brush and clearing. All of that work to build homes and places of worship and plant gardens and cultivate trees and vines...
The massive amount of work that was required of Nephi and his people in order for the Lord's promises to be fulfilled. The Lord blessed them that the land would be theirs and that they would prosper if they were obedient. This obedience meant physically, as well as spiritually.
"Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord. Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever."
The land is consecrated unto him whom the Lord shall bring...including those in our day who are brought from other countries. Consecrated. That is no light thing. It is also applicable to those who go where the Lord leads them within this land. As we go where we are called, the land is set apart and is consecrated for our sakes.
If iniquity shall abound, cursed is the land...I wonder if that is why the economy in this country keeps getting worse. The more iniquity in our land, the more cursed we become. Does this also connect with the crops and the mineral depletion in the soil? What about the weather changes that are making it so hard for us to grow food? Is this part of the earth being cursed?
What does it mean to be consecrated? It's so much more than just set apart. For a land to be consecrated it is set apart, blessed, holy, and sacred. This land is a sacred stewardship and is set apart for those who will honor that stewardship. That means caring for the earth, that means being industrious, that means being obedient to commandments and to instruction given from the Lord - whether that instruction comes from the priesthood authority leading generally or locally, from personal revelation, from the scriptures...however instruction comes, it is our stewardship to care for and nurture and protect this land spiritually (leadership, religious freedoms, etc.) and physically (do not take more than is necessary and leave the earth better, cleaner, healthier than we found it).
Even all of that said, it doesn't touch on the sanctity of consecrated. In the seven days of creation, the only thing the Lord consecrated was the Sabbath. It was the only thing, in all that was created - including man - that was hallowed and set apart and sacred. There is a connection here that I am not seeing yet but I can feel that there is a much deeper and more profound import to the meaning of this land being consecrated. I'll have to think on this more.
There is so much trust in visions and revelation. It would be so easy to pass it off as a dream or the imagination of his heart. But Lehi knew the vision to be what it was and did not doubt it. What were his life experiences that led him to know and not doubt? How did he come to this place? It seems this kind of knowledge comes in baby steps. It starts with following little promptings. Then the promptings become stronger, more detailed. Then occasionally you are able to hear the voice of the Spirit or the voice of the Lord with the promptings. Then the voice becomes more regular and steady and very detailed. Then you begin to see along with hearing. You get images, small glimpses that are part of the prompting that is told to you by the Holy Spirit. After a while, full views come along. And so it is, slowly and surely, you become prepared for receiving visions and for knowing and trusting those visions. It would be neat to have those lost pages of manuscript and to read what Lehi felt were the important moments of his life that led him to these experiences. I wonder if he had interactions in Jerusalem with the other prophets? Would he have talked with Jeremiah? What a conversation that would have been! The son-in-law of Isaiah and Lehi, talking about Jerusalem and the assignments they've been given of the Lord. Perhaps discussing ideas of how to reach the people in a way that perhaps they hadn't tried before. Oh, the idea of that just makes me smile. I wonder if they ever were able to interact with each other...
"But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord."
Notwithstanding our afflictions...they were many. There was hardship that most people do not even begin to comprehend or understand. I remember being in Italy and struggling. I remember feeling so hungry and trying to find something to eat and feeling so overwhelmed by my body's needs that I had a hard time feeling the Spirit or being close to the Lord. I was still reading my scriptures, still praying. But my body was so loud that I couldn't hear anything from the Spirit. Then I think about their time in the wilderness and what a struggle it must have been. I think about that and I marvel at how Nephi was able to still hear and follow promptings. True hunger with physical exertion (trying to hunt and find food) would be so very hard. I think back to when I did that 12 day fast and I can't imagine trying to do that and anything else. I spent my time studying and resting and trying to sort things out, but there was very little physical exertion...none, really. I wasn't exhausted or drained, but I can't imagine trying to hike and climb and search and hunt while in that state.
Then all of the struggles on the boat. Then there were all of the threats on Lehi and Nephi from Laman and Lemuel and Ishmael's crew. Then the work of starting fresh - having to build and entire community from scratch, cutting it out of jungle and brush and clearing. All of that work to build homes and places of worship and plant gardens and cultivate trees and vines...
The massive amount of work that was required of Nephi and his people in order for the Lord's promises to be fulfilled. The Lord blessed them that the land would be theirs and that they would prosper if they were obedient. This obedience meant physically, as well as spiritually.
"Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord. Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever."
The land is consecrated unto him whom the Lord shall bring...including those in our day who are brought from other countries. Consecrated. That is no light thing. It is also applicable to those who go where the Lord leads them within this land. As we go where we are called, the land is set apart and is consecrated for our sakes.
If iniquity shall abound, cursed is the land...I wonder if that is why the economy in this country keeps getting worse. The more iniquity in our land, the more cursed we become. Does this also connect with the crops and the mineral depletion in the soil? What about the weather changes that are making it so hard for us to grow food? Is this part of the earth being cursed?
What does it mean to be consecrated? It's so much more than just set apart. For a land to be consecrated it is set apart, blessed, holy, and sacred. This land is a sacred stewardship and is set apart for those who will honor that stewardship. That means caring for the earth, that means being industrious, that means being obedient to commandments and to instruction given from the Lord - whether that instruction comes from the priesthood authority leading generally or locally, from personal revelation, from the scriptures...however instruction comes, it is our stewardship to care for and nurture and protect this land spiritually (leadership, religious freedoms, etc.) and physically (do not take more than is necessary and leave the earth better, cleaner, healthier than we found it).
Even all of that said, it doesn't touch on the sanctity of consecrated. In the seven days of creation, the only thing the Lord consecrated was the Sabbath. It was the only thing, in all that was created - including man - that was hallowed and set apart and sacred. There is a connection here that I am not seeing yet but I can feel that there is a much deeper and more profound import to the meaning of this land being consecrated. I'll have to think on this more.
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