Two different perspectives

Enduring a pregnancy, delivering a baby, and breastfeeding an infant in the wilderness?

Please, do not sign me up for that.

But that is what the women in Lehi and Ishmael’s families had to endure as they trekked away from Jerusalem.

I want to compare two different verses about this same difficulty.

Here is what Nephi (and I would assume the God-focused wives of the group) said:

“And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.” (1 Nephi 17:2)

And here is what Nephi’s brothers (and I would assume their wives) said:

“We have wandered in the wilderness for these many years; and our women have toiled, being big with child; and they have borne children in the wilderness and suffered all things, save it were death; and it would have been better that they had died before they came out of Jerusalem than to have suffered these afflictions.” (1 Nephi 17:20)

Everyone is asked to endure hard things.

But the afflictions are much easier to bear when we look for the blessings we receive within the trial.

The Lord was still pouring blessings upon them in their difficult time, but only some stopped to look for the Lord’s hand.

What’s your “Laman and Lemuel” version of the difficult things you’ve had to endure in your life?

What are the complaints that honestly can seem pretty reasonable?

But I think this is the big difference between non-believers and believers:

We, as disciples of our Savior, know that when we humble our hearts, we can start to see the hand of God guiding, protecting, and preserving us along the way.

The “stuff” to endure is still there.

But our effort to look for the blessings from the Lord makes all the difference for our inner peace during the trials.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black